# WhatsApp Channels AI Agent Connect > Post text and media to WhatsApp Channels from any AI agent — create channels, publish posts, search public channels and read their feed. ## Overview - **Category:** marketing - **Price:** Free - **Endpoint:** https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_5K57i1fMlwpder7E03mDPWA5PbxgzbY5bXi9TCnR/ai-agent-connect - **Tags:** whatsapp, whatsapp-channels, broadcast, newsletter, waha, social-media-automation, community, announcements ## Description Post to WhatsApp Channels from any AI agent through **WAHA**, a free open-source WhatsApp HTTP API you run in Docker on your own server — your WhatsApp session never leaves it. ### What you can do - **Publish posts** — Send text, image, video or voice posts to any channel where you are owner or admin, with captions and public-file URLs - **Create channels** — Spin up a new branded channel (name, description, avatar) and get its invite link - **Discover & monitor** — Search public channels by keyword (explore-style), preview any channel's latest posts with view counts and reactions, and pull full message history from channels you follow - **Manage** — List the channels linked to your number with roles and subscriber counts ### How it works 1. Run WAHA on a VPS, bound to the local interface (`docker run -p 127.0.0.1:3000:3000 -e WAHA_API_KEY=secret devlikeapro/waha`), and expose it over HTTPS with a reverse proxy (Caddy, Nginx or Traefik) on a domain you control 2. Open WAHA's dashboard, start a session (pick the NOWEB engine to create channels) and scan the QR with your phone (WhatsApp → Linked devices) 3. Subscribe to this server and set your WAHA URL + optional API key 4. Ask your agent to post — e.g. "publish today's release notes to our announcement channel" ### Notes - WAHA is free and open source. - WAHA emulates WhatsApp Web: automating a channel through it is outside WhatsApp's official API. Use it on your own account and accept the (small, session-based) risk of restrictions. - You must be OWNER or ADMIN of a channel to post — subscribers are read-only. ### Who is this for? - **Creators & community managers** — automate announcements, digests and scheduled newsletters - **Marketers** — monitor competitor channels and reaction analytics programmatically - **Developers** — wire WhatsApp broadcasting into agents, cron jobs and publishing pipelines ## Tools ### get_channel_messages Page back in history with before_timestamp set to the oldest timestamp of the previous page; page forward with after_timestamp set to the newest one seen. The channel must be one your number follows — otherwise use get_channel_preview. Read posts from a channel you are subscribed to, newest first ### get_channel_preview Pass the invite code from a whatsapp.com/channel/ link or the @newsletter id. Only the preview window is visible; use get_channel_messages for full history of channels you follow. Preview the latest posts of any public channel without subscribing to it ### get_channel Accepts either a full channel id ("120363...@newsletter") or the invite code — the last path segment of a https://whatsapp.com/channel/ link. Use it to check subscriber reach before or after posting. Get one channel profile by newsletter id or invite code, including subscriber count ### list_channels Use it first to find the @newsletter channel id needed for posting; filter with role=OWNER or role=ADMIN — subscribers cannot post. List WhatsApp Channels linked to the logged-in number (owned, administered or subscribed) ### post_channel_media file_url must be publicly downloadable — WAHA downloads it server-side before posting. For image/video the optional caption appears under the media; voice posts ignore captions. Requires role OWNER or ADMIN; channel_id ends with "@newsletter". Publish an image, video or voice post to a WhatsApp Channel from a public file URL ### post_channel_text Requires your role OWNER or ADMIN on the channel — subscribers cannot post. channel_id must end with "@newsletter" (get it from list_channels). Supports normal WhatsApp text formatting; emoji included as-is. Publish a text post to a WhatsApp Channel you own or administer ### search_channels Paginate with start_cursor using the endCursor from the previous response (recommended limit 50). Useful to monitor competitors or find a channel before subscribing. Discover public WhatsApp Channels by keyword (like the in-app explore search) ### create_channel The WAHA session must use the NOWEB, WPP or GOWS engine — the default WEBJS engine cannot create channels (posting to an existing channel still works on WEBJS). Keep the name short and unique. Optionally attach a profile picture from any public image URL. Create a new WhatsApp Channel owned by the logged-in number ## Frequently Asked Questions **What is WAHA and why do I need it?** WAHA is the WhatsApp API server this connector talks to — a free open-source app you run in Docker on your own infrastructure. It keeps your WhatsApp session under your control: no third party ever sees your messages or credentials. **What do I need to set up before first post?** Run WAHA on a VPS bound to 127.0.0.1:3000 (docker run -p 127.0.0.1:3000:3000 -e WAHA_API_KEY=secret devlikeapro/waha) and expose it over HTTPS via a reverse proxy (Caddy/Nginx/Traefik) on your own domain. Open WAHA's dashboard at that HTTPS URL, start a session, scan the QR code with the phone that owns your channel, then set WAHA_BASE_URL (https://...) and WAHA_API_KEY in this server's credentials. **Why do my posts fail with a permissions error?** Only owners and admins can publish to a channel — subscribers cannot. Run list_channels to check your role, and make sure the channel id you pass ends with @newsletter. **Is my WhatsApp account safe using WAHA?** WAHA is self-hosted, so your session stays on your own server and never touches a third party. It emulates WhatsApp Web, which is outside WhatsApp's official terms — keep posting volume human-like (a few broadcast posts, not spam) to minimise restriction risk.