Can you integrate a GitHub Webhook with Privately hosted Jenkins No? Think again

Azure DevOps Integration
Introduction

Triggering Jenkins builds automatically after every code commit is a core requirement in any continuous integration setup. Jenkins supports automated triggers through repository polling or event based notifications. While polling works, it consumes resources and introduces delays. Push based triggering through webhooks is far more efficient.

The difficulty appears when Jenkins is hosted inside a private network and the version control system is hosted on a cloud platform such as GitLab. In this scenario, GitLab cannot directly reach the Jenkins endpoint, making webhook based triggering difficult without exposing Jenkins publicly.

Webhook Relay solves this problem by acting as a secure bridge between GitLab and a privately hosted Jenkins server. This article explains how GitLab webhooks can trigger Jenkins jobs using Webhook Relay, based on real implementation experience.

Installing the Webhook Relay Agent

The Webhook Relay agent needs to run on the same machine where Jenkins is hosted or where Jenkins is reachable internally.

Below is the installation process shown as step based instructions.

# download the relay binary
curl -sSL https://storage.googleapis.com/webhookrelay/downloads/relay-linux-amd64 > relay# make the binary executable
chmod +x relay

# move it to a directory in system path
sudo mv relay /usr/local/bin/relay

Webhook Relay service runs on a public endpoint, while this agent runs locally and listens for forwarded webhook events.

Creating a Webhook Relay Account

Create an account on the official Webhook Relay platform using the registration page shown below.

https://my.webhookrelay.com/register

After signing up, access to the Webhook Relay dashboard is provided, where authentication tokens can be generated.

Authenticating the Relay Agent

From the dashboard, create an access token. This generates a key and secret pair.

Use those credentials to authenticate the relay agent.

relay login \
-k <your_token_key> \
-s <your_token_secret>

A successful login message confirms that the agent is connected and ready.

Creating the GitLab Repository

Create a GitLab repository for testing webhook integration. To keep the setup simple, a public repository can be used.

For reference, assume the repository name is WebhookProject.

Preparing Jenkins for GitLab Webhooks

Install the required Jenkins plugins from the plugin manager.

Navigate through the Jenkins dashboard to install
GitLab Plugin
GitLab Hook Plugin

Once installed, Jenkins becomes capable of receiving GitLab webhook events.

Creating the Jenkins Job

Create a new Jenkins job and configure it to pull source code from the GitLab repository.

Enable the option that allows Jenkins to be triggered by GitLab webhooks.

After enabling this option, Jenkins generates a webhook endpoint associated with the job. It usually follows this pattern.

http://<jenkins-host>:8080/project/<job-name>

Example shown for reference only.

http://localhost:8080/project/webhook-gitlab-test

Copy this endpoint, as it will be used in the forwarding configuration.

Forwarding Webhooks Using Webhook Relay

Start webhook forwarding by creating a relay bucket. This bucket acts as a routing channel between GitLab and Jenkins.

relay forward \
 --bucket gitlab-jenkins \
 http://<jenkins-host>:8080/project/<job-name>

Important note
Do not stop this process. Keep it running in the background.
Open a new terminal tab for further steps.

Once this command starts, the relay agent generates a public forwarding URL.

Configuring GitLab Webhook

Open the GitLab repository settings and navigate to the integrations or webhook section.

Paste the forwarding URL generated by Webhook Relay into the webhook URL field.

For initial testing, SSL verification can be disabled to avoid certificate related issues.

Save the webhook configuration.

Testing the Integration

Clone the GitLab repository locally and push a new commit.

git add .
git commit -m "test webhook trigger"
git push origin main

As soon as the push is completed, GitLab sends a webhook event. Webhook Relay receives it and forwards it to the local agent, which triggers the Jenkins job internally.

You can verify this by checking the Jenkins job build history.

Viewing Logs

GitLab webhook logs can be viewed from
Repository settings
Integrations
Webhook edit section

Webhook Relay logs are available in the Relay Logs section of the Webhook Relay dashboard.

Jenkins build logs confirm successful job execution.

Conclusion

Webhook Relay makes it possible to trigger Jenkins builds through GitLab webhooks even when Jenkins is hosted inside a private network. This approach avoids exposing Jenkins publicly while still enabling real time CI automation.

The same pattern works for GitHub and other webhook enabled platforms. With proper configuration, secure and efficient CI workflows can be achieved in restricted network environments.

Author: Arpeet Gupta

I’m Arpeet Gupta, a seasoned DevOps Engineer with over six years of experience in cloud-native technologies, automation, and infrastructure as code. Currently, I serve as a Senior Member of Technical Staff at LambdaTest, where I focus on building scalable and secure DevOps solutions. My expertise spans across Kubernetes, AWS, Terraform, Jenkins, ArgoCD, and observability tools like Prometheus and Grafana. I am passionate about streamlining CI/CD pipelines and enhancing system reliability. Through my writing, I aim to share practical insights and real-world solutions that empower engineering teams to adopt modern DevOps practices effectively.

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