> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.insurgrid.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.insurgrid.com/guides/register-endpoint-auth-types.md).

# Register your endpoint & choose an auth type

Before InsurGrid can deliver anything to you, you tell us **where** to send it (a URL, per topic) and **how you want to authenticate that delivery** (one of five schemes). This guide covers both, and helps you pick the right auth scheme for your setup.

> **New term — topic:** the kind of event a webhook carries — for example `client-submission` (extracted policy data) or `form-submission` (a completed intake form). You register a URL per topic, so different events can go to different endpoints if you want.

## Register a URL

1. Open the **API section** of your dashboard.
2. Pick the topic you want to receive (for example `client-submission`).
3. Add the HTTPS URL InsurGrid should `POST` to. Add a **staging** URL and a **production** URL separately — see [Get access](/get-started/02-get-access.md).
4. Choose how you want the delivery authenticated (below). If you skip this, InsurGrid signs every request by default.

Once a URL is saved for a topic, InsurGrid starts delivering matching events to it.

## The five auth options

Every delivery to your endpoint is authenticated one of these five ways. Pick the one during setup that matches how your endpoint is built — you don't need to support more than one at a time.

| Option                            | How it works                                                                                                                           | Pick this when                                                                                                                                   |
| --------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **InsurGrid signature** (default) | InsurGrid computes an HMAC-SHA256 of the raw request body with a signing secret we generate, and sends it in the `x-signature` header. | You're starting fresh and want the strongest guarantee that a request wasn't tampered with in transit — not just that it carries a known secret. |
| **HMAC-SHA256 (custom)**          | Same signature mechanism, but with a shared secret *you* supply instead of one InsurGrid generates.                                    | You already run other webhook providers under one shared-secret scheme and want InsurGrid to match it.                                           |
| **Basic auth**                    | InsurGrid sends a standard `Authorization: Basic <base64 username:password>` header.                                                   | Your endpoint (or the infrastructure in front of it, like a gateway) already gates on HTTP Basic auth.                                           |
| **Bearer token**                  | InsurGrid sends a static `Authorization: Bearer <token>` header with every delivery.                                                   | Your endpoint already expects a bearer token — for example if it's shared with other internal callers that authenticate that way.                |
| **API-key header**                | InsurGrid sends a static value in a header name you choose (for example `X-API-Key`).                                                  | Your endpoint, or something in front of it, is already set up to check a specific header.                                                        |

> **New term — HMAC:** short for "hash-based message authentication code" — a fingerprint of a message computed with a shared secret. Because only the two parties involved know the secret, a matching fingerprint proves the message is genuine and unaltered. It's the mechanism behind both the default signature and the custom HMAC-SHA256 option.

## Which one should you pick?

If you're not sure, **use the default**. The InsurGrid signature scheme needs no extra setup on your end beyond storing the secret, and unlike a static token or key, it changes with every request — so it can't be replayed against a different payload. It's covered step by step in [Verify a webhook signature](/guides/signing-verification.md).

Reach for one of the other four only when you have a concrete reason — usually that your endpoint (or a gateway/load balancer in front of it) already speaks one of those schemes and you'd rather not add signature verification code. A static credential (Basic, Bearer, or API key) is simpler to check, but it authenticates the *sender*, not the *contents* — it doesn't prove the body wasn't altered in transit the way an HMAC does.

## Related

* [Authentication & tokens](/guides/authentication.md)
* [Verify a webhook signature](/guides/signing-verification.md)
* [Delivery & de-duplication](/guides/delivery-dedup.md)
* [Get access](/get-started/02-get-access.md)


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