Choose Webhook Response Mode Carefully

The Webhook node has two response modes: "Immediately" and "When Last Node Finishes." Choosing the wrong mode can either cause the caller to time out or waste resources generating responses nobody reads.

Real-world example: A Shopify webhook sends order events to n8n. Shopify requires a 200 response within 5 seconds or it marks the webhook as failing and will eventually deactivate it. But the workflow takes 30 seconds to fully process the order.

Scenario 1: Shopify webhooks (fire-and-forget)
  Response Mode: Immediately
  Response Code: 200
  Reason: Shopify doesn't need the processing result, just acknowledgment

Scenario 2: Internal API endpoint called by your frontend
  Response Mode: When Last Node Finishes
  Reason: The frontend needs the processed result to display to the user

Scenario 3: GitHub webhook for CI/CD
  Response Mode: Immediately
  Response Code: 202 (Accepted)
  Reason: GitHub expects fast acknowledgment; results are posted back via Status API
```text
Webhook node configuration for the Shopify case:

| Setting | Value |
|:--------|:------|
| HTTP Method | POST |
| Path | `/shopify/orders` |
| Response Mode | Immediately |
| Response Code | 200 |
| Response Data | `{ "received": true }` |

> **Tip: Use Respond to Webhook Node for Custom Responses**
>
> If you need to send an immediate acknowledgment but also return data later, place a **Respond to Webhook** node early in your workflow to send the 200 response, then continue processing in subsequent nodes. This gives you the best of both modes.

**Related:** [Flatten Deeply Nested API Responses](../code-node-mastery/01-flatten-deeply-nested-api-responses.md) | [Use Docker Compose with Health Checks for n8n and PostgreSQL](../self-hosting-operations/01-use-docker-compose-with-health-checks-for-n8n-and-postgresql.md)