WhatsApp Business API Documentation — Complete Reference India 2026

WhatsApp Business API documentation covers the REST API endpoints for sending messages, the webhook event schemas for receiving messages, the Cloud API authentication method (System User access token), template management, and the Catalog and Flows APIs. Get Click Media provides complete API documentation with code samples in Node.js, Python, PHP, and Java. The official Meta documentation is at developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp.

This page is the central reference for developers building on Get Click Media's WhatsApp Business API platform. It covers authentication, the core messaging endpoints, webhook event schemas, message type formats, and links to deeper technical guides for specific topics. Maintained by Get Click Media's API engineering team as an official Meta Business Solution Provider (BSP).

Authentication — How API Calls Are Authenticated

All API calls to Get Click Media's WhatsApp API require two headers:

Authorization: Bearer {GCM_API_KEY}
X-Phone-Number-ID: {PHONE_NUMBER_ID}

// GCM_API_KEY: your permanent API key from GCM dashboard
// PHONE_NUMBER_ID: your WhatsApp Business phone number identifier
// Both available in GCM dashboard > Settings > API Credentials

// Base URL for all API calls:
// https://api.getclickmedia.com/v2/whatsapp/

Core API Endpoints — Quick Reference

Method	Endpoint	Description	Key parameters
POST	/messages	Send a WhatsApp message (template or session reply)	to (phone), type, template or text
POST	/messages/batch	Send bulk messages — campaign broadcast	recipients array, template, variables
GET	/messages/{id}	Get status and delivery events for a message	message_id path param
POST	/media	Upload media file for use in messages	multipart/form-data — file + type
GET	/media/{id}	Download previously uploaded media	media_id path param
GET	/contacts/{phone}	Check if phone number has WhatsApp	phone in E.164 format
GET	/templates	List all approved message templates	status filter optional
POST	/templates	Submit a new template for Meta approval	name, category, language, components
POST	/webhooks	Register or update webhook endpoint URL	url, events array
GET	/analytics	Get message delivery and campaign analytics	date_from, date_to, template_name
GET	/usage	Get monthly usage summary and conversation counts	month, year

Message Types — Sending Different Content Formats

{
  "to": "+919876543210",
  "type": "text",
  "text": { "body": "Thank you for contacting us. How can we help you today?" }
}

{
  "to": "+919876543210",
  "type": "template",
  "template": {
    "name": "order_shipped_v2",
    "language": { "code": "en" },
    "components": [
      {
        "type": "header",
        "parameters": [
          { "type": "image", "image": { "link": "https://yourcdn.com/logo.png" } }
        ]
      },
      {
        "type": "body",
        "parameters": [
          { "type": "text", "text": "Priya" },
          { "type": "text", "text": "#ORD-4782" },
          { "type": "text", "text": "Blue Dart" },
          { "type": "text", "text": "BD123456789" }
        ]
      },
      {
        "type": "button",
        "sub_type": "url",
        "index": 0,
        "parameters": [
          { "type": "text", "text": "BD123456789" }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

{
  "to": "+919876543210",
  "type": "interactive",
  "interactive": {
    "type": "button",
    "body": { "text": "Your appointment is tomorrow at 10 AM. Confirm?" },
    "action": {
      "buttons": [
        { "type": "reply", "reply": { "id": "btn_confirm", "title": "Confirm" } },
        { "type": "reply", "reply": { "id": "btn_reschedule", "title": "Reschedule" } },
        { "type": "reply", "reply": { "id": "btn_cancel", "title": "Cancel" } }
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "to": "+919876543210",
  "type": "image",
  "image": {
    "link": "https://yourcdn.com/product-abc.jpg",
    "caption": "Nike Air Max 270 — now available in Black. Rs 12,999. [Shop Now]"
  }
}

Template Management — Submit and Track Approval

{
  "name": "payment_reminder_v3",
  "category": "UTILITY",
  "language": "en",
  "components": [
    {
      "type": "BODY",
      "text": "Dear {{1}}, your EMI of Rs {{2}} is due on {{3}}. Pay now to avoid late charges.",
      "example": {
        "body_text": [["Rajan", "12,450", "30 June 2026"]]
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "BUTTONS",
      "buttons": [
        { "type": "URL", "text": "Pay Now", "url": "https://pay.yourbank.com/{{1}}" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

// Template status values after submission:
// PENDING  — Meta is reviewing
// APPROVED — Ready to use
// REJECTED — See rejection_reason field for details
// PAUSED   — Quality score below threshold

SDK Quickstarts

Language	Install command	Import
Node.js	npm install @getclickmedia/whatsapp-sdk	const { GCMClient } = require('@getclickmedia/whatsapp-sdk');
Python	pip install gcm-whatsapp --break-system-packages	from gcm_whatsapp import GCMClient
PHP	composer require getclickmedia/whatsapp-php	use GetClickMedia\WhatsApp\Client;
Java	Maven: com.getclickmedia:whatsapp-sdk:2.0.0	import com.getclickmedia.whatsapp.GCMClient;

API Rate Limits and Throttling

Plan tier	Messages per second	Daily conversation limit	Burst allowance
Starter	10 messages/sec	1,000 business-initiated conversations	2x for 60 seconds
Growth	100 messages/sec	10,000 – 1,00,000 (tier based)	3x for 60 seconds
Enterprise	1,000+ messages/sec	Unlimited	Custom burst negotiated

Rate limit response: the API returns HTTP 429 with a Retry-After header when a rate limit is exceeded. Implement exponential backoff: wait Retry-After seconds, then retry. Do not retry immediately on 429 — it causes cascading failures. Full detail in WhatsApp API rate limits.

Frequently Asked Questions — WhatsApp API Documentation

Where is the official WhatsApp API documentation? Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API documentation is at developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp. Get Click Media's platform documentation — including GCM-specific endpoints, code samples in 4 languages, and integration guides — is available on this page. GCM documentation includes India-specific examples and use cases not covered in Meta's generic docs.

What is the difference between WhatsApp Cloud API and On-Premise API documentation? On-Premise API was deprecated by Meta for new accounts in 2023. All new WhatsApp Business Platform accounts use Cloud API. The Cloud API documentation (developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/cloud-api) is the current reference. If you encounter older documentation referencing On-Premise API, it applies to legacy deployments only.

What programming languages does the WhatsApp API support? WhatsApp Business API is a REST API — it works with any programming language that can make HTTP requests. Get Click Media provides official SDKs for Node.js, Python, PHP, and Java. Community-maintained libraries exist for Go, Ruby, Kotlin, and other languages. Code samples in all four official languages are included in GCM's documentation.

How do I handle API errors in my integration? All API errors return a JSON response with an error object containing: code (numeric error code), message (human-readable description), and type (error category). See the complete error code reference at WhatsApp API error codes. Implement specific handling for common codes: 429 (rate limit — backoff and retry), 400 (bad request — fix payload, do not retry), 131030 (template not approved — submit template first).

Get Started

Continue building with the full technical guide set: WhatsApp webhooks for receiving inbound events, WhatsApp API error codes for troubleshooting, WhatsApp API rate limits for scaling send volume, and WhatsApp API security before going to production.

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