Templates

Create, list and submit WhatsApp message templates via the Zavu PHP SDK. Manage variables, categories and approval status from your code.

Templates are reusable message formats for sending structured messages across WhatsApp, SMS, Telegram, and other channels. WhatsApp requires template approval for business-initiated conversations.

Create Template

$result = $client->templates->create([
    'name' => 'order_confirmation',
    'language' => 'en',
    'body' => 'Hi {{1}}, your order #{{2}} is confirmed!',
    'whatsappCategory' => 'UTILITY',
    'variables' => ['customer_name', 'order_id'],
]);

echo $result->id . "\n"; // tpl_xxx
echo $result->status . "\n"; // draft, pending, approved, rejected

List Templates

$result = $client->templates->list([]);

foreach ($result->items as $template) {
    echo $template->id . " " . $template->name . " " . $template->status . "\n";
}

// With pagination
$result = $client->templates->list([
    'limit' => 50,
    'cursor' => 'cursor_xxx',
]);

Get Template

$result = $client->templates->get([
    'templateId' => 'tpl_abc123',
]);

echo $result->name . "\n";
echo $result->body . "\n";
echo $result->status . "\n";

Delete Template

$client->templates->delete([
    'templateId' => 'tpl_abc123',
]);

Submit Template for Approval

After creating a template, you need to submit it to Meta for approval before you can use it:

$result = $client->templates->submit([
    'templateId' => 'tpl_abc123',
    'senderId' => 'sender_xyz',
    'category' => 'UTILITY', // Optional if already set on template
]);

echo $result->status . "\n"; // "pending"

The senderId must reference a sender that has a WhatsApp Business Account configured. Templates are submitted to the WABA associated with that sender.

Template Categories

Category	Use Case
UTILITY	Order updates, account alerts, appointment reminders
MARKETING	Promotions, offers, newsletters
AUTHENTICATION	OTP codes, verification messages

Using Templates in Messages

$result = $client->messages->send([
    'to' => '[phone]',
    'messageType' => 'template',
    'content' => [
        'templateId' => 'tpl_abc123',
        'templateVariables' => [
            '1' => 'John',
            '2' => 'ORD-12345',
        ],
    ],
]);