n8n webhooks: test URL, production URL, and why they do not fire

An n8n Webhook node has two addresses: a test one and a production one. The test address answers only while the editor is listening for it; the production address answers only when the workflow is active. Using one in place of the other is the commonest cause of “my webhook does not fire”.

The two addresses

Test address Production address
When it answers Only while the node is listening in the editor, for one request. Whenever the workflow is active.
What you get The data arrives in the editor so you can see and map it. Each request lands in the executions list.
How to spot it A path containing webhook-test. A path containing webhook, without the “test”.
Where to use it Only while you design the workflow. In outside services, for good.

If you are not sure what a webhook is yet, start with what a webhook is and how to test one with curl.

When the webhook does not fire

1 Check which address you are using. If you pasted the test one into an outside service, it stops answering as soon as the editor stops listening. Copy the production one.
2 Activate the workflow. An inactive workflow does not answer on the production address. The name of the button can change between n8n versions: check the official documentation.
3 Check the method. The Webhook node accepts one HTTP method at a time (GET or POST, for instance). If the service sends POST and the node expects GET, the request is refused.
4 Make the request yourself, with curl, before blaming the other service. If yours works and theirs does not, the fault is in their service or settings. If yours fails too, the problem is n8n or the network.
5 Look at the executions list. If the request arrived, it shows up there, even if the workflow then failed. If it is not there, the request never reached n8n.
6 Confirm the public address. With a wrong WEBHOOK_URL, n8n shows an address no outside service can reach. See n8n behind HTTPS on your own domain.

What curl tells you

Reply Means What to do
200 n8n received it and answered. Look at the execution; if the workflow failed, the fault is inside it.
404 The address does not exist: workflow inactive, node not listening, or wrong path. Activate the workflow or put the node on listen; check the path.
405 The method is not the one the node expects. Change the method in the node or in the service.
401 or 403 Authentication is required, or the proxy or firewall blocks it. Check the node authentication and the proxy rules.
502 or 504 The proxy cannot reach n8n, or n8n took too long. Check the container is running and whether the workflow is slow.
No reply The address, the port or the firewall. See ports and firewall on a VPS.
The caller is not patient. Many services give up if the reply is slow, and try again. If the workflow is long, answer the request at once and carry on afterwards, instead of making the service wait. And build the workflow so that receiving the same request twice does not create two orders.
Design with the test address, hand over the production one, and write down which one you gave to each service. When the domain changes, that list tells you where to update.

Request failing because of the VPS (the machine does not answer, the network)? Open a ticket and tell us what curl returns.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

What a webhook is, and how to test one with curl

n8n behind HTTPS on your own domain

Securing n8n: access, credentials and exposed webhooks

RECOMMENDED PRODUCT

Web hosting with cPanel

Domain and SSL included, daily backups and the panel you already know. from 5.940,00 Kz/mo (3-year plan, with coupon)

See plans
  • 0 Users Found This Useful
Was this answer helpful?

Related Articles

Cron jobs: what they are for and how to create one A scheduled task, or cron job, is an instruction the server runs at set times, whether you are there or not, whether the...
Swapping WP-Cron for a real server cron job WordPress has a scheduler of its own, WP-Cron, which handles scheduled posts, update checks, emptying the bin and the e-...
cPanel API tokens: automating without handing over your password Sooner or later somebody asks you for your cPanel password: the developer building an integration, the offsite backup se...
What n8n is, and what you can automate with it n8n is a program that connects applications to one another through workflows: when something happens in one application,...
Do you need a VPS for n8n? What shared hosting cannot do Yes: to run n8n on a server of your own you need a VPS (or a dedicated server) with root access. It cannot be done on a...
Connecting n8n to e-mail: SMTP and IMAP For n8n to send e-mail you use SMTP; to read it, IMAP. Either way n8n signs in to a mailbox like any e-mail program: it...