Evolution API

Why deploy evolution api on Render?

Evolution API is a self-hosted WhatsApp API server that exposes REST endpoints, webhooks, and a web-based manager UI, supporting both the Baileys library and the official WhatsApp Cloud API. It lets developers programmatically send and receive WhatsApp messages, manage instances and contacts, and integrate chatbots without relying on a third-party messaging platform.

Deploy this template and Render provisions the entire Evolution API stack from one Blueprint: a managed Postgres instance (evolution-db) for your instances, messages, and contacts, a Docker web service that builds directly from the upstream evolution-foundation/evolution-api repo, and a persistent disk mounted at /evolution/instances to hold Baileys signal keys so your WhatsApp numbers stay connected across restarts. Render auto-generates your AUTHENTICATION_API_KEY and injects both the database URL and public service URL as environment variables, then runs prisma migrate deploy on boot—so there's no manual secret management, connection-string wiring, or migration step to script yourself. Instead of standing up Postgres, configuring disk persistence, and connecting it all by hand, you get a working /manager UI and REST API that redeploys automatically whenever the upstream main branch changes.

Architecture

What you can build

After deploying, you'll have a self-hosted WhatsApp API running on your own Render account, reachable over REST and authenticated with an auto-generated API key. You can connect regular or Business WhatsApp numbers by scanning a QR code at the /manager UI, then send and receive messages programmatically and route events to your own webhooks or to tools like n8n, Typebot, and Chatwoot. The database, session storage, and public URL are wired up on deploy, so there's nothing to configure before your first instance connects.

Key features

• Dual WhatsApp backends: Supports both Baileys (regular/Business numbers via QR) and Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API through the same REST surface.
• Upstream build tracking: Builds directly from evolution-foundation/evolution-api main via Render's repo/branch config, so pushes to upstream redeploy without vendoring the source.
• Disk-backed session persistence: Mounts a 1 GB persistent disk at /evolution/instances for Baileys signal keys, avoiding a Redis/Key Value instance while forcing stop-then-start deploys.
• Auto-wired Postgres + migrations: Provisions Postgres 16 for instances, messages, and contacts, and runs prisma migrate deploy on container boot.
• Per-instance webhooks: Configurable global or per-instance webhooks for message, status, and connection events, with SERVER_URL wired into payloads.

Use cases

• Startup founder automates WhatsApp order confirmations via REST webhook integration
• Support team routes customer WhatsApp chats into Chatwoot inbox
• Developer connects n8n workflows to send WhatsApp appointment reminders
• Agency deploys self-hosted OpenAI chatbot answering WhatsApp leads automatically

What's included

Next steps

1. Open https://.onrender.com/manager and sign in with your AUTHENTICATION_API_KEY, then create an instance named 'main' and scan the QR code with WhatsApp — The instance status flips to 'open' (connected) in the Manager within a few seconds of scanning, and no new QR code is shown
2. Send a test message via curl to the /message/sendText/main endpoint with your apikey header, targeting your own number — The request returns a JSON payload with a message key and status, and the text 'Hello from Render' arrives on the target WhatsApp number within seconds
3. Configure a webhook for your instance in the Manager (or via the API) pointing at a test endpoint like webhook.site, then send a message to the connected number — Your endpoint receives a POST with the message event payload containing SERVER_URL-based media links, confirming inbound events are flowing

Resources

• Evolution API official site