# rmyndharis/OpenWA

Free, Open Source, Self-Hosted WhatsApp API Gateway

Repository: https://github.com/rmyndharis/OpenWA
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/openwa
Homepage: https://www.open-wa.org
Language: TypeScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: api, gateway, whatsapp, self-hosted, whatsapp-api, whatsapp-gateway, whatsapp-gateway-api, bot, whatsapp-automation, whatsapp-bot, whatsapp-web, whatsapp-web-api
Last push: 2026-08-24T12:25:02+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 78/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:39:23.370411+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 87, longevity 15
- inputs: {"age_days": 212, "days_push": 9, "days_rel": 9, "gap_med": 0.0, "n_releases_24m": 113}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 13227, forks 3079 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:02.590953+00:00)

## What it is
OpenWA is a free, MIT-licensed, self-hosted WhatsApp API Gateway that wraps WhatsApp connections in a REST API with webhooks, a React dashboard, and multi-session support. It is built on a pluggable architecture (SQLite/PostgreSQL, local/S3 storage, Redis cache, whatsapp-web.js or baileys engine) and runs on Node.js with Docker support.

## Use cases
- send and receive WhatsApp messages from my application via HTTP API
- self-host a WhatsApp gateway without vendor lock-in
- run multiple WhatsApp sessions on one server
- get webhook notifications when WhatsApp messages arrive
- build a WhatsApp bot with auto-replies
- manage WhatsApp groups and contacts programmatically
- send bulk WhatsApp messages with delivery status
- replace a paid WhatsApp API provider with a free open-source one

## When to choose
- you want full control of your messaging data on your own infrastructure
- you need multi-session WhatsApp support without per-seat fees
- you want pluggable database, storage, and cache adapters via config
- you need signed webhooks, scoped API keys, and an admin dashboard out of the box

## When to avoid
- you need an officially supported WhatsApp Business API with Meta guarantees
- you cannot self-host or manage Docker/Node deployments
- your use case depends on features WhatsApp Web does not expose
- you require guaranteed uptime and SLAs from a vendor

## Facets
- artifact type: service
- maturity: active
- function: http-server, api-framework, webhook, chatbot, middleware, plugin-system
- domain: messaging-platforms, apis, self-hosted, backend
- platform: self-hosted, cross-platform
- tags: whatsapp-api, whatsapp-gateway, whatsapp-web, multi-session, nestjs, baileys, rest-api, signed-webhooks, api-keys, automation, nodejs, docker

## Member repositories
- rmyndharis/OpenWA (main) score 78

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:02.590953+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:13:25.492884+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/rmyndharis/OpenWA (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:02.590953+00:00, sha 4c2fe0db93f8)
  - homepage: https://www.open-wa.org (fetched 2026-08-29T08:09:01.437381+00:00, sha eabeb633a065)
  - site_page: https://docs.open-wa.org (fetched 2026-08-29T08:09:01.446969+00:00, sha 9bdd88399619)
  - site_page: https://docs.open-wa.org/plugins/overview (fetched 2026-08-29T08:09:01.449279+00:00, sha 7471ae6573b5)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.