> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://howto.paigeme.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Test your WhatsApp bot in real time with Paige Dev

> Link your real phone number to a project and chat with your bot in real time. Use Paige Dev to test messages, flows, and edge cases before going live.

Paige Dev lets you connect your personal WhatsApp number directly to a project so you can test your bot exactly as your users will experience it — no staging environment needed. When your phone is linked, any message you send to your bot's number is processed live by your bot code, giving you immediate feedback on how it behaves.

## Link your phone number

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open your project">
    From the Paige dashboard, select the project you want to test.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Go to Paige Dev">
    In the project sidebar, click **Paige Dev**. You'll see your current link status.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Link your number">
    Click **Link my number** and follow the prompt to associate your WhatsApp phone number with this project. Once linked, your number is active for this project only.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Each phone number can only be linked to one project at a time. If you want to test a different project, unlink from the current one first.
</Note>

## Send test messages

Once your number is linked, open WhatsApp on your phone and send a message to your bot's number. The message flows through your bot code in real time — you'll see a response just as any user would.

### Try a test template on your linked phone

Once you've linked a phone, the Paige Dev card has a **Try now** button (tooltip: *Try it on your phone*). Click it and Paige delivers a pre-built Meta template — with an embedded flow-trigger button — straight to your linked WhatsApp number, so you can verify template rendering and flow buttons end-to-end without doing a full deploy.

* The send is rate-limited to **5 successful sends per linked number, per rolling 24 hours**. Failed sends are recorded so you can retry without exhausting the limit on an error.
* If the test template hasn't been configured on your environment, the button shows a clear error instead of failing silently.

<Tip>
  Use **Try now** when you want to confirm that a flow opens correctly from a tappable button — it bypasses the need to start an outbound conversation manually.
</Tip>

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Test the happy path" icon="check">
    Walk through the primary use case your bot is designed for to confirm the core flow works end to end.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Test edge cases" icon="triangle-alert">
    Send unexpected inputs — empty messages, long strings, emojis, or out-of-order replies — to see how your bot handles them.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Check conversation state" icon="layers">
    If your bot stores state between messages (for example, multi-step flows), test that the state carries over correctly across multiple turns.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Use logs alongside testing" icon="scroll">
    Open the **Logs** panel while testing to see `console.log` output from your bot code in real time. See [Execution logs](/guides/logs) for details.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Programmatic testing with the Code Agent

If you're working with the [Code Agent](/agents/code-agent) to build or modify your bot, you can ask it to run a simulated test. The agent sends a message to your bot programmatically and observes the response — without you needing to pick up your phone.

To trigger a programmatic test, describe the scenario you want to test in the chat. For example:

> "Test what happens when a user sends 'hello' as their first message."

The agent will run the test, show you the result, and can iterate on your code based on what it finds.

<Tip>
  Programmatic testing is especially useful for regression checks — ask the agent to re-run the same test after making code changes to confirm nothing broke.
</Tip>

## Unlink your phone

When you're done testing, you can unlink your phone from the project. Go to **Paige Dev** in the project sidebar and click **Unlink**. Your bot will continue operating normally for real users — only your personal test link is removed.

<Warning>
  While your phone is linked, all messages you send to the bot number are processed as real bot interactions. Avoid sending messages you wouldn't want logged or acted on.
</Warning>