Programmable Conversations beta

The Programmable Conversations API is a complete omni-channel messaging solution to unify sent and received messages across all of your chat channels in one seamless conversation thread. This makes customer reach simple by accessing the world’s most popular communication channels - SMS, WhatsApp, WeChat, Messenger, Telegram, LINE- through a single API.

Conversations is the view of all messages between the provider and customer across any configured channels. API responses are formatted in JSON with POST and PUT requests to the API containing a JSON formatted request body.

API Endpoint

https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/

Endpoint Summary

/conversations
/conversations/{id}
/conversations/{id}/messages
/messages/{id}
/send
/webhooks
/webhooks/{webhookId}

Authorization

You'll need to set an access key to authenticate yourself. You can create, manage, and retrieve your API keys (both test and live) from the MessageBird Dashboard.

To provide the access key, set the Authorization header in the form of AccessKey {accessKey}.

Formats and Headers

All API responses are in JSON. You're required to send the Accept header with the value application/json with each request.

Both POST and PUT requests to the API must contain a JSON-formatted payload in the request body.

Errors

MessageBird uses standard HTTP status codes to indicate success or failure of an API request. Codes in the 2xx range indicate that a request was successfully processed and codes in the 4xx range indicate that there was an error that resulted from the information sent (e.g. authentication, no balance or a missing or wrong parameter).

In the case of an error, the body of the response includes a JSON-formatted response that tells you exactly what is wrong.

MessageBird uses standard HTTP status codes to indicate success or failure of an API request:

Codes in the 2xx range indicate that a request was processed successfully
The 4xx range indicates that there was an error - for example, due to authentication, no balance, or a missing or wrong parameter. Don't worry, the body of the response includes a JSON-formatted response that tells you exactly what is wrong. If you're stuck, feel free to contact support; we're happy to help you out.
A 5xx status code indicates that something went wrong on our end.

Error Object Example

{
  "errors": [
  {
    "code": 1001,
    "description": "You are requesting with an invalid credential.",
    "parameter": null
  }
  ]
}

Attributes

Attribute	Type	Description
errors[].code	integer	An integer that represents the error type.
errors[].description	string	A human-readable description of the error. You can use this to let the user know what they can do about the error.
errors[].parameter	string	The parameter in your request related to the error if the error is parameter specific.

Platforms

Conversations are supported for SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, LINE, and WeChat. Before using the Conversations API, head over to the MessageBird quickstarts for step-by-step guides on how to easily install and configure your channels via the MessageBird Dashboard.

Send message

The send endpoint allows you to send messages to users over any communication platform supported by Programmable Conversations - SMS, WhatsApp, WeChat, Messenger, Telegram, and LINE. You can send a message to a user with the ID of your MessageBird channel, and the identifier of the user on this channel. An identifier is platform-specific, for example, WhatsApp and SMS channels require the phone number of the recipient.

All sent messages are available in the message history via Conversations. You can also subscribe to Webhooks to receive notifications of events and status updates for sent messages.

The send definition sends a new message to a channel-specific user identifier (e.g. phone number). If an active conversation already exists for the recipient, this conversation will be resumed, if it doesn't exist, a new one will be created. All messages sent to a single contact will be added to the same conversation, regardless of the channel the message is sent over.

URI

https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/send

Available HTTP Methods

POST /send

Definition

POST https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/send

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
to	string	Either a channel-specific identifier for the receiver (e.g. MSISDN for SMS or WhatsApp channels), or the ID of a MessageBird Contact.
from	string	The ID that identifies the channel over which the message should be sent.
type	string	The type of the message content being posted.
content	Content	Content of the message. The value of type defines the required fields.
reportUrl	string	The URL for delivery of status reports for the message. Must be HTTPS.
fallback	Fallback	Parameters required to send a Fallback message if the primary delivery fails.

Example request

$ curl -X "POST" "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/send" \
-H "Authorization: AccessKey gshuPaZoeEG6ovbc8M79w0QyM" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{
  "to":"+31612345678",
  "from":"619747f69cf940a98fb443140ce9aed2",
  "type":"text",
  "content":{
    "text":"Hello!"
  },
  "reportUrl":"https://example.com/reports"
}'

Response

Attribute	Type	Description
id	string	A unique ID generated by the MessageBird platform that identifies this message.
status	string	The status of the message. It will be initially set to accepted.
fallback	Object	An object of the form {"id": <uuid>}. Will be present only if a fallback was passed in your request.

Example response

{
  "id": "2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb",
  "status": "accepted"
}

Status Reports

If the reportUrl parameter is provided in your request, status reports will be sent to your platform through a POST request to the supplied URL. The requests contain information about the status of the message that you've sent through the send endpoint, also in the event of a delivery failure, the payload will contain the reason for the error.

Example request

{
  "type": "message.status",
  "message": {
    "id": "2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb",
    "status": "failed"
  },
  "error": {
    "code": 302,
    "description": "The contact is not registered on WhatsApp"
  }
}

Fallback Messages

Currently, Fallback Messages are only available in cURL.

The Fallback parameter allows you to configure a message to be sent over a secondary channel if the original message failed or could not be sent within a defined time window.

For example, when sending a WhatsApp message to a customer, you can configure a fallback so that if the customer is not a WhatsApp user or doesn't have a mobile data connection, the message is resent over SMS. You can define the time at which the fallback message should be sent if it wasn't successful over the primary channel; if you don't set a time, the fallback will automatically trigger after 1 minute.

Fallback Object

Attribute	Type	Description
from	string	The ID that identifies the channel over which the message should be sent.
after	string	This is optional. You can set a time period before attempting to send the fallback. After this time, if the original message isn't in a successfully delivered state, the fallback will be triggered. Formatted as a short-hand duration, for example: "30m" for 30 minutes, "3h" for 3 hours. If the fallback time period isn't specified, 1 minute will be used as the default value.

Example request

$ curl -X "POST" "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/send" \
-H "Authorization: AccessKey gshuPaZoeEG6ovbc8M79w0QyM" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{
  "to":"+31612345678",
  "from":"619747f69cf940a98fb443140ce9aed2",
  "type":"text",
  "content":{
    "text":"Hello!"
  },
  "reportUrl":"https://example.com/reports"
  "fallback": {
    "from": "2ecea8ee6c564bb4ab15929c44527687"
    "after": "5m"
  }
}'

Example response

{
  "id": "2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb",
  "status": "accepted"
  "fallback": {
    "id": "a5a66361dc0b4e5d8d2da249753fa8b5",
  }
}

Fallback Reports

If the reportUrl was provided in your request, and the fallback message was triggered, you'll also receive a message.fallbackTriggered webhook to your report URL. The webhook body will include the original and fallback message IDs.

Example request

{
  "type": "message.fallbackTriggered",
  "message": {
    "id": "5d76d378e5eb4af2b9e98ac659781dfd",
  },
  "fallback": {
    "id": "2fcb9be1131f4f409fae0ead9ed54e81",
  }
}

Conversations

A Conversation is the view of all messages between you and a customer across any of your configured channels:

Messages from multiple channels are collected and displayed in a single conversation.
When the first message is sent or received from a user, a conversation is automatically created for them.
A conversation status can be active or archived, but only one active conversation exists for each customer at a time.
Archiving can be used to end a conversation so that the next time that the customer reaches out, a new conversation will be started. This is especially helpful for support use cases where conversations need to be opened and closed, rather than merely resumed.

URI

https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/conversations

Available HTTP Methods

POST /conversations/start
GET /conversations
GET /conversations/{id}
PATCH /conversations/{id}
GET /conversations/{id}/messages
POST /conversations/{id}/messages

The Conversation Object

Attribute	Type	Description
id	string	A unique ID generated by the MessageBird platform that identifies this conversation.
contact	Contact	The MessageBird Contact for this conversation.
channels	array of Channel	A series of Channels through which the contact of the conversation can be reached. This attribute can be empty if the conversation doesn't have any channels yet.
status	string	The status of the conversation. Either active or archived.
messages	MessagesCount	A link to the messages of this conversation. See below for definition.
createdDatetime	datetime	The date and time when this conversation was first created in RFC3339 format.
updatedDatetime	datetime	The date and time when this conversation was most recently updated in RFC3339 format. This applies only to changes of the Conversation object itself, not messages, i.e. currently just status changes.
lastReceivedDatetime	datetime	The date and time when the most recent message was added to this conversation in RFC3339 format.
lastUsedChannelId	string	A unique ID for the most recently used channel that sent or received a message in this conversation.

The Contact Object

Contacts are a representation of an end-user you are communicating with; contacts are also available through the REST API via the Contacts endpoint.

Attribute	Type	Description
id	string	The unique ID generated by the MessageBird platform that identifies this contact.
href	string	The URL of this contact object.
msisdn	string	The phone number of this contact.
firstName	string	The first name of this contact. Where the first name is not known, msisdn will be used as the firstName instead.
lastName	string	The last name of this contact.
customDetails	object	Additional platform specific details about this contact.
createdDatetime	datetime	The datetime when the message was created (in RFC3339 format).
updatedDatetime	datetime	The datetime when the message was updated (in RFC3339 format).

The Channel Object

The Channels represent a platform from which messages can be sent and received; a conversation can take place over multiple channels simultaneously. You can configure your Channels via the Channels Overview in the MessageBird Dashboard; if you need some help, check out our step-by-step quickstarts for installing SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook, Email, and WeChat.

Attribute	Type	Description
id	string	The unique ID generated by the MessageBird platform that identifies this channel.
name	string	The name of this channel (configured through the MessageBird Dashboard).
platformId	string	A unique identifier for the platform that is used by this channel, for example: sms, Whatsapp or messenger.
status	string	The status of this channel. Only active channels can be used for messaging. Can be one of inactive, active, pending, activation_required, activation_code_required, activating, and deleted.
createdDatetime	datetime	The datetime when the message was created (in RFC3339 format).
updatedDatetime	datetime	The datetime when the message was updated (in RFC3339 format).

MessagesCount

Attribute	Type	Description
href	string	A link to the endpoint to retrieve messages of this conversation.
totalCount	integer	The total number of messages that can be retrieved for this conversation through pagination.

Start a Conversation

The start method initiates a new conversation from a channel-specific user identifier, such as a phone number, and sends a first message. Whereas, if there is already an active conversation for the recipient, this conversation will be resumed.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
type	string	The type of the message content.
content	Content	Content of the message to send. The value of type defines the required fields.
to	string	An channel-specific identifier for the receiver. For example: a mobile phone number (MSISDN) is valid for SMS and Whatsapp channels.
channelId	string	The unique ID that identifies the channel through which the message should be sent.

Definition

POST https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/conversations/start

Example request

$ curl -X "POST" "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/conversations/start" \
-H "Authorization: AccessKey gshuPaZoeEG6ovbc8M79w0QyM" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{"to":"+31612345678","channelId":"619747f69cf940a98fb443140ce9aed2","type":"text","content":{"text":"Hello!"}}'

Response

A Conversation object as described in the code snippet on your left.

Example response

{
  "id": "2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb",
  "contactId": "a621095fa44947a28b441cfdf85cb802",
  "contact": {
  "id": "a621095fa44947a28b441cfdf85cb802",
  "href": "https://rest.messagebird.com/1/contacts/a621095fa44947a28b441cfdf85cb802",
  "msisdn": 316123456789,
  "firstName": "Jen",
  "lastName": "Smith",
  "customDetails": {
    "custom1": null,
    "custom2": null,
    "custom3": null,
    "custom4": null
  },
  "createdDatetime": "2018-06-03T20:06:03Z",
  "updatedDatetime": null
  },
  "channels": [
  {
    "id": "853eeb5348e541a595da93b48c61a1ae",
    "name": "SMS",
    "platformId": "sms",
    "status": "active",
    "createdDatetime": "2018-08-28T11:56:57Z",
    "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-29T08:16:33Z"
  },
  {
    "id": "619747f69cf940a98fb443140ce9aed2",
    "name": "My WhatsApp",
    "platformId": "whatsapp",
    "status": "active",
    "createdDatetime": "2018-08-28T11:56:57Z",
    "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-29T08:16:33Z"
  },
  ],
  "status": "active",
  "createdDatetime": "2018-08-13T09:17:22Z",
  "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-29T07:35:48Z",
  "lastReceivedDatetime": "2018-08-29T07:35:48Z",
  "lastUsedChannelId": "619747f69cf940a98fb443140ce9aed2",
  "messages": {
  "totalCount": 24,
  "href": "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/conversations/2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb/messages"
  }
}

List all Conversations

Retrieves all conversations for this account. By default, conversations are sorted by the lastReceivedDatetime field so that all conversations with new messages appear first.

Parameters

No parameters are require; however, pagination can be provided through the following optional query parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
limit	integer	The number of maximum objects to return on each request.
offset	integer	The number of objects to skip from the first.

Definition

GET https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/conversations

Example request

$ curl -X "GET" "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/conversations" \
-H "Authorization: AccessKey gshuPaZoeEG6ovbc8M79w0QyM"

Response

Attribute	Type	Description
count	integer	Number of conversations returned.
items	array	An array of Conversation objects.
limit	integer	The number of maximum objects returned on each request. Max: 200.
offset	integer	The number of objects skipped.
totalCount	integer	The number of total conversation objects that can be retrieved through pagination.

Example request

{
  "offset": 0,
  "limit": 20,
  "count": 2,
  "totalCount": 2,
  "items": [
  {
    "id": "fbbdde79129f45e3a179458a91e2ead6",
    "contactId": "03dfc27855c3475b953d6200a1b7eaf7",
    "contact": {
    "id": "03dfc27855c3475b953d6200a1b7eaf7",
    "href": "https://rest.messagebird.com/contacts/03dfc27855c3475b953d6200a1b7eaf7",
    "msisdn": 31612345678,
    "firstName": "John",
    "lastName": "Doe",
    "customDetails": {
      "custom1": null,
      "custom2": null,
      "custom3": null,
      "custom4": null
    },
    "createdDatetime": "2018-08-01T09:45:52Z",
    "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-28T12:37:35Z"
    },
    "channels": [
    {
      "id": "619747f69cf940a98fb443140ce9aed2",
      "name": "My WhatsApp",
      "platformId": "whatsapp",
      "status": "active",
      "createdDatetime": "2018-08-28T11:56:57Z",
      "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-29T08:16:33Z"
    },
    ],
    "status": "active",
    "createdDatetime": "2018-08-29T08:52:54Z",
    "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-29T08:52:54Z",
    "lastReceivedDatetime": "2018-08-29T08:52:54Z",
    "lastUsedChannelId": "619747f69cf940a98fb443140ce9aed2",
    "messages": {
    "totalCount": 10,
    "href": "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/conversations/fbbdde79129f45e3a179458a91e2ead6/messages"
    }
  },
  {
    "id": "2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb",
    "contactId": "a621095fa44947a28b441cfdf85cb802",
    "contact": {
    "id": "a621095fa44947a28b441cfdf85cb802",
    "href": "https://rest.messagebird.com/1/contacts/a621095fa44947a28b441cfdf85cb802",
    "msisdn": 316123456789,
    "firstName": "Jen",
    "lastName": "Smith",
    "customDetails": {
      "custom1": null,
      "custom2": null,
      "custom3": null,
      "custom4": null
    },
    "createdDatetime": "2018-06-03T20:06:03Z",
    "updatedDatetime": null
    },
    "channels": [
    {
      "id": "853eeb5348e541a595da93b48c61a1ae",
      "name": "SMS",
      "platformId": "sms",
      "status": "active",
      "createdDatetime": "2018-08-28T11:56:57Z",
      "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-29T08:16:33Z"
    },
    {
      "id": "619747f69cf940a98fb443140ce9aed2",
      "name": "My WhatsApp",
      "platformId": "whatsapp",
      "status": "active",
      "createdDatetime": "2018-08-28T11:56:57Z",
      "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-29T08:16:33Z"
    }
    ],
    "status": "active",
    "createdDatetime": "2018-08-13T09:17:22Z",
    "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-29T07:35:48Z",
    "lastReceivedDatetime": "2018-08-29T07:35:48Z",
    "lastUsedChannelId": "853eeb5348e541a595da93b48c61a1ae",
    "messages": {
    "totalCount": 23,
    "href": "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/conversations/2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb/messages"
    }
  },
  ]
}

Get Conversation

Allows you to retrieve a single conversation.

Definition

GET https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/conversations/{id}

Example request

$ curl -X "GET" "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/conversations/2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb" \
-H "Authorization: AccessKey gshuPaZoeEG6ovbc8M79w0QyM"

Response

A Conversation object as described in the code snippet on your left.

Example response

{
  "count": 2,
  "items": [
  {
    "id": "eb34fb1fc73f47a58ad644de0e2de254",
    "conversationId": "2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb",
    "channelId": "619747f69cf940a98fb443140ce9aed2",
    "status": "received",
    "direction": "received",
    "to":"+31687654321",
    "from":"+31612345678",
    "type": "text",
    "content": {
    "text": "This is a test WhatsApp message"
    },
    "createdDatetime": "2018-08-29T08:07:15Z",
    "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-29T08:07:33Z"
  },
  {
    "id": "5f3437fdb8444583aea093a047ac014b",
    "conversationId": "2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb",
    "channelId": "853eeb5348e541a595da93b48c61a1ae",
    "status": "delivered",
    "direction": "sent",
    "to":"+31612345678",
    "from":"+31687654321",
    "type": "text",
    "content": {
    "text": "This is a test SMS message"
    },
    "createdDatetime": "2018-08-28T15:52:41Z",
    "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-28T15:52:58Z"
  },
  // ... remaining messages omitted
  ],
  "limit": 20,
  "offset": 0,
  "totalCount": 24
}

Update Conversation Status

Sets the status of a conversation.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
status	string	The new status of the conversation. Either active or archived.

Definition

PATCH https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/conversations/{id}

Example request

$ curl -X "PATCH" "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/conversations/2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb" \
-H "Authorization: AccessKey gshuPaZoeEG6ovbc8M79w0QyM" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{"status": "archived"}'

Response

A Conversation object without expanded contact or channel information.

Reply to Conversation

Adds a new message to an existing conversation and sends it to the contact you're talking to.

Definition

POST https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/conversations/{id}/messages

Example request

$ curl -X "POST" "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/conversations/2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb/messages" \
-H "Authorization: AccessKey gshuPaZoeEG6ovbc8M79w0QyM" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{"type": "text","content":{"text": "Hello!"}}'

Parameters

In the path:

Parameter	Type	Description
id	string	The unique ID that identifies the conversation.

In the request body:

Parameter	Type	Description
type	string	The type of the message content.
content	Content	Content of the message to send. The value of type defines the required fields.
channelId	string	Optional. The unique ID that identifies the channel over which the message should be sent. If not provided, the most-recently used active channel for the conversation is used.
fallback	Fallback	Optional. Parameters required to send a Fallback message.

Response

A Message object as described in the code snippet on your left.

Example response

"id": "13a97a5023944648b8e5e61248c40da8",
"conversationId": "2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb",
"channelId": "a621095fa44947a28b441cfdf85cb802",
"status": "pending",
"to":"+31612345678",
"from":"+31687654321",
"type": "text",
"direction": "sent",
"content": {
  "text": "This is a test message"
},
"createdDatetime": "2018-08-29T13:53:44.642664784Z",
"updatedDatetime": "2018-08-29T13:53:44.673850825Z"
}

Fallback Messages

Fallback message are supported when replying to a Conversation, but it is important that the from channel specified with the fallback already exists in the Conversation so an identifier can be found.

Get Messages in Conversation

Retrieves all the messages from the conversation with the provided id.

Parameters

On the path:

Parameter	Type	Description
id	string	The unique ID that identifies the conversation.

Pagination can be provided through the following optional query parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
limit	integer	The number of maximum objects to return on each request. Max: 20.
offset	integer	The number of objects to skip from the first.

Definition

GET https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/conversations/{id}

Example request

$ curl -X "GET" "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/conversations/2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb" \
-H "Authorization: AccessKey gshuPaZoeEG6ovbc8M79w0QyM"

Response

Attribute	Type	Description
count	integer	Number of messages returned.
items	array	An array of message objects.
limit	integer	The number of maximum objects returned on each request.
offset	integer	The number of objects skipped.
totalCount	integer	The number of total message objects that can be retrieved through pagination.

Example response

{
  "count": 2,
  "items": [
  {
    "id": "eb34fb1fc73f47a58ad644de0e2de254",
    "conversationId": "2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb",
    "channelId": "619747f69cf940a98fb443140ce9aed2",
    "status": "received",
    "direction": "received",
    "to":"+31687654321",
    "from":"+31612345678",
    "type": "text",
    "content": {
    "text": "This is a test WhatsApp message"
    },
    "createdDatetime": "2018-08-29T08:07:15Z",
    "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-29T08:07:33Z"
  },
  {
    "id": "5f3437fdb8444583aea093a047ac014b",
    "conversationId": "2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb",
    "channelId": "853eeb5348e541a595da93b48c61a1ae",
    "status": "delivered",
    "direction": "sent",
    "to":"+31612345678",
    "from":"+31687654321",
    "type": "text",
    "content": {
    "text": "This is a test SMS message"
    },
    "createdDatetime": "2018-08-28T15:52:41Z",
    "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-28T15:52:58Z"
  },
  // ... remaining messages omitted
  ],
  "limit": 20,
  "offset": 0,
  "totalCount": 24
}

Messages

Messages that have been sent by, or received from, a customer are automatically threaded in a conversation. Any messages sent through the API or received from your customer across any of your configured channels can be retrieved via the messages endpoint. Messages are returned from the API in the order they were created, with newest messages returned first. Certain message types are channel specific such as a Highly Structured Message (HSM), which are pre-approved message templates used by WhatsApp.

URI

https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/messages

Available HTTP Methods

GET /messages/{id}

The Message Object

Attribute	Type	Description
id	string	The unique ID generated by the MessageBird platform that identifies this message.
conversationId	string	The unique ID that identifies the conversation that this message is a part of.
channelId	string	The unique ID that identifies the channel that the message was sent or received on.
to	string	The unique ID that identifies the message recepient. The value depends on platform.
from	string	The unique ID that identifies the message sender. The value depends on platform.
direction	string	The direction of the message. Either sent for outbound messages sent through the API or received for inbound messages received from a customer.
status	string	The status of the message. Possible values: pending, received, sent, delivered, read, unsupported, failed, and deleted.
type	string	The type of message content. Possible values: text, image, audio, video, location, file, and hsm (hsm is available only for WhatsApp).
content	Content	Content of the message. The type field indicates the fields that will be populated in this object.
createdDatetime	datetime	The datetime when the message was created (in RFC3339 format).
updatedDatetime	datetime	The datetime when the message was updated (in RFC3339 format).

Content

Attribute	Type	Description
content.text	string	Required for type text. The plain-text content of the message.
content.image	object	Required for type image. An object of the form {"url": "<media url>"} containing the url of the remote media file.
content.audio	object	Required for type audio. An object of the form {"url": "<media url>"} containing the url of the remote media file.
content.video	object	Required for type video. An object of the form {"url": "<media url>"} containing the url of the remote media file.
content.file	object	Required for type file. An object of the form {"url": "<media url>"} containing the url of the remote media file.
content.location	object	Required for type location. An object of the form {"latitude": lat, "longitude": lon} containing the latitude and longitude coordinates of the location. Latitude and longitude are expected as floats.
content.hsm	HSMContent	Required for type hsm. Available only for WhatsApp.

HSMContent

HSM stands for "Highly Structured Message" and can only be sent over a WhatsApp channel, see HSM Messages for Whatsapp

Attribute	Type	Description
hsm.namespace	string	Required. WhatsApp namespace for your account. You will receive this value when setting up your WhatsApp account.
hsm.templateName	string	Required. The name of the template.
hsm.language	HSMLanguage	Required.
hsm.params	array of HSMLocalizableParameters	Required.

HSMLanguage

Attribute	Type	Description
hsm.language.policy	string	Required. Possible values: fallback or deterministic. Deterministic will deliver the message template in exactly the language and locale asked for while fallback will deliver the message template in user's device language, if the settings can't be found on users device the fallback language is used.
hsm.language.code	string	Required. The code of the language or locale to use, accepts both language and language_locale formats (e.g., en or en_US).

HSMLocalizableParameters

Some of the template parameters related to date/time and currency are localizable and can be displayed based on a customer's device language and local preferences. Default values are used when localization fails.

Attribute	Type	Description
hsm.params.default	string	Required. Default value of the parameter, it is used when localization fails. The only field needed when specifying parameter value that doesn't require localization.
hsm.params.currency	object	Can be present only if dateTime object is not present. An object of the form {"currencyCode": "required string of ISO 4217 currency code", "amount": "required integer of total amount together with cents as a float, multiplied by 1000"}
hsm.params.dateTime	string	Can be present only if currency object is not present. RFC3339 representation of the date and time.

Get Message

Retrieves a message with provided id.

Parameters

On the path:

Parameter	Type	Description
id	string	The unique ID that identifies the message.

Definition

GET https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/messages/{id}

Example Request

$ curl -X "GET" "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/messages/5f3437fdb8444583aea093a047ac014b" \
-H "Authorization: AccessKey gshuPaZoeEG6ovbc8M79w0QyM"

Response

A Message object as described in the code snippet on your left.

Example Response

{
  "id": "5f3437fdb8444583aea093a047ac014b",
  "conversationId": "2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb",
  "channelId": "853eeb5348e541a595da93b48c61a1ae",
  "status": "delivered",
  "direction": "sent",
  "to":"+31612345678",
  "from":"+31687654321",
  "type": "text",
  "content": {
  "text": "This is a test SMS message"
  },
  "createdDatetime": "2018-08-28T15:52:41Z",
  "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-28T15:52:58Z"
}

Message errors

When a message cannot be sent, the status will change to “rejected” or “failed”, and any additional details available will be provided via an error object attached to the message that indicates the code and a description of the error. Platform-specific error codes for common delivery errors are listed below.

Message Errors

{
  "id": "5f3437fdb8444583aea093a047ac014b",
  "conversationId": "2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb",
  "channelId": "853eeb5348e541a595da93b48c61a1ae",
  "type": "text",
  "content": {
  "text": "This is a test WhatsApp message"
  },
  "direction": "sent",
  "status": "failed",
  "error": {
  "code": 302,
  "description": "The contact is not registered on WhatsApp."
  }
  "createdDatetime": "2018-08-28T15:52:41Z",
  "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-28T15:52:58Z"
}

WhatsApp errors

Code	Message
301	The message failed to send. Please check your message is valid, including any media, and/or try again later.
302	The contact is not registered on WhatsApp.
470	Failed to send message because you are outside the support window for freeform messages to this user. Please use a valid message template.

Webhooks

Webhooks enable real-time notifications of conversation events to be delivered to endpoints on your own server. A webhook can be configured with a URL and a list of events that should be subscribed to for notifications. It's possible to create multiple webhooks with different URLs to listen to one or more events each.

URI

https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/webhooks

Available HTTP Methods

POST /webhooks
GET /webhooks
DELETE /webhooks/{id}

The Webhook Object

Attribute	Type	Description
id	string	The unique ID generated by the MessageBird platform that identifies this webhook.
events	array	A list of event name strings from the list of available events that trigger this webhook.
channelId	string	The unique identifier for a MessageBird channel that this webhook will subcribe to events for.
url	string	The endpoint URL on your server that requests are sent to.
status	string	The status of the webhook. Either "enabled" or "disabled".
createdDatetime	datetime	The date and time when this webhook was first created.
updatedDatetime	datetime	The date and time when this webhook was updated (in RFC3339 format).

The following events are available:

Name	Description
conversation.created	A new conversation has been created.
conversation.updated	A conversation has been updated with a new status.
message.created	A new message has been created. Triggered for both sent and received messages.
message.updated	A message has been updated with a new status.

Create Webhook

Creates a new webhook.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
events	array	A list of event name strings from the list of available events that should trigger this webhook.
channelId	string	The unique identifier for a MessageBird channel that this webhook will subcribe to events for.
url	string	The endpoint URL that requests should be sent to.

Definition

POST https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/webhooks

Example request

$ curl -X "POST" "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/webhooks/" \
-H "Authorization: AccessKey gshuPaZoeEG6ovbc8M79w0QyM" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{"events":["message.created", "message.updated"],"channelId": "853eeb5348e541a595da93b48c61a1ae","url":"https://example.com/webhook"}'

Response

A Webhook object as described in the code snippet on your left.

Example request

{
  "id": "985ae50937a94c64b392531ea87a0263",
  "url": "https://example.com/webhook",
  "channelId": "853eeb5348e541a595da93b48c61a1ae",
  "events": [
  "message.created",
  "message.updated",
  ],
  "status": "enabled",
  "createdDatetime": "2018-08-29T10:04:23Z",
  "updatedDatetime": null
}

List Webhooks

Retrieves a list of webhooks.

Definition

GET https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/webhooks

Example request

$ curl -X "GET" "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/webhooks/" \
-H "Authorization: AccessKey gshuPaZoeEG6ovbc8M79w0QyM"

Response

Attribute	Type	Description
count	integer	Number of webhooks returned.
items	array	An array of webhook objects.
limit	integer	The number of maximum objects returned on each request.
offset	integer	The number of objects skipped.
totalCount	integer	The number of total webhook objects that can be retrieved through pagination.

Example response

{
  "offset": 0,
  "limit": 100,
  "count": 10,
  "totalCount": 10,
  "items": [
  {
    "id": "985ae50937a94c64b392531ea87a0263",
    "url": "https://example.com/webhook",
    "channelId": "853eeb5348e541a595da93b48c61a1ae",
    "events": [
    "message.created",
    "message.updated",
    ],
    "status": "enabled",
    "createdDatetime": "2018-08-29T10:04:23Z",
    "updatedDatetime": null
  },
  // ... remaining webhooks omitted
  ]
}

Get Webhook

Retrieves an existing webhook by id.

Definition

GET https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/webhooks/{id}

Example request

$ curl -X "GET" "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/webhooks/985ae50937a94c64b392531ea87a0263" \ -H "Authorization: AccessKey gshuPaZoeEG6ovbc8M79w0QyM"

Response

A Webhook object as described in the code snippet on your left.

Example response

{
  "id": "985ae50937a94c64b392531ea87a0263",
  "url": "https://example.com/webhook",
  "channelId": "853eeb5348e541a595da93b48c61a1ae",
  "events": [
  "message.created",
  "message.updated",
  ],
  "status": "enabled",
  "createdDatetime": "2018-08-29T10:04:23Z",
  "updatedDatetime": null
}

Update Webhook

Updates a webhook with the supplied parameters. Only parameters that will change need to be provided in the request.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
events	array	A list of event name strings from the list of available events that should trigger this webhook.
url	string	The endpoint URL that requests should be sent to.
status	string	Status of the webhook. Can be set to "enabled" or "disabled"

Definition

PATCH https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/webhooks/{id}

Example request

$ curl -X "PATCH" "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/webhooks/985ae50937a94c64b392531ea87a0263" \
-H "Authorization: AccessKey gshuPaZoeEG6ovbc8M79w0QyM" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{"status": "disabled"}'

Response

A Webhook object as described in the code snippet on your left.

Example response

{
  "id": "985ae50937a94c64b392531ea87a0263",
  "url": "https://example.com/webhook",
  "channelId": "853eeb5348e541a595da93b48c61a1ae",
  "events": [
  "message.created",
  "message.updated",
  ],
  "status": "disabled",
  "createdDatetime": "2018-08-29T10:04:23Z",
  "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-29T10:10:23Z"
}

Delete Webhook

Disables and removes an existing webhook so that it is no longer triggered.

Definition

DELETE https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/webhooks/{id}

Example request

$ curl -X "DELETE" "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/webhooks/985ae50937a94c64b392531ea87a0263" \
-H "Authorization: AccessKey gshuPaZoeEG6ovbc8M79w0QyM"

Example response

204 No Content

Handle Webhooks

HTTP requests will be made to your platform to the URL provided with your webhook whenever one of the events you have subscribed to is triggered within the Conversations API. Each event has a specific payload which is delivered to you as a POST request.

Example JSON bodies are provided below:.

conversation.created event

{
  "type": "conversation.created",
  "contact": {
    "id": "9354647c5b144a2b4c99f2n42497249",
    "href": "https://rest.messagebird.com/1/contacts/9354647c5b144a2b4c99f2n42497249",
    "msisdn": 316123456789,
    "firstName": "Jen",
    "lastName": "Smith",
    "customDetails": {
      "custom1": null,
      "custom2": null,
      "custom3": null,
      "custom4": null
    },
    "createdDatetime": "2018-06-03T20:06:03Z",
    "updatedDatetime": null
  },
  "conversation": {
    "id": "2f719ebc5b144a18b75f44n12188288",
    "contactId": "9354647c5b144a2b4c99f2n42497249",
    "status": "active",
    "createdDatetime": "2018-03-28T13:28:00Z",
    "updatedDatetime": null,
    "lastReceivedDatetime": null
  }
}

conversation.updated event

{
  "type": "conversation.updated",
  "contact": {
    "id": "9354647c5b144a2b4c99f2n42497249",
    "href": "https://rest.messagebird.com/1/contacts/9354647c5b144a2b4c99f2n42497249",
    "msisdn": 316123456789,
    "firstName": "Jen",
    "lastName": "Smith",
    "customDetails": {
      "custom1": null,
      "custom2": null,
      "custom3": null,
      "custom4": null
    },
    "createdDatetime": "2018-06-03T20:06:03Z",
    "updatedDatetime": null
  },
  "conversation": {
    "id": "2f719ebc5b144a18b75f44n12188288",
    "contactId": "9354647c5b144a2b4c99f2n42497249",
    "status": "archived",
    "createdDatetime": "2018-03-28T13:28:00Z",
    "updatedDatetime": "2018-03-28T13:28:00Z",
    "lastReceivedDatetime": "2018-03-28T13:28:00Z",
    "lastUsedChannelId": "95e223e381364b00b1b21e52bbc6285e"
  }
}

message.created event

{
  "type": "message.created",
  "contact": {
    "id": "9354647c5b144a2b4c99f2n42497249",
    "href": "https://rest.messagebird.com/1/contacts/9354647c5b144a2b4c99f2n42497249",
    "msisdn": 316123456789,
    "firstName": "Jen",
    "lastName": "Smith",
    "customDetails": {
      "custom1": null,
      "custom2": null,
      "custom3": null,
      "custom4": null
    },
    "createdDatetime": "2018-06-03T20:06:03Z",
    "updatedDatetime": null
  },
  "conversation": {
    "id": "2f719ebc5b144a18b75f44n12188288",
    "contactId": "9354647c5b144a2b4c99f2n42497249",
    "status": "active",
    "createdDatetime": "2018-03-28T13:28:00Z",
    "updatedDatetime": "2018-03-28T13:28:00Z",
    "lastReceivedDatetime": "2018-03-28T13:28:00Z",
    "lastUsedChannelId": "95e223e381364b00b1b21e52bbc6285e"
  },
  "message": {
    "id": "8909570c5b71a40bb957f1n63383684",
    "conversationId": "2f719ebc5b144a18b75f44n12188288",
    "channelId": "2f719ebc5b144a18b75f44n12188288",
    "status": "delivered",
    "type": "text",
    "direction": "sent",
    "content": {
      "text": "hello"
    },
    "createdDatetime": "2018-08-13T15:30:19Z",
    "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-13T15:30:20Z"
  }
}

message.updated event

{
  "type": "message.updated",
  "contact": {
    "id": "9354647c5b144a2b4c99f2n42497249",
    "href": "https://rest.messagebird.com/1/contacts/9354647c5b144a2b4c99f2n42497249",
    "msisdn": 316123456789,
    "firstName": "Jen",
    "lastName": "Smith",
    "customDetails": {
      "custom1": null,
      "custom2": null,
      "custom3": null,
      "custom4": null
    },
    "createdDatetime": "2018-06-03T20:06:03Z",
    "updatedDatetime": null
  },
  "conversation": {
    "id": "2f719ebc5b144a18b75f44n12188288",
    "contactId": "9354647c5b144a2b4c99f2n42497249",
    "status": "active",
    "createdDatetime": "2018-03-28T13:28:00Z",
    "updatedDatetime": "2018-03-28T13:28:00Z",
    "lastReceivedDatetime": "2018-03-28T13:28:00Z",
    "lastUsedChannelId": "95e223e381364b00b1b21e52bbc6285e"
  },
  "message": {
    "id": "8909570c5b71a40bb957f1n63383684",
    "conversationId": "2f719ebc5b144a18b75f44n12188288",
    "channelId": "2f719ebc5b144a18b75f44n12188288",
    "status": "failed",
    "type": "text",
    "direction": "sent",
    "content": {
      "text": "hello"
    },
    "createdDatetime": "2018-08-13T15:30:19Z",
    "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-13T15:31:20Z"
    },
    "error": {
    "code": 470,
    "description": "Failed to send message because you are outside the support window for freeform messages to this user. Please use a valid message template."
  }
}

Response

Your platform should reply with a 200 OK response if it has handled the webhook. If any other response is sent by your platform, MessageBird will attempt to redeliver each specific webhook up to 10 times over a 24-hour period.

If your webhook returns a non-200 response a total of 200 times or more within a 12 hour period, it will be automatically disabled and must be re-enabled manually via the Update method. Any successful response from your webhook will reset this count.

Response

200 OK

Template Messages for WhatsApp

A HSM is a pre-approved, reusable message template required when messaging over WhatsApp. It allows you to just send the required parameter values instead of the full message. It also allows for localization of the message and decreases the possibility of being blocked on the first contact as the message is pre-approved by WhatsApp.

How to Send an HSM Message

HSM message content can be provided anywhere where other message content is allowed, via POST /conversations/start or POST /conversations/{id}/messages

Go to our Help Center for steps on how to submit your HSMs for pre-approval by WhatsApp.

Example request

Hi {{1}}, your order has been shipped and should arrive {{2}}

$ curl -X "POST" "https://conversations.messagebird.com/v1/conversations/2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb/messages" \
-H "Authorization: AccessKey gshuPaZoeEG6ovbc8M79w0QyM" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{
  "type": "hsm",
  "content":{
  "hsm": {
    "namespace": "5ba2d0b7_f2c6_433b_a66e_57b009ceb6ff",
    "templateName": "order_update",
    "language": {
    "policy": "deterministic",
    "code": "en"
    },
    "params": [
    {"default": "Bob"},
    {"default": "tomorrow!"}
    ]
  }
  }'

Response

{
  "id": "2ec3d1e8725f41b1933906426738e6a5",
  "conversationId": "2e15efafec384e1c82e9842075e87beb",
  "channelId": "aa4c8e7cee664341a22ef9bfd9f52477",
  "status": "pending",
  "type": "hsm",
  "direction": "sent",
  "content": {
  "hsm": {
    "namespace": "5ba2d0b7_f2c6_433b_a66e_57b009ceb6ff",
    "templateName": "order_update",
    "language": {
      "policy": "deterministic",
      "code": "en"
    },
    "params": [
      { "default": "Bob" },
      { "default": "tomorrow!" }
    ]
  }
  },
  "createdDatetime": "2018-08-29T13:53:44.642664784Z",
  "updatedDatetime": "2018-08-29T13:53:44.673850825Z"
}

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