S3 enabled: messageContextInfo guard aborts the whole upsert pipeline - no MESSAGES_UPSERT webhook for media (v2.3.7) #2768

Environment

• Evolution API v2.3.7 (Docker evoapicloud/evolution-api:latest)
• S3 storage enabled (Cloudflare R2, S3-compatible endpoint, S3_SKIP_POLICY=true)
• Channel: WhatsApp Baileys, multiple instances on the same server
• DB: PostgreSQL, Redis cache (CACHE_REDIS_SAVE_INSTANCES=false)

Summary

Since enabling S3_ENABLED=true, media messages that reach an instance either (a) wrapped as a messageContextInfo-only payload, or (b) whose getBase64FromMediaMessage fails, no longer emit messages.upsert webhooks at all. The message row is still saved to the database, but the webhook is never fired. With S3 disabled, the same flows emit webhooks normally — the affected code path only runs when S3 is enabled.

Two user-visible scenarios (both reproduced):

1. Document sent via API (POST /message/sendMedia): the receiving instance receives the message as a messageContextInfo-only wrapper → guard returns → no S3 upload and no webhook. The receiver's integration never sees the message.
2. Media sent from the linked phone: the sending instance's own fromMe echo → getBase64FromMediaMessage fails → no upload and no webhook. The sender's integration never registers the outgoing media (only messages.update receipts arrive).

Evidence (v2.3.7 logs, timestamps local)

Scenario 1 — document sent via API from instance A to instance B (B's webhook received nothing):

[instanceB] VERBOSE [ChannelStartupService] Message contains only messageContextInfo, skipping media processing
[instanceB] VERBOSE [ChannelStartupService] No valid media to upload (messageContextInfo only), skipping MinIO

• No S3 object created under instance B's prefix.
• No p.sendData-Webhook block with event: 'messages.upsert' in the logs for B — only messages.update receipts from A.

Scenario 2 — photo sent from A's linked phone (A's webhook never got the fromMe upsert):

[instanceA] VERBOSE [ChannelStartupService] No valid media to upload (messageContextInfo only), skipping MinIO

• The receiving instance processed the same message fine (S3 object uploaded + webhook delivered).
• Instance A emitted only messages.update (SERVER_ACK / DELIVERY_ACK) — no messages.upsert.

Relevant code (v2.3.7, whatsapp.baileys.service.js)

n.message = n.message[d].message;
if ("messageContextInfo" in n.message && Object.keys(n.message).length === 1)
  return this.logger.verbose("Message contains only messageContextInfo, skipping media processing"), null;
...
const D = await this.getBase64FromMediaMessage({ message: b }, true);
if (!D) {
  this.logger.verbose("No valid media to upload (messageContextInfo only), skipping MinIO");
  return; // ← aborts the rest of the message processing, including webhook emission
}

The guard introduced by the 2.3.7 fix "MinIO Upload: Handle messageContextInfo in media upload to prevent MinIO errors" appears to early-return out of the whole upsert flow instead of skipping only the media upload. Because this code path only executes when S3 is enabled, enabling S3 silently drops messages.upsert webhooks for these messages.

Expected behavior

Skip (or defer) the S3 upload but still emit messages.upsert — e.g. without mediaUrl, or with the original message payload — so integrations keep receiving every message. Ideally, retry the media upload when the real payload arrives after decryption.

Steps to reproduce

1. Two instances (different WhatsApp numbers), webhooks enabled for both, S3 enabled.
2. POST /message/sendMedia (document via URL) from instance A to B's number → B's webhook receives nothing for the document (it arrives on the phone and is saved to B's DB).
3. Send a photo from A's linked phone to B → A's webhook receives no fromMe upsert for the photo; B receives it normally.
4. Disable S3 and repeat → webhooks flow again.

Workaround

None besides disabling S3 (restores the webhook flow) or synthesizing outgoing messages on the integration side from the API send response plus messages.update receipts.

Happy to provide more log excerpts or a live reproduction if needed. Thanks for the great project!