A WebHook is an application programing interface (API) concept that is commonly used in web development, and is now used by especially tech-savvy podcasters!
If you enable webhooks, Acast triggers a webhook event whenever you publish a new episode.
To enable Webhooks for your show go to the Promotional tools tab on your show, and enable the Webhook switch. You'll need to provide the server endpoint address which will receive the webhooks.
When you publish an episode, that event can trigger virtually anything you can code. Whether that means posting a new picture on Instagram, sending out a message on email or Slack, or turning on the lights in your living room, is purely up to you.
💻 👷 Developer Area Ahead 👷 💻
WebHooks are definitely more advanced features for those who aren't afraid to tinker with code. But even if you don't know your POST requests from your HTTP callbacks, you might still be able to set up a few handy functions using services like Zapier and IFTTT.
When the webhook is invoked, it returns a JSON formatted POST which looks like this:
{
"event": "episodePublished",
"id": "5e1ce7e58368c1dd6846f5c3",
"title": "My new episode",
"status": "published",
"publishDate": "2020-01-13T21:57:57.768Z",
"coverUrl": "https://assets-pippa-io.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/shows/5de6dee2103a3d6f7409a363/show-cover.jpg",
"audioUrl": "https://assets-pippa-io.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/shows/5de6dee2103a3d6f7409a363/1578952610421-1f2ff58dea221a8ec6a5249c49cf9929.mp3"
}
If you're looking for further development tools, be sure to check out Acast's Publishing API: https://developers.acast.com/