Simulations - Trackpilots

🧪 Beta FeatureReseller Webhook Simulations is currently in beta. The core functionality is stable, but additional event types and options will be added in future releases.

📌 Overview

The Simulations page lets you send a realistic, cryptographically signed test payload to your reseller webhook endpoint — without waiting for a real employee desktop event to fire. Use simulations to:

Verify your endpoint URL is reachable
Confirm your HMAC signature verification logic is correct
Inspect the exact payload structure for each event type
Debug response errors before going live

👉 Direct link: https://app.trackpilots.com/resellers/simulations

🔐 Real SignaturesSimulation payloads are signed with the same HMAC SHA256 algorithm as live events. Your server’s signature verification code will work identically for both.

🚀 How to Run a Simulation

Go to Resellers → Simulations
Select a Webhook from the dropdown — lists all configured reseller webhooks with their URLs
Select an Event Type — only events subscribed to on the selected webhook are shown:
- desktop.app_tracking.captured
- desktop.screenshot_tracking.captured
- desktop.activity_tracking.captured
Review the Request Payload Preview (right panel) to see the exact JSON that will be sent
Click Send Test Event
View the Simulation Result panel for the full response details

📦 Request Payload Preview

Before sending, the right panel shows a formatted preview of the payload that will be delivered to your endpoint. The preview updates automatically when you change the webhook or event selection. All simulation payloads include "simulation": true so you can distinguish them from live events in your server logs.

📨 Payload Structures

App Tracking Event — `desktop.app_tracking.captured`

{
  "event": "desktop.app_tracking.captured",
  "version": "v1",
  "agent": "desktop-agent",
  "simulation": true,
  "timestamp": 1716000000000,
  "data": [
    {
      "organisation": { "organisationId": "<uuid>" },
      "team": { "teamId": "<uuid>" },
      "user": { "userId": "<uuid>" },
      "tracking": {
        "trackingId": "<uuid>",
        "app": {
          "name": "Google Chrome",
          "type": "website",
          "category": "Unknown Category",
          "iconUrl": "https://www.google.com/favicon.ico",
          "domain": "google.com",
          "fullUrl": "https://www.google.com",
          "productivityStatus": "neutral"
        },
        "time": {
          "startDate": "2024-01-15T09:00:00.000Z",
          "endDate": "2024-01-15T09:00:20.000Z",
          "durationInSeconds": 20
        },
        "trackingMode": "online",
        "operatingSystem": "macos"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Screenshot Tracking Event — `desktop.screenshot_tracking.captured`

{
  "event": "desktop.screenshot_tracking.captured",
  "version": "v1",
  "agent": "desktop-agent",
  "simulation": true,
  "timestamp": 1716000000000,
  "data": [
    {
      "organisation": { "organisationId": "<uuid>" },
      "team": { "teamId": "<uuid>" },
      "user": { "userId": "<uuid>" },
      "screenshot": {
        "screenshotId": "<uuid>",
        "imageBuffer": "[simulation-placeholder: binary image buffer not included]",
        "app": {
          "name": "Google Chrome",
          "type": "website",
          "category": "Unknown Category",
          "iconUrl": "https://www.google.com/favicon.ico",
          "domain": "google.com",
          "fullUrl": "https://www.google.com",
          "productivityStatus": "productive"
        },
        "time": { "capturedAt": "2024-01-15T09:00:00.000Z" },
        "operatingSystem": "macos",
        "workType": "remote",
        "isIdle": false
      }
    }
  ]
}

🖼️ imageBuffer in SimulationsIn simulation payloads, imageBuffer contains a placeholder string instead of a real binary image. In live events, this field carries the actual screenshot binary. Make sure your server handles both gracefully.

Activity Tracking Event — `desktop.activity_tracking.captured`

Fired when an employee switches between Work Mode and Privacy Mode on their desktop app.

{
  "event": "desktop.activity_tracking.captured",
  "version": "v1",
  "agent": "desktop-agent",
  "simulation": true,
  "timestamp": 1716000000000,
  "data": {
    "organisation": { "organisationId": "<uuid>" },
    "team": { "teamId": "<uuid>" },
    "user": { "userId": "<uuid>" },
    "activity": { "workMode": true }
  }
}

workMode: true — Employee switched to Work Mode (tracking active)
workMode: false — Employee switched to Privacy Mode (tracking paused)

📊 Simulation Result Panel

After sending, the result panel shows:

Field	Description
HTTP Status	Response code from your server (2xx = success, 4xx/5xx = error)
Latency	Round-trip time in milliseconds
Result	✅ Delivered or ❌ Failed
Delivery Headers	The `x-webhook-signature` and `x-webhook-timestamp` headers sent with the request
Sent Payload	The full JSON body that was POSTed to your endpoint
Endpoint Response	The raw response body your server returned

All three code blocks have a 📋 copy button for easy inspection.

🔐 Signature Verification

The simulation sends the same headers as a live webhook:

Header	Description
`x-webhook-signature`	HMAC SHA256 of `timestamp.body` signed with your webhook secret
`x-webhook-timestamp`	Unix timestamp in milliseconds when the request was sent

Your server should verify the signature using:

HMAC_SHA256(timestamp + "." + rawBody, WEBHOOK_SECRET) === x-webhook-signature

See the Webhooks guide for a complete Node.js implementation with timing-safe comparison.

❌ Error Reference

HTTP Status	Error Shown	Meaning
`404`	Webhook not found	The webhook was deleted after selection
`400`	Event type not registered	The selected event is not in this webhook’s subscribed events
`503`	Service unavailable	Simulation service is temporarily down — retry in a moment
Network error	Network error	Your endpoint is unreachable from Trackpilots servers
Other	Simulation failed	Unexpected error — check your endpoint logs

🧪 Test Locally with ngrok

To test simulations against a local server:

Start your local webhook server (e.g. on port 3000)
Run ngrok to expose it:
ngrok http 3000
Copy the generated HTTPS URL (e.g. https://abc123.ngrok.io)
Create or edit a reseller webhook with this URL
Run a simulation — your local server will receive the signed payload

⚠️ ngrok URLs are Temporaryngrok URLs change each session (on the free plan). Update your webhook URL each time you restart ngrok.

✅ Summary

Step	Action
1	Select a configured reseller webhook
2	Choose an event type to simulate
3	Preview the request payload
4	Click Send Test Event
5	Inspect status, latency, headers, payload, and response

🔗 No webhooks yet?You need at least one reseller webhook configured before running simulations. 👉 Create a Reseller Webhook

​📌 Overview

​🚀 How to Run a Simulation

​📦 Request Payload Preview

​📨 Payload Structures

​App Tracking Event — desktop.app_tracking.captured

​Screenshot Tracking Event — desktop.screenshot_tracking.captured

​Activity Tracking Event — desktop.activity_tracking.captured

​📊 Simulation Result Panel

​🔐 Signature Verification

​❌ Error Reference

​🧪 Test Locally with ngrok

​✅ Summary

📌 Overview

🚀 How to Run a Simulation

📦 Request Payload Preview

📨 Payload Structures

App Tracking Event — `desktop.app_tracking.captured`

Screenshot Tracking Event — `desktop.screenshot_tracking.captured`

Activity Tracking Event — `desktop.activity_tracking.captured`

📊 Simulation Result Panel

🔐 Signature Verification

❌ Error Reference

🧪 Test Locally with ngrok

✅ Summary