> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mention-me.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Overview

> An introduction to Webhooks.

<Note>
  Some technical knowledge about webhooks is assumed. If you need help, contact our [support team](https://help.mention-me.com/hc/en-gb/requests/new).
</Note>

Webhooks are a standard way of receiving near real-time notifications of when events happen in the Mention Me platform.

With the Webhook system, you can create Webhooks which will deliver events to external systems which you control. These external systems can then execute code of your choice whenever one or more events occur.

For instance, you may wish to update a customer record when a customer successfully refers their friend, send out an email when a customer receives a reward for referring, or apply credit to an account in real-time when a reward is received. All of which are great use cases for Webhooks.

## Difference between Webhooks and APIs

Unlike our APIs, where your external systems are *requesting data from us*, Webhooks are a way in which *you can receive data* from us when events occur in real-time.

## Basics

A Webhook is an [HTTPS POST request](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Reference/Methods/POST) to a URL of your choice, and any system which can accept an HTTPS request can be used to consume a Webhook from Mention Me.

Any request your external system receives will:

1. Be an HTTP POST request (over SSL).
2. Have data about an event which occurred in the body of the request. This data will be in the JSON format (you can see more in the [Events section](/api-reference/webhooks/events#examples-2)).
3. (*Optionally, if [a Secret was set during setup](/api-reference/webhooks/create-destination#step-2-choosing-a-secret)*) Have an HTTP Header with a signature for the webhook. This signature helps to validate the authenticity of the Webhook - you can read more in the [Security section](/api-reference/webhooks/security#how-it-works).

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={1}>
  <Card title="Set up a webhook" icon="plug" href="/api-reference/webhooks/create-destination">
    Create a webhook destination and start receiving events.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Test a webhook" icon="flask-vial" href="/api-reference/webhooks/test-webhook">
    Send a test event to verify your endpoint is working correctly.
  </Card>

  <Card title="FAQs" icon="circle-question" href="/api-reference/webhooks/faqs">
    Common questions about webhook delivery, retries and formats.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>