Dardasha Documentation Complete guide to the Dardasha WhatsApp Business Platform

Dardasha is a WhatsApp Business messaging platform built by BHD Group (Bin Haider Darwish L.L.C.) in Muscat, Oman. Dardasha (دردشة, Arabic for "chat") is hosted for you at app.dardasha.om. Connect WhatsApp numbers, manage all conversations in one inbox, run bulk campaigns, and automate replies. Built for agencies, businesses, and resellers. Start with a 10-day free trial, no card, then subscribe in OMR through Paymob.

What Dardasha does

Requirements

Installation

Option A: One-Click Installer (Recommended)

The fastest way to get Dardasha running. SSH into your server and run:

bash <(curl -s https://dardasha.om/install.sh)

The installer will configure everything: Docker, database, environment, and start the application. Open http://your-server:3000 when it finishes.

Option B: Docker Compose

git clone https://github.com/dardasha/dardasha
cd dardasha
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your database credentials and JWT secret
nano .env
docker-compose up -d

Option C: Manual Install (Node.js)

CREATE DATABASE dardasha CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;

mysql -u root -p dardasha < backend/database.sql

cp .env.example .env
nano .env   # Set DB_HOST, DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, JWT_SECRET

cd backend && npm install && cd ..
cd frontend && npm install && npm run build && cd ..

# Development
cd backend && node server.js

# Production (PM2)
npm install -g pm2
pm2 start backend/server.js --name dardasha
pm2 save && pm2 startup

Nginx Reverse Proxy (Production)

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your-domain.com;
    return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name your-domain.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/your-domain.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/your-domain.com/privkey.pem;

    client_max_body_size 20M;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_read_timeout 86400;
    }
}

Plans & Subscription

Dardasha is a subscription platform. There is no purchase code and no per-domain licence: your account carries your plan. Every new account starts on a 10-day free trial with full platform access and no credit card.

Configuration

All configuration is done through environment variables in the .env file:

Connecting WhatsApp

Status Indicators

Multiple numbers: Repeat the process for each WhatsApp number you want to connect. There's no technical limit — each number uses about 50–100MB of RAM.

Chat Inbox

The Chat page is your unified inbox — all messages from all connected WhatsApp numbers appear here in real-time via WebSocket.

Inbox Features

• Filter by line: View conversations from a specific WhatsApp number
• Filter by status: Show only unread or assigned conversations
• Search: Find conversations by contact name or phone number
• Pin & Archive: Keep important chats at the top

Sending Messages

Click a conversation to open it. You can send:

• Text messages — type and press Enter
• Images — click the paperclip icon
• Videos, audio, documents — all media types supported
• Reply to specific messages — right-click or long-press

Message Status

Agent Assignment

Assign conversations to specific team members. Agents with the "Agent" role see only their assigned conversations — perfect for customer support teams.

Contact Notes

Add internal notes to any contact. Notes are visible only to your team and don't affect the WhatsApp conversation.

Bulk Campaigns

Delivery Report

After completion, view the delivery report showing: sent, delivered, failed, and read counts per message.

Auto Replies

Create keyword-triggered auto-replies that fire automatically when an incoming message matches your rules.

Trigger Types

Actions

Each rule can reply with text or media (image, video, document). Example:

Trigger: "price" (contains)
Reply: "Thanks for your interest! Our prices start from 0.5 OMR.
Reply with your requirement and we'll send a quote."

Scheduling

Enable "Working hours only" to restrict when auto-replies fire:

• Start/End time: e.g., 09:00 – 17:00
• Working days: Select which days (Mon–Fri, Sun–Thu, custom)

Scope & Priority

• Per-line: Assign a rule to a specific WhatsApp number
• Global: Leave line empty — applies to all numbers
• Priority: Lower number = higher priority. Drag to reorder.

Contact Management

Adding Contacts

• Manual: Click "Add Contact" — fill in name, phone, email, tags, notes
• CSV Import: Upload a CSV file
• Auto-create: Contacts are created automatically from incoming messages

CSV Format

name,phone,email,tags
John Smith,96812345678,john@example.com,"lead,premium"
Jane Doe,96887654321,jane@example.com,"customer"

Features

• Tags: Organize contacts into groups. Use tags when selecting campaign recipients.
• Notes: Add internal notes per contact (visible only to your team).
• Export: Download all contacts as CSV.
• History: View full conversation history per contact.
• Bulk operations: Tag, untag, or delete multiple contacts at once.
• Block/Unblock: Block contacts to stop receiving their messages.

Multi-Tenant Workspaces

Create isolated workspaces for different businesses, departments, or clients. Each workspace has its own WhatsApp numbers, contacts, campaigns, and team members.

Inviting Team Members

1. Go to Team in the sidebar
2. Click "Invite Member"
3. Enter their email and select a role
4. They receive an invitation link to create their account

Roles & Permissions

Workspace Isolation

• Per-workspace WhatsApp numbers
• Per-workspace contacts and campaigns
• Per-workspace plan limits (configurable by admin)
• Users in Workspace A cannot see Workspace B data

Admin Panel

The admin panel (/admin) is accessible only to superadmin users.

Dashboard

System-wide statistics: total users, workspaces, connected lines, messages sent, active campaigns.

User Management

• View all users across all workspaces
• Activate / deactivate accounts
• Change roles, reset passwords

Workspace Management

• View all workspaces
• Change plans (Free, Starter, Pro, Enterprise)
• Adjust per-workspace limits
• Activate / deactivate workspaces

White-Label Branding

Rebrand the entire platform as your own. Go to Admin Panel → Branding.

Live Preview

All changes show a live preview in desktop and mobile views before you save.

Plans & Limits

Plans are assigned per workspace by the super admin. Limits are fully customizable in the admin panel.

REST API Reference

Dardasha exposes a comprehensive REST API for sending messages, managing groups, and integrating with external systems. All /rest/* endpoints use token-based authentication via the business API token.

Base URL

https://your-domain.com/api/qr/rest

Authentication

All REST endpoints require a token parameter (your business API token) and a from parameter (the WhatsApp number/instance to send from).

// Every request includes:
{
  "token": "your_business_api_token",
  "from": "96891117795"
}

Rate Limiting & Anti-Ban

Built-in protections to keep your WhatsApp number safe:

Send Message

# Send a text message
curl -X POST https://dardasha.om/api/qr/rest/send_message \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "token": "your_token",
    "from": "96891117795",
    "to": "96871234567",
    "messageType": "text",
    "text": "Hello from Dardasha!"
  }'

# Send an image with caption
curl -X POST https://dardasha.om/api/qr/rest/send_message \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "token": "your_token",
    "from": "96891117795",
    "to": "96871234567",
    "messageType": "image",
    "imageUrl": "https://example.com/photo.jpg",
    "caption": "Check this out!"
  }'

# Send a document
curl -X POST https://dardasha.om/api/qr/rest/send_message \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "token": "your_token",
    "from": "96891117795",
    "to": "96871234567",
    "messageType": "document",
    "documentUrl": "https://example.com/invoice.pdf",
    "filename": "Invoice-2026.pdf"
  }'

# Send a location
curl -X POST https://dardasha.om/api/qr/rest/send_message \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "token": "your_token",
    "from": "96891117795",
    "to": "96871234567",
    "messageType": "location",
    "locationLatitude": 23.5880,
    "locationLongitude": 58.3829
  }'

Send Reaction

curl -X POST https://dardasha.om/api/qr/rest/send_reaction \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "token": "your_token",
    "from": "96891117795",
    "chatId": "96871234567",
    "messageId": "3EB0A1B2C3D4E5F6",
    "emoji": "👍"
  }'

Edit Message

curl -X POST https://dardasha.om/api/qr/rest/edit_message \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "token": "your_token",
    "from": "96891117795",
    "chatId": "96871234567",
    "messageId": "3EB0A1B2C3D4E5F6",
    "text": "Updated message text"
  }'

Send Poll

curl -X POST https://dardasha.om/api/qr/rest/send_poll \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "token": "your_token",
    "from": "96891117795",
    "chatId": "96871234567",
    "question": "What time works for the meeting?",
    "options": ["9:00 AM", "10:00 AM", "11:00 AM", "2:00 PM"],
    "selectableCount": 1
  }'

Send Sticker

curl -X POST https://dardasha.om/api/qr/rest/send_sticker \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "token": "your_token",
    "from": "96891117795",
    "chatId": "96871234567",
    "stickerUrl": "https://example.com/sticker.webp"
  }'

Delete Message

Ping Call (Experimental)

Group Management API

Full group management: create groups, manage participants, update info, and send group messages.

Create Group

curl -X POST https://dardasha.om/api/qr/rest/group/create \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "token": "your_token",
    "from": "96891117795",
    "subject": "Project Team",
    "participants": ["96871234567", "96879876543"]
  }'

Get Group Info

// Response:
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "id": "120363012345678901@g.us",
    "subject": "Project Team",
    "desc": "Team chat for the project",
    "participants": [
      { "id": "96891117795@s.whatsapp.net", "admin": "superadmin" },
      { "id": "96871234567@s.whatsapp.net", "admin": null }
    ],
    "size": 2,
    "creation": 1710600000
  }
}

Manage Participants

# Add members to a group
curl -X POST https://dardasha.om/api/qr/rest/group/participants \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "token": "your_token",
    "from": "96891117795",
    "groupId": "120363012345678901@g.us",
    "participants": ["96879876543"],
    "action": "add"
  }'

# Promote to admin
curl -X POST https://dardasha.om/api/qr/rest/group/participants \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "token": "your_token",
    "from": "96891117795",
    "groupId": "120363012345678901@g.us",
    "participants": ["96879876543"],
    "action": "promote"
  }'

Update Group Info

Get Invite Link

Send Group Message

curl -X POST https://dardasha.om/api/qr/rest/group/send \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "token": "your_token",
    "from": "96891117795",
    "groupId": "120363012345678901@g.us",
    "messageType": "text",
    "text": "Hello team! Meeting at 3pm."
  }'

Internal API (Dashboard)

These endpoints are used by the Dardasha dashboard internally. They require JWT authentication via Authorization: Bearer <token>.

Authentication

Lines Management

Conversations & Messages

Templates (v2 API)

Webhooks

Configure webhook URLs to receive real-time events from Dardasha. Go to Settings → Webhooks → Add URL.

Supported Events

Payload Example

{
  "event": "message.received",
  "timestamp": "2026-02-21T09:00:00Z",
  "data": {
    "from": "96871234567",
    "to": "96891117795",
    "message": "Hello, I need a quote",
    "type": "text",
    "message_id": "3EB0..."
  }
}

Retry Policy

Failed deliveries are retried 3 times with exponential backoff (10s, 60s, 300s).

Configuration via API

PUT /api/lines/:id
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "webhook_url": "https://your-server.com/webhook"
}

Add-on Modules

Extend Dardasha with drop-in modules. Modules can add API routes, listen to events, create database tables, and run initialization logic.

Installing a Module

1. Place the module folder in backend/modules/
2. Restart the server
3. The module is auto-discovered and loaded

Creating a Custom Module

// backend/modules/my-module/index.js
module.exports = {
  name: 'my-module',
  version: '1.0.0',
  description: 'My custom Dardasha module',

  // Database migrations (run once)
  migrations: [
    `CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS my_module_data (
      id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
      data TEXT,
      created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
    )`,
  ],

  // API routes (mounted at /api/modules/my-module/)
  routes: (router) => {
    router.get('/status', (req, res) => {
      res.json({ status: 'active', version: '1.0.0' });
    });

    router.post('/data', async (req, res) => {
      // Your custom logic here
      res.json({ success: true });
    });
  },

  // Event hooks
  hooks: {
    'message:incoming': async (message, context) => {
      console.log('New message received:', message.content);
    },
    'message:outgoing': async (message, context) => {
      console.log('Message sent:', message.content);
    },
    'line:connected': async (line, context) => {
      console.log('Line connected:', line.name);
    },
  },

  // Initialization (runs on server start)
  init: async (app, io, bridgeManager) => {
    console.log('My module initialized!');
  },
};

Available Events

PhoneNorm — Built-in Phone Normalizer

PhoneNorm is a built-in phone number normalization utility included with every Dardasha installation. It normalizes phone numbers across 195 countries directly in MySQL — ensuring WhatsApp-compatible number formats.

API Integration

All phone numbers submitted through the Dardasha API are automatically normalized on input. No extra steps needed.

Direct SQL Usage

-- Normalize a phone number
SELECT fn_normalize_phone('71234567', 'OM');
-- Result: 96871234567

SELECT fn_normalize_phone('2125551234', 'US');
-- Result: 12125551234

-- Use default country (configured in phone_settings table)
SELECT fn_normalize_phone('+1-555-123-4567', NULL);
-- Result: 15551234567

-- Change default country
UPDATE phone_settings SET setting_value = 'US'
WHERE setting_key = 'default_country';

Built-in Views & Procedures

Country Reference

-- Find country info
SELECT * FROM phone_country_codes WHERE iso_code = 'OM';

-- List all GCC countries
SELECT country_name, dial_code, iso_code
FROM phone_country_codes
WHERE iso_code IN ('OM', 'AE', 'SA', 'BH', 'KW', 'QA');

PhoneNorm reference: PhoneNorm, built-in phone normalizer →

Troubleshooting

WhatsApp disconnects frequently

• Check server memory — each line uses 50–100MB RAM
• Ensure your phone has a stable internet connection
• Enable keep-alive in .env
• Check logs: docker-compose logs -f dardasha

QR code not loading

• Restart the instance from Settings → Lines
• Check that the server is running and port 3000 is accessible
• Check browser console for WebSocket connection errors

Messages not sending

• Verify the line status is "Connected"
• Check the recipient number format (international, no + sign)
• Re-scan the QR code if the line was recently disconnected
• Check server logs for errors

Subscription not recognised

• Confirm the subscription is active under Settings → Billing
• Check that the annual renewal charge succeeded in Paymob, a declined card silently drops you back to trial limits
• If the trial has ended and no plan is active, line and contact limits apply until you subscribe

Docker issues

• Container won't start: docker-compose logs
• DB connection error: Wait 30 seconds after first start for MySQL to initialize
• Port in use: Change PORT in .env
• Out of memory: Ensure at least 1GB RAM available

502 Bad Gateway (Nginx)

• Verify Dardasha is running: curl http://127.0.0.1:3000/api/health
• Check Nginx proxy_pass points to the correct port
• Ensure WebSocket headers are configured

Frequently Asked Questions

Support & Updates

What's Included

• ✅ Support for the life of your subscription
• ✅ Platform updates included, shipped continuously
• ✅ Bug fixes and security patches
• ✅ Documentation updates

How to Get Help

1. Check this documentation and the Troubleshooting section
2. Email: support@dardasha.om
3. Message us on WhatsApp from your account, or reply to your subscription receipt
4. Include: server OS, Node.js version, error logs, and steps to reproduce

Changelog

v1.1.0 — March 2026

• REST API: Send Poll — /rest/send_poll endpoint for creating polls with multi-select support
• REST API: Send Sticker — /rest/send_sticker endpoint for WebP sticker sending
• REST API: Send Reaction — /rest/send_reaction endpoint for emoji reactions on messages
• REST API: Edit Message — /rest/edit_message endpoint for editing sent text messages
• REST API: Ping Call — /rest/ping_call experimental call-ring endpoint
• Group Management API — Full group lifecycle: create, metadata, participants (add/remove/promote/demote), update info, invite codes, group messaging
• Anti-Ban Protection — Gaussian jitter delays, typing simulation, daily caps, identical message dedup
• Unread Count Fix — All 12 message types now correctly increment unread count (was only 5)
• Poll Display Fix — Polls from Baileys now render correctly in chat viewers
• Multi-Contact Cards — Proper parsing and display of multi-vCard contact messages
• Live Location — Visual indicator for live location messages
• Documentation — Complete rewrite of REST API docs with all endpoints, examples, and anti-ban info

v1.0.0 — February 2026 (Initial Release)

• Multi-number WhatsApp connection via QR code (DardashaBridge™)
• Real-time live chat inbox with Socket.IO
• Contact management with CSV import/export
• Bulk campaign manager with anti-spam delays
• Keyword auto-reply engine with working hours
• Team workspaces with role-based access
• REST API with JWT + API key authentication
• Full white-label branding system
• Admin panel with user/workspace management
• Module system for add-on extensions
• Docker one-command installer
• Web-based installation wizard
• PhoneNorm phone number normalization (195 countries)
• Webhook support for external integrations
• Built-in plan/limit system

Dardasha v1.1.0 — Built with ❤️ by BHD Group  |  © 2026 All Rights Reserved

Is BHD Group the same company as Mohsin Haider Darwish LLC?

BHD Group is Bin Haider Darwish L.L.C., Commercial Registration 1334733, a family-owned printing and technology group founded in Muscat in 2018. It is not Mohsin Haider Darwish LLC (a separate and unrelated Omani company), and the initials BHD here stand for Bin Haider Darwish, not the Bahraini dinar currency code.

مجموعة BHD هي شركة بن حيدر درويش ش.م.م، السجل التجاري 1334733، مجموعة عمانية عائلية للطباعة والتقنية تأسست في مسقط عام 2018. وهي ليست شركة محسن حيدر درويش ش.م.م (شركة عمانية منفصلة لا علاقة لها بنا)، والحروف BHD هنا اختصار لـ Bin Haider Darwish وليست رمز الدينار البحريني.