> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developer.omni.z-api.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What each channel accepts

> The map of what you can send on each channel, with every caveat spelled out

The Omni Z-API promise is a single one: **one call, any channel**. The request body is the same for
WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Telegram. Change the channel in the URL, and that is it.

What cannot be promised is that every platform accepts everything. Instagram has no location message.
Telegram has no call button. A product catalog only exists where there is a catalog. **Those limits
belong to the platforms, not to our API** — and this page is the map of them, so you find out now
instead of in the middle of a test.

## The five channels, two lines each

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Meta Cloud API (Official)" icon="whatsapp">
    Meta's API, with a verified number and a business account. It is the channel that accepts the most:
    the only one with forms, catalog and templates. In exchange, it has the [24-hour
    window](/en/conversation-window).
  </Card>

  <Card title="WhatsApp Web" icon="qrcode">
    The QR code connection, with the phone paired. No window and no template: you write at any time.
    Some store features require the number to be a WhatsApp Business account with registered products.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Instagram and Messenger" icon="instagram">
    Direct message conversations. They accept text, media and buttons, and stop there: no location, no
    contact, no option list. Both have a 24-hour window.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Telegram" icon="telegram">
    A bot. It accepts almost everything and has no window, but it speaks another language: what is a
    message type on WhatsApp is sometimes a keyboard button there.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## How to read the table

| Mark | What it means                                                                        | What to do                                            |
| :--: | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------- |
|   ✅  | It works. The body published on the endpoint page is valid as is.                    | Send it.                                              |
|  ⚠️  | It works **with a condition**, or it works in a similar way instead of the same way. | Read the caveat before promising it to your customer. |
|   ❌  | The platform does not have this feature. It is not something missing on our side.    | See what to send instead, further down.               |
|  🔍  | We could not find confirmation in the platform's documentation.                      | Treat it as "maybe" and test before relying on it.    |

<Note>
  ⚠️ never means "it might work". It means that **it works and we know under which condition** — and
  the condition is spelled out below, and also on each endpoint page, right under its little table.
</Note>

## The everyday conversation

| Feature          | Meta Cloud API | WhatsApp Web | Instagram | Messenger | Telegram |
| ---------------- | :------------: | :----------: | :-------: | :-------: | :------: |
| Text             |        ✅       |       ✅      |     ✅     |     ✅     |     ✅    |
| Image            |        ✅       |       ✅      |     ✅     |     ✅     |     ✅    |
| Audio            |        ✅       |       ✅      |     ✅     |     ✅     |     ✅    |
| Video            |        ✅       |       ✅      |     ✅     |     ✅     |     ✅    |
| Document         |        ✅       |       ✅      |     ✅     |     ✅     |     ✅    |
| Sticker          |        ✅       |       ✅      |     ⚠️    |     ⚠️    |     ✅    |
| Location         |        ✅       |       ✅      |     ❌     |     ❌     |     ✅    |
| Contact          |        ✅       |       ✅      |     ❌     |     ❌     |     ✅    |
| Reaction (emoji) |        ✅       |       ✅      |     ✅     |     🔍    |     ✅    |
| Poll             |        ❌       |       ✅      |     ❌     |     ❌     |     ✅    |

Text and media are the common ground: they work on all five, with the same body. It is from there up
that the channels start to disagree.

## When the customer answers with a tap

| Feature             | Meta Cloud API | WhatsApp Web | Instagram | Messenger | Telegram |
| ------------------- | :------------: | :----------: | :-------: | :-------: | :------: |
| Quick reply buttons |        ✅       |       ✅      |     ✅     |     ✅     |     ✅    |
| Action buttons      |        ✅       |       ✅      |     ⚠️    |     ✅     |    ⚠️    |
| Option list         |        ✅       |       ✅      |     ❌     |     ❌     |     ❌    |
| Request location    |        ✅       |       ❌      |     ❌     |     ❌     |     ✅    |
| Flows               |        ✅       |       ❌      |     ❌     |     ❌     |     ❌    |

A quick reply button is the one that comes back as the customer's answer, and it exists on every
channel. An action button is the one the device executes: open a link or place a call. The link works
everywhere; **calling only where the platform has a phone button**.

## Store and orders

| Feature       | Meta Cloud API | WhatsApp Web | Instagram | Messenger | Telegram |
| ------------- | :------------: | :----------: | :-------: | :-------: | :------: |
| Catalog       |        ✅       |      ⚠️      |     ❌     |     ❌     |     ❌    |
| Product       |        ✅       |      ⚠️      |     ❌     |     ❌     |     ❌    |
| Multi-product |        ✅       |       ❌      |     ❌     |     ❌     |     ❌    |
| Order details |        ✅       |      ⚠️      |     ❌     |     ⚠️    |    ⚠️    |
| Order status  |        ✅       |      ⚠️      |     ❌     |     ❌     |     ❌    |

A store message depends on a store existing. On WhatsApp the catalog lives in the business account; on
Instagram and Messenger the messaging API does not reach the catalog; on Telegram there is no catalog,
and what exists is a one-off charge.

## Pre-approved template

| Feature               | Meta Cloud API | WhatsApp Web | Instagram | Messenger | Telegram |
| --------------------- | :------------: | :----------: | :-------: | :-------: | :------: |
| Pre-approved template |     ✅ WABA     |       ❌      |     ❌     | ✅ Utility |     ❌    |

A template is the message Meta approves in advance so you can write first, outside the window. It only
exists where there is a window: Meta Cloud API and Messenger. On the other channels you write
whenever you want, so it would not be missed.

## The caveats, one by one

### Sticker on Instagram and Messenger

On both, you do not send your own file. Instagram accepts **only the heart sticker**; Messenger accepts
**only the public stickers from Meta's catalog**, picked by id, plus the thumbs-up. A `.webp` made by
your team goes through on WhatsApp and Telegram, and is refused on these two.

**What to do**: on these channels, send the same artwork as an image. The customer sees the figure; it
just does not come with a transparent background.

Source: [Messenger Sticker API](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/messenger-platform/send-messages/sticker-api).

### Action button on Instagram and Telegram

An action button is the pair "open a link" and "call". On these two, **only the link works**: the
[Instagram button template](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/instagram-platform/instagram-api-with-instagram-login/messaging-api/button-template/)
accepts only link and reply, and the Telegram keyboard has no phone button.

**What to do**: swap the call button for a link button with `tel:` as the destination when the channel
allows it, or write the phone number in the message text.

### Catalog, product and order on WhatsApp Web

They work, but through a different path: they go through the **Z-API compatibility layer** and only go
out if the connected number is a **WhatsApp Business account with registered products**. A personal
number has no catalog, so there is nothing to send.

**What to do**: if the store is the important part of your integration, use Meta Cloud API. On Web,
treat the catalog as an extra that depends on how the customer set their number up.

Sources: [product](https://developer.z-api.io/message/send-message-product),
[catalog](https://developer.z-api.io/message/send-message-catalog) and
[order](https://developer.z-api.io/message/send-message-order) on Z-API.

### Multi-product only on the official platform

Sending several products in one message only exists on Meta Cloud API. On the unofficial connection
you can send **one product at a time**, and on the other channels there is no equivalent.

### Order details on Messenger and Telegram

Both have something similar, and the difference matters:

* **Messenger**: the [order receipt](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/messenger-platform/send-messages/template/receipt/)
  shows items, total and payment method, but it is the record of a purchase **already made**. There is
  no pay button.
* **Telegram**: the [invoice](https://core.telegram.org/bots/api#sendinvoice) collects payment inside
  the app, and for that it requires a payment provider configured on the bot.

**What to do**: on Meta Cloud API the order arrives with a pay button. On the other two, decide
whether you want to notify (Messenger) or charge with your own provider (Telegram).

### Request location on Telegram

It works, it just is not a message type: it is a **keyboard button** that asks for the location
([`request_location`](https://core.telegram.org/bots/api#replykeyboardmarkup)). For the customer it is
the same, they tap and the location arrives. We mark it ✅ because the result is the same.

### Reaction on Messenger

Here the honest answer is: **we do not know**. The reaction the customer sends does reach you through
the webhook, but we could not find confirmation in Meta's documentation that the business can react to
a message. The changelog mentions it, the endpoint reference does not describe the field. On Instagram,
the reaction is documented and works.

**What to do**: do not build a flow that depends on reacting on Messenger without testing it first. As
soon as we confirm it, this page changes.

### Template on Instagram

This is not a Meta decision, it is a consequence of how we connect: the Graph API `message_templates`
edge exists only on the `Page` node, and Omni Z-API connects Instagram through **Instagram Login**,
which does not expose that edge. Details in [Connect Instagram](/en/connect/instagram).

## When the channel does not accept it: what to send instead

| What you wanted to send | On the channel that does not accept it, send              |
| ----------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| Location                | a map link in the text, or a link button to the address   |
| Contact                 | the phone number written in the text                      |
| Option list             | the same items as quick reply buttons, in groups of three |
| Catalog or product      | your store link in an action button                       |
| Form (Flow)             | your own web form, opened by a link button                |
| Sticker                 | the same artwork as an image                              |

## The 24-hour window, in one sentence

<Warning>
  The [24-hour window](/en/conversation-window) belongs to **Meta Cloud API** and to
  **Instagram/Messenger**: once that long has passed since the customer's last message, you can only
  reopen with a template. On WhatsApp Web and Telegram there is no window.
</Warning>

## The `content.type` for each feature

| Feature             | `content.type`       | Endpoint                                                       |
| ------------------- | -------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Text                | `TEXT`               | [Send text](/en/messages/send-text)                            |
| Image               | `IMAGE`              | [Send image](/en/messages/send-image)                          |
| Audio               | `AUDIO`              | [Send audio](/en/messages/send-audio)                          |
| Video               | `VIDEO`              | [Send video](/en/messages/send-video)                          |
| Document            | `DOCUMENT`           | [Send document](/en/messages/send-document)                    |
| Sticker             | `STICKER`            | [Send sticker](/en/messages/send-sticker)                      |
| Location            | `LOCATION`           | [Send location](/en/messages/send-location)                    |
| Request location    | `LOCATION_REQUEST`   | [Request location](/en/messages/send-location-request)         |
| Contact             | `CONTACT`            | [Send contact](/en/messages/send-contact)                      |
| Reaction            | `REACTION`           | [React to message](/en/messages/send-reaction)                 |
| Quick reply buttons | `INTERACTIVE_BUTTON` | [Send text with buttons](/en/messages/send-interactive-button) |
| Action buttons      | `INTERACTIVE_ACTION` | [Send action buttons](/en/messages/send-interactive-action)    |
| Option list         | `INTERACTIVE_LIST`   | [Send option list](/en/messages/send-interactive-list)         |
| Flow                | `FLOW`               | [Send form](/en/messages/send-flow)                            |
| Catalog             | `CATALOG`            | [Send catalog](/en/messages/send-catalog)                      |
| Product             | `PRODUCT`            | [Send product](/en/messages/send-product)                      |
| Multi-product       | `PRODUCT_LIST`       | [Send multi-product](/en/messages/send-product-list)           |
| Order details       | `ORDER_DETAILS`      | [Order details](/en/messages/send-order-details)               |
| Order status        | `ORDER_STATUS`       | [Order status](/en/messages/send-order-status)                 |
| Template            | `TEMPLATE`           | [Send template](/en/messages/send-template)                    |

<Note>
  Some of these endpoints are still in development. Each page warns at the top, and the
  [playground](/en/messages/introduction) shows which ones already answer for real.
</Note>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Send the first message" icon="paper-plane" href="/en/messages/send-text">
    The minimum body, and what comes back.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Conversation window" icon="clock" href="/en/conversation-window">
    When you can write first, and when you need a template.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Channel lifecycle" icon="arrows-spin" href="/en/channels/introduction">
    Create, connect, subscribe, disconnect and remove.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Official API limitations" icon="triangle-exclamation" href="/en/z-api/limitations">
    What classic Z-API has and the official one does not.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>