WhatsApp Business Cloud API setup, direct with Meta

Steps

1. Create (or use) a Meta business portfolio at business.facebook.com. Business verification is needed for higher messaging limits and is recommended from the start.
2. At developers.facebook.com open My Apps, Create app, and choose the use case Connect with customers through WhatsApp (app type Business on older screens). Link it to your business portfolio.
3. Under WhatsApp, API Setup, add your business phone number and verify it with the code Meta sends by SMS or voice call. The number must be able to receive that code, and it should not be in use on the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business phone app unless your provider supports Meta's coexistence option.
4. Set the display name for the number. Meta reviews it against your business name.
5. In WhatsApp Manager add a payment method, so Meta can bill template messages.
6. In Business settings create a system user with admin access, assign it your app and your WhatsApp account, and generate a permanent access token with the whatsapp_business_messaging and whatsapp_business_management permissions. Copy it now: Meta shows it once.
7. In Ultra WhatsApp open Numbers, click Connect a number, choose I already have my details, keep Meta Cloud API selected, and paste the WhatsApp Business Account ID, the phone number ID and the token. Click Test connection, then Save & verify. The window shows these same steps, with buttons that open each Meta page.
8. For delivery statuses and replies, open Settings, Webhook & replies, click Start receiver, and give it a public HTTPS address with a tunnel (for example cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:8089). In the Meta app's WhatsApp, Configuration, enter the callback URL the app shows (ending in /webhook) and the verify token, subscribe to the messages field, and paste your App Secret into the app.
9. On Templates click Sync all, then send a test template to your own WhatsApp number with Tools, Quick single send.

Good to know

• The temporary token on the API Setup page expires after about a day. Use a system-user token for real sending.
• Meta starts new numbers on a low messaging limit (unique people you can start conversations with in 24 hours) and raises it as you send good-quality messages. Ultra WhatsApp reads your current limit and paces campaigns under it.

Why connect directly to Meta

There is no middleman fee: Meta bills template messages to the payment method in your WhatsApp Manager and nobody adds a margin. The trade-off is that you handle the setup steps yourself, including the permanent token and the webhook. Delivery statuses and replies only reach Ultra WhatsApp once the webhook has a public HTTPS address.

Dashboards change their menus from time to time; if a label differs, look for the API keys or developer section. Stuck? See the Ultra WhatsApp troubleshooting table, the Ultra WhatsApp user guide, or contact us.