Exit and re-entry conditions can silently remove a contact before the webhook step
ActiveCampaign automations support entry and exit conditions that can remove a contact from the automation's flow before it reaches a later step, and contacts generally cannot re-enter and be mid-flow simultaneously — if an exit condition, unsubscribe event, or goal step is configured upstream of the webhook action, a contact meeting that condition never reaches the webhook step at all, and this produces the exact same "nothing arrived at n8n" symptom as an actual delivery failure. Check the automation's structure for any conditional branch or exit rule positioned before the webhook action, not just the webhook step's own configuration.
Fix and verify with a direct test
First rule out the n8n side entirely by curling the webhook URL manually and confirming n8n logs the request — this isolates whether the gap is ActiveCampaign not sending, or n8n not receiving what was sent.
If the manual curl succeeds but the automation still does not trigger it, trace a single test contact step-by-step through the automation's own contact log to confirm it actually reaches the webhook action (not just enters the automation), then rebuild the webhook step from scratch (remove and re-add it) rather than editing the existing one if the contact does reach it but delivery still fails, since some reported cases describe a stuck or misconfigured step that does not resolve by editing its URL field alone.
Sources checked for this guide
Community threads describing this exact automation-embedded webhook gap are below; general n8n webhook diagnostics apply on the receiving side; ActiveCampaign's own help documentation describes automation exit/entry condition behavior.
Frequently asked questions
Is an automation-embedded webhook the same as ActiveCampaign's account-level webhooks?
No. They are separate mechanisms with separate configuration and logging. Troubleshooting steps for one do not automatically apply to the other.
How do I know if ActiveCampaign even tried to send the webhook?
Check the automation's own contact-level log for that specific contact to see exactly which steps it reached. If it never reached the webhook step, an exit condition or earlier branch likely removed it before delivery was ever attempted.
Could an exit condition really stop the webhook from firing for a contact?
Yes. Automations can have exit or entry conditions and goal steps positioned before the webhook action; a contact meeting one of those exits or diverts before reaching the webhook, producing the same symptom as a genuine delivery failure.
I curled the URL manually and n8n received it fine — what does that tell me?
It confirms n8n's receiving side works correctly, which narrows the problem to ActiveCampaign either not sending the request, or the contact never reaching that step in the automation at all.
