Connect WhatsApp to Cline

What you can do

Step by step

Cline connects with an organization API key and the X-SyncZap-Workspace header. The examples use placeholders only: never commit your key to a repository.

1. 1

   Create your SyncZap account

   Click Start free trial and create your account with e-mail and password or with one of the providers shown on the sign-in screen. The organization is created right away, with a 7-day trial and every feature unlocked.

2. 2

   Connect WhatsApp with the QR code

   In the dashboard, open Connections and click Connect WhatsApp. On your phone, open WhatsApp → Linked devices → Link a device and scan the code. SyncZap joins as a linked device, like WhatsApp Web, with no change of number.

3. 3

   Choose which conversations are saved

   In Conversations, turn on sync for the conversations the assistant may read. An owner or admin can also turn on Sync all conversations. The assistant never reads conversations without active sync.

4. 4

   Create an API key

   In the panel, open API access and click Generate key (owner or administrator). Give it a name, such as the client's, and tick Read; also tick Send messages if the assistant will send. Copy the key: it is shown only once and SyncZap keeps only its hash.

5. 5

   Copy the organization ID

   The key only works with your organization's ID in the X-SyncZap-Workspace header. It appears under API access, in the example request (the part after /api/agent/), and in the panel's address, after workspace=.

6. 6

   Add SyncZap to Cline

   In Cline, click the MCP Servers icon and open the Remote Servers tab. Add SyncZap to cline_mcp_settings.json with type streamableHttp, url https://synczap.ai/mcp and the headers. Without type, Cline falls back to legacy SSE and the connection fails. Replace YOUR_WORKSPACE_ID with the organization ID and YOUR_API_KEY with the key, where it appears.

   cline_mcp_settings.json

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "synczap": {
         "type": "streamableHttp",
         "url": "https://synczap.ai/mcp",
         "headers": {
           "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY",
           "X-SyncZap-Workspace": "YOUR_WORKSPACE_ID"
         },
         "disabled": false
       }
     }
   }

7. 7

   Test

   Check that SyncZap shows as active in the list and ask: List the WhatsApp chats waiting for a reply.

Plan requirements

Cline

• Cline's documentation lists no plan requirement for remote MCP servers.

SyncZap

• The 7-day free trial unlocks every feature.
• Sending through the assistant: Plus, Pro, Max and Business.
• Voice note transcription and AI reading of images and PDFs: Pro, Max and Business, with a daily cap (for example, 120 minutes of audio and 300 images per day on Pro).

See pricing

Ask about your chats

• Which conversations went unanswered today?
• Summarize today's conversations with customers.
• Search this week's messages about quotes and list who asked.
• Transcribe Maria's latest voice note and tell me what she asked for.
• What was agreed in the team group since Monday?
• Find the proposal PDF Carlos sent and summarize the amounts.
• Reply to João confirming delivery tomorrow at 10 a.m.
• List this week's customer requests and create a checklist in REQUESTS.md.

Names, messages and captions are third-party content: SyncZap hands them to the assistant as data, never as instructions.

WhatsApp groups

• Groups stay off until you choose them. With saving set to Only chosen people, the default, no group is saved until you turn on its sync under Conversations.
• Under Settings → What gets saved, the Groups option saves every group chat; when off, no group is saved and anything saved is hidden. With All, except some people, groups are included unless that option is off.
• Saving groups is part of the Plus, Pro, Max and Business plans and the trial. The automatic transcript reply does not apply to groups unless Include groups is on.

Tools the assistant gets

The same list the MCP server publishes to every client. Send tools only work with the send permission. See full descriptions

• get_account_contextCheck connection and coverageRead-only
• list_conversationsList conversationsRead-only
• get_messagesRead conversationRead-only
• search_messagesSearch messagesRead-only
• list_unanswered_conversationsSee unanswered conversationsRead-only
• list_contactsSearch contactsRead-only
• search_attachmentsSearch filesRead-only
• read_attachmentTranscribe or read attachmentRead-only
• check_recipient_send_optionsCheck recipientRead-only
• get_send_queueSee send queueRead-only
• get_send_statusCheck send statusRead-only
• send_messageSend messageAction without confirmation
• mark_as_readMark as readAction without confirmation
• react_to_messageReact to messageAction without confirmation
• update_chatOrganize conversationAction without confirmation
• prepare_messagePrepare replyPrepares, does not send
• prepare_message_actionPrepare message actionPrepares, does not send
• prepare_mediaPrepare file sendPrepares, does not send
• prepare_locationPrepare location sendPrepares, does not send
• prepare_contactPrepare contact sendPrepares, does not send
• execute_message_actionRun confirmed actionRequires confirmation
• send_mediaSend confirmed fileRequires confirmation
• send_locationSend confirmed locationRequires confirmation
• send_contactSend confirmed contactRequires confirmation

Choose what the assistant sees

• Chat by chat: under Conversations, open a chat and turn on Sync. Only synced chats are saved, shown and read by assistants.
• Sync everything: under Connections, an owner or administrator can turn on Sync all conversations, which saves new and existing chats in real time. The change is recorded in the audit log.
• Never save list: under Settings → What gets saved, the All, except some people rule saves everything but the people on the list; the Only chosen people rule saves just the Save only these list.
• Never saved: WhatsApp system feeds (broadcasts, channels and the system contact). WhatsApp credentials stay on the sync server and never reach the assistant.
• Turning off a chat's sync stops saving it, and what was saved is no longer shown or read by assistants. Under Settings, What the AI can see shows counts of what is accessible.

How SyncZap isolates data

Voice notes, files and media

• Photos, voice notes, videos and documents stay on the phone. When someone opens an attachment or asks for an AI reading, SyncZap downloads a temporary copy, deleted from the server 24 hours after the download.
• The assistant transcribes voice notes and reads images, screenshots and PDFs with read_attachment on the Pro, Max and Business plans and the trial, within the daily cap. Transcripts and readings are kept as text and show up in search.
• On the Max and Business plans and the trial, every received voice note is transcribed as it arrives. An owner or administrator chooses whether the transcript stays in SyncZap, goes to your “Message yourself” chat or is replied in the chat itself, where the contact also sees it.
• Voice notes and images sent for transcription or reading go to the Google Gemini or OpenAI API, contracted without using the data to train models.

How sending works

• Sending and acting require the owner or administrator role, the send permission (ticked in the authorization or on the API key) and a plan with sending through agents.
• Each send has an idempotency key: repeating the same key does not send the message twice, and an unknown result never triggers a new automatic send.
• Sends go through the number's queue, one at a time. Queued is not sent yet, and accepted means WhatsApp accepted the message, not that it was delivered or read.
• Marking as read and reacting with an emoji need no confirmation, but only work on synced conversations. The contact may see the read receipt and the reaction.
• Automatic transcript delivery is optional and turned on by an owner or admin: SyncZap sends the text of each received voice note to your Message yourself chat or as a reply in the same conversation, where the contact sees it too. Groups are left out unless Include groups is on, and each voice note produces at most one send.

Troubleshooting

The server does not connect

Check that type is streamableHttp. Without it, Cline tries SSE, which SyncZap does not offer.

The client gets a 401 or opens a sign-in screen

Both headers must arrive together: Authorization: Bearer with the key and X-SyncZap-Workspace with the ID of the same organization. A revoked key, a key from another organization or a suspended organization also gets a 401. SyncZap's OAuth sign-in only accepts ChatGPT, Claude and Claude Code, so this client needs the key.

The assistant says there are no conversations or messages

Check in Connections that WhatsApp is connected and, in Conversations, that the conversations you want have sync turned on. The assistant only sees synced conversations, and older messages depend on the history the phone sends and on your plan's limit.

Sending is refused or the sending tools do not show up

Sending requires a key with Send messages and a plan with sending through agents (Plus, Pro, Max and Business and the trial). If the key is read-only, generate another under API access with Send messages ticked and swap it in the file.

The 60 sends per hour limit showed up

Direct text sends through assistants are capped at 60 per hour per organization, across every assistant and key. Wait for the window to pass; nothing is sent meanwhile.

I connected the wrong organization

The key and the ID belong to one organization. For another one, generate a key there and use its ID.

The assistant does not transcribe voice notes or read images

Voice note transcription and AI reading of images and PDFs are part of the Pro, Max and Business plans and the trial, with a daily cap. The file must be in a synced chat and still available on the phone.

The phone was unlinked

In Connections, click Connect WhatsApp and scan the new QR code. Messages already saved stay in SyncZap.

How do I revoke access?

Under API access, revoke the key. The client loses access on its next call.

Frequently asked questions

Does Cline see all my chats?

No. Cline only reads the chats with sync turned on in the organization you connected. Unselected chats, people on the Never save list and WhatsApp system feeds stay out.

Can the assistant send messages on its own?

Only when you ask and only with the send permission, on a plan with sending through agents (Plus, Pro, Max and Business and the trial). Text goes out directly, without a confirmation step, up to 60 per hour per organization. Files, location and contacts are prepared and only go out after your confirmation.

Why does this client use an API key instead of a sign-in?

SyncZap's OAuth sign-in currently accepts ChatGPT, Claude and Claude Code. For other clients, the organization's API key with the X-SyncZap-Workspace header gives the same access, with the permissions ticked on the key. SyncZap keeps only the key's hash.

I have more than one WhatsApp number. Does it work?

Yes, on plans with more than one number. Lists and searches combine every number and show which number each item came from; to read a chat or send, the assistant names the number.

Is SyncZap a WhatsApp product?

No. SyncZap is independent and has no ties to WhatsApp, Meta or Cline Bot. It connects your number as a linked device, the same feature WhatsApp Web uses, without the WhatsApp Business API.

How much does it cost?

You can try everything for 7 days for free. Then pick a plan on the pricing page; the AI client's own plan is separate.

Still have questions?