n8n-io/n8n · error · NodeOperationError

No binary data set.

Error message

No binary data set.

What it means

Thrown by createImageMessage when the resolved binary data object (inputData.binary[binaryDataKey]) is falsy. The node was told to use a binary image (messageType 'imageBinary') but the referenced binary property does not exist on the input item.

Source

Thrown at packages/@n8n/nodes-langchain/nodes/chains/ChainLLM/methods/imageUtils.ts:67

			content: [
				{
					type: 'image_url',
					image_url: {
						url: message.imageUrl,
						detail,
					},
				},
			],
		});
	}

	// Handle binary image case
	const binaryDataKey = message.binaryImageDataKey ?? 'data';
	const inputData = context.getInputData()[itemIndex];
	const binaryData = inputData.binary?.[binaryDataKey] as IBinaryData;

	if (!binaryData) {
		throw new NodeOperationError(context.getNode(), 'No binary data set.');
	}

	const bufferData = await context.helpers.getBinaryDataBuffer(itemIndex, binaryDataKey);
	const model = (await context.getInputConnectionData(
		NodeConnectionTypes.AiLanguageModel,
		0,
	)) as BaseLanguageModel;

	try {
		// Create data URI from binary data
		const dataURI = dataUriFromImageData(binaryData, bufferData);

		// Some models need different image URL formats
		const directUriModels = [ChatGoogleGenerativeAI, ChatOllama];
		const imageUrl = directUriModels.some((i) => model instanceof i)
			? dataURI
			: { url: dataURI, detail };

View on GitHub (pinned to 5ac6606e81)

Solutions

1. Set binaryImageDataKey on the message row to the actual binary property name emitted by the upstream node.
2. Confirm the upstream node is configured to output binary data (e.g. HTTP Request with Response Format = File, or Read Binary File).
3. Inspect the input item's binary keys in the execution data viewer to find the correct key name.
4. Filter out items lacking the binary property with an If node before the chain.

Example fix

// before
const binaryData = inputData.binary?.[binaryDataKey] as IBinaryData;
if (!binaryData) {
  throw new NodeOperationError(context.getNode(), 'No binary data set.');
}

// after — name the missing key in the error
const binaryData = inputData.binary?.[binaryDataKey] as IBinaryData | undefined;
if (!binaryData) {
  throw new NodeOperationError(context.getNode(), {
    message: `No binary data found under key '${binaryDataKey}'. Available keys: ${Object.keys(inputData.binary ?? {}).join(', ') || 'none'}.`,
    itemIndex,
  });
}

const key = 'data'; // your binaryImageDataKey
if (!inputData.binary?.[key]) {
  throw new Error(`Binary key '${key}' not found. Available: ${Object.keys(inputData.binary ?? {})}`);
}

function hasBinaryKey(item: { binary?: Record<string, unknown> }, key: string): boolean {
  return !!item.binary?.[key];
}

When it happens

Trigger: The binaryImageDataKey (default 'data') does not match any key on item.binary for the current itemIndex. The previous node did not emit binary data, or emitted it under a different key name.

Common situations: Upstream node produced JSON-only output with no binary data; the binary property is named differently (e.g. 'attachment' vs 'data'); the binaryImageDataKey was customized but does not match; an item in the batch is missing the attachment.

Related errors

• The ‘text‘ parameter is empty.
• The 'prompt' parameter is empty.
• The ‘query‘ parameter is empty.
• Text for item ${itemIndex} is not defined
• Text to classify for item ${itemIndex} is not defined

AI-assisted analysis of n8n-io/n8n@5ac6606e81 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6affd4476d87b5b2. Report an issue: GitHub.