Send SMS with PHP and Twilio

PHP and sending SMS with Twilio

It takes just a few lines of code and even fewer minutes to send your first text message with PHP and Twilio. Here’s how:

Install the PHP helper library with Composer: composer require twilio/sdk:5.* then put require "vendor/autoload.php'; at the top of your file.

Find your account SID and auth token in your console dashboard, and your phone number in your phone numbers list.

Create a file called send-sms.php and paste in the code below to:

Include the helper library
Create a Twilio client using our account credentials
Create a new message from our Twilio number, to our cellphone

<?php

require_once "vendor/autoload.php"; 
use Twilio\Rest\Client;

$account_sid = "YOUR_TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID";
$auth_token = "YOUR_TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN";
$twilio_phone_number = "YOUR_TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER";

$client = new Client($account_sid, $auth_token);

$client->messages->create(
    'DESTINATION_PHONE_NUMBER',
    array(
        "from" => $twilio_phone_number,
        "body" => "Whaddup from PHP!"
    )
);

Save your file and run it:

php send-sms.php

Boom! Your phone should light up with a text!

Next Steps

We’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible with PHP and Twilio. If you’d like to explore more, check these out:

If you build something sweet using PHP and Twilio, or if you have any questions, I’d love to hear about it. Please drop me a line at @greggyb or gb@twilio.com.