whatsapp-mcp-server

A production-ready Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects AI assistants like Claude to the WhatsApp Cloud API (Meta). Send messages, manage conversations, handle media, send template messages, and receive real-time webhooks — all through natural language.

Why this MCP server?

This is the only WhatsApp MCP server built on the official Meta WhatsApp Cloud API.

Most WhatsApp tools for developers rely on unofficial browser automation libraries (whatsapp-web.js) or reverse-engineered protocols (whatsmeow, Baileys). These approaches violate WhatsApp's Terms of Service and carry a real risk of account bans. This project is different.

Bottom line: if you are building anything beyond a personal experiment — customer support, automated notifications, business workflows — use the official API. This server gives you that, packaged as a drop-in MCP server.

Features

• Send all message types — text, images, videos, audio, documents, reactions
• Template messages — send and list approved WhatsApp Business templates with full component support
• Media management — upload, retrieve, and delete media files
• Conversation history — in-memory store of recent conversations via webhook
• Real-time webhooks — receive incoming messages and delivery status updates
• Business profile — read and update your WhatsApp Business profile
• Contact lookup — validate phone numbers against WhatsApp
• Rate limit handling — automatic exponential backoff retry logic
• Type-safe — fully typed TypeScript with Zod input validation
• Docker ready — multi-stage Dockerfile and docker-compose included
• Works without webhook — send-only mode with no webhook server required

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    AI Assistant (Claude)                      │
└──────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
                           │ MCP Protocol (stdio)
                           │
┌──────────────────────────▼──────────────────────────────────┐
│                  whatsapp-mcp-server                         │
│                                                              │
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌───────────────────┐  │
│  │  MCP Server │  │   Tools      │  │  WhatsApp Client  │  │
│  │  (stdio)    │◄─┤  messages    ├─►│  (Axios + retry)  │  │
│  │             │  │  contacts    │  └────────┬──────────┘  │
│  └─────────────┘  │  media       │           │              │
│                   │  templates   │           │ HTTPS        │
│  ┌─────────────┐  └──────────────┘           │              │
│  │  Webhook    │                             ▼              │
│  │  Server     │  ◄──── Incoming   ┌─────────────────────┐ │
│  │  (Express)  │       messages    │ WhatsApp Cloud API  │ │
│  └──────┬──────┘       & statuses  │  graph.facebook.com  │ │
└─────────│───────────────────────────┼─────────────────────┘ │
          │                           │                        │
          │ HTTP POST (Meta webhooks) │ HTTPS (send messages)  │
          │                           │                        │
     ┌────▼──────────────────────────▼──────────────┐
     │            WhatsApp Users                     │
     └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Webhook flow for incoming messages:
WhatsApp User → Meta Servers → POST /webhook → WhatsAppWebhook
→ in-memory conversation store → EventEmitter → MCP tools

Prerequisites

1. Node.js 20+ — download
2. Meta Developer Account — create one
3. WhatsApp Business App configured in Meta App Dashboard
4. Phone Number ID and Access Token from your WhatsApp app settings
5. (Optional) A public HTTPS URL for receiving webhooks (use ngrok for local dev)

Quick Start

Step 1 — Clone and install:

git clone https://github.com/FredShred7/whatsapp-mcp-server.git
cd whatsapp-mcp-server
npm install

Step 2 — Configure credentials:

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your WhatsApp credentials

Step 3 — Build:

npm run build

Step 4 — Add to Claude Desktop or Claude Code (see sections below)

Step 5 — Test it: Ask Claude: "Send a WhatsApp message to +15551234567 saying Hello from Claude!"

Configuration

All configuration is via environment variables. Copy .env.example to .env and fill in the values.

Available Tools

Usage with Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/whatsapp-mcp-server/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "WHATSAPP_PHONE_NUMBER_ID": "your_phone_number_id",
        "WHATSAPP_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your_access_token",
        "WHATSAPP_WEBHOOK_VERIFY_TOKEN": "your_verify_token",
        "WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID": "your_business_account_id",
        "WEBHOOK_PORT": "3000"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after saving. You should see the WhatsApp tools available in the tools panel.

Usage with Claude Code

Add to your Claude Code MCP settings (~/.claude/settings.json or project-level .claude/settings.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/whatsapp-mcp-server/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "WHATSAPP_PHONE_NUMBER_ID": "your_phone_number_id",
        "WHATSAPP_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your_access_token",
        "WHATSAPP_WEBHOOK_VERIFY_TOKEN": "your_verify_token",
        "WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID": "your_business_account_id",
        "WEBHOOK_PORT": "3000"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or use the CLI to add it:

claude mcp add whatsapp node /absolute/path/to/whatsapp-mcp-server/dist/index.js

Webhook Setup

Webhooks allow you to receive incoming messages and delivery status updates. They are optional — the MCP server works without them for sending messages only.

Local development with ngrok

# 1. Install ngrok: https://ngrok.com/download
# 2. Start your webhook server
WEBHOOK_PORT=3000 npm run dev

# 3. In another terminal, expose it publicly
ngrok http 3000

# 4. Copy the HTTPS URL (e.g. https://abc123.ngrok.io)

Configure in Meta App Dashboard

1. Go to Meta App Dashboard > Your App > WhatsApp > Configuration
2. Set Callback URL to: https://your-ngrok-url.ngrok.io/webhook
3. Set Verify Token to match your WHATSAPP_WEBHOOK_VERIFY_TOKEN
4. Click Verify and Save
5. Subscribe to the messages webhook field

Production

For production, deploy this server behind a reverse proxy (nginx, Caddy, etc.) with a valid TLS certificate. Set WEBHOOK_PORT to your internal port and expose it via HTTPS on port 443.

Docker Deployment

Build and run with docker-compose

# Copy and fill in your credentials
cp .env.example .env

# Build and start
docker-compose up -d

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f

# Stop
docker-compose down

Build manually

# Build image
docker build -t whatsapp-mcp-server .

# Run (send-only, no webhook)
docker run --rm -i \
  -e WHATSAPP_PHONE_NUMBER_ID=xxx \
  -e WHATSAPP_ACCESS_TOKEN=xxx \
  whatsapp-mcp-server

# Run with webhook server
docker run --rm -i \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  --env-file .env \
  whatsapp-mcp-server

Note: When using Docker with Claude Desktop/Code, the MCP transport uses stdio. Make sure to pass -i (interactive) so stdin/stdout remain connected. The webhook port is separate from the MCP transport.

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run with auto-reload
npm run dev

# Type-check only (no build)
npm run typecheck

# Build
npm run build

# Lint
npm run lint

Project structure

src/
├── index.ts              # Entry point — loads env, wires up components
├── server.ts             # MCP server — registers tools, handles requests
├── whatsapp/
│   ├── client.ts         # WhatsApp Cloud API client with retry logic
│   ├── types.ts          # TypeScript types and interfaces
│   └── webhook.ts        # Express webhook server + in-memory store
└── tools/
    ├── messages.ts       # Send/receive message tools
    ├── contacts.ts       # Contact and business profile tools
    ├── media.ts          # Media upload/download/delete tools
    └── templates.ts      # Template message tools

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines on reporting bugs, suggesting features, and submitting pull requests.

License

MIT — Copyright (c) 2025 FredShred7