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

> ## Agent Instructions
> DarkFunnels is a WhatsApp AI sales-agent platform used mainly in Peru and Latin America. The product interface and most of this documentation are in Spanish; the /en tree is the English mirror.
> A business connects the WhatsApp number it already uses by scanning a QR code from the dashboard, the same linked-device mechanism as WhatsApp Web. It does not go through the Meta Cloud API (WhatsApp Business Platform), so there is no application to get approved and no message templates to submit. DarkFunnels is not a Meta product and is not affiliated with Meta.
> DarkFunnels also publishes a remote MCP server at https://mcp.darkfunnels.ai/mcp so an assistant such as Claude, ChatGPT or Codex can operate the workspace on the owner's behalf. The tool reference is at /referencia/tools and the connection parameters at /referencia/url-de-conexion.
> The dashboard is https://optimind.darkfunnels.ai, the marketing site is https://darkfunnels.ai and the page written for AI agents is https://darkfunnels.ai/agents.

# Connect WhatsApp without the Business API

> Connect WhatsApp without the Business API: scan a QR from the dashboard, what happens to that number's chats, the trial credits you get and how to fix a stalled session.

This is the step that switches everything on. Up to here you have an agent with
a script; from here on it has a phone.

You connect the WhatsApp number you already use by scanning a QR from the
dashboard — no Meta Cloud API application, no message templates to get
approved, no per-conversation fee.

<Note>
  The dashboard is in Spanish. Throughout this page, buttons and labels are given
  in English with the Spanish wording you will actually see in parentheses.
</Note>

## Before you scan: the three things to know

<Warning>
  **1. Use the number your customers already write to.** Regular WhatsApp or
  WhatsApp Business works, on whatever phone. You don't need a new number or a
  separate line.

  **2. Your agent will answer the chats that arrive at that number.** All of the
  incoming ones, not a test list. That is what it does: it answers whoever
  writes. You can take over any conversation whenever you want — every chat has
  an **Autopilot** (*Piloto automático*) switch that you turn off to reply
  yourself.

  **3. Connecting credits your US\$ 10 of trial credit** (plus the US\$ 25 of
  referral credit, if you used one) **and starts the 15-day clock.** Before you
  connect, your balance says US\$ 0 on purpose. If you had already built or tested
  your agent, you will see slightly less than US\$ 10 credited: that usage was
  advanced to you and is now deducted — [Pricing](/en/getting-started/pricing)
  explains it.
</Warning>

## The QR, step by step

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the channels panel">
    In the menu: **Customize → Channels** (*Personalizar → Canales*). If you are
    coming from your balance notice, the **Connect WhatsApp** (*Conectar
    WhatsApp*) button takes you straight there.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Press «Connect / Scan»">
    You will see **Preparing the QR code…** (*Preparando el código QR…*) for a
    few seconds. The agent has to be active: if it is switched off, the
    dashboard tells you so instead of showing you the code.
  </Step>

  <Step title="On your phone, link the device">
    Open WhatsApp → **Linked devices** → **Link a device** and point the camera
    at the code on the screen.

    It is the same mechanism as WhatsApp Web: your phone remains the owner of
    the number and you can carry on using it as normal.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Wait for «Connected»">
    The badge in the dashboard goes through **Connecting…** (*Conectando…*) and
    ends at **Connected** (*Conectado*), with the number in view. Your credits
    are credited at that moment.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  Have your phone in hand before you press «Connect»: the code is short-lived and
  it is nice not to have to ask for another one.
</Tip>

## What each status tells you

| Badge                                    | What it means                               | What to do                                                                    |
| ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Connected** (*Conectado*)              | The number is linked and the agent replies. | Nothing.                                                                      |
| **Scan the QR** (*Escanea el QR*)        | There is a code on screen waiting for you.  | Scan it, or press **Refresh QR** (*Actualizar QR*) if it has already expired. |
| **Connecting…** (*Conectando…*)          | The session is coming up.                   | Wait a few seconds.                                                           |
| **Action required** (*Acción requerida*) | The session got parked or took too long.    | See below.                                                                    |
| **Disconnected** (*Desconectado*)        | There is no linked number.                  | **Connect / Scan** (*Conectar / Escanear*).                                   |
| **No connection** (*Sin conexión*)       | The WhatsApp service could not be reached.  | Retry in a few minutes.                                                       |

## Common problems

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="The QR code expired before I could scan it">
    That is normal: WhatsApp codes expire on their own after a few seconds and
    keep renewing while the screen is open. Press **Refresh QR** (*Actualizar
    QR*) and scan the new one. If you let many codes go by without scanning any
    of them, the session gets parked — that is the case below.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="It says «Action required» and no code appears">
    The session got **parked**: after ten or so unscanned codes, the service
    stops generating them until someone deliberately starts the connection
    again — that way a forgotten tab does not spend the night asking WhatsApp
    for codes.

    The button says **Connect** (*Conectar*), not «Retry»: press it and the QR
    cycle starts from scratch.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="It stays on «Connecting…» for a long time">
    The dashboard offers you two ways out, in this order:

    1. **Retry** (*Reintentar*) — asks for the connection again without touching
       the session.
    2. **Restart** (*Reiniciar*) — throws the session away and brings it up from
       scratch. It is the way out when «Retry» changes nothing.

    If it is still the same after restarting, it is usually the service and not
    your account: wait a few minutes and come back.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="It was connected and dropped on its own">
    This happens when the number is unlinked from the phone (WhatsApp → Linked
    devices → log out), when WhatsApp closes the session on its own, or after a
    long network outage.

    You recover it the same way as the first time: **Connect / Scan**
    (*Conectar / Escanear*) and a new QR. Your conversations, your playbook and
    your catalog are not touched — the only thing rebuilt is the link with the
    phone.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I connected the wrong number">
    **Disconnect** (*Desconectar*) in the channel panel and connect again with
    the right number. Welcome credits are credited **once per account**:
    reconnecting does not duplicate them, and disconnecting does not take them
    away.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I don't want it to reply yet">
    Connect anyway — it is what credits your credits and starts the trial — and
    turn off **Autopilot** (*Piloto automático*) in the chats you want to handle
    yourself. You can also deactivate the agent while you finish tuning its
    playbook.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## And now

Write to it yourself from another phone: that is the honest test. You will see
the conversation come into **Conversations** (*Conversaciones*), with autopilot
on and the agent replying with the script you wrote for it.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Credits and top-ups" icon="wallet" href="/en/getting-started/credits-and-top-ups">
    What consumes balance and how to top up before you run out.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Review conversations" icon="message" href="/en/guides/conversations">
    Where sales are being lost, with your assistant alongside.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>