Box Developer Documentation
Log in

Create Webhooks

Guides Webhooks V2 Webhooks Create Webhooks
Edit this page

Create Webhooks

V2 webhooks can monitor specific files or folders. They can be created in the Developer Console and with API.

Developer console

V2 webhooks can be created only when the scope Manage Webhooks is selected and the application is authorized. See more about Required Access Scopes and authorization.

To create a webhook follow the steps below.

  1. Navigate to your application in the Developer Console.
  2. Select the Webhooks tab.
  3. Click the Create webhook button.
  4. Select V2 from the drop-down list.
  5. Fill in the form.
  6. Click Create webhook button to save your changes.

Required fields

Field nameDescriptionRequired
URL AddressURL address to be notified by the webhook.Yes
Content typeType of content (file/folder) the webhook is configured for.Yes
TriggersDifferent triggers that activate the webhook.Yes

API

This API requires the application to have the Manage Webhooks scope enabled.

To attach a webhook to a file, call the create webhook endpoint with the type of file, the ID of the file, a URL to send webhook notifications to, and a list of triggers.

cURL
curl -i -X POST "https://api.box.com/2.0/webhooks" \
     -H "authorization: Bearer <ACCESS_TOKEN>" \
     -H "content-type: application/json" \
     -d '{
       "target": {
         "id": "21322",
         "type": "file"
       },
       "address": "https://example.com/webhooks",
       "triggers": [
         "FILE.PREVIEWED"
       ]
     }'
TypeScript Gen
await client.webhooks.createWebhook({
  target: {
    id: folder.id,
    type: 'folder' as CreateWebhookRequestBodyTargetTypeField,
  } satisfies CreateWebhookRequestBodyTargetField,
  address: 'https://example.com/new-webhook',
  triggers: ['FILE.UPLOADED' as CreateWebhookRequestBodyTriggersField],
} satisfies CreateWebhookRequestBody);
Python Gen
client.webhooks.create_webhook(
    CreateWebhookTarget(id=folder.id, type=CreateWebhookTargetTypeField.FOLDER),
    "https://example.com/new-webhook",
    [CreateWebhookTriggers.FILE_UPLOADED],
)
.NET Gen
await client.Webhooks.CreateWebhookAsync(requestBody: new CreateWebhookRequestBody(target: new CreateWebhookRequestBodyTargetField() { Id = folder.Id, Type = CreateWebhookRequestBodyTargetTypeField.Folder }, address: "https://example.com/new-webhook", triggers: Array.AsReadOnly(new [] {new StringEnum<CreateWebhookRequestBodyTriggersField>(CreateWebhookRequestBodyTriggersField.FileUploaded)})));
Java
// Listen for preview events for a file
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, id);
BoxWebHook.Info webhookInfo = BoxWebHook.create(file, url, BoxWebHook.Trigger.FILE.PREVIEWED);
Python
file = client.file(file_id='12345')
webhook = client.create_webhook(file, ['FILE.PREVIEWED'], 'https://example.com')
print(f'Webhook ID is {webhook.id} and the address is {webhook.address}')
.NET
var webhookParams = new BoxWebhookRequest()
{
    Target = new BoxRequestEntity()
    {
        Type = BoxType.file,
        Id = "22222"
    },
    Triggers = new List<string>()
    {
        "FILE.PREVIEWED"
    },
    Address = "https://example.com/webhook"
};
BoxWebhook webhook = await client.WebhooksManager.CreateWebhookAsync(webhookParams);
Node
// Attach a webhook that sends a notification to https://example.com/webhook when
//   file 11111 is renamed or downloaded.
client.webhooks.create(
	'11111',
	client.itemTypes.FILE,
	'https://example.com/webhook',
	[
		client.webhooks.triggerTypes.FILE.RENAMED,
		client.webhooks.triggerTypes.FILE.DOWNLOADED
	])
	.then(webhook => {
		/* webhook -> {
			id: '12345',
			type: 'webhook',
			target: { id: '11111', type: 'file' },
			created_by: 
			{ type: 'user',
				id: '33333',
				name: 'Example User',
				login: 'user@example.com' },
			created_at: '2016-05-09T17:41:27-07:00',
			address: 'https://example.com/webhook',
			triggers: [ 'FILE.RENAMED', 'FILE.UPLOADED' ] }
		*/
	});
iOS
client.webhooks.create(targetType: "file", targetId: "1234", triggers: [.fileDownloaded], address: "www.testurl.com") { (result: Result<Webhook, BoxSDKError>) in
    guard case let .success(webhook) = result else {
        print("Error creating webhook")
        return
    }

    print("Created webhook \"\(webhook.id)\"")
}

To attach a webhook to a folder, call the create webhook endpoint with the type of folder, the ID of the folder, a URL to send webhook notifications to, and a list of triggers.

cURL
curl -i -X POST "https://api.box.com/2.0/webhooks" \
     -H "authorization: Bearer <ACCESS_TOKEN>" \
     -H "content-type: application/json" \
     -d '{
       "target": {
         "id": "234234",
         "type": "folder"
       },
       "address": "https://example.com/webhooks",
       "triggers": [
         "FILE.UPLOADED"
       ]
     }'
Java
// Listen for file upload events in the specified folder
BoxFolder folder = new BoxFolder(api, id);
BoxWebHook.Info webhookInfo = BoxWebHook.create(folder, url, BoxWebHook.Trigger.FILE_UPLOADED);
Python
folder = client.folder(folder_id='12345')
webhook = client.create_webhook(folder, ['FILE.UPLOADED', 'FILE.PREVIEWED'], 'https://example.com')
print(f'Webhook ID is {webhook.id} and the address is {webhook.address}')
.NET
var webhookParams = new BoxWebhookRequest()
{
    Target = new BoxRequestEntity()
    {
        Type = BoxType.folder,
        Id = "22222"
    },
    Triggers = new List<string>()
    {
        "FILE.UPLOADED",
        "FILE.DOWNLOADED"
    },
    Address = "https://example.com/webhook
};
BoxWebhook webhook = await client.WebhooksManager.CreateWebhookAsync(webhookParams);
Node
// Attach a webhook that sends a notification to https://example.com/webhook when
//   files are uploaded or downloaded within folder 22222.
client.webhooks.create(
	'22222',
	client.itemTypes.FOLDER,
	'https://example.com/webhook',
	[
		client.webhooks.triggerTypes.FILE.UPLOADED,
		client.webhooks.triggerTypes.FILE.DOWNLOADED
	])
	.then(webhook => {
		/* webhook -> {
			id: '1234',
			type: 'webhook',
			target: { id: '22222', type: 'folder' },
			created_by: 
			{ type: 'user',
				id: '33333',
				name: 'Example User',
				login: 'user@example.com' },
			created_at: '2016-05-09T17:41:27-07:00',
			address: 'https://example.com/webhook',
			triggers: [ 'FILE.DOWNLOADED', 'FILE.UPLOADED' ] }
		*/
	});

Webhooks do cascade, so if a webhook is set on a parent folder, it will also monitor sub-folders for the selected triggers.

Ownership

It is best practice and strongly recommended to create webhooks with a Service Account, or user that will not be deleted, to avoid potential issues with webhook delivery due to loss of access to content.

Similar to files and folders, webhooks are owned by a user. If a user who owns a webhook is deleted, they will lose access to all files and folders that they previously had access to. Their webhooks will begin to fail validation, but the webhook service will continue to send events and require retries.

Webhook address

The notification URL specified in the address parameter must be a valid URL that you specify when you create a webhook. Every time one of the triggers is activated, this URL is called.

The notification URL must use standard port 443 and should return an HTTP status in the range of 200 to 299 within 30 seconds of receiving the webhook payload.

Webhook triggers

The triggers are a list of strings that specify the events which cause the webhook to fire. For example, if you want the webhook to be triggered when a user uploads a file, use FILE.UPLOADED.

You can find a list of available triggers in this guide.