> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://onextel-09023014.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Meta Direct Send

> Send WhatsApp utility messages without pre-creating templates — Meta generates them from your content and categorises them automatically.

Direct Send is a Meta capability that lets you send WhatsApp **utility** messages without
creating and submitting a template first. You write the message content in the campaign itself;
Meta validates it, generates a template from it, and delivers.

The normal template flow requires you to anticipate every message you will send, submit each one
for approval, and wait. Direct Send removes that step for utility traffic — useful when message
content varies by situation and pre-registering every variant is impractical.

<Warning>
  Direct Send covers **utility messages only**. Marketing and authentication messages are not
  supported and must go through the standard
  [template flow](/api-reference/whatsapp/templates-create).
</Warning>

## Getting Direct Send enabled

Enablement happens in two stages, and neither is self-serve.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Meta enables it on your WABA">
    Meta reviews your business use case, your message samples, and your compliance with utility
    messaging policy. If approved, Direct Send is enabled for the WhatsApp Business Account.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Your account is enabled for it">
    Once Meta has enabled the WABA, a tenant administrator switches the capability on for your
    account under **WhatsApp → Config → Settings → Direct Send**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

With both in place, the Direct Send sender option and message sample validation become available
to your users.

## Validate message content first

Before sending — or before building a campaign around a message — check the content against
Meta's policies.

Go to **WhatsApp → Asset Management → Message Sample** and submit your sample content. Meta
returns:

| Response | Meaning |
| - | - |
| Approval status | Whether the content is acceptable |
| Category classification | Which category Meta assigns it — Utility, Marketing, or Authentication |

<Note>
  The category classification is the part to watch. If Meta classifies your content as Marketing
  rather than Utility, Direct Send will not carry it, no matter how the message reads to you.
  Validate before you build the campaign, not after.
</Note>

## Create a Direct Send campaign

<Steps>
  <Step title="Start a campaign">
    Go to **Campaigns → Create WhatsApp Campaign**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose Direct Send as the sender">
    In sender selection, set **Sender Module** to **Direct Send**. The message design section
    becomes available.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Design the message">
    Build the content directly in the campaign — see [Message types](#message-types) below.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Validate before launching">
    Use **Check Message Sample** to submit your designed content to Meta and confirm both policy
    compliance and expected category without leaving the campaign builder.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Message types

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Text">
    A plain text utility message.

    | Field | Description |
    | - | - |
    | Body | The message content |
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="CTA URL">
    Adds a call-to-action URL button.

    | Field |
    | - |
    | Header |
    | Body |
    | CTA Button |
    | Footer |
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Reply Buttons">
    Adds predefined response buttons.

    | Field |
    | - |
    | Header |
    | Body |
    | Reply Buttons |
    | Footer |
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Supported content

| Type | Supported |
| - | :-: |
| Text | ✅ |
| Interactive — CTA URL | ✅ |
| Interactive — Reply Buttons | ✅ |
| Footer | ✅ |
| Utility messages | ✅ |
| Marketing messages | — |
| Authentication messages | — |

## TTL

**TTL (Time To Live)** sets how long Meta should keep attempting delivery before the message
expires. Set it in seconds — a TTL of 600 gives Meta ten minutes, after which an undelivered
message expires rather than arriving late.

Match the TTL to how long the message stays useful. A delivery-window notification that arrives
two hours late is worse than one that never arrives.

## Auto-generated templates

Messages sent through Direct Send cause Meta to generate a template from the content
automatically. These templates are created by Meta, categorised from the content, used for
matching future messages, and visible in WhatsApp Manager.

To bring them into the platform, go to **WhatsApp → Asset Management → Templates** and click
**Sync Templates**. The sync fetches newly created Meta templates along with their status and
category.

<Note>
  You never author these templates, but they accumulate. Sync periodically so the platform's
  template list reflects what Meta actually holds against your WABA.
</Note>

## Compliance

Direct Send content must follow Meta's utility messaging guidelines:

* Content is transactional or service-based
* Messages are expected by the recipient
* Message samples represent genuine business use cases

Non-compliant content risks template rejection, message blocking, or losing Direct Send access
altogether — which is why the validation step exists. Use it.

## Related

* [WhatsApp template categories](/guides/whatsapp/template-categories)
* [Create a WhatsApp campaign](/guides/whatsapp/campaign-create)
* [WhatsApp error codes](/api-reference/whatsapp/error-codes)


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.