Get Started

This WhatsApp API quickstart walks you through the prerequisites and first steps needed to authenticate and send your first WhatsApp message via the Dexatel API.

Prerequisites

• A Dexatel account — sign up at https://dashboard.dexatel.com/sign-up/
• A provisioned WhatsApp Business sender — register one via Senders & Channels in your Dexatel dashboard
• An API key from your Dexatel dashboard
• At least one approved WhatsApp message template (for outbound messaging)

Step 1 — Obtain Your API Key

All Dexatel WhatsApp API requests are authenticated using the X-Dexatel-Key header. This authentication step is required before you can send any messages.

To get your key:

1. Log in to dashboard.dexatel.com
2. Navigate to API Management → API Keys
3. Copy your key and store it securely

Security Note

Never expose your API key in client-side code, public repositories, or logs. Treat it like a password. Rotate immediately if compromised.

Step 2 — Verify Your WhatsApp Sender

Before sending, confirm you have at least one active WhatsApp sender:

curl -X GET "https://api.dexatel.com/v1/senders?filter[channel]=WHATSAPP" \
  -H "X-Dexatel-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

A successful response returns a list of your senders:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "3fa85f64-5717-4562-b3fc-2c963f66afa6",
      "account_id": "7c9e6679-7425-40de-944b-e07fc1f90ae7",
      "name": "MyBusiness",
      "code": "15551234567",
      "channel": "WHATSAPP",
      "status": "Available",
      "country": "US",
      "create_date": "2024-01-15 09:00:00"
    }
  ],
  "pagination": {
    "number": 1,
    "size": 10,
    "total": 1
  }
}

The name field is the sender identifier used as the from value in message requests. The code field is used as wa_sender_code when creating templates. Only senders with status: "Available" can send messages.

Step 3 — Create a WhatsApp Template

All outbound WhatsApp messages use pre-approved templates. Create your first template:

curl -X POST "https://api.dexatel.com/v1/templates" \
  -H "X-Dexatel-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "data": {
      "name": "welcome_message",
      "channel": "WHATSAPP",
      "wa_sender_code": "15551234567",
      "wa_category": "UTILITY",
      "text": "Hello {first_name}! Welcome to MyBusiness. Reply with any questions.",
      "type": "text"
    }
  }'

The template will be created with status IN_PROCESS while WhatsApp reviews it. Poll GET /v1/templates/{id} until the status is COMPLETED before using it.

Step 4 — Send Your First Message

With an available sender and an approved template, send your first WhatsApp message:

curl -X POST "https://api.dexatel.com/v1/messages" \
  -H "X-Dexatel-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "data": {
      "from": "MyBusiness",
      "to": ["19175550100"],
      "channel": "WHATSAPP",
      "template": "3fa85f64-5717-4562-b3fc-2c963f66afa6",
      "variables": ["John"]
    }
  }'

A successful response returns HTTP 201 with the message object:

{
  "id": "b2c3d4e5-f6a7-8901-bcde-f12345678901",
  "from": "MyBusiness",
  "to": "19175550100",
  "channel": "WHATSAPP",
  "status": "sent",
  "create_date": "2024-01-15 10:30:00"
}

Common Error Codes