Pipedream WhatsApp Business steps in n8n

Pipedream's WhatsApp Business app talks to Meta's Cloud API: send a text, send a template, react to an incoming message. n8n covers the same API with two native nodes: WhatsApp Business Cloud for sending and WhatsApp Trigger for receiving. The API is the same, so the logic moves 1:1; the setup on Meta's side is where the work is.

The n8n nodes

WhatsApp Business Cloud (n8n-nodes-base.whatsApp):

• Message: Send, Send and Wait for Response, Send Template
• Media: Upload, Download, Delete

WhatsApp Trigger (webhook): Messages, Message Template Status/Quality Update, Account Update, Account Review Update, Phone Number Name/Quality Update, Security, Business Capability Update, Template Category Update.

What maps where

Pipedream (app whatsapp_business)	In n8n	Status
Send Text Message	WhatsApp Business Cloud → Message → Send	manual rebuild, 1 node
Send Text Using Template	Message → Send Template	manual rebuild, check parameters
Send Voice Message	Media → Upload, then Message → Send (audio)	manual
List Message Templates	HTTP Request to the Graph API with the WhatsApp credential	manual
New Message Sent (source)	WhatsApp Trigger, event Messages	manual, needs OAuth2 credential
Code step calling graph.facebook.com with this.whatsapp_business.$auth	Code node; the token becomes a variable listed in the report	automatic, review

The converter does not have WhatsApp actions in its mapped list, so these steps arrive as placeholder Code nodes that stop the run with "Step pending manual conversion" and keep the original props as a comment. You see them in the free report.

Credentials

Meta's setup is the slow part. In n8n:

1. API key credential for the action node: a permanent Access Token and the WhatsApp Business Account ID.
2. OAuth2 credential for the trigger: the Meta app's Client ID and Client Secret.
3. On Meta: a developer account, a business portfolio and a business app. The app must be in Live mode with a Privacy Policy URL and Terms of Service URL, or webhooks will not fire for real numbers.

Pipedream's connected account does not export the token. If the old token was a temporary 24-hour one, generate a system-user token now.

Typical migration: auto-reply bot

Pipedream: WhatsApp new message → OpenAI Chat → Send Text Message. n8n: WhatsApp Trigger (Messages) → OpenAI → WhatsApp Business Cloud (Send). Three nodes, two WhatsApp credentials plus OpenAI.

Pitfalls

• One webhook per app. A Meta app has a single callback URL. When the n8n trigger registers, Pipedream stops getting events. n8n's own test URL and production URL also overwrite each other, so to test you unpublish the workflow, or use a second Meta app.
• Template parameters. n8n's common-issues page: "Bad request" on Send Template almost always means the number or type of parameters does not match the approved template.
• Media fields. For media, enter the bare field name in the node, not an expression.
• Retries and duplicates. Meta retries failed deliveries for up to 7 days; deduplicate on the message ID if replies must not repeat.
• 24-hour window. Free-form messages only reach users who wrote to you in the last 24 hours; outside that, only templates. Same rule as on Pipedream.

How to move your WhatsApp workflows

1. Export the workflows from Pipedream.
2. Upload on /convert: the free report marks every WhatsApp step and lists the credentials.
3. Download the n8n JSON (1 workflow is free; full export: $3 per workflow, $19 minimum — coming soon), rebuild the marked steps, switch the webhook.

See the Pipedream to n8n guide and the code step checker. Related: Telegram, Twilio, OpenAI.