makeplane / makeplane/developer-docs
GitHub integration setup guide is missing the webhook secret configuration step, causes silent failure of all webhook processing
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- Dominant language
- JavaScript
- Stars
- 16
- Forks
- 23
- Avg merge
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- Merged PRs (30d)
- 1
Description
The self-hosting GitHub integration setup guide walks users through creating a GitHub App and configuring the webhook URL, but does not document that the GitHub App's Webhook Secret field must be set to match the instance's WEBHOOK_SECRET environment variable (default: plane-silo).
Without this configuration, silo's HMAC-SHA256 signature verification silently fails for every incoming webhook. The webhook endpoint returns 202 (accepted) and logs the arrival, but no downstream processing occurs. No error is logged. There is no UI indication that anything is wrong — the integration appears correctly configured (workspace connected, entity sync enabled, PR state mapping saved) but no sync actually happens.
Impact:
I spent approximately 14 hours over two sessions debugging this exact issue before discovering the undocumented webhook secret requirement. I tried rotating credentials, fixing URL schemes (http→https in multiple env vars and oauth_applications table rows), re-encoding private keys, container recreation, database state verification, and numerous other paths before realizing the webhook secret field on the GitHub App side was empty while silo expected a matching value.
The failure mode is particularly hard to diagnose because:
Setup appears successful at every visible step
Silo logs the webhook arrival ("Github Webhook Payload") and returns 202
No error is surfaced anywhere — to users or to admins
Signature verification failure is not logged
Proposed documentation change:
In the "Create GitHub App" section, after the "Webhook URL" step (step 7), add a new step:
Webhook Secret (Required)
In the Webhook section, set the Secret field to match your Plane instance's WEBHOOK_SECRET environment variable. The default value is plane-silo.
Without a matching webhook secret, silo's signature verification will silently reject every incoming webhook and the integration will appear working but produce no sync activity. This is required for both issue and PR sync to function.
Additional suggestion:
Consider surfacing a health check or warning in the Plane UI when webhooks are arriving at silo but failing signature verification. Silent-drop failure modes are very difficult for users to self-diagnose.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Locate the self-hosting GitHub integration setup guide and read the "Create GitHub App" section around step 7, including the existing webhook URL instructions. Add the required Webhook Secret step with the WEBHOOK_SECRET value and explain the effect of a mismatch; done means the guide clearly covers setup for issue and PR sync without expanding into the optional UI health-check suggestion.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- github
- Domain
- documentation
- Issue type
- Documentation
- Difficulty
- 1/5
- Estimated time
- 1-3 hours
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Newbie friendliness
- 75/100