WhatsApp API for developers: send your first template message with curl, Node.js and Python

What you will build

By the end of this tutorial you will send a WhatsApp template message with the API from your own server: an order-shipped notification with the customer's name in the body, a product image in the header and a tracking link button. Templates are how a business starts a conversation on WhatsApp; free-form messages are allowed only within 24 hours of the customer's last message.

Broadchat exposes a channel endpoint that accepts Meta's Cloud API request format for your connected number and forwards it to Meta with the channel's credentials. If you have used the Cloud API before, only the base URL and the token change. For an overview of both developer options (this endpoint and API campaigns), see the Broadchat REST API page.

Step 1: generate a channel access token

Only the account owner can do this:

1. Open Channels → All Channels.
2. On your channel's card, open the ⋮ menu and choose Access Token.
3. The API Details window shows Access Token (it starts with bc_), API URL, API Version, WABA ID, Phone Number ID and Business ID. Click Copy Token and store it in your secret manager or environment variables.

The API URL is your panel's own address plus /api/meta, for example https://app.yourpanel.in/api/meta. A token works only for its own channel's phone number id and WhatsApp Business account id.

Step 2: read the template's exact details

Open CRM → WhatsApp Templates and find the approved template. You need four facts, and each must match exactly:

The approved body reads: Hi {{1}}, your Rangoli Home order {{2}} has been shipped with {{3}}. Track it with the button below. The order update templates show similar approved wording.

Step 3: send the request with curl

curl -X POST "https://app.yourpanel.in/api/meta/v21.0/123456789012345/messages" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BC_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "messaging_product": "whatsapp",
    "recipient_type": "individual",
    "to": "919876543210",
    "type": "template",
    "template": {
      "name": "order_shipped",
      "language": { "code": "en" },
      "components": [
        {
          "type": "header",
          "parameters": [
            { "type": "image", "image": { "link": "https://cdn.rangolihome.in/products/cushion-48213.jpg" } }
          ]
        },
        {
          "type": "body",
          "parameters": [
            { "type": "text", "text": "Priya" },
            { "type": "text", "text": "#48213" },
            { "type": "text", "text": "Delhivery" }
          ]
        },
        {
          "type": "button",
          "sub_type": "url",
          "index": "0",
          "parameters": [ { "type": "text", "text": "48213" } ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }'

Replace the host, version and phone number id with the values from your API Details window. Notes on the body:

• to is the number with country code, digits only (919876543210).
• Body parameters are positional: the first fills {{1}}, and so on. Send exactly as many as the template has.
• The button index is the button's position, starting at 0, and its parameter fills the variable at the end of the URL.
• Media goes in by public HTTPS link. Multipart media uploads are not supported through the channel endpoint, so host images on your CDN or storage.

A successful call returns Meta's response, for example:

{
  "messaging_product": "whatsapp",
  "contacts": [ { "input": "919876543210", "wa_id": "919876543210" } ],
  "messages": [ { "id": "wamid.HBgMOTE5ODc2NTQzMjEwFQIAERgSQTQ1RkY2..." } ]
}

Store messages[0].id. It is how you match delivery statuses later.

Step 4: move it into Node.js or Python

Node.js 18 or later has fetch built in:

// send-template.mjs
const API_URL = process.env.BC_API_URL;      // e.g. https://app.yourpanel.in/api/meta
const API_VERSION = process.env.BC_API_VERSION; // e.g. v21.0, from the API Details window
const PHONE_ID = process.env.BC_PHONE_NUMBER_ID;
const TOKEN = process.env.BC_TOKEN;

export async function sendOrderShipped({ to, name, orderNo, courier, imageUrl }) {
  const body = {
    messaging_product: 'whatsapp',
    to,
    type: 'template',
    template: {
      name: 'order_shipped',
      language: { code: 'en' },
      components: [
        { type: 'header', parameters: [{ type: 'image', image: { link: imageUrl } }] },
        { type: 'body', parameters: [name, `#${orderNo}`, courier].map((text) => ({ type: 'text', text })) },
        { type: 'button', sub_type: 'url', index: '0', parameters: [{ type: 'text', text: String(orderNo) }] },
      ],
    },
  };
  const res = await fetch(`${API_URL}/${API_VERSION}/${PHONE_ID}/messages`, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${TOKEN}`, 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify(body),
  });
  const data = await res.json().catch(() => ({}));
  if (!res.ok) {
    const e = data.error || {};
    throw Object.assign(new Error(`WhatsApp send failed: ${res.status} code ${e.code}: ${e.message}`), { status: res.status, code: e.code });
  }
  return data.messages[0].id; // save this with the order
}

Python with the requests library:

# send_template.py
import os
import requests

API_URL = os.environ["BC_API_URL"]          # e.g. https://app.yourpanel.in/api/meta
API_VERSION = os.environ["BC_API_VERSION"]  # e.g. v21.0
PHONE_ID = os.environ["BC_PHONE_NUMBER_ID"]
TOKEN = os.environ["BC_TOKEN"]

def send_order_shipped(to, name, order_no, courier, image_url):
    body = {
        "messaging_product": "whatsapp",
        "to": to,
        "type": "template",
        "template": {
            "name": "order_shipped",
            "language": {"code": "en"},
            "components": [
                {"type": "header", "parameters": [{"type": "image", "image": {"link": image_url}}]},
                {"type": "body", "parameters": [{"type": "text", "text": t} for t in (name, f"#{order_no}", courier)]},
                {"type": "button", "sub_type": "url", "index": "0", "parameters": [{"type": "text", "text": str(order_no)}]},
            ],
        },
    }
    r = requests.post(
        f"{API_URL}/{API_VERSION}/{PHONE_ID}/messages",
        headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {TOKEN}"},
        json=body,
        timeout=20,
    )
    data = r.json() if r.content else {}
    if not r.ok:
        err = data.get("error", {})
        raise RuntimeError(f"WhatsApp send failed: {r.status_code} code {err.get('code')}: {err.get('message')}")
    return data["messages"][0]["id"]

Step 5: handle errors and retries

Errors come back in Meta's shape, {"error": {"message", "type", "code"}}, whether they come from Broadchat's checks or from Meta, so one handler covers both:

Retry only on network errors and 5xx responses, with an exponential back-off, and never in a tight loop: there is no idempotency key, so a blind retry after a timeout can send the same message twice. Check your logs for a stored message id before retrying. All API routes share a limit of 300 requests per minute per IP address; queue bulk sends rather than firing them in parallel. The WhatsApp API error codes article explains the Meta codes in depth.

Step 6: track delivery with a webhook

A 200 response means Meta accepted the message, not that it was delivered. To receive statuses:

1. Open Channels, open your channel and go to the Webhooks tab.
2. Click Add Webhook, enter a Title and an HTTPS URL, and select the Channel Events you need: Sent, Delivered, Read, Failed and, for replies, Incoming Messages.
3. Statuses arrive in Meta's webhook format, one change per POST, with headers such as X-Webhook-Event. Match statuses[0].id to the message id you stored.

Webhooks are sent once with a 5-second timeout and are not retried, so answer with a 2xx immediately and process asynchronously. Use a hard-to-guess URL path, because requests do not currently carry a signature you can verify. The WhatsApp webhooks integration page lists every event and payload.

The shortcut: an API campaign

If you only need "send this approved template to this number" with reporting in the panel, an API campaign has a simpler body. Create one in CRM → Bulk Campaign → Create New Campaign → API Campaign (choose the channel, a name and the Token Validity); the report page shows the Endpoint, a Campaign Token (starting bcc_, shown once) and a Sample Request:

curl -X POST "https://app.yourpanel.in/api/v1/campaigns/<CAMPAIGN_ID>/send" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BC_CAMPAIGN_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "phone": "919876543210",
    "name": "Priya Sharma",
    "template": "order_shipped",
    "language": "en",
    "variables": ["Priya", "#48213", "Delhivery"],
    "headerMedia": "https://cdn.rangolihome.in/products/cushion-48213.jpg",
    "buttons": ["48213"]
  }'

Success returns {"success": true, "data": {"recipientId": "…", "status": "SENT", "messageId": "…"}}. A failed send, including a low wallet balance or a rejection by Meta, returns HTTP 502 with success: false and the reason in message, so read the message before retrying. The contact is created or updated with the API as its source, the send appears in the campaign report, and each campaign accepts up to 120 calls per minute.

Costs and compliance

Template sends are charged to the channel's wallet before they reach Meta and refunded automatically if Meta rejects them. Meta charges per delivered message by category: for India, ₹0.115 per utility message and ₹0.8631 per marketing message (Meta rate card effective 1 Oct 2026, excl. GST); see WhatsApp API pricing. The API does not check consent for you: send only to people who opted in, and honour opt-outs in your own system. For the platform basics, read what the WhatsApp Business API is; SaaS companies that want to offer WhatsApp sending inside their own product can do it under their own brand with the white-label platform.