@aria-cli/gateway-whatsapp

Optional WhatsApp adapter for ARIA. Pairs a Baileys-backed subprocess bridge with the @aria-cli/gateway ChannelAdapter contract, so the unofficial WhatsApp Web protocol never enters the core ARIA binary.

Why a bridge subprocess

• ✅ Core binary stays lean — Baileys pulls ~35 MB of deps
• ✅ Legal/ToS risk stays opt-in — users install this package knowingly
• ✅ Swappable backend — same NDJSON protocol can front Baileys today, whatsapp-web.js or Meta Cloud API later, without touching consumers
• ✅ Crash isolation — bridge can OOM without taking ARIA down

Install

# Runtime deps (user installs — we don't ship them)
npm install -g @whiskeysockets/baileys qrcode-terminal
# Then the adapter
npm install -g @aria-cli/gateway-whatsapp

Use from ARIA

aria gateway channels enable whatsapp
aria gateway start
# A QR code renders in the terminal on first pair.

Session storage

By default, pairing state lives under ~/.aria/gateway/whatsapp/default/. Pass --session <dir> to aria-whatsapp-bridge to use a different location.

Protocol (stable)

Line-delimited JSON over the bridge's stdio. Events (bridge → adapter):

| kind | payload | |---|---| | hello | { protocolVersion, bridgeVersion } | | qr | { qrAscii, qrDataUrl? } | | ready | { jid, phoneNumber? } | | disconnected | { reason, reconnectSeconds? } | | error | { message } | | message | { chatId, senderId, senderName?, isGroup, mentioned, text, timestamp, messageId } | | ack | { correlationId, ok, error? } |

Commands (adapter → bridge): send, logout, ping (all carry correlationId for ack-matching).

Legal notice

The bridge uses Baileys, which implements WhatsApp's private Web protocol. WhatsApp's ToS prohibits unofficial clients in certain commercial contexts. This package is provided for personal, experimental, and self-hosted use. For production commercial use, prefer the Meta Cloud API adapter (roadmap).

License

Proprietary. See the root LICENSE for terms. For licensing inquiries: [email protected].