Installation

Prerequisites

Make sure you have Node.js version 16.0 or higher installed on your system.

Verify your installation:

node --version
npm --version

Create a New Project

If you don't have an existing Node.js project, create one:

mkdir my-whatsapp-bot
cd my-whatsapp-bot
npm init -y

Install WWebJS

Install the latest version of whatsapp-web.js from npm:

npm install whatsapp-web.js

You may also need to install Puppeteer separately:

npm install puppeteer

Optional: Development Dependencies

For development, consider installing these useful tools:

npm install --save-dev nodemon
npm install --save-dev eslint
npm install --save-dev prettier

• nodemon: Automatically restart your bot when files change
• eslint: Find and fix code issues
• prettier: Format code consistently

Verify Installation

Create a simple test file to verify everything works:

cat > test.js << 'EOF'
const { Client } = require('whatsapp-web.js');
console.log('WWebJS installed successfully!');
EOF

node test.js

You should see the success message without errors.

Update your package.json

Edit your package.json to add a start script:

{
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node index.js",
    "dev": "nodemon index.js"
  }
}

Next Steps

Now that WWebJS is installed, you can:

1. Learn about Application Setup to configure your first bot
2. Explore the Project Structure for organizing your code
3. Check out the core concepts in the documentation

Troubleshooting

Having issues? Common problems and solutions:

• Puppeteer installation fails: Make sure you have 512MB+ disk space
• Module not found: Run npm install again in your project directory
• Permission errors: Try running with sudo or check your Node.js installation

Still stuck? Ask in the Discord community