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When a workflow is triggered by a webhook, you can send a custom HTTP response back to the caller. This enables synchronous communication patterns where the webhook caller waits for and receives a response from your workflow.

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Use cases

Webhook responses are useful when you need to:
  • Return processed data to the webhook caller
  • Acknowledge receipt of webhook data with custom status codes
  • Implement synchronous API endpoints using OpenOps workflows
  • Provide immediate feedback to external systems

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How it works

When a workflow is triggered by a webhook, OpenOps can send a response back to the caller before the workflow completes. The response includes:
  • HTTP status code
  • Response headers
  • Response body (JSON or raw text)
By default, webhook triggers return a standard acknowledgment response. Use the Send Webhook Response action to customize this response.

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Sending a webhook response

To send a custom response to a webhook caller:
  1. Add the HTTP block’s Send Webhook Response action to your workflow
  2. Configure the response properties:
    • Status: HTTP status code (default: 200)
    • Headers: Custom HTTP headers as a JSON object
    • Body Type: Choose between JSON or Raw text
    • Response: The response body content

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Example: JSON response

{
  "status": 200,
  "headers": {
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
  },
  "body": {
    "success": true,
    "message": "Data processed successfully",
    "processedAt": "2026-01-29T10:00:00Z"
  }
}

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Example: Raw text response

Status: 200
Body Type: Raw
Response: "Operation completed successfully"

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Response timing

The webhook response is sent as soon as the Send Webhook Response action executes in your workflow. The workflow continues to run after sending the response, but the webhook caller receives the response immediately.
If your workflow doesn’t include a Send Webhook Response action, OpenOps automatically sends a default acknowledgment response when the webhook is received.

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Timeout behavior

By default, webhook callers will timeout after 30 seconds if no response is sent. Ensure your workflow sends a response within this timeframe to avoid timeout errors. You can configure the webhook timeout using the OPS_WEBHOOK_TIMEOUT_SECONDS environment variable in your OpenOps deployment.

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Best practices

  • Send responses early: Place the Send Webhook Response action early in your workflow to avoid timeouts
  • Use appropriate status codes: Return meaningful HTTP status codes (200 for success, 400 for bad requests, 500 for errors)
  • Include error handling: Use conditional branching to send different responses based on workflow outcomes
  • Keep responses lightweight: Avoid sending large payloads in webhook responses

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Limitations

  • Only one response can be sent per webhook trigger
  • Responses must be sent within the configured timeout period (default: 30 seconds)
  • The response is sent asynchronously through the OpenOps engine

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Example workflow

Here’s a complete example of a workflow that receives webhook data, processes it, and sends a custom response:
  1. Webhook trigger: Catches incoming webhook
  2. Data validation: Validates the incoming data
  3. Send Webhook Response: Sends acknowledgment to caller
  4. Process data: Continues processing in the background
  5. Store results: Saves processed data to a database
This pattern allows you to acknowledge receipt immediately while continuing to process data asynchronously.