Since initiating outbound SMS messages via the REST API is such a frequent task, it get its own section. Huzza!
To send a new outgoing SMS message, you perform an HTTP POST to your SMS/Message list resource:
/2008-08-01/Accounts/{YourAccountSid}/SMS/Messages
The following properties are used in your POST to send the SMS:
| Param | Optional | Description |
|---|---|---|
| From | Required | A number that you've acquired from Twilio to be used as sending number. Note, only phone numbers purchased from Twilio work here, you cannot (for example) spoof SMS message from your own cell phone. |
| To | Required | The phone number to call. Twilio will accept any format, such as (xxx) xxx-xxx, or xxx-xxx-xxxx. Pretty much anything. You may include a leading 1 or +1 for US phone numbers. Don't worry, we'll figure it out. For calls outside the US, you must include the plus sign and country code. For example: +44 for UK calls. |
| Body | Required | The text you want to send, limited to 160 characters. |
| StatusCallback | Optional | A URL that Twilio will POST to when your message is processed. An HTTP POST request will be made to this URL when the message is processed, posting the SmsSid as well as SmsStatus=send or SmsStatus=failed. |
Sending an SMS from 415-555-1212 to 555-867-5309 asking Jenny if she wants to get dinner:
POST /2008-08-01/Accounts/AC309475e5fede1b49e100272a8640f438/SMS/Messages HTTP/1.1
From=415-555-1212&To=555-867-5309&Body=Hi+Jenny%21+want+to+grab+dinner%3F
<TwilioResponse>
<SMSMessage>
<Sid>SM872fb94e3b358913777cdb313f25b46f</Sid>
<DateCreated>Sun, 04 Oct 2009 03:48:08 -0700</DateCreated>
<DateUpdated>Sun, 04 Oct 2009 03:48:10 -0700</DateUpdated>
<DateSent>Sun, 04 Oct 2009 03:48:10 -0700</DateSent>
<AccountSid>AC5ea872f6da5a21de157d80997a64bd33</AccountSid>
<To>5558675309</To>
<From>4155551212</From>
<Body>Hi Jenny! Want to grab dinner?</Body>
<Status>sent</Status>
<Flags>2</Flags>
</SMSMessage>
</TwilioResponse>
By specifying an SMS URL for your SMS enabled Twilio phone number, your application will be notified when people reply to messages you send. Twilio's request and your corresponding response are covered in the SMS portion of the TwiML documentation.