Templates

A template is a message Meta has reviewed and approved in advance. It is the only thing you can send to someone who hasn’t messaged you recently, which makes it the starting point of every WhatsApp integration.

GEThttps://api.9bits.net/whatsapp/ng/v1/whatsapp/templates

curl https://api.9bits.net/whatsapp/ng/v1/whatsapp/templates \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NINEBITS_WA_KEY"

[
  {
    "name": "order_shipped",
    "language": "en",
    "category": "UTILITY",
    "status": "APPROVED",
    "header_type": "none",
    "body_text": "Hi {{1}}, your order {{2}} has shipped.",
    "variables_count": 2,
    "variable_names": [
      { "name": "Customer name", "example": "Jane" },
      { "name": "Order number", "example": "AB123" }
    ]
  }
]

A template is addressed by name and language

There is no template id to pass. A send names template_name + language, and both must match exactly.

`en` and `en_US` are different templates

This is the single most common cause of a mysterious template not found. A template approved as en_US cannot be sent as en, and nothing about the error tells you that language was the problem.

Copy the language value straight out of this endpoint rather than typing it.

Only APPROVED can be sent

status	What it means
APPROVED	Sendable.
PENDING	Submitted, awaiting Meta. Minutes for utility and authentication; longer for marketing, sometimes indefinitely.
REJECTED	Meta refused it. Fix the copy and submit a new one — a rejection is final for that version.

Approval is per sending number

Meta approves a template for one of your WhatsApp numbers, not for your account as a whole. If you have more than one number, the same template can be approved for one and pending for another, and a number can only send what was approved for it.

That is why a send can be refused with a template you can plainly see is APPROVED — it is approved, just not for the number the message went out from. Pass wa_account_id explicitly and the ambiguity disappears:

{
  "to": "2348020000000",
  "wa_account_id": 6,
  "message_type": "template",
  "template_name": "order_shipped",
  "language": "en",
  "params": ["Jane", "AB123"]
}

wa_account_id is the id from List senders.

variables_count is the number to match

params fills the template’s {{1}}, {{2}} … placeholders in array order, and the count must equal variables_count. Send a different number and the message is refused before you are billed.

Count placeholders, not distinct ones

variables_count is derived from the highest {{n}} in the body, not from how many placeholders appear. This body has three placeholders:

Hi {{1}}, we'll see you at {{2}}. Ask for {{1}} at the desk.

but variables_count is 2 — {{1}} is simply used twice, and you pass it once.

Categories set the price

Category	Typical use
UTILITY	Order updates, receipts, appointment reminders.
AUTHENTICATION	One-time codes. Meta writes the copy; you supply the code.
MARKETING	Promotions, offers, anything selling. The expensive one.

The category is fixed by the template, so you commit to the price when you pick which template to send — not at send time. See Broadcasts to price a send before committing to it.

Meta can reclassify a template

A template approved as UTILITY can later be reclassified as MARKETING if Meta decides the copy is promotional. Your unit cost jumps and nothing in your code changes.

The category on every send response is what actually got charged. Log it, and alert when a template’s category shifts.

Getting a template approved

Templates are authored in the dashboard, not through this API. What matters for your integration is the timing:

Get templates approved before you build against them

Approval is not instant and templates do get rejected — usually for reading as promotional when submitted as utility, or for looking like an attempt to route around the template rules.

Marketing templates are the slowest and the least certain. Submit them early, or you will have working code and nothing you are permitted to send.