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Password reset OTP via WhatsApp API

Sends a one-time recovery code through a WhatsApp authentication template when the user starts password reset.

Use case overview

Sends a one-time recovery code through a WhatsApp authentication template when the user starts password reset. The copy-code button speeds up entry in your recovery form.

Template example

{{1}} is your verification code. For your security, do not share this code with anyone.

Copy code
  • {{1}}
    one-time password recovery code (digits)
  • “Copy code”
    button — fixed in the Meta template
WhatsApp Business API for password reset otp

When to use it

Reach for this scenario when a user starts password reset and you must verify identity with a one-time code before allowing a new password, but there is no open WhatsApp session yet. It fits forgot-password flows, account recovery delivered on WhatsApp instead of SMS, and teams shipping secure login portals for developers, small teams, and agencies.

Compliant cold-start recovery
An approved authentication template opens the conversation without an existing session, so the recovery code can reach the user on first contact instead of waiting inside the 24-hour reply window.
Faster code entry in your form
The copy-code button carries the same digits as the single body variable, so the user pastes the OTP into your recovery form instead of retyping it from the chat.
Recovery where the phone number already lives
When the account phone is on file in international format, the backend sends the one-time code through WhatsApp so recovery lands in a channel users already check instead of a filtered SMS inbox.
Send succeeds on first try
Authentication templates require the OTP in both the message body and the copy-code button payload; supplying both avoids a body-only send that returns `sent: false`.

Workflow

  1. Customer acts

    User requests password reset and enters their phone.

    user action

  2. Build & send

    Backend generates a recovery code and sends the template.

    POST /sendTemplate

  3. Copies the code

    User copies the code from WhatsApp and submits it.

    user action

  4. Delivered

    Backend validates and unlocks the password reset step.

    delivered

WhatsApp Business API for password reset otp

Technical implementation

Prerequisites

  1. 1MSG API Key · How to get API Key
  2. WhatsApp Business account · How to Connect WABA
  3. WhatsApp Template · How to Approve WABA Template
  4. Customer opt-in · How to Manage Customers Consent

Code examples

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# === Configuration (replace "___" placeholders) ===

API_BASE_URL="https://api.1msg.io"        # production 1MSG API base URL
CHANNEL_ID="___"                           # channel ID from 1MSG dashboard
API_TOKEN="___"                            # channel JWT token (Bearer)

TEMPLATE_NAME="___"                        # approved template name
TEMPLATE_NAMESPACE="___"                   # template namespace (required — send fails without it)
TEMPLATE_LANGUAGE="___"                    # template language code, e.g. "en"



# === Test data ===
TEST_PHONE="___"                 # client phone in international format
TEST_CODE="___"         # {{1}} otp code

PHONE_NORM="$(printf '%s' "$TEST_PHONE" | tr -cd '0-9')"

for pair in "CHANNEL_ID=$CHANNEL_ID" "API_TOKEN=$API_TOKEN" \
            "TEMPLATE_NAME=$TEMPLATE_NAME" "TEMPLATE_NAMESPACE=$TEMPLATE_NAMESPACE" \
            "TEMPLATE_LANGUAGE=$TEMPLATE_LANGUAGE" "TEST_PHONE=$TEST_PHONE" \
            "TEST_CODE=$TEST_CODE"; do
    val="${pair#*=}"
    if [ -z "$val" ] || [ "$val" = "___" ]; then
        echo "Missing configuration value: ${pair%%=*}" >&2
        exit 1
    fi
done

if [ -z "$PHONE_NORM" ]; then
    echo "Error: phone number has no digits after normalization" >&2
    exit 1
fi

URL="${API_BASE_URL%/}/${CHANNEL_ID}/sendTemplate"

# params carries body and button blocks.

# {{1}} otp code → ${TEST_CODE}
read -r -d '' PAYLOAD <<JSON || true
{
  "phone": "${PHONE_NORM}",
  "template": "${TEMPLATE_NAME}",
  "namespace": "${TEMPLATE_NAMESPACE}",
  "language": { "policy": "deterministic", "code": "${TEMPLATE_LANGUAGE}" },
  "params": [
    {
      "type": "body",
      "parameters": [
        { "type": "text", "text": "${TEST_CODE}" }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "button",
      "sub_type": "url",
      "index": "0",
      "parameters": [ { "type": "text", "text": "${TEST_CODE}" } ]
    }

  ]
}
JSON

RESPONSE="$(curl -s -w '\n%{http_code}' -X POST "$URL" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer ${API_TOKEN}" \
    -d "$PAYLOAD")"

HTTP_CODE="$(printf '%s' "$RESPONSE" | tail -n1)"
BODY="$(printf '%s' "$RESPONSE" | sed '$d')"

case "$BODY" in
    *'"sent":true'*) ok=1 ;;
    *) ok=0 ;;
esac

if [ "$HTTP_CODE" -ge 200 ] && [ "$HTTP_CODE" -lt 300 ] && [ "$ok" -eq 1 ]; then
    echo "Message sent to client."
    echo "API response: $BODY"
else
    echo "Send failed. HTTP status: $HTTP_CODE" >&2
    echo "$BODY" >&2
    exit 1
fi

Response and delivery status

HTTP 2xx and JSON "sent": true mean 1MSG accepted the message for sending — not that it already reached the customer's phone. Save the id field (looks like wamid.…) to correlate delivery callbacks.

200 OKResponse
{
  "sent": true,
  "message": "Sent to [email protected]",
  "description": "Message has been sent to the provider",
  "id": "wamid.HBgLMzgwNjM5..."
}
  • sent

    Accepted for sending — not yet on the customer's phone

  • id

    Store it; delivery callbacks and hookInfo are keyed on this

Delivery statuses and webhooks →

Common errors

StatusAPI responseCauseFix
200Message was not sent: template is not definednamespace, template or language is missing from the request body.Send all three. Take namespace and the exact template name from GET /templates; language is an object: {"policy": "deterministic", "code": "en"}.
200template name (…) does not exist in <language>The template is approved in a different language than the one requested.Use the exact language code the template was approved in (for example es_MX is not the same as es). Check it in GET /templates.
200Message was not sent: provide chatId, phone, bsuid, or usernameNo recipient the channel could resolve.Pass exactly one recipient: phone (country code plus number, digits only), chatId (for example [email protected]) or bsuid.

All error codes →

Common questions

Related

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