WhatsApp Business

What it is

A WhatsApp Business connection sends messages through Meta's WhatsApp Cloud API, and — once the webhook is configured — lets incoming messages trigger workflows.

You can create the connection with only the access token and send immediately. The app secret and verify token are what turn on receiving, and they can be added afterwards: the webhook callback URL is only shown once the connection exists.

Before you start

• A Meta Business account with a verified WhatsApp Business Account (WABA).
• A phone number registered to that WABA in the Cloud API.
• Note that WhatsApp only allows free-form replies inside a 24-hour window after a user messages you. Outside it, you must send an approved message template.

Setup fields

These are the fields the guided setup collects — both the Add integration form and the setup card Barry raises in chat. Additional settings live on the connection's settings page once it exists.

Connection settings

Field	Type	Required	Secret	Notes
name	Text	Yes	No	Display name for this connection. This is what you pick from in a workflow node.
phoneNumberId	Text	Yes	No	The Cloud API phone number ID — a numeric id, not the phone number itself. Found under WhatsApp → API Setup.
wabaId	Text	Yes	No	The WhatsApp Business Account ID that owns the phone number, on the same API Setup page.

Credentials

Field	Type	Required	Secret	Notes
accessToken	Password	Yes	Yes	A Cloud API access token. Use a System User token from Business Settings for anything permanent — the token shown on the API Setup page expires in 24 hours.
appSecret	Password	No	Yes	The Meta app secret, from App Settings → Basic. Only needed to receive messages; sending works without it.
verifyToken	Password	No	Yes	A string you invent. Meta echoes it back when registering the webhook so both sides can confirm the callback URL is yours. Only needed to receive messages.

Finding the ids and the token

1. In developers.facebook.com, open your app and go to WhatsApp → API Setup.
2. Phone number ID and WhatsApp Business Account ID are both listed there. Copy the ids, not the displayed phone number.
3. The temporary access token on that page is fine for a first test but expires in 24 hours. For a lasting connection, create a System User in Business Settings → Users → System Users, assign it the app and the WABA with whatsapp_business_messaging and whatsapp_business_management, and generate a token there.

Turning on receiving

1. Get the App Secret from App Settings → Basic in the same app.
2. Invent a verify token — any string, treated as a secret. You will paste the same value into both Honeybase and Meta.
3. Save the connection. Its settings page then shows the callback URL to register under WhatsApp → Configuration → Webhook, where you also paste the verify token.

The display phone number and verified business name are filled in automatically once the connection tests successfully; you do not type them.