WhatsApp Ultimate

Everything you can do in WhatsApp, your AI agent can do too.

This skill documents all WhatsApp capabilities available through OpenClaw's native channel integration. No external Docker services, no CLI wrappers — just direct WhatsApp Web protocol via Baileys.

Prerequisites

OpenClaw with WhatsApp channel configured
WhatsApp account linked via QR code (openclaw whatsapp login)

Capabilities Overview

Category	Features
Messaging	Text, media, polls, stickers, voice notes, GIFs
Interactions	Reactions, replies/quotes, edit, unsend
Groups	Create, rename, icon, description, participants, admin, invite links

Total: 22 distinct actions

Messaging

Send Text

message action=send channel=whatsapp to="+34612345678" message="Hello!"

Send Media (Image/Video/Document)

message action=send channel=whatsapp to="+34612345678" message="Check this out" filePath=/path/to/image.jpg

Supported: JPG, PNG, GIF, MP4, PDF, DOC, etc.

Send Poll

message action=poll channel=whatsapp to="+34612345678" pollQuestion="What time?" pollOption=["3pm", "4pm", "5pm"]

Send Sticker

message action=sticker channel=whatsapp to="+34612345678" filePath=/path/to/sticker.webp

Must be WebP format, ideally 512x512.

Send Voice Note

message action=send channel=whatsapp to="+34612345678" filePath=/path/to/audio.ogg asVoice=true

Critical: Use OGG/Opus format for WhatsApp voice notes. MP3 may not play correctly.

Send GIF

message action=send channel=whatsapp to="+34612345678" filePath=/path/to/animation.mp4 gifPlayback=true

Convert GIF to MP4 first (WhatsApp requires this):

ffmpeg -i input.gif -movflags faststart -pix_fmt yuv420p -vf "scale=trunc(iw/2)*2:trunc(ih/2)*2" output.mp4 -y

Interactions

Add Reaction

message action=react channel=whatsapp chatJid="34612345678@s.whatsapp.net" messageId="ABC123" emoji="🚀"

Remove Reaction

message action=react channel=whatsapp chatJid="34612345678@s.whatsapp.net" messageId="ABC123" remove=true

Reply/Quote Message

message action=reply channel=whatsapp to="34612345678@s.whatsapp.net" replyTo="QUOTED_MSG_ID" message="Replying to this!"

Edit Message (Own Messages Only)

message action=edit channel=whatsapp chatJid="34612345678@s.whatsapp.net" messageId="ABC123" message="Updated text"

Unsend/Delete Message

message action=unsend channel=whatsapp chatJid="34612345678@s.whatsapp.net" messageId="ABC123"

Group Management

Create Group

message action=group-create channel=whatsapp name="Project Team" participants=["+34612345678", "+34687654321"]

Rename Group

message action=renameGroup channel=whatsapp groupId="123456789@g.us" name="New Name"

Set Group Icon

message action=setGroupIcon channel=whatsapp groupId="123456789@g.us" filePath=/path/to/icon.jpg

Set Group Description

message action=setGroupDescription channel=whatsapp groupJid="123456789@g.us" description="Team chat for Q1 project"

Add Participant

message action=addParticipant channel=whatsapp groupId="123456789@g.us" participant="+34612345678"

Remove Participant

message action=removeParticipant channel=whatsapp groupId="123456789@g.us" participant="+34612345678"

Promote to Admin

message action=promoteParticipant channel=whatsapp groupJid="123456789@g.us" participants=["+34612345678"]

Demote from Admin

message action=demoteParticipant channel=whatsapp groupJid="123456789@g.us" participants=["+34612345678"]

Leave Group

message action=leaveGroup channel=whatsapp groupId="123456789@g.us"

Get Invite Link

message action=getInviteCode channel=whatsapp groupJid="123456789@g.us"

Returns: https://chat.whatsapp.com/XXXXX

Revoke Invite Link

message action=revokeInviteCode channel=whatsapp groupJid="123456789@g.us"

Get Group Info

message action=getGroupInfo channel=whatsapp groupJid="123456789@g.us"

Returns: name, description, participants, admins, creation date.

JID Formats

WhatsApp uses JIDs (Jabber IDs) internally:

Type	Format	Example
Individual	`<number>@s.whatsapp.net`	`34612345678@s.whatsapp.net`
Group	`<id>@g.us`	`123456789012345678@g.us`

When using to= with phone numbers, OpenClaw auto-converts to JID format.

Tips

Voice Notes

Always use OGG/Opus format:

ffmpeg -i input.wav -c:a libopus -b:a 64k output.ogg

Stickers

Convert images to WebP stickers:

ffmpeg -i input.png -vf "scale=512:512:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease,pad=512:512:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2:color=0x00000000" output.webp

Acknowledgment Messages (ackMessage)

Send an instant text message when an inbound message is received — fires at gateway level before model inference:

{
  "channels": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "ackMessage": {
        "text": "⚡",
        "direct": true,
        "group": "never"
      }
    }
  }
}

Field	Type	Default	Description
`text`	string	`""`	Message to send (empty = disabled)
`direct`	boolean	`true`	Send in direct chats
`group`	`"always"` / `"mentions"` / `"never"`	`"never"`	Group behavior

This is different from ackReaction (which sends an emoji reaction). ackMessage sends a standalone message bubble — visible in WhatsApp Web even when reaction flips aren't.

Rate Limits

WhatsApp has anti-spam measures. Avoid:

Bulk messaging to many contacts
Rapid-fire messages
Messages to contacts who haven't messaged you first

Message IDs

To react/edit/unsend, you need the message ID. Incoming messages include this in the event payload. For your own sent messages, the send response includes the ID.

Comparison with Other Skills

Feature	whatsapp-ultimate	wacli	whatsapp-automation	gif-whatsapp
Native integration	✅	❌ (CLI)	❌ (Docker)	N/A
Send text	✅	✅	❌	❌
Send media	✅	✅	❌	❌
Polls	✅	❌	❌	❌
Stickers	✅	❌	❌	❌
Voice notes	✅	❌	❌	❌
GIFs	✅	❌	❌	✅
Reactions	✅	❌	❌	❌
Reply/Quote	✅	❌	❌	❌
Edit	✅	❌	❌	❌
Unsend	✅	❌	❌	❌
Group create	✅	❌	❌	❌
Group management	✅ (full)	❌	❌	❌
Receive messages	✅	✅	✅	❌
Two-way chat	✅	❌	❌	❌
External deps	None	Go binary	Docker + WAHA	ffmpeg

3.5.0

Added: ackMessage — gateway-level instant message acknowledgment. Sends a configurable text message (e.g. ⚡) the moment an inbound message arrives, before any model inference. Fires at the same speed as ackReaction (emoji flip). Useful as a visual cue to distinguish your messages from bot replies in WhatsApp Web where reaction flips aren't visible.

3.4.0

Fixed: Chat search now resolves LID/JID aliases — searching by chat name finds messages across both @lid and @s.whatsapp.net JID formats
Added: resolveChatJids() cross-references chats, contacts, and messages tables to discover all JID aliases for a given chat filter
Improved: Search falls back to original LIKE behaviour if no JIDs resolve, so no regressions

3.0.0

Your Agent
    ↓
OpenClaw message tool
    ↓
WhatsApp Channel Plugin
    ↓
Baileys (WhatsApp Web Protocol)
    ↓
WhatsApp Servers

No external services. No Docker. No CLI tools. Direct protocol integration.

License

MIT — Part of OpenClaw

openclaw-whatsapp-ultimate