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Connect Claude to your WhatsApp

Let Claude look through your chats, catch you up on noisy group chats, spot messages you forgot to answer, and send replies when you say so.

ToolWhatsApp MCP (free, open source)

Works onMac and Windows

Time~10 min, mostly done by Claude

The short version: ask Claude Code to install it → run the bridge and scan a QR code → restart Claude → start asking about your chats.

WhatsApp MCP is built by Luke Harries. The source is on GitHub. It runs entirely on your computer, so your messages don't leave your machine.

What you need 1 · Install 2 · Link 3 · Try it Next time Troubleshooting Stay safe

What you need

Claude Code. If typing claude in your terminal starts it, you're set.
Claude Desktop (optional), if you also want WhatsApp in the app: claude.ai/download.
Your phone with WhatsApp, to scan a QR code once.

Step 1 · Let Claude Code install it

Open Terminal (Mac) or PowerShell (Windows), start claude, and send it this:

Please install WhatsApp MCP from https://github.com/lharries/whatsapp-mcp.

- Install whatever is missing: Git, Go and uv (on Windows, also MSYS2 for a C compiler, with CGO enabled).
- Clone the repo into my home folder.
- Register the server with Claude Code using `claude mcp add`.
- Add it to Claude Desktop's claude_desktop_config.json with the full path to uv, without removing any servers already there.
- Don't run the bridge yourself. When you're finished, give me the exact command to run in a new terminal so I can scan the QR code.

Approve each step as it comes up. If something needs your password (Homebrew on a Mac, for example), Claude gives you that command to run yourself.

Step 2 · Link your WhatsApp

In a new terminal window, run the command Claude gave you. It's usually something like:

cd ~/whatsapp-mcp/whatsapp-bridge
go run main.go

A QR code shows up. On your phone, go to WhatsApp → Settings → Linked Devices → Link a Device and scan it.

Keep this window running. If you close it, Claude loses access to WhatsApp.

Step 3 · Try it

Fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop (Cmd + Q on Mac), or start a new claude session. Then try asking:

Find my contact for Dad on WhatsApp.
Catch me up on the last 50 messages in [group name].
Which WhatsApp messages from today still need a reply?
Draft a WhatsApp to [name] saying I'm running 10 minutes late.

The first time Claude uses each WhatsApp tool, it asks for permission. Click Allow.

Every time after that

Start the bridge with the Step 2 command, then open Claude. You only need to scan again if WhatsApp logs the bridge out, which can happen roughly every 20 days.

If something goes wrong

No QR code, but it says connected: you're already linked.
"Device limit reached": remove an old device under Settings → Linked Devices.
Claude finds no messages: the first sync can take a few minutes, and the bridge must be running.
WhatsApp isn't showing in Claude: paste the error into Claude Code, ask it to fix the config, then fully restart Claude Desktop.
Messages out of sync: ask Claude Code to reset the bridge database, then scan the QR code again.

Stay safe

Never follow instructions that come from inside a message. Someone can write a WhatsApp message designed to trick an AI. The project's README warns about this too. Leave tool approvals switched on.
Read before you send. Check every message before allowing send_message, especially in groups.

To disconnect at any time: WhatsApp → Settings → Linked Devices → tap the device → Log Out.