RequestBin Alternative Without Storing Payloads
RequestBin stores captured HTTP on a server. Compare history, signup, localhost, and 1-to-N, plus when a stored bin is better.
RequestBin is the old name for “give me a URL and keep the HTTP.” Today that usually means RequestBin on Pipedream or a self-hosted clone. The product is a stored bin: requests land on someone else’s disk (or yours, if you run the clone) so you can inspect them later. Use that when persistence is the requirement.
OpenWebhook does the other job: a live view and an optional pull to localhost. Bodies are not stored on the server. The inspector and the first CLI run start without an account.
Side by side
| RequestBin | OpenWebhook | |
|---|---|---|
| History | The bin is the history. Pipedream’s hosted bins keep requests so workflows and teammates can read them later. | Relayed live. Local IndexedDB holds the last 200 events on your browser. |
| Signup | Hosted RequestBin commonly expects a Pipedream account for a durable bin. Self-hosting needs your own process. | No account to inspect or to listen --port. Register only for a permanent slug. |
| Localhost | Inspect remotely, then copy into the app. Forwarding is a Pipedream workflow, not a one-line CLI to loopback. | CLI replays each request to 127.0.0.1 without a tunnel. |
| 1-to-N | Pipedream can branch into many steps once you are in that platform. | Pro forwards one webhook URL to many HTTPS destinations. Replay is Pro. |
| What we do not store | A RequestBin that remembers payloads is doing its job. Assume operators of that host can see them. | We do not keep request bodies on the server. No server-side event log to export or leak. |
Use RequestBin if…
You need a bin that still has yesterday’s POST after you closed the laptop. You already live in Pipedream and want the webhook to start a workflow. You are fine storing customer payloads on that host, and your compliance review agrees.
A no-store inspector will frustrate you. Do not pretend otherwise.
Use a no-store inspector or CLI if…
You want to see the next delivery and delete it. You are not ready to put cardholder or PII bodies in another SaaS database. Your handler is local and you want 127.0.0.1 without standing up a bin plus a tunnel.
npm install --global openwebhook
openwebhook listen --port 3001
Or keep the inspector tab open and send the provider there. For named payloads, start from Stripe or GitHub.
