Building a Lead Capture Bot with WhatsApp and n8n (Open-Source Step-by-Step)

WhatsApp has over 2 billion users worldwide. If your business communicates with leads over WhatsApp, you're probably doing it manually — reading messages, copying contact details into a spreadsheet, and hoping nothing falls through the cracks. In this tutorial, I'll show you how to build a fully open-source, self-hosted lead capture bot that automatically collects lead information from WhatsApp conversations and stores it in your CRM or database. No paid APIs, no vendor lock-in. We'll use two tools: WAHA — an unofficial , open-source WhatsApp API (not affiliated with or endorsed by Meta/WhatsApp). It wraps WhatsApp Web into a REST API. n8n — an open-source workflow automation platform you can self-host. Disclaimer: WAHA is an unofficial, third-party tool that interacts with WhatsApp Web. It is not endorsed by, affiliated with, or supported by Meta or WhatsApp . Using unofficial APIs may violate WhatsApp's Terms of Service. Use at your own risk and evaluate your compliance requirements