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Message Resource

A Message resource represents an inbound or outbound message. Twilio creates a Message when any of the following occur:

  • You create a Message resource (i.e., send an outbound message) via the REST API
  • Twilio executes a <Message> TwiML instruction
  • Someone sends a message to one of your Twilio numbers or messaging channel addresses

With the Message resource, you can:

If you're using Messaging Services, you can also use the Message resource to:

A Message resource can also have a Media sub-resource and/or a MessageFeedback sub-resource.

For step-by-step instructions for sending your first SMS with Twilio, check out one of the SMS quickstarts.

Looking to send WhatsApp messages with Twilio? Try one of the WhatsApp quickstarts.

If you're looking for how to respond to incoming messages, check out the How to Receive and Reply to SMS Messages tutorial.

Message properties

Resource Properties in REST API format
body

The text content of the message

num_segments
string Not PII

The number of segments that make up the complete message. SMS message bodies that exceed the character limit are segmented and charged as multiple messages. Note: For messages sent via a Messaging Service, num_segments is initially 0, since a sender hasn't yet been assigned.

direction
enum:direction Not PII

The direction of the message. Can be: inbound for incoming messages, outbound-api for messages created by the REST API, outbound-call for messages created during a call, or outbound-reply for messages created in response to an incoming message.

from
phone_number PII MTL: 120 DAYS

The sender's phone number (in E.164 format), alphanumeric sender ID, Wireless SIM, short code, or channel address (e.g., whatsapp:+15554449999). For incoming messages, this is the number or channel address of the sender. For outgoing messages, this value is a Twilio phone number, alphanumeric sender ID, short code, or channel address from which the message is sent.

to

The recipient's phone number (in E.164 format) or channel address (e.g. whatsapp:+15552229999)

date_updated
date_time<rfc2822> Not PII

The RFC 2822 timestamp (in GMT) of when the Message resource was last updated

price
string Not PII

The amount billed for the message in the currency specified by price_unit. The price is populated after the message has been sent/received, and may not be immediately availalble. View the Pricing page for more details.

error_message
string Not PII

The description of the error_code if the Message status is failed or undelivered. If no error was encountered, the value is null.

uri
string Not PII

The URI of the Message resource, relative to https://api.twilio.com.

account_sid
sid<AC> Not PII

The SID of the Account associated with the Message resource

num_media
string Not PII

The number of media files associated with the Message resource.

status
enum:status Not PII

The status of the Message. Possible values: accepted, scheduled, canceled, queued, sending, sent, failed, delivered, undelivered, receiving, received, or read (WhatsApp only). For more information, See detailed descriptions.

messaging_service_sid
sid<MG> Not PII

The SID of the Messaging Service associated with the Message resource. The value is null if a Messaging Service was not used.

sid
sid<MM> Not PII

The unique, Twilio-provided string that identifies the Message resource.

date_sent
date_time<rfc2822> Not PII

The RFC 2822 timestamp (in GMT) of when the Message was sent. For an outgoing message, this is when Twilio sent the message. For an incoming message, this is when Twilio sent the HTTP request to your incoming message webhook URL.

date_created
date_time<rfc2822> Not PII

The RFC 2822 timestamp (in GMT) of when the Message resource was created

error_code
integer? Not PII

The error code returned if the Message status is failed or undelivered. If no error was encountered, the value is null.

price_unit
currency Not PII

The currency in which price is measured, in ISO 4127 format (e.g. usd, eur, jpy).

api_version
string Not PII

The API version used to process the Message

subresource_uris
uri_map Not PII

A list of related resources identified by their URIs relative to https://api.twilio.com

Message Status values

The table below lists possible values of a Message resource's Status. As messages can be either outbound or inbound, each status description explicitly indicates to which message direction the status applies.

ENUM:STATUS possible values in REST API format
queued

The API request to send an outbound message was successful and the message is queued to be sent out by a specific From sender. For messages sent without a Messaging Service this is the initial Status value of the Message resource.

sending

Twilio is in the process of dispatching the outbound message to the nearest upstream carrier in the network.

sent

The nearest upstream carrier accepted the outbound message.

failed

The outbound message failed to send. This can happen for various reasons including queue overflows, Account suspensions and media errors. Twilio does not charge you for failed messages.

delivered

Twilio has received confirmation of outbound message delivery from the upstream carrier, and, where available, the destination handset.

undelivered

Twilio received a delivery receipt indicating that the outbound message was not delivered. This can happen for many reasons including carrier content filtering and the availability of the destination handset.

receiving

The inbound message was received by Twilio and is currently being processed.

received

The inbound message was received and processing is complete.

accepted

[Messaging Service only] Twilio has received your API request to immediatedly send an outbound message with a Messaging Service. If you did not provide a specific From sender in the service's Sender Pool to use, the service is dynamically selecting a From sender. For unscheduled messages to be sent with a Messaging Service, this is the initial Status value of the Message resource.

scheduled

[Messaging Service only] The Message resource is scheduled to be sent with a Messaging Service. If you schedule a message with a Messaging Service, this is the initial Status value of the Message resource.

read

WhatsApp only: The recipient opened the outbound message. Recipient must have read receipts enabled.

partially_delivered

[Deprecated]

canceled

[Messaging Service only] The message scheduled with a Messaging Service has been canceled.

NumSegments property

The NumSegments property is relevant for SMS messages only.

For outbound SMS messages, this property indicates the number of SMS messages it took to deliver the body of the message.

If the body of a message is more than 160 GSM-7 characters (or 70 UCS-2 characters), Twilio segments and annotates your messages to attempt proper reassembly on the recipient's handset (not supported by all carriers and handsets). This ensures your body text transmits with the highest fidelity.

On inbound SMS messages, this property indicates the number of SMS messages that make up the message received.

If the body of a message is more than 160 GSM-7 characters (or 70 UCS-2 characters), Twilio attempts to reassemble the message received by your Twilio phone number. All carriers and handsets do not necessarily support this.

Your account is charged for each segment sent or received.

Learn more on the SMS Character Limit Glossary page.

Create a Message resource

post
https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/{AccountSid}/Messages.json

To send a new outgoing message, send an HTTP POST request to your Account's Messages list resource URI.

If you want to send messages while in trial mode, you must first verify your 'To' phone number with Twilio. You can verify your phone number by adding it to your Verified Caller IDs in the Console.

Twilio queues messages for delivery at your prescribed rate limit. API requests for messages that exceed the specified rates will be queued and executed as capacity is available.

If you need to enqueue a large number of messages, you may want to use Messaging Services.

Every request to create a new Message resource requires a recipient, a sender, and content.

A recipient is specified via the To parameter.

The sender is specified via one of the following parameters:

  • From
  • MessagingServiceSid

The message content is specified via one of the following parameters:

  • MediaUrl
  • Body
  • ContentSid

The table below describes these parameters in more detail.

Parameters
Parameters in REST API format
account_sid
Path
post sid<AC> Not PII

The SID of the Account creating the Message resource.

to
Required
post string<helpers_type=phone_number> PII MTL: 120 DAYS

The recipient's phone number in E.164 format (for SMS/MMS) or channel address, e.g. whatsapp:+15552229999.

status_callback
Optional
post string<helpers_type=url> Not PII

The URL of the endpoint to which Twilio sends Message status callback requests. URL must contain a valid hostname and underscores are not allowed. If you include this parameter with the messaging_service_sid, Twilio uses this URL instead of the Status Callback URL of the Messaging Service.

application_sid
Optional
post sid<AP> Not PII

The SID of the associated TwiML Application. If this parameter is provided, the status_callback parameter of this request is ignored; Message status callback requests are sent to the TwiML App's message_status_callback URL.

max_price
Optional
post currency<helpers_type=decimal> Not PII

The maximum price in US dollars that you are willing to pay for this Message's delivery. The value can have up to four decimal places. When the max_price parameter is provided, the cost of a message is checked before it is sent. If the cost exceeds max_price, the message is not sent and the Message status is failed.

provide_feedback
Optional
post boolean Not PII

Boolean indicating whether or not you intend to provide delivery confirmation feedback to Twilio (used in conjunction with the Message Feedback subresource). Default value is false.

attempt
Optional
post integer Not PII

Total number of attempts made (including this request) to send the message regardless of the provider used

validity_period
Optional
post integer Not PII

The maximum length in seconds that the Message can remain in Twilio's outgoing message queue. If a queued Message exceeds the validity_period, the Message is not sent. Accepted values are integers from 1 to 14400. Default value is 14400. A validity_period greater than 5 is recommended. Learn more about the validity period

force_delivery
Optional
post boolean Not PII

Reserved

content_retention
Optional
post ienum:content_retention Not PII

Determines if the message content can be stored or redacted based on privacy settings

address_retention
Optional
post ienum:address_retention Not PII

Determines if the address can be stored or obfuscated based on privacy settings

smart_encoded
Optional
post boolean Not PII

Whether to detect Unicode characters that have a similar GSM-7 character and replace them. Can be: true or false.

persistent_action
Optional
post string[] Not PII

Rich actions for non-SMS/MMS channels. Used for sending location in WhatsApp messages.

shorten_urls
Optional
post boolean Not PII

For Messaging Services with Link Shortening configured only: A Boolean indicating whether or not Twilio should shorten links in the body of the Message. Default value is false. If true, the messaging_service_sid parameter must also be provided.

schedule_type
Optional
post ienum:schedule_type Not PII

For Messaging Services only: Include this parameter with a value of fixed in conjuction with the send_time parameter in order to schedule a Message.

send_at
Optional
post date_time<iso8601> Not PII

The time that Twilio will send the message. Must be in ISO 8601 format.

send_as_mms
Optional
post boolean Not PII

If set to true, Twilio delivers the message as a single MMS message, regardless of the presence of media.

content_variables
Optional
post string Not PII

For Content Editor/API only: Key-value pairs of Template variables and their substitution values. content_sid parameter must also be provided. If values are not defined in the content_variables parameter, the Template's default placeholder values are used.

risk_check
Optional
post ienum:risk_check Not PII

For SMS pumping protection feature only: Include this parameter with a value of disable to skip any kind of risk check on the respective message request.

from
Required if messaging_service_sid is not passed
post string<helpers_type=phone_number> PII MTL: 120 DAYS

The sender's Twilio phone number (in E.164 format), alphanumeric sender ID, Wireless SIM, short code, or channel address (e.g., whatsapp:+15554449999). The value of the from parameter must be a sender that is hosted within Twilio and belongs to the Account creating the Message. If you are using messaging_service_sid, this parameter can be empty (Twilio assigns a from value from the Messaging Service's Sender Pool) or you can provide a specific sender from your Sender Pool.

messaging_service_sid
Required if from is not passed
post sid<MG> Not PII

The SID of the Messaging Service you want to associate with the Message. When this parameter is provided and the from parameter is omitted, Twilio selects the optimal sender from the Messaging Service's Sender Pool. You may also provide a from parameter if you want to use a specific Sender from the Sender Pool.

body
Required if media_url, content_sid is not passed
post string PII MTL: 30 DAYS

The text content of the outgoing message. Can be up to 1,600 characters in length. SMS only: If the body contains more than 160 GSM-7 characters (or 70 UCS-2 characters), the message is segmented and charged accordingly. For long body text, consider using the send_as_mms parameter.

media_url
Required if body, content_sid is not passed
post url[] PII MTL: 30 DAYS

The URL of media to include in the Message content. jpeg, jpg, gif, and png file types are fully supported by Twilio and content is formatted for delivery on destination devices. The media size limit is 5 MB for supported file types (jpeg, jpg, png, gif) and 500 KB for other types of accepted media. To send more than one image in the message, provide multiple media_url parameters in the POST request. You can include up to ten media_url parameters per message. International and carrier limits apply.

content_sid
Required if body, media_url is not passed
post sid<HX> Not PII

For Content Editor/API only: The SID of the Content Template to be used with the Message, e.g., HXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. If this parameter is not provided, a Content Template is not used. Find the SID in the Console on the Content Editor page. For Content API users, the SID is found in Twilio's response when creating the Template or by fetching your Templates.

Twilio's request to the StatusCallback URL

Whenever a Message resource's Status changes, Twilio sends a POST request to the Message resource's StatusCallback URL.

In a status callback request, Twilio provides a subset of the standard request properties, and additionally MessageStatus and ErrorCode. These properties are described in the table below.

Property Description
MessageStatus The status of the Message resource at the time the status callback request was sent.
ErrorCode If an error occurred (i.e. the MessageStatus is failed or undelivered), this property provides additional information about the failure.

The properties included in Twilio's request to the StatusCallback URL vary by messaging channel and event type and are subject to change.

Twilio occasionally adds new properties without advance notice.

When integrating with status callback requests, it is important that your implementation is able to accept and correctly run signature validation on an evolving set of parameters.

Twilio strongly recommends using the signature validation methods provided in the Helper Libraries and not implementing your own signature validation.

SMS/MMS

For most SMS/MMS Messages that have a Status of delivered or undelivered, Twilio's request to the StatusCallback URL contains an additional property:

Property Description
RawDlrDoneDate

This property is a passthrough of the Done Date included in the DLR (Delivery Receipt) that Twilio received from the carrier.

The value is in YYMMDDhhmm format.

  • YY is last two digits of the year (00-99)
  • MM is the two-digit month (01-12)
  • DD is the two-digit day (01-31)
  • hh is the two-digit hour (00-23)
  • mm is the two-digit minute (00-59).
Learn more on the "Addition of RawDlrDoneDate to Delivered and Undelivered Status Webhooks" Changelog page.

WhatsApp and other messaging channels

If the Message resource uses WhatsApp or another messaging channel, Twilio's request to the StatusCallback URL contains additional properties. These properties are listed in the table below.

Property Description
ChannelInstallSid The Installed Channel SID that was used to send this message
ChannelStatusMessage The error message returned by the underlying messaging channel if Message delivery failed. This property is present only if the Message delivery failed.
ChannelPrefix The channel-specific prefix identifying the messaging channel associated with this Message
EventType

This property contains information about post-delivery events.

If the channel supports read receipts (currently WhatsApp only), this property's value is READ after the recipient has read the message.

Send an SMS message

The example below shows how to create a Message resource with an SMS recipient.

Sending this POST request causes Twilio to send a text message from +15557122661 (a Twilio phone number belonging to the Account sending the request) to +15558675310. The content of the text message is Hi there.

Example 1
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        Send an SMS message

        Send a WhatsApp message

        If you have a Twilio-approved WhatsApp sender, you can send WhatsApp messages by creating a new Message resource. (WhatsApp session limitations apply.)

        The From parameter value must be your approved WhatsApp sender address (e.g., whatsapp:+15552221111).

        The To parameter value must be a WhatsApp recipient address (e.g., whatsapp:+15553334444).

        You must also provide message content via the Body and/or MediaUrl parameters.

        If you're using Messaging Services with Content API/Content Editor, you can provide message content via the contentSid and contentVariables parameters.

        Note: WhatsApp does not support including a text body in the same message as a video, audio file, document, contact (vCard), or location. If you pass the Body parameter on a message with one of these media types, the body is ignored and not delivered to the recipient.

        Example 2
        Loading Code Sample...
              
              

              Send a WhatsApp Message

              Send a message with a Messaging Service

              When sending a message with a Messaging Service, you must provide a recipient via the To parameter and content via the Body, ContentSid, or MediaUrl parameters. In addition, you must provide the MessagingServiceSid.

              If you provide a MessagingServiceSid and no From parameter, Twilio determines the optimal From value from your Sender Pool. In this case, the Message resource's initial Status value is accepted.

              Optionally, you can provide a MessagingServiceSid and a From parameter. The From parameter must be a sender from your Messaging Service's Sender Pool. In this case, the Message resource's initial Status value is queued.

              With Messaging Services, you can also schedule messages to be sent in the future and send messages with shortened links.

              Example 3
              Loading Code Sample...
                    
                    

                    Send a message with a Messaging Service

                    Fetch a Message resource

                    get
                    https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/{AccountSid}/Messages/{Sid}.json

                    Returns a single Message resource specified by the provided Message SID.

                    Parameters
                    Parameters in REST API format
                    account_sid
                    Path
                    get sid<AC> Not PII

                    The SID of the Account associated with the Message resource

                    sid
                    Path
                    get sid<MM> Not PII

                    The SID of the Message resource to be fetched

                    Example 1
                    Loading Code Sample...
                          
                          

                          Fetch Message

                          Read multiple Message resources

                          get
                          https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/{AccountSid}/Messages.json

                          Read multiple Message resources by sending a GET request to your Account's Messages list URI.

                          Results are sorted by the DateSent field, with the most recent messages appearing first.

                          If you are using the Twilio REST API and plan on requesting more records than will fit on a single page, you may want to use the response's nextpageuri property. Requesting this URI ensures that your next request picks up where it left off and can prevent you from retrieving duplicate data if you are actively sending or receiving messages.

                          This is not necessary if you are using one of the Helper Libraries, which automatically handle pagination. Take a look at the Helper Library documentation for more information.

                          You can also filter the Messages list by providing the following query string parameters to the listing resource:

                          Parameters
                          Parameters in REST API format
                          account_sid
                          Path
                          get sid<AC> Not PII

                          The SID of the Account associated with the Message resources.

                          to
                          Optional
                          get phone_number PII MTL: 120 DAYS

                          Filter by recipient. For example: Set this to parameter to +15558881111 to retrieve a list of Message resources with to properties of +15558881111

                          from
                          Optional
                          get phone_number PII MTL: 120 DAYS

                          Filter by sender. For example: Set this from parameter to +15552229999 to retrieve a list of Message resources with from properties of +15552229999

                          date_sent
                          Optional
                          get date_time_inequality<iso8601> Not PII

                          Filter by Message sent_date. Accepts GMT dates in the following formats: YYYY-MM-DD (to find Messages with a specific sent_date), <=YYYY-MM-DD (to find Messages with sent_dates on and before a specific date), and >=YYYY-MM-DD (to find Messages with sent_dates on and after a specific date).

                          Example 1
                          Loading Code Sample...
                                
                                
                                Returns a list of all Message resources associated with your Account

                                List all Message resources

                                Returns a list of all Message resources associated with your Account
                                Example 2
                                Loading Code Sample...
                                      
                                      
                                      List all messages sent on August 31, 2016 from +15017122661 and to +15558675310

                                      List Message resources matching filter criteria

                                      List all messages sent on August 31, 2016 from +15017122661 and to +15558675310
                                      Example 3
                                      Loading Code Sample...
                                            
                                            
                                            List all Messages sent before March 1st, 2019

                                            List Messages that were sent before a specific date

                                            List all Messages sent before March 1st, 2019
                                            Example 4
                                            Loading Code Sample...
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  List all Messages sent between January 15th, 2021, 01:23:45 UTC and January 17th, 2021, 01:23:45 UTC

                                                  List Messages within a specific time period

                                                  List all Messages sent between January 15th, 2021, 01:23:45 UTC and January 17th, 2021, 01:23:45 UTC

                                                  Update a Message resource

                                                  post
                                                  https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/{AccountSid}/Messages/{Sid}.json

                                                  Updates the body of a Message resource. Send a POST request to a Message resource's URI containing the updated parameters.

                                                  This action is primarily used to redact Message content. To redact a Message resources's Body, send a POST request to the Message resource's URI and set the Body parameter as an empty string: "". This redacts the Body of a message while keeping the other Message resource properties intact.

                                                  Parameters
                                                  Parameters in REST API format
                                                  account_sid
                                                  Path
                                                  post sid<AC> Not PII

                                                  The SID of the Account that created the Message resources to update.

                                                  sid
                                                  Path
                                                  post sid<MM> Not PII

                                                  The SID of the Message resource to be updated

                                                  body
                                                  Optional
                                                  post string PII MTL: 30 DAYS

                                                  The new body of the Message resource. To redact the text content of a Message, this parameter's value must be an empty string

                                                  status
                                                  Optional
                                                  post ienum:update_status Not PII

                                                  Set as canceled to prevent a not-yet-sent Message from being sent. Can be used to cancel sending a scheduled Message (Messaging Services only).

                                                  Example 1
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                                                        Redact the body of a Message resource

                                                        Delete a Message resource

                                                        delete
                                                        https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/{AccountSid}/Messages/{Sid}.json

                                                        To delete a Message resource, send a DELETE request to the Message resource's URI.

                                                        If the DELETE request is successful, Twilio's response status code is HTTP 204 (No Content).

                                                        A deleted Message resource no longer appears in your Account's Messaging logs. Deleted messages cannot be recovered.

                                                        Deleting a Message resource also deletes any associated Media and/or MessageFeedback sub-resources. Any associated media file is also deleted unless the same media file is associated with another Message resource in your Account. For example, if you send 1,000 messages with the same media file (e.g., a .jpeg file), that media file remains accessible until all 1,000 associated Message resources (and/or the associated Media sub-resources) are deleted.

                                                        Message bodies may persist for up to 30 days after an HTTP DELETE request in our database backups.

                                                        Parameters
                                                        Parameters in REST API format
                                                        account_sid
                                                        Path
                                                        delete sid<AC> Not PII

                                                        The SID of the Account associated with the Message resource

                                                        sid
                                                        Path
                                                        delete sid<MM> Not PII

                                                        The SID of the Message resource you wish to delete

                                                        Example 1
                                                        Loading Code Sample...
                                                              
                                                              

                                                              Delete Message

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