MCP Whatsapp for Claude Desktop

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that gives Claude Desktop read-only access to your WhatsApp chats and message history.

Built on Baileys (WhatsApp Web protocol) — no phone number, no business API, no cloud service. Everything runs locally on your machine.

⚠️ Disclaimer This is an unofficial integration. WhatsApp may terminate accounts that use unauthorized clients. Use a secondary/test number, not your primary one. Author is not responsible for bans.

✨ Features

🔌 Local-first — no external API, no cloud
💾 SQLite persistence — chats + messages saved to local DB
📚 History sync — downloads your existing WhatsApp history on first pair
🔎 Search chats by name, push name, or JID
📖 Read messages from any chat (text, image captions, media metadata)
🧠 Claude-native — ask Claude Desktop in plain language

🔧 Available MCP Tools

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | whatsapp_status | Connection status + DB stats | | whatsapp_list_chats | List chats (sorted by last message), optional keyword search | | whatsapp_read_messages | Read messages from a specific chat JID |

📦 Prerequisites

Node.js 18+ — check with node --version
Claude Desktop (macOS or Windows) — download
A WhatsApp account with a phone you can scan QR with
macOS or Linux recommended (Windows works with adjusted paths)

🚀 Installation

1. Clone the repo

git clone https://github.com/danialadzhar/mcp-whatsapp.git
cd mcp-whatsapp

2. Install dependencies

npm install

If better-sqlite3 fails to build, ensure you have Xcode Command Line Tools (macOS): xcode-select --install

🔐 First-time Setup (Pair WhatsApp + History Sync)

⚠️ Important — do this BEFORE configuring Claude Desktop. The QR code can only be displayed in the terminal via setup.js. The MCP server (launched by Claude Desktop) cannot show the QR because its stdout is reserved for the MCP protocol. If you skip this step and go straight to Claude Desktop config, your bot will be stuck at connecting forever with no way to pair.

1. Run the setup script

node setup.js

A QR code will appear in the terminal.

2. In your phone, open WhatsApp

Go to Settings → Linked Devices → Link a Device
When prompted "Include chat history" or similar — choose YES to download your history
Scan the QR code from the terminal

3. Wait for history to download

Terminal will print:

[HISTORY] chats=35 msgs=500 isLatest=false | batch #1 | DB: 35 chats, 500 messages
[HISTORY] chats=0 msgs=1200 isLatest=false | batch #2 | DB: 35 chats, 1700 messages
...

Depending on your account size, this takes 5-30 minutes. The script auto-detects completion when no new batch has arrived for 30 seconds.

4. Stop the script

When you see HISTORY SYNC COMPLETE and SAFE TO EXIT, press Ctrl+C.

⚙️ Claude Desktop Configuration

⚠️ Not compatible with Claude Desktop Cowork / Scheduled Tasks. When Cowork or Scheduled Tasks features are enabled, Claude Desktop spawns multiple MCP server instances for background agents. WhatsApp only allows one active linked-device connection at a time, so the duplicate instances fight for the session and cause a status=440, reconnect=true loop. Disable both in your config (see step 2 below) or this integration will not work reliably.

1. Locate your Claude Desktop config file

| OS | Path | |---|---| | macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json | | Windows | %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json |

2. Add the MCP server

Open the file and merge this into the mcpServers section (create the key if it doesn't exist):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/node",
      "args": [
        "/absolute/path/to/mcp-whatsapp/mcp-server.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Replace with your actual paths:

Get node path: which node (macOS/Linux) or where node (Windows)
Use absolute paths — Claude Desktop doesn't resolve shell PATH reliably

Example (macOS, Homebrew node) with Cowork/Scheduled Tasks disabled:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "command": "/opt/homebrew/bin/node",
      "args": [
        "/Users/yourname/projects/mcp-whatsapp/mcp-server.js"
      ]
    }
  },
  "preferences": {
    "coworkScheduledTasksEnabled": false,
    "ccdScheduledTasksEnabled": false
  }
}

If you already have a "preferences" block in your config, just add the two *ScheduledTasksEnabled keys into it — don't duplicate the block.

3. Restart Claude Desktop

Fully quit with Cmd+Q (not just close window), then reopen.

4. Test

In any Claude Desktop chat, ask:

what is my whatsapp status

Claude will call the whatsapp_status tool. Approve the permission prompt when it appears.

💬 Example Prompts

Once connected, you can ask Claude Desktop:

"List my 10 most recent WhatsApp chats"
"Search my WhatsApp for chats with 'Ahmad'"
"Summarize my last 50 messages with 60123456789@s.whatsapp.net"
"How many unread WhatsApp chats do I have?"
"Show me the last message from each group chat"
"Find conversations where someone mentioned 'meeting'" (Claude will chain list + read)

Claude decides which tools to call based on your question.

🐛 Troubleshooting

❌ `Error: Cannot find module '@whiskeysockets/baileys'`

You didn't install dependencies.

cd mcp-whatsapp
npm install

❌ `status=440, reconnect=true` loop in logs

Two processes are fighting for the same WhatsApp session. Common causes:

Claude Desktop spawns duplicate MCP servers — disable Cowork/Scheduled Tasks in claude_desktop_config.json:
```
"preferences": {
  "coworkScheduledTasksEnabled": false,
  "ccdScheduledTasksEnabled": false
}
```
Terminal script + Claude Desktop both running — kill terminal processes:
```
ps aux | grep "mcp-whatsapp" | grep -v grep
kill <PID>
```
Two Claude Desktop instances — fully quit with Cmd+Q, reopen once.

❌ QR code not appearing when running `setup.js`

Make sure no other Node process is holding auth_info/:
```
ps aux | grep "mcp-whatsapp" | grep -v grep
```
Fully quit Claude Desktop (Cmd+Q) before running setup.js.
Delete auth_info/ and retry:
```
rm -rf auth_info
node setup.js
```

❌ Tools not appearing in Claude Desktop

Verify config JSON is valid:

# macOS
python3 -c "import json; json.load(open('$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json'))"

Check MCP server logs:

# macOS
tail -50 ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp-server-whatsapp.log

Verify node path in config is correct:
```
which node
```
Fully quit and restart Claude Desktop — reloading config requires full app restart.

❌ `connectionState: "connecting"` forever

Session may be corrupt. Fix by re-pairing:

# 1. Quit Claude Desktop (Cmd+Q)
# 2. Delete auth
rm -rf auth_info whatsapp.db
# 3. Re-run setup
node setup.js
# 4. Scan QR

❌ `0 chats, 0 messages` in DB after setup

You likely skipped the "Include chat history" prompt in WhatsApp during QR scan.
WhatsApp only offers history sync during initial pairing. Fix:
```
rm -rf auth_info whatsapp.db
node setup.js
```
When your phone asks, choose to include history this time.

❌ History sync never starts even with correct config

Some WhatsApp versions skip the history transfer prompt. Workarounds:
- Update WhatsApp on your phone to latest version
- On the phone: Settings → Chats → Chat history transfer (if available)
- Accept that only new messages will be captured going forward

❌ `node-gyp` / `better-sqlite3` build errors

macOS: xcode-select --install
Linux: sudo apt install build-essential python3
Windows: install windows-build-tools or Visual Studio Build Tools

❌ Permission denied when Claude Desktop tries to call a tool

First time each tool is called, Claude Desktop asks for approval. Pick "Allow for this task" for smooth usage. You can also set permissions per-tool in Claude Desktop Settings.

❓ FAQ

Does this bot capture messages 24/7?

No. The MCP server only runs while Claude Desktop is open. When Claude Desktop quits, the bot disconnects.

However — WhatsApp queues undelivered messages to linked devices for up to ~14 days. When you reopen Claude Desktop, offline messages arrive and are saved to the DB.

For true 24/7 capture, run a separate background daemon (not included in this repo).

Will WhatsApp ban my account?

Risk exists for any unofficial client. Mitigations:

Use a secondary/test number if possible
Don't spam-send (this repo is read-only so lower risk)
Don't use for bulk marketing

Can I send messages with this MCP?

This version is read-only intentionally (safer). To add send capability, add a whatsapp_send_message tool in mcp-server.js — but be careful, MCP-triggered sends are powerful and can be abused by prompt injection.

Where is my data stored?

auth_info/ — session credentials (keep private, do not share/commit)
whatsapp.db — SQLite with your chats and messages (keep private)

Both are gitignored.

How do I uninstall?

# Quit Claude Desktop
# Remove MCP server entry from claude_desktop_config.json
# Delete the repo folder
rm -rf mcp-whatsapp

On your phone: WhatsApp → Linked Devices → remove this device.

Can multiple MCP servers share the same WhatsApp session?

No. WhatsApp allows only one active connection per linked device auth. Running multiple MCP instances causes the status=440 conflict loop.

What about groups?

Group chats are supported — listed and readable like any other chat. JIDs end with @g.us.

🛠 Known Limitations

Not compatible with Claude Desktop Cowork / Scheduled Tasks — these features spawn duplicate MCP instances which break the single-session WhatsApp connection. Must be disabled (see Claude Desktop Configuration).
Runs only while Claude Desktop is open — for 24/7 capture you'd need a separate daemon (not included).
Media (images, videos, audio) not downloaded — only text + metadata.
Reactions tracked as separate messages, not linked to parent.
Deleted messages not captured.
History sync amount depends on WhatsApp — typically last 6 months.
macOS/Linux tested; Windows paths need adjustment in config.
Not designed for multi-account / multi-tenant use.

🤝 Contributing

Issues and PRs welcome. Please:

File issues with logs (redact personal data)
Keep PRs scoped to one feature/fix
Don't add send_message without thoughtful safety design (permission gates, rate limits, confirmation UX)

📄 License

🙏 Credits

Baileys — reverse-engineered WhatsApp Web client
Model Context Protocol — standard by Anthropic
better-sqlite3 — fast synchronous SQLite