WhatsApp Official (Business Cloud API) Skill

Status: BLOCKED

Meta Business not verified. WhatsApp Business API access not provisioned.

Why Official API (Not Baileys)

OpenClaw ships with a built-in WhatsApp adapter using the Baileys library (unofficial, reverse-engineered protocol). This skill uses the official WhatsApp Business Cloud API from Meta instead, which:

•Is TOS-compliant and production-safe
•Supports business-verified sender identity
•Provides delivery receipts and read receipts via webhook
•Supports template messages (pre-approved by Meta)
•Has official rate limits and SLA

Configuration Template

env

# Add to ~/.openclaw/.env
WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_PHONE_ID=123456789012345
WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_TOKEN=EAAxxxxxxxx
WHATSAPP_VERIFY_TOKEN=your-webhook-verify-token

Webhook Configuration

•Callback URL: https://<gateway-public-url>/webhooks/whatsapp-business
•Verify Token: must match WHATSAPP_VERIFY_TOKEN
•Subscribe to: messages, message_delivery_updates

Meta Business Verification

Required steps:

•Create Meta Business account
•Create app in Meta for Developers
•Add WhatsApp product to app
•Complete business verification (documents required)
•Register phone number for WhatsApp Business
•Get permanent access token

Approval Gate

All outbound messages require approval unless replying within 24h window.

•Template messages (outside 24h window) always require approval
•Free-form replies within 24h customer-service window: configurable

Capabilities

•Send text messages (approval-gated)
•Send template messages (pre-approved by Meta)
•Send media (images, documents, audio)
•Receive inbound messages via webhook
•Read receipts and delivery status

Unblock Steps

•Create Meta Business account at https://business.facebook.com
•Create developer app at https://developers.facebook.com
•Complete business verification
•Register WhatsApp Business phone number
•Generate permanent access token
•Add credentials to ~/.openclaw/.env
•Configure webhook in Meta dashboard
•Disable Baileys adapter: openclaw config set channels.whatsapp.enabled false
•Run openclaw config set skills.entries.whatsapp-official.enabled true