Creating a Secure Webhook - Must Have

## How it works This workflow demonstrates a fundamental pattern for securing a webhook by requiring an API key. It acts as a gatekeeper, checking for a valid key in the request header before allowing the request to proceed. 1. **Incoming Request:** The `Secured Webhook` node receives an incoming `POST` request. It expects an API key to be sent in the `x-api-key` header. 2. **API Key Verification:** The `Check API Key` node takes the key from the incoming request's header. It then makes an internal HTTP request to a second webhook (`Get API Key`) which acts as a mock database. This second webhook retrieves a list of registered API keys (from the `Registered API Keys` node) and filters it to find a match for the key that was provided. 3. **Conditional Response:** If a match is found, the `API Key Identified` node routes the execution to the success path, returning a `200 OK` response with the identified user's ID. If no match is found, it routes to the unauthorized path, returning a `401 Unauthorized` error. This pattern separates the public-facing endpoint from the data source, which is a good security practice. ## Set up steps **Setup time: ~2 minutes** This workflow is designed to be a self-contained example. 1. **Set up Credentials:** This workflow uses Header Auth for its internal communication. Go to **Credentials** and create a new **Header Auth** credential. You can use any name and value (e.g., Name: `X-N8N-Auth`, Value: `my-secret-password`). Select this credential in all four webhook/HTTP Request nodes. 2. **Add Your API Keys:** Open the **`Registered API Keys`** node. This is your mock database. Edit the array to include the `user_id` and `api_key` pairs you want to authorize. 3. **Activate the workflow.** 4. **Test it:** Use the **`Test Secure Webhook`** node to send a request. Try it with a valid key from your list to see the success response. Change the `x-api-key` header to an invalid key to see the `401 Unauthorized` error. **For Production:** Replace the mock database part of this workflow (the `Get API Key` webhook and `Registered API Keys` node) with a real database node like Supabase, Postgres, or Baserow to look up keys.

Platform

n8n

Category

IT & Development

Price

Free

Creator

Lucas Peyrin

• if
• set
• filter
• webhook
• splitOut
• stickyNote
• httpRequest
• respondToWebhook