Create a WhatsApp group
/v1/whatsapp/groupsconst group = await bird.whatsapp.groups.create({
whatsapp_number_id: "wan_01krdgeqcxet5s7t44vh8rt9mg",
subject: "Norwood Fleet — Tuesday route",
});
console.log(group.id, group.status); // pending; read it back for the invite linkgroup = client.whatsapp.groups.create(
whatsapp_number_id="wan_01krdgeqcxet5s7t44vh8rt9mg",
subject="Norwood Fleet — Tuesday route",
)
print(group.id, group.status) # pending; read it back for the invite linkgroup, err := client.Whatsapp.Groups.Create(context.Background(), bird.WhatsappGroupsCreateParams{
WhatsappNumberID: "wan_01krdgeqcxet5s7t44vh8rt9mg",
Subject: "Norwood Fleet — Tuesday route",
})
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
fmt.Println(group.Id, group.Status) // pending; read it back for the invite link$group = $bird->whatsapp->groups->create(
(new WhatsAppGroupCreate())
->setWhatsappNumberId('wan_01krdgeqcxet5s7t44vh8rt9mg')
->setSubject('Norwood Fleet — Tuesday route'),
);
echo $group->getId(), ' ', $group->getStatus(); // pending; read it back for the invite linkbird whatsapp groups create \
--description 'Jim would like to learn about new car purchase options for current year models.' \
--join-approval-mode auto_approve \
--subject 'New Purchase Inquiry' \
--whatsapp-number-id wan_01krdgeqcxet5s7t44vh8rt9mgcurl -X POST "https://us1.platform.bird.com/v1/whatsapp/groups" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"whatsapp_number_id": "wan_01krdgeqcxet5s7t44vh8rt9mg",
"subject": "New Purchase Inquiry",
"description": "Jim would like to learn about new car purchase options for current year models.",
"join_approval_mode": "auto_approve"
}'{
"id": "wag_01krdgeqcxet5s7t44vh8rt9mg",
"whatsapp_number_id": "wan_01krdgeqcxet5s7t44vh8rt9mg",
"waba": "102290129340398",
"subject": "New Purchase Inquiry",
"description": "Jim would like to learn about new car purchase options for current year models.",
"status": "active",
"join_approval_mode": "auto_approve",
"invite_link": "https://chat.whatsapp.com/JZm4S9tCkQx2LpVr7Ny8Ab",
"participants": [
{
"bsuid": "US.1566655121691972",
"phone_number": "+16505551234",
"username": "john.doe",
"last_operation": {
"type": "settings_update",
"status": "pending",
"requested_at": "2026-08-27T14:02:11Z",
"settled_at": "2026-08-27T14:02:14Z",
"results": [
{
"field": "subject",
"applied": false,
"error": {
"description": "Group subject contains content that cannot be used.",
"meta_error_code": "2388024"
}
}
],
"last_error": {
"description": "Group subject contains content that cannot be used.",
"meta_error_code": "2388024"
}
}
}
],
"participant_count": 6,
"pinned_messages": [
{
"message_id": "wam_01krdgeqcxet5s7t44vh8rt9mg",
"pinned_until": "2026-09-01T09:14:52Z"
}
],
"profile_picture_url": "https://media.example.com/whatsapp/groups/JZm4S9tCkQx2.jpg",
"last_operation": {
"type": "settings_update",
"status": "pending",
"requested_at": "2026-08-27T14:02:11Z",
"settled_at": "2026-08-27T14:02:14Z",
"results": [
{
"field": "subject",
"applied": false,
"error": {
"description": "Group subject contains content that cannot be used.",
"meta_error_code": "2388024"
}
}
],
"last_error": {
"description": "Group subject contains content that cannot be used.",
"meta_error_code": "2388024"
}
},
"suspended_at": "2026-08-20T11:04:00Z",
"created_at": "2026-05-20T09:14:52Z",
"updated_at": "2026-05-25T16:42:01Z"
}
Creates a WhatsApp group administered by one of your business numbers. The
number must hold Official Business Account status, which WhatsApp grants a
number whose business is verified and whose display name is approved;
without it the request returns a 412 WhatsAppGroupsNotEligible.
GET /v1/whatsapp/numbers reports it per number as
is_official_business_account, so read it there rather than discovering it
from the refusal. A group
holds 8 people besides your business, and a number can own 10,000 groups;
a number already at that limit returns a 409 WhatsAppGroupLimitReached.
The 202 response is the accepted group, with status pending. WhatsApp
confirms the group moments later, and that is when it issues the invite link
and the group becomes messageable, so the response carries no
invite_link. Read the group back until its status is active. If WhatsApp refuses, the
group ends at failed with last_operation.last_error set, and creating
another group is the way forward.
Nobody is added at create time, and there is no way to add someone later: people join by opening the group's invite link. Send the link with the group invite template, and choose at create time whether opening it joins the group outright or raises a join request you approve.
Request Payload
whatsapp_number_idThe business number that will own and administer the group, as its id in GET /v1/whatsapp/numbers. It must be a number your workspace can send from, and WhatsApp must have granted it Official Business Account status; a number without that status returns a 412 WhatsAppGroupsNotEligible. The number cannot be changed afterwards, and every message to the group is sent from it.
subjectThe group's name, shown to participants and to anyone who opens the invite link. Surrounding whitespace is trimmed.
descriptionThe group's description, shown alongside the subject.
join_approval_modeWhether opening the invite link joins the group outright, or raises a join request for you to approve. Defaults to auto_approve. It cannot be changed once the group exists.
Response Payload
idUnique identifier for the group. Accepted by every /v1/whatsapp/groups/{group_id} operation, and as to when sending a message to the group.
whatsapp_number_idThe business number that created the group. It is the group's admin and the number every message to the group is sent from. Fixed when the group is created.
wabaMeta's identifier for the WhatsApp Business Account recorded when the group was created. This is a historical snapshot, not a live account directory projection. Null for a number we operate on your behalf, whose account is not yours to see.
subjectThe group's name, shown to participants and to anyone who opens the invite link.
descriptionThe group's description, shown alongside the subject. Null when the group has none.
statusWhere the group stands. A group is messageable only while it is active.
join_approval_modeWhether opening the invite link joins the group outright or raises a join request to approve.
invite_linkThe link that lets someone join the group, which is the only way in. A group has one link at a time. Null while the group is pending, since WhatsApp issues the link when it confirms the group. Rotating it through POST /v1/whatsapp/groups/{group_id}/invite-link/rotate replaces it, and every link the group had before then stops working.
participantsWho is in the group, as of the last update WhatsApp sent, and the whole set rather than a page: WhatsApp holds a group to a handful of people, so there is never a page's worth to return. The business number that created the group is its admin and is not listed.
participant_countHow many people are in the group, excluding your business.
pinned_messagesThe group's pins, newest first. WhatsApp holds a few at once, and pinning past that unpins the oldest rather than refusing. No entry here is merely requested. An entry stays listed until it is unpinned, so one whose pinned_until has passed is still listed after WhatsApp has taken it off the chat.
profile_picture_urlAddress of the group's picture, as WhatsApp serves it. Null when the group has none.
last_operationThe last create, settings change or delete asked of the group. pending while WhatsApp has yet to confirm it, which is what a client shows as in-progress and what refuses the next change to the group. A settings change carries per-field results, since WhatsApp can refuse one field and apply the others. A removal reports on the participant's own entry rather than here, so several can be in flight at once. Pinning is synchronous and reports nothing.
Show child attributes
last_operation.typeWhat was asked.
last_operation.statusWhere it got to. pending is what a client shows as in-progress, and what refuses the next change.
last_operation.requested_atWhen Bird accepted the request.
last_operation.settled_atWhen WhatsApp reported the outcome. Null while pending.
last_operation.resultsPer-field outcomes, on a settings_update that has settled. One entry per field the update carried, so a client can put a refusal next to the input it came from. Absent on every other operation type, which change one thing and report it on status.
Show child attributes
last_operation.results.fieldThe setting this result reports on.
last_operation.results.appliedWhether WhatsApp applied this field. False when it refused this one, whatever it did with the others.
last_operation.results.errorWhy WhatsApp refused this field. Present only when applied is false.
Show child attributes
last_operation.results.error.descriptionWhatsApp's own explanation of the refusal, passed through. Show it to the person who asked for the change; never match on its text. Carries Bird's own words instead when the failure was Bird's verdict, such as a confirmation that never arrived.
last_operation.results.error.meta_error_codeWhatsApp's most specific code for the refusal: its error subcode where it sent one, otherwise its top-level code. Treat it as an opaque string. Null when the failure was Bird's own verdict rather than a WhatsApp refusal.
last_operation.last_errorWhy the operation failed as a whole. Present when status is failed, including when the confirmation never arrived and Bird gave up waiting. A settings_update that failed on some fields and not others carries the per-field detail in results.
suspended_atWhen WhatsApp suspended the group. Present only while the group is suspended, and gone once WhatsApp lifts the suspension.
created_atupdated_atRelated resources
Continue with the documentation, guides and examples for this topic.