Templates

Create, submit and track message templates.

A template is pre-approved content. It is the only way to message someone outside the 24-hour customer-service window, so most production traffic is templates.

Templates belong to your workspace and mode — there is no accountId query parameter. LazyApp submits to Meta on the connected WABA for that workspace.

Quick start

# List approved and pending templates
curl "https://lazyapp.in/v1/templates?status=approved" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LAZYAPP_API_KEY"

# Create and submit to Meta (default)
curl https://lazyapp.in/v1/templates \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LAZYAPP_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "order_shipped",
    "language": "en",
    "category": "UTILITY",
    "body_text": "Hi {{1}}, order {{2}} ships today and arrives {{3}}.",
    "body_examples": ["Asha", "1042", "Thursday"],
    "footer_text": "Reply STOP to opt out",
    "submit": true
  }'

List templates

GET /v1/templates returns cursor-paginated templates for the workspace.

Query	Filters
status	draft, pending, approved, rejected, paused, disabled, …
category	UTILITY, AUTHENTICATION, MARKETING
limit	Page size (max 200)

Response fields include uuid, name, language, category, status, body_text, header, buttons, rejection_reason, quality_score, and Meta’s provider_template_id when assigned.

Retrieve one template by name or uuid: GET /v1/templates/{template}.

Categories

Meta requires one of three, and it drives pricing:

Category	For	Notes
UTILITY	Order updates, appointment reminders, receipts	Cheapest. Must relate to an existing transaction
AUTHENTICATION	One-time passcodes	Use Verify rather than building this yourself
MARKETING	Offers, announcements, re-engagement	Required for broadcasts. Most expensive

Meta re-categorises templates it judges to be miscategorised, which changes what you pay. A promotional message dressed as a utility template will be moved to marketing, and you receive a template.category_changed webhook.

Create a template

LazyApp uses a flat native shape on POST /v1/templates, not Zernio’s Meta components array on /whatsapp/templates:

curl https://lazyapp.in/v1/templates \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LAZYAPP_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "order_shipped",
    "language": "en",
    "category": "UTILITY",
    "body_text": "Hi {{1}}, order {{2}} ships today and arrives {{3}}.",
    "body_examples": ["Asha", "1042", "Thursday"],
    "footer_text": "Reply STOP to opt out",
    "submit": true
  }'

Rules:

• Names: lowercase letters, digits, underscores only (^[a-z0-9_]+$), unique per language in the workspace.
• body_examples: one realistic string per {{n}} placeholder — Meta rejects templates it cannot evaluate.
• submit: defaults to true (submit immediately). Pass "submit": false to keep a local draft.

Headers and buttons

{
  "header": { "format": "TEXT", "text": "Order update" },
  "buttons": [
    { "type": "URL", "text": "Track", "url": "https://acme.example/track/{{1}}" },
    { "type": "QUICK_REPLY", "text": "Talk to support" }
  ]
}

header.format is NONE, TEXT, IMAGE, VIDEO, GIF, DOCUMENT, LOCATION or PRODUCT. Button types: QUICK_REPLY, URL, PHONE_NUMBER, OTP, FLOW, COPY_CODE, CATALOG, MPM, SPM and VOICE_CALL. URL buttons must be https://.

Media headers need a sample for Meta’s review: upload it with POST /v1/templates/media and pass the handle as header.example_handle. Carousels, GIF headers, call buttons, call permission requests, delivery time limits and library templates are on Template formats.

Authentication templates can pass:

{
  "authentication": {
    "add_security_recommendation": true,
    "code_expiration_minutes": 10
  }
}

Meta-shaped create (proxy)

If you already have Kapso/Cloud API payloads, create via the proxy with Meta’s components envelope:

curl -X POST "https://lazyapp.in/meta/whatsapp/v21.0/{waba_id}/message_templates" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LAZYAPP_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "order_confirmation",
    "language": "en",
    "category": "UTILITY",
    "components": [
      { "type": "BODY", "text": "Hi {{1}}, your order {{2}} has been confirmed!" }
    ]
  }'

See Migrating from Cloud API.

Template statuses

Only approved templates can be sent. LazyApp stores lowercase statuses mapped from Meta:

status	Meaning
draft	Saved in LazyApp, not submitted
submitting	In flight to Meta
pending	Under Meta review (includes Meta IN_APPEAL)
approved	Sendable
rejected	Declined — read rejection_reason, fix, resubmit (often under a new name)
paused	Paused on quality grounds — temporarily unsendable
disabled	Disabled by Meta — not sendable
archived	Archived at Meta
deleted	Deleted, here or in WhatsApp Manager

Meta review usually takes minutes but can take up to 24 hours. Do not poll the list in a tight loop — subscribe to template webhooks.

Webhooks

Event	When
template.pending	Submitted to Meta
template.approved	Approved and sendable
template.rejected	Declined (rejection_reason)
template.paused	Quality pause
template.disabled	Disabled after repeated problems
template.category_changed	Meta moved category (pricing impact)
template.deleted	Deleted in WhatsApp Manager, found on the next sync

Pausing, categories, groups, comparisons, archiving and copying templates between accounts are on Managing templates.

Starter template sets

Platforms can seed templates when a customer connects via template_set on setup links. Discover valid keys:

curl https://lazyapp.in/v1/templates/sets \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LAZYAPP_API_KEY"

Returns named packs (for example real_estate) with template names and languages — do not hardcode keys across deployments.

Sync and delete

Pull changes made in Meta Business Manager:

curl -X POST https://lazyapp.in/v1/templates/sync \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LAZYAPP_API_KEY"

LazyApp also updates statuses from Meta webhooks; sync is for reconciliation.

Delete at Meta and mark deleted locally:

curl -X DELETE https://lazyapp.in/v1/templates/{name_or_uuid} \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LAZYAPP_API_KEY"

Sending a template

See Messages, Broadcasts, or Events to pick the template for you.

Carousel templates

Each card of a carousel template needs its own image or video (or, on a product carousel, its own product) when you send it; the review sample is not reused. Add values for variables in the card text, the ending of any card link and, optionally, a payload for each quick reply. Pass them per card in template.features.cards, in card order:

{
  "type": "template",
  "to": "[phone]",
  "template": {
    "name": "spring_cards",
    "language": "en_US",
    "components": [
      { "type": "body", "parameters": [{ "type": "text", "text": "Asha" }] }
    ],
    "features": {
      "cards": [
        { "header_media": "https://acme.example/aloe.jpg", "body": ["Aloe"], "buttons": { "1": "aloe" } },
        { "header_media": "1558081531584829", "body": ["Crassula"], "buttons": { "1": "crassula" }, "quick_replies": { "0": "more-crassulas" } }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Card field	Meaning
header_media	Media cards: a public link or an uploaded media id for the card’s image or video. Required
product_retailer_id	Product cards: the product’s Content ID in Commerce Manager. Required. catalog_id is optional and defaults to the number’s catalog
body	Values for the card text’s variables, in order (or keyed by name on named templates)
buttons	Keyed by button index: the ending of a URL button’s link
quick_replies	Keyed by button index: an optional payload for a quick reply (it comes back on the reply webhook)

LazyApp builds Meta’s carousel component from these and refuses the send with a field-level 422 when a card is missing its media, product or values. A media carousel takes exactly as many cards as it was approved with; a product carousel can show 1 to 10 products. See Template formats for every features key.

Broadcasts take the same inputs in variable_map.features.cards, and the campaign form in the console asks for each card.

template.carousel (and variable_map.carousel on broadcasts) is an older alias and still accepted: each entry takes media, body and buttons keyed by index, where buttons holds link endings and quick-reply payloads alike. When both are sent, features.cards wins. Use features.cards in new code.

What we skip (Zernio-style)

Zernio	LazyApp
GET /whatsapp/templates?accountId=	GET /v1/templates (workspace scoped)
Meta components on native create	Flat body_text, header, buttons on /v1/templates
Template Library API (library_template_name, template-library lookup)	GET /v1/templates/library, then POST /v1/templates with library_template_name
whatsapp.template.status_updated event name	template.approved, template.rejected, etc.

Related

• Messages — send an approved template
• Broadcasts — marketing templates at scale
• Verify — prefer this over hand-rolled AUTHENTICATION templates
• Template formats — carousels, GIFs, call buttons and more
• Managing templates — quality, groups, comparisons
• Marketing messages — Meta’s marketing route
• Direct Send — utility messages without templates
• Webhooks — template lifecycle events