Installation

There are two primary ways to get WBOT running: using the pre-built binaries for ease of use, or running the project directly from the source code for development or customization.

Method 1: Using Pre-built Binaries (Recommended)

Pre-built executables are available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. This is the simplest way to get started.

Download the latest release for your operating system from the GitHub Releases page.
Extract the ZIP file into a new folder on your computer.
For Linux users, you need to make the binary executable. Open a terminal, navigate to the extracted folder, and run:
```
chmod +x wbot-linux
```

Now you're ready to run the bot. Jump to the Quick Start guide to launch it for the first time.

Linux Platform Notes

On Linux, a running display server (X11 or Wayland) is required.
If you are running on a headless server, you can use Xvfb (X Virtual Framebuffer) to run Chromium without a visible display. Prepend the execution command with xvfb-run:
```
xvfb-run ./wbot-linux
```

Method 2: Running from Source Code

This method is recommended for developers or users who want to modify the code.

Prerequisites

Git
Node.js (v18 or higher is recommended, as specified in package.json)

Steps

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/vasani-arpit/WBOT.git

Navigate to the project directory:
```
cd WBOT
```
Install dependencies:
```
npm install
```
Run the bot:
```
npm start
```

Upon first run, the bot will download a compatible version of Chromium to automate WhatsApp Web. You can now proceed to the Quick Start guide for the initial configuration and QR code scan.

Linux System Dependencies

If you are running from source on a Linux machine, you may need to install additional dependencies for Puppeteer (the library that controls Chromium) to function correctly. The setup/setup.sh script in the repository provides a list of common packages needed.

# Update package lists
sudo apt update

# Install essential packages for Puppeteer/Chromium
sudo apt install -y libgbm-dev libasound2 libnss3-dev libpango-1.0-0 \
    libpangocairo-1.0-0 libatk1.0-0 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libcups2 \
    libxkbcommon-x11-0 libxdamage1

Running these commands should ensure that the browser instance can launch without issues.