A webhook is an HTTP callback mechanism that allows one application to send real-time data to another application when a specific event occurs. Instead of continuously polling an API for updates, the receiving application registers a URL and gets notified automatically when something happens.
In monitoring and incident management, webhooks are used to integrate alerting systems with other tools. For example, when Hyperping detects an outage, it can send a webhook to Slack, PagerDuty, a custom application, or any other system that accepts HTTP callbacks. The webhook payload typically includes details about the event (what happened, when, which service is affected).
Webhooks are preferred over polling because they deliver information in real-time, reduce unnecessary API calls, and are more efficient for both the sender and receiver. Most modern monitoring and incident management tools support both incoming webhooks (receiving data) and outgoing webhooks (sending notifications).
