Templates

Templates are pre-approved messages. WhatsApp requires one to open a conversation, and to reply outside the 24-hour window, which in practice means almost every notification your system sends.

Creating a template starts a Meta review that can take hours, so it is done in the dashboard, where its status is visible. This API reads them.

GET /v1/templates

Scope: templates:read

Query	Notes
status	APPROVED, PENDING or REJECTED. Case insensitive.
account	Restrict to one WhatsApp number, by name
search	Matches the template name
limit, cursor	Standard pagination

200

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "7c6b5a4d-...",
      "name": "order_shipped",
      "language": "ar",
      "category": "UTILITY",
      "status": "APPROVED",
      "account": "Main",
      "header_type": "TEXT",
      "header_content": "Order {{order}}",
      "body": "Hello {{name}}, your order is on its way. Track it with {{tracking}}.",
      "footer": "Zaiti Auto Parts",
      "parameters": ["name", "tracking"],
      "header_parameters": ["order"],
      "buttons": [],
      "quality_rating": "GREEN",
      "created_at": "2026-06-11T08:00:00Z",
      "updated_at": "2026-06-12T10:30:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "has_more": false
}

parameters and header_parameters

The variables the template declares, in the order WhatsApp expects them.

They are listed separately because Meta indexes variables per component: header {{1}} and body {{1}} are different values. Combining them into one list would invite you to collapse them, and the header would receive the wrong text.

Both are always arrays. A template with no variables reports [], never null, so you can iterate without a guard.

Only APPROVED templates can be sent. Sending any other status is refused with template_not_approved, naming the template and its current state.

GET /v1/templates/{id}

Scope: templates:read

Same shape, one template.

Using them

// Read what the template needs, rather than assuming.
const { data: [template] } = await get('/v1/templates?search=order_shipped&status=approved')

const parameters = Object.fromEntries(
  template.parameters.map(name => [name, values[name]])
)

await post('/v1/messages', {
  to: customer.phone,
  type: 'template',
  template: { name: template.name, parameters },
})

Building the parameter map from template.parameters rather than hard-coding it means a template edited in the dashboard does not silently start sending messages with gaps in them.