Send a WhatsApp message
Please note that free form text messages can only be sent when a customer sends a message to the business first. The business has up to 24 hours from the last moment the customer messages to send a free form message back. After that period a WhatsApp Template (MTM) needs to be used.
If you have not received a message from the customer you will need to send a WhatsApp Template (MTM) before sending a message. You can learn more about this in Understanding WhatsApp Messaging.
If you want to see the code for sending a WhatsApp Template you can view the Sending a WhatsApp Template code snippet.
| Key | Description |
|---|---|
WHATSAPP_NUMBER | Your WhatsApp number. |
TO_NUMBER | The phone number you are sending the message to. |
NOTE: Don't use a leading + or 00 when entering a phone number, start with the country code, for example 447700900000.
Example
Write the code
Add the following to send-text.sh:
curl -X POST "${MESSAGES_API_URL}" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer "$JWT\
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H 'Accept: application/json' \
-d $'{
"to": "'${MESSAGES_TO_NUMBER}'",
"from": "'${WHATSAPP_SENDER_ID}'",
"channel": "whatsapp",
"message_type": "text",
"text": "This is a WhatsApp text message sent using the Vonage Messages API."
}'
Run your code
Save this file to your machine and run it:
Prerequisites
npm install @vonage/server-sdk @vonage/messagesCreate a file named send-text.js and add the following code:
const { Vonage } = require('@vonage/server-sdk');
const { Channels } = require('@vonage/messages');
/**
* It is best to send messages using JWT instead of basic auth. If you leave out
* apiKey and apiSecret, the messages SDK will send requests using JWT tokens
*
* @link https://developer.vonage.com/en/messages/technical-details#authentication
*/
const vonage = new Vonage(
{
applicationId: VONAGE_APPLICATION_ID,
privateKey: VONAGE_PRIVATE_KEY,
},
{
...(MESSAGES_API_URL ? {apiHost: MESSAGES_API_URL} : {}),
},
);Write the code
Add the following to send-text.js:
vonage.messages.send({
to: MESSAGES_TO_NUMBER,
from: WHATSAPP_SENDER_ID,
channel: Channels.WHATSAPP,
messageType: 'text',
text: 'This is a WhatsApp text message sent using the Vonage Messages API.',
})
.then((resp) => console.log(resp.messageUUID))
.catch((error) => console.error(error));Run your code
Save this file to your machine and run it:
Prerequisites
Add the following to build.gradle:
implementation 'com.vonage:server-sdk-kotlin:2.1.1'Create a file named SendWhatsappText and add the following code to the main method:
val client = Vonage {
applicationId(VONAGE_APPLICATION_ID)
privateKeyPath(VONAGE_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH)
}Write the code
Add the following to the main method of the SendWhatsappText file:
val messageId = client.messages.send(
whatsappText {
to(MESSAGES_TO_NUMBER)
from(WHATSAPP_SENDER_ID)
text("This is a WhatsApp text message sent using the Messages API")
}
)Run your code
We can use the application plugin for Gradle to simplify the running of our application. Update your build.gradle with the following:
apply plugin: 'application'
mainClassName = project.hasProperty('main') ? project.getProperty('main') : ''Run the following gradle command to execute your application, replacing com.vonage.quickstart.kt.messages.whatsapp with the package containing SendWhatsappText:
Prerequisites
Add the following to build.gradle:
implementation 'com.vonage:server-sdk:9.3.1'Create a file named SendWhatsappText and add the following code to the main method:
VonageClient client = VonageClient.builder()
.applicationId(VONAGE_APPLICATION_ID)
.privateKeyPath(VONAGE_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH)
.build();Write the code
Add the following to the main method of the SendWhatsappText file:
var response = client.getMessagesClient().sendMessage(
WhatsappTextRequest.builder()
.from(WHATSAPP_SENDER_ID).to(MESSAGES_TO_NUMBER)
.text("This is a WhatsApp Message text message sent using the Messages API")
.build()
);
System.out.println("Message sent successfully. ID: "+response.getMessageUuid());Run your code
We can use the application plugin for Gradle to simplify the running of our application. Update your build.gradle with the following:
apply plugin: 'application'
mainClassName = project.hasProperty('main') ? project.getProperty('main') : ''Run the following gradle command to execute your application, replacing com.vonage.quickstart.messages.whatsapp with the package containing SendWhatsappText:
Prerequisites
Install-Package VonageWrite the code
Add the following to SendWhatsAppText.cs:
var credentials = Credentials.FromAppIdAndPrivateKeyPath(VONAGE_APPLICATION_ID, VONAGE_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH);
var vonageClient = new VonageClient(credentials);
var request = new WhatsAppTextRequest
{
To = MESSAGES_TO_NUMBER,
From = WHATSAPP_SENDER_ID,
Text = "A WhatsApp text message sent using the Vonage Messages API"
};
var response = await vonageClient.MessagesClient.SendAsync(request);Prerequisites
composer require vonage/clientCreate a file named send-text.php and add the following code:
Run your code
Save this file to your machine and run it:
Prerequisites
pip install vonage python-dotenvWrite the code
Add the following to send-text.py:
from vonage import Auth, Vonage
from vonage_messages import WhatsappText
client = Vonage(
Auth(
application_id=VONAGE_APPLICATION_ID,
private_key=VONAGE_PRIVATE_KEY,
)
)
message = WhatsappText(
to=MESSAGES_TO_NUMBER,
from_=WHATSAPP_SENDER_ID,
text='Hello from the Vonage Messages API.',
)
response = client.messages.send(message)
print(response)Run your code
Save this file to your machine and run it:
Prerequisites
gem install vonageCreate a file named send-text.rb and add the following code:
Run your code
Save this file to your machine and run it:
TIP: If testing using Curl you will need a JWT. You can see how to create one in the documentation on creating a JWT.
Sending a WhatsApp message
The Messages API provides the ability to send messages to various channels, including Facebook Messenger, SMS, WhatsApp and Viber. This tutorial describes using the Messages API to send a WhatsApp message.