Telnyx WhatsApp Business API - curl

Installation

# curl is pre-installed on macOS, Linux, and Windows 10+

Setup

export TELNYX_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"

All examples below use $TELNYXAPIKEY for authentication.

Error Handling

All API calls can fail with network errors, rate limits (429), validation errors (422), or authentication errors (401). Always handle errors in production code:

curl \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TELNYX_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
      "from": "+19452940762",
      "to": "+18005551234",
      "type": "WHATSAPP",
      "whatsapp_message": {
        "type": "text",
        "text": { "body": "Hello from Telnyx!" }
      }
  }' \
  "https://api.telnyx.com/v2/messages/whatsapp"

Common error codes: 401 invalid API key, 403 insufficient permissions, 404 resource not found, 422 validation error (check field formats), 429 rate limited (retry with exponential backoff).

WhatsApp-Specific Errors

• 40008 — Meta catch-all error. Check template parameters, phone number formatting, and 24-hour window rules.
• 131047 — Message failed to send during the 24-hour window. The customer hasn't messaged you first (for non-template messages).
• 131026 — Recipient phone number is not a WhatsApp user.
• 132000 — Template parameter count mismatch. Ensure the number of parameters matches the template definition.
• 132015 — Template paused or disabled by Meta due to quality issues.

Important Notes

• Phone numbers must be in E.164 format (e.g., +13125550001). Include the + prefix and country code.
• Template messages can be sent anytime. Free-form (session) messages can only be sent within a 24-hour window after the customer last messaged you.
• Template IDs: You can reference templates by Telnyx UUID (templateid) instead of name + language. When templateid is provided, name and language are resolved automatically.
• Billing types: Template messages are billed as whatsappmarketing, whatsapputility, whatsappauthentication, or whatsappauthentication_international based on category and destination.

Operational Caveats

• The sending phone number must be registered with a WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) and associated with a messaging profile.
• Templates must be in APPROVED status before they can be used for sending.
• Template names must be lowercase with underscores only (e.g., order_confirmation). No spaces, hyphens, or uppercase.
• When creating templates, provide realistic sample values for body parameters — Meta reviewers check these during approval.
• Category selection matters for billing: AUTHENTICATION templates get special pricing but must contain an OTP. UTILITY is for transactional messages. MARKETING for promotional content.
• Meta may reclassify your template category (e.g., UTILITY to MARKETING) which affects billing.

Reference Use Rules

Do not invent Telnyx parameters, enums, response fields, or webhook fields.

• If the parameter, enum, or response field you need is not shown inline in this skill, read [references/api-details.md](references/api-details.md) before writing code.
• Before using any operation in ## Additional Operations, read [the optional-parameters section](references/api-details.md#optional-parameters) and [the response-schemas section](references/api-details.md#response-schemas).
• Before reading or matching webhook fields beyond the inline examples, read [the webhook payload reference](references/api-details.md#webhook-payload-fields).

Core Tasks

Send a WhatsApp template message

Send a pre-approved template message. Templates can be sent anytime — no 24-hour window restriction.

POST /messages/whatsapp

*Required unless template_id is provided.

# Send by template name + language
curl \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TELNYX_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
      "from": "+19452940762",
      "to": "+18005551234",
      "type": "WHATSAPP",
      "whatsapp_message": {
        "type": "template",
        "template": {
          "name": "order_confirmation",
          "language": { "code": "en_US" },
          "components": [
            {
              "type": "body",
              "parameters": [
                { "type": "text", "text": "ORD-12345" },
                { "type": "text", "text": "March 15, 2026" }
              ]
            }
          ]
        }
      }
  }' \
  "https://api.telnyx.com/v2/messages/whatsapp"

# Send by Telnyx template_id (no name/language needed)
curl \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TELNYX_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
      "from": "+19452940762",
      "to": "+18005551234",
      "type": "WHATSAPP",
      "whatsapp_message": {
        "type": "template",
        "template": {
          "template_id": "019cd44b-3a1c-781b-956e-bd33e9fd2ac6",
          "components": [
            {
              "type": "body",
              "parameters": [
                { "type": "text", "text": "483291" }
              ]
            }
          ]
        }
      }
  }' \
  "https://api.telnyx.com/v2/messages/whatsapp"

Primary response fields:

• .data.id — Message UUID
• .data.to[0].status — queued, sent, delivered, failed
• .data.from.phone_number
• .data.type — WHATSAPP

Send a free-form WhatsApp text message

Send a text message within the 24-hour customer service window (customer must have messaged you first).

POST /messages/whatsapp

curl \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TELNYX_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
      "from": "+19452940762",
      "to": "+18005551234",
      "type": "WHATSAPP",
      "whatsapp_message": {
        "type": "text",
        "text": { "body": "Your order has shipped!" }
      }
  }' \
  "https://api.telnyx.com/v2/messages/whatsapp"

List WhatsApp Business Accounts

Retrieve all WABAs associated with your Telnyx account.

GET /v2/whatsapp/business_accounts

curl \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TELNYX_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.telnyx.com/v2/whatsapp/business_accounts"

Primary response fields:

• .data[].id — Telnyx WABA UUID
• .data[].waba_id — Meta WABA ID
• .data[].name — Business name
• .data[].status — Account status
• .data[].country — WABA country

List templates

Retrieve message templates, optionally filtered by WABA.

GET /v2/whatsapp/message_templates

curl \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TELNYX_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.telnyx.com/v2/whatsapp/message_templates?waba_id=019c1ff0-5c30-7f36-8436-730b1d0b0e56&status=APPROVED"

Primary response fields:

• .data[].id — Telnyx template UUID (use this as template_id when sending)
• .data[].name — Template name
• .data[].category — AUTHENTICATION, MARKETING, or UTILITY
• .data[].language — Language code (e.g., en_US)
• .data[].status — APPROVED, PENDING, REJECTED, DISABLED
• .data[].components — Template components (header, body, footer, buttons)

Create a message template

Submit a new template for Meta review. Templates typically take minutes to hours for approval.

POST /v2/whatsapp/message_templates

curl \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TELNYX_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
      "waba_id": "019c1ff0-5c30-7f36-8436-730b1d0b0e56",
      "name": "order_shipped",
      "category": "UTILITY",
      "language": "en_US",
      "components": [
        {
          "type": "BODY",
          "text": "Your order {{1}} has been shipped and will arrive by {{2}}.",
          "example": {
            "body_text": [["ORD-12345", "March 20, 2026"]]
          }
        }
      ]
  }' \
  "https://api.telnyx.com/v2/whatsapp/message_templates"

Primary response fields:

• .data.id — Telnyx template UUID
• .data.name — Template name
• .data.status — Initially PENDING until Meta approves

List phone numbers

GET /v2/whatsapp/phone_numbers

curl \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TELNYX_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.telnyx.com/v2/whatsapp/phone_numbers?waba_id=019c1ff0-5c30-7f36-8436-730b1d0b0e56"

Primary response fields:

• .data[].phone_number — Phone number in E.164 format
• .data[].number_id — Meta phone number ID
• .data[].quality_rating — GREEN, YELLOW, or RED
• .data[].messaginglimittier — Current messaging tier

Webhook Verification

Telnyx signs webhooks with Ed25519. Each request includes telnyx-signature-ed25519 and telnyx-timestamp headers. Always verify signatures in production.

Webhooks

These webhook payload fields are inline because they are part of the primary integration path.

Message Delivery Update

Template Status Change

Configure webhook events on your WABA to receive template lifecycle notifications.

Phone Number Quality Change

Template Best Practices

• Naming: Use lowercase with underscores. Be descriptive (e.g., appointment_reminder, not msg1).
• Sample values: Provide realistic examples in the example field — Meta reviewers check these.
• Category selection:

- AUTHENTICATION — OTP/verification codes only. Gets special pricing. - UTILITY — Transactional (order updates, shipping, account alerts). - MARKETING — Promotional content, offers, newsletters.

• Keep it concise: Meta prefers shorter templates. Avoid unnecessary formatting.
• Avoid prohibited content: No misleading claims, prohibited products, or URL shorteners in template body.
• Parameters: Use {{1}}, {{2}}, etc. for variable content. Always provide the correct number of parameters when sending.

Important Supporting Operations

Additional Operations