WhatsApp Template Messages: Setup and Usage

WhatsApp templates are pre-approved message formats required by Meta for any business-initiated conversation. Before you can send a message with RelayOS, the template you reference must be approved by Meta. Once approved, you use the template name and language code in your POST /v1/messages request, optionally substituting numbered placeholders with dynamic values specific to each recipient.

Templates must be approved by Meta before you can use them in messages. Approval typically takes a few minutes for standard templates but can take up to 24 hours. You cannot send messages with a template in PENDING or REJECTED status.

List your templates

Use GET /v1/templates to see all templates in your account along with their current approval status.

curl https://api.relayos.com.br/v1/templates \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer rly_live_xxx..."

A successful response returns an array of template objects:

[
  {
    "name": "lembrete_consulta",
    "language": "pt_BR",
    "status": "APPROVED",
    "components": [
      {
        "type": "BODY",
        "text": "Olá, {{1}}! Sua consulta está marcada para {{2}} com {{3}}."
      }
    ]
  },
  {
    "name": "order_confirmation",
    "language": "en_US",
    "status": "APPROVED",
    "components": [
      {
        "type": "BODY",
        "text": "Hi {{1}}, your order #{{2}} has been confirmed."
      }
    ]
  }
]

Create a template

Use POST /v1/templates to submit a new template for Meta’s review. Provide the template name, language, and the component structure including the message body.

curl -X POST https://api.relayos.com.br/v1/templates \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer rly_live_xxx..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "lembrete_consulta",
    "language": "pt_BR",
    "components": [
      {
        "type": "BODY",
        "text": "Olá, {{1}}! Sua consulta está marcada para {{2}} com {{3}}."
      }
    ]
  }'

The response confirms the template was submitted:

{
  "name": "lembrete_consulta",
  "language": "pt_BR",
  "status": "PENDING"
}

Use templates when sending messages

Once a template is APPROVED, reference it by name in POST /v1/messages. Use the variables object to substitute numbered placeholders — the key "1" maps to {{1}} in the template body, "2" to {{2}}, and so on.

curl -X POST https://api.relayos.com.br/v1/messages \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer rly_live_xxx..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "to": "+5511999998888",
    "template": "lembrete_consulta",
    "language": "pt_BR",
    "variables": {
      "1": "João Silva",
      "2": "14h",
      "3": "Dra. Helena"
    }
  }'

The delivered message reads:

Olá, João Silva! Sua consulta está marcada para 14h com Dra. Helena.

Language codes

The language field uses IETF BCP 47 codes. You must use the exact language code the template was approved with — mixing languages causes the message to fail.

Code	Language
`pt_BR`	Portuguese (Brazil)
`en_US`	English (United States)
`es_AR`	Spanish (Argentina)
`es_MX`	Spanish (Mexico)
`fr_FR`	French (France)

If you serve customers in multiple locales, create separate templates for each language rather than relying on a single template. Meta evaluates each language version independently, so approval in pt_BR does not automatically approve en_US.

Get Started

Guides

WhatsApp Template Messages: Setup and Usage

List your templates

Create a template

Use templates when sending messages

Language codes

​List your templates

​Create a template

​Use templates when sending messages

​Language codes

List your templates

Create a template

Use templates when sending messages

Language codes