Choose Your Provider

Zaileys speaks WhatsApp through two interchangeable providers. You write your bot against one API — the same Client, the same send(jid)… builder, the same typed events — and choose the engine underneath with a single provider option.

The 30-second decision

Switching is one option

Everything else in your code stays the same.

const client = new Client()
// or explicitly:
const client = new Client({ provider: 'baileys' })

const client = new Client({
  provider: 'cloud',
  cloud: {
    accessToken: process.env.WA_TOKEN!,
    phoneNumberId: process.env.WA_PHONE_ID!,
    verifyToken: process.env.WA_VERIFY!,   // for the webhook GET challenge
    appSecret: process.env.WA_APP_SECRET!, // for webhook signature verification
  },
})

provider defaults to 'baileys', so existing code keeps working untouched.

Full feature comparison

Legend — ✅ supported · ❌ not available · ⚠️ conditional.

Messaging

Business & campaigns

Social graph

Shared across both

Commands & middleware, plugins, broadcast(), scheduleAt(), the message store, downloadMedia(), all storage adapters, and the entire typed event system work identically on both providers.

The 24-hour window (official only)

The Cloud API enforces Meta’s customer-service window:

• A user messages you → a 24-hour window opens → you can send anything freely.
• Outside the window, or to someone who never texted you → only approved templates.

This is a Meta rule, not a Zaileys limit. Plain sends outside the window return error 131047. See Official Cloud API → The 24-hour window for the full flow.

Terms of service

Migrating between providers

Because the builder and events are shared, migration is mostly configuration:

1. Swap construction — add provider: 'cloud' and the cloud credentials.
2. Add a webhook — the official provider is push-based; expose client.webhook() on a public URL. See Official Cloud API → Webhook.
3. Replace social-graph calls — client.group.*, client.newsletter.*, etc. don’t exist on cloud; guard them or gate that feature behind client.provider === 'baileys'.
4. Gate first contact behind templates — cold outreach must use sendTemplate().

if (client.provider === 'baileys') {
  await client.group.create('Team', [jid])
} else {
  await client.sendTemplate(to, 'welcome', 'en_US')
}

Next steps