Setup & Deployment¶

Getting your Wappa conversational application from development to production - the complete journey from local testing to serving real users at scale.

What You'll Learn¶

This section covers everything you need to deploy and maintain production-ready WhatsApp conversational applications:

🔧 WhatsApp Setup - Get your WhatsApp Business API credentials and webhook configuration

🚀 Railway Deployment - Deploy to Railway in 10 minutes with zero DevOps experience

✅ Production Checklist - Essential checks before going live with real users

Development to Production Journey¶

Here's your path from idea to production:

graph LR
    A[💡 Idea] --> B[🔧 WhatsApp Setup]
    B --> C[💻 Local Development]
    C --> D[🧪 Testing]
    D --> E[🚀 Deploy]
    E --> F[✅ Production Checks]
    F --> G[📊 Monitor & Scale]

Phase 1: WhatsApp Credentials¶

Get your WhatsApp Business API set up with Meta for Developers. This is the "boring but necessary" part that unlocks everything else.

Phase 2: Local Development¶

Build and test your conversational app locally using Wappa's development tools and test credentials.

Phase 3: Production Deployment¶

Deploy to a cloud platform like Railway with proper environment variables and production credentials.

Phase 4: Production Readiness¶

Run through our checklist to ensure your app is secure, monitored, and ready for real users.

Quick Setup Path¶

Never deployed before? → Follow this sequence:

1. WhatsApp Setup - 20 minutes to get credentials
2. Railway Deployment - 10 minutes to go live
3. Production Checklist - 15 minutes of final checks

Total time: ~45 minutes from zero to production 🎯

Deployment Options¶

Recommended: Railway¶

• Why? Zero-config deployments, built-in Redis, automatic HTTPS
• Best for: Getting started quickly, indie developers, small teams
• Cost: Free tier available, pay-as-you-scale

Other Options¶

• Heroku: Classic platform, easy setup
• DigitalOcean App Platform: Simple, predictable pricing
• AWS/GCP/Azure: Maximum control, enterprise features
• Self-hosted: Your own servers with Docker

Environment Management¶

Wappa apps work the same everywhere with proper environment configuration:

# Local development (.env file)
WHATSAPP_TOKEN="temporary_token_24h"
WHATSAPP_PHONE_ID="test_phone_id"
WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ID="test_business_id"
ENVIRONMENT="development"
CACHE_TYPE="memory"

# Production deployment (secure environment variables)
WHATSAPP_TOKEN="permanent_system_user_token"
WHATSAPP_PHONE_ID="real_phone_id"
WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ID="real_business_id"
ENVIRONMENT="production"
CACHE_TYPE="redis"
REDIS_URL="redis://..."

What Makes Production Different?¶

Ready to Deploy?¶

First time? → Start with WhatsApp Setup to get your credentials

Already have credentials? → Jump to Railway Deployment for the fastest path to production

Going enterprise? → Review Production Checklist for security and compliance

From localhost to global scale - we've got you covered! 🌍