Canonical page: https://docs.teloring.com/api/create-conversation Last modified: 2026-08-20T20:52:05.000Z # Create a conversation import MethodEndpoint from "@theme/ApiExplorer/MethodEndpoint"; import ParamsDetails from "@theme/ParamsDetails"; import RequestSchema from "@theme/RequestSchema"; import StatusCodes from "@theme/StatusCodes"; import OperationTabs from "@theme/OperationTabs"; import TabItem from "@theme/TabItem"; import Heading from "@theme/Heading"; import Translate from "@docusaurus/Translate"; Open a conversation in an inbox. `inbox_id` is enough on its own — the channel type is read from the inbox, so you never have to keep the two in sync. Get the ids from `GET /v1/inboxes`. Identify the contact either by `contact_id`, or by a `contact` object carrying a `phone` or an `email`. The second form is what an integration usually wants: an unknown phone number creates the contact rather than failing. Pass a `message` object to send the first message in the same call — the same body `POST /v1/conversations/{id}/messages` takes, including `{"type": "template", …}` for WhatsApp. The created message comes back under `initial_message`. **Which inboxes can start a conversation?** Live chat, the API inbox, Instagram DM, Facebook Messenger and TikTok are inbound-only: the customer must write first, because there is no way to address them until they do. Request