Azure Container Registry Webhook Ping

Question

Hi,

I’m trying to confirm the behavior of the Azure Container Registry (ACR) Webhook “Ping” feature.

From what I’ve observed, it looks like triggering the webhook with the "Ping" causes the associated Web App to restart, and as a result, the app pulls the latest image. Is this the intended behavior? So the ping is not to test the connectivity of the webhook but actually triggers it.

Also, should this restart (and image update) only happen if Continuous Deployment is enabled on the Web App, or does the webhook cause a restart regardless of that setting?

Appreciate any insights, just want to make sure I understand how this is meant to work.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi miguel queiroz

Thanks for using the Q&A platform.

The Ping button in ACR sends a test POST request to the configured webhook endpoint, which mimics an event trigger but does not include an actual image push or delete payload. It’s mainly for connectivity and endpoint testing.

Kindly find official documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-webhook#test-webhook

However, even though ping is just a test POST, it can invoke deployment effects if the webhook target interprets it as such. A recent Stack Exchange post observed that calling the web‑hook (ping) from the linked Container Registry, evokes in the Webapp a restart, which pulls a new image. This confirms your current experience.
Kindly go through: https://webmasters.stackexchange.com/questions/147928/azure-webapp-continuous-deployment-setting

If the response was helpful, please feel free to mark it as “Accepted Answer” and consider giving it an upvote. This helps others in the community as well.

Regards,

Obinna.

Answer 2

Well, The stack exchange link you commented about, was from me 😂 - questioning this same subject.

What I noticed is that the ping, somehow makes the webapp to restart. I just wanted a more official confirmation that this is normal, and what really is the continuous integration option doing, when not using a Git Source

Answer 3

Hi miguel queiroz

If your Web App for Containers has Continuous Deployment enabled from a Container Registry, a webhook "ping" will restart the app.

When you enable Continuous Deployment for a Web App that is connected to an Azure Container Registry (ACR):

• Azure sets up a webhook in ACR, pointing to an internal endpoint for the Web App.
• This webhook notifies the Web App whenever a new image is pushed to ACR.
• The Web App restarts and pulls the latest image upon receiving the webhook notification.

Even though you’re not using Git, “Continuous Deployment” just means: “watch the container tag and re-deploy when it changes.” Even without a Git source, the Web App relies on ACR updates to trigger deployments.

This behavior is not explicitly documented as an intended effect but has been observed in real-world scenarios.

Hope this helps!

Please Let me know if you have any queries.

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