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

# Send your first WhatsApp OTP

> A developer guide to integrating the OTP Edge API to send a WhatsApp OTP in under 5 minutes.

Sending OTPs over WhatsApp is significantly faster and more reliable than traditional SMS, and OTP Edge makes it incredibly simple.

In this tutorial, we will walk through how to send your very first WhatsApp OTP using our REST API.

## Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure you have the following:

* An **OTP Edge Account**. If you don't have one, [sign up here](https://otpedge.com/signup).
* Your **API Key**. You can generate one in the [Dashboard](https://otpedge.com/dashboard/api-keys).

## Step 1: The Request

To send a WhatsApp OTP, you simply need to make an HTTP `POST` request to the `/api/v1/send-otp` endpoint.

Here is an example using `cURL`:

```bash theme={null}
curl --request POST \
  --url https://www.otpedge.com/api/v1/send-otp \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
  "to": "911234567891",
  "app": "app_name",
  "environment": "live",
  "template": "otp_veri"
}'
```

### Parameters

| Parameter     | Type     | Required | Description                               |
| :------------ | :------- | :------- | :---------------------------------------- |
| `to`          | `string` | Yes      | The recipient's phone number.             |
| `app`         | `string` | Yes      | The name of your application.             |
| `environment` | `string` | Yes      | The environment (e.g. `live`).            |
| `template`    | `string` | Yes      | The template ID to use (e.g. `otp_veri`). |

## Step 2: The Response

If the request is successful, OTP Edge will immediately dispatch the WhatsApp message via the Meta API and return a JSON response containing a unique `referenceId`.

```json theme={null}
{
  "success": true,
  "referenceId": "msg_abc123def456",
  "message": "OTP sent successfully via WhatsApp."
}
```

> **Note:** You must store this `referenceId`. You will need it in the next step to verify the OTP!

## Step 3: Verifying the OTP

Once the user receives the OTP on WhatsApp and types it into your application, you need to verify it.

Make a `POST` request to the `/api/v1/verify` endpoint:

```bash theme={null}
curl --request POST \
  --url https://www.otpedge.com/api/v1/verify-otp \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
  "referenceId": "msg_abc123def456",
  "code": "843912"
}'
```

If the code matches, you will receive a success response:

```json theme={null}
{
  "success": true,
  "message": "OTP verified successfully."
}
```

## Next Steps

Congratulations! You've successfully integrated WhatsApp OTPs into your application.

* To learn more about handling errors, read our [Error Handling Guide](/docs/api-reference/errors).
* To customize the message template, check out the [Templates](/docs/features/templates) documentation.