# ChatRail

> ChatRail is context-aware WhatsApp infrastructure for developers. It sends WhatsApp alerts, returns inbound replies, media and delivery updates through webhooks, and can optionally answer follow-up questions using data attached to the original alert.

ChatRail uses WhatsApp Linked Devices rather than Meta's official WhatsApp Business Platform. AI is optional. Start on the free Sandbox with no card needed; paid plans start at $15/month.

## Company and author

- [About ChatRail](https://www.chatrail.dev/about) — Who publishes ChatRail and who writes its blog. Author: Danish Javed.

## Product and documentation

- [Product overview](https://www.chatrail.dev/) — Main product capabilities, interactive demo and FAQ.
- [Help and answers](https://www.chatrail.dev/help) — Plans, prices by country, paying, refunds, marketing messages, first-message pacing and number safety, in plain language.
- [Documentation](https://www.chatrail.dev/docs) — Technical overview and guide index.
- [WhatsApp API](https://www.chatrail.dev/whatsapp-api) — Authentication, sending, connection model and delivery states.
- [Official WhatsApp API vs Linked Devices](https://www.chatrail.dev/official-whatsapp-api-vs-linked-devices) — Side-by-side comparison of cost, message rules, groups, setup and risk, with sources, and when to choose each.
- [WhatsApp Linked Devices API](https://www.chatrail.dev/whatsapp-linked-devices-api) — Pairing, connection state, trade-offs and recovery planning.
- [WhatsApp API without Meta approval](https://www.chatrail.dev/whatsapp-api-without-meta-approval) — What the linked-device route does and does not mean.
- [WhatsApp API for an existing number](https://www.chatrail.dev/whatsapp-api-for-existing-number) — Add API workflows while retaining an established number.
- [WhatsApp messaging API in Dubai](https://www.chatrail.dev/whatsapp-messaging-api-dubai) — For Dubai and UAE businesses: sending without templates, recurring schedules in Asia/Dubai time, webhooks for replies and delivery, contextual auto-replies, the free Sandbox, and Meta's UAE per-message rates next to ChatRail's flat price.
- [WhatsApp API in Indonesia](https://www.chatrail.dev/whatsapp-api-indonesia) — For Indonesian businesses: WhatsApp API versus WhatsApp gateway, Meta's Indonesia per-message rates next to ChatRail's flat price, schedules in WIB, WITA and WIT, webhooks, and the free Sandbox.
- [API do WhatsApp no Brasil](https://www.chatrail.dev/api-whatsapp-brasil) — In Brazilian Portuguese: official versus unofficial WhatsApp API, Meta's Brazil per-message rates next to ChatRail's flat price, schedules in Brasília time and Brazil's other zones, webhooks, LGPD and opt-out, and the free Sandbox.
- [WhatsApp webhook](https://www.chatrail.dev/whatsapp-webhook) — Search-oriented guide to signed events, replay safety and fast acknowledgement.
- [Use ChatRail with n8n](https://www.chatrail.dev/integrations/n8n) — HTTP Request and Webhook node implementation pattern.
- [Use ChatRail with Node.js](https://www.chatrail.dev/integrations/nodejs) — Server-side sends, bounded retries and webhook verification.
- [Order-update workflow](https://www.chatrail.dev/workflows/order-updates) — Fulfillment alerts and controlled customer actions.
- [Monitoring-alert workflow](https://www.chatrail.dev/workflows/monitoring-alerts) — Acknowledgements, escalation and fallback-channel planning.
- [Webhooks](https://www.chatrail.dev/webhooks) — Inbound messages, delivery updates, signatures and idempotency.
- [Context-aware AI replies](https://www.chatrail.dev/context-aware-ai-replies) — Optional answers grounded in alert data.
- [Agent skill](https://www.chatrail.dev/SKILL.md) — One file that tells an agent when to use ChatRail, how a person sets it up, how to send and receive, and the rules for sending safely.
- [MCP server](https://www.chatrail.dev/mcp) — Workspace operations available to compatible coding assistants.
- [MCP Server Card](https://www.chatrail.dev/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json) — Machine-readable connection details for the hosted MCP server; listed in the AI Catalog at /.well-known/ai-catalog.json.
- [Integrations](https://www.chatrail.dev/integrations) — Application, automation and model connections.
- [Security](https://www.chatrail.dev/security) — API, webhook, connection and data-handling controls.
- [Status](https://www.chatrail.dev/status) — Live platform health checks, with customer-experience coverage identified separately.
- [Changelog](https://www.chatrail.dev/changelog) — what changed, newest first, including anything that changes how an existing integration behaves ([RSS](https://www.chatrail.dev/changelog.xml)).
- [Pricing](https://www.chatrail.dev/pricing) — Current early-access plans and limits.
- [Tutorials](https://www.chatrail.dev/tutorials) — Practical implementation guides.
- [Property alerts tutorial](https://www.chatrail.dev/tutorials/property-alerts) — Send listing context and support relevant follow-up questions.
- [Order updates tutorial](https://www.chatrail.dev/tutorials/order-updates) — Connect fulfillment events to contextual WhatsApp replies.
- [Weekend digests tutorial](https://www.chatrail.dev/tutorials/weekend-digests) — Normalize, rank and deliver personalized event alerts.
- [Reliable webhook handler](https://www.chatrail.dev/tutorials/webhook-handler) — Verify signatures and process events idempotently.
- [Archive WhatsApp images to cloud storage](https://www.chatrail.dev/tutorials/whatsapp-media-to-cloud-storage) — A validated n8n workflow that saves photos shared in a WhatsApp group to Google Drive or Dropbox; importable workflow files included.
- [Save WhatsApp media with Zapier](https://www.chatrail.dev/guides/zapier-whatsapp-media-to-cloud-storage) — The same media-archival flow built as a no-code Zap for Google Drive or Dropbox.
- [Save WhatsApp media with Activepieces](https://www.chatrail.dev/guides/activepieces-whatsapp-media-to-cloud-storage) — The same media-archival flow on the open-source, self-hostable Activepieces, using its Webhook and HTTP pieces.
- [n8n WhatsApp workflow](https://www.chatrail.dev/tutorials/n8n-whatsapp-workflow) — Connect n8n triggers and webhooks to ChatRail.
- [Privacy](https://www.chatrail.dev/privacy) — Website and early-access privacy notice.
- [Terms](https://www.chatrail.dev/terms) — Terms of use.
- [Acceptable use](https://www.chatrail.dev/acceptable-use) — Platform restrictions.

## Key facts

- Audience: developers, technical operators and agencies building WhatsApp alerts and workflows.
- Core interface: JSON over HTTPS plus signed webhook events.
- AI: off by default and enabled per connection.
- AI replies included: 50 a month to try on the free Sandbox and on Core, 10,000 a month on Core + AI and 50,000 on Team, on ChatRail's own model account with no API key needed. Past the allowance, replies use the workspace's own key if added, or pause until next month — never billed as overage. Bringing your own key gives unlimited AI replies on Core + AI and Team. Sending messages is unlimited on paid plans.
- Context: structured data may be attached to an alert, correlated to later replies by explicit rules with a recorded confidence, and delivered on the inbound webhook alongside the alert it belongs to.
- Context sensitivity: normal, sensitive or restricted. Restricted context is never sent to a model and is withheld from webhook payloads.
- Inbound media: images, video, voice notes and documents arrive on `message.received` with a `kind`, a `media` object (mimetype, filename, size, duration and a voice flag) and a workspace-scoped `download_url`. The bytes are streamed back through an authenticated ChatRail endpoint; the transport's own file reference is never exposed. A file the transport will not serve arrives with a null `download_url`, and the reply is still delivered.
- Groups: a linked connection's WhatsApp groups can be listed for source selection through `GET /v1/connections/{connection}/groups`, paginated and name-sorted, without returning participant identities.
- MCP: an operational interface for inspecting connections, delivery state, failures and schedules.
- Meta status: not affiliated with or endorsed by Meta or WhatsApp.

- [workflows — approval-requests](https://www.chatrail.dev/workflows/approval-requests) — Practical implementation guide.
- [workflows — appointment-reminders](https://www.chatrail.dev/workflows/appointment-reminders) — Practical implementation guide.
- [workflows — delivery-exceptions](https://www.chatrail.dev/workflows/delivery-exceptions) — Practical implementation guide.
- [guides — reliable-whatsapp-message-queue](https://www.chatrail.dev/guides/reliable-whatsapp-message-queue) — Practical implementation guide.
- [guides — prevent-duplicate-whatsapp-messages](https://www.chatrail.dev/guides/prevent-duplicate-whatsapp-messages) — Practical implementation guide.
- [guides — correlate-whatsapp-reply-alert](https://www.chatrail.dev/guides/correlate-whatsapp-reply-alert) — Practical implementation guide.
- [guides — reconnect-whatsapp-linked-device](https://www.chatrail.dev/guides/reconnect-whatsapp-linked-device) — Practical implementation guide.
- [guides — whatsapp-sent-delivered-read](https://www.chatrail.dev/guides/whatsapp-sent-delivered-read) — Practical implementation guide.
- [guides — verify-whatsapp-webhook-signature](https://www.chatrail.dev/guides/verify-whatsapp-webhook-signature) — Practical implementation guide.
- [guides — receive-whatsapp-media](https://www.chatrail.dev/guides/receive-whatsapp-media) — How inbound images, video, voice notes and documents arrive on message.received, and how to tell them apart.
- [guides — download-whatsapp-media](https://www.chatrail.dev/guides/download-whatsapp-media) — Resolve a media download_url and fetch the file through ChatRail with an API key.
- [guides — list-whatsapp-groups](https://www.chatrail.dev/guides/list-whatsapp-groups) — List a linked connection's WhatsApp groups for a source picker, paginated and without participant identities.
- [guides — send-whatsapp-media](https://www.chatrail.dev/guides/send-whatsapp-media) — Attach an image, video, document or audio file to a send, or drop a map pin with location.
## Blog
- [Is the WhatsApp API free? The honest answer for 2026](https://www.chatrail.dev/blog/is-whatsapp-api-free) — what Meta's Cloud API, Twilio, linked-device free tiers and open-source libraries give for free, where each stops, and the hidden costs.
- [WhatsApp Business API pricing in 2026: what it actually costs](https://www.chatrail.dev/blog/whatsapp-business-api-pricing) — Meta's five message categories, the two free cases, per-message rates in ten markets from the 1 October 2026 card, a worked monthly bill, and when a flat-fee API is cheaper.
- [Why WhatsApp read receipts lie to your dashboard](https://www.chatrail.dev/blog/whatsapp-read-receipts) — what sent, delivered and read mean, seven cases where the ticks mislead, and what to measure instead.
- [ChatRail's WhatsApp skill is now on Agensi](https://www.chatrail.dev/blog/whatsapp-skill-ai-agents-agensi) — what ChatRail's SKILL.md teaches an agent, how to install it, and what it won't do.
- [Apple is locking down AI agents. Your WhatsApp AI needs the same rules.](https://www.chatrail.dev/blog/whatsapp-ai-chatbot-privacy-risk) — why AI on customer messages should get one event's data rather than the whole inbox, with a checklist.
- [WhatsApp API pricing in Pakistan, India and Nigeria (2026)](https://www.chatrail.dev/blog/whatsapp-api-pricing-pakistan-india-nigeria) — Meta's per-message rates from the 1 October 2026 rate card, monthly costs for alerts and replies, and when the official API is the better choice.
- [Your WhatsApp number probably wasn't banned — it just expired](https://www.chatrail.dev/blog/avoid-whatsapp-ban) — telling an expired linked-device session from a real ban.

## Free tools
- [WhatsApp link and QR code generator](https://www.chatrail.dev/tools/whatsapp-link-generator) — build a wa.me click-to-chat link with an optional pre-filled message and download it as a PNG or SVG QR code; runs in the browser, nothing is sent to ChatRail.
- [WhatsApp QR code generator](https://www.chatrail.dev/tools/whatsapp-qr-code-generator) — a print-ready QR code that opens a WhatsApp chat with a number, with an optional ready-to-send message and a caption under the code; PNG up to 2400 px or SVG; runs in the browser, nothing is sent to ChatRail.
- [WhatsApp text formatter](https://www.chatrail.dev/tools/whatsapp-text-formatter) — bold, italic, strikethrough, monospace, inline code, lists and quotes with a live preview; copies the text, or a ChatRail send request with the text JSON-escaped; runs in the browser.

## Comparisons
- [Best WhatsApp APIs for developers, compared](https://www.chatrail.dev/compare) — Meta's Cloud API, Twilio and 360dialog against six linked-device APIs and ChatRail: prices, limits and who each one suits, with the official route named where it is the better choice.

## Conversation features
- [Quote, mention, polls and contact cards](https://www.chatrail.dev/guides/reply-mention-whatsapp-api) — reply_to, mentions (incl. "all" in groups), link_preview, poll with live results, contact cards on POST /v1/messages/text.
- [Reactions, read, edit and delete](https://www.chatrail.dev/guides/whatsapp-reactions-edits-api) — message actions, message.reaction / message.edited / message.revoked webhooks, typing indicators.
- [Manage WhatsApp groups](https://www.chatrail.dev/guides/manage-whatsapp-groups-api) — create groups, members, admins, settings, invite links; member-add guardrail of 20 people per connection per hour.
- [Pairing code](https://www.chatrail.dev/guides/link-whatsapp-pairing-code) — link a number by typing a code instead of scanning a QR.