Channel · WhatsApp Cloud API
The WhatsApp Cloud API, connected straight to your CRM.
Outbound OS talks to Meta's WhatsApp Cloud API directly. You create a Meta developer app, add your business number, and configure the number and access token in Integrations → WhatsApp. Messages are submitted from your server to Meta for delivery.
- 01
Your business number
Registered in Meta’s WhatsApp Manager
- 02
Meta Cloud API
Submits messages and reports delivery events
- 03
Shared inbox
Customer replies and provider status, on the lead
Before you connect
What you need ready.
- A Meta business portfolio, developer app and registered WhatsApp number
- A system-user token with access to the WhatsApp account
- A public HTTPS webhook and an approved outreach template
In your workspace
What this connection makes possible.
For eligible leads from an enabled live source, first contact can use an approved template. When the lead writes back, the reply lands in the shared inbox and every scheduled follow-up for that lead stops. Inside the 24-hour customer-service window your team answers in free text; outside it, choose an approved template to re-engage the customer.
- First contact with an approved template, filled with the lead’s first name and country
- Free-text replies from the inbox inside the 24-hour window
- Photos, PDFs, voice notes and videos both ways — kept on your server, shown in the inbox
- Provider acceptance, delivery, read and failed states where reported by Meta
- Replies stop the lead’s follow-up sequence automatically
- A connection test that reads your number’s verified name and quality rating
- Several numbers, each with its own hourly and daily limits
Connect & verify
Set it up, one step at a time.
- 01
Create a Meta app
At developers.facebook.com, create an app, add the WhatsApp product and register your business number under API Setup.
- 02
Generate a system-user token
In Meta Business Settings create a system user, assign the WhatsApp asset and generate a token with the required WhatsApp messaging and management permissions. Choose the duration Meta makes available for your account.
- 03
Connect the sending account
Integrations → WhatsApp: add the Meta phone number ID, WhatsApp Business Account ID and access token. Test the connection to read the number’s identity.
- 04
Point Meta’s webhook at your server
Set META_APP_SECRET and META_WEBHOOK_VERIFY_TOKEN, then in Meta add https://your-host/webhook/meta and subscribe to messages. Every delivery is signature-checked.
- 05
Choose a first-contact template
Create a template in WhatsApp Manager with {{1}} for the first name and {{2}} for the country, and set it as the number’s first-contact template.
Check the whole connection
Read the number’s identity with the connection test, then send an incoming message from a number you own and confirm it appears in the inbox.
Configuration exampleView code
META_APP_SECRET=your-app-secret
META_WEBHOOK_VERIFY_TOKEN=any-long-random-stringFAQ
WhatsApp Cloud API questions
Is the WhatsApp Cloud API free?
Outbound OS has no software licence fee. Meta messaging charges depend on category, destination and applicable service-window rules. Check the current Meta rate card before budgeting.
Do I need a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP)?
No. The Cloud API is Meta’s own, so you can connect your number directly. No Business Solution Provider is required.
Why must the first message be a template?
WhatsApp only allows free-text messages within 24 hours of the customer’s last message. Anything else — including the first message to a new lead — has to be a template Meta has approved.
Can I use more than one WhatsApp number?
Yes. Each number is its own account in Outbound OS with its own Meta credentials, daily limit and first-contact template, and new leads are spread across the numbers that are ready.
Build the rest of your workflow
Make it your own
Connect WhatsApp Cloud API to your workspace.
Start with the installation guide, or get help connecting your own accounts.