Telegram Inline Keyboard Expression Issue

[Mati0n]

Bug Description

When trying to provide an inline keyboard via expression in the Telegram node (e.g. Edit Message Text), n8n throws an issues:

The value "[[{"text":"Profile","callback_data":"profile"},{"text":"Retreats","callback_data":"retreats"}]]" is not supported!

I expect the node to accept a valid array of button rows as defined in the Telegram Bot API.

Actual behavior: n8n interprets the array as a string and rejects it.

To Reproduce

Create Telegram node - Edit a text message. Fill all creds and add code below for the Reply Markup expression (inline keyboard mode)

Minimal Example:

{{
(() => {
  return [
    [
      { text: "Profile",  callback_data: "profile" },
      { text: "Retreats", callback_data: "retreats" }
    ],
    [
      { text: "About", callback_data: "about" }
    ]
  ];
})()
}}

Expected behavior

The expression should evaluate to a JSON array and be passed directly to Telegram API as inline_keyboard.

Debug Info

Operating System

Ubuntu Linux 22.04

n8n Version

1.112.4

Node.js Version

22.19.0

Database

PostgreSQL

Execution mode

main (default)

Hosting

self hosted

[Joffcom]

Hey @Mati0n,

Thank you for reaching out! We’ve received your issue and are looking into it. To help us track this internally, we’ve created a Linear ticket with the reference: "GHC-4610".

We’ll keep you updated as we make progress, but if you have any additional details or context to share, feel free to add them here - it’s always helpful!

Thanks for your patience and for bringing this to our attention.

[VIM4L-M]

Hello,
Same issue in the N8N(Docker) also
I would like to fix this bug

[Nihallllll]

@VIM4L-M any progress ??

[VIM4L-M]

@Nihallllll
Workking on it will report it by tomorrow

[Mati0n]

I temporarily decided to use HTML Response. But I am eagerly awaiting a decision from n8n.

[Nihallllll]

@Mati0n can you show me the response query , coz anything i pass in reply markup end up in error

[Mati0n]

@Nihallllll hi

See attachments below

[VIM4L-M]

Sorry for the inconvenience
If someone has to work in this issue can proceed
I've stuck in an emergency
Sorry Everyone

[Purv-Kabaria]

I'd like to take this one

[Purv-Kabaria]

Could I get more clear instructions on how exactly to replicate this issue on my machine? I see this:

[Mati0n]

@Purv-Kabaria hi

See the attached photo and try to add json for the inlineKeyboard

I want to provide an inline keyboard dynamically via expression inside the ReplyMarkup field.

Test keyboard data
const kb = [ [ { text: "Profile", callback_data: "profile" }, { text: "Retreats", callback_data: "retreats" } ], [ { text: "About", callback_data: "about" } ] ];

What I tried in the ReplyMarkup expression field

In my setup expressions must be wrapped as IIFE: {{ (() => { return ... })() }}

1) Just a literal string

InlineKeyboard

Result: no validation error, but nothing happens (no keyboard).

2) Return an object with inline_keyboard
{{ (() => { const kb = [ [ { text: "Profile", callback_data: "profile" }, { text: "Retreats", callback_data: "retreats" } ], [ { text: "About", callback_data: "about" } ] ]; return { inline_keyboard: kb }; })() }}
Result: validation error: “value not supported”.

3) Return only the array of rows
{{ (() => { const kb = [ [ { text: "Profile", callback_data: "profile" }, { text: "Retreats", callback_data: "retreats" } ], [ { text: "About", callback_data: "about" } ] ]; return kb; })() }}
Result: validation error.

4) Provide a plain JSON object (without wrapping function)
With inline_keyboard key:
{ "inline_keyboard": [ [ { "text": "Profile", "callback_data": "profile" }, { "text": "Retreats", "callback_data": "retreats" } ], [ { "text": "About", "callback_data": "about" } ] ] }
Or just the array directly:
[ [ { "text": "Profile", "callback_data": "profile" }, { "text": "Retreats", "callback_data": "retreats" } ], [ { "text": "About", "callback_data": "about" } ] ]
Result: validation error in both cases.

5) Return JSON-stringified object
{{ (() => { const kb = [ [ { text: "Profile", callback_data: "profile" }, { text: "Retreats", callback_data: "retreats" } ], [ { text: "About", callback_data: "about" } ] ]; return JSON.stringify({ inline_keyboard: kb }); })() }}
Result: validation error.

6) Return JSON-stringified array
{{ (() => { const kb = [ [ { text: "Profile", callback_data: "profile" }, { text: "Retreats", callback_data: "retreats" } ], [ { text: "About", callback_data: "about" } ] ]; return JSON.stringify(kb); })() }}
Result: validation error.

Control Test (works via HTTP Request)

When I bypass the Telegram node and call Bot API directly, it works correctly.
• Node: HTTP Request → POST → https://api.telegram.org/bot/editMessageText
• Body (RAW JSON):
{ "chat_id": 123456789, "message_id": 42, "text": "<b>Test text</b>", "parse_mode": "HTML", "reply_markup": { "inline_keyboard": [ [ { "text": "Profile", "callback_data": "profile" }, { "text": "Retreats", "callback_data": "retreats" } ], [ { "text": "About", "callback_data": "about" } ] ] } }
Result: message updates successfully with inline keyboard.

Summary
• In the ReplyMarkup field of the Telegram node, all attempts to return a proper object or array result in validation errors (“value not supported”).
• Returning a plain literal string does not error but also does nothing.
• The same inline keyboard works fine with the HTTP Request node.

Questions for developers:
• What type is actually expected in the ReplyMarkup field?
• Should it accept an expression that returns an object { inline_keyboard: [...] }?
• If stringified JSON is required, please clarify this in documentation.
• If this is a bug, can it be fixed so ReplyMarkup accepts proper objects/arrays as defined by Telegram Bot API?

[Mati0n]

Guys I found solution instead of Telegram Node check this out

https://n8n.io/workflows/7664-telegram-bot-inline-keyboard-with-dynamic-menus-and-rating-system/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

[n8n-assistant]

Hi @Mati0n 👋

Thanks so much for your patience while we’ve been improving n8n. We know it’s taken some time to review this issue, and we’re currently updating our triage process to better keep up with our growth.

There have been a lot of improvements in recent releases, so we’d really appreciate it if you could check whether this issue still occurs in the latest release.

When you have a moment, please copy and paste the checklist below as a comment so our system can update the status automatically:

[ ] I have updated to the latest stable version of n8n [please specify version number] and I am still experiencing this issue
[ ] Please close this issue – I am no longer experiencing it
[ ] Please close this issue – [please specify a reason]

If we don’t hear from you in the next 14 days this issue will be automatically closed, feel free to reopen - don’t forget to add the checklist above so that our automated systems notify us of the issue.

Thanks again for helping us keep n8n healthy and up-to-date 💚