Let's write your first Twilio code.

Use your mobile phone to send an SMS with the phrase "lorem ipsum" to (555) 555-5555. You should receive a reply which says "Ahoy, world!"

Awesome! Now let’s learn how to reply to messages.

Next: Introduction to TwiML

The code to the leftbelow is TwiML, the Twilio Markup Language. You use TwiML to tell Twilio how to respond to incoming text messages and phone calls.

The <Message> TwiML element replies to incoming text messages. Let’s edit this TwiML to personalize the message, like "Hi [your name]!" Spice the message up with an emoji. "Greetings human 🤖".

Send any message to your phone number and you’ll see your new reply.

Next: TwiML templating

When your app gets a text, Twilio asks your app how to respond and includes data about the incoming message like the message’s contents and the phone number it was sent from.

Try accessing that data in your TwiML. Use double curly braces to include the variable in your response. Here are a few you can try: “{{ Body }}”, “{{ From }}”, “{{ FromCountry }}”.

When you build your Twilio app, you’ll use these fields with your own code to power personalized conversations with your users.

Next: Beyond TwiML

Congrats! You now know the basics of using TwiML.

TwiML is just one way to send text messages with Twilio. You can send outbound messages anytime you want using our HTTP API or our SDK for your programming language.

Sign up for your free Twilio account and you’ll have your own Twilio number. Next, play through TwilioQuest to unlock the secrets of Twilio’s advanced features.

We can't wait to see what you build.