Glossary · 55 terms
Graph API & SDKs
The developer's toolkit for the WhatsApp Cloud API: Graph API endpoints and versions, the IDs every call needs, access tokens and permissions, media handling, error codes and the tools used to build and test integrations.
Foundation· 16
Start here — the concepts everything else builds on.
- Access TokenThe secret bearer credential sent with every Graph API call, telling Meta which app and identity is acting and with which permissions.Read definition
- cURLcURL is the command-line HTTP client developers use to call the WhatsApp Cloud API directly: send messages, upload media and test tokens without code.Read definition
- E.164 Phone Number FormatE.164E.164 is the ITU-T international phone number format: a plus sign, the country code and the subscriber number, at most 15 digits, e.g. +919819812345.Read definition
- Graph APIMeta's versioned HTTP API at graph.facebook.com, modelled as nodes, edges and fields, through which the WhatsApp Cloud API and its management APIs are served.Read definition
- Graph API ExplorerMeta's browser tool for generating a test access token with chosen permissions and running live Graph API calls against your WhatsApp objects.Read definition
- HTTP Status CodesThe three-digit result on every API response — 200, 400, 401, 403, 404, 429, 5xx — saying whether a request worked and whether retrying can help.Read definition
- Messages EndpointPOST /{PHONE_NUMBER_ID}/messages: the single WhatsApp Cloud API call that sends every outbound message type, from text and media to templates.Read definition
- Meta App IDThe public numeric ID of the Meta developer app that holds your WhatsApp product, permissions and webhook settings, separate from any WABA or number ID.Read definition
- Phone Number IDThe Graph API ID of a registered WhatsApp business number. Every send, register and settings call is addressed to it, never to the dialable number.Read definition
- Postman CollectionMeta's ready-made set of WhatsApp Cloud API and management requests for Postman, driven by environment variables for the token, phone number ID and WABA ID.Read definition
- REST APIRESTAn API built on REST principles: resources at URLs, standard HTTP methods, stateless requests and JSON. Most messaging APIs follow this style.Read definition
- Software Development KitSDKA client library that wraps an API's HTTP calls in typed functions (send a message, upload media, parse a webhook) for a language such as Node.js or Python.Read definition
- Test Phone NumberA free business number Meta provides in the App Dashboard so developers can try the Cloud API, messaging up to five verified recipient numbers.Read definition
- User Access TokenA Graph API token issued to a logged-in Facebook user, short-lived by default, meant for testing and admin tasks rather than production sending.Read definition
- WABA IDWABAThe numeric ID of a WhatsApp Business Account: the Graph API node that owns phone numbers, templates and webhook subscriptions in a portfolio.Read definition
- WhatsApp Message IDWAMIDThe wamid.* string WhatsApp assigns to every message, returned when you send and repeated in each status webhook, used to track and reference it.Read definition
Practitioner· 34
What you need once you are running it day to day.
- Access Token DebuggerMeta's tool and debug_token endpoint that show what an access token really is: its app, owner, scopes, granted WABA IDs, validity and expiry.Read definition
- API DeprecationHow Meta retires Graph API versions and whole products: each version works for at least two years, then calls to it fall back to the oldest usable one.Read definition
- API Error CodesThe numeric code and structured error object Meta returns when a WhatsApp API call or message fails, naming the exact reason behind the HTTP status.Read definition
- API PermissionsThe scopes a Meta app must hold, such as whatsapp_business_messaging and whatsapp_business_management, before its token can act on a WhatsApp account.Read definition
- Block Users APICloud API endpoints that let a business block, unblock and list WhatsApp users who abuse its number, so they can no longer message it or be messaged by it.Read definition
- Cursor-Based PaginationCursor-based pagination walks a long Graph API list page by page with opaque before and after cursors and paging.next links instead of page numbers.Read definition
- Error 100 (Invalid Parameter)Error 100 is the Graph API's generic invalid-parameter error: a field is missing, misspelled, unsupported or malformed, or the ID in the URL can't be used.Read definition
- Error 190 (Access Token Invalid)Error 190 is the Graph API's OAuthException for an access token that has expired, been revoked, been invalidated by a password change or is malformed.Read definition
- Error 130429 (Rate Limit Hit)Error 130429 means a business phone number tried to send faster than its Cloud API throughput allows, which is up to 80 messages per second by default.Read definition
- Error 131026 (Message Undeliverable)Error 131026 is the WhatsApp delivery failure for a recipient Meta can't reach: not on WhatsApp, on an outdated app, or without the current terms accepted.Read definition
- Error 131047 (Re-engagement Message)Error 131047 means a free-form WhatsApp message was sent more than 24 hours after the customer's last message, when only an approved template is allowed.Read definition
- Error 131049 (Per-User Marketing Limit)Error 131049 means Meta withheld a marketing template to keep engagement healthy, because the recipient had reached WhatsApp's per-user marketing limit.Read definition
- Error 132000 (Parameter Count Mismatch)Error 132000 means a template send supplied a different number of variable values than the approved template defines for at least one component.Read definition
- FB Trace IDfbtrace_idThe fbtrace_id is the per-request identifier in a Graph API error response that Meta support uses to find the failing call in its logs.Read definition
- Field ExpansionField expansion is the Graph API `fields` query parameter that picks exactly which properties, and which nested edges, a GET request returns.Read definition
- Graph API VersioningMeta's scheme of dated Graph API versions named in the request path, such as /v26.0/, each usable for at least two years so you upgrade on your own schedule.Read definition
- Health Status APIRequesting the `health_status` field on a WhatsApp phone number, WABA or template to see whether it can send — AVAILABLE, LIMITED or BLOCKED — and why.Read definition
- Long-Lived Access TokenA Meta user access token valid for about 60 days, obtained by exchanging a short-lived token on your server with your app ID and app secret.Read definition
- Media IDThe ID the WhatsApp Cloud API returns for an uploaded file, or sends in an inbound media message, used to send or download that file.Read definition
- Media RetrievalDownloading a WhatsApp file by exchanging its media ID for a short-lived URL, then fetching that URL with your access token within five minutes.Read definition
- Media UploadPOSTing a file as multipart form data to /{PHONE_NUMBER_ID}/media to get a media ID you can reference when sending WhatsApp messages.Read definition
- Meta App ReviewMeta's review of how an app uses each permission, which grants the Advanced Access an app needs before it can serve other businesses' WhatsApp accounts.Read definition
- OpenAPI SpecificationOASA standard, machine-readable YAML or JSON description of an HTTP API (paths, parameters, schemas, auth) used to generate docs, clients, mocks and tests.Read definition
- Pair Rate LimitA WhatsApp Cloud API limit on how fast one business number can message the same user. Sustained rapid sends to one recipient fail with error 131056.Read definition
- Phone Number RegistrationThe POST /{phone-number-id}/register call that activates a verified business number on the WhatsApp Cloud API and sets its six-digit two-step PIN.Read definition
- Phone Number VerificationProving control of a WhatsApp business number with a one-time code sent by SMS or voice call, through the request_code and verify_code endpoints.Read definition
- Rate LimitingThe caps the Graph API and WhatsApp Cloud API place on how fast you may call them and send messages: app, account, throughput and per-recipient limits.Read definition
- System UserA non-human identity in a Meta business portfolio that holds asset access and issues API tokens, so integrations never depend on a person's login.Read definition
- System User Access TokenThe production credential a system user issues for one Meta app, carrying chosen WhatsApp permissions and an expiry of 60 days or never.Read definition
- ThroughputMPSHow many messages per second one business phone number can send on the WhatsApp Cloud API: up to 80 by default, upgradable to 1,000.Read definition
- WhatsApp Business Management APIThe Graph API endpoints that manage WhatsApp Business Accounts, phone numbers, templates, analytics and webhook subscriptions, rather than send messages.Read definition
- WhatsApp Business Management Permissionwhatsapp_business_managementThe Graph API permission that lets an app read and manage WhatsApp Business Accounts, phone numbers, message templates and webhook subscriptions.Read definition
- WhatsApp Business Messaging Permissionwhatsapp_business_messagingThe Graph API permission that lets an app send WhatsApp messages, handle media and register numbers on the phone numbers it has been granted.Read definition
- WhatsApp IDwa_idThe wa_id field that identifies a WhatsApp user in send responses and webhooks, normally their phone number as digits without the plus sign.Read definition
Expert· 5
Edge cases, internals and the details that matter at scale.
- Business Integration System User Access TokenBISUATThe business token a Tech Provider gets by exchanging an Embedded Signup code, scoped to the WhatsApp assets one onboarded customer chose to share.Read definition
- Business Management APIThe Graph API layer for business portfolios: system users, their tokens, asset assignment, client WABAs and credit-line sharing above WhatsApp itself.Read definition
- Business Use Case Rate LimitBUCMeta's hourly per-app, per-WABA quota on WhatsApp Business Management API calls, reported in the X-Business-Use-Case-Usage response header.Read definition
- Graph API Batch RequestsOne HTTP POST that carries up to 50 Graph API calls in a batch parameter and returns one result per call, saving round trips but not rate-limit quota.Read definition
- Resumable Upload APIA Graph API flow that uploads a file through a session on your Meta app and returns a file handle, used for template header samples and profile photos.Read definition
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