Quick Start Guide

This guide will walk you through the essential first steps to get your WBOT instance running and responding to messages.

Step 1: Download and Extract

If you haven't already, download the latest release for your operating system from the Installation page and extract the ZIP file to a dedicated folder.

Step 2: First-Time Configuration

For the initial setup, you need to see the browser window to scan the WhatsApp QR code.

  1. Navigate to the folder where you extracted WBOT.
  2. Open the bot.json file in a text editor.
  3. Find the "headless" setting within the appconfig section.
  4. Change its value from true to false.
{
    "appconfig": {
        "headless": false, // Change this to false
        "isGroupReply": false,
        // ... other settings
    },
    // ... rest of the file
}

This will make the Chromium browser window visible when the bot starts.

Step 3: Run the Bot

Open your terminal or command prompt, navigate to the WBOT folder, and run the executable:

  • Windows: 

    .\wbot-win.exe

  • macOS: 

    ./wbot-macos

  • Linux: (Ensure you've made it executable as shown in the installation guide) 

    ./wbot-linux

The terminal will display some startup messages, followed by a large QR code.

A Chromium browser window will open, displaying the WhatsApp Web login screen with a QR code.

  1. Open WhatsApp on your phone.
  2. Go to Settings > Linked Devices > Link a Device.
  3. Scan the QR code displayed in the browser window.

Once the scan is successful, your WhatsApp session will be saved. The bot is now running and ready to respond to messages.

Step 5: Test Your Bot

The default bot.json configuration includes a simple rule to reply to the word hi.

  1. Using another WhatsApp account, send the message hi to the number linked to the bot.
  2. You should receive an automated reply like {hello|howdy} (which will resolve to either hello or howdy).

Congratulations! Your WBOT is now operational.

Next Steps

  • You can now close the bot (press Ctrl+C in the terminal) and set "headless" back to true in bot.json to run it without a visible browser window.
  • Explore the Configuration Reference to customize the bot's behavior.
  • Read the Usage Guide to learn about creating more advanced rules.