> This page is for Omni Channel. > For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL. > For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.hams.ai/llms.txt. > For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.hams.ai/_mcp/server. # Facebook > Connect a Facebook Page as an inbox, get its Messenger messages as conversations, and reply within the message window. The Facebook inbox connects 1 Facebook Page to your account. Each person who sends a Messenger message to the Page becomes a contact, and the messages go into a conversation. An agent replies from the usual reply box, and the system sends the reply through Messenger. The inbox does not get the comments on the posts of the Page. > **Note** > > The **Facebook** card is active only when **Facebook Channel** is on for your account and the Hams installation has a Meta app. **Facebook Channel** is on by default. A gray card that you cannot click means that 1 of these 2 items is missing. Only administrators can add the inbox and change its settings. Agents of the inbox can read and reply to its conversations. In this page, `{account_id}` is the number of your account in the dashboard URL. ## Before you start You do not create a Meta app. The Hams installation has the Meta app, and you sign in to Facebook to give it access to your Page. You need these items: * A Facebook Page. A personal profile does not work. * A Facebook account with full control of the Page. If your role on the Page is lower, Facebook can refuse the sign-in. * Permission for the Hams app to manage the Page. You grant it during the sign-in. At the sign-in, Facebook asks you to grant these permissions: | Permission | What it lets the system do | | --------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `pages_show_list` | Show the list of the Pages that you manage. | | `pages_messaging` | Get and send the Messenger messages of the Page. | | `pages_manage_metadata` | Subscribe the system to the events of the Page. | | `pages_read_engagement` | Read the Page data that the inbox needs. | | `business_management` | Read the business assets that the Page belongs to. | | `instagram_basic` | Read the Instagram account that links to the Page. | | `instagram_manage_messages` | Manage the messages of the Instagram account that links to the Page. | The sign-in always asks for the 2 Instagram permissions. Grant all permissions. If you refuse one, Facebook can return an error or the inbox can miss events. The system gets only the messages of your Page. It cannot read your private messages on Facebook. ## Add the inbox #### Open the inboxes Open **Settings** > **Inboxes**. The page is at `/app/accounts/{account_id}/settings?tab=inboxes`. #### Start the wizard Click **Add Inbox**. The wizard opens at the **Choose Channel** step. #### Select the channel Click the **Facebook** card. The description of the card is **Connect your Facebook page**. Click **Next**. #### Sign in with Facebook At the **Create Inbox** step, click the Facebook sign-in button. A Facebook window opens. Sign in and grant the permissions. While the system gets your Pages, the page shows **Authenticating you with Facebook...**. #### Select the Page In **Choose Page**, select the Page. The list shows only the Pages that are not in this account. You must fill in this field. #### Name the inbox In **Inbox Name**, enter a name. The field has the name of the Page already. Change it if you want. You must fill in this field. #### Go to the next step Click **Next**. The button stays off until you select a Page and enter a name. The page then shows **Creating your Inbox...**. #### Add the agents At the **Add Agents** step, select the agents who reply to the messages of the Page. You must select at least 1 agent. #### Finish At the **Voilà!** step, click **Take me there**. The new inbox opens. ![The Create Inbox step of the Facebook channel shows the Facebook sign-in button.](/_fern-img/f37db1f1d4f09e6dbd96c56d152b1fb2b2ff9485de31f734dde0c13ecb891fa2.webp) If the sign-in fails, the step shows 1 of these messages and a **Try Again** button: * **You're not authorized to perform this action.** The Facebook account does not have full control of the Page. Use an account with full control. * **Something went wrong, Please refresh page...** Facebook did not give a session. This happens, for example, when you close the Facebook window. If the browser cannot load the Facebook script, an alert says **Error loading Facebook SDK. Please disable any ad-blockers and try again from a different browser.** The system subscribes the Page to the Messenger events of the Hams app. It also copies the profile picture of the Page to the inbox. A Page can be in 1 account only 1 time. After you connect it, the Page is not in the **Choose Page** list of this account. If the Page has an Instagram business account linked to it, the system saves the link. This link does not add an Instagram inbox. Add an **Instagram** inbox for the Instagram messages. ## Settings Open **Settings** > **Inboxes** and click the settings icon of the inbox. The settings are the same as for other inboxes. See [Inboxes and channels](/omni-channel/inboxes). The Facebook inbox has no extra tab. The **Conversation Routing** setting works for this channel. It sets if a contact who writes again gets a new conversation or continues the last one. With the setting off, the system opens a new conversation after you resolve the last one. With the setting on, the contact keeps 1 conversation. ## The message window Facebook lets a Page reply to a person only for a limited time after the last message of that person. This time is the message window. The system enforces it. * The window is 24 hours after the last incoming message of the contact. * If the human agent feature is on for the Hams installation, the window is 7 days. The feature is a setting of the whole installation, not of your account. Meta must approve the feature for the Hams app. To learn if your installation has the feature, ask Hams support. * With the feature on, the system sends each reply with the `HUMAN_AGENT` tag, also inside the first 24 hours. Without it, the system sends each reply as a standard `RESPONSE` message. * A new message from the contact opens a new window. When the window closes, a banner shows above the conversation. The banner reads **You cannot reply due to** and the link **24 hour message window restriction**. The link opens the Messenger platform policy. The reply box shows **You cannot reply to this conversation**. The reply box does not accept a public reply. Agents can still add a private note. The system has no message template for Facebook. It cannot send a message to a contact after the window closes. To continue, ask the contact to send a new message, or contact the person outside Messenger. ## Messages and attachments ### Messages from contacts The system gets these items from Messenger: | Item | What the conversation shows | | ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | | Text | The text of the message. | | Image, audio, video, file | The system downloads the file and shows it as an attachment. | | Location | A location attachment with a map link. | | Shared post | A link to the post. The system does not download it. | | Reel | The link of the reel as the message text. | The system skips attachments of the type template, unsupported, and ephemeral. For a message type that the system cannot show, the conversation says **This message is unsupported. You can view this message on the Facebook Messenger app.** If the contact replies to a message, the system keeps the link to the replied message. ### Replies from agents Type the reply in the reply box and click **Send**. These rules apply: * A text reply can have up to 2000 characters. The reply box shows the characters that remain when you come near the limit. * You can attach files. The system sends the text first. Then it sends each attachment as a separate Messenger message. * The system sends an attachment as `image`, `audio`, `video`, or `file`. It sends all other types as `file`. * A message with answer buttons, for example from a bot, goes as Messenger quick replies. Each button shows the title of the option. * A private note stays in Hams. The system does not send it to Messenger. If Facebook rejects a reply, the message shows **Failed to send**. Put the pointer on the warning icon to see the error code and the reason from Facebook. ### Messages that you send from Facebook An agent can answer from the Page directly, for example in the Meta Business Suite or in the Messenger app. The system adds this message to the conversation as an outgoing message. The message says **This message was sent from the native app. Reply from the system to maintain the message window.** ### Delivery and read status Facebook sends delivery and read events. The system updates the status of the messages of the conversation to delivered and read. ## Reconnect the inbox Facebook can cancel the access of the inbox, for example when the Facebook user changes a password or removes the app. The system finds this when a Facebook call fails with an access token error. After 2 such errors, the inbox needs a new sign-in. In this state, the system does not add the new messages of the Page to Hams. The system also sends an email to the administrators with the subject **Your Facebook page connection has expired**. To reconnect the inbox: #### Open the inbox settings Open **Settings** > **Inboxes** and click the settings icon of the inbox. #### Find the banner The page has the banner **Your inbox is disconnected. You won't receive new messages until you reauthorize it.** #### Reconnect Click **Click here to reconnect.** A Facebook window opens. Sign in with an account that has full control of the same Page. Grant the permissions. #### Check the result An alert shows **Reconnection successful**. The banner goes away. If the alert shows **There was an error, please try again**, sign in again with the correct account. The reconnect keeps the inbox, its conversations, and its settings. It works only for the same Page. If the account you sign in with does not manage the Page, the reconnect fails. ## What is not supported * Comments on the posts of the Page. The system gets only Messenger messages. * Message templates. The system cannot send a message after the message window closes. * Replies after the window. The only exception is the 7-day window of the human agent feature. * A Facebook profile. Only a Facebook Page works. * Message attachments of the type template, unsupported, and ephemeral. * Text replies of more than 2000 characters. * More than 1 inbox for the same Page in 1 account. An **Instagram** card is a separate channel with its own sign-in. ## Related * [Inboxes and channels](/omni-channel/inboxes) * [Conversation cycles](/omni-channel/conversation-cycles) * [Overview](/omni-channel/overview)