Quickstart

Get Whatomate up and running in minutes using Docker or manual installation.

Quick Start (Docker)

The fastest way to get started:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/shridarpatil/whatomate.git
cd whatomate
cp config.example.toml docker/config.toml
cp docker/.env.example docker/.env  # Edit to set PostgreSQL credentials and timezone

# Start all services (PostgreSQL, Redis, Server)
make docker-up

# Access the application
open http://localhost:8080

Note

The .env file is required by Docker Compose. It sets PostgreSQL credentials (POSTGRES_USER, POSTGRES_PASSWORD, POSTGRES_DB) and the server timezone (TZ). Copy docker/.env.example to docker/.env and edit as needed.

Default login: admin@admin.com / admin

Caution

Change the admin password immediately after first login.

Manual Installation

Prerequisites

• Go 1.21+
• Node.js 18+
• PostgreSQL 14+
• Redis 6+

Step 1: Clone and Configure

git clone https://github.com/shridarpatil/whatomate.git
cd whatomate
cp config.example.toml config.toml

Step 2: Setup PostgreSQL

# Create database
createdb whatomate

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

# Or with custom user
psql -c "CREATE USER whatomate WITH PASSWORD 'whatomate123';"
psql -c "CREATE DATABASE whatomate OWNER whatomate;"

Update config.toml with your database credentials:

[database]
host = "localhost"
port = 5432
user = "whatomate"
password = "whatomate123"
name = "whatomate"

Step 3: Setup Redis

macOS

brew install redis
brew services start redis

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt install redis-server
sudo systemctl start redis

Docker

docker run -d -p 6379:6379 redis:alpine

Step 4: Start Backend

# Install Go dependencies
go mod download

# Run migrations and start server
make run-migrate

Step 5: Start Frontend

Open a new terminal:

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

Step 6: Access Application

| Service | URL | |---------|-----| | Frontend | http://localhost:3000 | | API | http://localhost:8080 |

Login: admin@admin.com / admin

Caution

Change the admin password immediately after first login via the Profile page.

Production Build

For production, build a single binary with embedded frontend:

make build-prod
./whatomate server -migrate

This creates a self-contained binary—no separate frontend server needed. Access at http://localhost:8080.

3rd Party Hosting

Railway Template

Template to start with a production ready instance!

Troubleshooting

| Issue | Solution | |-------|----------| | connection refused (database) | Ensure PostgreSQL is running: pg_isready | | connection refused (redis) | Ensure Redis is running: redis-cli ping | | database does not exist | Create it: createdb whatomate | | permission denied | Check database user/password in config.toml | | port already in use | Change port in config.toml or stop conflicting service | | Frontend can't reach API | Ensure backend is running on port 8080 |

WhatsApp Configuration

To connect your WhatsApp Business account:

1. Create a Meta Business account at business.facebook.com
2. Set up a WhatsApp Business API account
3. Generate an access token and note your Phone Number ID
4. Add these credentials in Whatomate's Settings → Accounts

Tip

For development, use Meta's test phone numbers to send messages without affecting your production account.

Next Steps

• Configuration Reference - Detailed configuration options
• Dashboard Overview - Explore the dashboard
• API Reference - Integrate via REST API