whatsapp-chapi

WhatsApp Node.JS Bot API

Use this library to develop a bot for the WhatsApp platform. The library is available on GitHub as well as a package on npm.

License

This library is released under the terms of the Apache 2.0 license. See License for more information.

Library Prerequisites

1. Node >= 8.0.0
2. WhatsApp account.
3. Active Instance Id - Get an instance here.
4. Account authentication token - unique account identifier used to validate your instance in all API requests.
5. Webhook - Please use a server endpoint URL that supports HTTP/HTTPS.

Installation

This library is released on npm.

npm

Install with npm install whatsapp-chapi --save

Express

If you are already using express or equivalent, you can do the following:

app.use("/whatsapp/webhook", bot.middleware());

Please revisit app.use() documentation. For more information see bot.middleware().

Let's get started!

Creating a basic WhatsApp bot is simple:

1. Import whatsapp-chapi library to your project
2. Create an endpoint for notifications
3. Create a 'Chapi' instance
4. Start your web server
5. Call setWebhook(url) with your web server url

Creating an echo Bot

Firstly, let's import and configure our bot:

'use strict';
var express = require('express');
const Chapi = require('whatsapp-chapi');

const app = express();
const bot = new Chapi(YOUR_INSTANCE_ID_HERE, YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN_HERE);
bot.signIn('YOUR_WHATSAPP_ACCOUNT_PHONE');

app.post('/YOUR_WEBHOOK_HERE', function (req, res) {
  bot.sendMessage(req.body.messages[0].author, 'ECHO TEXT');
  res.sendStatus(200);
});


// Wasn't that easy? Let's create HTTPS server and set the webhook:
const http = require('http');
const port = process.env.PORT || 8080;

// Chapi will push messages sent to this URL. Web server should be internet-facing.
const webhookUrl = process.env.WEBHOOK_URL;
http.createServer(app).listen(port, () => bot.setWebhook(webhookUrl));

API

bot.setWebhook(url)

Param	Type	Description
url	string	Full url to your endpoint for message notification

Returns a promise.JSON.

bot.setWebhook("https://my.bot/incoming").then(() => yourBot.doSomething()).catch(err => console.log(err));

bot.signIn(phone)

Param	Type	Description
phone	string	Your whatsApp account phone

Returns a promise.JSON.

bot.signIn("12345678911").then(() => yourBot.doSomething()).catch(err => console.log(err));

Note: Phone number should be in following format 12345678912, without + or any other symbols

bot.sendMessage(phone, message)

Param	Type	Description
phone	string	WhatsAppPhoneNumber string
message	string	text message to send

Note: Phone number should be in following format 12345678912, without + or any other symbols

Returns a promise.JSON.

// Single message
const Chapi = require('whatsapp-chapi');
const bot = new Chapi(YOUR_INSTANCE_ID_HERE, YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN_HERE);
bot.sendMessage('12345678912', 'Hello');

bot.sendFile(phone, url)

Param	Type	Description
phone	string	WhatsAppPhoneNumber string
url	string	download url for file

Returns a promise.JSON.

// File message
const Chapi = require('whatsapp-chapi');
const bot = new Chapi(YOUR_INSTANCE_ID_HERE, YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN_HERE);
bot.sendFile('12345678912', 'https://assets.fireside.fm/file/fireside-images/podcasts/images/b/bc7f1faf-8aad-4135-bb12-83a8af679756/cover_medium.jpg');

Sample project

TODO.