How to Set Up Your Own Twilio Conference Line with TwiML Bins

May 05, 2016
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twimlconf

You never know when having a conference line is going to come in handy. Here at Twilio, we’ve even used them to record podcasts.

Would you believe me when I say it’s super easy to set one up? And the process just got even easier with the new Console and native TwiML Bins. All you need to get started is your free Twilio account and a phone number.

 

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You might be familiar with TwiML – Twilio flavored XML used to create voice and SMS apps. The pure magic of TwiML Bins for Voice and SMS is to be able to quickly host static TwiML without having to get a server up and running.

Let’s break down a simple <Conference> example. Create your bin called, Super Awesome Conference Line, which looks like this:

 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Response>
  <Say>Thank you for calling the Super Awesome Conference. You'll be connected with your party shortly.</Say>
    <Dial record="true">
      <Conference beep="true" waitUrl="http://twimlets.com/holdmusic?Bucket=com.twilio.music.guitars">Conference Line</Conference>
    </Dial>
</Response>

In the Console:

 

conf-line


Voila! Within our <Response> we nest the <Say>, <Dial>, and <Conference> TwiML verbs to set up our conference.

Each of these verbs have helpful parameters that extend  what can happen in a call. In the example above, we’re recording the call with the record attribute set to “true”. Within we set beep to “true” which plays a notification beep when a participant joins or leaves the conference and waitUrl lets you specify a URL for music that plays before the conference starts. You can grab a variety of musical styles from the docs.

All you need to do now is configure your Twilio phone number to point to your TwiML when a call comes in.

 

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You’ve got a fully functioning conference line you can use for calls of all kinds. Grab a couple of friends and give it a try on my number. 

  Super Awesome Conference Line (310) 907-8261

We’re just getting started with the new Console. You can learn about it and much more at SIGNAL. Check out Andrew Jordan’s session for Designing Multi-party Call Flows with Twilio Conference.

Use promo code “BLOG75” when you register here to grab a $75 discount. We’ll see you there!