Quick Guide to Implementing Webhooks in Zoom

Hey there, fellow Javascript devs! Ready to supercharge your Zoom integrations with webhooks? Let's dive right in and get those real-time updates flowing.

Introduction

Webhooks are like the cool kids of the API world - they notify your app instantly when something happens in Zoom. No more constant polling or refreshing. With the Zoom API, you can set up these nifty little notifiers in no time.

Prerequisites

Before we jump in, make sure you've got:

• A Zoom account with API access (you're probably already sorted here)
• Node.js installed (because, duh, we're doing Javascript)
• Some Express.js know-how (nothing too fancy, I promise)

Setting up the Zoom App

First things first, let's create a Zoom App:

1. Head over to the Zoom Marketplace
2. Click on "Develop" and then "Build App"
3. Choose "OAuth" as your app type
4. Fill in the basic info and grab those OAuth credentials

Easy peasy, right?

Implementing the Webhook Endpoint

Now, let's whip up a quick Express server to handle those incoming webhooks:

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

app.post('/webhook', (req, res) => {
  console.log('Received webhook:', req.body);
  res.status(200).send('OK');
});

app.listen(3000, () => console.log('Webhook server running on port 3000'));

Boom! You've got a webhook endpoint ready to rock.

Configuring Webhooks in Zoom

Time to tell Zoom where to send those sweet, sweet notifications:

1. In your Zoom App settings, find "Feature" and click on "Event Subscriptions"
2. Add your webhook URL (e.g., https://your-server.com/webhook)
3. Pick the events you want to subscribe to (go wild!)

Handling Webhook Payloads

Now for the fun part - doing something with those webhooks:

app.post('/webhook', (req, res) => {
  const { event, payload } = req.body;
  
  switch(event) {
    case 'meeting.started':
      console.log(`Meeting ${payload.object.id} has started!`);
      break;
    case 'meeting.ended':
      console.log(`Meeting ${payload.object.id} has ended.`);
      break;
    // Add more cases as needed
  }
  
  res.status(200).send('OK');
});

Verifying Webhook Authenticity

Security first! Let's make sure these webhooks are legit:

const crypto = require('crypto');

function verifyWebhook(req, res, next) {
  const signature = req.headers['x-zm-signature'];
  const timestamp = req.headers['x-zm-request-timestamp'];
  const payload = JSON.stringify(req.body);
  
  const message = `v0:${timestamp}:${payload}`;
  const hashForVerify = crypto.createHmac('sha256', process.env.ZOOM_WEBHOOK_SECRET_TOKEN)
    .update(message)
    .digest('hex');
  
  const expectedSignature = `v0=${hashForVerify}`;
  
  if (signature === expectedSignature) {
    next();
  } else {
    res.status(403).send('Invalid signature');
  }
}

app.use('/webhook', verifyWebhook);

Error Handling and Logging

Don't let those pesky errors catch you off guard:

app.post('/webhook', (req, res) => {
  try {
    // Your webhook handling logic here
    console.log('Processed webhook:', req.body);
    res.status(200).send('OK');
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error processing webhook:', error);
    res.status(500).send('Internal Server Error');
  }
});

Testing Webhooks

Zoom's got your back with a built-in webhook tester. Give it a spin to make sure everything's working smoothly.

Common Use Cases

Get creative! Here are some cool things you can do with webhooks:

• Start a party playlist when a meeting starts
• Send a summary email when a meeting ends
• Log participant join/leave times for attendance tracking

Conclusion

And there you have it! You're now a Zoom webhook wizard. Remember, the sky's the limit when it comes to what you can build with these. So go forth and create something awesome!

Want to dive deeper? Check out the Zoom API docs for more webhook goodness.

Code Repository

For a complete working example, check out this GitHub repo. Fork it, tweak it, make it your own!

Happy coding, and may your Zoom integrations be ever responsive!