Send a WhatsApp Message

POST /v1/whatsapp/send

Sends a WhatsApp message via a connected session. You must first create and connect a WhatsApp session by scanning the QR code (see Sessions).

Authentication

Header	Type	Required	Description
Authorization	string	Yes	Bearer sk_live_YOUR_API_KEY
Idempotency-Key	string	No	A unique UUIDv4 to prevent duplicate deliveries on network retries.

Request Body

Send an application/json payload with the following parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
session_id	integer	Yes	The ID of the WhatsApp session to send from. Get this from GET /v1/whatsapp/sessions.
to	string	Yes	The destination WhatsApp number (e.g., 250788000000 or +250788000000).
content	string	Yes	The text content of the message.
type	string	No	Message type. Enum: text, image, video, audio, document, location, contact. Defaults to text.

Example: Send a Text Message

cURL

curl -X POST https://sendapi.co/v1/whatsapp/send \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_123456789" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "session_id": 8,
    "to": "250788000000",
    "content": "Hello! How can our support team assist you today?"
  }'

Node.js

import { SendAPI } from '@sendapi/node';

const client = new SendAPI('sk_live_123456789');

const response = await client.whatsapp.send({
  session_id: 8,
  to: '250788000000',
  content: 'Hello! How can our support team assist you today?'
});

console.log(response.data.id);

Python

response = client.whatsapp.send(
    session_id=8,
    to="250788000000",
    content="Hello! How can our support team assist you today?"
)

Response

Returns a message object with delivery details from the WhatsApp sidecar.

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "id": 14,
    "user_id": 34,
    "wa_session_id": 8,
    "direction": "out",
    "recipient": "250788000000",
    "type": "text",
    "content": "Hello! How can our support team assist you today?",
    "status": "sent",
    "external_id": "3EB0C5E64689ED4B8C686E",
    "created_at": "2026-04-16T23:31:57.000000Z",
    "sidecar": {
      "message_id": "3EB0C5E64689ED4B8C686E",
      "session_id": "wa_34_1774206887_cdd5cd",
      "to": "250788000000",
      "type": "text",
      "status": "sent",
      "timestamp": "2026-04-16T23:31:57.030Z"
    }
  },
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "9b84375a-5c4b-46e3-9542-c992a952897c",
    "timestamp": "2026-04-16T23:31:57.086770Z"
  }
}

Message Statuses

Status	Description
sent	Message delivered to WhatsApp servers
delivered	Received on recipient's device (double checkmark)
read	Opened by recipient (blue checkmark)
failed	Delivery failed

Session Required

You must have an active, connected WhatsApp session before sending messages. If your session is disconnected, reconnect it by scanning the QR code via GET /v1/whatsapp/sessions/{id}/qr.

Phone Notifications

Connecting a WhatsApp session acts as a linked device (like WhatsApp Web). This may reduce notifications on your phone for incoming messages. For production use, we recommend using a dedicated phone number rather than your personal number.