> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://gdplabs.gitbook.io/glchat/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://gdplabs.gitbook.io/glchat/developer-documentation/glchat-messaging.md).

# GLChat Messaging

GLChat Messaging is the WhatsApp-facing component of GLChat. It receives messages from end users over WhatsApp, normalizes them across providers, manages user sessions and authentication, and forwards the conversation to your GLChat backend for processing.

### **Key Features**

GLChat Messaging handles everything between your WhatsApp provider and your GLChat backend so you don't have to build it yourself:

<table><thead><tr><th width="279.5999755859375">Capability</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Webhook validation</strong></td><td>Verifies every incoming request against the provider's signature before processing.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Message normalization</strong></td><td>Translates provider-specific payloads (Twilio, Qiscus, WhatsApp Cloud API) into a unified format.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Session management</strong></td><td>Tracks user-bot sessions and conversation state across messages.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Authentication flow</strong></td><td>Guides unauthenticated users through identity verification before they can chat.</td></tr></tbody></table>

This guide is for technical customers who are **self-hosting** GLChat Messaging alongside their own GLChat deployment. If you use GLChat as SaaS, the messaging layer is already bundled — configuration happens entirely in the GLChat Admin Dashboard and you do not need this guide.