Your AI agent texts you on WhatsApp and asks before it acts.
Claude Code, Codex or any MCP agent can send you an update when it is done. It can also ask Yes or No before it posts, deploys or messages customers.
- Yes and No buttons
- No WhatsApp Business API needed
- 30 messages an hour
The short answer
What is Agent Line?
Agent Line lets Claude Code, Codex or any MCP agent send you a WhatsApp message when it finishes work. It can also ask you Yes or No before it posts, deploys or messages customers. You tap a button in WhatsApp and the agent reads your answer. It is four MCP tools and a small REST API.
Last verified
Key facts
- Four MCP tools: notify_owner, ask_owner, get_owner_answer and read_owner_messages.
- Messages come from InstantReply's WhatsApp number to your verified number. You do not need the WhatsApp Business API.
- A question waits 24 hours for your answer, then it expires.
- Limits: 30 updates and questions per hour per workspace, and 60 messages per day per phone.
- Free and Creator keys are read-only, so they cannot send or ask.
Verified capabilities
What Agent Line does today
Checked against the product source code on November 8, 2026. The last three rows say what is waiting or not available.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Capability | How it works today | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Send an update | notify_owner sends up to 1,000 characters to your verified WhatsApp number. | Included |
| Ask Yes or No | ask_owner sends a question with Yes and No buttons and waits up to 55 seconds. get_owner_answer checks later. | Included |
| Talk to your agent | Text you type in the chat is saved for the agent. It reads it with read_owner_messages. | Included |
| Updates after a quiet day | Needs the ir_agent_update template. Meta had not approved it on this date, so these updates go to email for now. | Waiting on Meta |
| Browser sign-in for Claude Code | Sign in through the browser and the key it creates can send updates and ask questions. It cannot answer a question itself. | Included |
| Free and Creator plans | Their keys are read-only, so they cannot send updates or ask questions. | Not available |
Set it up in five steps
- Verify your WhatsApp number in Settings, under WhatsApp Alerts. A 6-digit code arrives on WhatsApp.
- Tap Open WhatsApp on the Agent Line card in Settings. Send the message it fills in (Hi, connect my agent).
- Add the server to Claude Code. Run the command below, then sign in through the browser when Claude Code asks.
- Prefer a key? Create one in Settings, under API Keys, and pass it in a header. Other agents need this.
- Paste one rule into CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md so the agent knows when to ask.
claude mcp add --transport http instantreply https://api.instantreply.co/mcp
# Other agents, or if you prefer a key:
claude mcp add --transport http instantreply https://api.instantreply.co/mcp \
--header "Authorization: Bearer ir_live_YOUR_KEY"The rule to paste, word for word from the Agent Line card:
When you finish a task, tell me with notify_owner. Before you post, deploy, send anything to customers or spend money, ask me with ask_owner and wait for my answer. Read my instructions with read_owner_messages.Use the remote server. The local npm package (version 0.8.0) does not have these tools yet. Other agents, such as Codex and Cursor, work the same way if they can send an Authorization header. See the MCP server page for each client.
The four MCP tools
| Tool | Input | What it does |
|---|---|---|
notify_owner | text, 1 to 1,000 characters | Sends you an update |
ask_owner | question (up to 600), details (optional, up to 1,000), wait_seconds (0 to 55, default 50) | Asks Yes or No and waits for your answer |
get_owner_answer | id from ask_owner | Checks the answer later |
read_owner_messages | no input | Reads what you typed to the agent |
ask_owner returns answer as yes, no, or null while you have not answered.
Or call the REST API
The tools call these endpoints, so a script or CI job can use them too. Sending and asking need the scope approvals:write. Reading answers and messages needs approvals:read.
curl -X POST https://api.instantreply.co/v1/agent/notify \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $IR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"text": "Done: the pricing page fix is merged."}'
# 200 OK
# {"delivered": "whatsapp"}curl -X POST https://api.instantreply.co/v1/agent/ask \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $IR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"question": "May I deploy the pricing page fix?", "details": "Tests pass. 3 files changed."}'
# 201 Created
# {"id": "...", "status": "pending", "expires_at": "...", "delivered": "whatsapp"}
curl https://api.instantreply.co/v1/agent/approvals/APPROVAL_ID \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $IR_API_KEY"
# {"id": "...", "status": "executed", ...} executed means Yes, declined means Nodelivered tells you the route: whatsapp, queued_template or email. Your typed messages come from GET /v1/agent/inbox. Reading empties the list. Add ?peek=true to read without emptying it.
How a message reaches you
WhatsApp lets a business send normal messages only for 24 hours after your last message to it. After that, Meta allows only approved templates. Agent Line stops 10 minutes early to stay inside that window.
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| You sent the InstantReply WhatsApp number a message in the last 23 hours and 50 minutes | The update arrives in WhatsApp right away. A question comes with Yes and No buttons. |
| The chat has been quiet for longer than that | The update waits. InstantReply sends a short template that says you have an update. When you reply, the waiting updates arrive. |
| Meta has not approved that template, or the send fails | The update goes to your email and the bell in your dashboard. |
Today: the template, ir_agent_update, was still waiting for Meta's review on November 8, 2026. Until Meta approves it, updates sent after a quiet day go to email. Reply to any update to keep the chat open for another day. Meta's rule is on its send messages page.
Answering from WhatsApp
- Tap Yes or No under the question. InstantReply replies "Got it: Yes. Your agent can go ahead." or "Got it: No."
- Or type yes or no. ok, approve, go and 1 also mean Yes. decline, stop and 2 also mean No. The Arabic words for yes and no work too.
- A typed answer counts only when exactly one question is waiting. Otherwise, tap the button on the question you mean.
- Anything else you type goes to your agent. It reads your words with read_owner_messages.
- Only Agent Line questions can be answered in WhatsApp. Other approvals stay in the dashboard.
Limits
Agent Line is not unlimited. These limits come from the product code.
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Updates and questions per workspace | 30 per hour, counted together |
| Messages to one phone number | 60 per day |
| Update text | 1 to 1,000 characters |
| Question | 1 to 600 characters, plus details up to 1,000 |
| Time to answer a question | 24 hours, then it expires |
| How long ask_owner waits | 0 to 55 seconds, 50 by default |
| Updates waiting for you | The latest 20, kept for 7 days |
| Your messages to the agent | The latest 100, kept for 7 days |
| You see | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
409 AGENT_LINE_NOT_CONFIGURED | No verified WhatsApp alert number, or alerts are off | Verify the number in Settings, WhatsApp Alerts |
403 Insufficient scope | The key cannot write: a Free or Creator key | Use a key from a plan that can write |
429 | Over 30 an hour for the workspace or 60 a day for the phone | Wait, then send fewer and longer updates |
400 | Empty text, or text over the limit | Keep updates to 1,000 characters and questions to 600 |
What this does not do
- It does not stop an agent by itself. The agent asks because your rule tells it to, and it acts on the answer it reads.
- It does not keep a history. Waiting updates and your typed messages are kept for 7 days.
- It does not send to customers. Messages go only to the verified number of the workspace.
- It does not work with Free and Creator keys.
- We could not confirm when Meta will approve the ir_agent_update template.
For a step-by-step setup, read how to connect Claude Code to WhatsApp. For Claude Code basics, see the Claude Code MCP setup page.
How it works
How it works
Verify your number
Add your WhatsApp number in Settings and enter the 6-digit code. Then send Instant Reply the message the Open WhatsApp button fills in.
Connect your agent
Add the InstantReply MCP server with an API key, and paste the rule into CLAUDE.md.
Answer in WhatsApp
Read updates, tap Yes or No on questions, and type instructions back to the agent.
Why teams choose it
What you get
A WhatsApp chat between you and the agent you already use.
One-tap answers
Questions arrive with WhatsApp reply buttons. One tap answers.
Answers the agent can read
ask_owner waits up to 55 seconds. If you answer later, get_owner_answer picks it up.
You can talk back
Text you type in the chat goes to the agent. It reads it with read_owner_messages.
Email when WhatsApp is closed
If the chat window is shut and no template can be sent, the update goes to your email.
Best fit
Perfect for teams that move fast in DMs.
Ask before a deploy
Scenario
Your agent finishes a fix and asks if it may deploy. You tap Yes from your phone.
Outcome
Know when work is done
Scenario
A long task ends while you are away. The agent sends one line with what changed.
Outcome
Check before anything public
Scenario
Before the agent posts or messages customers, it asks first and waits.
Outcome
The difference
Why Switch?
Without Instant Reply
With Instant Reply
Common questions
Can I connect Claude Code to WhatsApp?
Yes. Add the InstantReply MCP server to Claude Code with an API key. Claude Code then gets four tools that send you WhatsApp updates, ask you Yes or No, and read what you type back.
How does an AI agent ask for approval on WhatsApp?
The agent calls ask_owner with a question. You get it on WhatsApp with Yes and No buttons. The tool waits up to 55 seconds, and if you answer later the agent checks with get_owner_answer.
Can I get MCP notifications on WhatsApp?
Yes. notify_owner sends up to 1,000 characters to your verified WhatsApp number. A workspace can send 30 updates and questions an hour, and one phone gets at most 60 a day.
Is there a message limit?
Yes. 30 updates and questions per hour per workspace, and 60 messages per day per phone number. Above that the API returns 429.
Why did my update arrive by email?
Your WhatsApp chat with InstantReply was quiet for about a day. Meta then allows only approved templates, and ours was still in review. Send any message to the InstantReply number to open the chat again.
Do I need the WhatsApp Business API?
No. Updates come from InstantReply's own WhatsApp number to your personal number. You verify your number with a 6-digit code sent on WhatsApp.
Does a Yes or No stop the agent?
No. The agent asks because your instructions tell it to, and it acts on the answer it reads. Put the rule in CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md so it asks every time.
Related features
Features that work with this one
Each page below covers the next step in the same workflow, with its own plan limits and a list of what it does not do.
Get your agent's updates on WhatsApp.
Verify your number, add an API key, and paste one rule into CLAUDE.md.
An interactive read-only demo, and plan limits in plain English.