Webhooks enable push notifications for your data. When your data changes in Fulcrum, we push those changes to your server in real-time. This guide explains what webhooks are, why they’re useful, and how you can use them.
The Motivation
Why use webhooks? Organizations collect data for many purposes, but they often want to take action immediately when the data changes. This could mean:
Analyzing or processing the data
Alerting someone about the change
Running custom workflows
Webhooks allow you to automate these actions as soon as your data updates.
Before Webhooks
Previously, Fulcrum users relied on polling—periodically checking the API for new or updated data. Polling has several drawbacks:
Teams must write and maintain the polling code
Frequent polling is required for near real-time updates
Polling consumes resources even when no data has changed
Most polls return no new data unless updates are frequent
These challenges led to the development of webhooks.
With Webhooks
Webhooks push notifications to your server in real-time whenever data changes, without the disadvantages of polling.
Fulcrum handles sending notifications automatically
Your server only needs to process the data
Notifications are sent only when data changes
Resources are used efficiently
We’ll now explore more of what webhooks are about.
About Webhooks
A webhook is a way to extend Fulcrum’s functionality using standard web technology.
Events: When data changes in your organization, Fulcrum creates events containing information about the change.
Webhook URL: You register a server URL to receive these events.
HTTP POST: Events are sent to your URL via HTTP POST, which your server can process.
This enables your server to:
Start analysis or processing automatically
Send emails or text messages
Trigger workflows like quality assurance
Gather statistics or perform other custom actions
Additional Details
You can set up multiple webhooks for an organization. Each event is sent to all webhooks.
Webhooks exist at the organization level, meaning events from all apps trigger them. To process only specific apps, filter the events on your server.
Webhooks provide a simple, flexible way to respond to data changes in real-time, extending Fulcrum’s capabilities to fit your workflow.
Getting Started
Check out these additional pages if you’re interested in the details of how to begin using webhooks.
Getting Started With Webhooks - How to set up and begin using webhooks in Fulcrum.
Webhooks for Push Notifications - How to use push notifications to extend your data collection activities.
How To Enable Webhooks- Detailing which plans enable the webhooks functionality in Fulcrum.
Roles and Permissions - How to configure roles and permissions for use with webhooks.
Getting Started With Node.js - Learn how to create a webhook endpoint using Node.js to process webhook events.
Getting Started With Rails 4 - Learn how to create a webhook endpoint using Rails 4 to process webhook events.
Building A Custom Email Notification System - Building a simple email notification system with Google Apps Script.
Pushing Fulcrum Data to CARTO With Webhooks - Visualizing and publishing your data from Fulcrum to CARTO using webhooks.
Adding Weather Data to Records with Webhooks - The full guide on using the Forecast.io API to add relevant weather data to your Fulcrum records.
Syncing Fulcrum with MySQL - How to sync a Fulcrum app with a MySQL database using data shares, webhooks, and some PHP scripting.