WhatsApp plain text messages

Plain text is the simplest free-form content arm: a body with no attachment, and an optional preview for the first link inside it.

Send a text message

Set text.body:

const msg = await bird.whatsapp.send({
  to: "+16505551234",
  from: "+13124495648",
  text: { body: "Your driver is 2 minutes away." },
});
console.log(msg.id, msg.status);

msg = client.whatsapp.send(
    to="+16505551234",
    from_="+13124495648",
    text={"body": "Your driver is 2 minutes away."},
)
print(msg.id, msg.status)

package main

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"log"
	"os"

	bird "github.com/messagebird/bird-sdk-go"
	"github.com/messagebird/bird-sdk-go/option"
)

func main() {
	client, err := bird.NewClient(option.WithAPIKey(os.Getenv("BIRD_API_KEY")))
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}
	msg, err := client.Whatsapp.Send(context.Background(), bird.WhatsappSendParams{
		To:   "+16505551234",
		From: "+13124495648",
		Text: &bird.WhatsAppTextSend{Body: "Your driver is 2 minutes away."},
	})
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}
	fmt.Println(msg.Id, *msg.Status)
}

$text = (new WhatsAppMessageSendRequestText())
    ->setBody('Your driver is 2 minutes away.');
$message = $bird->whatsapp->send(
    to: '+16505551234',
    from: '+13124495648',
    text: $text,
);
echo $message->getId(), ' ', $message->getStatus();

bird whatsapp send \
  --from +13124495648 \
  --text 'Your driver is 2 minutes away.' \
  --to +16505551234

{
  "name": "whatsapp_send",
  "arguments": {
    "from": "+13124495648",
    "text": {
      "body": "Your driver is 2 minutes away."
    },
    "to": "+16505551234"
  }
}

curl -X POST "https://us1.platform.bird.com/v1/whatsapp/messages" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BIRD_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
      "to": "+16505551234",
      "from": "+13124495648",
      "text": {
        "body": "Your driver is 2 minutes away."
      }
    }'

The full shape adds preview_url plus the fields any free-form send can carry:

Ejemplo de código

{
  "to": "+16505551234",
  "from": "+13124495648",
  "text": {
    "body": "Your order shipped: https://example.com/track/A1B2C3",
    "preview_url": true
  },
  "in_reply_to_message_id": "wam_01kya19eknftrs2s6p82asmvnh",
  "tags": [{ "name": "category", "value": "shipping" }],
  "metadata": { "order_id": "A1B2C3" }
}

from is required on every service message: a number your workspace owns, not a Bird-managed one. in_reply_to_message_id quotes an earlier message in the same conversation; see Quoting a message for what it resolves against and what it can miss.

Limits

Field	Bound	Enforced by
body	1 to 4096 characters	Bird, at accept (422)
preview_url	boolean, defaults to false	N/A, informational

A whitespace-only body passes the schema's own minLength: 1, but Bird still catches it: body that is empty after trimming is refused with 422 E15015 WhatsAppContentRequired. A body over 4096 characters is refused with a plain 422 and no dedicated catalog code.

Reading an inbound text message

An inbound text message carries the same text.body field:

Ejemplo de código

{
  "id": "wam_01kya19eknftrs2s6p82asmvnh",
  "direction": "inbound",
  "from": { "phone_number": "+14155550100" },
  "to": { "phone_number": "+13124495569" },
  "text": { "body": "Does it come in another color?" },
  "status": "received"
}

See Receiving WhatsApp messages for the message list, the API, and the webhook path.

Limits and edge cases

The customer service window has to be open. Plain text is a service message, deliverable only inside an open window; see the hub's customer service window.
preview_url only affects the first link, and only what the recipient's client renders. It defaults to false. Set it to preview the first URL in body; a later URL in the same body never gets one. If the recipient's client can't fetch a preview for that link, it falls back silently to a plain clickable link. Nothing on read tells you whether a preview actually rendered.
WhatsApp markdown is the recipient's client rendering body, not part of the API contract. Bird passes body through untouched; it does not validate, strip, or encode *bold*, _italic_, ~strikethrough~, or triple-backtick monospace. Whether those markers render is entirely up to the client that opens the message.
An inbound body is not guaranteed to be non-empty, despite what the read schema says. Meta can report an inbound message as "text": {} or with an empty body, and Bird stores it verbatim rather than synthesizing a placeholder. This is a known, open gap: don't write a consumer that trusts the schema's required: body here.

Next steps

WhatsApp service messages: the customer service window and the model every service message shares
How sending works: the request envelope, the 202 model, and safe retries
Interactive messages: when you want a tap instead of a typed reply