Server Requirements

WhatsMax is a Node.js application. It cannot run on classic shared hosting (cPanel PHP hosting) — you need a server where you can run long-lived Node.js processes.

Recommended setup

A VPS with 2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM running Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 LTS is a comfortable starting point. Smaller instances (1 vCPU / 2 GB) work for evaluation but will struggle under real campaign load.

Software requirements

Requirement	Version	Notes
Node.js	20 LTS or newer (22 LTS recommended)	The runtime for all three processes.
npm	10 or newer	Ships with Node.js — no separate install.
MySQL	8.0+	MariaDB 10.6+ also works.
Redis	6.0+	Required — queues, scheduling and caching run through Redis.
Reverse proxy	Nginx (recommended) or Apache	Terminates SSL and proxies to the Node.js app.
SSL certificate	Any (Let's Encrypt is free)	Mandatory — Meta webhooks and OAuth callbacks require HTTPS.

Installing the prerequisites (Ubuntu)

# Node.js 22 LTS
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

# MySQL 8
sudo apt-get install -y mysql-server
sudo mysql_secure_installation

# Redis
sudo apt-get install -y redis-server
sudo systemctl enable --now redis-server

# Nginx
sudo apt-get install -y nginx

Verify everything:

node --version    # v20.x or v22.x
npm --version     # 10.x+
mysql --version   # 8.x
redis-cli ping    # PONG

Create the database

sudo mysql

CREATE DATABASE whatsmax CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER 'whatsmax'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'choose-a-strong-password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON whatsmax.* TO 'whatsmax'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Keep the database name, user and password handy — you will put them in .env during installation.

External accounts you may need

None of these are required to install WhatsMax, but each unlocks a feature area:

Account	Unlocks	Where to configure
Meta developer app	WhatsApp Cloud API, Messenger, Instagram	WhatsApp, Social Media
OpenAI / Anthropic / Google AI key	AI chatbots, auto-replies, AI automation builder	AI Providers
Payment gateway accounts	Selling subscription plans	Payment Gateways
Pusher Channels app	Realtime inbox updates without refresh	Realtime
SMTP provider	Transactional + campaign email	SMS & Email
AWS account	S3 media storage, SNS SMS	Configuration

Outbound network access

The server must be able to reach external APIs over HTTPS (Meta Graph API, your payment gateways, AI providers). If you run a restrictive firewall, allow outbound 443/tcp.

Inbound, you only need 80/tcp and 443/tcp (Nginx). The Node.js port (default 3000) should not be exposed publicly.