Deepgram Webhooks

When to Use This Skill

• Setting up Deepgram callback handlers for transcription results
• Processing asynchronous transcription results from Deepgram
• Implementing webhook authentication for Deepgram callbacks
• Handling transcription completion events

Essential Code

Deepgram webhooks (callbacks) are used to receive transcription results asynchronously. When you provide a callback URL in your transcription request, Deepgram immediately responds with a request_id and sends the transcription results to your callback URL when processing is complete.

Basic Webhook Handler

// Express.js example
app.post('/webhooks/deepgram', express.raw({ type: 'application/json' }), (req, res) => {
  // Verify webhook authenticity using dg-token header
  const dgToken = req.headers['dg-token'];

  if (!dgToken) {
    return res.status(401).send('Missing dg-token header');
  }

  // Verify the token matches your expected API Key Identifier
  // The dg-token contains the API Key Identifier used in the original request
  if (dgToken !== process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY_ID) {
    return res.status(403).send('Invalid dg-token');
  }

  // Parse the transcription result
  const transcriptionResult = JSON.parse(req.body.toString());

  // Process the transcription
  console.log('Received transcription:', transcriptionResult);

  // Return success to prevent retries
  res.status(200).send('OK');
});

Authentication Methods

Deepgram supports two authentication methods for webhooks:

1. dg-token Header: Automatically included, contains the API Key Identifier
2. Basic Auth: Embed credentials in the callback URL

// Using dg-token header (recommended)
const verifyDgToken = (req, res, next) => {
  const dgToken = req.headers['dg-token'];

  if (!dgToken || dgToken !== process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY_ID) {
    return res.status(403).send('Invalid authentication');
  }

  next();
};

// Basic Auth in callback URL
// https://username:password@your-domain.com/webhooks/deepgram

Making a Request with Callback

curl \
  --request POST \
  --header 'Authorization: Token YOUR_DEEPGRAM_API_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: audio/wav' \
  --data-binary @audio.wav \
  --url 'https://api.deepgram.com/v1/listen?callback=https://your-domain.com/webhooks/deepgram'

Common Event Types

Deepgram sends transcription results as webhook payloads. The structure varies based on the features enabled in your request:

Environment Variables

# Your Deepgram API Key (for making requests)
DEEPGRAM_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

# API Key Identifier (shown in Deepgram console, used to verify dg-token)
# Note: This is NOT your API Key secret - it's a unique identifier shown
# in the Deepgram console that identifies which API key was used for a request
DEEPGRAM_API_KEY_ID=your_api_key_id_here

# Your webhook endpoint URL
WEBHOOK_URL=https://your-domain.com/webhooks/deepgram

Local Development

For local webhook testing, install Hookdeck CLI:

# Install via npm
npm install -g hookdeck-cli

# Or via Homebrew
brew install hookdeck/hookdeck/hookdeck

# Create a local tunnel (no account required)
hookdeck listen 3000 --path /webhooks/deepgram

# Use the provided URL as your callback URL when making Deepgram requests

This provides:

• Local tunnel URL for testing
• Web UI for inspecting webhook payloads
• Request history and debugging tools

Important Notes

Retry Behavior

• Deepgram retries failed callbacks (non-200-299 status) up to 10 times
• 30-second delay between retry attempts
• Always return 200-299 status for successfully processed webhooks

Port Restrictions

• Only ports 80, 443, 8080, and 8443 are allowed for callbacks
• Ensure your webhook endpoint uses one of these ports

No Signature Verification

• Deepgram uses a simple token-based authentication via the dg-token header rather than cryptographic HMAC signatures used by other providers
• Authentication relies on the dg-token header or Basic Auth
• Always use HTTPS for webhook endpoints

Resources

• overview.md - What Deepgram webhooks are, transcription events
• setup.md - Configure callbacks in Deepgram API requests
• verification.md - Authentication methods and security considerations
• examples/ - Complete implementations for Express, Next.js, and FastAPI

Recommended: webhook-handler-patterns

For production handlers, install the patterns skill alongside this one. Key references (links work when only this skill is installed):

• Idempotency
• Error handling
• Retry logic

Related Skills

• stripe-webhooks - Stripe payment webhooks
• shopify-webhooks - Shopify store webhooks
• github-webhooks - GitHub repository webhooks
• webhook-handler-patterns - Idempotency, error handling, retry logic
• hookdeck-event-gateway - Webhook infrastructure that replaces your queue — guaranteed delivery, automatic retries, replay, rate limiting, and observability for your webhook handlers