Catalog messages

Updated: Jun 18, 2026

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Catalog messages let you showcase your product catalog entirely within WhatsApp.

Catalog messages display a product thumbnail header image of your choice, custom body text, a fixed text header, a fixed text sub-header, and a View catalog button.

Catalog message example showing View catalog button

When a customer taps the View catalog button, your product catalog appears within WhatsApp.

Product catalog displayed within WhatsApp

Requirements

You must have inventory uploaded to Meta in an ecommerce catalog connected to your WhatsApp Business account⁠.

Request syntax

Use the Messages API to send a catalog message.

POST /<WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_PHONE_NUMBER_ID>/messages

Post body

{
  "messaging_product": "whatsapp",
  "recipient_type": "individual",
  "to": "<TO>",
  "type": "interactive",
  "interactive" : {
    "type" : "catalog_message",
    "body" : {
      "text": "<BODY_TEXT>"
    },
    "action": {
      "name": "catalog_message",

      /* Parameters object is optional */
      "parameters": {
        "thumbnail_product_retailer_id": "<THUMBNAIL_PRODUCT_RETAILER_ID>"
      }
    },

    /* Footer object is optional */
    "footer": {
      "text": "<FOOTER_TEXT>"
  }
}

Properties

Placeholder	Description	Sample Value
`<BODY_TEXT>` String	Required. Text to appear in the message body. Maximum 1024 characters.	`Hello! Thanks for your interest. Ordering is easy. Just visit our catalog and add items to purchase.`
`<FOOTER_TEXT>` String	Optional. Text to appear in the message footer. Maximum 60 characters.	`Best grocery deals on WhatsApp!`
`<THUMBNAIL_PRODUCT_RETAILER_ID>` String	Optional. Item SKU number. Labeled as Content ID in the Commerce Manager. WhatsApp uses the thumbnail of this item as the message’s header image. If you omit the `parameters` object, WhatsApp uses the product image of the first item in your catalog.	`2lc20305pt`
`<TO>` String	Customer phone number.	`+16505551234`

Example request

curl 'https://graph.facebook.com/v17.0/106540352242922/messages' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer EAAJB...' \
-d '
{
  "messaging_product": "whatsapp",
  "recipient_type": "individual",
  "to": "+16505551234",
  "type": "interactive",
  "interactive": {
    "type": "catalog_message",
    "body": {
      "text": "Hello! Thanks for your interest. Ordering is easy. Just visit our catalog and add items to purchase."
    },
    "action": {
      "name": "catalog_message",
      "parameters": {
        "thumbnail_product_retailer_id": "2lc20305pt"
      }
    },
    "footer": {
      "text": "Best grocery deals on WhatsApp!"
    }
  }
}'

Example response

{
  "messaging_product": "whatsapp",
  "contacts": [
    {
      "input": "+16505551234",
      "wa_id": "16505551234"
    }
  ],
  "messages": [
    {
      "id": "wamid.HBgLMTY1MDM4Nzk0MzkVAgARGBI0ODVEREUwQzEzQkVBRjQ1RUUA"
    }
  ]
}