Trigger Native Builds via Webhook

Capgo Build is normally started from a laptop or CI job. Teams that ship from an admin dashboard, CMS, or internal portal often want a single HTTP webhook: press a button in their own UI, and a signed native build starts. This guide shows the standard pattern — a thin authenticated HTTP call into your code host, which runs the same Capgo Build workflow you already use.

Note

Capgo organization webhooks (Dashboard → Organization → Webhooks) notify your URLs about Capgo events (bundles, channels, members). This page is the other direction: your system calls a URL to start a Capgo Build.

Architecture

sequenceDiagram
  participant Admin as Admin dashboard
  participant Hook as Webhook endpoint
  participant CI as GitHub / GitLab
  participant Capgo as Capgo Build

  Admin->>Hook: POST /native-build (secret)
  Hook->>CI: repository_dispatch / pipeline trigger
  CI->>CI: checkout, npm ci, cap sync
  CI->>Capgo: build request
  Capgo-->>CI: signed binary / store upload

You do not need Capgo to expose a public “build webhook.” Your CI already has the signing secrets; the webhook’s only job is to start that CI job safely.

Prerequisites

• A Capgo Build workflow that already works from the CI UI or on push (GitHub Actions)
• Permission to create a fine-grained GitHub token, GitLab trigger token, or equivalent
• A shared secret your admin dashboard will send (header or body)

Option A — GitHub repository_dispatch (recommended)

GitHub accepts an authenticated API call that starts a workflow listening for repository_dispatch. Any dashboard that can POST JSON can fire it.

1. Workflow that listens for the webhook

Validate the payload before checkout and before any secret-bearing step. Pass accepted values through job outputs / env vars — never interpolate client_payload directly into run: scripts (script injection guidance).

.github/workflows/capgo-build-webhook.yml

name: Capgo Build (Webhook)

on:
  repository_dispatch:
    types: [capgo-native-build]

jobs:
  validate:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    outputs:
      platform: ${{ steps.check.outputs.platform }}
      mode: ${{ steps.check.outputs.mode }}
      ref: ${{ steps.check.outputs.ref }}
      platforms_json: ${{ steps.check.outputs.platforms_json }}
    steps:
      - id: check
        env:
          RAW_PLATFORM: ${{ github.event.client_payload.platform }}
          RAW_MODE: ${{ github.event.client_payload.mode }}
          RAW_REF: ${{ github.event.client_payload.ref }}
          DEFAULT_BRANCH: ${{ github.event.repository.default_branch }}
        run: |
          PLATFORM="${RAW_PLATFORM:-android}"
          MODE="${RAW_MODE:-release}"
          REF="${RAW_REF:-$DEFAULT_BRANCH}"
          case "$PLATFORM" in ios|android|both) ;; *)
            echo "Invalid platform: $PLATFORM" >&2; exit 1;;
          esac
          case "$MODE" in debug|release) ;; *)
            echo "Invalid mode: $MODE" >&2; exit 1;;
          esac
          # Allowlist branches / tags / full SHAs only
          if [[ ! "$REF" =~ ^(main|master|production|release/[A-Za-z0-9._-]+|[0-9a-f]{40})$ ]]; then
            echo "Ref not allowlisted: $REF" >&2
            exit 1
          fi
          if [ "$PLATFORM" = "both" ]; then
            PLATFORMS_JSON='["ios","android"]'
          else
            PLATFORMS_JSON=$(printf '["%s"]' "$PLATFORM")
          fi
          {
            echo "platform=$PLATFORM"
            echo "mode=$MODE"
            echo "ref=$REF"
            echo "platforms_json=$PLATFORMS_JSON"
          } >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"

  build:
    needs: validate
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    environment: ${{ needs.validate.outputs.mode == 'release' && 'production' || 'build-debug' }}
    strategy:
      fail-fast: false
      matrix:
        platform: ${{ fromJSON(needs.validate.outputs.platforms_json) }}
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          ref: ${{ needs.validate.outputs.ref }}

      - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
        with:
          node-version: '24'
          cache: 'npm'

      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm run build
      - name: Sync native project
        env:
          PLATFORM: ${{ matrix.platform }}
        run: npx cap sync "$PLATFORM"

      - name: Capgo Build
        env:
          CAPGO_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CAPGO_TOKEN }}
          BUILD_CERTIFICATE_BASE64: ${{ secrets.BUILD_CERTIFICATE_BASE64 }}
          P12_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.P12_PASSWORD }}
          CAPGO_IOS_PROVISIONING_MAP: ${{ secrets.CAPGO_IOS_PROVISIONING_MAP }}
          APPLE_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.APPLE_KEY_ID }}
          APPLE_ISSUER_ID: ${{ secrets.APPLE_ISSUER_ID }}
          APPLE_KEY_CONTENT: ${{ secrets.APPLE_KEY_CONTENT }}
          APP_STORE_CONNECT_TEAM_ID: ${{ secrets.APP_STORE_CONNECT_TEAM_ID }}
          ANDROID_KEYSTORE_FILE: ${{ secrets.ANDROID_KEYSTORE_FILE }}
          KEYSTORE_KEY_ALIAS: ${{ secrets.KEYSTORE_KEY_ALIAS }}
          KEYSTORE_KEY_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.KEYSTORE_KEY_PASSWORD }}
          KEYSTORE_STORE_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.KEYSTORE_STORE_PASSWORD }}
          PLAY_CONFIG_JSON: ${{ secrets.PLAY_CONFIG_JSON }}
          PLATFORM: ${{ matrix.platform }}
          MODE: ${{ needs.validate.outputs.mode }}
        run: |
          npx @capgo/cli@latest build request com.example.app \
            --platform "$PLATFORM" \
            --build-mode "$MODE"

2. Create a GitHub token

Create a fine-grained personal access token (or GitHub App installation token) with Contents: Read and write on the repository (required for repository_dispatch). Store it only in your admin backend — never in the browser.

3. Call the webhook from your admin dashboard

Your backend (not the end-user browser) should send:

curl -X POST \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/dispatches \
  -d '{
    "event_type": "capgo-native-build",
    "client_payload": {
      "platform": "both",
      "mode": "release",
      "ref": "main",
      "requested_by": "admin@example.com"
    }
  }'

Field	Purpose
event_type	Must match types in the workflow (capgo-native-build)
client_payload.platform	ios, android, or both
client_payload.mode	debug or release
client_payload.ref	Branch or tag to build (optional)

Wire the same JSON POST to a button in your admin UI (“Build native apps”). The dashboard only needs to reach your backend; the backend holds GITHUB_TOKEN.

Caution

Never embed the GitHub token in frontend JavaScript. The admin page should call your server; your server calls GitHub.

Option B — Tiny proxy webhook (any host)

If the admin tool can only POST to a URL you control (Zapier, Make, Cloudflare Worker, Express route), put a short proxy in front of GitHub:

// Example Cloudflare Worker / Node handler (sketch)
export default {
  async fetch(request, env) {
    if (request.method !== 'POST') {
      return new Response('Method not allowed', { status: 405 })
    }
    if (request.headers.get('x-webhook-secret') !== env.WEBHOOK_SECRET) {
      return new Response('Unauthorized', { status: 401 })
    }
    const body = await request.json().catch(() => ({}))
    const platform = body.platform || 'both'
    const mode = body.mode || 'release'
    const ref = body.ref || 'main'
    if (!['ios', 'android', 'both'].includes(platform)) {
      return new Response('Invalid platform', { status: 400 })
    }
    if (!['debug', 'release'].includes(mode)) {
      return new Response('Invalid mode', { status: 400 })
    }
    if (!/^(main|master|production|release\/[A-Za-z0-9._-]+|[0-9a-f]{40})$/.test(ref)) {
      return new Response('Ref not allowlisted', { status: 400 })
    }
    const res = await fetch(
      `https://api.github.com/repos/${env.GITHUB_OWNER}/${env.GITHUB_REPO}/dispatches`,
      {
        method: 'POST',
        headers: {
          Accept: 'application/vnd.github+json',
          Authorization: `Bearer ${env.GITHUB_TOKEN}`,
          'X-GitHub-Api-Version': '2022-11-28',
        },
        body: JSON.stringify({
          event_type: 'capgo-native-build',
          client_payload: { platform, mode, ref },
        }),
      },
    )
    return new Response(res.status === 204 ? 'Build queued' : await res.text(), {
      status: res.status === 204 ? 200 : res.status,
    })
  },
}

Then configure the admin product:

Setting	Value
URL	https://your-worker.example.com/native-build
Method	POST
Header	x-webhook-secret: <shared secret>
Body	{ "platform": "both", "mode": "release" }

This is the usual shape for connecting a webhook to an on-admin dashboard: the dashboard stores one URL and one secret; Capgo credentials stay in GitHub Actions.

GitLab Pipeline Trigger

GitLab exposes pipeline trigger tokens that are natural webhook targets.

# .gitlab-ci.yml fragment
capgo_native_webhook:
  stage: build
  script:
    - npm ci && npm run build
    - npx cap sync "${PLATFORM:-android}"
    - npx @capgo/cli@latest build request com.example.app --platform "${PLATFORM:-android}" --build-mode "${BUILD_MODE:-release}"
  rules:
    - if: '$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "trigger"'

Create a trigger token under Settings → CI/CD → Pipeline trigger tokens, then from the admin backend:

curl -X POST \
  -F token=$GITLAB_TRIGGER_TOKEN \
  -F ref=main \
  -F "variables[PLATFORM]=android" \
  -F "variables[BUILD_MODE]=release" \
  https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/PROJECT_ID/trigger/pipeline

For both platforms, either fire two triggers or expand the job into a parallel matrix the same way as the GitHub example.

Bitbucket and Azure

Platform	Webhook mechanism
Bitbucket	Pipeline trigger URL or custom pipeline + app password POST
Azure DevOps	Pipeline run REST API with a PAT; use the manual pipeline from Trigger from CI UI

Pattern is identical: admin → your secret check → host API → Capgo Build job.

Payload Checklist for Admin Tools

When the dashboard form is built, collect at least:

• Platform — ios / android / both
• Mode — debug (QA) or release (store)
• Git ref — branch or tag to build
• Actor — email or user id for audit logs (pass through client_payload)

Optional: after the run, have CI post back to the admin API with the download URL from --output-record / build last-output.

Security

• Authenticate every webhook (x-webhook-secret, HMAC signature, or mTLS).
• Allowlist platform, mode, and ref in both the proxy and the workflow validate job — treat client_payload as untrusted input.
• Pass accepted values through env vars / job outputs; do not interpolate payload fields into run: scripts.
• Keep GitHub/GitLab tokens server-side only.
• Prefer tokens scoped to a single repository.
• Rate-limit the proxy; native builds cost build minutes.
• For store-submitting releases, map release to a protected GitHub Environment (as in the sample) or require an extra confirmation flag checked in validate.

Related Guides

Trigger from CI UI Same Capgo Build job, started from the Actions / Pipelines tab.

GitHub Actions setup Credential export and secret names used by these workflows.

Auto OTA or Native On git push, choose live update vs native automatically.