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Templates and the 24-hour window

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harishmita

harishmita

Last updated on Oct 20, 2026

The 24-hour window

WhatsApp lets you send any message for 24 hours after the customer's last message. After that, you can only send a template: a message Meta has approved in advance.

  • In Chatwoot, when the window has closed, the reply box shows: You can only reply using a template message due to 24-hour message window restriction

  • As soon as the customer replies, a new 24-hour window opens and you can type freely again.

  • To start a conversation with a customer who has not messaged you, you also need a template.

Plan & access

  • Every plan that includes WhatsApp (Startups and above, and the free trial). Works with WhatsApp Cloud API inboxes (Quick setup or manual) and Twilio inboxes. See Pricing & Plans.

  • Agents in the inbox can send templates. Administrators can sync templates and manage tokens.

Where templates come from

Templates are created and approved outside Chatwoot, then synced in.

Inbox type Create templates in Sync to Chatwoot
WhatsApp Cloud API WhatsApp Manager (Account tools › Message templates). Meta reviews them, usually within 24 hours. Automatically after some time, or right away with Sync Templates in the inbox's Configuration tab
Twilio Twilio Console (Content Template Builder), then submitted to WhatsApp for approval Manually only: an administrator clicks Sync Templates in the inbox's Configuration tab. Agents cannot sync templates.

Only approved templates of a supported type appear in Chatwoot.

Send a template in a conversation

  1. Open the conversation and click the template icon in the reply box.

  2. The Whatsapp Templates picker opens. Search for and pick a template.

  3. Fill in the variables, for example the customer's name or an order number. For media headers, paste a public URL to the image, video or document. If the template has a website link button with a variable, or a copy code (coupon) button, fill in the Button Parameters field too.

  4. Check the message, which updates as you fill in the variables, and click Send Message.

Test it: send a template to your own number first and check how it looks on the phone.

Start a new conversation with a template

Use this to message a customer who has not written to you yet.

  1. Open the new conversation form: click the pen icon at the top of the sidebar, click Message on the Contacts page, or click the New message icon in a conversation's contact panel.

  2. In To:, search for the contact by name, email or phone number.

  3. In Via:, choose your WhatsApp inbox. If you found the contact by searching, a WhatsApp inbox is listed only if the contact has a phone number. If you started from the contact's page or the contact panel, inboxes the contact has already messaged you on are listed too.

  4. WhatsApp inboxes have no free-text message box here. Click Select template, then search for and pick a template.

  5. Fill in the variables, media URL and button parameters the template needs, then click Send message.

  6. When The message was sent successfully! appears, click View to open the new conversation.

What a template is made of

Templates can include a header, body, footer and buttons:

  • Header: text, image, video or document

  • Body: your message, with variables such as the customer's name

  • Footer: one short line of text

  • Buttons: quick replies, website links, phone numbers and copy code

Website buttons with a variable

A website (URL) button can end in a variable, for example https://example.com/order/{{1}}. This lets each customer get their own link.

  • In a conversation (or a new conversation), Chatwoot shows a Button Parameters field for that button. Enter only the value that replaces the variable, such as 12345, not the full link. The button then opens https://example.com/order/12345.

  • In a WhatsApp campaign, the same value goes in the Buttons field (Enter parameter for button 1). You can use contact variables there, as in the body fields, so each recipient gets their own link.

  • A copy code button uses the same field for the coupon code (up to 15 characters).

Some WhatsApp template types cannot be used in Chatwoot: authentication (OTP) templates, list, product and catalog templates, carousel templates, location headers, call permission templates, and forms, payments and Flows.

Media in a template header

The file must be at a public link that WhatsApp (and Twilio, for Twilio inboxes) can reach, with no login. Limits for WhatsApp Cloud API inboxes (see Meta's supported media types):

Type Formats Maximum size
Image JPEG, PNG 5 MB
Video MP4, 3GPP (H.264 video, AAC audio) 16 MB
Document PDF 100 MB

Other document types, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and text files, can be sent as ordinary messages inside a conversation, but not in a template header.

Twilio inboxes follow Twilio's rules, which differ from the table above. Twilio accepts images in JPG, JPEG or PNG (up to 5 MB), video in MP4 (H.264 video, AAC audio), and documents in PDF, DOC, DOCX, PPTX or XLSX. A Twilio media template can be up to 16 MB, and each approved media template is fixed to one media type (image, video or document). A large PDF that sends from a Cloud API inbox can fail on a Twilio inbox. See Twilio's media in Content Templates and WhatsApp media messages.

Twilio content templates (built in the Twilio Console's Content Template Builder or with Twilio's Content API) support text (up to 100 variables), media, quick reply and call-to-action templates. They cannot be used in campaigns. List picker, catalog and carousel templates are not supported.

  • Twilio variables are numbered placeholders, {{1}}, {{2}}, {{3}}, used in order with no gaps. Twilio sends their values as content variables (ContentVariables in the Content API). In Chatwoot you fill in a value for each one when you send. The number of variables you fill in must match the template.

  • Check a template's approval status in the Twilio Console, not in WhatsApp Manager.

  • If sync fails, check that the inbox's Account SID and Auth Token (or API Key SID and API Key Secret) are still valid in Twilio, then sync again.

Good practice

  • Utility templates (order updates, reminders) are for transactional messages. Marketing templates are for promotions and follow Meta's sending rules.

  • Get opt-in first. Before you send any business-initiated (template) message, the customer must have agreed to hear from your business on WhatsApp. Honour every opt-out request and stop messaging that customer. See Meta's opt-in guidance and the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy.

  • Keep a small set of well-named templates your team knows how to use.

  • Meta watches message quality. Too many blocked or ignored messages can lower your messaging limit. See Messaging limit in Manage your WhatsApp number.

If templates do not sync (Quick setup inboxes)

Sometimes messages still work but templates will not sync. This happens when the connection made during Quick setup loses permission to read your WhatsApp Business Account. You can fix it by giving Chatwoot a Business Management token, used only for syncing templates.

Plan & access: Chatwoot Cloud, Quick setup inboxes only (including Coexistence). Manual setup inboxes use their own token, so check that token has whatsapp_business_management instead. You must be an admin in both Chatwoot and the Meta business portfolio, and you need a Meta app linked to that WhatsApp Business Account.

  1. In Meta Business Settings, go to Users › System users and select (or create) an admin system user. A dedicated one, such as Chatwoot template sync, is easiest to manage.

  2. Click Assign assets, choose WhatsApp accounts, pick the WhatsApp Business Account connected to Chatwoot, and grant full control. Assign only that account.

  3. Click Generate token, choose the Meta app linked to that WhatsApp account, and pick an expiry (60 days is more secure; Never needs less upkeep).

  4. Select only whatsapp_business_management and copy the token. Meta may show it only once.

    If you cannot select whatsapp_business_management, check that the app has WhatsApp set up, the system user has access to the app, the WhatsApp Business Account is assigned to the system user, and your business meets Meta's requirements.

  5. In Chatwoot, go to Settings › Inboxes, open the inbox, go to the Configuration tab and find Add Business Management Token. Paste the token and click Add.

  6. Click Sync Templates.

Treat the token like a password. If you revoke it in Meta, replace it in Chatwoot or template sync will stop.

  • 60-day token: template sync stops when it expires. Generate a new token and replace the old one.

  • Never-expiring token: it can still stop working if the system user, app, permission or asset assignment changes.

  • To replace a token: once a token is saved, the field reads Replace Business Management Token. Paste the new token and click Replace.