What is an SMS API?

As the number of developers with web experience outnumbers developers with a telecommunications focus, there is a huge demand for SMS APIs and Communications APIs that allow productivity from both worlds. Twilio's Programmable Messaging product offers a stable RESTful API and simple (yet powerful) features that bring telecommunications programming to the web domain.

Twilio offers both API endpoints which you can hit with any language, as well as a selection of Helper Libraries which help to build complex communications services into products in little time. But don't take our word for it - here are some code snippets which show just how easy SMS sending is with Twilio:

Node.js

Python

Java

PHP

Ruby

twilio-cli

curl


_20// Download the helper library from https://www.twilio.com/docs/node/install
_20const twilio = require("twilio"); // Or, for ESM: import twilio from "twilio";
_20
_20// Find your Account SID and Auth Token at twilio.com/console
_20// and set the environment variables. See http://twil.io/secure
_20const accountSid = process.env.TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID;
_20const authToken = process.env.TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN;
_20const client = twilio(accountSid, authToken);
_20
_20async function createMessage() {
_20  const message = await client.messages.create({
_20    body: "This is the ship that made the Kessel Run in fourteen parsecs?",
_20    from: "+15017122661",
_20    to: "+15558675310",
_20  });
_20
_20  console.log(message.body);
_20}
_20
_20createMessage();

Output


_28{
_28  "account_sid": "ACXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX",
_28  "api_version": "2010-04-01",
_28  "body": "This is the ship that made the Kessel Run in fourteen parsecs?",
_28  "date_created": "Thu, 24 Aug 2023 05:01:45 +0000",
_28  "date_sent": "Thu, 24 Aug 2023 05:01:45 +0000",
_28  "date_updated": "Thu, 24 Aug 2023 05:01:45 +0000",
_28  "direction": "outbound-api",
_28  "error_code": null,
_28  "error_message": null,
_28  "from": "+15017122661",
_28  "num_media": "0",
_28  "num_segments": "1",
_28  "price": null,
_28  "price_unit": null,
_28  "messaging_service_sid": "MGaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
_28  "sid": "SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
_28  "status": "queued",
_28  "subresource_uris": {
_28    "media": "/2010-04-01/Accounts/ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Messages/SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Media.json"
_28  },
_28  "tags": {
_28    "campaign_name": "Spring Sale 2022",
_28    "message_type": "cart_abandoned"
_28  },
_28  "to": "+15558675310",
_28  "uri": "/2010-04-01/Accounts/ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Messages/SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.json"
_28}

Our goal, once you are signed up (Twilio offers a free trial), is to have you sending SMS messages in minutes - not weeks.

What is an SMS API?

Quickly integrate an SMS API with your business

Send an SMS using the Programmable Messaging API

A reliable SMS API to empower quick development