WhatsApp Help Desk bridge (1.6.0 / Help Desk 1.18.0) — Production Readiness Audit

Field	Value
Date	2026-10-13
Status	Go for production
Re-verified	2026-10-13 — Pest WhatsAppHelpDeskBridgeTest + catalog bumps 12/12; headed Playwright WhatsApp Cloud 10/10 (E2E_BROWSER_CHANNEL=chrome)
Scope	Opt-in WhatsApp → Help Desk auto-ticket; bidirectional public-note sync inside the 24h window; FK loop prevention
Companion	WhatsApp Cloud · Help Desk · CHANGELOG

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Executive summary

Soft bridge: when auto_create_help_desk_tickets is on and Help Desk is entitled, inbound WhatsApp opens a ticket. Customer inbound messages become public notes without advancing SLA first response. Staff public Help Desk notes queue outbound WhatsApp text while the conversation is inside the 24h customer service window. Internal notes never sync. Manual escalate remains available when auto-create is off.

Gate	Result
Platform freeze	Pass
No new permissions	Pass
Migrate-only catalog whatsapp-cloud 1.6.0 / help-desk 1.18.0	Pass
Soft Help Desk entitlement on auto-create	Pass
Pest bridge + catalog bump tests	Pass
Headed Playwright WhatsApp Cloud (settings toggle + escalate)	Pass

Upgrade & staging smoke

1. php artisan migrate --force — setting column, note/message FKs, catalog bumps (do not db:seed).
2. Confirm catalog: whatsapp-cloud 1.6.0, help-desk 1.18.0.
3. Entitle both modules → enable Auto-create Help Desk tickets → send inbound → ticket linked.
4. Add a public ticket note inside 24h → WhatsApp outbound queued; add an internal note → no WhatsApp send.
5. Disable auto-create → inbound does not open a new ticket; manual escalate still works.

Rollback

Catalog down → whatsapp-cloud 1.5.0 / help-desk prior version with matching code. Drop bridge columns if rolling back schema.