> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.switchbord.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# WhatsApp Groups

> Switchbord's foundation for Meta Groups API conversations and internal team group pilots.

# WhatsApp Groups

Switchbord now includes the first foundation for WhatsApp group conversations. The inbox can mark conversations as groups, expose group summaries, and filter the conversation list to **Groups** for internal-team testing.

<Info>
  This is a foundation layer. It does not yet claim full group lifecycle management, participant management, or complete group-send enforcement.
</Info>

## Meta Groups API constraints

Meta's Groups API has different constraints from standard one-to-one Cloud API messaging:

* Businesses must have an **Official Business Account (OBA)** to use Groups API features.
* Groups are invite-only and participants join through a group invite link.
* Maximum group participants: **8**.
* Supported message types include text, media, text-based templates, and media-based templates.
* Unsupported experiences include Calling API, disappearing messages, view-once messages, authentication messages, commerce messages, and interactive messages.
* Template analytics are not available for templates used in groups; create separate templates for group use.

## Current Switchbord support

The v0.15.53 foundation adds:

* `Conversation.isGroup` and `Conversation.group` domain summaries.
* Metadata-backed group detection from `conversations.metadata` (`chatType`, `conversationType`, `type`, or `isGroup`).
* A Groups-only pill in `/inbox` next to the existing conversation-list filters.
* Server-side `groupsOnly=1` support on `/api/inbox/conversations`.
* A Supabase metadata index for group conversation discovery.
* Mock internal-team group data for early QA.

## Recommended metadata shape

Until a dedicated group table lands, group conversations should carry metadata similar to:

```json theme={null}
{
  "chatType": "group",
  "groupId": "120363012345678901@g.us",
  "groupName": "Internal Team · May arrivals",
  "participantCount": 6
}
```

Avoid returning invite links to broad inbox list responses unless the operator action specifically needs them.

## Current limitations

* The inbox can filter and identify groups, but the selected detail pane still needs group-first presentation polish.
* Group-specific send constraints are not fully enforced yet.
* Participant list management is not implemented.
* Invite-link creation/refresh is not implemented.
* Group templates and analytics should be separated from one-to-one campaign templates.

## Follow-up implementation checklist

1. Promote group name, group id, and participant count in the list row, header, and right-side detail pane.
2. Add group-specific send guards for unsupported message types.
3. Add group import/sync from Meta Groups API once OBA eligibility is confirmed.
4. Add participant management and invite-link actions behind explicit permissions.
5. Add tests with the internal team group as the first production QA target.