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Getting Meta Credentials

Collect the four variables wacraft needs to talk to WhatsApp Cloud API: META_APP_SECRET, WABA_ACCOUNT_ID, WABA_ID and WABA_ACCESS_TOKEN (permanent).

1 — Create a Business‑type Meta App & copy META_APP_SECRET

  1. Go to https://developers.facebook.com, click My Apps → Create App, select Business and finish the wizard.
  2. In the new app, open Settings → Basic. Hit Show next to App Secret, enter your Facebook password and copy the value.
META_APP_SECRET=PASTE_ME

2 — Enable WhatsApp & grab WABA_ACCOUNT_ID

  1. In the left menu choose WhatsApp → API Setup. Finish the sandbox step that verifies a personal number. (Facebook Developers)
  2. After verification, a blue panel shows your WhatsApp Business Account ID — copy this string. (Facebook Developers)
WABA_ACCOUNT_ID=PASTE_ME

(You can always find it again in Business Settings → Accounts → WhatsApp Accounts.)

3 — Find the Phone Number ID (WABA_ID)

Option A — Dashboard

Right below your sandbox number on the API Setup screen you’ll see Phone Number ID. Copy it. (Facebook Developers)

Option B — Graph API

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer <TEMP_OR_PERM_TOKEN>" \
  "https://graph.facebook.com/v19.0/<WABA_ACCOUNT_ID>/phone_numbers?fields=id,display_phone_number"

The returned id is the Phone Number ID. (Facebook Developers)

WABA_ID=PASTE_ME

4 — Generate a Permanent WABA_ACCESS_TOKEN

Short‑lived sandbox tokens expire after 24 h; create a never‑expiring one via System Users.

  1. Open Business Settings (nine‑dot launcher → Business Settings). (Facebook Developers)
  2. Under Users, select System Users → Add → choose Admin. (Facebook Developers)
  3. With the new system user selected, click Add Assets and grant Full Control to both your App and your WhatsApp Business Account. (Facebook Developers)
  4. Press Generate Token, pick your app, tick scopes whatsapp_business_messaging and whatsapp_business_management, then generate. (Stack Overflow)
  5. Copy the token shown once and store it safely as WABA_ACCESS_TOKEN.
WABA_ACCESS_TOKEN=PASTE_ME   # never expires

Keep it secret! Anyone with this token can message from your number. Rotate only via System Users. (Facebook Developers)

✅ Checklist

Variable Where you found it
META_APP_SECRET App Dashboard → Settings → Basic → App Secret
WABA_ACCOUNT_ID WhatsApp API Setup banner
WABA_ID Phone Number ID line or Graph API call
WABA_ACCESS_TOKEN Business Settings → System Users → Generate Token

Next page: Env Vars Overview — configure all environment variables.