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Binary property reference doesn't work in Send Email node - no attachment is sent #20832

@jabbson

Description

@jabbson

Describe the problem/error/question

Binary reference, introduced in 1.114 does appear to be working for Send Email node - attachment isn't sent.

What is the error message (if any)?

no error

Please share your workflow/screenshots/recording

{
  "nodes": [
    {
      "parameters": {},
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.manualTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        -672,
        -368
      ],
      "id": "c32f51bb-4fb2-44e0-bc54-7cdc1b1c648b",
      "name": "When clicking ‘Execute workflow’"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "fileSelector": "/data/shared/n8n.png",
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.readWriteFile",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        -464,
        -368
      ],
      "id": "2a885b5b-d6d7-49a1-9096-2ff58b63bd2e",
      "name": "Read/Write Files from Disk"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "8156539f-bc74-4e21-b2ef-d6ca5ca75f5e",
              "name": "message",
              "value": "Hello!",
              "type": "string"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        -256,
        -368
      ],
      "id": "5349abfb-69b4-4a6e-a156-049490d9f484",
      "name": "Edit Fields"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "fromEmail": "[email protected]",
        "toEmail": "[email protected]",
        "subject": "test",
        "html": "={{ $json.message }}",
        "options": {
          "attachments": "={{ $('Read/Write Files from Disk').item.binary.data }}"
        }
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.emailSend",
      "typeVersion": 2.1,
      "position": [
        -48,
        -368
      ],
      "id": "865439ac-1f0f-4adc-9863-db8f488bb00a",
      "name": "Send email",
      "webhookId": "37ae60f1-fdbd-418b-ba7b-7eb00409593c",
      "credentials": {
        "smtp": {
          "id": "WYq8oD4WY0DXugE0",
          "name": "SMTP jabbson account"
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "connections": {
    "When clicking ‘Execute workflow’": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Read/Write Files from Disk",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Read/Write Files from Disk": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Edit Fields",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Edit Fields": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Send email",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    }
  },
  "pinData": {},
  "meta": {
    "templateCredsSetupCompleted": true,
    "instanceId": "9423335a0111216c302866f5fc1752af6da6042c706e1cc46ecd439bca874130"
  }
}

Share the output returned by the last node

email is sent successfully, but without attachment through binary referencing

Debug info

core

  • n8nVersion: 1.115.3
  • platform: docker (self-hosted)
  • nodeJsVersion: 22.20.0
  • nodeEnv: production
  • database: postgres
  • executionMode: regular
  • concurrency: -1
  • license: enterprise (production)

storage

  • success: all
  • error: all
  • progress: false
  • manual: true
  • binaryMode: filesystem

pruning

  • enabled: true
  • maxAge: 336 hours
  • maxCount: 10000 executions

client

  • userAgent: mozilla/5.0 (macintosh; intel mac os x 10_15_7) applewebkit/537.36 (khtml, like gecko) chrome/141.0.0.0 safari/537.36
  • isTouchDevice: false

Generated at: 2025-10-15T18:36:34.767Z

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