whatsapp-python

Free, open-source Python wrapper for the WhatsApp Cloud API.
Forked from Neurotech-HQ/heyoo.

Installation

To install the library you can either use pip (latest release version):

pip install whatsapp-python

You can also install the development GitHub version (always up to date, with the latest features and bug fixes):

git clone https://github.com/filipporomani/whatsapp.git
cd whatsapp
pip install .

If you want to use a local enviroment you can also use hatch:

git clone https://github.com/filipporomani/whatsapp.git
cd whatsapp
pip install hatch
hatch shell

Documentation is available in the wiki here on GitHub.

Why choose this library?

The main reason why I decided to fork the original heyoo library is that it uses an old version of the API, it's missing many and it's not mantained anymore.

In this fork I added app events (to listen to incoming messages) and implemented an easier way to send/receive messages and media by using the Message object. The API version is always up to date and I'm always adding new features and fixing bugs.

I also added a full asyncronous version of the library, which is faster and more efficient than the syncronous one.

I fixed some bugs and added many features, however the library can still be improved.

Supported features:

Listening to events (messages, media, etc.)
Async version available
Sending messages
Sending messages from different numbers individually
Marking messages as read
Replying to messages
Reacting to messages
Sending Media (images, audio, video and documents)
Sending location
Sending interactive buttons
Sending template messages
Parsing messages and media received
Sending contacts

Obtaining the WhatsApp API credentials

To use the WhatsApp API you need to create a Facebook Business account and a WhatsApp Business account.

Tip

To create an account, I recommend to follow this video.

Pricing of the API

Whereas using third-party providers of the WhatsApp API can result in monthly fees, using the WhatsApp API¹ offered directly by Facebook is much cheaper, even if the billing documentation is quite difficult to understand.

Caution

It is now mandatory to add a credit card to the WhatsApp account (at least for me) in order to use the service. I was even charged a tiny fee for using a non-test phone number (~€1.20), so be careful when using the API! I'm not responsible for any costs you may face by using the API.

The API should be, however, free for testing purposes with the provided test phone number.

All the prices are available in the WhatsApp API docs.

Tip

I recomend to use a test number, as you you can get a free one and use it for testing purposes.

Migrating from `Neurotech-HQ/heyoo`

You can ignore this if it's your first time using the library.

Any version >1.1.2 is incompatible with the original heyoo library! Be careful updating! Read the docs first!
Any version <=1.1.2 is fully compatible with the original heyoo library and doesn't include breaking changes.

Switching from heyoo to whatsapp-python doesn't require any change for versions up to 1.1.2: just uninstall heyoo, install whatsapp-python==1.1.2 and change the import name from heyoo to whatsapp.

For versions GREATER THAN 1.1.2, messages have became objects, so you need to change your code to use the new methods.

Note

Documentation for version 1.1.2 can be found here.