Frequently asked questions
Short answers to what is asked most. Each one links to the page where the detail is.
Is there a test environment?
No. The API you use to test is the same as production and what is charged is charged for real. You can call the queries, such as the ping, without spending anything. Read Testing without surprises.
Where do I get my API key?
It is created in Cloud, on the API keys screen. The steps and options are in Your API key.
What do I do if I lose my key?
It cannot be recovered: Hablame stores only a fingerprint of the key and shows it in full only once, when you create it. Delete the lost key and create another. How to do it.
What do the 401 and 403 errors mean?
A 401 says the key is missing (AUTH_REQUIRED) or not recognized (AUTH_INVALID_KEY). A 403 says the key is valid but not enough: it does not have the endpoint’s service (AUTH_SERVICE_NOT_ALLOWED) or capability (AUTH_CAPABILITY_NOT_ALLOWED), or you called from a network it does not allow (AUTH_IP_NOT_ALLOWED). Each code is explained in the error catalog.
How many requests can I make?
Each endpoint has its own limit per organization, which its page in the reference states; the ping, for example, allows 20 per minute. Each response with a limit carries the RateLimit-* headers, and when you exceed it the API answers 429 with Retry-After. See Usage limits.
How do I avoid creating the same link twice?
Send an Idempotency-Key when creating the link, or the batch. If the request is cut off and you repeat it with the same key and the same body, you receive the link from the first time, without creating or charging another. Read Idempotency.
What is charged and how much?
Queries are not charged. Creating a short link is, and so is every visit by a person to that link (bots and previews are not). Storage is charged per GB-month. This documentation does not publish prices: each product has a price endpoint (URL Shortener and Storage), or write to comercial@hablame.co.
Are there SDKs?
There is no official SDK you can install yet. In the meantime you have the OpenAPI specification, the Postman collection and code examples in nine languages on every endpoint of the reference. The status of each language is on SDKs.
How do I send SMS?
Over SMPP 3.4. Support creates the account and gives you the server, the port and your credentials. Start at SMS.
How do I receive the SMS people send me?
By webhook: when a person texts your short code, you get a signed notice with the sender and the text. Until Cloud has a screen for it, the Hablame team registers your endpoint on request. See Set up webhooks.
Which time zone do dates use?
The API timestamps use ISO 8601 format with their time zone offset. The days and hours of the URL Shortener statistics are Colombia’s (America/), and an expiresAt without a zone is read in Colombia time (-05:).
What do I do if a new field shows up in a response?
Ignore it. The API adds fields without notice and the ones that already exist do not change type, so your client must ignore what it does not know. See the response envelope.
Not with your real key: anyone who opens the browser tools would see it. Make the call from your server and hand only the result to your page.
How do I know whether the service is working?
On the status page you see the state of Hablame’s public services.
Who do I write to if something fails?
For technical questions, to developers@hablame.co. If you have a production incident, on WhatsApp at +57 319 660 0002, 24/7. Include the meta. from the response and do not send your full key. More at Support.
Cannot find your question? Write to us from the support page.