Host a WhatsApp bot that stays online

A WhatsApp bot answers customers, club members or your family group, and someone will write to it at a time you didn't plan for. It has to be up when that happens. On blitz.cloud the bot comes from your GitHub repository, runs on servers in the EU, and every push builds a new version.

Can it run 24/7 for free?

No. A webhook bot on the free plan sleeps when nobody opens it in a browser, and WhatsApp's requests don't wake it. A bot running in the background stops a day or two after your last sign-in or deploy. Both are fine for building and testing, not for a bot people rely on.

To keep it online, make it a Pro app for 2 EUR a month or 15 EUR a year. With several bots or apps, Pro at 7 EUR a month covers all of them.

Which kind of WhatsApp bot do you have?

• The official WhatsApp Business Cloud API. Meta sends every incoming message to an HTTPS address of yours (the webhook), and your bot replies through Meta's Graph API. This is the route for a business number. The bot needs an address that answers at any hour.
• An unofficial library such as Baileys. The bot signs in like WhatsApp Web, with a QR code or a pairing code, and keeps a connection open. It needs no address and runs in the background. WhatsApp doesn't allow this kind of client, and numbers that use one can be banned, so use a number you can afford to lose.

Libraries that drive a real browser, such as whatsapp-web.js, start a whole Chrome next to your bot. They need much more memory than a bot that only holds a connection, so try them on the free plan before you pay.

A Cloud API bot, with an address

1. Sign up, click "Host something new", then "My own code", and pick the bot's repository.
2. Give the app a short name, like wa. It becomes wa.yourname.prod.page, with HTTPS already set up. The bot should listen on the port in PORT (8080).
3. Put your access token, phone number ID and verify token on the app's Environment tab. They are encrypted before they are stored.
4. Build it, then click "Make it a Pro app" on its page so it stays awake.
5. In the Meta developer dashboard, set the webhook URL to your app's address, for example https://wa.yourname.prod.page/webhook, with the same verify token. Meta checks it with a request your bot has to answer, so the app must be awake for this step.

On Pro, or as a Pro app, it can also live on a domain you own.

A Baileys bot, in the background

1. Pick the repository as above, and switch on "Runs in the background" when you name the app.
2. In the app's settings, add the folder where Baileys stores its sign-in, such as /app/auth, with "Keep this folder". Without it the bot has to be paired again after every restart.
3. Build it. Have your code print a pairing code, or the QR code, and read it from the Logs tab.
4. Click "Make it a Pro app" so it keeps running when you aren't signed in.

What each option gives you

Not what you needed? Ask within 30 days of your first payment and we refund the first month.

Questions

Can I host a WhatsApp bot for free?

You can build and test it for free. It won't stay online for free: webhook bots sleep and background bots stop a day or two after your last sign-in or deploy. Keeping one online costs 2 EUR a month as a Pro app.

Does blitz.cloud charge for WhatsApp messages?

No. We charge for hosting the bot. What Meta charges for Cloud API conversations is between you and Meta.

Where does it run?

On blitz.cloud's servers in the EU, run by BlitzWorks, a company in Germany. Once signed in, you can download the data processing agreement as a PDF.

Get your bot online

Sign up, pick the bot's repository and build it. When it answers, click "Make it a Pro app" and it stays online for 2 EUR a month.