WhatsApp CLI (wacli)

wacli — WhatsApp CLI

Sync, search, and send WhatsApp messages from the terminal. Built on whatsmeow (WhatsApp Web protocol).

• Repo: https://github.com/steipete/wacli
• Author: @steipete

Installation

brew install steipete/tap/wacli

Or build from source:

go build -tags sqlite_fts5 -o ./dist/wacli ./cmd/wacli

Authentication

# Shows QR code — scan with WhatsApp on your phone
wacli auth

# Start continuous sync (must be authenticated first)
wacli sync --follow

Default store directory: ~/.wacli (override with --store DIR).

Key Commands

Send Messages

# Send a text message
wacli send text --to 1234567890 --message "hello"

# Send a file with caption
wacli send file --to 1234567890 --file ./photo.jpg --caption "Check this out"

# Send a file with custom display name
wacli send file --to 1234567890 --file /tmp/abc123 --filename report.pdf

Search Messages

wacli messages search "meeting"
wacli messages search "project update" --json

Groups

wacli groups list
wacli groups rename --jid 123456789@g.us --name "New Group Name"

History Backfill

# Backfill older messages for a chat (requires primary device online)
wacli history backfill --chat 1234567890@s.whatsapp.net --requests 10 --count 50

Media

wacli media download --chat 1234567890@s.whatsapp.net --id <message-id>

Diagnostics

wacli doctor

Output Modes

• Default: human-readable
• --json: structured JSON output for agents

Environment Variables

• WACLI_DEVICE_LABEL: set linked device label shown in WhatsApp
• WACLI_DEVICE_PLATFORM: override linked device platform (defaults to CHROME)