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Chaindoc webhooks

Webhooks push event data to your server the moment something happens in Chaindoc. No polling, no delays. This page covers setup, event types, HMAC verification, retry logic, and testing.

Overview

Instead of polling the API, webhooks tell your server what happened as soon as it happens. You'll use them to sync document status, trigger workflows after signatures, send notifications, and keep your database in sync.

  • Instant delivery with up to 3 automatic retries (exponential backoff)
  • HMAC SHA256 signature verification on every payload
  • Filter to only the event types you care about
  • Delivery status tracking in your dashboard

Setup

Step 1: Create an API key

Navigate to Settings → API Access in your Chaindoc dashboard and create an API key with webhook configuration enabled.

Step 2: Configure the webhook URL

Use the API to configure your webhook endpoint:

terminal
curl -X PATCH https://api.chaindoc.io/user/api-access/1/config \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer your_auth_token" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "webhookUrl": "https://yourapp.com/webhooks/chaindoc",
    "webhookEnabled": true,
    "webhookSecret": "your_secure_random_string"
  }'

Step 3: Implement your endpoint

Create an endpoint on your server to receive webhook events. Here are examples in different languages:

const express = require('express');
const crypto = require('crypto');

const app = express();
app.use(express.json());

app.post('/webhooks/chaindoc', (req, res) => {
  const signature = req.headers['x-webhook-signature'];
  const eventType = req.headers['x-webhook-event'];
  
  // Verify signature
  if (!verifySignature(req.body, signature, process.env.WEBHOOK_SECRET)) {
    return res.status(401).send('Invalid signature');
  }
  
  // Process event
  console.log('Received event:', eventType, req.body);
  
  // Handle different event types
  switch (eventType) {
    case 'document.created':
      handleDocumentCreated(req.body);
      break;
    case 'document.verified':
      handleDocumentVerified(req.body);
      break;
    case 'signature.request.completed':
      handleSignatureCompleted(req.body);
      break;
  }
  
  // Always respond with 200 OK
  res.status(200).send('Webhook received');
});

function verifySignature(payload, signature, secret) {
  const hmac = crypto.createHmac('sha256', secret);
  const digest = hmac.update(JSON.stringify(payload)).digest('hex');
  return crypto.timingSafeEqual(
    Buffer.from(signature),
    Buffer.from(digest)
  );
}

app.listen(3000);

Event types

Chaindoc sends webhooks for the following events:

document.created

Triggered when a new document is created via API.

terminal
{
  "event": "document.created",
  "documentId": "86840ee4-8bf2-4a91-a289-e99d8307ec25",
  "name": "Service Agreement",
  "timestamp": "2024-12-04T10:30:00.000Z"
}

document.verified

Triggered when a document is successfully verified on blockchain.

terminal
{
  "event": "document.verified",
  "documentId": "86840ee4-8bf2-4a91-a289-e99d8307ec25",
  "versionId": "f0b7721f-0399-4035-9b69-7b95d3a367f0",
  "txHash": "0x789ghi...",
  "chainId": 137,
  "timestamp": "2024-12-04T10:35:00.000Z"
}

document.signed

Triggered when all required signatures are collected.

terminal
{
  "event": "document.signed",
  "documentId": "86840ee4-8bf2-4a91-a289-e99d8307ec25",
  "signatureRequestId": "req_21096b94498f4a2d9795e810edc2c9a9",
  "signers": [
    {
      "email": "signer1@example.com",
      "signedAt": "2024-12-04T10:30:00.000Z"
    },
    {
      "email": "signer2@example.com",
      "signedAt": "2024-12-04T10:32:00.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "timestamp": "2024-12-04T10:32:00.000Z"
}

signature.request.created

Triggered when a new signature request is created.

terminal
{
  "event": "signature.request.created",
  "signatureRequestId": "req_21096b94498f4a2d9795e810edc2c9a9",
  "documentId": "86840ee4-8bf2-4a91-a289-e99d8307ec25",
  "recipients": [
    {"email": "signer1@example.com"},
    {"email": "signer2@example.com"}
  ],
  "deadline": "2024-12-31T23:59:59.000Z",
  "timestamp": "2024-12-04T10:30:00.000Z"
}

signature.request.completed

Triggered when all signers complete their signatures.

terminal
{
  "event": "signature.request.completed",
  "signatureRequestId": "req_21096b94498f4a2d9795e810edc2c9a9",
  "documentId": "86840ee4-8bf2-4a91-a289-e99d8307ec25",
  "completedAt": "2024-12-04T10:32:00.000Z",
  "timestamp": "2024-12-04T10:32:00.000Z"
}

signature.request.rejected

Triggered when a signer rejects the signature request.

terminal
{
  "event": "signature.request.rejected",
  "signatureRequestId": "req_21096b94498f4a2d9795e810edc2c9a9",
  "documentId": "86840ee4-8bf2-4a91-a289-e99d8307ec25",
  "rejectedBy": "signer1@example.com",
  "reason": "Terms not acceptable",
  "timestamp": "2024-12-04T10:30:00.000Z"
}

Security

Signature verification

Chaindoc signs all webhook payloads using HMAC SHA256. Always verify signatures to ensure authenticity and prevent replay attacks.

How verification works

1Chaindoc creates the signatureChaindoc creates HMAC signature using your webhook secret

2Signature sent in headerSignature is sent in X-Webhook-Signature header

3Your server verifiesYour server recalculates signature and compares using timing-safe function

const crypto = require('crypto');

function verifyWebhookSignature(payload, signature, secret) {
  const hmac = crypto.createHmac('sha256', secret);
  const digest = hmac.update(JSON.stringify(payload)).digest('hex');
  
  // Use timing-safe comparison to prevent timing attacks
  return crypto.timingSafeEqual(
    Buffer.from(signature),
    Buffer.from(digest)
  );
}

// Usage
const isValid = verifyWebhookSignature(
  req.body,
  req.headers['x-webhook-signature'],
  process.env.WEBHOOK_SECRET
);

if (!isValid) {
  return res.status(401).send('Invalid signature');
}

Retry logic

Chaindoc automatically retries failed webhook deliveries with exponential backoff.

  • 1st retry: After 1 minute
  • 2nd retry: After 5 minutes (total: 6 minutes)
  • 3rd retry: After 15 minutes (total: 21 minutes)

Testing webhooks

Local development

Use tools like ngrok to expose your local server for webhook testing:

terminal
# Install ngrok
npm install -g ngrok

# Start your local server
node server.js

# Expose port 3000
ngrok http 3000

# Use the ngrok URL as your webhook endpoint
# Example: https://abc123.ngrok.io/webhooks/chaindoc

Manual testing

Test your webhook endpoint with a sample payload:

terminal
curl -X POST https://yourapp.com/webhooks/chaindoc \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Webhook-Event: document.created" \
  -H "X-Webhook-Signature: test_signature" \
  -d '{
    "event": "document.created",
    "documentId": "test-123",
    "name": "Test Document",
    "timestamp": "2024-12-04T10:30:00.000Z"
  }'

Best practices

  • Always verify webhook signatures before processing
  • Respond quickly (under 30 seconds) to avoid timeouts
  • Process webhooks asynchronously in a queue
  • Implement idempotency to handle duplicate events
  • Log all webhook events for debugging and audit
  • Monitor webhook delivery failures in your dashboard
  • Use HTTPS endpoints for security
  • Handle all event types gracefully (ignore unknown events)

Production example

Here's a production-ready webhook handler with database integration:

webhooks/chaindoc.ts
import express from 'express';
import crypto from 'crypto';
import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client';

const app = express();
const prisma = new PrismaClient();

app.use(express.json());

app.post('/webhooks/chaindoc', async (req, res) => {
  const signature = req.headers['x-webhook-signature'] as string;
  const eventType = req.headers['x-webhook-event'] as string;
  const payload = req.body;
  
  // 1. Verify signature
  if (!verifySignature(payload, signature, process.env.WEBHOOK_SECRET!)) {
    console.error('Invalid webhook signature');
    return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Invalid signature' });
  }
  
  // 2. Check for duplicate events (idempotency)
  const eventId = `${eventType}-${payload.timestamp}`;
  const existing = await prisma.webhookEvent.findUnique({
    where: { eventId },
  });
  
  if (existing) {
    console.log('Duplicate event, skipping:', eventId);
    return res.status(200).json({ status: 'duplicate' });
  }
  
  // 3. Store event
  await prisma.webhookEvent.create({
    data: {
      eventId,
      eventType,
      payload,
      processedAt: new Date(),
    },
  });
  
  // 4. Process event asynchronously
  processWebhookAsync(eventType, payload).catch((error) => {
    console.error('Error processing webhook:', error);
  });
  
  // 5. Respond immediately
  res.status(200).json({ status: 'received' });
});

async function processWebhookAsync(eventType: string, payload: any) {
  switch (eventType) {
    case 'document.verified':
      await handleDocumentVerified(payload);
      break;
    case 'signature.request.completed':
      await handleSignatureCompleted(payload);
      await sendNotificationEmail(payload);
      break;
    case 'signature.request.rejected':
      await handleSignatureRejected(payload);
      break;
  }
}

async function handleDocumentVerified(payload: any) {
  await prisma.document.update({
    where: { id: payload.documentId },
    data: {
      status: 'verified',
      blockchainTxHash: payload.txHash,
      verifiedAt: new Date(payload.timestamp),
    },
  });
}

async function handleSignatureCompleted(payload: any) {
  await prisma.signatureRequest.update({
    where: { id: payload.signatureRequestId },
    data: {
      status: 'completed',
      completedAt: new Date(payload.completedAt),
    },
  });
}

function verifySignature(payload: any, signature: string, secret: string): boolean {
  const hmac = crypto.createHmac('sha256', secret);
  const digest = hmac.update(JSON.stringify(payload)).digest('hex');
  return crypto.timingSafeEqual(Buffer.from(signature), Buffer.from(digest));
}

app.listen(3000);

What to do next