WebhookEngine — Strategic Roadmap

Last Updated: 2026-08-10 Status: Active — Phase 2 (Traction & Feedback) Latest release: v0.4.1 (2026-08-10) — dependency-refresh maintenance patch. v0.4.0 (2026-07-29) was the reliability and security release (delivery-correctness audit fixes, authenticated SignalR hub, connect-time IP allowlist, login rate limiting, operator backlog metrics). v0.3.0 (2026-06-08) closed the SDK coverage and portal-client drift gaps; v0.3.1 (2026-06-29) was a container CVE refresh. The embeddable customer portal landed in v0.2.0 (B1 Steps 1-5: /api/v1/portal/* surface, HS256 JWT middleware, per-app dynamic CORS, operator dashboard controls, <PortalAccessModal />); v0.2.1 hardened it (portal CORS deny-cache, PUT→PATCH, validator consolidation); and the @webhookengine/endpoint-manager npm package shipped in the portal-v0.1.0 tag (2026-05-11).

Note: Phase 1 is complete (launch posts and the engineering blog post remain deferred). Phase 2 core tasks (2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5 payload transformation across all three rollout phases, 2.7 application layer cleanup) are done. v0.1.6 added eight follow-on features (endpoint test webhook, validate-time URL guard, per-resource overrides, IP allowlist, audit log, SignalR endpoint health, TanStack Query data layer). v0.2.0 adds the embeddable customer portal (engine + dashboard half). The @webhookengine/endpoint-manager npm package (B1 Step 7 / Step 11) shipped in the portal-v0.1.0 tag (2026-05-11). Remaining Phase 2 items (TypeScript SDK gated on demand signal, comparison / best-practice blog posts) are planned.

Vision

WebhookEngine is the first product in a PostgreSQL-native, MIT-licensed SaaS infrastructure toolkit. Starting as a focused webhook delivery platform, it evolves into a multi-channel notification infrastructure — all running from a single Docker Compose.

Phase 1          Phase 2          Phase 3              Phase 4
(Month 1-2)      (Month 2-4)      (Month 4-8)          (Month 8-12)
━━━━━━━━━━━      ━━━━━━━━━━━      ━━━━━━━━━━━━━        ━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Launch &         Traction &       Notification          Multi-Tenant
First Users      Feedback         Infrastructure        Identity Library

Phase 1: Launch & First Users (Month 1-2)

Goal: Public GitHub repo, Docker Hub image, first external users.

Principle: Ship what we have. No new features — only polish, docs, and launch.

Tasks

#	Task	Priority	Est.	Status
1.1	Sample app: ASP.NET Core sender + webhook receiver	P0	2d	done
1.2	Complete SDK (WebhookEngineClient real methods)	P0	2d	done
1.3	Signature verification helpers (C#, TypeScript, Python)	P0	1d	done
1.4	Getting Started guide (zero to first webhook in 5 min)	P0	1d	done
1.5	Self-hosting guide (config reference, production tips)	P1	1d	done
1.6	CONTRIBUTING.md + issue/PR templates	P1	0.5d	done
1.7	GitHub repo setup (labels, milestones, release)	P1	0.5d	prepared
1.8	Docker Hub publish (voyvodka/webhook-engine:latest)	P0	0.5d	done
1.9	NuGet publish (WebhookEngine.Sdk)	P0	0.5d	done
1.10	Launch posts (HN Show HN, r/dotnet, r/selfhosted)	P0	1d	deferred
1.11	Blog: "How We Built Reliable Webhook Delivery with PostgreSQL"	P1	1d	deferred

Success Criteria

docker compose up → working system in < 2 minutes
GitHub repo public with README, docs, LICENSE, CONTRIBUTING
Docker Hub image available
NuGet SDK published
At least 1 launch post published
Sample app works end-to-end

What NOT to do

No new features
No TypeScript SDK yet (wait for demand signal)
No Kubernetes support
No UI redesign

v0.1.3 — Presence & Packaging (2026-04-09)

Patch release focused on project discoverability and packaging hygiene. No new engine features.

#	Task	Status
P.1	Landing page at webhook.sametozkan.com.tr — features, quick start, links	done
P.2	GitHub Pages setup with custom domain + SSL	done
P.3	SEO: JSON-LD structured data, OG/Twitter tags, canonical, sitemap, robots.txt	done
P.4	SDK version aligned with main project (`0.1.3`), `PackageProjectUrl` updated	done
P.5	GitHub repo homepage set to landing page	done
P.6	README header updated with website, Docker Hub, NuGet links	done
P.7	Internal planning docs removed from public repo	done

v0.1.4 — Payload Transformation & Multi-Arch (2026-05-05)

#	Task	Status
2.5 P1	JMESPath payload transformation: schema + API (`transformExpression`, `transformEnabled`, `transformValidatedAt` on endpoints)	done
2.5 P2	JMESPath payload transformation: delivery integration with 100 ms timeout, 256 KB output cap, fail-open fallback	done
2.5 P3	JMESPath payload transformation: dashboard CodeMirror 6 editor + `/dashboard/transform/validate` endpoint	done
—	Multi-arch Docker (linux/amd64 + linux/arm64)	done
—	NuGet brand icon (`WebhookEngine.Sdk` + Docker Hub README sync)	done
—	OpenAPI 3 + Scalar interactive UI (`/openapi/v1.json`, `/scalar`) — Dev / Staging only	done
—	Security automations: CodeQL, Dependency Review, Dependabot (NuGet / npm / GitHub Actions / Docker)	done
—	Replay + Batch integration tests	done
—	Frontend toolchain: Yarn → Bun 1.2	done
—	`WebhookEngine.Application` empty scaffold removed (ADR-002 update)	done

v0.1.5 — Post-Audit Hardening Cut (2026-05-05)

A multi-agent deep audit covering security, memory, concurrency, code quality, frontend, ops, timezone correctness, and SDK compliance produced ten F-fixes plus an idempotency race fix and an SDK target-framework simplification. No breaking API changes.

#	Task	Status
F1	SSRF guard with DNS-rebinding defense (`SocketsHttpHandler.ConnectCallback` IP-pinning, `WebhookEngine:SsrfGuard` options)	done
F2	Compare-and-set guards on `MessageRepository.Mark*Async` (concurrency C2 — duplicate-attempt regression on lock loss closed)	done
F3	Advisory-lock serialized `EndpointHealthTracker.WithEndpointLockAsync` (concurrency C1 — Open/HalfOpen/Closed corruption closed)	done
F5	Migration startup race serialized via `pg_advisory_lock`	done
F6	Security headers (HSTS, CSP, X-Frame-Options, Permissions-Policy), `/metrics` auth gate, cookie SecureAlways	done
F7	Idempotency race condition closed — partial unique index `idx_messages_app_endpoint_idempotency` + Stripe-style 23505 catch + retention NULL-out	done
F8	Frontend session-expiry redirect + chunk-load error boundary	done
F9	`HttpResponseMessage` disposal + `EndpointRateLimiter` idle-eviction	done
F10	`CustomHeaderPolicy` allow-list + reserved-header rejection	done
Ops	Liveness / readiness probes, OpenTelemetry tracing, graceful shutdown drain window	done
SDK	`WebhookVerifier` shipped in `WebhookEngine.Sdk` + target framework simplified to `net10.0` only	done

v0.1.6 — Per-Resource Overrides, IP Allowlist, Audit Log (2026-05-08)

Eight new features, three rounds of dashboard polish, three reviewer-finding fixes, and a backend correctness pass. Test count moved from 211 to 215.

#	Task	Status
F1	Endpoint test webhook (`POST /api/v1/dashboard/endpoints/{id}/test`) + dashboard preview drawer	done
F2	Endpoint URL DNS resolution / private-IP rejection at validator chain	done
F3	Per-app retention overrides (`Application.RetentionDeliveredDays`, `RetentionDeadLetterDays`)	done
F4	Per-event-type idempotency window override (`EventType.IdempotencyWindowMinutes`)	done
F6	Per-application rate-limit override (`Application.RateLimitPerSecond`)	done
F7	SignalR `EndpointHealthChanged` event for circuit-state and visible status transitions	done
F8	Per-endpoint IP allowlist (`Endpoint.AllowedIpsJson`, CIDR positive-list gate at delivery)	done
F9	Append-only audit log (`audit_logs` table, `GET /api/v1/dashboard/audit`)	done
F12	TanStack Query dashboard data layer across six pages — manual `setInterval` polling and the smart-debounce shim removed	done
R1	Transient DNS retry within budget (no early dead-letter on resolver flakes)	done
R3	Cascade message-delete on application / endpoint removal	done
R6	Smart-debounced dashboard polling (later folded into F12)	done
R2 + R4 + R5	IP matcher contract guard, application rate-limiter sweep thread-safety, endpoint health tracker double-fetch removed	done
DPR-1	Modal a11y (`role="dialog"` + ARIA + focus trap), reconnect-safe SignalR cache, awaited refetches, skeleton loaders	done
DPR-2	Shared `StatusBadge` / `inputClasses` / editor theme, lazy-loaded CodeMirror, `parseError` field-error routing	done
DPR-3	Modal `dvh` sizing, mobile filter grid, payload field error, SignalR Live / Offline header badge, URL field error wiring	done

v0.2.0 — Embeddable Customer Portal (2026-05-10)

First minor release. The engine half and operator dashboard half of the embeddable customer portal land here. The @webhookengine/endpoint-manager React package shipped in the follow-up portal-v0.1.0 tag (2026-05-11).

#	Task	Status
B1 Step 1	Bun workspaces — root `package.json` + single `bun.lock` + Dockerfile/CI plumbing	done
B1 Step 2	`Application.PortalSigningKey` + `AllowedPortalOriginsJson` migration	done
B1 Step 3	`PortalTokenAuthMiddleware` (HS256 algorithm-pinned, 15-min cap, capability-scoped) + `PortalCorsMiddleware` (RFC 6454 ordinal-case-insensitive) + `PortalLookupCache` + `PortalCapability` enum	done
B1 Step 4	`PortalEndpointsController` — 9 narrowed `/api/v1/portal/*` routes; `MessageRepository.ListAttemptsByEndpointAsync` / `CountAttemptsByEndpointAsync`	done
B1 Step 5	`DashboardPortalController` (5 routes) + `<PortalAccessModal />` + `Application.PortalRotatedAt` migration; audit log redacts signing key to boolean	done
—	`AuditLogRepository` extract — `AuditLogsController` no longer bypasses repository pattern	done
—	Tailwind 4.2.4 → 4.3.0	done
—	Dependabot npm `bun.lock` auto-sync workflow	done
—	Documentation drift sync (ADR-003 Accepted, stack version lines)	done
B1 Step 7	`@webhookengine/endpoint-manager` npm package	done (`portal-v0.1.0`, 2026-05-11)

Phase 2: Traction & Feedback (Month 2-4)

Goal: Learn from real users. Fix what's broken. Add what's missing.

Principle: Listen first, build second. Every feature must come from user feedback or clear demand signal.

Expected Tasks (driven by feedback)

#	Task	Priority	Trigger	Status
2.1	Bug fixes and edge cases	P0	GitHub issues	in_progress
2.2	Event replay (re-deliver events in a time range)	P1	Almost certain user request	done
2.3	Batch message sending (multiple events in one API call)	P1	API power users	done
2.4	Rate limiting per endpoint	P1	Large-scale users	done
2.5	Webhook payload transformation (JMESPath, ADR-003 — schema, delivery integration, dashboard editor)	P2	Integration use cases	done
2.6	TypeScript SDK (npm)	P1	If demand signal exists	planned
2.7	Application layer cleanup (implement CQRS or remove scaffold)	P1	Tech debt	done
2.8	Blog: "Webhook Delivery Best Practices"	P1	SEO + authority	planned
2.9	Blog: "WebhookEngine vs Svix vs Convoy"	P1	SEO + positioning	planned
2.10	Integration guide: ABP Framework + WebhookEngine	P2	.NET ecosystem reach	planned

Decision Point (end of Phase 2)

Evaluate based on data:

Docker pulls > 500? → Market exists, proceed to Phase 3
GitHub issues active? → Users are engaged
Zero traction? → Reassess positioning or pivot

Success Criteria

500+ Docker Hub pulls
200+ GitHub stars
At least 5 GitHub issues from external users
2+ blog posts published

Phase 3: Notification Infrastructure (Month 4-8)

Goal: Evolve WebhookEngine from webhook-only to multi-channel notification platform.

Principle: Webhook remains the core. New channels are additive. Existing users are not disrupted.

Why expand (not new project)

Same codebase, same community, same Docker image
Webhook is just one notification channel — email, SMS, push are others
Novu (38.6K stars) proves the market; their weakness (MongoDB + Redis) is our strength
"PostgreSQL-native Novu alternative" is a stronger story than "Svix alternative in .NET"

Architecture Evolution

WebhookEngine v1 (current)        WebhookEngine v2 (Phase 3)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━         ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
                                   INotificationChannel interface
Webhook delivery (HTTP POST)  →    ├── WebhookChannel (existing)
                                   ├── EmailChannel (SMTP, SendGrid, Resend)
                                   ├── InAppChannel (SignalR real-time)
                                   └── (future: SMS, Push)

                                   Subscriber management
                                   ├── Subscriber profiles
                                   ├── Channel preferences
                                   └── Topic subscriptions

                                   Notification workflows
                                   ├── Send → Delay → Send
                                   ├── Channel fallback
                                   └── Digest/batching

Tasks

#	Task	Priority	Est.
3.1	`INotificationChannel` interface + refactor webhook as first channel	P0	3d
3.2	Email channel: SMTP provider	P0	3d
3.3	Email channel: SendGrid provider	P1	2d
3.4	Email channel: Resend provider	P2	1d
3.5	Subscriber entity + management API	P0	3d
3.6	Subscriber channel preferences	P0	2d
3.7	In-App notification channel (SignalR)	P0	4d
3.8	`<NotificationInbox />` React component (embeddable)	P1	5d
3.9	Notification workflow engine (send → delay → send)	P1	5d
3.10	Channel fallback (try push, fallback to email)	P2	3d
3.11	Digest/batching ("group last N events into one email")	P2	3d
3.12	Template system (Handlebars-style variables, per-channel)	P1	3d
3.13	Dashboard: subscriber management page	P0	3d
3.14	Dashboard: notification log (all channels)	P0	2d
3.15	Dashboard: workflow editor (visual)	P2	5d
3.16	npm package: `@webhookengine/inbox`	P1	2d
3.17	Documentation: notification channels guide	P0	2d
3.18	Blog: "PostgreSQL-Native Notification Infrastructure"	P1	1d

Success Criteria

Email + In-App + Webhook channels working
Subscriber preferences functional
<NotificationInbox /> npm package published
Positioning shift: "webhook + notification infrastructure"
1000+ GitHub stars

Phase 4: Multi-Tenant Identity Library (Month 8-12)

Goal: Separate NuGet package for ASP.NET Core multi-tenant Identity.

Principle: Independent project, same brand ecosystem. WebhookEngine dogfoods it for its own multi-tenant support.

Scope (from 01-multi-tenant-identity.md)

#	Task	Priority
4.1	TenantIdentityDbContext (extends IdentityDbContext)	P0
4.2	TenantUserManager (tenant-scoped queries)	P0
4.3	TenantSignInManager (tenant resolution during login)	P0
4.4	User-Tenant many-to-many mapping	P0
4.5	Multi-DB migration engine (ITenantMigrator)	P0
4.6	Tenant resolution strategies (subdomain, path, header)	P0
4.7	Finbuckle compatibility layer	P1
4.8	Sample project + documentation	P0
4.9	NuGet publish	P0

Success Criteria

NuGet package published
Works with PostgreSQL + SQL Server
Sample project with WebhookEngine integration
2000+ NuGet downloads in first 3 months

Long-Term Vision (Month 12+)

WebhookEngine Ecosystem
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
WebhookEngine            → Webhook + Notification delivery
  + Email, SMS, Push, In-App channels
  + Workflow orchestration
  + Embeddable <NotificationInbox />

TenantIdentity           → Multi-tenant ASP.NET Core Identity
  + Shared Identity DB + per-tenant data DB
  + NuGet package

(possible) EventBus      → PostgreSQL-native event bus
  + Pub/sub between microservices
  + Outbox pattern built-in

All: PostgreSQL-only, Docker Compose, MIT licensed, .NET native.

Potential features (unscheduled)

SMS channel (Twilio, Vonage)
Push channel (FCM, APNs)
WhatsApp Business API
Managed cloud offering (SaaS)
Kubernetes Helm chart
Embeddable endpoint management portal
A/B testing for notification content

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WebhookEngine — Strategic Roadmap

Vision

Phase 1: Launch & First Users (Month 1-2)

Tasks

Success Criteria

What NOT to do

v0.1.3 — Presence & Packaging (2026-04-09)

v0.1.4 — Payload Transformation & Multi-Arch (2026-05-05)

v0.1.5 — Post-Audit Hardening Cut (2026-05-05)

v0.1.6 — Per-Resource Overrides, IP Allowlist, Audit Log (2026-05-08)

v0.2.0 — Embeddable Customer Portal (2026-05-10)

Phase 2: Traction & Feedback (Month 2-4)

Expected Tasks (driven by feedback)

Decision Point (end of Phase 2)

Success Criteria

Phase 3: Notification Infrastructure (Month 4-8)

Why expand (not new project)

Architecture Evolution

Tasks

Success Criteria

Phase 4: Multi-Tenant Identity Library (Month 8-12)

Scope (from 01-multi-tenant-identity.md)

Success Criteria

Long-Term Vision (Month 12+)

Potential features (unscheduled)