Skip to main content

Messenger Integration

🔹 Before App Installation

Pre-Installation Checklist​

Complete these steps before proceeding with the installation.

💬 Messenger Integration​

ℹ️ Note: Leave these fields blank if you don't want to use Messenger now. You can configure it later.

Option 1: Set Up Later​

Run this command on your server when ready:

MESSENGER_APP_ID='your_messenger_app_id' \
MESSENGER_APP_SECRET='your_messenger_app_secret' \
MESSENGER_CONFIGURATION_ID='your_messenger_config_id' \
MESSENGER_VERIFY_TOKEN='your_messenger_verify_token'

Option 2: Set Up Now​

Follow the configuration instructions below.

🛠 Step 1: Locate Configuration File​

  1. Open the web-server.env file in the installation folder provided by WhautoChat.
  2. Update the following Messenger integration settings:
# Messenger Integration
MESSENGER_APP_ID="your_messenger_app_id"
MESSENGER_APP_SECRET="your_messenger_app_secret"
MESSENGER_CONFIGURATION_ID="your_messenger_configuration_id"
MESSENGER_VERIFY_TOKEN="your_messenger_verify_token"  # Any random string

Messenger Integration

🧩 Step 2: Create a Meta Business Portfolio​

⏩ Skip this step if you already have a Meta Business Suite account.

  1. Go to business.facebook.com
  2. Log in with your Facebook account
  3. Create a Meta Business Suite account to generate your business portfolio

👨‍💻 Step 3: Create a Facebook Developer App​

⏩ Already have a Meta App for WhatsApp or Messenger? Skip to Step 4.

  1. Go to Facebook Developers
  2. Log in or sign up for a Developer account
  3. Click "My Apps" in the top-right corner, then "Create App"

My Apps

  1. In the dialog, click the Create App button (top right)

Create Meta App

  1. Enter the app details:
    • App Name (e.g., "ABC Business")
    • App Contact Email
    • Click Next

App Details

  1. Under "Use Cases", select Other → Click Next

Use Cases

  1. Choose Business as the App Type → Click Next

App Type

  1. Select your Meta Business Account → Click Create App

Create App

🔑 Step 4: Get App ID & App Secret​

  1. In the left sidebar, go to Settings > Basic
  2. Update required info (App domain, Privacy Policy, etc.)
  3. Click Save Changes
  4. Copy these values:
    • App ID → Paste into MESSENGER_APP_ID
    • App Secret → Paste into MESSENGER_APP_SECRET

Get App ID & Secret

⚙️ Step 5: Get Messenger Configuration ID​

  1. Go to the Dashboard
  2. Scroll to "Facebook Login for Business" → Click Set Up

Facebook Login

  1. Under Settings, enable Login with the JavaScript SDK
  2. Add your self-hosted app domain (e.g., https://yourappdomain.com/)
  3. Click Save

JavaScript SDK

  1. Go to Configuration → Click Create Configuration

Create Configuration

  1. Name it (e.g., "Messenger") → Click Next

Messenger Configure

  1. Choose General login variation → Click Next

General Login Variation

  1. Select User Access Token → Click Next

User Access Token

  1. Enable these permissions:
    • pages_messaging
    • pages_show_list
    • pages_manage_metadata
    • business_management
  2. Click Create

Messenger Permissions

  1. Copy the generated Configuration ID → Paste into MESSENGER_CONFIGURATION_ID

Configuration ID

🧪 Step 6: Set Messenger Verify Token​

  1. Generate a random string using random.org/strings

Random String

  1. Copy any of one generated string
  2. Update in your configuration: 
    MESSENGER_VERIFY_TOKEN="your_random_string_here"
    Example: MESSENGER_VERIFY_TOKEN="2AqYO0vP0M"

✅ Final Configuration​

Your complete .env configuration should look like this:

# Messenger Integration
MESSENGER_APP_ID="112233445566778"
MESSENGER_APP_SECRET="a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0"
MESSENGER_CONFIGURATION_ID="9988776655443322"
MESSENGER_VERIFY_TOKEN="2AqYO0vP0M"

⚠️ Important: Messenger setup is required if you plan to let your clients use Messenger in their communication channels. Without this, Messenger will not be available.

🔹 After App Installation

Post-Installation Configuration​

💬 Messenger Webhook Configuration (Self-Hosted Setup)​

⚠️ Important: Webhook configuration is mandatory after installation. Without it, Messenger messaging will not work.

🔧 Step-by-Step Instructions​

✅ 1. Open Your Meta App​

  1. Go to developers.facebook.com
  2. Log in with your Meta developer account
  3. Click My Apps (top-right) and select your app

Open Your Meta App

⚙️ 2. Set Up Messenger​

  1. In the Dashboard, scroll to the Messenger section
  2. Click Set Up

Setup Messenger

🌐 3. Configure Webhooks​

In the Messenger API Settings:

  1. Callback URL:

    https://yourserverdomain.com/messenger/webhook

  2. Verify Token: Use the same value from your .env file (MESSENGER_VERIFY_TOKEN)

    Example: 2AqYO0vP0M

  3. Click Verify and Save

Configure Webhooks

🔔 4. Subscribe to Webhook Fields​

In the Webhook Fields section, enable Subscribed for:

  • messages
  • message_reads
  • messaging_postbacks
  • messaging_optins
  • messaging_referrals

Webhook Fields

✅ 5. Finalize in WhautoChat​

  1. Go to your self-hosted app panel
  2. Complete Messenger Integration
  3. Send a test message to verify everything works

💡 Summary of Required Values​

MESSENGER_VERIFY_TOKEN="2AqYO0vP0M" MESSENGER_WEBHOOK_URL="https://yourserverdomain.com/messenger/webhook"

Need Help?​

📩 Contact us at support@whauto.chat – we're happy to help!

Additional Resources​

For advanced features or troubleshooting, refer to Facebook's documentation or WhautoChat support.