Home Assistant and WAHA

If you’re using Home Assistant to automate your smart home, adding real-time WhatsApp notifications can greatly improve how you receive alerts and important updates. WAHA (WhatsApp HTTP API) allows seamless integration, enabling Home Assistant to send messages via WhatsApp for automations, security alerts, and system notifications.

In this blog post, I’ll explore Home Assistant integration with WAHA to get WhatsApp messages whenever a specific trigger occurs.

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What is WAHA?

WAHA - WhatsApp HTTP API is an open-source solution that allows communication with WhatsApp through an API. Unlike cloud-based services, WAHA runs locally and allows direct integration with various systems, including Home Assistant.

Benefits of Using WAHA with Home Assistant:

• 🔹 Instant notifications via WhatsApp.
• 🔹 Local hosting – you have full control over your messages.
• 🔹 Multiple numbers – manage notifications across different accounts.
• 🔹 Works with Home Assistant automations to send alerts dynamically.
• But it’s just a small part of appliances of WAHA… But that’s a topic for another blog post.

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Setting Up WAHA with Home Assistant

Step 1: Install WAHA

To use WAHA with Home Assistant, you first need to set it up. WAHA can be installed using Docker, ensuring easy deployment.

1. Run WAHA with the following Docker command:

   docker run -d --name waha -p 3000:3000 -v ./data:/app/data/tokens ghcr.io/tulir/whatsmeow-http-api
   

2. Open http://localhost:3000 (or your server IP).
3. Scan the QR code using your WhatsApp account.

At this stage, your WAHA instance is ready to send and receive messages.

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Step 2: Configure Home Assistant to Use WAHA

Once WAHA is running, we need to configure Home Assistant to send messages through it.

1. Open your configuration.yaml file in Home Assistant and add the following RESTful notification configuration: ```yaml notify:

   • name: whatsapp_waha platform: rest resource: “http://:3000/sendMessage" method: POST data: jid: "" message: "Home Assistant notification!" ```

   • Replace <WAHA_SERVER_IP> with the actual IP of your WAHA server.
   • Update YOUR_PHONE_NUMBER_WITH_COUNTRY_PREFIX with the phone number (in international format) you want to send messages to (like 44324555555).
2. Restart Home Assistant to apply the configuration.

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Step 3: Test WhatsApp Notifications

To verify that the configuration works, trigger a test message in Home Assistant:

1. Go to Developer Tools > Services.
2. Select the notify.whatsapp_waha service.
3. Enter the following JSON in the Service Data field:

   {
     "message": "Hello! This is a test message from Home Assistant."
   }
   

4. Click Call Service.

Your phone should receive a WhatsApp message from WAHA!

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Using WhatsApp Notifications in Home Assistant Automations

Now that the integration is working, let’s set up an automation to notify you via WhatsApp when an event occurs (e.g., motion detection, door opening, or temperature exceeding a threshold).

Example: Notify via WhatsApp when motion is detected:

alias: "Motion Alert via WhatsApp"
trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.motion_sensor
    to: "on"
action:
  - service: notify.whatsapp_waha
    data:
      message: "🚨 Motion detected! Check your security cameras."
mode: single

This automation will send a WhatsApp message whenever motion is detected.

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Expanding WAHA + Home Assistant Capabilities

Once WhatsApp notifications are set up, you can extend their use with:

• Smart Home Alerts: Get WhatsApp alerts for security, temperature, or device statuses.
• Reminders & Schedules: Send daily or weekly reminders via WhatsApp.
• Command Responses: Develop automation to reply with real-time sensor readings or system status updates.

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By integrating WAHA with Home Assistant, you can receive smart and instant notifications via WhatsApp for various smart home events. This self-hosted solution ensures greater privacy and reliability compared to cloud-based integrations.

Try it out and enhance your smart home experience!