# Sending Media

🔒 WhatsApp 24-Hour Session Rule

> Before sending media, make sure the WhatsApp session with the user is **active**.
>
> **If the user has not messaged your business within the last 24 hours, WhatsApp requires the first message to be a *****template message***.
>
> After the customer replies, the 24-hour session opens and you may send media messages using this API.\
> **For sandbox testing**, send your join code to the sandbox number to activate your session.\
> [Learn more](https://app.gitbook.com/o/rJyj7TfON4zeW56KoQjM/s/2JHt6V4YwZLX6ZUdLqMy/~/changes/87/guides/joincodes)

<mark style="color:green;">`POST`</mark> <https://gateway.lipachat.com/api/v1/whatsapp/media>

This API enables users to send Images, Videos, or Audio.

**Headers**

| Name         | Value                                                                           |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Content-Type | `application/json`                                                              |
| apiKey       | Get apiKey from App portal settings tab <https://app.lipachat.com/app/settings> |

**Body**

| Name      | Type   | Description                                                                                                        |
| --------- | ------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| messageId | string | A unique identifier for the message. This will be used to track the message status and for deduplication purposes. |
| mediaType | string | Pass value as IMAGE, VIDEO, AUDIO, DOCUMENT or STICKER                                                             |
| mediaUrl  | string | URL of an image to be sent. Must be a valid URL starting with https\://...                                         |
| caption   | string | Media caption. Optional.                                                                                           |
| filename  | string | Optional, applies to Document.                                                                                     |
| from      | string | Sandbox number +254110090747 or your own WABA phone number.                                                        |
| to        | string | Receiver phone number. It should start with a country code.                                                        |

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Curl" %}

```sh
curl --location 'https://gateway.lipachat.com/api/v1/whatsapp/media' \
--header 'apiKey: YOUR_API_KEY' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{
    "messageId": "5d3f62c3-eb8f-4150-8941-bdceb0f429bb",
    "to": "254XXXXX",
    "from": "254110090747",
    "mediaType": "IMAGE",
    "mediaUrl": "https://picsum.photos/id/237/200/300",
    "caption": ""
}'
```

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Java" %}

```java
// Create an instance of OkHttpClient
OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient().newBuilder()
    .build();

// Define the media type for the request
MediaType mediaType = MediaType.parse("application/json");

// Create the request body with the necessary JSON payload using a text block
RequestBody body = RequestBody.create(mediaType, """
{
    "messageId": "5d3f62c3-eb8f-4150-8941-bdceb0f429bb",
    "to": "254XXXXX",
    "from": "254110090747",
    "mediaType": "IMAGE",
    "mediaUrl": "https://picsum.photos/id/237/200/300",
    "caption": ""
}
""");

// Build the request with the required headers
Request request = new Request.Builder()
    .url("https://gateway.lipachat.com/api/v1/whatsapp/media")
    .method("POST", body)
    .addHeader("apiKey", "YOUR_API_KEY")
    .addHeader("Content-Type", "application/json")
    .build();

// Execute the request and get the response
Response response = client.newCall(request).execute();

```

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Javascript" %}

```ruby
const axios = require('axios');
let data = JSON.stringify({
    "messageId": "5d3f62c3-eb8f-4150-8941-bdceb0f429bb",
    "to": "254XXXXX",
    "from": "254110090747",
    "mediaType": "IMAGE",
    "mediaUrl": "https://picsum.photos/id/237/200/300",
    "caption": ""
});

let config = {
  method: 'post',
  maxBodyLength: Infinity,
  url: 'https://gateway.lipachat.com/api/v1/whatsapp/media',
  headers: { 
    'apiKey': 'YOUR_API_KEY', 
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  data : data
};

axios.request(config)
.then((response) => {
  console.log(JSON.stringify(response.data));
})
.catch((error) => {
  console.log(error);
});

```

{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

<details>

<summary>Sample Requests</summary>

Send Image

```json
{
	"messageId": "{{$randomUUID}}",
	"to": "{{YOUR_PHONE_NUMBER}}",
	"from": "{{WA_PHONE_NUMBER}}",
	"mediaType": "IMAGE",
	"mediaUrl": "https://picsum.photos/id/237/200/300",
	"caption": "Test caption"
}
```

Send Video

```json
{
	"messageId": "{{$randomUUID}}",
	"to": "{{YOUR_PHONE_NUMBER}}",
	"from": "{{WA_PHONE_NUMBER}}",
	"mediaType": "VIDEO",
	"mediaUrl": "http://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/gtv-videos-bucket/sample/ForBiggerFun.mp4",
	"caption": "Test caption"
}
```

Send Audio

```json
{
	"messageId": "{{$randomUUID}}",
	"to": "{{YOUR_PHONE_NUMBER}}",
	"from": "{{WA_PHONE_NUMBER}}",
	"mediaType": "AUDIO",
	"mediaUrl": "https://www2.cs.uic.edu/~i101/SoundFiles/BabyElephantWalk60.wav",
	"caption": "Optional Caption"
}
```

Send Document

```json
{
    "messageId": "{{$randomUUID}}",
    "to": "{{YOUR_PHONE_NUMBER}}",
    "from": "{{YOUR_PHONE_NUMBER}}",
    "mediaType": "DOCUMENT",
    "mediaUrl": "https://media_url.pdf",
    "filename": "insurance_policy.pdf",
    "caption": "Please find attached"
}
```

</details>

**Response**

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="200" %}

```json
{
      "timestamp": "2023-08-06T01:27:56.825898971",
      "data": {
            "messageId": "7addc006-07db-4fae-aac5-b285903b41d4",
            "waId": "wamid.HBgMMjU0NzE3NzQ2NTY1FQIAEnRgSRjJGRkMzNkQ0QUVENTIxQ0NBAA==",
            "status": "SENT",
            "statusDesc": "Media sent successfully"
      },
      "status": "success",
      "message": "",
      "errors": null
}
```

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="400" %}

```json
{
      "timestamp": "2023-08-06T17:50:35.701+00:00",
      "status": 400,
      "error": "Bad Request",
      "path": "/api/v1/whatsapp/message/text"
}
```

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="401" %}

```json
{
      "timestamp": "2023-08-06T20:49:48.455464058",
      "data": null,
      "status": "success",
      "message": "Invalid credentials",
      "errors": null
}
```

{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.lipachat.com/api/sending-media.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.