Impossible to send whatsapp templates

[rpetribu]

Hi everyone!

Is anyone able to send WhatsApp templates using the ChatWoot API?

I wasted the whole afternoon trying in the most diverse ways and nothing... And look, I'm trying using the simplest pattern that exists, the "Hello World" created by Meta itself...

I am using this endpoint: /api/v1/accounts/{account_id}/conversations

The JSON is this:

{
  "source_id": "123",
  "inbox_id": "1",
  "contact_id": "11",
  "status": "open",
  "message": {
    "content": "Welcome and congratulations!! This message demonstrates your ability to send a WhatsApp message notification from the Cloud API, hosted by Meta. Thank you for taking the time to test with us.",
    "template_params": {
      "name": "hello_world",
      "category": "UTILITY",
      "language": "en_US"
    }
  }
}

The message is created correctly within the conversation, and I can view it. However, it never reaches the user. It only appears in ChatWoot.

I'm going crazy with this, can anyone help me?

Edit: Version v4.5.2

[sojan-official]

@rpetribu which channel provider are you using ?

[rpetribu]

WhatsApp Cloud.

[rpetribu]

Ok, I found an old post here #5958 where @munawar050 manage to solve this using a code that is not in Chatwoot's API documentation. And miraculously it works.

So, I am now facing another problem. Templates are only sent correctly if:

1. There are no open conversations in the last 24 hours AND the template has no variables;

OR

2. If there is an open conversation in the last 24 hours.

This makes no sense at all. All templates are approved by Meta. I can even send them normally via API to Meta and through ManyChat.

I would really like to know if anyone is able to use this feature normally, I am willing to pay for someone to be able to guide me....

[munawar050]

@rpetribu thanks

My template messages go irrespective of the conversation status (open close etc)
If you can share more information maybe we can help

[muhsin-k]

@rpetribu We’ve recently made some updates to WhatsApp templates, you can find the guide here. Please also review the API documentation too ensure you’re using the correct flow. Could you check if anything is missing or unclear in the docs and let us know?

[rpetribu]

Thank you @munawar050 and @muhsin-k for your help.

I modified the code I was using following your instructions.

I'm using n8n and sending a POST to open a conversation with a template using this API documentation.

The code I'm using is this:

{
"source_id": "1234",
"inbox_id": 1,
"contact_id": 1,
"status": "open",
"message": {
  "content": "Welcome and congratulations!! This message demonstrates your ability to send a WhatsApp message notification from the Cloud API, hosted by Meta. Thank you for taking the time to test with us.",
"message_type": "outgoing",
"private": false,
"content_type": "text",
"template_params": {
"name": "hello_world",
"category": "UTILITY",
"language": "en_US"
}}}

The message isn't being sent, likely because the open conversation hasn't had any interaction with the contact in the last 24 hours. This doesn't make sense, as it's a template already approved by Meta.

I tried to change the approach and, instead of creating a conversation, I tried to create a message. To do this, I divided the action into two steps.

1. Create a blank conversation:

POST: https://[MY URL]/api/v1/accounts/1/conversations/

{
"source_id": "1234",
"inbox_id": 1,
"contact_id": 1,
"status": "open",
"message": {
"content": ""
}
}

2. Send the template within that conversation:

POST: https://[MY URL]/api/v1/accounts/1/conversations/[ID CREATED ABOVE]/messages

{
  "content": "Welcome and congratulations!! This message demonstrates your ability to send a WhatsApp message notification from the Cloud API, hosted by Meta. Thank you for taking the time to test with us.",
"message_type": "outgoing",
"private": false,
"content_type": "text",
"template_params": {
"name": "hello_world",
"category": "UTILITY",
"language": "en_US",
}
}

The result.... the same.

Now, if the contact send me a message and i pick this conversation ID, I can send the template using the code above to that conversation.

POST: https://[MY URL]/api/v1/accounts/1/conversations/32/messages

{
  "content": "Welcome and congratulations!! This message demonstrates your ability to send a WhatsApp message notification from the Cloud API, hosted by Meta. Thank you for taking the time to test with us.",
"message_type": "outgoing",
"private": false,
"content_type": "text",
"template_params": {
"name": "hello_world",
"category": "UTILITY",
"language": "en_US",
}
}

And I also received the tempalte in my Whatsapp....

In short...

The template only sends if I create a message in an already open conversation with the contact. Otherwise, it doesn't send.

Using the Chatwoot UI, I'm getting it working normally, without any issues.

[rpetribu]

Guys, I finally managed to resolve the issue, which was occurring due to incorrect information in the API documentation, which I humbly suggest be updated.

This link provides instructions on how to CREATE a conversation.
https://developers.chatwoot.com/api-reference/conversations/create-new-conversation

One of the required parameters is the source_id:

The thing is, this parameter is not required (at least when trying to send a template) and if you try to generate any random number just to not sent it in blank, it will result in error.

What I did was simply not send it. I used the same code shown above. The only difference was that I didn't send the source_id:

{
"inbox_id": 1,
"contact_id": 1,
"status": "open",
"message": {
  "content": "Welcome and congratulations!! This message demonstrates your ability to send a WhatsApp message notification from the Cloud API, hosted by Meta. Thank you for taking the time to test with us.",
"message_type": "outgoing",
"private": false,
"content_type": "text",
"template_params": {
"name": "hello_world",
"category": "UTILITY",
"language": "en_US"
}}}

It worked!

Thanks again for your help.

[munawar050]

Was just about to mention this, glad you found the resolution