Lightweight WhatsApp Desktop Client for Windows

Built with Go + WebView2. No Electron. No bloat. Just WhatsApp.

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About

WaGramDeskLite is a minimal, native Windows wrapper for WhatsApp Web. Instead of bundling a full Chromium engine like Electron apps, it uses the WebView2 runtime already present on Windows 10/11 to render WhatsApp Web in a clean, dark-themed window with system tray integration.

Highlights

Feature	Details
Ultra-lightweight	~3 MB executable, no bundled browser engine
Multiple accounts	Run several WhatsApp accounts at once, each with its own session, tray icon and notifications
System tray	Minimize to tray on close, restore with single click
Dark mode	Native dark title bar and window frame
Persistent session	WhatsApp login survives app restarts
Window memory	Remembers size, position and maximized state, per account
Notifications	Shows the sender's profile picture, falling back to the app icon
Calls support	Camera and microphone passthrough for voice/video calls
Single instance	One window per account; launching again focuses the window that is already open
High-DPI	Full PerMonitorV2 DPI awareness
Auto-detect WebView2	Shows install prompt if WebView2 Runtime is missing

Screenshots

WebView2 Process Usage

WaGramDeskLite Process Usage

Quick Start

1. Download WaGramDeskLiteSetup.exe from Releases
2. Run the installer — it adds a "WhatsApp" shortcut to your Start Menu automatically
3. Scan the QR code with your phone
4. Allow camera/mic access when Windows prompts you
5. That's it — your session is saved automatically

The setup installs the app under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\WaGramDeskLite and creates a WhatsApp shortcut, so it shows up when you search "wa" in Windows. A portable WaGramDeskLite.exe is also available for those who prefer no installer.

macOS

Coming soon — the macOS build is in progress.

Multiple Accounts

Open the account switcher from the round button in WhatsApp's left sidebar, just above the Media and profile icons. From there you can:

• Switch to another account — the window keeps its current size, position and maximized state, so nothing resizes on the way
• Add an account — opens a new window with a fresh QR code
• Rename the account you are in
• Remove the account you are in, deleting its stored session

Every account runs as its own process with its own storage profile, so all of them stay connected and notify you independently — you never miss a message because an account was not on screen. Accounts left open when you quit are reopened next time; choosing Exit from an account's tray menu keeps that one closed.

The tray menu carries the same account list as a shortcut, so you can switch without opening a window first.

Each account runs its own WebView2 instance, so memory use grows roughly in step with the number of accounts you keep open.

MCP / AI Agent Access

Each running window also exposes a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server on a loopback HTTP port, so an AI agent can list chats, read the open conversation, and send a message through the same UI. The endpoint URL and a persistent bearer token are written to %APPDATA%\WaGramDeskLite\mcp.json. See docs/MCP.md for the token model, the tool list, and how to connect a client.

Session & Data

All profile data (cookies, localStorage, IndexedDB) is stored locally:

%APPDATA%\WaGramDeskLite\UserData                  # first account
%APPDATA%\WaGramDeskLite\profiles\<id>\UserData    # additional accounts
%APPDATA%\WaGramDeskLite\accounts.json             # the account list

Back up these folders to preserve your logins. Deleting one will require re-pairing that device.

Building from Source

Prerequisites:

• Go 1.22+
• go-winres (pure Go resource compiler, no MinGW/windres needed)

  go install github.com/tc-hib/go-winres@latest
  

# One-shot build (compiles resources and the executable into dist/)
./scripts/build.sh

# Or manually:
# go-winres make -arch amd64 --in winres.json   (run inside build/)
# cp build/rsrc_windows_amd64.syso cmd/wagramdesklite/rsrc.syso
# go build -ldflags="-H windowsgui -s -w" -o dist/WaGramDeskLite.exe ./cmd/wagramdesklite

The output dist\WaGramDeskLite.exe includes embedded icon, DPI manifest, and Windows VERSIONINFO metadata.

Tech Stack

• Language: Go
• WebView: go-webview2 (Microsoft Edge WebView2)
• Tray: Win32 Shell_NotifyIconW API
• Window frame: DwmSetWindowAttribute for dark mode
• Notifications: System tray balloon via NIF_INFO, with the sender's avatar supplied as a custom hBalloonIcon
• Accounts: One WebView2 storage profile and one process per account; the switcher is injected into the page inside a shadow root
• Idle memory: ICoreWebView2_19::put_MemoryUsageTargetLevel while minimised to tray

Project Layout

WaGramDeskLite/
├── cmd/
│   └── wagramdesklite/
│       ├── main.go        # Thin entry point
│       └── rsrc.syso      # Compiled Windows resources (icon, manifest, version) 
├── internal/
│   ├── app/               # WebView2 window, tray, notifications, accounts, state persistence
│   └── audio/             # Core Audio session labeler (volume mixer shows "WhatsApp")
├── assets/                # icon.ico (multi-size), icon.png, banner.png
├── build/                 # winres.json, winres/ data, app.manifest (resources source)
├── scripts/
│   └── build.sh           # One-shot resource + executable build
├── docs/
│   └── MCP.md             # MCP endpoint, token model, agent setup
├── dist/                  # Build output (WaGramDeskLite.exe)
├── go.mod / go.sum        # Go module definition
└── vendor/                # Vendored dependencies

Disclaimer

This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by WhatsApp LLC or Meta Platforms, Inc. It is an independent, open-source tool that wraps the official WhatsApp Web interface. Use at your own discretion.

License

This project does not currently have a declared license.