### Problem
Instagram webhook processing was failing with:
> TypeError: no implicit conversion of String into Integer
This occurred when handling **echo messages** (outgoing messages) that:
* Contained `unsupported_type` attachments, and
* Were sent to a recipient user that could **not** be fetched via the
Instagram API.
In these cases, the webhook job crashed while trying to create or find
the contact for the recipient.
### Root Cause
The Instagram message service does not correctly handle Instagram API
error code **100**:
> "Object with ID does not exist, cannot be loaded due to missing
permissions, or does not support this operation"
When this error occurred during `fetch_instagram_user`:
1. The method fell through to exception tracking without an explicit
return.
2. `ChatwootExceptionTracker.capture_exception` returned `true`.
3. As a result, `fetch_instagram_user` effectively returned `true`
instead of a hash or empty hash.
4. `ensure_contact` then called `find_or_create_contact(true)` because
`true.present?` is `true`.
5. `find_or_create_contact` crashed when it tried to access
`true['id']`.
So the chain was:
```txt
fetch_instagram_user -> returns true
ensure_contact -> find_or_create_contact(true)
find_or_create_contact -> true['id'] -> TypeError
```
**Example Webhook Payload**
```
{
"object": "instagram",
"entry": [{
"time": 1764822592663,
"id": "17841454414819988",
"messaging": [{
"sender": { "id": "17841454414819988" }, // Business account
"recipient": { "id": "1170166904857608" }, // User that can't be fetched
"timestamp": 1764822591874,
"message": {
"attachments": [{
"type": "unsupported_type",
"payload": { "url": "https://..." }
}],
"is_echo": true
}
}]
}]
}
```
**Corresponding Instagram API error:**
```
{
"error": {
"message": "The requested user cannot be found.",
"type": "IGApiException",
"code": 100,
"error_subcode": 2534014
}
}
```
**Debug Logs (Before Fix)**
```
[InstagramUserFetchError]: Unsupported get request. Object with ID '17841454414819988' does not exist... 100
[DEBUG] result: true
[DEBUG] result.present?: true
[DEBUG] find_or_create_contact called
[DEBUG] user: true
[DEBUG] Invalid user parameter - expected hash with id, got TrueClass: true
```
### Solution
### 1\. Handle Error Code 100 Explicitly
We now treat Instagram API error code **100** as a valid case for
creating an “unknown” contact, similar to how we already handle error
code `9010`:
```
# Handle error code 100: Object doesn't exist or missing permissions
# This typically occurs when trying to fetch a user that doesn't exist
# or has privacy restrictions. We can safely create an unknown contact.
return unknown_user(ig_scope_id) if error_code == 100
```
This ensures:
* `fetch_instagram_user` returns a valid hash for unknown users.
* `ensure_contact` can proceed safely without crashing.
### 2\. Prevent Exception Tracker Results from Leaking Through
For any **unhandled** error codes, we now explicitly return an empty
hash after logging the exception:
```
exception = StandardError.new(
"#{error_message} (Code: #{error_code}, IG Scope ID: #{ig_scope_id})"
)
ChatwootExceptionTracker.new(exception, account: @inbox.account).capture_exception
# Explicitly return empty hash for any unhandled error codes
# This prevents the exception tracker result (true/false) from being returned.
{}
```
This guarantees that `fetch_instagram_user` always returns either:
* A valid user hash,
* An “unknown” user hash
* An empty hash
Fixes
https://linear.app/chatwoot/issue/CW-6068/typeerror-no-implicit-conversion-of-string-into-integer-typeerror
efc3b5e7d4