pyaileys 0.1.2

Async WhatsApp Web (Multi-Device) protocol client in pure Python, inspired by Baileys.

pyaileys

Async WhatsApp Web (Multi-Device) protocol client in pure Python, inspired by Baileys.

What This Is

• WebSocket protocol client (no browser automation)
• QR pairing + multi-device session persistence (Baileys-like auth folder)
• asyncio API for receiving stanzas/events and sending messages
• Minimal runtime deps: websockets, protobuf, cryptography

Status

This is an early-stage protocol client.

What works today:

• MD session login + QR pairing
• Basic 1:1 Signal E2E (pkmsg/msg) decrypt/encrypt
• Basic text send (with multi-device fanout)
• Typing/recording indications (chatstate)
• Media send (image, PTT voice note, documents, static location, contacts)
• Media download/decrypt (image, audio/PTT, documents)
• History Sync ingestion into an in-memory store
• Best-effort contact/profile metadata (names from history sync + notify push names, profile picture URL, status/about)

Limitations (Important)

• Group E2E (skmsg) / Sender Keys: not implemented
• Media support is partial: no video/stickers yet, and no automatic thumbnails/duration/waveform
• App-state sync + rich chat/contact model: minimal (demo store; contact names/profile are best-effort)
• API stability: no guarantees yet (pre-1.0)

Legal / Safety

This project is not affiliated with WhatsApp/Meta. Using unofficial clients may violate WhatsApp Terms of Service. You are responsible for compliance and for preventing abuse (spam/automation).

Installation

pip install pyaileys

Optional (pretty QR output in terminal + SVG QR file):

pip install "pyaileys[qrcode]"

Quickstart (Pair + Connect)

import asyncio

from pyaileys import WhatsAppClient


async def main() -> None:
    client, auth_state = await WhatsAppClient.from_auth_folder("./auth")

    async def on_update(update) -> None:
        # update is `pyaileys.socket.ConnectionUpdate`
        if update.qr:
            print("QR string:", update.qr)
        if update.connection:
            print("connection:", update.connection)

    async def on_creds_update(_creds) -> None:
        await auth_state.save_creds()

    client.on("connection.update", on_update)
    client.on("creds.update", on_creds_update)

    await client.connect()
    await auth_state.save_creds()

    # keep the process alive
    await asyncio.Event().wait()


asyncio.run(main())

Contacts & Profiles (Best-Effort)

WhatsApp Web does not provide a simple "address book" API. In practice, name/profile info comes from multiple places:

• History sync conversations (displayName/name/username)
• Incoming message stanzas (notify push name)
• Explicit queries (e.g. profile picture URL, about/status)

This library exposes a small convenience layer:

dn = client.get_display_name("[e-mail]")
contact = client.get_contact("[e-mail]")

pic = await client.profile_picture_url("[e-mail]", picture_type="preview")
statuses = await client.fetch_status("[e-mail]")

Notes:

• get_display_name() prefers a "saved name" (history sync) and falls back to push name (notify).
• fetch_status() may return "" if the status is hidden/blocked, and None if unavailable.

Examples

Kitchen sink (interactive):

python examples/demo_app.py --auth ./auth --log-nodes

Simple CLI (decrypt + store + send text/media):

python examples/simple_cli.py --auth ./auth

QR-only helper (writes qr.svg into the auth dir if qrcode extra is installed):

python examples/login_qr.py

Development

python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e ".[dev]"

ruff check .
ruff format .
mypy src/pyaileys
pytest -q

Releasing to PyPI (Trusted Publishing)

This repo includes a GitHub Actions workflow (.github/workflows/release.yml) that publishes to PyPI when you push a tag like v0.1.0.

• Bump versions in pyproject.toml and src/pyaileys/__init__.py
• Tag and push: git tag vX.Y.Z && git push --tags

Regenerating Generated Files

wabinary token tables are generated from a Baileys checkout:

git clone https://github.com/WhiskeySockets/Baileys.git /path/to/Baileys
python3 tools/gen_wabinary_constants.py --baileys /path/to/Baileys

proto/WAProto.proto is vendored from Baileys and patched to satisfy protoc:

python3 tools/patch_waproto_for_protoc.py
protoc -Iproto --python_out=src/pyaileys/proto proto/WAProto.proto

Credits

• Inspired by the Baileys TypeScript library (MIT): https://github.com/WhiskeySockets/Baileys

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md, CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md, and SECURITY.md.