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Azure Functions HTTP and webhook bindings \| Microsoft Docs	Understand how to use HTTP and webhook triggers and bindings in Azure Functions.	functions	na	mattchenderson	erikre			azure functions, functions, event processing, webhooks, dynamic compute, serverless architecture, HTTP, API, REST	2b12200d-63d8-4ec1-9da8-39831d5a51b1	functions	multiple	reference	multiple	na	11/18/2016	mahender

Azure Functions HTTP and webhook bindings

[!INCLUDE functions-selector-bindings]

This article explains how to configure and work with HTTP triggers and bindings in Azure Functions. With these, you can use Azure Functions to build serverless APIs and respond to webhooks.

Azure Functions provides the following bindings:

An HTTP trigger lets you invoke a function with an HTTP request. This can be customized to respond to webhooks.
An HTTP output binding allows you to respond to the request.

[!INCLUDE intro]

HTTP trigger

The HTTP trigger will execute your function in response to an HTTP request. You can customize it to respond to a particular URL or set of HTTP methods. An HTTP trigger can also be configured to respond to webhooks.

If using the Functions portal, you can also get started right away using a pre-made template. Select New function and choose "API & Webhooks" from the Scenario dropdown. Select one of the templates and click Create.

By default, an HTTP trigger will respond to the request with an HTTP 200 OK status code and an empty body. To modify the response, configure an HTTP output binding

Configuring an HTTP trigger

An HTTP trigger is defined by including a JSON object similar to the following in the bindings array of function.json:

{
    "name": "req",
    "type": "httpTrigger",
    "direction": "in",
    "authLevel": "function",
    "methods": [ "GET" ],
    "route": "values/{id}"
},

The binding supports the following properties:

name : Required - the variable name used in function code for the request or request body. See Working with an HTTP trigger from code.
type : Required - must be set to "httpTrigger".
direction : Required - must be set to "in".
authLevel : This determines what keys, if any, need to be present on the request in order to invoke the function. See Working with keys below. The value can be one of the following:
- anonymous: No API key is required.
- function: A function-specific API key is required. This is the default value if none is provided.
- admin : The master key is required.
methods : This is an array of the HTTP methods to which the function will respond. If not specified, the function will respond to all HTTP methods. See Customizing the HTTP endpoint.
route : This defines the route template, controlling to which request URLs your function will respond. The default value if none is provided is <functionname>. See Customizing the HTTP endpoint.
webHookType : This configures the HTTP trigger to act as a webhook reciever for the specified provider. The methods property should not be set if this is chosen. See Responding to webhooks. The value can be one of the following:
- genericJson : A general purpose webhook endpoint without logic for a specific provider.
- github : The function will respond to GitHub webhooks. The authLevel property should not be set if this is chosen.
- slack : The function will respond to Slack webhooks. The authLevel property should not be set if this is chosen.

Working with an HTTP trigger from code

For C# and F# functions, you can declare the type of your trigger input to be either HttpRequestMessage or a custom type. If you choose HttpRequestMessage, then you will get full access to the request object. For a custom type (such as a POCO), Functions will attempt to parse the request body as JSON to populate the object properties.

For Node.js functions, the Functions runtime provides the request body instead of the request object.

See HTTP trigger samples for example usages.

HTTP response output binding

Use the HTTP output binding to respond to the HTTP request sender. This binding requires an HTTP trigger and allows you to customize the response associated with the trigger's request. If an HTTP output binding is not provided, an HTTP trigger will return HTTP 200 OK with an empty body.

Configuring an HTTP output binding

The HTTP output binding is defined by including a JSON object similar to the following in the bindings array of function.json:

{
    "name": "res",
    "type": "http",
    "direction": "out"
}

The binding contains the following properties:

name : Required - the variable name used in function code for the response. See Working with an HTTP output binding from code.
type : Required - must be set to "http".
direction : Required - must be set to "out".

Working with an HTTP output binding from code

You can use the output parameter (e.g., "res") to respond to the http or webhook caller. Alternatively, you can use the standard Request.CreateResponse() (C#) or context.res (Node.JS) pattern to return your response. For examples on how to use the latter method, see HTTP trigger samples and Webhook trigger samples.

Responding to webhooks

An HTTP trigger with the webHookType property will be configured to respond to webhooks. The basic configuration uses the "genericJson" setting. This restricts requests to only those using HTTP POST and with the application/json content type.

The trigger can additionally be tailored to a specific webhook provider (e.g., GitHub and Slack). If a provider is specified, the Functions runtime can take care of the provider's validation logic for you.

Configuring Github as a webhook provider

To respond to GitHub webhooks, first create your function with an HTTP Trigger, and set the webHookType property to "github". Then copy its URL and API key into your GitHub repository's Add webhook page. See GitHub's Creating Webhooks documentation for more.

Configuring Slack as a webhook provider

The Slack webhook generates a token for you instead of letting you specify it, so you must configure a function-specific key with the token from Slack. See Working with keys.

Customizing the HTTP endpoint

By default when you create a function for an HTTP trigger, or WebHook, the function is addressable with a route of the form:

http://<yourapp>.azurewebsites.net/api/<funcname>

You can customize this route using the optional route property on the HTTP trigger's input binding. As an example, the following function.json file defines a route property for an HTTP trigger:

    {
      "bindings": [
        {
          "type": "httpTrigger",
          "name": "req",
          "direction": "in",
          "methods": [ "get" ],
          "route": "products/{category:alpha}/{id:int?}"
        },
        {
          "type": "http",
          "name": "res",
          "direction": "out"
        }
      ]
    }

Using this configuration, the function is now addressable with the following route instead of the original route.

http://<yourapp>.azurewebsites.net/api/products/electronics/357

This allows the function code to support two parameters in the address, "category" and "id". You can use any Web API Route Constraint with your parameters. The following C# function code makes use of both parameters.

    public static Task<HttpResponseMessage> Run(HttpRequestMessage request, string category, int? id, 
                                                    TraceWriter log)
    {
        if (id == null)
           return  req.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.OK, $"All {category} items were requested.");
        else
           return  req.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.OK, $"{category} item with id = {id} has been requested.");
    }

Here is Node.js function code to use the same route parameters.

    module.exports = function (context, req) {

        var category = context.bindingData.category;
        var id = context.bindingData.id;

        if (!id) {
            context.res = {
                // status: 200, /* Defaults to 200 */
                body: "All " + category + " items were requested."
            };
        }
        else {
            context.res = {
                // status: 200, /* Defaults to 200 */
                body: category + " item with id = " + id + " was requested."
            };
        }

        context.done();
    }

By default, all function routes are prefixed with api. You can also customize or remove the prefix using the http.routePrefix property in your host.json file. The following example removes the api route prefix by using an empty string for the prefix in the host.json file.

    {
      "http": {
        "routePrefix": ""
      }
    }

For detailed information on how to update the host.json file for your function, See, How to update function app files.

For information on other properties you can configure in your host.json file, see host.json reference.

Working with keys

HttpTriggers can leverage keys for added security. A standard HttpTrigger can use these as an API key, requiring the key to be present on the request. Webhooks can use keys to authorize requests in a variety of ways, depending on what the provider supports.

Keys are stored as part of your function app in Azure and are encrypted at rest. To view your keys, create new ones, or roll keys to new values, navigate to one of your functions within the portal and select "Manage."

There are two types of keys:

Admin keys: These keys are shared by all functions within the function app. When used as an API key, these allow access to any function within the function app.
Function keys: These keys apply only to the specific functions under which they are defined. When used as an API key, these only allow access to that function.

Each key is named for reference, and there is a default key (named "default") at the function and admin level. The master key is a default admin key named "_master" that is defined for each function app and cannot be revoked. It provides administrative access to the runtime APIs. Using "authLevel": "admin" in the binding JSON will require this key to be presented on the request; any other key will result in a authorization failure.

Note

Due to the elevated permissions granted by the master key, you should not share this key with third parties or distribute it in native client applications. Exercise caution when choosing the admin authorization level.

API key authorization

By default, an HttpTrigger requires an API key in the HTTP request. So your HTTP request normally looks like this:

https://<yourapp>.azurewebsites.net/api/<function>?code=<ApiKey>

The key can be included in a query string variable named code, as above, or it can be included in an x-functions-key HTTP header. The value of the key can be any function key defined for the function, or any admin key.

You can choose to allow requests without keys or specify that the master key must be used by changing the authLevel property in the binding JSON (see HTTP trigger).

Keys and webhooks

Webhook authorization is handled by the webhook reciever component, part of the HttpTrigger, and the mechanism varies based on the webhook type. Each mechanism does, however rely on a key. By default, the function key named "default" will be used. If you wish to use a different key, you will need to configure the webhook provider to send the key name with the request in one of the following ways:

Query string: The provider passes the key name in the clientid query string parameter (e.g., https://<yourapp>.azurewebsites.net/api/<funcname>?clientid=<keyname>).
Request header: The provider passes the key name in the x-functions-clientid header.

Note

Function keys take precedence over admin keys. If two keys are defined with the same name, the function key will be used.

HTTP trigger samples

Suppose you have the following HTTP trigger in the bindings array of function.json:

{
    "name": "req",
    "type": "httpTrigger",
    "direction": "in",
    "authLevel": "function"
},

See the language-specific sample that looks for a name parameter either in the query string or the body of the HTTP request.

C#
F#
Node.js

HTTP trigger sample in C#

using System.Net;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public static async Task<HttpResponseMessage> Run(HttpRequestMessage req, TraceWriter log)
{
    log.Info($"C# HTTP trigger function processed a request. RequestUri={req.RequestUri}");

    // parse query parameter
    string name = req.GetQueryNameValuePairs()
        .FirstOrDefault(q => string.Compare(q.Key, "name", true) == 0)
        .Value;

    // Get request body
    dynamic data = await req.Content.ReadAsAsync<object>();

    // Set name to query string or body data
    name = name ?? data?.name;

    return name == null
        ? req.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.BadRequest, "Please pass a name on the query string or in the request body")
        : req.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.OK, "Hello " + name);
}

HTTP trigger sample in F#

open System.Net
open System.Net.Http
open FSharp.Interop.Dynamic

let Run(req: HttpRequestMessage) =
    async {
        let q =
            req.GetQueryNameValuePairs()
                |> Seq.tryFind (fun kv -> kv.Key = "name")
        match q with
        | Some kv ->
            return req.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.OK, "Hello " + kv.Value)
        | None ->
            let! data = Async.AwaitTask(req.Content.ReadAsAsync<obj>())
            try
                return req.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.OK, "Hello " + data?name)
            with e ->
                return req.CreateErrorResponse(HttpStatusCode.BadRequest, "Please pass a name on the query string or in the request body")
    } |> Async.StartAsTask

You need a project.json file that uses NuGet to reference the FSharp.Interop.Dynamic and Dynamitey assemblies, like this:

{
  "frameworks": {
    "net46": {
      "dependencies": {
        "Dynamitey": "1.0.2",
        "FSharp.Interop.Dynamic": "3.0.0"
      }
    }
  }
}

This will use NuGet to fetch your dependencies and will reference them in your script.

HTTP trigger sample in Node.JS

module.exports = function(context, req) {
    context.log('Node.js HTTP trigger function processed a request. RequestUri=%s', req.originalUrl);

    if (req.query.name || (req.body && req.body.name)) {
        context.res = {
            // status: 200, /* Defaults to 200 */
            body: "Hello " + (req.query.name || req.body.name)
        };
    }
    else {
        context.res = {
            status: 400,
            body: "Please pass a name on the query string or in the request body"
        };
    }
    context.done();
};

Webhook samples

Suppose you have the following webhook trigger in the bindings array of function.json:

{
    "webHookType": "github",
    "name": "req",
    "type": "httpTrigger",
    "direction": "in",
},

See the language-specific sample that logs GitHub issue comments.

C#
F#
Node.js

Webhook sample in C#

#r "Newtonsoft.Json"

using System;
using System.Net;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using Newtonsoft.Json;

public static async Task<object> Run(HttpRequestMessage req, TraceWriter log)
{
    string jsonContent = await req.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
    dynamic data = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(jsonContent);

    log.Info($"WebHook was triggered! Comment: {data.comment.body}");

    return req.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.OK, new {
        body = $"New GitHub comment: {data.comment.body}"
    });
}

Webhook sample in F#

open System.Net
open System.Net.Http
open FSharp.Interop.Dynamic
open Newtonsoft.Json

type Response = {
    body: string
}

let Run(req: HttpRequestMessage, log: TraceWriter) =
    async {
        let! content = req.Content.ReadAsStringAsync() |> Async.AwaitTask
        let data = content |> JsonConvert.DeserializeObject
        log.Info(sprintf "GitHub WebHook triggered! %s" data?comment?body)
        return req.CreateResponse(
            HttpStatusCode.OK,
            { body = sprintf "New GitHub comment: %s" data?comment?body })
    } |> Async.StartAsTask

Webhook sample in Node.JS

module.exports = function (context, data) {
    context.log('GitHub WebHook triggered!', data.comment.body);
    context.res = { body: 'New GitHub comment: ' + data.comment.body };
    context.done();
};

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[!INCLUDE next steps]

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functions-bindings-http-webhook.md

functions-bindings-http-webhook.md

Azure Functions HTTP and webhook bindings

HTTP trigger

Configuring an HTTP trigger

Working with an HTTP trigger from code

HTTP response output binding

Configuring an HTTP output binding

Working with an HTTP output binding from code

Responding to webhooks

Configuring Github as a webhook provider

Configuring Slack as a webhook provider

Customizing the HTTP endpoint

Working with keys

API key authorization

Keys and webhooks

HTTP trigger samples

HTTP trigger sample in C#

HTTP trigger sample in F#

HTTP trigger sample in Node.JS

Webhook samples

Webhook sample in C#

Webhook sample in F#

Webhook sample in Node.JS

Next steps

Files

functions-bindings-http-webhook.md

Latest commit

History

functions-bindings-http-webhook.md

File metadata and controls

Azure Functions HTTP and webhook bindings

HTTP trigger

Configuring an HTTP trigger

Working with an HTTP trigger from code

HTTP response output binding

Configuring an HTTP output binding

Working with an HTTP output binding from code

Responding to webhooks

Configuring Github as a webhook provider

Configuring Slack as a webhook provider

Customizing the HTTP endpoint

Working with keys

API key authorization

Keys and webhooks

HTTP trigger samples

HTTP trigger sample in C#

HTTP trigger sample in F#

HTTP trigger sample in Node.JS

Webhook samples

Webhook sample in C#

Webhook sample in F#

Webhook sample in Node.JS

Next steps