The Twilio Ruby Helper Library

The twilio-ruby helper library lets you write Ruby code to make HTTP requests to the Twilio API. If you are interested in migrating to the newer 5.x version of the Twilio Ruby Helper Library from the 4.x version, check out this guide.

This library is open source, so if you find a feature missing or a bug, we encourage you to contribute back to the twilio-ruby project hosted on GitHub.

Install the Library

The easiest way to install twilio-ruby is from RubyGems.

gem install twilio-ruby

Manual Installation

Or, you can clone the source code for twilio-ruby, and install the library from there.

"Permission Denied"

If the command line gives you a big long error message that says Permission Denied in the middle of it, try running the above commands with sudo, ex. sudo gem install twilio-ruby.

Testing your installation

Test creating an SMS using your test credentials from https://twilio.com/console/settings, from a magic number to any number like so:

require 'twilio-ruby'

account_sid = "ACXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" # Your Test Account SID from www.twilio.com/console/settings
auth_token = "your_auth_token"   # Your Test Auth Token from www.twilio.com/console/settings

@client = Twilio::REST::Client.new account_sid, auth_token
message = @client.messages.create(
    body: "Hello from Ruby",
    to: "+12345678901",    # Replace with your phone number
    from: "+15005550006")  # Use this Magic Number for creating SMS

puts message.sid

If you get a message SID in the output, you know you've successfully created a message with your test credentials. You will neither be charged nor receive an actual SMS in the "to" number.

Using the Gem

Try the Ruby quickstarts and refer to the open-source twilio-ruby specific documentation for details about the methods and classes contained in the library. Here are some simple examples of how to use the gem.

Authenticate the Client

require 'twilio-ruby'

account_sid = "ACXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" 
auth_token = "your_auth_token" 

@client = Twilio::REST::Client.new account_sid, auth_token

Create a New Record

require 'twilio-ruby'

account_sid = 'ACXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX' # Your Test Account SID from www.twilio.com/console/settings
auth_token = 'your_auth_token' # Your Test Auth Token from www.twilio.com/console/settings

# Initialize Twilio Client
@client = Twilio::REST::Client.new(account_sid, auth_token)

@call = @client.calls.create(
  url: 'http://demo.twilio.com/docs/voice.xml',
  to: '+14155551212',  #Replace with your phone number
  from: '+15005550006'  #User our Magic number to create test calls from
)

puts @call.sid

You will neither be charged, nor create a real call. But if you get a call SID in the output, you are good.

Get Existing Record

require 'twilio-ruby'

account_sid = 'ACXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX'
auth_token = 'your_auth_token'

# Initialize Twilio Client
@client = Twilio::REST::Client.new(account_sid, auth_token)

@call = @client.api.calls('CA42ed11f93dc08b952027ffbc406d0868').fetch

puts @call.to

Iterate Through Records

require 'twilio-ruby'

account_sid = 'ACXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX'
auth_token = 'your_auth_token'

# Initialize Twilio Client
@client = Twilio::REST::Client.new(account_sid, auth_token)

@client.calls.list
       .each do |call|
         puts call.direction
       end

Handling Exceptions

If the Twilio API returns a 400 or a 500 level HTTP response, the twilio-ruby library will throw a Twilio::REST::RequestError. 400-level errors are normal during API operation (“Invalid number”, “Cannot deliver SMS to that number”, for example) and should be handled appropriately.

require 'twilio-ruby'

account_sid = "{{ account_sid }}" # Your Account SID from www.twilio.com/console
auth_token = "auth_token"   # Your Auth Token from www.twilio.com/console

begin
    @client = Twilio::REST::Client.new account_sid, auth_token
    message = @client.messages.create(
        body: "Hello from Ruby",
        to: "+12345678901",    # Replace with your phone number
        from: "+12345678901")  # Replace with your Twilio number
rescue Twilio::REST::TwilioError => e
    puts e.message
end

More Documentation

If you'd like to learn more about how Twilio works, or for inspiration about what to build, try the Ruby quickstarts.

The Rest API Documentation has examples written in Ruby for every kind of action you could take with the Twilio API. You should start there if you know what you want to do with the Ruby library.

You may also want to refer to the open source twilio-ruby specific documentation for more details about the methods and classes contained in the gem.

Accessing the 4.x Version of the Helper Library

The most recent version of the Ruby Helper Library is not API compatible with the previous 4.x version you may have used in previous Twilio applications. The older version will continue to work, and you will continue to find sample code for this version throughout our documentation. Should you need to install this version you can do so with the following command:

gem install twilio-ruby -v 4.13.0

Getting Help

Still running into problems?

• Report a problem with this tutorial, or contact our support team
• Report an issue with the twilio-ruby library on GitHub
• Submit a feature request for twilio-ruby on GitHub