WhatsApp — media/get

URL expiry: The url field in the response is a short-lived signed URL that expires approximately 5 minutes after it is issued. Do not cache this URL — call media/download immediately if you need the file content.

When to Use

Inbound media inspection: A webhook trigger receives a media message from a customer. Before downloading, a workflow uses this node to check the file size and MIME type to decide whether to accept, reject, or quarantine the file.
Integrity verification: A compliance workflow retrieves the sha256 field and compares it against a known hash to confirm that a media asset has not been altered since upload.
File type routing: A support workflow receives media messages and uses the mimeType from this node to route images to a visual inspection queue and PDFs to a document processing pipeline.
Pre-download size check: A storage workflow checks fileSize before downloading to avoid exceeding quota limits on the destination storage service.
Audit logging: A governance workflow stores metadata (ID, MIME type, size, SHA-256) for every inbound media item for regulatory audit trail purposes without downloading the content.

Configuration

Connection

Field	Required	Description
`accessToken`	Required	Permanent System User access token from Meta Business Manager. Store in BizFirst Credentials Manager.
`phoneNumberId`	Required	Numeric string ID of the WhatsApp Business phone number associated with the media.
`apiVersion`	Optional	Meta Graph API version, e.g. `v18.0`. Defaults to `v18.0`.

Operation

Field	Required	Description
`mediaId`	Required	The media object ID to look up. Typically sourced from a webhook event payload (`{{ $trigger.message.image.id }}`) or from a previous `media/upload` node output.

Sample Configuration

{
  "resource": "media",
  "operation": "get",
  "accessToken": "{{ $credentials.whatsAppToken }}",
  "phoneNumberId": "123456789012345",
  "mediaId": "{{ $trigger.message.image.id }}"
}

Validation Errors

Error	Cause
`accessToken is required`	The `accessToken` field is empty or missing.
`phoneNumberId is required`	The `phoneNumberId` field is empty or missing.
`mediaId is required`	The `mediaId` field is empty or missing.
`100` (Meta)	Invalid media ID — the ID does not exist or belongs to a different phone number.
`190` (Meta)	Access token is expired or invalid. Rotate the token in BizFirst Credentials Manager.
`missing_url`	Meta returned a success response but the URL field was absent. Retry once after a short delay.
`parse_error`	Meta returned a non-JSON response, typically during a temporary API outage.

Output

Success Port

Fires when Meta returns the media metadata. Note that the url expires after approximately 5 minutes — use it immediately or pass it directly to media/download.

Field	Type	Description
`mediaId`	string	The requested media object ID, echoed back.
`url`	string	Temporary signed URL to download the media binary. Expires in ~5 minutes.
`mimeType`	string	MIME type of the media file, e.g. `image/jpeg`.
`sha256`	string	SHA-256 hash of the file content for integrity verification.
`fileSize`	number	File size in bytes.
`status`	string	`"success"` on success.
`errorCode`	string	Empty on success.
`errorMessage`	string	Empty on success.
`rawResponse`	string	Full raw JSON response from the Meta API.

Error Port

Fires when Meta cannot locate the media or the request fails.

Field	Type	Description
`status`	string	`"failed"` or `"error"`.
`errorCode`	string	Meta error code or BizFirst internal code.
`errorMessage`	string	Human-readable description of the failure.
`rawResponse`	string	Raw API error JSON for diagnostics.

Sample Output

{
  "mediaId": "1234567890123456",
  "url": "https://lookaside.fbsbx.com/whatsapp_business/attachments/?mid=1234567890123456&ext=...",
  "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
  "sha256": "a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2",
  "fileSize": 204800,
  "status": "success",
  "errorCode": null,
  "errorMessage": null,
  "rawResponse": "{\"url\":\"https://lookaside.fbsbx.com/...\",\"mime_type\":\"image/jpeg\",\"sha256\":\"a1b2...\",\"file_size\":204800,\"id\":\"1234567890123456\",\"messaging_product\":\"whatsapp\"}"
}

Expression Reference

Value	Expression	Notes
Media ID	`{{ $output.getMedia.mediaId }}`	Echoed ID — pass to `media/download` or `media/delete`.
Download URL	`{{ $output.getMedia.url }}`	Use immediately — valid for ~5 minutes only.
MIME type	`{{ $output.getMedia.mimeType }}`	Use in a Switch node to route images vs. documents vs. audio.
File size (bytes)	`{{ $output.getMedia.fileSize }}`	Compare against storage quota limits before downloading.
SHA-256 hash	`{{ $output.getMedia.sha256 }}`	Compare against a known hash for integrity verification.
Status	`{{ $output.getMedia.status }}`	`"success"` on success.

Node Policies & GuardRails

Policy Area	Recommendation
URL expiry	The returned `url` expires in ~5 minutes. Never store it in a database or pass it to a long-running async step. Use `media/download` in the same workflow branch immediately after this node.
Credential storage	Store the access token in BizFirst Credentials Manager. Never paste it directly into node configuration.
Media ID scope	A media ID is only accessible from the same phone number ID that received or uploaded the media. Cross-account access returns error 100.
Size-before-download	Use the `fileSize` output in an IfCondition node to gate the download step and prevent large files from overwhelming downstream storage.
Error port handling	Always connect the error port. A deleted or expired media ID returns a 100 error — the workflow should log the event and notify the relevant team.
Integrity checks	For compliance use cases, store the `sha256` value alongside the downloaded content so integrity can be re-verified later.

Examples

Inspect Inbound Image Before Processing

{
  "resource": "media",
  "operation": "get",
  "accessToken": "{{ $credentials.whatsAppToken }}",
  "phoneNumberId": "123456789012345",
  "mediaId": "{{ $trigger.message.image.id }}"
}

A webhook trigger fires when a customer sends an image. This node fetches the metadata first. An IfCondition node downstream checks $output.getMedia.fileSize — files under 5 MB route to media/download and then to an OCR processor, while larger files are rejected with a courtesy text reply.

Route by MIME Type

{
  "resource": "media",
  "operation": "get",
  "accessToken": "{{ $credentials.whatsAppToken }}",
  "phoneNumberId": "123456789012345",
  "mediaId": "{{ $input.inboundMediaId }}"
}

A document ingestion workflow uses a Switch node on {{ $output.getMedia.mimeType }}: application/pdf routes to a PDF parser, image/jpeg and image/png route to an image analyser, and everything else routes to a generic binary storage node.

Pre-Download Integrity Check

{
  "resource": "media",
  "operation": "get",
  "accessToken": "{{ $credentials.whatsAppToken }}",
  "phoneNumberId": "123456789012345",
  "mediaId": "{{ $input.mediaId }}"
}

A compliance archival workflow first fetches metadata and stores sha256, mimeType, and fileSize in an audit log record. It then passes the mediaId to media/download and re-computes the hash server-side to confirm the content matches the metadata before archiving.