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Why NylasHow to locally test your Webhooks using Ruby
Tired of submitting changes every time you need to test your Ruby webhooks? Why not testing locally before deploying?
Tired of submitting changes every time you need to test your Ruby webhooks? Why not testing locally before deploying?
Utilizing Webhooks is an excellent method to receive notifications when specific events occur, such as receiving an email, an event getting updated, or a contact being created. Normally, an externally accessible web server would be required to work with webhooks. However, thanks to the latest update on the Nylas Ruby SDK, all we need to test webhooks in a local setup is our Ruby environment.
As we’ve seen, we can employ a web server to test our webhooks, as demonstrated using Ruby, Python, and PHP. Additionally, we can test webhooks locally using the Nylas CLI.
In Episode 26 of Coding with Nylas, titled Exploring Nylas’ Webhook Utilities we received a glimpse of using the NodeJS SDK to test webhooks locally.
Now, let’s delve into our main focus: demonstrating how to use another one of our SDKs to test webhooks locally—the Ruby SDK.
Testing anything on our local machine is preferable, as it allows for quick fixes if anything goes wrong. Testing on a web server can be more complex, often requiring a repetition of a lengthy workflow to implement necessary changes.
Local testing ensures everything works correctly before transferring it to an external web server.
Our application is designed as a terminal application, eliminating the need for any involvement of a web server. Each time a new webhook notification occurs, it will appear automatically.
To enhance the user experience, we’ll integrate the curses library to add some vibrant colours to our otherwise terminal application.
As we can here, we’re going to have the following information available:
If you already have the Nylas Ruby SDK installed and your Ruby environment configured, feel free to continue reading this blog.
However, if you haven’t done so yet, I recommend checking out the post on How to Send Emails with the Nylas Ruby SDK to grasp the setup basics.
The installation process is straightforward. Simply type the following command in your terminal window:
$ gem install curses
We just need to create a single file named local_webhook.rb and add the following code:
#!/usr/bin/env ruby
# frozen_string_literal: true
# Import your dependencies
require 'dotenv/load'
require 'nylas'
require 'curses'
# To call the library directly
include Curses
# Initialize the nylas client as an instance variable
@nylas = Nylas::API.new(
app_id: ENV['CLIENT_ID'],
app_secret: ENV['CLIENT_SECRET'],
access_token: ENV['ACCESS_TOKEN']
)
# Define the callback for the on_message event
def on_message(delta)
@win.refresh
# Check the type of webhook received
unless delta.type == WebhookTrigger::MESSAGE_CREATED ||
delta.type == WebhookTrigger::MESSAGE_OPENED ||
delta.type == WebhookTrigger::MESSAGE_UPDATED
return
end
# Get information about the email
begin
message = @nylas.messages.find(delta.id)
rescue => error
message = @nylas.messages.find(delta.metadata["message_id"])
end
@x_pos += 1
@win.setpos(@x_pos, 0)
Curses.init_pair(0, 0, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(0))
@win.addch('|'.ord)
@win.setpos(@x_pos, 1)
Curses.init_pair(2, 2, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(2))
# Get the message id
@win.addstr(message.id)
@win.setpos(@x_pos, 26)
Curses.init_pair(0, 0, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(0))
@win.addch('|'.ord)
Curses.init_pair(2, 2, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(2))
@win.setpos(@x_pos, 27)
# Get the date
@win.addstr(message.date.to_s[0..19])
@win.setpos(@x_pos, 46)
Curses.init_pair(0, 0, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(0))
@win.addch('|'.ord)
@win.setpos(@x_pos, 47)
Curses.init_pair(2, 2, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(2))
# Who's the email owner
@win.addstr(message.from.first.email)
@win.setpos(@x_pos, 70)
Curses.init_pair(0, 0, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(0))
@win.addch('|'.ord)
Curses.init_pair(2, 2, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(2))
@win.setpos(@x_pos, 71)
# Who's receiving the email
@win.addstr(message.to.first.email)
@win.setpos(@x_pos, 94)
Curses.init_pair(0, 0, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(0))
@win.addch('|'.ord)
@win.setpos(@x_pos, 95)
Curses.init_pair(2, 2, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(2))
# Get the email subject
@win.addstr(message.subject[0..28])
@win.setpos(@x_pos, 123)
Curses.init_pair(0, 0, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(0))
@win.addch('|'.ord)
Curses.init_pair(2, 2, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(2))
@win.setpos(@x_pos, 124)
# Type of webhook received
@win.addstr(delta.type)
@win.setpos(@x_pos, 138)
Curses.init_pair(0, 0, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(0))
@win.addch('|'.ord)
@x_pos = @x_pos + 1
@win.setpos(@x_pos, 1)
Curses.init_pair(0, 0, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(0))
@win.addstr('-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------')
@win.refresh
end
# Config that sets the region, triggers, and callbacks
config = {
"region": 'us',
"triggers": [WebhookTrigger::MESSAGE_CREATED,
WebhookTrigger::MESSAGE_OPENED,
WebhookTrigger::MESSAGE_UPDATED],
"on_message": method(:on_message)
}
begin
# Define a new window
@win = Curses::Window.new(0, 0, 1, 2)
# Initialize the screen
init_screen
# Hide the cursor
curs_set(0)
# We want to use colors
start_color
# Initialize the color
Curses.init_pair(208, 208, 0)
# Set color number and set font to bold
@win.attrset(color_pair(208) | A_BOLD)
@x_pos = 4
# Define the text position
@win.setpos(0, 62)
# Write the text
@win.addstr('Webhooks')
@win.setpos(2, 1)
Curses.init_pair(0, 0, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(0))
@win.addstr('-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------')
@win.setpos(3, 0)
Curses.init_pair(0, 0, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(0))
# We using a character instead of a string
@win.addch('|'.ord)
@win.setpos(3, 1)
Curses.init_pair(32, 32, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(32))
@win.addstr(' Id ')
@win.setpos(3, 26)
Curses.init_pair(0, 0, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(0))
@win.addch('|'.ord)
@win.setpos(3, 27)
Curses.init_pair(32, 32, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(32))
@win.addstr(' Date ')
@win.setpos(3, 46)
Curses.init_pair(0, 0, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(0))
@win.addch('|'.ord)
@win.setpos(3, 47)
Curses.init_pair(32, 32, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(32))
@win.addstr(' Email From ')
@win.setpos(3, 70)
Curses.init_pair(0, 0, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(0))
@win.addch('|'.ord)
@win.setpos(3, 71)
Curses.init_pair(32, 32, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(32))
@win.addstr(' Email To ')
@win.setpos(3, 94)
Curses.init_pair(0, 0, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(0))
@win.addch('|'.ord)
@win.setpos(3, 95)
Curses.init_pair(32, 32, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(32))
@win.addstr(' Title ')
@win.setpos(3, 123)
Curses.init_pair(0, 0, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(0))
@win.addch('|'.ord)
@win.setpos(3, 124)
Curses.init_pair(32, 32, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(32))
@win.addstr(' Type ')
@win.setpos(3, 138)
Curses.init_pair(0, 0, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(0))
@win.addch('|'.ord)
@win.setpos(4, 1)
Curses.init_pair(0, 0, 0)
@win.attrset(color_pair(0))
@win.addstr('-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------')
# Refresh the window
@win.refresh
# Create, register, and open the webhook tunnel for testing
Nylas::Tunnel.open_webhook_tunnel(@nylas, config)
# Refresh the window again
@win.refresh
# Ensure gets always evaluated
ensure
# Close the screen and finish the application
close_screen
end
First, let’s create a new curses window and begin setting up the interface of our application. This involves defining the titles of the components that we intend to display:
The config variable will store the region, and the registered webhook triggers, and define an on_message method.
The line Nylas::Tunnel.open_webhook_tunnel(@nylas, config) establishes a webhook tunnel connecting our application with the Nylas service:
The on_message method will be invoked whenever a new webhook notification occurs. In this section, we’ll examine the notification type and define the content of our terminal application.
Leveraging the curses library, we can designate the text’s colour and its position on the screen.
How do we trigger the opened event? We can achieve this by sending a trackable email. For that purpose, let’s create a simple application named EmailTracking.rb:
#!/usr/bin/env ruby
require 'dotenv/load'
require 'nylas'
nylas = Nylas::API.new(
app_id: ENV["CLIENT_ID"],
app_secret: ENV["CLIENT_SECRET"],
access_token: ENV["ACCESS_TOKEN"]
)
tracking = {
"links": true,
"opens": true,
"thread_replies": true,
"payload": "new-payload",
}
nylas.send!(
to: [{ email: 'atejada@gmail.com', name: "Blag" }],
subject: "With Love, from Nylas",
body: "This email was sent using the Ruby SDK for the Nylas Email API.",
tracking: tracking
).to_h
The only thing we need to do is to run our script like this:
$ ruby local_webhook.rb
And start sending and receiving emails.
To run our EmailTracking.rb application, type this on the terminal window:
$ ruby EmailTracking.rb
Test local webhooks with Ruby saves you a lot of time and helps you to prevent errors.
If you want to learn more about Webhooks, go to our documentation.
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Blag aka Alvaro Tejada Galindo is a Senior Developer Advocate at Nylas. He loves learning about programming and sharing knowledge with the community. When he’s not coding, he’s spending time with his wife, daughter and son. He loves Punk Music and reading all sorts of books.
