@jep182/n8n-nodes-whatsthat

WhatsThat lets you connect one or more WhatsApp numbers inside n8n, link chats or groups with simple names, send messages, and react to incoming events.

In the n8n node picker, you will find:

• WhatsThat
• WhatsThat Trigger

You also need one credential:

• WhatsThat Runtime

Before You Start

Create WhatsThat Runtime credentials and choose a persistent storage path, for example:

/home/node/.n8n/whatsthat

This folder is used to store session files and local metadata.

Inside WhatsThat you choose:

• Section: Session, Linked Chat, or Message
• Action: the specific action you want to run

How To Connect Your Number

1. Add a WhatsThat node.
2. Set Section to Session.
3. Set Action to Connect Session.
4. Fill in:
   • Session Name: a stable internal name like main-phone
   • Display Name: a friendly label like Luca phone
   • WhatsApp Number: optional, only if you want a pairing code instead of relying only on QR
5. Run the node.
6. In the output, open qrCodeUrl.

Open qrCodeUrl as the standard and recommended way to connect the number.

Important:

• open qrCodeUrl whenever possible
• do not rely on pairingCode
• pairingCode is not stable and may fail or stop working depending on the session state and device behavior
• qrDataUrl is available only if you specifically need the raw embedded QR image data

Example:

Session Name: main-phone
Display Name: Luca phone
WhatsApp Number: 393331234567

How To Wait Until The Number Is Fully Connected

After Connect Session, add another WhatsThat node:

1. Set Section to Session
2. Set Action to Wait Until Connect
3. Use the same Session Name
4. Choose how many seconds to wait in Timeout Seconds

This second node waits for the already-started session to become fully connected.

How To Link A Group Or Chat Manually

1. Add a WhatsThat node
2. Set Section to Linked Chat
3. Start with Action = List Discovered Chats
4. Pick the chat or group you want to use
5. Change to Action = Link Chat
6. Fill in:
   • Session Name
   • Chat JID
   • Linked Chat: the simple name you want to use later, for example support or team

Example:

Linked Chat: support

After that, you can send messages by choosing that linked chat instead of writing the raw JID every time.

How To Link A Group Or Chat From WhatsApp

Use WhatsThat Trigger.

1. Add a WhatsThat Trigger node
2. Select the same Session Name
3. Set Event to Link Chat Command
4. Leave the default command or change it

By default, users can send a message like:

/link-whatsthat support

If that message is sent inside a group or chat, WhatsThat links that conversation with alias support.

This is useful when you want users to self-register a group without opening n8n.

How To Send A Message To A Linked Chat

1. Add a WhatsThat node
2. Set Section to Message
3. Set Session Name
4. Set Send Message To to Linked Chat
5. Choose a linked chat from the dropdown
6. Choose Message Type
7. Write the message

Example:

Send Message To: Linked Chat
Linked Chat: support
Message Type: Text
Message: Hello from n8n

How To Send A Message To A Number

1. Add a WhatsThat node
2. Set Section to Message
3. Set Send Message To to WhatsApp Number
4. Enter the number with country code, digits only, without 00 and without +

Example:

WhatsApp Number: 393331234567

How To Send A Message To Yourself

1. Add a WhatsThat node
2. Set Section to Message
3. Set Send Message To to Yourself

WhatsThat uses the number already connected for that session.

This is useful for testing.

How To Send Media

For images and videos you can choose:

• Native Media
• As File

Use Media URL for the file you want to send.

Examples:

• send an image preview normally
• send a PDF as a document
• send a video as a file attachment

How To Receive Events

Use WhatsThat Trigger when you want to react to:

• incoming messages
• your own sent messages
• pairing events
• connection events
• group updates

Common examples:

• start a workflow when a message arrives
• auto-link a chat with /link-whatsthat support
• continue a workflow when a session becomes connected

Example Workflow

You can import this example:

• examples/register-number.workflow.json

It shows the basic flow:

1. Connect Session
2. Wait Until Connect

Notes

• Use one persistent n8n instance as the owner of these sessions
• Keep the runtime storage path persistent
• If n8n restarts, active in-memory sockets are restarted from the saved session files

Thanks

This project uses Baileys.

License

MIT