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Get Message

wa_get_message
Read-only

Fetch ONE stored message from one of your accounts, by WhatsApp's message_id (as a webhook delivery or wa_list_messages gave it) or by its cursor. Use this to read the message a webhook told you about, or the one you are about to react to, edit or delete, without paging through history.

Input Schema

NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
cursorNothe message's cursor, as wa_list_messages returned it (a webhook delivery carries it as message_seq). Pass this or message_id
account_idNothe account the message belongs to, from wa_list_accounts; omit it when the workspace has only one account
message_idNoWhatsApp's id for the message — the message_id a webhook delivery, wa_list_messages or wa_send_message gave you. Pass this or cursor
include_media_urlsNoalso return attachment.media_url when the message carries an available attachment — a time-limited (1h) signed URL to GET the bytes with plain HTTP instead of a wa_get_media call; off by default

Output Schema

NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
messageNothe message; absent when the request was declined
refusalNopresent only when the request was declined — including when no such message is stored
account_noticesNopresent when a number this read covers is not working: new messages are not arriving on it; says why and what to do

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

  1. Changed1 schema field changed
    • addedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / sent_by
      Added value: +{
      +  "additionalProperties": false,
      +  "description": "present on an outbound message an AI agent or an app sent through WhatsMCP: who asked for the send",
      +  "properties": {
      +    "id": {
      +      "description": "the agent's, the API key's or the OAuth app's id",
      +      "type": "string"
      +    },
      +    "kind": {
      +      "description": "agent (a hosted AI agent), api_key (an app on one of your API keys) or oauth_app (an app you connected over OAuth, such as Claude)",
      +      "type": "string"
      +    },
      +    "name": {
      +      "description": "its name as it was when the message was sent",
      +      "type": "string"
      +    },
      +    "version": {
      +      "description": "an agent only: the number of the agent's version that wrote it",
      +      "type": "integer"
      +    },
      +    "via": {
      +      "description": "an app only: mcp or rest, the API it sent through",
      +      "type": "string"
      +    }
      +  },
      +  "required": [
      +    "kind",
      +    "id"
      +  ],
      +  "type": [
      +    "null",
      +    "object"
      +  ]
      +}
  2. Changed2 schema fields changed
    • changedOutput schema / properties / account_notices / items / properties / status / description
      Previous value: -"why it is not live: starting, not_running, whatsapp_down, suspended, pairing, unlinked or locked"New value: +"why it is not live: starting, not_running, whatsapp_down (telegram_down for a Telegram account), suspended, pairing, unlinked or locked"
    • changedOutput schema / properties / refusal / properties / account_status / description
      Previous value: -"when the number is not working: its status — starting, not_running, whatsapp_down, suspended, pairing, unlinked or locked"New value: +"when the number is not working: its status — starting, not_running, whatsapp_down (telegram_down for a Telegram account), suspended, pairing, unlinked or locked"
  3. Changed1 schema field changed
    • changedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / chat_kind / description
      Previous value: -"dm, group, channel or broadcast"New value: +"dm, group, channel or broadcast; a Telegram supergroup reads as channel"
  4. Changed5 schema fields changed
    • changedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / kind / description
      Previous value: -"what the message is: text, image, video, audio, document, sticker, reaction, location, live_location, contact, poll, poll_vote, video_note, album, event, comment, pin, group_invite, template or call_permission; other is a type this server does not classify. text carries a body, and so do image/video/document captions, template text and a call_permission request or answer; an image, video, audio, document or sticker attachment can be fetched with wa_get_media"New value: +"what the message is: text, image, video, audio, document, sticker, reaction, location, live_location, contact, poll, poll_vote, video_note, album, event, comment, pin, group_invite, template or call_permission; other is a type this server does not classify. text carries a body, and so do image/video/document captions, template text and a call_permission request or answer; an image, video, audio, document or sticker attachment can be fetched with wa_get_media; a reaction carries its emoji as text and names its target message in reacted_to_message_id, while a reply carries quoted_message_id for the message it quotes"
    • addedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / quoted_message_id
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "present on a reply: the message_id of the message this one quotes; pass it to wa_get_message to read what was quoted",
      +  "type": "string"
      +}
    • addedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / quoted_sender
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "who wrote the quoted message: a phone number when known, otherwise a JID",
      +  "type": "string"
      +}
    • addedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / reacted_to_message_id
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "present on a kind=reaction message: the message_id this reaction is about; the emoji itself is in text",
      +  "type": "string"
      +}
    • changedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / text / description
      Previous value: -"the message body"New value: +"the message body; for a kind=reaction message this is the emoji"
  5. Changed6 schema fields changed
    • changedInput schema / properties / account_id / description
      Previous value: -"the account the message belongs to, from wa_list_accounts"New value: +"the account the message belongs to, from wa_list_accounts; omit it when the workspace has only one account"
    • addedInput schema / properties / include_media_urls
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "also return attachment.media_url when the message carries an available attachment — a time-limited (1h) signed URL to GET the bytes with plain HTTP instead of a wa_get_media call; off by default",
      +  "type": "boolean"
      +}
    • removedInput schema / required
      Removed value: -[
      -  "account_id"
      -]
    • changedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / attachment / description
      Previous value: -"present on an image, video, audio, document or sticker message: the file's mime type, size and name; fetch the bytes with wa_get_media"New value: +"present on an image, video, audio, document or sticker message: the file's mime type, size and name; fetch the bytes with wa_get_media, or pass include_media_urls on the read to get a direct media_url"
    • addedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / attachment / properties / media_url
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "a time-limited (1h) signed URL to GET the attachment's bytes, present only when the read passed include_media_urls and the attachment is available; an expired link is refused — read again for a fresh one",
      +  "type": "string"
      +}
    • addedOutput schema / properties / refusal / properties / candidates
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "on an account_ambiguous refusal: the accounts to choose from — retry with one of these as account_id",
      +  "items": {
      +    "additionalProperties": false,
      +    "properties": {
      +      "account_id": {
      +        "description": "the id to retry with as account_id",
      +        "type": "string"
      +      },
      +      "name": {
      +        "description": "the account's WhatsApp display name",
      +        "type": "string"
      +      },
      +      "phone": {
      +        "description": "the account's phone number, E.164",
      +        "type": "string"
      +      },
      +      "status": {
      +        "description": "whether the number works right now — live, connecting, or why not, as wa_list_accounts reports it",
      +        "type": "string"
      +      }
      +    },
      +    "required": [
      +      "account_id"
      +    ],
      +    "type": "object"
      +  },
      +  "type": [
      +    "null",
      +    "array"
      +  ]
      +}
  6. Changed2 schema fields changed
    • changedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / chat / description
      Previous value: -"the conversation JID; pass it to wa_send_message's 'to' to reply here — a group is …@g.us, a channel …@newsletter"New value: +"the conversation JID; pass it to wa_send_message's 'to' to reply here — a group is …@g.us, a channel …@newsletter; on a Telegram account a Telegram id: <id>@telegram for a user, -<id>@telegram for a basic group, -100<id>@telegram for a channel or supergroup"
    • changedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / peer / description
      Previous value: -"the other party's phone number (for a group/channel this is the individual SENDER; use chat to reply)"New value: +"the other party's phone number (for a group/channel this is the individual SENDER; use chat to reply); on a Telegram account the other party's Telegram id, <id>@telegram"
  7. Changed1 schema field changed
    • changedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / kind / description
      Previous value: -"what the message is: text, image, video, audio, document, sticker, reaction, location, live_location, contact, poll, poll_vote, video_note, album, event, comment, pin, group_invite or template; other is a type this server does not classify. text carries a body, and so do image/video/document captions and template text; an image, video, audio, document or sticker attachment can be fetched with wa_get_media"New value: +"what the message is: text, image, video, audio, document, sticker, reaction, location, live_location, contact, poll, poll_vote, video_note, album, event, comment, pin, group_invite, template or call_permission; other is a type this server does not classify. text carries a body, and so do image/video/document captions, template text and a call_permission request or answer; an image, video, audio, document or sticker attachment can be fetched with wa_get_media"
  8. Changed4 schema fields changed
    • addedOutput schema / properties / account_notices
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "present when a number this read covers is not working: new messages are not arriving on it; says why and what to do",
      +  "items": {
      +    "additionalProperties": false,
      +    "properties": {
      +      "account_id": {
      +        "description": "the account this notice is about",
      +        "type": "string"
      +      },
      +      "message": {
      +        "description": "what is wrong and what to do; tell the user",
      +        "type": "string"
      +      },
      +      "since": {
      +        "description": "when it stopped working, RFC3339, when known",
      +        "type": "string"
      +      },
      +      "status": {
      +        "description": "why it is not live: starting, not_running, whatsapp_down, suspended, pairing, unlinked or locked",
      +        "type": "string"
      +      },
      +      "status_reason": {
      +        "description": "the detail, e.g. no_egress, no_plan, stopped",
      +        "type": "string"
      +      }
      +    },
      +    "required": [
      +      "account_id",
      +      "status",
      +      "message"
      +    ],
      +    "type": "object"
      +  },
      +  "type": [
      +    "null",
      +    "array"
      +  ]
      +}
    • addedOutput schema / properties / refusal / properties / account_status
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "when the number is not working: its status — starting, not_running, whatsapp_down, suspended, pairing, unlinked or locked",
      +  "type": "string"
      +}
    • addedOutput schema / properties / refusal / properties / account_status_reason
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "the detail of account_status, e.g. no_egress, stopped, no_plan",
      +  "type": "string"
      +}
    • addedOutput schema / properties / refusal / properties / since
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "when the number stopped working, RFC3339, when known",
      +  "type": "string"
      +}
  9. Changed2 schema fields changed
    • addedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / account_name
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "the WhatsApp display name of that account",
      +  "type": "string"
      +}
    • addedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / account_phone
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "the phone number of your account this message was sent from or received on, E.164",
      +  "type": "string"
      +}
  10. Changed3 schema fields changed
    • addedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / attachment
      Added value: +{
      +  "additionalProperties": false,
      +  "description": "present on an image, video, audio, document or sticker message: the file's mime type, size and name; fetch the bytes with wa_get_media",
      +  "properties": {
      +    "available": {
      +      "description": "true when the file should be fetchable with wa_get_media(account_id, message_id) — a live received attachment; false for history and for files you sent, which are not kept",
      +      "type": "boolean"
      +    },
      +    "file_name": {
      +      "description": "documents only: the file name the sender gave it",
      +      "type": "string"
      +    },
      +    "mime": {
      +      "description": "the attachment's mime type as the sender declared it, e.g. image/jpeg or application/pdf; empty for a message stored before this was recorded",
      +      "type": "string"
      +    },
      +    "size": {
      +      "description": "the attachment's size in bytes as the sender declared it; 0 when unknown",
      +      "type": "integer"
      +    }
      +  },
      +  "required": [
      +    "available"
      +  ],
      +  "type": [
      +    "null",
      +    "object"
      +  ]
      +}
    • addedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / received_at
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "when this server received and stored the message, RFC3339; later than at for a message delivered late or loaded as history",
      +  "type": "string"
      +}
    • addedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / sender_name
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "who wrote the message, by name: for inbound the sender's name as saved in this account's contacts, or else the name they chose for themselves; for outbound this account's own WhatsApp name. Empty when no name is known",
      +  "type": "string"
      +}
  11. Changed1 schema field changed
    • addedOutput schema / properties / message / properties / status
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "delivery status of an outbound message from the provider's receipts: sent, delivered, read or failed; empty when no receipt has arrived (or for inbound). Only Business (Cloud API) numbers report this today",
      +  "type": "string"
      +}
  12. First observed

TDQS

A4.5/5.0
Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already declare readOnlyHint=true and idempotentHint=false, so the safety profile is covered. The description adds useful framing: single-record retrieval rather than a scan, and the webhook-as-source workflow that motivates the call. It stops short of saying what happens if neither key is supplied or if the message is missing, which is the remaining behavioral gap.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

A single front-loaded sentence with the key constraint ('ONE', the two lookup keys) first, followed by a use case. No restatement of the name or title and no filler.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

With a full output schema, 100% schema coverage, and read-only annotations, an agent has everything needed to invoke this correctly. The description supplies the workflow context the structured fields cannot, and nothing material is missing.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%, including the 'pass this or message_id/cursor' exclusivity and the one-hour media URL lifetime, so the schema does the heavy lifting. The description repeats the message_id provenance (webhook delivery or wa_list_messages) rather than adding new meaning, so baseline 3 applies.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description opens with a specific verb and resource ('Fetch ONE stored message') and pins down the two lookup keys (message_id or cursor). It explicitly contrasts itself with paging through history, i.e. wa_list_messages, so an agent can route correctly without opening either schema.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

It names concrete trigger scenarios — reading the message a webhook reported, or the one about to be reacted to, edited, or deleted — and states the negative case (no paging through history). That is explicit when-to-use guidance with an implied alternative (wa_list_messages) for the bulk case.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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