A free webhook testing tool that reaches your localhost

Tunneling & Webhooks

Test webhooks against your local server for free: a public URL for localhost, live delivery inspection, and Stripe or GitHub webhook debugging.

Updated

Webhook bugs are miserable to debug by deploying: change a line, push, wait, trigger, read logs, repeat. The faster loop is making the provider deliver straight to the code running in your editor — which needs two things: a public URL that forwards to localhost, and a way to see exactly what arrived.

What a webhook testing tool needs

  1. A public HTTPS URL — Stripe, GitHub, Shopify and the rest refuse to deliver to localhost. A tunnel fixes that.
  2. A live inspector — half of webhook debugging is discovering the payload does not match the docs. You want method, headers, body and timing for every delivery, as it happens.
  3. Your real handler in the loop — inspecting payloads on a throwaway URL is reading; testing is when the delivery hits your code and you see your response go back.

The free options

SchemaClient does all three in one free desktop app: a built-in tunnel gives your dev server a public URL, and the real-time monitor shows every delivery and your handler's response. No usage caps, no account to start. The step-by-step walkthrough is in testing webhooks locally.

webhook.site is a great inspector: instant throwaway URL, shows every request. But forwarding to your localhost — the part that makes it a tester rather than a viewer — sits in the paid tier.

ngrok pairs a tunnel with a local web inspector. It works; the free tier's random URLs mean re-registering your endpoint with the provider after every restart, which gets old fast. Comparison: free ngrok alternative.

Provider CLIs — Stripe's CLI forwards its own events to localhost nicely. If you only ever integrate Stripe, it may be enough; the day you add GitHub or Twilio webhooks you are back shopping for a general tool.

The debugging workflow that works

  1. Start your app locally, note the port.
  2. Start the tunnel, register the public URL with the provider (test mode).
  3. Trigger a test event from the provider's dashboard.
  4. Watch the delivery land in the monitor: is the signature header present? Is the payload shape what your handler expects? What status did you return?
  5. Fix, save, trigger again — no deploy in the loop.

Two habits worth keeping: always verify the provider's signature in your handler (a tunnel does not change security requirements), and when a webhook works in production but not locally, diff the headers first — proxies strip more than you think.

Download SchemaClient free — tunnel, inspector and API client in one app, which is exactly the toolkit webhook debugging needs.

Frequently asked questions

How do I test a webhook without deploying?

Run a tunnel that gives your local server a public HTTPS URL, register that URL with the provider, then trigger a test event. SchemaClient bundles the tunnel and a live traffic inspector, so you see each delivery and your handler's response without leaving the app.

What is the difference between a webhook inspector and a webhook tester?

An inspector (like webhook.site) shows you what the provider sent to a throwaway URL — useful for looking at payloads. A tester forwards deliveries to your actual handler code running on localhost, so you are testing your implementation, not just reading JSON.

Can I test Stripe webhooks locally for free?

Yes. Point a free tunnel at your local server, set the tunnel URL as an endpoint in Stripe's dashboard (test mode), and send test events. Stripe also ships a CLI with forwarding for its own webhooks; a general tunnel works for every provider the same way.