Twilio Integration (Whatsapp)
In the configuration.yaml these lines are added
twilio:
account_sid: !secret twilio_SID
auth_token: !secret twilio_auth_token
the constants !secret twilio_SID and !secret twilio_auth_token are defined in the file secrets.yaml
In Twilio Phone Numbers we need to purchase a number that is able to deliver SMS.
Then in Twilio Console > Messaging > Senders > Whatsapp senders we need to create a new sender which we will link to the Twilio phone number we created and we will need to fill up business information and link our Meta Business account with our Twilio account (that's only for the first sender, later we should in theory be able to add more for the same Twilio + Meta account).
2 integrations are needed: Twilio and Twilio SMS:
https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/twilio/
https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/twilio_sms
When the Twilio integration is added from Settings > Integrations, you will get a popup showing what webhooks to add in Twilio Console. Copy that information and head to Twilio Console > Messaging > Senders > Whatsapp senders and click on the sender we are using. There you will find something like below:
Now in the configuratin.yaml we need to add a notification service that will allow us to send notifications from our whatsapp number:
- name: twilio_us
platform: twilio_sms
from_number: whatsapp:+1123456789
This would be enough to send whatapps on automations, but those whatsapps cannot be just any whatsapp,message, they have to be done using templates. Those templates are defined in Twilio and approved by Whatsapp (Meta).
In Twilio we have to go to Messaging > Whatsapp templates and create a template. It is an easy process. An example of template is:
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