Configuration

Whatomate uses a TOML configuration file for all settings. By default, it looks for config.toml in the current directory.

Configuration File

# Application settings
[app]
environment = "development"  # development, production
debug = true

# Server settings
[server]
host = "0.0.0.0"
port = 8080
read_timeout = 30
write_timeout = 30

# Database settings
[database]
host = "localhost"
port = 5432
user = "whatomate"
password = "your-password"
name = "whatomate"
sslmode = "disable"

# Redis settings
[redis]
host = "localhost"
port = 6379
password = ""
db = 0

# JWT settings
[jwt]
secret = "your-jwt-secret-key"
access_expiry_mins = 15
refresh_expiry_days = 7

# Storage settings
[storage]
type = "local"       # local or s3
local_path = "./uploads"

Note

WhatsApp credentials and AI API keys are configured via the UI (Settings → Accounts) and stored in the database.

Environment Variables

Configuration values can be overridden using environment variables:

Variable	Description
WHATOMATE_ENV	Environment (development/production)
WHATOMATE_DATABASE_HOST	Database host
WHATOMATE_DATABASE_PORT	Database port
WHATOMATE_DATABASE_USER	Database user
WHATOMATE_DATABASE_PASSWORD	Database password
WHATOMATE_DATABASE_NAME	Database name
WHATOMATE_REDIS_HOST	Redis host
WHATOMATE_REDIS_PORT	Redis port
WHATOMATE_JWT_SECRET	JWT signing secret

Database Setup

PostgreSQL

# Create database
createdb whatomate

# Or using psql
psql -c "CREATE DATABASE whatomate;"

Run Migrations

./whatomate server -migrate

WhatsApp API Configuration

Configure your WhatsApp Business API credentials in the application settings after logging in:

1. Navigate to Settings → Accounts
2. Click Add Account
3. Enter your credentials:
   • Phone Number ID - From Meta Business Suite
   • Business Account ID - From Meta Business Suite
   • Access Token - Generated in Meta for Developers
   • Webhook Verify Token - Your custom verification token

Caution

Keep your access token secure. Never commit it to version control or expose it in client-side code.

Building

Development Build

make build    # Backend only (no frontend embedded)

For development, run backend and frontend separately:

• Backend: make run or ./whatomate server
• Frontend: cd frontend && npm run dev

Production Build

make build-prod    # Single binary with embedded frontend

This creates a self-contained binary that serves both API and frontend.

Command	Frontend	Use Case
make build	Not embedded	Development
make build-prod	Embedded	Production

CLI Reference

Whatomate uses a single binary with subcommands:

./whatomate <command> [options]

Commands

Command	Description
server	Start the API server (with optional embedded workers)
worker	Start background workers only (no API server)
version	Show version information
help	Show help message

Server Options

./whatomate server [options]

  -config string    Path to config file (default "config.toml")
  -migrate          Run database migrations on startup
  -workers int      Number of embedded workers, 0 to disable (default 1)

Worker Options

./whatomate worker [options]

  -config string    Path to config file (default "config.toml")
  -workers int      Number of workers to run (default 1)

Deployment Scenarios

All-in-One (Simple)

Run API and workers in a single process:

./whatomate server

Separate API and Workers (Scalable)

Run API server without embedded workers:

./whatomate server -workers=0

Run workers on separate machines:

./whatomate worker -workers=4

Docker Compose

# Start all services
docker-compose up -d

# Scale workers
docker-compose up -d --scale worker=3

Production Recommendations

For production deployments:

• Set environment = "production" and debug = false
• Use strong, unique values for jwt.secret
• Enable SSL for database connections (sslmode = "require")
• Use Redis authentication in production
• Configure proper firewall rules
• Set up SSL/TLS termination (nginx, Caddy, or cloud load balancer)
• Consider running API and workers separately for better scaling