The bridge
INFO
For help, ask in #help on our Discord or open an issue on GitHub. Please add what you tried and what the setup page or docker logs wa-classic shows.
The bridge is the small program at home that links WA Classic to WhatsApp. This page explains everything about it after the setup.
The setup page
Open localhost:8097 on the computer with the bridge, or the bridge's address from another computer at home.
| Part | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Cydia source | a backup source for Cydia, if http://cydia.waclassic.com doesn't load |
| Address and setup code | what you enter on a new iPhone. New code makes a fresh code. |
| Download the look | downloads the pictures and sounds of the old WhatsApp once, see The classic look |
| Away from home | your DynDNS name or fixed IP, see Away from home |
| Security | the fingerprint of the bridge's certificate |
| Manage › Unlink WhatsApp | unlinks the bridge from your WhatsApp account and deletes the chats on it |
| Manage › Log out of this page | logs you out of the setup page |
Ports
| Port | For | Router |
|---|---|---|
| 8097 | setup page, Cydia source and the iPhone at home | never forward |
| 25567 | the iPhone away from home, encrypted | forward only if you want to use WA Classic away from home |
Useful commands
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
docker logs wa-classic | shows what the bridge did. Add --tail 50 for the last 50 lines. |
docker restart wa-classic | restarts the bridge |
docker stop wa-classic | stops it until you start it again |
docker start wa-classic | starts it again |
docker ps | shows whether it's running |
Making a backup
Everything is in the Docker volume wa-classic-data: the link to WhatsApp, your chats, the bridge's key and certificate. This saves it as a file in the current folder:
docker run --rm -v wa-classic-data:/data -v "$PWD":/backup alpine tar czf /backup/wa-classic-backup.tgz -C /data .WARNING
The backup contains your messages and the link to your WhatsApp account. Keep it as safe as the computer itself.
Moving to another computer
- Make a backup on the old computer and copy the file to the new one.
- On the new computer, install Docker and restore the backup:
docker volume create wa-classic-data
docker run --rm -v wa-classic-data:/data -v "$PWD":/backup alpine tar xzf /backup/wa-classic-backup.tgz -C /data- Start the bridge with the line from your installation page.
- Stop and remove the bridge on the old computer.
The new computer probably has another address at home. Enter it on each iPhone: Settings › Account › Network Status.
Switching to another WhatsApp account
- On the setup page: Manage › Unlink WhatsApp.
- On each iPhone, link again with a new setup code. See Linking WhatsApp.
Several iPhones
One bridge can serve several old iPhones. They all show the same account. Set up each of them with its own setup code.
Settings for Docker Compose
If you use Docker Compose (common on a NAS), these settings go under environment:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
WA4S_PUBLIC_HOST | your DynDNS name or fixed IP for away from home. Same as on the setup page. |
WA4S_PUBLIC_PORT | only if your router forwards another outside port to 25567 |