Send and receive messages with WhatsApp Cloud API and Node.js

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps, and with the WhatsApp Cloud API, developers can integrate WhatsApp messaging features into their applications. In this article, we will explore how to send and receive messages using the WhatsApp Cloud API and Node.js.

Setting up the project

First, make sure you have Node.js installed on your machine. Then, create a new directory for your project and initialize a new Node.js project by running the following commands in your terminal:


mkdir whatsapp-cloud-api-demo
cd whatsapp-cloud-api-demo
npm init -y


Installing dependencies

Next, let’s install the necessary dependencies for our project. We will use the `twilio` npm package to work with the WhatsApp Cloud API. Run the following command to install the `twilio` package:


npm install twilio


Sending messages

Now that we have set up the project and installed the necessary dependencies, we can start sending messages using the WhatsApp Cloud API. Create a new file called `send-messages.js` and add the following code:


const accountSid = 'your_account_sid';
const authToken = 'your_auth_token';
const client = require('twilio')(accountSid, authToken);

client.messages
.create({
from: 'whatsapp:+14155238886',
body: 'Hello from Node.js!',
to: 'whatsapp:+1234567890'
})
.then(message => console.log(message.sid))
.done();


Receiving messages

To receive messages using the WhatsApp Cloud API, you will need to set up a webhook URL to handle incoming message events. You can use a Node.js web server to accomplish this. Create a new file called `receive-messages.js` and add the following code:


const http = require('http');

http.createServer((req, res) => {
let body = '';
req.on('data', chunk => {
body += chunk.toString();
});
req.on('end', () => {
console.log(JSON.parse(body));
res.end('Received message');
});
}).listen(3000);


Conclusion

With the WhatsApp Cloud API and Node.js, you can easily send and receive messages from WhatsApp right within your own applications. This opens up a world of possibilities for integrating WhatsApp messaging features into your projects. Whether you want to send notifications, automate customer support, or build a custom chatbot, you can do it all using the WhatsApp Cloud API and Node.js.