Zero‑Code Integration: Connect DingTalk to Alibaba Cloud EventBridge

Background

EventBridge is Alibaba Cloud’s serverless event bus that adopts the CloudEvents 1.0 standard to connect a wide range of cloud services. It already integrates more than 85 Alibaba Cloud products, offering over 941 event types, and supports 50+ SaaS products, enabling users to drive compute resources across the Alibaba ecosystem.

Key Technology

The integration relies on two core capabilities: the DingTalk connector, which provides a no‑code visual interface for data exchange between DingTalk, internal systems, and third‑party SaaS; and EventBridge’s HTTP event source, which exposes a webhook endpoint for receiving external events.

EventBridge HTTP Event Source

The HTTP event source is a webhook URL that accepts POST requests. It supports HTTP/HTTPS, public internet, and VPC‑based access. When a request arrives, EventBridge converts it into a CloudEvent, placing the request headers and body into CloudEvent fields while filling other fields from user‑defined resource attributes.

{
  "datacontenttype": "application/json",
  "aliyunaccountid": "11*****48",
  "data": {
    "headers": {},
    "path": "/webhook/putEvents",
    "body": {
      "syncAction": "user_add_org",
      "orderInDepts": "{1:17626***32512}",
      "dingId": "$:***:$5RU***QhP/pK**+4A==",
      "active": true,
      "avatar": "",
      "isAdmin": false,
      "userId": "1411****46379",
      "isHide": false,
      "isLeaderInDepts": "{1:false}",
      "isBoss": false,
      "isSenior": false,
      "name": "小明",
      "department": [1]
    },
    "httpMethod": "POST",
    "queryString": {}
  },
  "subject": "acs:eventbridge:cn-hangzhou:**:eventbus/**/eventsource/my.dingtalk",
  "source": "my.dingtalk",
  "type": "eventbridge:Events:HTTPEvent",
  "specversion": "1.0",
  "id": "7059131c-**-**-b232-c4c3592120ae",
  "time": "2022-05-13T15:28:29.504+08:00"
}

Security Settings

The HTTP event source provides three built‑in security controls that require no custom signature verification:

Request Method – only the configured HTTP methods are accepted.

Source IP – requests from IPs outside the allowed range are filtered.

Referer Domain – the request’s referer must match the configured domain.

Application Scenarios

Analytics – analyze DingTalk events such as approval efficiency or meeting usage.

Notifications – deliver approval, employee change, or meeting‑room alerts via DingTalk.

Integration – bridge DingTalk data with internal IT systems (Function Compute, RDS, Message Queues, etc.).

EDA – build event‑driven automation, e.g., auto‑provisioning accounts for new hires.

Best Practice: Zero‑Code New‑Employee Ingestion

This example shows how to capture a new‑employee event from DingTalk and store it in an Alibaba Cloud RDS database without writing code.

1. Solution Overview

The workflow includes DingTalk, the DingTalk connector, EventBridge, and an RDS instance. The diagram below illustrates the data flow.

2. Prerequisites

A DingTalk account with admin rights on an organization.

An Alibaba Cloud account with EventBridge and RDS services enabled.

3. Step‑by‑Step Implementation

Create an Event Bus and HTTP Event Source In the EventBridge console, create a new event bus and add an HTTP event source. Record the generated public webhook URL.

Create a DingTalk Connection Flow In DingTalk Open Platform, create a connection flow with the trigger “Official‑Address‑User‑Added”. Add an “HTTP Webhook” node and paste the webhook URL from the previous step.

Trigger a New‑Employee Event Invite a new user to the DingTalk team. The event appears in EventBridge’s event trace, converted to a CloudEvent.

Create the Employee Table in RDS Use the following SQL to create a simple table that matches the fields of the incoming event.

CREATE TABLE `user_info` (
  `dingId` varchar(256) NULL,
  `active` varchar(256) NULL,
  `isAdmin` varchar(256) NULL,
  `userId` varchar(256) NULL,
  `name` varchar(256) NULL
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARACTER SET=utf8;

Define an Event Rule In EventBridge, create a rule that filters the HTTP event source, maps the required fields, and sets the RDS instance as the target.

Verify Ingestion Trigger the DingTalk event again. Observe the successful push in EventBridge’s trace and confirm the record appears in the RDS table.

By following these steps, a new‑employee event from DingTalk is captured and stored in a cloud database with virtually no custom code, demonstrating a low‑cost, cloud‑native approach to building enterprise management applications.