Quickstart

Run GOWA, pair a WhatsApp account and send your first message in a few minutes.

1. Start the server

Docker

docker run -d --name gowa \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -v gowa_storages:/app/storages \
  -v gowa_statics:/app/statics \
  -e APP_BASIC_AUTH=admin:changeme \
  aldinokemal2104/go-whatsapp-web-multidevice:latest

The image’s default command is rest, so no arguments are needed. The same image is published as ghcr.io/aldinokemal/go-whatsapp-web-multidevice.

Binary

Download the archive for your platform from GitHub Releases (for example whatsapp_9.7.0_linux_amd64.zip), then:

unzip whatsapp_9.7.0_linux_amd64.zip
chmod +x whatsapp
./whatsapp rest --basic-auth=admin:changeme

Install FFmpeg and libwebp (cwebp) first; GOWA uses them for media conversion.

From source

Requires Go 1.26+, FFmpeg and libwebp.

git clone https://github.com/aldinokemal/go-whatsapp-web-multidevice.git
cd go-whatsapp-web-multidevice/src
go run . rest --basic-auth=admin:changeme

Check it is up:

curl http://localhost:3000/health
# OK

Basic Auth is optional but strongly recommended. Without APP_BASIC_AUTH, every route except /health is open to anyone who can reach the port.

2. Create a device

Each WhatsApp account lives in a device slot. Create one and give it an ID you will reuse:

curl -u admin:changeme -X POST http://localhost:3000/devices \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"device_id": "my-device"}'

Omit device_id to get a generated UUID.

3. Pair the account

QR code

curl -u admin:changeme http://localhost:3000/devices/my-device/login

Open results.qr_link in a browser and scan it from WhatsApp → Linked devices → Link a device. The code expires after results.qr_duration seconds; request a new one if it lapses.

Pairing code

curl -u admin:changeme -X POST \
  "http://localhost:3000/devices/my-device/login/code?phone=628123456789"

Enter results.pair_code on the phone under Linked devices → Link with phone number instead.

Dashboard

Open http://localhost:3000/, enter your Basic Auth credentials when the browser prompts, and pair the device from the UI.

Confirm the device is logged in (results.is_logged_in should be true):

curl -u admin:changeme http://localhost:3000/devices/my-device/status

4. Send a message

curl -u admin:changeme -X POST http://localhost:3000/send/message \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Device-Id: my-device" \
  -d '{"phone": "628123456789", "message": "Hello from GOWA"}'

{
  "code": "SUCCESS",
  "message": "Success",
  "results": {
    "message_id": "3EB0B430B6F8F1D0E053AC120E0A9E5C",
    "status": "Message sent to 628123456789 (server timestamp: ...)"
  }
}

phone takes a number with country code and no + or spaces, or a full JID such as [e-mail] or [e-mail] for a group. With only one device registered, X-Device-Id is optional.

5. Receive messages

Restart with a webhook URL and GOWA will POST every event to it:

./whatsapp rest --basic-auth=admin:changeme --webhook=https://example.com/wa-hook --webhook-secret=change-me

See Webhooks for payloads and signature checks.

Next steps

Installation

Docker Compose, reverse proxy, PostgreSQL.

Configuration reference

Every flag and environment variable.

Multi-device

Run several accounts on one server.

API reference

All endpoints.