[GOWS] - Messages sent via POST /api/sendFile not returned by GET messages API

[niels-przybilla]

Messages sent via POST /api/sendFile (document/file messages) are successfully delivered to the recipient (201 response, message.ack confirmed via webhook), but they do not appear in the GET /api/{session}/chats/{chatId}/messages response afterwards.

Messages sent via POST /api/sendImage to the same chat do appear correctly in the messages API.

Version

{
"version": "2026.3.1",
"engine": "GOWS",
"tier": "PLUS",
"platform": "linux/x64"
}

Steps

To Reproduce:

1. Send a document via POST /api/sendFile:
   {
   "session": "my-session",
   "chatId": "201992580407535@lid",
   "file": {
   "mimetype": "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet",
   "filename": "RawMaterialSheet.xlsx",
   "data": ""
   },
   "caption": "Testing Raw Material Sheet Message"
   }
2. Receive 201 Created with valid message ID
3. Confirm delivery via message.ack webhook
4. Fetch messages: GET /api/my-session/chats/{chatId}/messages?limit=50&downloadMedia=true
5. The file message is missing from the response

Comparison: POST /api/sendImage to the same chat — image does appear in messages API.

Expected behavior

File messages sent via /api/sendFile should appear in the messages API response, same as image messages from /api/sendImage.

Requests - Responses

• POST /api/sendFile → 201 Created, ID: true_201992580407535@lid_3EB0D265DBEDAF2D51BEB7
• GET messages?limit=50 → 50 messages returned, sent file not present
• WebSocket message.any + message.ack both received for the file ✓

Additional context

• Engine: GOWS
• Tested with .xlsx, .pdf, .docx — none appear in messages API
• _data.Message key shows documentWithCaptionMessage type
• Chat ID format: @lid (LID-based addressing)
• May be specific to GOWS engine's message persistence for document-type messages

[niels-przybilla]

Hi Amazing WAHA Team :)

Is there any update on this issue ?

[devlikepro]

✅ Ready and available in dev images

Make sure to select the engine via the environment variable - WHATSAPP_DEFAULT_ENGINE=WEBJS|GOWS|NOWEB:

• devlikeapro/waha-plus:dev
• devlikeapro/waha-plus:dev-chrome
• devlikeapro/waha-plus:dev-arm

🚀 Will be included in the next release!

[devlikepro]

2026.4.1 - GOWS - GET /api/messages — messages sent via POST /api/sendFile not returned - #1998