Critical: Vercel fails to verify/create GitHub Webhook (Auto-Deploy Broken despite clean install)

Help
1

Hi Vercel Team/Community,

I am facing a persistent issue where automatic deployments are not triggering on git pushes, and I have isolated the root cause to Vercel failing to create the necessary Webhook in my GitHub repository settings.

The Code / Setup

  • Framework: React/Vite

  • Repo: Private GitHub Repository

  • Integration: Vercel GitHub App (Installed on personal account)

The Issue

When I connect my GitHub repository to a valid Vercel project, the connection appears successful in the Vercel UI. However, no webhook is created in the GitHub repository settings. As a result, pushes to main are ignored by Vercel.

Troubleshooting Steps Taken (Failed)

I have tried the “scorched earth” approach multiple times with no success:

  1. Full Reinstall: Uninstalled the “Vercel” GitHub App completely from my GitHub account settings.

  2. Project Nuke: Deleted the Vercel project entirely.

  3. Fresh Start: Created a brand new Vercel project → “Import from Git” → Re-authorized and Installed the Vercel GitHub App.

  4. Verification:

    • Vercel says “Connected”.

    • GitHub says the App is “Installed” with permissions to Read/Write Webhooks.

    • BUT: The “Webhooks” tab in GitHub repository settings remains completely empty.

Additional Context

  • Manual deployments via CLI (vercel deploy --prod) work perfectly.

  • A manually created “Deploy Hook” (API URL) works if I add it to GitHub manually.

  • The issue is specifically that the automatic integration is failing to register its webhook.

Resolution (Confirming This Is a Vercel Bug)

After exhausting all troubleshooting options, I switched to Netlify as a test. Using the exact same GitHub repository and identical setup process:

:white_check_mark: Netlify connected in under 2 minutes
:white_check_mark: Auto-deploy worked immediately on first push
:white_check_mark: All subsequent git pushes triggered automatic deployments as expected
:white_check_mark: No webhook issues whatsoever

This confirms the issue is definitively a Vercel platform bug, not a problem with my repository, GitHub account, or configuration.

Has anyone seen this “silent failure” to register webhooks? Is there a way to force Vercel to regenerate the integration webhook without effectively rebuilding the entire project again?

Thanks!

7

This is a known pattern that typically stems from a Git metadata mismatch. Let me help you get this sorted.

The most common cause is that your Git commit author email ndoes ot match your GitHub account email. Run these commands:

git config user.email
git config user.name

The email shown must match your GitHub account email (not your Vercel email). If they don’t match, update them:

git config --global user.email "[your-github-email@example.com](mailto:your-github-email@example.com)"
git config --global user.name "Your GitHub Name"

Then push a new commit to test.

Let me know how you get on!

9

Hi Pauline,

You are absolutely right. This did solve it. I wish it was more prominently known or well documented. I’m sure you guys are doing your best, but thank you for reaching out. Much appreciated!