How to Use Webhooks in Sparkforge (with Zapier)

Webhooks are how Sparkforge talks to Stripe, Twilio, Mailgun, Zapier, and almost everything else. When a workflow action can't do what you need, a webhook usually can.

Webhook terms

• HTTPS request — the encrypted request webhooks ride on.
• Triggering event — the event in app A that fires the call to app B.
• Webhook URL — the unique URL of the receiving app, like a phone number for the request.
• Payload — the data packaged and sent.
• Query params — values passed on the URL itself, helpful for routing.
• Mapping — connecting payload fields to fields in the receiving app.

How webhooks work

One app fires an event, packages a payload, and POSTs it to the other app's webhook URL. The receiving app catches the payload and uses it to do something — send an email, update a record, kick off another workflow.

Example: Stripe purchase to Sparkforge email

A customer buys a course in Stripe (payment processor on a Shopify store). Sparkforge needs to email everyone who bought that specific course, but it doesn't know who bought what. Solution: a webhook from Stripe (often relayed through Zapier) fires on every purchase, hits Sparkforge's Inbound Webhook trigger, and Sparkforge runs the email workflow against the matching contact.

Two ways to use webhooks in Sparkforge

(A) Inbound Webhook — catching data

An external app sends a payload to a Sparkforge Workflow Trigger called Inbound Webhook.

1. Enable LC Premium Triggers & Actions. Inbound Webhook lives there.
2. Create the webhook URL. Open or create a workflow, set the trigger to Inbound Webhook, and copy the generated URL.
3. Send to the URL from the external app. In Zapier, build a trigger (for example, a Stripe payment) and a Webhooks by Zapier POST action that targets the Sparkforge URL.
4. Send a test payload. Fire the test from Zapier. Refresh the Mapping Reference section in Sparkforge until the payload fields appear.
5. Add Create/Update Contact (or Find Contact). Every Sparkforge automation needs a contact. At minimum, map phone or email from the payload, or find a contact by a custom field. Without a matched contact the workflow won't run.

Map payload fields under Custom Values → Inbound Webhook Trigger and use them in the rest of the workflow.

(B) Outbound Webhook — sending data

A Sparkforge workflow action POSTs a payload to an external webhook URL.

1. Confirm the external app accepts inbound webhooks. In Zapier, this is the Webhooks by Zapier trigger with the Catch Hook event — a paid feature.
2. Generate the external webhook URL. Build the catch trigger in the external app and copy its URL.
3. Add the URL to a Sparkforge workflow. Drop in a Webhook action with that URL, save, and publish.
4. Trigger a real test from Sparkforge. Run the workflow as if it were live so the external app receives a realistic payload to map against.

Order of operations

Every webhook integration follows the same pattern: trigger → action → trigger → action. App A's trigger fires an action that POSTs to app B's trigger, which fires its own action. Inbound or outbound, the structure is the same.

When to use Zapier, Make, or Pabbly

If an external app doesn't expose webhooks directly, an integration platform fills the gap. Zapier, Make, and Pabbly each have thousands of pre-built triggers and actions. Pair them with Sparkforge webhook actions and you cover most automations without writing code against an API.