Clarification on webhook vs app event and retakes

n8n Academy N8N101: Essentials: Your First Workflows
1

Hi n8n team/community,

I’m really new to n8n and currently going through n8n Academy and had two quick questions:

  • If I complete a course but do not reach the required 70% passing score, am I able to retake the course, quizzes, or final exam? If so, are there any limits on retakes or a waiting period before trying again?

  • I also wanted to ask for clarification on some quiz wording. I
    came across a question about triggering a workflow when a new row is added to a Google Sheet (screenshot attached).

    My understanding was that an app event trigger node could detect when a new row is added.
    Before answering, I checked whether the Google Sheets trigger offered a “new row” event, which made me think that was the right approach.
    However, the expected answer was using a Schedule Trigger to poll the sheet.

Could someone clarify the intended distinction between:

  • webhooks
  • app event

Specifically, are app event triggers sometimes webhook-based and sometimes polling-based, depending on the integration?
In this Google Sheets example, is the Academy question expecting the answer to be polling because Google Sheets does not natively push webhook events to n8n?

I’m trying to understand the technical distinction so I don’t faceplant in the future. I do understand the polling reasoning, but I’m having a hard time understanding why an app event cannot be used as it seems more efficient to me.

Thanks in advance!

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2

Hello,

You have 3 retries of the graded exams. There are also knowledge checks spread throughout the course that are ungraded as is shown in your screenshot. You can keep working on the workflow grades until you pass. That is a pass/fail setup with unlimited retries for your workflow submissions.

Regarding the question you posted.

Webhooks wait for an event from an external service to trigger. Think a crm gets a new contact and you configure a webhook to fire a workflow after that contact is added.

App events, behind the scenes they could either be a webhook or a scheduled polling trigger. The native nodes make sure you have the options you need without having to configure everything manually.

With regard to why not app based triggers? Its because the question states does not support webhooks which google sheets doesn’t. Since Google Sheets does not support webhooks (i.e., it cannot push updates to n8n), the correct approach is polling.

cheers,

3

Ohhh ok got it thank you for the detailed answer :slight_smile:

That makes sense, as quick feedback since you are still working on developing n8n Academy. Testing on something that was not previously introduced, leads to learning here instead of in the course.

It goes from “you can paste with ctrl+v” to “an app event can be scheduled polling or webhook under the hood” real quick :smiley: