BlogAWS SNS Webhooks

How to Test AWS SNS Webhooks

Amazon SNS delivers pub/sub notifications via HTTP/HTTPS webhooks, forwarding messages from AWS services and custom publishers.

AWS SNS Official Webhook Docs

1. AWS SNS Webhook Events

AWS SNS can send the following webhook events to your endpoint:

Notification
SubscriptionConfirmation
UnsubscribeConfirmation

2. Set Up a Test Endpoint with HookRay

Follow these steps to start receiving AWS SNS webhooks for testing:

  1. Go to HookRay and click "Start Testing — Free" to get your unique webhook URL.
  2. Copy the URL (e.g., https://h.hookray.com/abc123).
  3. In your AWS SNS dashboard, navigate to the webhook settings and paste the HookRay URL as your endpoint.
  4. Select the events you want to receive (see list above).
  5. Trigger a test event — HookRay will show the incoming webhook in real-time.

3. Sample AWS SNS Webhook Payload

Here's an example of what a AWS SNS webhook payload looks like:

payload.json
{
  "Type": "Notification",
  "MessageId": "22b80b92-fdea-4c2c-8f9d-bdfb0c7bf324",
  "TopicArn": "arn:aws:sns:us-east-1:123456789012:webhook-events",
  "Subject": "New deployment completed",
  "Message": "{\"deployment_id\":\"dep-789\",\"status\":\"success\"}",
  "Timestamp": "2026-03-20T15:00:00.000Z",
  "SignatureVersion": "1"
}

4. Common Issues & Troubleshooting

Webhook not arriving?

Check that your endpoint URL is correct and publicly accessible. AWS SNS cannot reach localhost URLs — use HookRay's cloud URL instead.

Getting 400 or 500 errors?

HookRay accepts any payload and returns 200 OK by default, so the issue is likely on AWS SNS's side. Check your webhook configuration and event selection.

Need to verify webhook signatures?

AWS SNS signs webhook requests for security. Use HookRay to capture the raw headers and body, then implement signature verification in your application code.

5. Next Steps

  • Use HookRay's webhook replay feature to re-send captured webhooks while building your handler
  • Enable smart parsing (Pro plan) to see AWS SNS-specific fields highlighted automatically
  • Check the AWS SNS webhook documentation for the complete event reference

Ready to test AWS SNS webhooks?

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