WhatsApp MCP Server

First MCP server for WhatsApp. Plug Claude / Cursor / GPT into Baileys via Model Context Protocol.

Why MCP Matters

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is Anthropic's emerging standard for connecting LLMs to external services. Instead of building custom integrations for each AI tool, MCP provides a universal interface. This server makes WhatsApp (via Baileys) callable from:

• Claude Desktop - Native WhatsApp tools in your Claude conversations
• Claude Code - WhatsApp automation in your coding workflows
• Cursor - Send messages, parse auction bids directly from your editor
• OpenAI Custom GPTs - Extend ChatGPT with WhatsApp capabilities
• Any MCP client - Universal compatibility

Quick Start

Installation

npm install -g baileys-mcp

Claude Desktop Setup

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "baileys-mcp",
        "--auth-dir",
        "/Users/yourname/.wa-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. You'll now have WhatsApp tools available.

Claude Code Setup

claude mcp add whatsapp -- npx baileys-mcp --auth-dir ~/.wa-mcp

Cursor Setup

Add to Cursor settings (Settings > MCP):

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "whatsapp": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": ["baileys-mcp", "--auth-dir", "~/.wa-mcp"]
      }
    }
  }
}

First Run

On first start, scan the QR code with WhatsApp mobile:

1. Ask Claude: "Show me the WhatsApp QR code"
2. The auth_qr tool will return a QR data URI
3. Open the image and scan with WhatsApp mobile app
4. Once paired, credentials are saved to --auth-dir

Tools Reference

Tool	Description	Params	Returns
send_text	Send WhatsApp text message	to, text	messageId, status
send_image	Send image with optional caption	to, imageUrl OR imageBase64, caption?	messageId, status
list_groups	List all WhatsApp groups	-	groups[]
list_messages	Get recent messages (cached)	jid, limit?	messages[]
parse_bid	Parse South African auction bids	text, currencyHint?	amount, currency, confidence
connection_status	Get connection state & uptime	-	connected, jid, uptimeMs, antibanEnabled
auth_qr	Get QR code for pairing	-	qrDataUri, paired, pairingCode
resolve_jid	Resolve JID with LID/PN	jid	canonicalJid, lid, pn

Example Agent Prompts

Send a message:

Send "Bid received: R500" to 27821234567 via WhatsApp

List groups:

Show me all my WhatsApp groups

Parse auction bid:

Parse this bid: "I'll go R750 my bru"

Check status:

Is WhatsApp connected? Show me the status

Composes with baileys-antiban

This server optionally integrates with baileys-antiban for rate limiting and anti-ban protection:

npm install -g baileys-antiban
baileys-mcp --with-antiban --auth-dir ~/.wa-mcp

When enabled:

• Intelligent rate limiting (dynamic delays, traffic shaping)
• LID resolution via resolve_jid tool
• Reduced ban risk for high-volume automation

Transports

Stdio (Default)

For local AI tools (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code):

baileys-mcp --auth-dir ~/.wa-mcp

Reads from stdin, writes to stdout. No network exposure.

HTTP/SSE

For remote agents or web-based tools:

baileys-mcp --transport http --port 3001 --api-key secret123

Connect via http://localhost:3001/sse. Requires X-API-Key header.

CLI Options

baileys-mcp [options]

Options:
  --auth-dir <path>       Directory for WhatsApp auth state (default: ./wa-auth)
  --transport <type>      Transport type: stdio | http (default: stdio)
  --port <number>         HTTP server port (default: 3001)
  --api-key <key>         API key for HTTP authentication
  --with-antiban          Enable baileys-antiban integration
  -h, --help              Show help

Architecture

┌─────────────┐
│ Claude/GPT  │
└──────┬──────┘
       │ MCP Protocol
┌──────▼──────────────┐
│ baileys-mcp │
└──────┬──────────────┘
       │ Baileys
┌──────▼──────┐
│  WhatsApp   │
└─────────────┘

• MCP SDK - Standard protocol handling
• Baileys - WhatsApp Web multi-device API
• Zod - Runtime type validation
• qrcode - QR generation for pairing
• baileys-antiban (optional) - Anti-ban protection

Development

git clone https://github.com/kobie3717/baileys-mcp.git
cd baileys-mcp
npm install
npm run build
npm test

Test with MCP Inspector

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector dist/cli.js

Opens web UI showing all 8 registered tools.

Roadmap v0.2

• subscribe_messages - Long-poll/SSE for real-time message streaming
• media_download - Download audio/video/documents from messages
• group_send - Broadcast to multiple groups efficiently
• reactions - Send/receive message reactions
• presence - Set online/offline/typing status
• contacts - Sync and manage WhatsApp contacts
• persistent_cache - SQLite storage for message history

Related Projects

• baileys-antiban - Anti-ban middleware (25⭐, 1.5k DL/wk)
• WaSP - WhatsApp session protocol
• baileys-rest - REST API wrapper
• n8n-nodes-baileys-antiban - n8n integration

License

MIT - see LICENSE

Author

Kobus Wentzel - kobie@pop.co.za

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