---
summary: "Image and media handling rules for send, gateway, and agent replies"
read_when:
  - Modifying media pipeline or attachments
title: "Image and media support"
---

The WhatsApp channel runs via **Baileys Web**. This document captures the current media handling rules for send, gateway, and agent replies.

## Goals

- Send media with optional captions via `openclaw message send --media`.
- Allow auto-replies from the web inbox to include media alongside text.
- Keep per-type limits sane and predictable.

## CLI Surface

- `openclaw message send --media <path-or-url> [--message <caption>]`
  - `--media` optional; caption can be empty for media-only sends.
  - `--dry-run` prints the resolved payload; `--json` emits `{ channel, to, messageId, mediaUrl, caption }`.

## WhatsApp Web channel behavior

- Input: local file path **or** HTTP(S) URL.
- Flow: load into a Buffer, detect media kind, and build the correct payload:
  - **Images:** resize & recompress to JPEG (max side 2048px) targeting `channels.whatsapp.mediaMaxMb` (default: 50 MB).
  - **Audio/Voice/Video:** pass-through up to 16 MB; audio is sent as a voice note (`ptt: true`).
  - **Documents:** anything else, up to 100 MB, with filename preserved when available.
- WhatsApp GIF-style playback: send an MP4 with `gifPlayback: true` (CLI: `--gif-playback`) so mobile clients loop inline.
- MIME detection prefers magic bytes, then headers, then file extension.
- Caption comes from `--message` or `reply.text`; empty caption is allowed.
- Logging: non-verbose shows `↩️`/`✅`; verbose includes size and source path/URL.

## Auto-Reply Pipeline

- `getReplyFromConfig` returns `{ text?, mediaUrl?, mediaUrls? }`.
- When media is present, the web sender resolves local paths or URLs using the same pipeline as `openclaw message send`.
- Multiple media entries are sent sequentially if provided.

## Inbound Media To Commands

- When inbound web messages include media, OpenClaw downloads to a temp file and exposes templating variables:
  - `{{MediaUrl}}` pseudo-URL for the inbound media.
  - `{{MediaPath}}` local temp path written before running the command.
- When a per-session Docker sandbox is enabled, inbound media is copied into the sandbox workspace and `MediaPath`/`MediaUrl` are rewritten to a relative path like `media/inbound/<filename>`.
- Media understanding (if configured via `tools.media.*` or shared `tools.media.models`) runs before templating and can insert `[Image]`, `[Audio]`, and `[Video]` blocks into `Body`.
  - Audio sets `{{Transcript}}` and uses the transcript for command parsing so slash commands still work.
  - Video and image descriptions preserve any caption text for command parsing.
  - If the active primary image model already supports vision natively, OpenClaw skips the `[Image]` summary block and passes the original image to the model instead.
- By default only the first matching image/audio/video attachment is processed; set `tools.media.<cap>.attachments` to process multiple attachments.

## Limits and errors

**Outbound send caps (WhatsApp web send)**

- Images: up to `channels.whatsapp.mediaMaxMb` (default: 50 MB) after recompression.
- Audio/voice/video: 16 MB cap; documents: 100 MB cap.
- Oversize or unreadable media → clear error in logs and the reply is skipped.

**Media understanding caps (transcription/description)**

- Image default: 10 MB (`tools.media.image.maxBytes`).
- Audio default: 20 MB (`tools.media.audio.maxBytes`).
- Video default: 50 MB (`tools.media.video.maxBytes`).
- Oversize media skips understanding, but replies still go through with the original body.

## Notes for Tests

- Cover send + reply flows for image/audio/document cases.
- Validate recompression for images (size bound) and voice-note flag for audio.
- Ensure multi-media replies fan out as sequential sends.

## Related

- [Camera capture](/nodes/camera)
- [Media understanding](/nodes/media-understanding)
- [Audio and voice notes](/nodes/audio)
