What is does failed webhook mean?
When a webhook is sent from Parseur, it means data from one server is sent to another server outside of Parseur. A failed webhook indicates that the outside server did not receive or process the data successfully.
Different problems can cause a failed webhook. Some of the most common causes are:
the outside server is down or too busy
the outside server takes too long to respond
the data sent wasn’t what was expected by the server
the server fails to authenticate the request
If you’d like to get more information about the issue, navigating to your document logs can help you find out why the webhook failed.
How do I get more information about a failed webhook event?
Failed webhook events can be a daunting issue to debug. It's important to check the logs, error message, and other details to properly diagnose the issue. Here are two simple steps to help you get more information about a failed webhook event:
Click on the Logs button
The Log button is represented by a 🔎 magnifying glass icon on a document.
You can access the button from either:
the document list page by hovering over the document
the document view page at the top right corner of the screen.
Check the error message attached to the export failed log
Upon clicking on the Logs button, document logs will be displayed chronologically from the newest to the oldest.
The "webhook failed" log returns the HTTP status code of the error along with any specific error message. Clicking on "show details", if present, will give you additional information returned by the server.
Automatic retries for failed webhooks
The following failed webhook events are retried up to five times (so six tries maximum):
HTTP status 408 (server timeout)
HTTP status 429 (too many requests)
HTTP status in the 500 to 599 range (server error)
Connection Timeout (timeout when trying to connect to the server)
A webhook will NOT be retried in the case of a read timeout (i.e., the connection to the server succeeded but Parseur didn't receive any reply) because Parseur has no way of knowing if the request succeeded or not.
The first retry happens 1 minute after the initial reply. The next retries are attempted 4, 9, 16, and 25 minutes apart. This mechanism is called exponential back-off and prevents overloading the receiving service with requests.
This is true for all webhooks, including custom webhooks and integrations with Zapier, Make, Power Automate, etc. All actions and retries (if any) are visible in the documents' log.
How do I troubleshoot Failed Webhooks?
Check your server configuration
Failed webhook events are heavily dependent on the configuration of your server. If the data is sent back to your own servers, share the logs with your developers or system admin teams to help you troubleshoot the issue.
Third-party platforms: Zapier, Make etc.
If the data is sent to third-party platforms like Zapier, Make, or Power Automate, check their reference documentation or contact their customer support team for help.
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