n8n Zalo Bot Node: Complete Setup and Operations Guide

Why Automate Zalo Bot?

Zalo is Vietnam's most popular messaging app with over 75 million users. If your business operates in Vietnam, your customers are on Zalo. The n8n Zalo Bot node lets you connect Zalo's Bot Platform directly into your n8n workflows, enabling automated replies, lead capture, CRM sync, and notification routing without writing custom code.

This guide covers everything you need to deploy and configure the n8n Zalo Bot node in production. It is written for automation engineers, integrators, and technical founders who want to move fast.

What You Get

The n8n-nodes-zalo-platform package includes two nodes:

• Zalo Bot Trigger – receives incoming messages and events from your Zalo bot via webhook, with automatic webhook registration and secret token management
• Zalo Bot (Action) – sends messages, photos, stickers, and manages webhook configuration through 8 operations

The Zalo Bot Platform API follows the same conventions as the Telegram Bot API. All requests are POST, and the bot token is embedded in the URL path:

https://bot-api.zaloplatforms.com/bot{TOKEN}/{method}

Installation

Step 1: Create Your Zalo Bot

1. Open the Zalo app on your phone
2. Search for the Official Account "Zalo Bot Manager"
3. Tap "Tao bot" (Create bot) in the chat menu
4. Enter a bot name (must start with "Bot", e.g., Bot MyShop)
5. Zalo sends your Bot Token via message in this format: {bot_id}:{secret_key}

Step 2: Install the Node

Via n8n Community Nodes (recommended):

Settings > Community Nodes > Install > n8n-nodes-zalo-platform

Manual installation (self-hosted):

cd ~/.n8n
npm install n8n-nodes-zalo-platform

Queue/Worker mode: If you run n8n with separate worker containers, install the node on both the main instance and all workers. Custom nodes must exist in ~/.n8n/ on every container. Missing this step is the most common deployment issue.

Step 3: Configure Credentials

Create a new credential of type Zalo Bot API:

When you save, n8n automatically calls POST /getMe to verify the token is valid.

Zalo Bot Trigger: Receiving Messages

The n8n Zalo Bot Trigger node handles webhook lifecycle automatically. When you activate a workflow, the node:

1. Registers a webhook URL with the Zalo API (POST /setWebhook)
2. Generates a secret token deterministically: SHA256(botToken).hex().substring(0, 32)
3. Validates every incoming request against the X-Bot-Api-Secret-Token header
4. Cleans up the webhook when the workflow is deactivated (POST /deleteWebhook)

You do not need to copy webhook URLs or manage secret tokens manually.

Event Filter

Sample Output Payload

When a user sends a text message to your bot, the trigger outputs:

{
  "event_name": "message.text.received",
  "message": {
    "date": 1775362520302,
    "chat": {
      "chat_type": "PRIVATE",
      "id": "818e7bf147beaee0f7af"
    },
    "message_id": "261de7b845d153890ac6",
    "from": {
      "id": "818e7bf147beaee0f7af",
      "is_bot": false,
      "display_name": "Nguyen Van A"
    },
    "text": "Xin chao"
  }
}

Key expressions for downstream nodes:

Zalo Bot Action Node: 8 Operations

Get Bot Info

Endpoint: POST /getMe | Parameters: None

Returns bot name and ID. Use this to verify your connection.

Send Message

Endpoint: POST /sendMessage

Request body sent to Zalo:

{ "chat_id": "818e7bf147beaee0f7af", "text": "Thanks for reaching out!" }

Send Photo

Endpoint: POST /sendPhoto

Send Sticker

Endpoint: POST /sendSticker

Caveat: The UI labels this field stickerId, but the API request body uses the key "sticker". The node handles this mapping automatically.

Get Updates (Long Polling)

Endpoint: POST /getUpdates

Important: getUpdates and webhooks are mutually exclusive on the Zalo API. You must call Delete Webhook before using Get Updates. The timeout value is sent as a string in the request body.

Set Webhook / Delete Webhook / Get Webhook Info

These three operations manage webhook configuration manually. If you use the Zalo Bot Trigger node, you do not need these. The Trigger handles registration and cleanup automatically.

Workflow Examples

Auto-Reply Bot

Zalo Bot Trigger (Any Message)
  → IF ($json.event_name == "message.text.received")
    → Zalo Bot: Send Message
        chatId: {{ $json.message.chat.id }}
        text: "Thanks! We'll respond within 5 minutes."

Lead Capture to Google Sheets + Slack Alert

Zalo Bot Trigger (Text Message)
  → Google Sheets: Append Row
      Name: {{ $json.message.from.display_name }}
      Message: {{ $json.message.text }}
      Timestamp: {{ $json.message.date }}
  → Slack: Send Message
      text: "New Zalo lead from {{ $json.message.from.display_name }}"

Polling Mode (No HTTPS Domain)

If your n8n instance does not have a public HTTPS URL, use polling as an alternative:

Schedule Trigger (every 30 seconds)
  → Zalo Bot: Get Updates (timeout: 25)
  → IF (result is not empty)
    → Process messages...

Note: You must call Delete Webhook once before starting the polling pattern.

Cloudflare Configuration

If your n8n instance sits behind Cloudflare, you need to create two rules. Zalo sends webhook requests with User-Agent: Java/1.8.0_192, which Cloudflare's security features block by default.

Rule 1: WAF Custom Rule

• Condition: URI Path contains /webhook
• Action: Skip all managed rules

Rule 2: Configuration Rule

• Condition: URI Path contains /webhook
• Action: Disable Browser Integrity Check

Why /webhook without trailing slash? This covers both production URLs (/webhook/...) and n8n test URLs (/webhook-test/...). Using /webhook/ with a trailing slash would miss the test endpoints.

Troubleshooting

Premium and Custom Solutions

The community node is open-source and free. For organizations that need deeper integration, THE NEXOVA provides custom implementations:

• Full Zalo OA (Official Account) API integration
• AI-powered chatbot with natural language processing
• CRM, ERP, and accounting system connectors
• Custom monitoring dashboards and analytics
• Deployment, training, and long-term maintenance

If you need a tailored solution or want to explore what the n8n Zalo Bot node can do for your business, get in touch with our team.