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Getting Started with Wataki in 5 Minutes

Wataki Team·

This guide walks you through connecting your WhatsApp number and sending your first message using the Wataki API. The whole process takes about five minutes.

Step 1: Create an account

Head to wataki.cloud and sign up for a free account. You'll get an API key immediately — no approval process, no waiting.

Your API key looks like wk_live_... and goes in the X-API-Key header of every request.

Step 2: Create an instance

An instance represents one WhatsApp connection. Create one with a POST request:

curl -X POST https://api.wataki.cloud/v1/instances \
  -H "X-API-Key: wk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "my-first-bot"}'

The response includes the instance ID and a QR code endpoint.

Step 3: Connect your WhatsApp number

Open the QR code endpoint in your browser or fetch it programmatically. Open WhatsApp on your phone, go to Linked Devices, and scan the QR code.

Once linked, the instance status changes to connected and you're ready to send messages.

Step 4: Send a message

Send a text message to any WhatsApp number:

curl -X POST https://api.wataki.cloud/v1/instances/:id/messages \
  -H "X-API-Key: wk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "chat_id": "5511999999999@s.whatsapp.net",
    "type": "text",
    "content": { "text": "Hello from Wataki!" }
  }'

You'll get a 202 Accepted response with the message ID. The message is queued and delivered within milliseconds.

Step 5: Set up a webhook

To receive incoming messages and delivery receipts, register a webhook URL:

curl -X POST https://api.wataki.cloud/v1/instances/:id/webhooks \
  -H "X-API-Key: wk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://your-app.com/webhook",
    "events": ["message.received", "message.sent"]
  }'

Wataki will POST events to your URL in real time, with automatic retries if your endpoint is temporarily unavailable.

What's next

You now have a working WhatsApp integration. From here you can:

  • Send media messages (images, documents, audio, video)
  • Manage groups programmatically
  • Monitor delivery rates in the observability dashboard
  • Add more instances for different WhatsApp numbers

Check out the full API documentation at docs.wataki.cloud for the complete endpoint reference.