Connect your WhatsApp: download, open, scan

WaSMS sends your WhatsApp messages through a small app that runs on your own computer. Connecting takes three steps: download the app, open it, and scan a QR code with your phone. The dashboard walks you through the same steps and moves forward by itself as you go.

The one rule: messages send while this app is running on your computer.

Sign in and open your dashboard. Until a WhatsApp number is connected, it shows the Connect your WhatsApp screen. Later, the same steps are under Channels, Connect WhatsApp.
Click the download button. It is already set for the computer you are using. For a different computer, click Other systems.
The file lands in your Downloads folder: wasms-gateway.exe on Windows, wasms-gateway on Mac and Linux.

The app runs on a computer, not on a phone. If you are reading this on a phone, open WaSMS on your computer and sign in there.

Which Mac do I have? Open the Apple menu and choose About This Mac. If it mentions Intel, download the Intel version under Other systems. Otherwise use the main button.

2. Open it

Windows

Open your Downloads folder and double-click wasms-gateway.exe.
The first time, Windows shows a blue box that says Windows protected your PC. Windows does this for any app it has not seen often. Click More info, then Run anyway.
If it asks Start WaSMS Gateway automatically when this computer starts?, press Enter for yes, so WhatsApp keeps working after a restart.
Wait for the window to say Gateway is running. Keep this window open. Leave it open.

Mac

A Mac will not open an app from outside the App Store with a double-click, so it is started once from the Terminal app.

Open Terminal: press Command and Space, type Terminal, press Enter.
Copy these lines, paste them into Terminal, and press Enter:
Copy and paste
```
cd ~/Downloads
chmod +x wasms-gateway
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine wasms-gateway
./wasms-gateway
```
In plain words: go to the Downloads folder, mark the file as an app, tell the Mac you trust it, and start it.
Wait for it to say Gateway is running. Keep this window open. Leave the Terminal window open.

If the Mac still says the app cannot be opened: open System Settings, Privacy and Security, click Open Anyway, then run ./wasms-gateway again.

Linux

Open a terminal and run:

Copy and paste

cd ~/Downloads
chmod +x wasms-gateway
./wasms-gateway

Wait for it to say Gateway is running. Keep this window open. Leave the terminal open.

Back in the dashboard, the line Waiting for the app changes to App detected by itself. You do not need to reload the page.

3. Scan with your phone

As soon as the app is detected, the dashboard shows a QR code.
On your phone, open WhatsApp. Tap Settings (or the three dots), then Linked devices, then Link a device.
Point the phone at the code. The code renews itself, so there is no rush.
The dashboard says WhatsApp connected.

Send a test message to yourself

Right after connecting, click Send a test message to my own number. One message goes from your connected WhatsApp to the phone number on your account, and nobody else receives anything. If you connected that same number, the message appears in your chat with yourself.

Keep it running

Messages send while the app is running on your computer. After a restart, open the app again, unless you told it to start automatically. If you would rather not keep a computer on, you can run the app on a server instead.

On a Mac or on Linux, the app can also start with the computer: run it once with ./wasms-gateway --autostart on. To switch that off again, run it once with --autostart off.

Updating the app

When the dashboard says Update your WaSMS app, replace the app with the new version. Your WhatsApp should stay connected after updating (if the app asks for a QR code, scan it again), because the app keeps its settings in your own user folder, not next to the program file.

Close the app that is running: click its window and press Ctrl+C, or close the window.
Download the app again from the dashboard.
Open the new file the same way as the first time, signed in to the computer as the same user as before. On Windows the file may be called wasms-gateway (1).exe; that is fine, and it can stay in Downloads. On a Mac or on Linux, run the same lines as at first install, with the new file's name if it differs.
It starts without asking anything and says Gateway is running. Keep this window open. The old file can be deleted.

If the new one says WaSMS Gateway is already running on this computer, the old one is still open. Close it, then open the new one again.

A QR code is only needed again after you use Reset gateway in the dashboard. A normal update never asks for one.

What the app window tells you

No connection to WaSMS yet. Check your internet connection. — the computer is offline. The app keeps trying by itself.
Connection to WaSMS lost. Trying again... — the internet dropped. It reconnects by itself and then says Connected to WaSMS again.
WaSMS Gateway is already running on another computer. — close the app on the other computer. This copy tries again every minute.
WaSMS did not accept this copy of the app. or This version of the app is too old. — download the app again from your dashboard and run the new copy.
This app was started a second time with the same settings — it is already running in another window. Close the other one, or keep it and close this one.

If something goes wrong

The download does not start — the page tells you why: sign in again if you were signed out, check your internet connection if WaSMS could not be reached, or contact support if it says the file is missing on our side.
The page keeps saying Waiting for the app — check that the app window is still open and says Gateway is running. If it says No connection to WaSMS yet, check this computer's internet connection. If the window was closed, open the app again.
The QR code does not scan — make the browser window larger and raise the screen brightness. The code renews itself.
Moving to another computer — in Channels, click Connect WhatsApp, then Reset gateway, and repeat the three steps on the new computer.