Text Messages

Send text messages with mentions, quotes, links, and formatting in Baileys

Basic Text Message

Send a simple text message:

await sock.sendMessage(jid, { text: 'Hello World!' })

Mentioning Users

Mention users in your message by providing their JIDs in the mentions array:

await sock.sendMessage(
  jid,
  {
    text: '@12345678901',
    mentions: ['[e-mail]']
  }
)

The @number in the text is optional but recommended for clarity. The actual mentions are controlled by the mentions array.

Multiple Mentions

await sock.sendMessage(
  jid,
  {
    text: 'Hello @12345678901 and @10987654321!',
    mentions: [
      '[e-mail]',
      '[e-mail]'
    ]
  }
)

Quoting Messages

Reply to a message by quoting it:

// You need the original message object
const originalMessage: WAMessage = /* get from store or messages.upsert event */

await sock.sendMessage(
  jid,
  { text: 'This is a reply' },
  { quoted: originalMessage }
)

The quoted parameter is passed in the options object (third parameter), not in the content object.

Getting Messages to Quote

Messages can be obtained from the messages.upsert event:

sock.ev.on('messages.upsert', async ({ messages }) => {
  for (const msg of messages) {
    // Store this message for later quoting
    await saveMessage(msg) // Your implementation
    
    // Reply to this specific message
    await sock.sendMessage(
      msg.key.remoteJid!,
      { text: 'Got your message!' },
      { quoted: msg }
    )
  }
})

Link Previews

Baileys can automatically generate link previews when you send URLs:

Prerequisites

First, install the link preview library:

yarn add link-preview-js
# or
npm install link-preview-js

Automatic Link Preview

await sock.sendMessage(
  jid,
  {
    text: 'Check this out: https://github.com/whiskeysockets/baileys'
  }
)

Baileys will automatically:

1. Detect the URL in the text
2. Fetch the page metadata
3. Generate a preview with title, description, and thumbnail

Manual Link Preview

You can provide your own link preview data:

await sock.sendMessage(
  jid,
  {
    text: 'Visit our site https://example.com',
    linkPreview: {
      'canonical-url': 'https://example.com',
      'matched-text': 'https://example.com',
      title: 'Example Site',
      description: 'This is an example website',
      jpegThumbnail: thumbnailBuffer // Optional Buffer
    }
  }
)

Disable Link Preview

To send a URL without a preview:

await sock.sendMessage(
  jid,
  {
    text: 'https://example.com',
    linkPreview: null
  }
)

Advanced Text Features

Context Info

Add additional context to your message:

await sock.sendMessage(
  jid,
  {
    text: 'Message with context',
    contextInfo: {
      externalAdReply: {
        title: 'Custom Title',
        body: 'Custom Description',
        thumbnailUrl: 'https://example.com/image.jpg',
        sourceUrl: 'https://example.com'
      }
    }
  }
)

Combined Features

Combine mentions, quotes, and other features:

await sock.sendMessage(
  jid,
  {
    text: 'Hey @12345678901, check this link: https://example.com',
    mentions: ['[e-mail]']
  },
  {
    quoted: originalMessage,
    ephemeralExpiration: 86400 // 24 hour disappearing message
  }
)

Message Content Type Structure

Text messages are sent as extendedTextMessage in the protocol:

type WATextMessage = {
  text: string
  matchedText?: string // For link preview
  description?: string // Link preview description
  title?: string // Link preview title
  jpegThumbnail?: Buffer // Link preview thumbnail
  contextInfo?: ContextInfo // For mentions, quotes, etc.
}

Formatting Text

WhatsApp Web does not natively support markdown-style formatting (bold, italic, etc.) through the protocol. What you see in the WhatsApp mobile app is handled client-side.

While you can send special formatting characters, the rendering is client-dependent:

// These may or may not render as formatted depending on the client
await sock.sendMessage(jid, { 
  text: '*bold* _italic_ ~strikethrough~ ```monospace```' 
})

Examples from Source

Here are real examples from the Baileys codebase:

Simple Reply

// From example.ts
await sock.sendMessage(
  msg.key.remoteJid!, 
  { text: 'pong ' + msg.key.id }, 
  { messageId: id }
)

Best Practices

1. Store Messages: Implement a message store to support quoting and other features
2. Validate JIDs: Ensure the recipient JID is in the correct format
3. Handle Errors: Wrap send operations in try-catch blocks
4. Rate Limiting: Don’t send too many messages too quickly to avoid bans
5. Link Previews: Use the library for automatic preview generation

Next Steps

Media Messages

Learn to send images, videos, and documents

Message Options

Configure ephemeral messages and other options