n8n-nodes-pingwa

This is an n8n community node. It lets you use pingwa in
your n8n workflows.

pingwa is a hosted service that sends WhatsApp messages to your own phone and
reads your replies back. Your workflow notifies you, asks you to approve or reject
a step, and continues once you answer. It uses a WhatsApp number that pingwa hosts,
so you do not need a Meta Business account, your own phone number, or an API
review to get started.

Installation ·
Operations ·
Credentials ·
How this differs from the built-in WhatsApp node ·
Compatibility ·
Usage ·
Resources ·
Version history

Installation

Follow the community nodes installation
guide. In n8n go
to Settings → Community Nodes → Install and enter:

n8n-nodes-pingwa

The Pingwa and Pingwa Trigger nodes then appear in the node panel.

Operations

Pingwa: Notify

Send a message. No reply expected.

• Message: the text to send, for example Backup finished: 42 GB in 6 minutes.
• Image URL: optional. Must be a public https URL.
• Idempotency Key: optional. Resending with the same key does not send twice.

Output: { id, billing_class, status }

Pingwa: Ask

Send a question and hold the workflow until you answer, or until it times out.

• Question: for example Approve the $4,200 refund?
• Buttons: quick-reply titles, for example Approve, Reject
• Timeout (Seconds): 0 uses the server default, or set your own
• On Timeout: continue with an empty reply, or fail the node

Output: { message_id, billing_class, answered, reply }. On timeout with
"Continue" selected: { answered: false, timedOut: true, message_id }.

Pingwa: Get Reply

Fetch the reply to a message you sent earlier, with Ask or Notify, without holding
an execution open.

• Message ID: the id from an earlier Notify or Ask
• Wait (Seconds): wait up to this many seconds for a reply. 0 returns at once.

Output: { message_id, answered, reply }

Pingwa Trigger

Starts a workflow when a WhatsApp message comes in. The Delivery option says how the
message reaches n8n. Pick the one that matches how your n8n is reachable.

• Webhook (default): use this if n8n has a public https URL. pingwa registers a
  webhook when you activate the workflow and removes it when you deactivate. It
  pushes each message the moment it arrives. It emits { event, message_id, body, button_id, reply_to_message_id, wa_message_id, window_open, created_at, media? }.
• Polling: use this if n8n is local, LAN-only, or behind a firewall. It pulls
  /v1/inbox on the schedule you set in Poll Times, and registers nothing on the
  pingwa side. It emits the same fields except window_open and media, because
  /v1/inbox does not return them. Inbound images and voice notes arrive only
  through the webhook.

Poll Times is n8n's own field for polling nodes. It is ignored in Webhook mode.

The Events option works in both modes: All Inbound Messages or Replies Only.

Credentials

pingwa offers two credentials. Pick one.

Pingwa OAuth2 API (one click)

1. Add a Pingwa OAuth2 API credential and click Connect. There is nothing
   to fill in. The defaults target pingwa.dev.

   

2. A pingwa tab opens. Continue with Google, or connect a number directly.

   

3. Choose which WhatsApp number n8n sends and receives on, or add a new one.

   

4. For a new number only: tap Open WhatsApp & verify and send the pre-filled
   message, or scan the QR code from another phone. pingwa spots it and continues
   on its own. There is no code to type.

   

5. The tab closes and n8n stores the token.

If you pick a number that is already verified, you skip step 4.

Pingwa API (paste a key)

1. Open WhatsApp and send join to the pingwa number.
2. pingwa replies with your key (pw_...).
3. Add a Pingwa API credential and paste it.

n8n's Test button checks the key against GET /v1/me, so a green tick means
the key works before you build anything.

Leave Base URL at its default (https://pingwa.dev). Change it only if you
run a self-hosted or staging pingwa.

How this differs from the built-in WhatsApp node

n8n ships a built-in WhatsApp Business Cloud node. It and pingwa solve
different problems, and they work well side by side.

Use the built-in node to message customers from your own WhatsApp Business
account. Use pingwa when you want a workflow to ping you. There is no Meta
setup, and no way to message anyone but yourself, so there is no outreach or spam
surface.

Compatibility

Built and tested against n8n node API version 1. Needs n8n 1.83 or later —
that is the first release whose n8n-workflow exports NodeConnectionTypes, which
the node uses. Requires Node.js 20.15 or later, which matches n8n's own runtime.

Usage

• Notify and Ask are the two you reach for first. Use Notify for a one-way ping.
  Use Ask when the workflow must wait for your decision.
• Every operation supports Continue On Fail. Turn it on and a failed item
  emits { error } instead of stopping the workflow.
• New to community nodes? See Try it
  out in the n8n docs.

Resources

• n8n community nodes documentation
• pingwa API documentation

Version history

• 0.1.6: Breaking. The two triggers are now one node. Pingwa Poll Trigger
  is gone; use Pingwa Trigger with Delivery set to Polling instead. A workflow
  built on the old poll trigger keeps its settings but needs the node swapped.
  Webhook teardown failures are now logged instead of dropped.
• 0.1.5: Passes the n8n verification ruleset — credential icons, typed
  connection types, wrapped API errors. Needs n8n 1.83 or later.
• 0.1.4: Plainer wording in the README and node fields.
• 0.1.3: README and node-panel polish (light and dark icon, labelled
  subtitles, field placeholders). Usable as an AI Agent tool. Published with npm
  provenance.
• 0.1.0: first release. Notify, Ask, and Get Reply, webhook and poll triggers,
  API-key and OAuth2 credentials.

License

MIT