In this tutorial, we’ll be looking at how to build a simple WhatsApp chatbot that handles the conversion of any given number of Bitcoin units to the equivalent in a preferred currency. The bot will be built using Twilio API for WhatsApp and the Flask Framework for Python.

Technical requirements

To follow along, you’ll need the following:

• A free Twilio Account. If you use this link to register, you will receive $10 credit when you upgrade to a paid account.
• Python 3.6 or newer
• Ngrok. This will make the development version of our application accessible over the Internet.
• A smartphone with an active number and WhatsApp installed.

Creating a Python environment

Let’s create a directory where our project will reside. From the terminal, run the following command:

Next, cd into the project directory and run the following command to create a virtual environment.

Over the years, we’ve seen a steady increase in the number of bots and chatbots available to us over different platforms. Brands make use of bots as an exciting way to engage customers, while also providing a way to automate what could normally be considered, monotonous conversations. With it’s over 1.5 billion users and growing, and familiar chat technology, WhatsApp presents a strong case for building a chatbot on it’s platform.

In this tutorial, we’ll be looking at how we can build a WhatsApp Currency Conversion Bot for converting multiple currencies using the Twilio API for WhatsApp.

Technical Requirements

You will need the following to complete this tutorial:

• PHP version 7.2.5 or Higher
• Laravel 7
• Composer
• Twilio Account
• An API Key From Currency Converter
• Ngrok

Setting up Laravel

There are different ways to set up a new Laravel project. You can do so via the Laravel installer or by …

One-time passwords (OTPs) contain numeric or alphanumeric codes that are used to provide an extra layer of security for your applications, by ensuring that a user is authenticated for a particular transaction or a login session. In this tutorial, we’ll be building a simple Flask application that generates and validates OTPs that are delivered to users via Voice or SMS channels using Twilio.

Technical requirements

To follow along, you’ll need the following:

• A free Twilio Account. If you use this link to register, you will receive $10 credit when you upgrade to a paid account.
• Python 3.6 or newer.
• A phone line that can receive voice calls and/or SMS.

Creating a Python environment

Let’s create a directory where our project will reside. From the terminal, run the following command:

Next, cd into the project directory and run the following command to create a virtual environment.

In this tutorial, we’ll be looking at how to build a SMS-to-Slack bridge using Python and Twilio. The bridge will work in such a way that every time your Twilio phone number receives an SMS message, we’ll forward the content of the SMS message to a channel in Slack. Furthermore, any threaded replies in Slack to the message that was posted will automatically be sent as an SMS message to the originating number.

Technical requirements

To follow along, you’ll need the following:

• A free Twilio Account. If you use this link to register, you will receive $10 credit when you upgrade to a paid account.
• A free Slack account, and a Slack workspace you have administrator access to.
• Python 3
• Ngrok. This will make the development version of our application accessible over the Internet.

Creating a Python  environment

Let’s create a directory where our project will reside. …

I recently realized that every time I had to do an integration with Twilio for sending SMS in a Laravel project, I used a custom wrapper around the Twilio PHP library to help me simplify the process. However, this became a bit monotonous for me as I always had to copy and paste this wrapper every time I was starting a new Laravel project. In this tutorial, you’ll join me in learning how to build a Laravel Twilio Package to eliminate copying and pasting and benefit from package management. This will also allow other developers such as yourself to make use of this package.

Technical Requirements

To complete this tutorial, you will need the following:

• PHP Development Environment
• Composer

Setting up a New Package

We’ll be using Composer to set up the package. From the terminal, cd into your project’s directory and run the following command:

This …

Phone number validation is the process of verifying a phone number is valid and in the right format. It’s an important aspect and a popular measure for applications and services that deal with collecting phone numbers from users. In this tutorial we’ll use Python and Azure Functions to develop a simple serverless HTTP function that integrates with Twilio’s Lookup API to validate phone numbers.

Technical Requirements

To follow along, you’ll need the following:

• A Twilio Account. If you use this link to register, you will receive $10 credit when you upgrade to a paid account.
• An Azure Account
• Python 3.6 or Python 3.7 - At the time of writing this article, these are the Python versions, Azure Functions currently supports.
• VS Code - The Python extension for VS code needs to be installed as well.

Set up an Azure Function App

To get started, we need to create an …

Packages primarily provide a way to add functionality to your Laravel applications and can serve as a great way of decoupling your application. The great thing about building packages is that they can easily be reused. In this tutorial, we’ll be looking at how to get started with building a Laravel package. We’ll be building a package that allows you to generate random fake data specifically in the first names, last names and email fields for a user; a simpler version of the popular Faker PHP Library. Interestingly, down the line we will make use of the same Faker Library to generate seed data.

Technical Requirements

To follow along, you’ll need the following:

• PHP Development Environment
• Composer globally installed

Setting up a New Package

To get started setting up a new Laravel package, we’ll be using Composer. From the terminal, cd into your project’s directory and run the following …

Webhooks are generally automated calls made from one application to another, triggered whenever a specific event occurs. Each webhook transfers a payload to the receiving application. For example, Twilio uses webhooks to let you know whenever certain events occur such as an incoming SMS message or a phone call.

A really good use case is when you'd like to be alerted via SMS when different events occur on any third party services integrated with your application. As long as they provide webhooks, we can build a notification system around that.

In this tutorial, we’ll be using Lumen, a fast micro-framework by Laravel and Twilio to create a reusable notification system for any kind of webhook.

Technical Requirements

To follow along, you’ll need the following:

• PHP version 7.1 or Higher
• Lumen 6.0
• Composer
• Twilio Account
• Ngrok
• Postman

Setting up Lumen

There are different ways to set up a new Lumen …

In this tutorial, we’ll be building an SMS application that sends out spoiler alerts to our friends every week after the show has been aired. We’ll be making use of Twilio’s Copilot feature to learn how we can send outbound SMS to a large number of people at once.

Technical Requirements

To follow along, you’ll need the following:

• PHP version 7.1 or Higher
• Laravel 5.8
• Composer
• A Twilio Account

Create New Laravel Project

Let’s install a new Laravel project via the Composer create-project command. From your terminal, run the following command:

This will install a new Laravel project for us in the twilio-got-spoiler directory.

Creating Models and Migrations

We’ll be needing two migrations. One for storing the spoilers to be sent out and the other for storing the phone numbers that should receive those spoilers.

From your terminal, run the following command: