[META] @lid vs @jid handling — tracking umbrella

Meta-issue consolidating all open reports about the @lid identifier replacing @s.whatsapp.net / JID. Please do not open new @lid-related issues — comment here instead.

Background

WhatsApp is rolling out @lid (Linked ID) identifiers for some users — it replaces the classical phone-number-based @s.whatsapp.net JID in certain events. Evolution API (and Baileys) currently doesn't fully translate @lid → phone JID in all code paths, which breaks automations, integrations and lookups.

Known symptoms

Webhook / event payload

• remoteJid arrives as NNNNNNNNNN@lid instead of phone-based JID, breaking downstream automations (n8n, Typebot, Chatwoot)
• messages.upsert / messages.update events started arriving with @lid only, no phone number
• Outgoing events carry @lid intermittently for the same contact

API endpoints / database

• GET /chat/findContacts returns stale @lid identifiers after WhatsApp META update
• Replying to @lid JID via HTTP Request returns 400 "exists: false"
• Error: Unknown argument "lid". Did you mean "id"? when sending messages
• Chat table stops creating new entries for @lid contacts (since late Sep 2025)

Integrations

• Typebot: sends to @lid instead of JID, resulting in BadRequestException jidOptions.exists false
• Chatwoot: duplicate contacts created (one with @lid, one with phone JID); historical import fails for @lid conversations (syncFullHistory=true has no effect)
• n8n / automations: lookups based on phone number fail because webhook brings @lid

Group events

• Group exit events carry @lid instead of JID of the leaving member

Status

Ongoing — requires Baileys-level mapping of @lid → @s.whatsapp.net. Partial fixes have landed in various versions but the community reports symptoms persist on v2.3.7.

For maintainers

All duplicate @lid issues are being closed with state_reason: duplicate pointing here. Use this thread as the single source of truth for LID handling across all integrations.

---

Reorganized as a meta-issue as part of the 2026-04 issue triage. Original reporter (@Simplobot1) and all community contributors remain credited in the comment history.