Send a WhatsApp Media Message Template

In this code snippet you learn how to send a WhatsApp Media Message Template using the Messages API.

To send the Media Message Template you need to use the Messages custom object. The custom object takes a partial section of the original WhatsApp API request and sends it directly through to WhatsApp.

IMPORTANT: If a customer messages you, you have 24 hours to respond to the customer with a free form message. After this period you must use a template message (MTM). If a customer has not messaged you first, then the first time you send a message to a user, WhatsApp requires that the message contains a template. This is explained in more detail in the Understanding WhatsApp topic.

Message format and length restrictions

WhatsApp Media Message Templates consist of a Header, Body and Footer structure. The Header contains the media, which can be text, location, video, image or file. The Body contains the text message. This is currently limited to 1024 characters when displayed to the end user, so as to avoid the need for scrolling. The Footer is optional and contains static text only.

NOTE: The Header and Footer lengths are currently limited to 60 characters each and the Message body length is limited to 1024 characters.

Example

Ensure the following variables are set to your required values using any convenient method:

Key	Description
`BASE_URL`	For production use the base URL is `https://api.nexmo.com/`. For sandbox testing the base URL is `https://messages-sandbox.nexmo.com/`.
`MESSAGES_API_URL`	For production use the Messages API endpoint is `https://api.nexmo.com/v0.1/messages`. For sandbox testing the Messages API endpoint is `https://messages-sandbox.nexmo.com/v0.1/messages`.
`WHATSAPP_NUMBER`	The WhatsApp number that has been allocated to you by Vonage. For sandbox testing the number is 14157386170.
`TO_NUMBER`	Replace with the number you are sending to. E.g. `447700900001`
`WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAMESPACE`	The namespace ID found in your WhatsApp Business Account. Only templates created in your own namespace will work. Using an template with a namespace outside of your own results in an error code 1022 being returned. For sandbox testing the supported namespace is `9b6b4fcb_da19_4a26_8fe8_78074a91b584`.
`WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAME`	The name of the template created in your WhatsApp Business Account. For sandbox testing the `verify` template is currently available. Refer to this table for new templates as they become available.

NOTE: Don't use a leading + or 00 when entering a phone number, start with the country code, for example, 447700900000.

Prerequisites

If you do not have an application you can create one. Make sure you also configure your webhooks.

Write the code

Add the following to send-media-mtm.sh:

curl -X POST $MESSAGES_API_URL \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer' $JWT \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
  "from": {
    "type": "whatsapp",
    "number": "$WHATSAPP_NUMBER"
  },
  "to": {
    "type": "whatsapp",
    "number": "$TO_NUMBER"
  },
  "message": {
    "content": {
      "type": "custom",
      "custom": {
        "type": "template",
        "template": {
          "namespace": "$WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAMESPACE",
          "name": "$WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAME",
          "language": {
            "policy": "deterministic",
            "code": "en"
          },
          "components": [
            {
              "type": "header",
              "parameters": [
                {
                  "type": "location",
                  "location": {
                    "longitude": -122.425332,
                    "latitude": 37.758056,
                    "name": "Facebook HQ",
                    "address": "1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025"
                  }
                }
              ]
            },
            {
              "type": "body",
              "parameters": [
                {
                  "type": "text",
                  "text": "Value 1"
                },
                {
                  "type": "text",
                  "text": "Value 2"
                },
                {
                  "type": "text",
                  "text": "Value 3"
                }
              ]
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}'

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Run your code

Save this file to your machine and run it:

bash send-media-mtm.sh

Prerequisites

If you do not have an application you can create one. Make sure you also configure your webhooks.

npm install @vonage/server-sdk@beta

Write the code

Add the following to send-media-template.js:

const Vonage = require('@vonage/server-sdk');

const vonage = new Vonage(
    {
        apiKey: VONAGE_API_KEY,
        apiSecret: VONAGE_API_SECRET,
        applicationId: VONAGE_APPLICATION_ID,
        privateKey: VONAGE_APPLICATION_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH,
    },
    {
        apiHost: BASE_URL,
    }
);

vonage.channel.send(
    { type: 'whatsapp', number: TO_NUMBER },
    { type: 'whatsapp', number: WHATSAPP_NUMBER },
    {
        content: {
            type: 'custom',
            custom: {
                type: 'template',
                template: {
                    namespace: WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAMESPACE,
                    name: WHATSAPP_TEMPLATE_NAME,
                    language: {
                        policy: 'deterministic',
                        code: 'en',
                    },
                    components: [
                        {
                            type: 'header',
                            parameters: [
                                {
                                    type: 'location',
                                    location: {
                                        longitude: -122.425332,
                                        latitude: 37.758056,
                                        name: 'Facebook HQ',
                                        address: '1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025',
                                    },
                                },
                            ],
                        },
                        {
                            type: 'body',
                            parameters: [
                                {
                                    type: 'text',
                                    text: 'Value 1',
                                },
                                {
                                    type: 'text',
                                    text: 'Value 2',
                                },
                                {
                                    type: 'text',
                                    text: 'Value 3',
                                },
                            ],
                        },
                    ],
                },
            },
        },
    },
    (err, data) => {
        if (err) {
            console.error(err);
        } else {
            console.log(data.message_uuid);
        }
    }
);

View full source

Run your code

Save this file to your machine and run it:

node send-media-template.js

Try it out

When you run the code a WhatsApp Media Message Template is sent to the destination number.

Further information

WhatsApp documentation for Media Message Templates

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