Telegram trigger image preview broken in production

Questions
1

I am having an issue with binary data from the Telegram Trigger node. When the workflow is executed manually (Editor mode), everything works fine. However, when the workflow is Active (Live), the binary data appears “broken” in the execution logs.

Even though the node correctly identifies the file (shows correct File Size around 60-63KB, Mime Type, and Extension), when I click the “View” button in the execution list, the image is shown as broken. Consequently, the subsequent nodes (like Base64 conversion) cannot process the image data correctly.

What is the error message (if any)?

No error message is shown; the workflow remains green. The only symptom is the broken image icon in the binary preview and the inability to process the file in production.

Please share your workflow

(Copia aqui o JSON do teu workflow - seleciona os nós no n8n, faz CTRL+C e cola aqui)

Share the output returned by the last node

The output shows the binary property data with metadata (e.g., file_40.jpg, 61 KB), but the content is not renderable.

Information on your n8n setup

  • n8n version: 2.3.0

  • Database (default: SQLite): SQLite (Default Easypanel config)

  • n8n EXECUTIONS_PROCESS setting (default: own, main): main

  • Running n8n via (Docker, npm, n8n cloud, desktop app): Docker via Easypanel (Hostinger)

  • Operating system: Linux (Server-side)

Thank you all in advance,
Kindest

Davide Calheiros

2

Hi @Davide_Calheiros

In test/editor mode n8n keeps the image in memory, so the preview works. In live runs the binary is stored temporarily and can be cleaned up, so the execution view shows a “broken” image even though the metadata looks correct.

Don’t rely on the execution preview in production. Process or store the file immediately after the Telegram Trigger.

Right after the trigger, either:

  • convert the binary to base64 and pass that forward, or
  • save the file to disk/S3/Drive and use that saved file in the next nodes.

If you only leave the binary in the execution data, later nodes and the UI may no longer have access to the real bytes.

3

Hi @Davide_Calheiros, welcome!

It works fine on my side in both test and production,

If you can share a sample to reproduce the issue, maybe someone can help.

4

Hi everyone,

Thanks to @tamy.santos and @mohamed3nan

To add more info, i add this short video, with explanation (sorry about my english)
▶️Problema with telegrm_triggers - n8n - 30 January 2026 | Loom

My n8n It´s hosted on Easypannel, but what I’m seeing is that the image doesn’t even arrive ‘correctly’ at the first Telegram node, so I can’t even save it afterwards.

1 Like
5

Thanks for the recording, I can see it now,

I see that you’re using the Download Images/Files option in the trigger,

Could you try turning that off and instead use the Telegram Get a File node?

You can specify the file_id there, then send the binary file to the sub-workflow as an object,

Here’s a sample workflow that explains how to do it:

Feel free to adapt it to your needs, and let me know if anything isn’t clear.

2 Likes
6

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