Wapito

Get the media of a message

GEThttps://api.wapito.com/v1/messages/{id}/media

Send a channel token on every request: Authorization: Bearer wpt_YOUR_TOKEN

Returns the stored file attached to a message, with a fresh signed link. Wapito copies inbound media out of the engine within the hour the engine keeps it, so this works long after WhatsApp itself has discarded the file. A message whose media copy failed reports `not_found` rather than returning a broken link.

Parameters

NameInTypeRequiredDescriptionExample
idpathstringRequiredMessage id carrying the media.false_15551234567@s.whatsapp.net_9F31A0C4D7E2B6081A55

Responses

200

With `Accept: application/json`: the stored file record and a fresh signed link.

Fields of the 200 response
FieldTypeRequiredDescription
channel_idstringRequiredChannel that owns the file.
created_atstringRequiredISO 8601 timestamp.date-time
expires_atstringRequiredISO 8601 timestamp after which the file and its signature are rejected.date-time
filenamestring | nullRequiredOriginal file name.
idstringRequiredMedia id (`med_` + ULID).
linkstringRequiredSigned `/v1/media/{id}?exp&sig` URL.uri
message_idstring | nullRequiredMessage the file was extracted from, when it came from an inbound message.
mimetypestringRequiredIANA media type.
size_bytesintegerRequiredFile size in bytes.
{
  "channel_id": "ch_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T",
  "created_at": "2026-09-15T07:22:01.000Z",
  "expires_at": "2026-09-22T07:22:01.000Z",
  "filename": "receipt.jpg",
  "id": "med_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T",
  "link": "https://api.wapito.com/v1/media/med_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T?exp=1790064121&sig=8f2c1d94b6a70e35",
  "message_id": "false_15551234567@s.whatsapp.net_9F31A0C4D7E2B6081A55",
  "mimetype": "image/jpeg",
  "size_bytes": 184213
}

302

Without `Accept: application/json` (a browser following the link): a redirect to the fresh signed link, so the caller gets the bytes.

401

The channel token is missing, malformed, revoked or belongs to a deleted channel.

Show 2 example bodies

token_revoked — the token was rotated in the dashboard

{
  "error": {
    "code": "token_revoked",
    "message": "This channel token has been revoked.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

unauthorized — no or unusable Bearer token

{
  "error": {
    "code": "unauthorized",
    "message": "Missing or invalid channel token.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

403

The token is valid but the channel may not perform this action right now.

Show 2 example bodies

channel_locked — billing lapsed or the channel was locked by an operator

{
  "error": {
    "code": "channel_locked",
    "details": {
      "reason": "plan_required"
    },
    "message": "This channel is locked.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

forbidden — the channel does not own the target object

{
  "error": {
    "code": "forbidden",
    "message": "You are not allowed to perform this action.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

404

The addressed object does not exist, or the number is not on WhatsApp.

Show 3 example bodies

message_not_found — the message id is unknown to the engine

{
  "error": {
    "code": "message_not_found",
    "message": "The requested message does not exist.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

not_found — unknown id

{
  "error": {
    "code": "not_found",
    "message": "The requested resource does not exist.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

not_on_whatsapp — the number is not registered

{
  "error": {
    "code": "not_on_whatsapp",
    "message": "This number is not registered on WhatsApp.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

409

The channel is in the wrong state for this action, or the account type does not support it.

Show 3 example bodies

business_account_required — labels need WhatsApp Business

{
  "error": {
    "code": "business_account_required",
    "message": "This action requires a WhatsApp Business account.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

channel_not_connected — link the number first

{
  "error": {
    "code": "channel_not_connected",
    "details": {
      "status": "qr"
    },
    "message": "The channel is not connected.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

channel_not_in_qr_state — no QR available while the session boots

{
  "error": {
    "code": "channel_not_in_qr_state",
    "details": {
      "status": "created"
    },
    "message": "The channel is not waiting for a QR scan.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

429

A rate limit, a plan quota or one of the anti-ban guards stopped the request. Every one of these is safe to retry later; read `Retry-After` when present.

Show 5 example bodies

cold_send_limit — too many first messages to new recipients this hour

{
  "error": {
    "code": "cold_send_limit",
    "details": {
      "resets_at": "2026-09-15T09:00:00.000Z",
      "window_cap": 20
    },
    "message": "The hourly limit for messages to new recipients is reached.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

quota_exceeded — plan quota for the day or month

{
  "error": {
    "code": "quota_exceeded",
    "details": {
      "quota": "sent",
      "resets_at": "2026-09-16T00:00:00.000Z",
      "used": 150
    },
    "message": "The plan quota for this resource is exhausted.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

rate_limited — per-minute API rate limit

{
  "error": {
    "code": "rate_limited",
    "details": {
      "retry_after": 12
    },
    "message": "Too many requests.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

send_rate_limited — the send queue did not drain within 20 s

{
  "error": {
    "code": "send_rate_limited",
    "details": {
      "retry_after": 5
    },
    "message": "The send queue for this channel is saturated.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

warmup_limit — the warm-up ladder cap for today

{
  "error": {
    "code": "warmup_limit",
    "details": {
      "cap": 200,
      "day": 2
    },
    "message": "The warm-up limit for this channel is reached.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

500

Something went wrong inside Wapito. Quote `request_id` when reporting it.

Show the example body

internal_error — unexpected failure

{
  "error": {
    "code": "internal_error",
    "message": "Something went wrong on our side.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

502

The engine answered with an error Wapito could not translate into a more specific code.

Show the example body

engine_error — unexpected engine failure

{
  "error": {
    "code": "engine_error",
    "details": {
      "engine": "gows",
      "status": 500
    },
    "message": "The WhatsApp engine returned an error.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

503

The engine session is not reachable. Retry with backoff.

Show the example body

engine_unavailable — engine down or restarting

{
  "error": {
    "code": "engine_unavailable",
    "details": {
      "engine": "gows"
    },
    "message": "The WhatsApp engine is unavailable.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

504

The engine did not answer before the upstream timeout.

Show the example body

engine_timeout — no answer within the deadline

{
  "error": {
    "code": "engine_timeout",
    "details": {
      "timeout_ms": 20000
    },
    "message": "The WhatsApp engine did not respond in time.",
    "request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
  }
}

Errors

Code examples

import requests

url = "https://api.wapito.com/v1/messages/false_15551234567@s.whatsapp.net_9F31A0C4D7E2B6081A55/media"

headers = {"Authorization": "Bearer wpt_YOUR_TOKEN"}

response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)

print(response.json())

Related

Other endpoints in this group

Glossary

Reference

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