n8n

The Zavu community node brings the whole messaging API into n8n: send on SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, Email, Instagram, Messenger and Voice, run broadcasts, manage contacts and templates, and start workflows from inbound messages. The package ships two nodes:

Zavu sends messages and manages every resource in the API.
Zavu Trigger starts a workflow when something happens: a message arrives, a delivery status changes, a conversation opens, a call ends.

The Zavu node is also available as a tool, so an n8n AI Agent can send a WhatsApp message or look up a conversation on its own without you wiring it into the flow by hand.

Install

Open community nodes

In your self-hosted n8n, go to Settings → Community Nodes → Install.

Install the package

Enter n8n-nodes-zavu, accept the risks prompt, and confirm.

Restart if needed

n8n loads the nodes immediately. If they do not appear in the node panel, restart the instance.

Prefer the command line? From your n8n user folder (~/.n8n):

npm install n8n-nodes-zavu

n8n Cloud

n8n Cloud installs community nodes straight from the Nodes panel, but only those n8n has verified. This package is not verified yet, so today it needs self-hosted n8n. Until then, n8n Cloud can reach the same API through the HTTP Request node, which every operation here is a wrapper around: see the API reference.

n8n-nodes-zavu is rolling out to npm. If the install cannot find it yet, email support@zavu.dev and we will send you the package.

Credentials

Create a Zavu API credential and paste a project API key from Dashboard → Settings → API Keys.

Field	Notes
API Key	`zv_live_…` for production, `zv_test_…` for test mode
Base URL	`https://api.zavu.dev`. Leave the default.

Click Test to confirm the key resolves to a project. A zv_test_ key simulates sends against the WhatsApp sandbox instead of reaching the recipient, and cannot place voice calls. Use a live key for anything that must be delivered.

What the Zavu node does

Resource	Operations
Message	Send, Get, Get Many, Get Attachments, React, Show Typing Indicator
Conversation	Get, Get Many, Get Messages, Mark as Read
Contact	Create, Get, Get by Phone, Get Many, Update, Delete, Add Channel, Merge
Template	Create, Get, Get Many, Delete, Submit for Approval
Broadcast	Create, Add Contacts, Send, Get, Get Many, Get Progress, Cancel, Delete
Sender	Create, Get, Get Many, Update, Delete
Agent	Create, Get, Get Many, Update, Delete, Test, Connect Sender, Disconnect Sender
Voice Call	Create, Get, Get Many, Hang Up
Phone Number	Search Available, Purchase, Get, Get Many, Update, Release
Utility	Validate Phone, Validate Email, Submit URL, Get Balance, Get Account
Custom API Call	Any endpoint the node does not model, with the same credential

Senders, templates, agents and phone numbers load as dropdowns, so you pick a name instead of pasting an ID. The sender dropdown also shows the channels each sender can actually send on, so a sender that is not ready yet is visible before you build the workflow around it. Every list operation walks the API cursor, so Return All really does return all of them rather than stopping at the first page.

Sending

Channel defaults to Auto, which routes on the sender’s capabilities and the recipient. Any non-text message type is delivered over WhatsApp regardless. To takes a phone number in E.164, an email address, a numeric chat ID for Telegram, Instagram or Messenger, or a WhatsApp business-scoped user ID. The node builds every message type for you: text, image, video, audio, document, sticker, location, contact card, buttons, list, CTA URL, location request, contact info request, and template.

Broadcasts from a spreadsheet

Broadcast → Add Contacts can read one recipient per incoming item, which is the shape a Google Sheets or Postgres node already produces. Recipients are sent in batches of 1000, so a 5000 row sheet goes through in a single node. Sending a broadcast requires identity (KYC) and business (KYB) verification on the team and passes through content review. Creating and editing drafts requires neither. See Broadcasts.

Zavu Trigger

Pick a sender and the events to react to. On activation the node points that sender’s webhook at n8n, and on deactivation it restores whatever was configured before. Three things about Zavu webhooks shape how this node behaves. Deliveries only go to HTTPS. A local n8n hands out http://localhost:5678/…, which Zavu refuses. Expose n8n over HTTPS (a tunnel, or WEBHOOK_URL set to your public address) before activating the workflow. A sender has exactly one webhook URL. If it already points at your own backend, activation stops and tells you which URL is configured rather than silently taking it over. Turn on Replace Existing Webhook to repoint it; the previous URL is restored when you deactivate the trigger. The webhook secret is revealed once. Zavu generates and returns a secret when it configures a webhook on a sender that had none. For a sender that already had one, the existing secret is kept and never shown again, so paste it into Webhook Secret to let the node verify signatures. When the node has no secret it says so on the first delivery instead of quietly accepting unsigned traffic. Signature verification accepts both schemes Zavu emits and prefers the stronger one when a delivery carries both. See Webhook security. If you would rather configure the webhook yourself in the dashboard, turn off Register Webhook Automatically and the node only listens.

Payload

The trigger emits the webhook payload as sent:

{
  "id": "evt_1736850000000_abc123",
  "type": "message.inbound",
  "timestamp": 1736850000000,
  "senderId": "jx7abc123def456",
  "projectId": "jx7xyz789ghi012",
  "data": {
    "messageId": "jd7x2k3m4n5p6q7r8s9t0",
    "from": "+56912345678",
    "to": "+13125551212",
    "channel": "whatsapp",
    "text": "Is my order shipped?"
  }
}

Every event type is listed in Webhook events.

Example: auto-reply to inbound WhatsApp

Add the trigger

Zavu Trigger, your sender, event Message: Inbound.

Show that you are working on it

Zavu → Message → Show Typing Indicator, Message ID {{ $json.data.messageId }}. Skip this if the reply is instant.

Zavu → Message → Send, To {{ $json.data.from }}, Channel WhatsApp. Under Options, set Sender to {{ $json.senderId }} so the answer leaves from the number the contact already knows.

Troubleshooting

Activation fails: Zavu only delivers webhooks to https:// URLs

Your n8n is handing out a local or plain HTTP address. Expose it over HTTPS and set WEBHOOK_URL to that address, then activate again. To register the webhook yourself instead, turn off Register Webhook Automatically.

Activation fails: the sender already sends its webhooks somewhere else

A sender has one webhook URL. Use a different sender, fan the events out from your existing receiver, or turn on Replace Existing Webhook to repoint it here.

Deliveries are rejected for a signature mismatch

The node is verifying with the wrong secret. If the sender already had a webhook when you activated the trigger, Zavu never revealed its secret: paste it into Webhook Secret. Regenerating the secret in the dashboard invalidates the old one immediately, which breaks any other receiver using it.

The workflow never fires

Confirm the sender’s webhook is active and subscribed to the events you selected, under Senders → your sender → Webhook in the dashboard. Check the trigger’s event list matches the events you expect: deliveries of other types are acknowledged and dropped.

A send fails with whatsapp_window_closed

Free-form WhatsApp messages need an open 24 hour window. Use a template to start the conversation.

Next steps

Webhook events

Every event the trigger can subscribe to, and what each payload carries.

Smart routing

How Auto picks a channel per recipient.

Broadcasts

Bulk sends, review and delivery tracking.

API reference

Everything the Custom API Call operation can reach.

Getting Started

Build agents

Send & receive

Operate

Developer tools

Integrations

Install

n8n Cloud

Credentials

What the Zavu node does

Sending

Broadcasts from a spreadsheet

Zavu Trigger

Payload

Example: auto-reply to inbound WhatsApp

Troubleshooting

Next steps

Webhook events

Smart routing

Broadcasts

API reference

​Install

​n8n Cloud

​Credentials

​What the Zavu node does

​Sending

​Broadcasts from a spreadsheet

​Zavu Trigger

​Payload

​Example: auto-reply to inbound WhatsApp

​Troubleshooting

​Next steps

Webhook events

Smart routing

Broadcasts

API reference

Install

n8n Cloud

Credentials

What the Zavu node does

Sending

Broadcasts from a spreadsheet

Zavu Trigger

Payload

Example: auto-reply to inbound WhatsApp

Troubleshooting

Next steps