Coster

This tutorial walks you through connecting your qlar agent to a WhatsApp Business number using Coster as your BSP (Business Solution Provider).

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

• An active Coster account with a registered WhatsApp Business number.
• The following values ready from your Coster dashboard:
  • Account ID
  • Division ID
  • Access Token
  • Template Access Token

Tip: Contact your Coster account manager or log in to the Coster portal to retrieve these credentials. The Access Token is used for sending messages, while the Template Access Token is specifically for sending WhatsApp message templates.

Step 1 — Open Channel Settings

1. Open the CMS dashboard and select the agent you want to connect.
2. In the left sidebar, click Channel.
3. Click the WhatsApp tab.
4. Choose which configuration to set up: Published Configuration (for live users) or Draft Configuration (for testing). Click the corresponding tab.

Note: You can configure both tabs independently. Start with Draft to test first, then repeat the steps for Published when ready to go live.

Step 2 — Start the Setup Wizard

If no WhatsApp number has been connected yet, a setup wizard appears.

1. In the Protocol dropdown, select Coster.
2. In the Phone Number field, enter your WhatsApp Business phone number in international format, for example +6281234567890.
3. Click Save (or the confirmation button in the wizard).

The wizard closes and the full configuration form loads.

Step 3 — Enter Account and Division Details

In the configuration form:

1. Account ID — Enter the Account ID from your Coster dashboard.
2. Division ID — Enter the Division ID assigned to your WhatsApp channel in Coster.

Step 4 — Enter Access Tokens

1. Access Token — Enter the access token used to authenticate API calls to the Coster messaging service.
2. Template Access Token — Enter the separate token used for sending WhatsApp message templates.

Note: Coster uses two separate tokens — one for general messaging and one specifically for template messages. Make sure you enter both correctly. Templates are used for proactive notifications and automated messages that start a conversation outside the 24-hour window.

Step 5 — Configure Webhook

qlar needs Coster to forward incoming messages to qlar's servers.

1. In the qlar form, locate the Webhook Secret field. Click Regenerate to create a secret, then copy it.
2. Below the secret field, qlar displays your Webhook URL in a code block. Copy that URL as well.
3. Go to your Coster dashboard and navigate to the webhook or callback URL settings for your WhatsApp channel.
4. Paste the Webhook URL and Webhook Secret (as the verify token or signature key, depending on Coster's interface).
5. Save the webhook configuration in Coster.

Warning: Keep the Webhook Secret confidential. If it is compromised, regenerate it in qlar and update the value in your Coster dashboard immediately.

Step 6 — Save and Verify

Click the Save button at the bottom of the form.

To verify the connection is working:

1. Send a test message to your WhatsApp Business number from a personal WhatsApp account.
2. The message should appear in your agent's conversation history in the CMS dashboard.
3. Your agent should respond automatically based on its configuration.

Tip: If messages are not arriving, confirm the Webhook URL is correctly set in your Coster dashboard and that the Access Token has not expired.

What's Next

• Repeat these steps for the Draft Configuration tab using a separate Coster test number if you want a safe environment for testing changes.
• To go live, make sure your agent is published and the Published Configuration tab is fully saved.
• See Connect WhatsApp for an overview of the dual-config concept and Session Management settings.