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Explanation

Understanding-oriented documentation that explains the concepts, design decisions, and architectural choices behind Hook0. These materials help you develop a deeper understanding of how and why Hook0 works the way it does.

Introduction​

What is Hook0?​

A comprehensive introduction to Hook0, including core concepts and fundamental understanding.

Topics covered:

  • The webhook reliability problem
  • Hook0's approach to solving it
  • Core concepts (Organizations, Applications, Events, Subscriptions)
  • Key features and benefits
  • When to use Hook0

Suggested Reading Order​

Beginner Path:

  1. What is Hook0? - Core concepts
  2. Hook0 Architecture - System overview
  3. Event Processing - How events flow

Advanced Path: 4. Security Model - Security architecture

Architecture & Design​

System Architecture​

Deep dive into Hook0's system architecture and component interactions.

Topics covered:

  • System architecture overview
  • Component responsibilities (API server, workers, database)
  • Event flow and lifecycle
  • Scaling considerations
  • Deployment patterns

Event Processing​

Detailed explanation of how Hook0 processes events from creation to delivery.

Topics covered:

  • Event lifecycle stages
  • Queue management and priority handling
  • Retry mechanisms and backoff strategies
  • Dead letter queues and failure handling
  • Performance characteristics

Security & Reliability​

Security Model​

Hook0's approach to security, authentication, and data protection.

Topics covered:

  • Biscuit token authentication system
  • Payload signing and verification
  • Transport security (TLS)
  • Authorization and access control
  • Data privacy and compliance

Design Philosophy​

Hook0 is built on several key principles:

Reliability First​

Every design decision prioritizes reliable event delivery over raw performance. This means:

  • Events are persisted before acknowledgment
  • Comprehensive retry mechanisms with exponential backoff
  • Circuit breaker patterns to protect downstream systems
  • Detailed delivery status tracking and reporting

Operational Simplicity​

Hook0 aims to be easy to deploy, monitor, and maintain:

  • Single binary deployment with minimal dependencies
  • Rich observability and monitoring capabilities
  • Clear error messages and debugging information
  • Sensible defaults with escape hatches for customization

Developer Experience​

Built for developers who need webhooks to just work:

  • Clear, comprehensive API design
  • Extensive documentation with practical examples
  • Multiple SDK options
  • Local development support

Mental Models​

Think of Hook0 as a Reliable Message Broker​

Hook0 takes the responsibility of ensuring your application events reach their destinations, just like a message broker ensures messages are delivered between systems.

Events vs Webhooks​

  • Events are things that happened in your system
  • Webhooks are HTTP requests that deliver event notifications
  • Hook0 transforms events into webhook deliveries reliably

Subscriptions as Event Routing Rules​

Subscriptions define which events should trigger webhooks to which endpoints, with what payload format and delivery guarantees.

For practical implementation details, see Tutorials and How-to Guides. For technical specifications, see Reference.