In plain language
A webhook is a message sent automatically to a web address when an event occurs. In trading, it can carry an alert from charting software to an external application.
The complete chain
A typical path is condition → alert → HTTP request → receiver → validation → order → broker or exchange → response → fill. The webhook covers only part of that chain. A received webhook does not mean that an order was accepted or filled.
Possible failures
The message may arrive late, twice, out of order, or not at all. The receiver may be unavailable; symbol, quantity, or credentials may be wrong. Some services retry under defined conditions, so the execution layer must handle duplicates safely.
Operational controls
Use HTTPS, sender authentication, secrets outside the payload, a unique identifier, timestamp, expiry, allowlists, logs, and reconciliation with orders and fills. A kill switch and broker-side limits reduce the impact of bad messages but do not replace monitoring.
Sources
- TradingView, How to configure webhook alerts — Defines HTTP POST delivery, content types, and the warning against including sensitive credentials in a message.
- TradingView, Webhook authentication — Documents verification of the sending server's certificate over HTTPS.
- TradingView, Webhook resubmission — Specifies when a failed notification is retried.