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Verify webhooks

The SDK ships a SelfWebhooks.verify(...) helper that checks the signature and returns a typed event payload.

Setup

You need:

  • The raw request body (string or Buffer). Not the JSON-parsed object, signature verification operates on the byte string.
  • The request headers from the delivery. Pass them through as-is; they carry the signature the SDK checks.
  • The signing secret (whsec_...) for the webhook endpoint. You get it once, when you add the endpoint.

Express

import express from 'express';
import { SelfWebhooks, WebhookVerificationError } from '@selfxyz/enterprise-sdk';

const app = express();

app.post(
  '/webhooks/self',
  express.raw({ type: 'application/json' }),    // keep the raw bytes
  (req, res) => {
    try {
      const event = SelfWebhooks.verify(
        req.body,                                  // Buffer
        req.headers as Record<string, string>,
        process.env.SELF_WEBHOOK_SECRET!,
      );

      if (event.type === 'verification.completed') {
        // event.verification_id, event.external_uuid, event.proof_attributes, event.status
      }

      res.status(200).end();
    } catch (err) {
      if (err instanceof WebhookVerificationError) {
        res.status(400).end();
      } else {
        // Unknown payload shape (SelfValidationError) or server bug, log and 5xx so we retry.
        res.status(500).end();
      }
    }
  },
);

Hono

import { Hono } from 'hono';
import { SelfWebhooks } from '@selfxyz/enterprise-sdk';

const app = new Hono();

app.post('/webhooks/self', async (c) => {
  const raw = await c.req.text();                          // raw body as string
  const headers = Object.fromEntries(c.req.raw.headers);   // pass all headers through

  try {
    const event = SelfWebhooks.verify(raw, headers, process.env.SELF_WEBHOOK_SECRET!);
    // ...handle event
    return c.text('ok');
  } catch {
    return c.text('bad signature', 400);
  }
});

Next.js (App Router)

// app/api/webhooks/self/route.ts
import { SelfWebhooks } from '@selfxyz/enterprise-sdk';
import { NextRequest } from 'next/server';

export async function POST(req: NextRequest) {
  const raw = await req.text();
  const headers = Object.fromEntries(req.headers);   // pass all headers through

  try {
    const event = SelfWebhooks.verify(raw, headers, process.env.SELF_WEBHOOK_SECRET!);
    // ...
    return new Response('ok', { status: 200 });
  } catch {
    return new Response('bad signature', { status: 400 });
  }
}

Type narrowing

event is a discriminated union on event.type. TypeScript narrows automatically:

if (event.type === 'verification.completed') {
  event.status;              // 'valid' | 'invalid' | 'error' | 'expired'
  event.proof_attributes;    // disclosed predicates
  // event.storage_uri is also available
}

Common mistakes

  • Parsing the body before verification. If you app.use(express.json()), the raw body is gone by the time the route runs and verification will fail. Use express.raw(...) for the webhook path.
  • Using the wrong secret. Each endpoint has its own whsec_.... If you have multiple endpoints registered (e.g. staging + prod), don’t share secrets across them.
  • Trusting the payload without verifying. Always call SelfWebhooks.verify(...) first. Don’t parse event.type until verification succeeds.

Redeliveries

The same event can arrive more than once (a retry after a failed delivery, for example). The body and signature are valid each time, so verification succeeds normally. Make your handler idempotent, dedupe on the event’s verification_id.

See Best practices for idempotency patterns.