Get current client state

[glbatistabh]

After connecting to WhastAppWeb, the Client.info variable is set to with the client information (Client.info = new ClientInfo) ;

However, when there is a drop/break in the connection with WhastAppWeb (or explicitly, one of the methods destroy and logout is called) the variable Client.info remains set.

Is that correct? I believe that Client.info should be reset, correct?

[pedroslopez]

Hi, Is there a reason why you would need this cleared?

[glbatistabh]

it was the way I found to test if the client is authenticated/connected with whatsapp web, to prevent other methods were called (ex: getState, getContacts, etc ...).

Is there a more 'elegant/correct' way (eg, client.isConnected()) to test whether the client is connected?

see a simplified example of my code:

app.get('/contacts', middleVerifyAccess, function(req, res) {

  if (!client || !client.info) {
    return res.status(402).json({status: 'error', message: 'Unauthenticated Client'});
  }

  client.getContacts()
      .then((contacts) => {
        res.status(200).json({contacts: contacts});
      })
      .catch((error) => {
        res.status(500).json({contacts: null, status: 'error', message: error});
      });
});

[pedroslopez]

At the moment there's nothing that directly indicates whether the client has been initialized/is authenticated. As a workaround, something you could check is whether the underlying puppeteer page has been set or closed:

if(!client.pupPage) {
    // client has not been initialized
}

// or

if(client.pupPage.isClosed()) {
    // client has been destroyed
}

Regardless, I do think the state is something that we could/should add as part of the client itself.

[glbatistabh]

Thanks for the sugestion!

And yes ... two methods that are interesting to have on the client. client.isConnected () client.getInfo ()

[guicuton]

I've develop one method that emit a message on client if user is paired or not, based on chat list (left menu with chat list) I'll send a pull to be analyzed

[pedroslopez]

@guicuton I don't think an event would address the issue. @glbatistabh is looking for a way to determine if the client has been properly initialized/is currently connected. An event would tell you when this happens, but it would be up to you to store that information somewhere, which you can already do currently.

I think the proper course of action here would be to either have a property on the client that keeps track of the current state or have a function (or boolean property) that indicates whether the client is connected or not. I think having the function, as suggested by @glbatistabh that checks if it's connected would be the simplest and most straightforward solution.

[guicuton]

@pedroslopez i see... now i did understood his question haha For this i've used something based on your suggestion about client.pupPage

    var webReady = 0;
    client.on('qr', (qr) => {

      webReady++;
      if(webReady === 1) {
        console.log('Client is ready, Waiting qrcode')
      }

    });

[salvuccicarlos]

Hello @pedroslopez Any news on this? I'm using LocalAuth as authentication strategy and I need to "reuse" the connected browser in order to send new messages.

I have this code:

const clientIntializer = (client) => {

        console.log('NO SE HA INICIALIZADO EL CLIENTE');

        client = new Client({
            authStrategy: new LocalAuth(),
            puppeteer: { headless: false, args: ["--no-sandbox"] }
        });;

        console.log('ESTE ES EL client en clientIntializer(): ' + client);

        client.initialize();

        return client;
    };

But it seems that client is not reachable after the first initialization (error: Cannot read property 'sendMessage' of undefined)

client.on('ready', async () => {
            client.sendMessage('xxx@c.us', 'Iniciado');
            console.log('Mensaje de enviado a xxx')
        })

Right now each time I need to send a new message I have to restart the server and run this code:

const sendMessage = async () => {
        client = new Client({
            authStrategy: new LocalAuth()
        });

        client.on('ready', async () => {
            for (let i = 0; i < to.length; i++) {
                client.sendMessage(to[i].celular + '@c.us', message);
                console.log('Mensaje enviado a ' + to[i].celular);
                response.to = to[i].celular
            }
        });

        client.initialize();
    };

If I don't restart the server messages are not sent. I used non headless mode and the issue is that when I run again the code instead of scrapping the opened whatsapp web page, it opens an about:blank page and freezes.

How can I solve this? I've tried checking client.pupPage but it's a null variable.

Do I have any options or I should finish each session each time I want to send new messages?

[ShanthiniMM]

Hello @pedroslopez Any news on this? I'm using LocalAuth as authentication strategy and I need to "reuse" the connected browser in order to send new messages.

I have this code:

const clientIntializer = (client) => {

        console.log('NO SE HA INICIALIZADO EL CLIENTE');

        client = new Client({
            authStrategy: new LocalAuth(),
            puppeteer: { headless: false, args: ["--no-sandbox"] }
        });;

        console.log('ESTE ES EL client en clientIntializer(): ' + client);

        client.initialize();

        return client;
    };

But it seems that client is not reachable after the first initialization (error: Cannot read property 'sendMessage' of undefined)

client.on('ready', async () => {
            client.sendMessage('xxx@c.us', 'Iniciado');
            console.log('Mensaje de enviado a xxx')
        })

Right now each time I need to send a new message I have to restart the server and run this code:

const sendMessage = async () => {
        client = new Client({
            authStrategy: new LocalAuth()
        });

        client.on('ready', async () => {
            for (let i = 0; i < to.length; i++) {
                client.sendMessage(to[i].celular + '@c.us', message);
                console.log('Mensaje enviado a ' + to[i].celular);
                response.to = to[i].celular
            }
        });

        client.initialize();
    };

If I don't restart the server messages are not sent. I used non headless mode and the issue is that when I run again the code instead of scrapping the opened whatsapp web page, it opens an about:blank page and freezes.

How can I solve this? I've tried checking client.pupPage but it's a null variable.

Do I have any options or I should finish each session each time I want to send new messages?

Hi @salvuccicarlos, I am also facing this problem. Have you found any solution?

[salvuccicarlos]

Hi! No, It seems it is impossible to use the same initialized session after ir's first use. I have to kill the browser and start it again each time I need to send a message...

[SannanOfficial]

Hi everyone, there seems to be a client.getState() function for this now, that returns the current state of the client. You can also use the disconnected event and do what you want whenever the client disconnects for whatever reason.

[SannanOfficial]

Just tested out the disconnected event, it works fine, but with a few seconds of latency, similar to the ready event.

[SannanOfficial]

Update: The disconnect event works if the WhatsApp session is closed correctly. It seems that if the puppeteer windows are abruptly shut down (such as from process kill or the windows taskbar), then it won't detect the disconnect event, keeping you in the dark. To get through this, I think @pedroslopez solution is better:

At the moment there's nothing that directly indicates whether the client has been initialized/is authenticated. As a workaround, something you could check is whether the underlying puppeteer page has been set or closed:

if(!client.pupPage) {
    // client has not been initialized
}

// or

if(client.pupPage.isClosed()) {
    // client has been destroyed
}

Regardless, I do think the state is something that we could/should add as part of the client itself.