Solving Chatwoot "You need to sign in or sign up" API Error on CapRover

[jordansmedeiros]

Of course. Here is a draft for the n8n forum post based on our conversation about the Chatwoot issue, following the excellent model you provided.

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Title: Solving Chatwoot “You need to sign in or sign up” API Error on CapRover

Context

I encountered a persistent API authentication error while running Chatwoot on a CapRover deployment. My goal was to connect n8n to the Chatwoot API to automate messaging workflows. However, every API request I sent from n8n (or even tools like Postman/curl) failed, despite using the correct api_access_token.

After investigating, I suspected the problem was not with Chatwoot itself or my credentials, but with the Nginx reverse proxy that CapRover uses to manage incoming traffic.

Problem

All API requests to the Chatwoot instance would fail with a 401 Unauthorized status and the following JSON error response:

{
  "error": "You need to sign in or sign up before continuing."
}

This indicated that the Chatwoot application was not receiving the authentication headers correctly. The issue stemmed from Nginx’s default behavior, which silently strips headers containing underscores (_), a convention that the Chatwoot API relies on for its tokens.

Environment

• Application: Chatwoot (v3.0 and later)
• Deployment Platform: CapRover on a cloud server
• Web Server: Nginx (as managed by CapRover)
• Interacting Tool (Example): n8n, Postman, curl

Solution

The fix involves customizing the Nginx configuration for the Chatwoot app within CapRover to explicitly allow headers with underscores. This ensures that the api_access_token reaches the Chatwoot application.

Steps

1. Access the CapRover Dashboard:
   Log into your CapRover instance.

2. Navigate to the Chatwoot App:
   Go to the Apps section and select your chatwoot-web application.

3. Edit Nginx Configuration:
   Go to the HTTP Settings tab and find the Custom Nginx Config text area.

4. Add the underscores_in_headers Directive:
   You need to add a single line to the main server block. A good place is right after the server_name directive.

   Here is the complete, modified Nginx configuration. You can replace the entire content in the text area with the block below.

   <%
   if (s.forceSsl) {
   %>
       server {
   
           listen       80;
   
           server_name  <%-s.publicDomain%>;
   
           # Used by Lets Encrypt
           location /.well-known/acme-challenge/ {
               root <%-s.staticWebRoot%>;
           }
   
           # Used by CapRover for health check
           location /.well-known/captain-identifier {
               root <%-s.staticWebRoot%>;
           }
   
           location / {
               return 302 https://$http_host$request_uri;
           }
       }
   <%
   }
   %>
   
   
   server {
   
       <%
       if (!s.forceSsl) {
       %>
           listen       80;
       <%
       }
       if (s.hasSsl) {
       %>
           listen              443 ssl;
           http2               on;
           ssl_certificate     <%-s.crtPath%>;
           ssl_certificate_key <%-s.keyPath%>;
       <%
       }
       if (s.logAccessPath) {
       %>
           access_log <%-s.logAccessPath%>;
       <%
       }
       %>
   
           client_max_body_size 500m;
   
           server_name  <%-s.publicDomain%>;
   
           # <<< THIS IS THE FIX >>>
           # Allow headers with underscores for the Chatwoot API (e.g., api_access_token)
           underscores_in_headers on;
   
           resolver 127.0.0.11 valid=10s;
           set $upstream http://<%-s.localDomain%>:<%-s.containerHttpPort%>;
   
           location / {
   
   
       <%
       if (s.redirectToPath) {
       %>
           return 302 <%-s.redirectToPath%>$request_uri;
       <%
       } else {
       %>
   
           <%
           if (s.httpBasicAuthPath) {
           %>
               auth_basic           "Restricted Access";
               auth_basic_user_file <%-s.httpBasicAuthPath%>; 
           <%
           }
           %>
   
               proxy_pass $upstream;
               proxy_set_header Host $host;
               proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
               proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
               proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
   
           <%
           if (s.websocketSupport) {
           %>
               proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
               proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
               proxy_http_version 1.1;
           <%
           }
           %>
       
       
       <%
       }
       %>
       
           }
   
           # Used by Lets Encrypt
           location /.well-known/acme-challenge/ {
               root <%-s.staticWebRoot%>;
           }
           
           # Used by CapRover for health check
           location /.well-known/captain-identifier {
               root <%-s.staticWebRoot%>;
           }
   
           error_page 502 /captain_502_custom_error_page.html;
           location = /captain_502_custom_error_page.html {
                   root <%-s.customErrorPagesDirectory%>;
                   internal;
           }
   }
   

5. Save and Update:
   Click the Save & Update button. CapRover will validate and deploy the new configuration, restarting the app.

6. Test the API Connection:
   Re-run your n8n workflow or API request. The 401 Unauthorized error should be gone, and the connection should now work as expected.

Why This Works

The issue is a conflict between Nginx’s default security policy and the Chatwoot API’s design.

• Nginx’s Default Behavior: To prevent potential ambiguities and security issues (like conflicts with CGI variables), Nginx’s default configuration silently ignores any HTTP headers containing underscores (_).
• Chatwoot’s API Requirement: The Chatwoot API, like many applications built on Ruby on Rails, uses headers with underscores (e.g., api_access_token) for authentication.

By adding the underscores_in_headers on; directive, we override the default Nginx behavior and instruct it to pass these headers through to the Chatwoot application. Once the application receives the correct token, it can authenticate the request successfully.

Additional Notes

• This is a common issue for other applications deployed behind Nginx, not just Chatwoot. If you face unexplained API auth errors, checking the proxy’s header handling is a good troubleshooting step.
• This fix needs to be applied to the chatwoot-web app, which is the public-facing entry point, not the chatwoot-worker app.

Resources

• Chatwoot Docs on CapRover Deployment: Self-hosted installation on Linux VM
• CapRover Nginx Customization: CapRover Documentation

Conclusion

This small Nginx tweak completely resolved the API authentication issue for my Chatwoot instance on CapRover. I hope this detailed guide saves others from the frustration of debugging this problem.

Happy automating!

[Diego_Mesa]

I had that problem with Nginx Proxy Manager, any all query to API endpoint return " You need to sign in or sign up" , i has solved add sentense line “underscores_in_headers on;”.

In Proxy Host > Edit > ( Edit Proxy Host ) Advanced > Custom Nginx Configuration > Add Sentense and Save