Whatsapp chat using api inside retool

🤝 Community Show & Tell
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Hi guys I made this chat app using the whatsapp api from the facebook developer platform and using webhooks

whatsapptest-ezgif.com-video-to-gif-converter

as a disclaimer the webhook won't work straight out of the box because I had to setup a vercel server as a interface between the facebook api and the retool webhooks because retool doesn't support the verify token from facebook

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Here is the json btw
Whatsapp.json (43.8 KB)

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Thanks for sharing, @Gsmplus! It's always cool to see what's possible in Retool.

I've moved this topic over into the Community Show & Tell category, just to keep everything organized. Happy building!

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Sorry my bad Darren

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That’s a great build! You’re absolutely right — the webhook won’t just work out of the box. The verify_token handshake from Facebook often trips people up, and using a Vercel server as an interface is a smart workaround. Retool not supporting the token verification directly makes this extra step necessary.

For anyone else trying this:

  • Make sure your Vercel (or any serverless function) properly handles the GET verification request before handling POST events.
  • Keep an eye on rate limits and 24-hour session rules from WhatsApp.
  • If you don’t want to manage custom hosting, services like Botsense handle webhook validation and give you an easier way to connect WhatsApp API with automation platforms.

Curious — are you planning to extend this chat app for customer support or keep it as a dev project?

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You can point your webhook to a small server just for the verify_token check, then forward real events into Retool. I also watch rate limits and reset the 24‑hour window.