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

# List Channels

> Retrieve all messaging channels for your organization

Returns all messaging channels configured for your organization (WhatsApp WABA, Instagram, etc.). Use the `id` from each channel as the `channel_id` parameter in messaging endpoints like [Send WhatsApp Message](/api-reference/endpoint/waba-send-message).

## Headers

<ParamField header="x-api-key" type="string" required>
  Your API key for authentication.
</ParamField>

## Query Parameters

<ParamField query="limit" type="number" default="10">
  Maximum number of channels to return.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="offset" type="number" default="0">
  Number of records to skip for pagination.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="order" type="string" default="desc">
  Sort direction by creation date. Possible values: `asc`, `desc`.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="status" type="string">
  Filter by channel status (e.g. `active`, `inactive`).
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="type" type="string">
  Filter by channel type (e.g. `WABA`, `INSTAGRAM`).
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="name" type="string">
  Filter by channel name (partial match).
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="answer_method" type="string">
  Filter by answer method. Possible values: `manual`, `auto`.
</ParamField>

## Response

<ResponseField name="data" type="array">
  Array of channel objects.

  <Expandable title="Channel object">
    <ResponseField name="id" type="string">
      Unique identifier of the channel (UUID). Use this as `channel_id` in messaging endpoints.
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="name" type="string">
      Display name of the channel.
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="type" type="string">
      Channel type (e.g. `WABA`, `INSTAGRAM`).
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="status" type="string">
      Current status of the channel (e.g. `active`, `inactive`).
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="answer_method" type="string">
      How the channel handles incoming messages: `manual` (human agents) or `auto` (AI agent).
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="organization_id" type="string">
      UUID of the organization that owns this channel.
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="created_at" type="string">
      Timestamp when the channel was created (ISO 8601).
    </ResponseField>
  </Expandable>
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="count" type="number">
  Total number of channels matching the query.
</ResponseField>

## Error Codes

* `401 Unauthorized` — Invalid or missing API key
* `500 Internal Server Error` — Server-side error

## Code Examples

<RequestExample>
  ```bash cURL — All channels theme={null}
  curl -X GET "https://api.contactship.ai/v1/channels" \
    -H "x-api-key: your-api-key"
  ```

  ```bash cURL — WABA channels only theme={null}
  curl -X GET "https://api.contactship.ai/v1/channels?type=WABA&status=active" \
    -H "x-api-key: your-api-key"
  ```

  ```javascript JavaScript theme={null}
  const response = await fetch(
    'https://api.contactship.ai/v1/channels?type=WABA',
    { headers: { 'x-api-key': 'your-api-key' } }
  );
  const { data, count } = await response.json();
  console.log(`${count} channels found`);
  data.forEach(ch => console.log(`${ch.name} (${ch.type}) — id: ${ch.id}`));
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  import requests

  response = requests.get(
      'https://api.contactship.ai/v1/channels',
      headers={'x-api-key': 'your-api-key'},
      params={'type': 'WABA', 'status': 'active'},
  )
  result = response.json()
  for channel in result['data']:
      print(f"{channel['name']} ({channel['type']}) — id: {channel['id']}")
  ```
</RequestExample>

<ResponseExample>
  ```json Example Response theme={null}
  {
    "data": [
      {
        "id": "chn_y0xspd9p1v7vla6wkwc2z01u",
        "name": "WhatsApp Business",
        "type": "WABA",
        "status": "active",
        "answer_method": "auto",
        "organization_id": "org-f1e2d3c4-b5a6-7890-1234-567890abcdef",
        "created_at": "2026-01-15T10:00:00Z"
      },
      {
        "id": "chn_a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2",
        "name": "Instagram DMs",
        "type": "INSTAGRAM",
        "status": "active",
        "answer_method": "manual",
        "organization_id": "org-f1e2d3c4-b5a6-7890-1234-567890abcdef",
        "created_at": "2026-02-01T09:00:00Z"
      }
    ],
    "count": 2
  }
  ```
</ResponseExample>