GOWA - WhatsApp Automation via REST API

Interact with WhatsApp through GOWA (Go WhatsApp Web Multi-Device) REST API for personal automation tasks.

Installation & Setup

GOWA is available at: https://github.com/aldinokemal/go-whatsapp-web-multidevice

Download

Go to the releases page and download the zip matching your OS and architecture.

Release files are named: whatsapp_VERSION_OS_ARCH.zip

Available platforms: linux (amd64/arm64/386), darwin (amd64/arm64), windows (amd64/386)

Run REST Server

./gowa rest

The server starts on http://localhost:3000 by default.

Login (First Time)

Open http://localhost:3000 in a browser, scan the QR code with WhatsApp on your phone to link the device.

Production Setup

GOWA runs in REST mode:

• Base URL: http://localhost:3000
• GOWA auto-connects to the device stored in the database — no X-Device-Id header needed for single-device setups.

⚠️ Important: Use REST API (port 3000) only. Do NOT use MCP mode - all schedulers and automation depend on REST.

Quick Examples

Ghost Mention (mention all without @)

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/send/message \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "phone": "[email protected]",
    "message": "Important announcement",
    "mentions": ["@everyone"]
  }'

Send Text Message

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/send/message \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"phone": "628123456789", "message": "Hello!"}'

Send Image

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/send/image \
  -F "phone=628xxx" \
  -F "caption=Photo" \
  -F "image=@/path/to/image.jpg"

Check Status

curl http://localhost:3000/app/status | jq .

Complete API Operations

Messages

Send Text with Ghost Mention:

• Endpoint: POST /send/message
• Body: {"phone": "[email protected]", "message": "text", "mentions": ["@everyone"]}
• @everyone mentions all members without showing @ in text ✅

Reply to Message:

• Body: {"phone": "...", "message": "...", "reply_message_id": "msg_id"}

Disappearing Message:

• Body: {"phone": "...", "message": "...", "duration": 86400} (seconds)

Forward Message:

• Body: {"phone": "...", "message": "...", "is_forwarded": true}

Media

Send Image:

• Endpoint: POST /send/image
• Form data: phone, caption, image (file), compress (bool)

Send Document:

• Endpoint: POST /send/file
• Form data: phone, caption, file

Send Video:

• Endpoint: POST /send/video
• Form data: phone, caption, video, compress (bool)

Send Audio:

• Endpoint: POST /send/audio
• Form data: phone, audio

Send Sticker:

• Endpoint: POST /send/sticker
• Form data: phone, sticker (auto-converts to WebP)

Send Contact:

• Endpoint: POST /send/contact
• Body: {"phone": "...", "contact_name": "...", "contact_phone": "..."}

Send Location:

• Endpoint: POST /send/location
• Body: {"phone": "...", "latitude": 0.0, "longitude": 0.0}

Send Link:

• Endpoint: POST /send/link
• Body: {"phone": "...", "link": "...", "caption": "..."}

Send Poll:

• Endpoint: POST /send/poll
• Body: {"phone": "...", "question": "...", "options": ["A", "B"]}

Connection & Status

Get Status:

• GET /app/status
• Returns: {"is_connected": true, "is_logged_in": true}

Reconnect:

• GET /app/reconnect

Logout:

• GET /app/logout

Get QR Code (for login):

• GET /app/login
• Returns: PNG image (QR code to scan)

Login with Pairing Code:

• GET /app/login-with-code?phone=628xxx

Groups

List My Groups:

• GET /user/my/groups
• Returns: {results: {data: [...]}} - groups array is at .results.data
• Example: curl ... | jq '.results.data[] | {Name, JID, Members: .Participants | length}'
• Max 500 groups (WhatsApp protocol limit)

Get Group Info:

• GET /group/[email protected]

Create Group:

• POST /group
• Body: {"name": "Group Name", "participants": ["[email protected]"]}

Get Group Participants:

• GET /group/[email protected]

Add Participant:

• POST /group/participants
• Body: {"group_jid": "...", "participants": ["[email protected]"]}

Remove Participant:

• POST /group/participants/remove
• Body: {"group_jid": "...", "participants": ["[email protected]"]}

Promote to Admin:

• POST /group/participants/promote
• Body: {"group_jid": "...", "participants": ["[email protected]"]}

Demote from Admin:

• POST /group/participants/demote
• Body: {"group_jid": "...", "participants": ["[email protected]"]}

Leave Group:

• POST /group/leave
• Body: {"group_jid": "..."}

Set Group Photo:

• POST /group/photo
• Form data: group_jid, photo

Set Group Name:

• POST /group/name
• Body: {"group_jid": "...", "name": "..."}

Set Group Description:

• POST /group/topic
• Body: {"group_jid": "...", "topic": "..."}

Get Invite Link:

• GET /group/[email protected]

Join via Link:

• POST /group/join-with-link
• Body: {"link": "https://chat.whatsapp.com/..."}

Contacts & Chats

List Contacts:

• GET /user/my/contacts

Get Chats:

• GET /chats

Get User Info:

• GET /user/info?phone=628xxx

Check if User Exists:

• GET /user/check?phone=628xxx

Message Operations

Revoke/Delete Message:

• POST /message/{message_id}/revoke

React to Message:

• POST /message/{message_id}/reaction
• Body: {"emoji": "👍"}

Edit Message:

• POST /message/{message_id}/update
• Body: {"message": "edited text"}

Mark as Read:

• POST /message/{message_id}/read

Star Message:

• POST /message/{message_id}/star

Download Media:

• GET /message/{message_id}/download

Phone Number Format

• User JID: [email protected]
• Group JID: [email protected]
• Phone only: 628123456789 (without +)

Ghost Mention Feature

How it works:

• Use "mentions": ["@everyone"] in /send/message
• All group members get notification
• No @ symbol shown in message text (true ghost mention)
• Tested and confirmed working ✅

Example for schedulers:

curl -s -X POST http://localhost:3000/send/message \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"phone": "[email protected]", "message": "Reminder text", "mentions": ["@everyone"]}' | jq .

API Reference

Full OpenAPI 3.0 spec available at:

• OpenAPI: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aldinokemal/go-whatsapp-web-multidevice/refs/heads/main/docs/openapi.yaml
• GitHub: https://github.com/aldinokemal/go-whatsapp-web-multidevice

Notes

• Auto-compresses images and videos before sending
• Auto-converts images to WebP for stickers
• Max 500 groups can be retrieved (WhatsApp protocol limit)
• All media files can be sent as file upload or URL
• Supports disappearing messages with custom duration
• Multi-device support available via X-Device-Id header when running multiple devices
• Built by @aldinokemal: https://github.com/aldinokemal/go-whatsapp-web-multidevice