Send WhatsApp Message

Send text, media, template, or interactive messages via WhatsApp.

POST/v2/accounts/{sid}/messages

Endpoint

POST https://<api_key>:<api_token><subdomain>/v2/accounts/<account_sid>/messages

Request Parameters

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
from	Mandatory	String	Your WhatsApp-enabled phone number (E.164)
to	Mandatory	String	Recipient phone number (E.164)
content	Mandatory	Object	Message content object (see below)
status_callback	Optional	String	Webhook URL for delivery status updates
custom_data	Optional	String	Application-specific metadata

Content Object

{
  "recipient_type": "individual",
  "type": "text",
  "text": {
    "body": "Hello! How can we help you today?"
  }
}

Supported Content Types

Text:

{ "type": "text", "text": { "body": "Your message here" } }

Image:

{ "type": "image", "image": { "link": "https://example.com/image.jpg", "caption": "Check this out" } }

Document:

{ "type": "document", "document": { "link": "https://example.com/invoice.pdf", "filename": "invoice.pdf" } }

Location:

{ "type": "location", "location": { "latitude": 12.9716, "longitude": 77.5946, "name": "Exotel Office", "address": "Bangalore, India" } }

Interactive (Buttons):

{
  "type": "interactive",
  "interactive": {
    "type": "button",
    "body": { "text": "Choose an option:" },
    "action": {
      "buttons": [
        { "type": "reply", "reply": { "id": "btn_yes", "title": "Yes" } },
        { "type": "reply", "reply": { "id": "btn_no", "title": "No" } }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Code Examples

cURL

curl -X POST "https://<your_api_key>:<your_api_token>@api.exotel.com/v2/accounts/<your_sid>/messages" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "from": "+919876500001",
    "to": "+919876543210",
    "content": {
      "recipient_type": "individual",
      "type": "text",
      "text": { "body": "Hello from Exotel!" }
    },
    "status_callback": "https://your-server.com/wa-status"
  }'

Python

import requests
import json

payload = {
    "from": "+919876500001",
    "to": "+919876543210",
    "content": {
        "recipient_type": "individual",
        "type": "text",
        "text": {"body": "Hello from Exotel!"}
    },
    "status_callback": "https://your-server.com/wa-status"
}

response = requests.post(
    "https://<your_api_key>:<your_api_token>@api.exotel.com/v2/accounts/<your_sid>/messages",
    headers={"Content-Type": "application/json"},
    data=json.dumps(payload)
)

print(response.json())

Node.js

const axios = require('axios');

const payload = {
  from: '+919876500001',
  to: '+919876543210',
  content: {
    recipient_type: 'individual',
    type: 'text',
    text: { body: 'Hello from Exotel!' }
  },
  status_callback: 'https://your-server.com/wa-status'
};

axios.post(
  'https://<your_api_key>:<your_api_token>@api.exotel.com/v2/accounts/<your_sid>/messages',
  payload
).then(res => console.log(res.data));

Response

HTTP 202 Accepted

{
  "request_id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
  "http_code": 202,
  "metadata": {
    "total": 1,
    "success": 1,
    "failed": 0
  },
  "response": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "messages": [
        {
          "code": 202,
          "status": "success",
          "data": {
            "sid": "msg_sid_value"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

HTTP Status Codes

Code	Description
202	Message accepted for delivery
400	Malformed request
401	Authentication failed
402	Plan limit exceeded
403	Access denied
404	Resource not found
5xx	Server error — retry the request

Try It