diff --git a/crates/forge-github/src/lib.rs b/crates/forge-github/src/lib.rs
index 218a313..e123b3f 100644
--- a/crates/forge-github/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/forge-github/src/lib.rs
@@ -34,6 +34,18 @@ impl git::ForgeLike for Github {
         github::webhook::is_authorised(msg, webhook_auth)
     }
 
+    fn should_ignore_message(&self, message: &config::ForgeNotification) -> bool {
+        let Some(event) = message.header("x-github-event") else {
+            return false;
+        };
+        if event == "ping" {
+            tracing::info!("successfull ping received");
+            return true;
+        }
+        tracing::info!(%event, "message");
+        false
+    }
+
     fn parse_webhook_body(
         &self,
         body: &config::webhook::forge_notification::Body,
diff --git a/crates/forge-github/src/tests/payload.json b/crates/forge-github/src/tests/payload.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 6ca8fa1..0000000
--- a/crates/forge-github/src/tests/payload.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-{"zen":"Non-blocking is better than blocking.","hook_id":481361453,"hook":{"type":"Repository","id":481361453,"name":"web","active":true,"events":["push"],"config":{"content_type":"json","insecure_ssl":"0","secret":"********","url":"https://dorida.git-next.kemitix.net/gh/test"},"updated_at":"2024-05-30T17:37:41Z","created_at":"2024-05-30T17:37:41Z","url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/hooks/481361453","test_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/hooks/481361453/test","ping_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/hooks/481361453/pings","deliveries_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/hooks/481361453/deliveries","last_response":{"code":null,"status":"unused","message":null}},"repository":{"id":807560108,"node_id":"R_kgDOMCJjrA","name":"test-runner","full_name":"kemitix/test-runner","private":true,"owner":{"login":"kemitix","id":1147749,"node_id":"MDQ6VXNlcjExNDc3NDk=","avatar_url":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/1147749?v=4","gravatar_id":"","url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix","html_url":"https://github.com/kemitix","followers_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/followers","following_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/following{/other_user}","gists_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/gists{/gist_id}","starred_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/starred{/owner}{/repo}","subscriptions_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/subscriptions","organizations_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/orgs","repos_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/repos","events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/events{/privacy}","received_events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/received_events","type":"User","site_admin":false},"html_url":"https://github.com/kemitix/test-runner","description":null,"fork":false,"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner","forks_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/forks","keys_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/keys{/key_id}","collaborators_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/collaborators{/collaborator}","teams_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/teams","hooks_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/hooks","issue_events_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/issues/events{/number}","events_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/events","assignees_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/assignees{/user}","branches_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/branches{/branch}","tags_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/tags","blobs_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/git/blobs{/sha}","git_tags_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/git/tags{/sha}","git_refs_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/git/refs{/sha}","trees_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/git/trees{/sha}","statuses_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/statuses/{sha}","languages_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/languages","stargazers_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/stargazers","contributors_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/contributors","subscribers_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/subscribers","subscription_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/subscription","commits_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/commits{/sha}","git_commits_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/git/commits{/sha}","comments_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/comments{/number}","issue_comment_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/issues/comments{/number}","contents_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/contents/{+path}","compare_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/compare/{base}...{head}","merges_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/merges","archive_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/{archive_format}{/ref}","downloads_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/downloads","issues_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/issues{/number}","pulls_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/pulls{/number}","milestones_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/milestones{/number}","notifications_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/notifications{?since,all,participating}","labels_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/labels{/name}","releases_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/releases{/id}","deployments_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/kemitix/test-runner/deployments","created_at":"2024-05-29T10:36:06Z","updated_at":"2024-05-29T10:37:14Z","pushed_at":"2024-05-29T10:37:36Z","git_url":"git://github.com/kemitix/test-runner.git","ssh_url":"git@github.com:kemitix/test-runner.git","clone_url":"https://github.com/kemitix/test-runner.git","svn_url":"https://github.com/kemitix/test-runner","homepage":null,"size":0,"stargazers_count":0,"watchers_count":0,"language":null,"has_issues":true,"has_projects":true,"has_downloads":true,"has_wiki":false,"has_pages":false,"has_discussions":false,"forks_count":0,"mirror_url":null,"archived":false,"disabled":false,"open_issues_count":0,"license":null,"allow_forking":true,"is_template":false,"web_commit_signoff_required":false,"topics":[],"visibility":"private","forks":0,"open_issues":0,"watchers":0,"default_branch":"main"},"sender":{"login":"kemitix","id":1147749,"node_id":"MDQ6VXNlcjExNDc3NDk=","avatar_url":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/1147749?v=4","gravatar_id":"","url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix","html_url":"https://github.com/kemitix","followers_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/followers","following_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/following{/other_user}","gists_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/gists{/gist_id}","starred_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/starred{/owner}{/repo}","subscriptions_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/subscriptions","organizations_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/orgs","repos_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/repos","events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/events{/privacy}","received_events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/kemitix/received_events","type":"User","site_admin":false}}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/crates/git/src/forge/like.rs b/crates/git/src/forge/like.rs
index d795118..06f4013 100644
--- a/crates/git/src/forge/like.rs
+++ b/crates/git/src/forge/like.rs
@@ -7,13 +7,20 @@ pub trait ForgeLike: std::fmt::Debug + Send + Sync {
     fn duplicate(&self) -> Box<dyn ForgeLike>;
     fn name(&self) -> String;
 
-    /// Checks that the message has a valid authorisation
+    /// Checks that the message has a valid authorisation.
     fn is_message_authorised(
         &self,
         message: &config::ForgeNotification,
         expected: &config::WebhookAuth,
     ) -> bool;
 
+    /// Checks if the message should be ignored.
+    ///
+    /// Default implementation says that no messages should be ignored.
+    fn should_ignore_message(&self, _message: &config::ForgeNotification) -> bool {
+        false
+    }
+
     /// Parses the webhook body into Some(Push) struct if appropriate, or None if not.
     fn parse_webhook_body(
         &self,
diff --git a/crates/repo-actor/src/handlers/webhook_notification.rs b/crates/repo-actor/src/handlers/webhook_notification.rs
index ac54c82..b7c3270 100644
--- a/crates/repo-actor/src/handlers/webhook_notification.rs
+++ b/crates/repo-actor/src/handlers/webhook_notification.rs
@@ -34,6 +34,10 @@ impl Handler<WebhookNotification> for actor::RepoActor {
             );
             return;
         }
+        if self.forge.should_ignore_message(&msg) {
+            actor::logger(&self.log, "forge sent ignorable message");
+            return;
+        }
         let body = msg.body();
         match self.forge.parse_webhook_body(body) {
             Err(err) => {
diff --git a/crates/repo-actor/src/tests/handlers/webhook_notification.rs b/crates/repo-actor/src/tests/handlers/webhook_notification.rs
index f2ff7ee..f20024a 100644
--- a/crates/repo-actor/src/tests/handlers/webhook_notification.rs
+++ b/crates/repo-actor/src/tests/handlers/webhook_notification.rs
@@ -107,6 +107,48 @@ async fn when_message_auth_is_invalid_drop_notification() -> TestResult {
     Ok(())
 }
 
+#[actix::test]
+async fn when_message_is_ignorable_drop_notification() -> TestResult {
+    //given
+    let fs = given::a_filesystem();
+    let repo_details = given::repo_details(&fs);
+    let forge_alias = given::a_forge_alias();
+    let repo_alias = given::a_repo_alias();
+    let headers = BTreeMap::new();
+    let body = Body::new("".to_string());
+    let forge_notification = ForgeNotification::new(forge_alias, repo_alias, headers, body);
+    let repository_factory = MockRepositoryFactory::new();
+    let mut forge = given::a_forge();
+    forge
+        .expect_is_message_authorised()
+        .return_once(|_, _| true); // is valid
+    forge.expect_should_ignore_message().returning(|_| true);
+    forge
+        .expect_parse_webhook_body()
+        .return_once(|_| Err(git::forge::webhook::Error::NetworkResponseEmpty));
+    let (actor, log) = given::a_repo_actor(
+        repo_details,
+        Box::new(repository_factory),
+        forge,
+        given::a_network().into(),
+    );
+    let actor = actor.with_webhook_auth(Some(given::a_webhook_auth()));
+
+    //when
+    actor
+        .start()
+        .send(actor::messages::WebhookNotification::new(
+            forge_notification,
+        ))
+        .await?;
+    System::current().stop();
+
+    //then
+    log.no_message_contains("send")?;
+    log.require_message_containing("forge sent ignorable message")?;
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 #[actix::test]
 async fn when_message_is_not_a_push_drop_notification() -> TestResult {
     //given
@@ -122,6 +164,7 @@ async fn when_message_is_not_a_push_drop_notification() -> TestResult {
     forge
         .expect_is_message_authorised()
         .return_once(|_, _| true); // is valid
+    forge.expect_should_ignore_message().returning(|_| false);
     forge
         .expect_parse_webhook_body()
         .return_once(|_| Err(git::forge::webhook::Error::NetworkResponseEmpty));
@@ -169,6 +212,7 @@ async fn when_message_is_push_on_unknown_branch_drop_notification() -> TestResul
     forge
         .expect_is_message_authorised()
         .return_once(|_, _| true); // is valid
+    forge.expect_should_ignore_message().returning(|_| false);
     forge.expect_parse_webhook_body().return_once(|_| Ok(push));
     let (actor, log) = given::a_repo_actor(
         repo_details,
@@ -216,6 +260,7 @@ async fn when_message_is_push_already_seen_commit_to_main() -> TestResult {
     forge
         .expect_is_message_authorised()
         .return_once(|_, _| true); // is valid
+    forge.expect_should_ignore_message().returning(|_| false);
     forge.expect_parse_webhook_body().return_once(|_| Ok(push));
     let (actor, log) = given::a_repo_actor(
         repo_details,
@@ -263,6 +308,7 @@ async fn when_message_is_push_already_seen_commit_to_next() -> TestResult {
     forge
         .expect_is_message_authorised()
         .return_once(|_, _| true); // is valid
+    forge.expect_should_ignore_message().returning(|_| false);
     forge.expect_parse_webhook_body().return_once(|_| Ok(push));
     let (actor, log) = given::a_repo_actor(
         repo_details,
@@ -310,6 +356,7 @@ async fn when_message_is_push_already_seen_commit_to_dev() -> TestResult {
     forge
         .expect_is_message_authorised()
         .return_once(|_, _| true); // is valid
+    forge.expect_should_ignore_message().returning(|_| false);
     forge.expect_parse_webhook_body().return_once(|_| Ok(push));
     let (actor, log) = given::a_repo_actor(
         repo_details,
@@ -357,6 +404,7 @@ async fn when_message_is_push_new_commit_to_main_should_stash_and_validate_repo(
     forge
         .expect_is_message_authorised()
         .return_once(|_, _| true); // is valid
+    forge.expect_should_ignore_message().returning(|_| false);
     forge.expect_parse_webhook_body().return_once(|_| Ok(push));
     let (actor, log) = given::a_repo_actor(
         repo_details,
@@ -404,6 +452,7 @@ async fn when_message_is_push_new_commit_to_next_should_stash_and_validate_repo(
     forge
         .expect_is_message_authorised()
         .return_once(|_, _| true); // is valid
+    forge.expect_should_ignore_message().returning(|_| false);
     forge.expect_parse_webhook_body().return_once(|_| Ok(push));
     let (actor, log) = given::a_repo_actor(
         repo_details,
@@ -451,6 +500,7 @@ async fn when_message_is_push_new_commit_to_dev_should_stash_and_validate_repo()
     forge
         .expect_is_message_authorised()
         .return_once(|_, _| true); // is valid
+    forge.expect_should_ignore_message().returning(|_| false);
     forge.expect_parse_webhook_body().return_once(|_| Ok(push));
     let (actor, log) = given::a_repo_actor(
         repo_details,