# whatsapp-cloud-api

A skill that hands your agent a WhatsApp Cloud API reference: sending messages, webhooks, templates, the 24-hour window and error codes.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 657 installs · ★ 15
- Author: Bello Sánchez
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/bellopushon/whatsapp-cloud-api/tree/HEAD/skills/whatsapp-cloud-api/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-07-01
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/whatsapp-cloud-api

## What it does

The skill activates while you build or edit a WhatsApp integration. It opens with a quick table: base URL `https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0`, the `POST /{phone-number-id}/messages` and `POST /{phone-number-id}/media` endpoints, E.164 phone format, and an 80 messages/second ceiling. Message types follow — text capped at 4096 characters, image, video, audio, document, sticker, location, contacts, reaction, interactive and template.

Separate sections cover webhooks, including the incoming payload shape and the `sent` → `delivered` → `read` | `failed` status chain, the conversation lifecycle, and Coexistence. That last one lets a single number run in the WhatsApp Business App and through the Cloud API at once. It needs an Embedded Signup flow with `featureType: "whatsapp_business_app_onboarding"` rather than standard registration. App-sent messages reach your webhook as `smb_message_echoes`, past history syncs over, and such numbers are capped at 20 msg/sec.

A table of error codes closes the reference, each with a suggested action: 131030, 131047, 131050, 131056, 130429. Nothing works without an access token and a phone number ID, and once the 24-hour window closes only template messages go through. The skill points at `references/MESSAGING.md`, `references/WEBHOOKS.md`, `references/TEMPLATES.md`, `references/CONVERSATIONS.md` and `references/ERROR-CODES.md`, so keep those files nearby.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add bellopushon/whatsapp-cloud-api --skill whatsapp-cloud-api -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/whatsapp-cloud-api/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/whatsapp-cloud-api/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add bellopushon/whatsapp-cloud-api --skill whatsapp-cloud-api -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/whatsapp-cloud-api/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add bellopushon/whatsapp-cloud-api --skill whatsapp-cloud-api -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/whatsapp-cloud-api/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install bellopushon/whatsapp-cloud-api whatsapp-cloud-api
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/whatsapp-cloud-api/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add bellopushon/whatsapp-cloud-api --skill whatsapp-cloud-api -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/bellopushon/whatsapp-cloud-api --path skills/whatsapp-cloud-api
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/whatsapp-cloud-api/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add bellopushon/whatsapp-cloud-api --skill whatsapp-cloud-api -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/bellopushon/whatsapp-cloud-api/tree/HEAD/skills/whatsapp-cloud-api/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- build the request body for a template message
- parse an incoming webhook and pull the sender's `wa_id`
- tell error 131047 apart from 131050 and pick a fix
- run one number in the app and over the API at the same time
- track delivery status through `wamid`

## Example prompts
- Write a WhatsApp webhook handler: accept the POST, return 200, parse the message asynchronously
- Send the `hello_world` template to `+18091234567` through the Cloud API
- Why am I getting error 131047 and how do I get around it?

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 10e6aadb28197a45.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 10e6aadb28197a45
````text
---
name: whatsapp-cloud-api
description: >
  Official WhatsApp Cloud API reference for building messaging integrations.
  Covers sending messages (text, media, templates, interactive), receiving
  webhooks, conversation lifecycle, phone number management, and error handling.
  Use when building WhatsApp integrations, sending messages, processing webhooks,
  or working with the Meta WhatsApp Business Platform API.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: Bello Sánchez
  version: "1.1.0"
  source: "Meta Official Documentation (developers.facebook.com)"
compatibility: "Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, GitHub Copilot"
---

# WhatsApp Cloud API

## When to Use

Activate this skill when:
- Building or modifying WhatsApp messaging features
- Sending messages (text, media, templates, interactive)
- Processing incoming webhooks from WhatsApp
- Working with template messages or conversation windows
- Handling phone number formatting (E.164)
- Debugging WhatsApp API errors or status updates
- Implementing message status tracking (sent, delivered, read)
- Running a number on both the WhatsApp Business App and Cloud API (Coexistence)

## Quick Reference

| Item | Value |
|------|-------|
| **Base URL** | `https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0` |
| **Send Message** | `POST /{phone-number-id}/messages` |
| **Upload Media** | `POST /{phone-number-id}/media` |
| **Auth** | `Authorization: Bearer {access-token}` |
| **Required Field** | `"messaging_product": "whatsapp"` |
| **Phone Format** | E.164: `+{country}{number}` (e.g., `+18091234567`) |
| **Rate Limit** | 80 messages/second (Cloud API) |

## Core API — Send Message

All messages go through a single endpoint:

```
POST https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/{phone-number-id}/messages
Authorization: Bearer {access-token}
Content-Type: application/json
```

**Response:**
```json
{
  "messaging_product": "whatsapp",
  "contacts": [{ "input": "+16505555555", "wa_id": "16505555555" }],
  "messages": [{ "id": "wamid.HBgL..." }]
}
```

## Message Types

| Type | `type` Field | Details |
|------|-------------|---------|
| Text | `text` | Plain text, max 4096 chars, supports URL preview |
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 10e6aadb28197a45

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the 10e6aadb28197a45 tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

First 2139 of 7392 bytes. © Bello Sánchez · MIT · https://github.com/bellopushon/whatsapp-cloud-api/tree/HEAD/skills/whatsapp-cloud-api/SKILL.md

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---
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