Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have the following:

1. A GitHub account
2. A Render account (free tier works)
3. A Firebase account (free Spark plan works)
4. A WhatsApp account on your phone
5. An UptimeRobot account (free)

How it fits together

• Backend (Render + Docker) — runs the Baileys WhatsApp listener, authenticates the frontend, and writes messages to Firestore
• Database (Firebase Firestore) — stores your chat logs
• Frontend (index.html) — a single static file you host anywhere (Firebase Hosting, GitHub Pages, Netlify, Vercel) that reads from Firestore and talks to your Render backend
• UptimeRobot — pings your Render backend every 5 minutes so the free tier doesn't spin down from inactivity

Continue to Firebase Setup.