Ahoy there! All messaging transmitted using Twilio's messaging channels is treated as Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging and subject to Twilio's Messaging Policy. For detailed information on policy rules to ensure you remain compliant while using Twilio's services, please see our Acceptable Use Policy.
With just a few lines of code, your Python application can send SMS messages with Twilio Programmable Messaging.
This Programmable Messaging Quickstart will walk you through the entire process step-by-step, starting with setting up your Twilio account all the way through sending an SMS using a Messaging Service.
In this Quickstart, you will learn how to:
By the end of this Quickstart, you'll have a solid foundation for building and scaling with Twilio's Programmable Messaging for your specific use cases.
Already have a Twilio account? Go ahead and skip this section.
If you are sending SMS to the U.S. or Canada, before proceeding further please be aware of updated restrictions on the use of Toll-Free numbers for messaging, including TF numbers obtained through Free Trial. Please click here for details.
You can sign up for a free Twilio trial account here.
If you don't currently own a Twilio phone number with SMS functionality, you'll need to purchase one. After navigating to the Buy a Number page, check the SMS box and click Search.
You'll then see a list of available phone numbers and their capabilities. Find a number that suits your fancy and click Buy to add it to your account.
We'll use the Twilio CLI (command line interface) for a few tasks, so let's install that next.
The suggested way to install twilio-cli
on macOS is to use Homebrew. If you don't already have it installed, visit the Homebrew site for installation instructions and then return here.
Once you have installed Homebrew, run the following command to install twilio-cli
:
brew tap twilio/brew && brew install twilio
For other installation methods, see the Twilio CLI Quickstart.
Run twilio login
to get the Twilio CLI connected to your account. Visit the Twilio Console, and under Account Info, you'll find your unique Account SID and Auth Token to provide to the CLI.
Once you have your SMS-enabled Twilio phone number and the Twilio CLI, you can proceed to install Python and the Twilio Python Helper Library.
If you've gone through one of our other Python Quickstarts already and have Python and the Twilio Python helper library installed, you can skip this step and get straight to sending your first text message.
To send your first SMS, you'll need to have Python and the Twilio Python helper library installed.
If you're using a Mac or Linux machine, you probably already have Python installed. You can check this by opening up a terminal and running the following command:
python3 --version
You should see something like:
1$ python3 --version2Python 3.7
Windows users can follow this excellent tutorial for installing Python on Windows, or follow the instructions from Python's documentation.
Twilio's Python server-side SDK supports Python 3.
For a full list of which versions of Python are supported, refer to our Helper Library documentation.
The easiest way to install the library is using pip, a package manager for Python that helps you install the libraries you need. Run this in the terminal:
pip install twilio
Depending on how Python or pip are configured in your operating system, you may need to run pip3 install twilio
instead.
If you get a pip: command not found
error, you can also use easy_install
by running this in your terminal:
easy_install twilio
If you'd prefer a manual installation, you can download the source code (ZIP) for twilio-python
and then install the library by running:
python setup.py install
in the folder containing the twilio-python
server-side SDK library code.
Now that we have Python and twilio-python
installed, we can send an outbound text message from the Twilio phone number we just purchased with a single API request. Create and open a new file called send_sms.py
and type or paste in this code sample.
1# Download the helper library from https://www.twilio.com/docs/python/install2import os3from twilio.rest import Client45# Find your Account SID and Auth Token at twilio.com/console6# and set the environment variables. See http://twil.io/secure7account_sid = os.environ["TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID"]8auth_token = os.environ["TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN"]9client = Client(account_sid, auth_token)1011message = client.messages.create(12body="Join Earth's mightiest heroes. Like Kevin Bacon.",13from_="+15017122661",14to="+15558675310",15)1617print(message.body)
1{2"account_sid": "ACXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX",3"api_version": "2010-04-01",4"body": "Join Earth's mightiest heroes. Like Kevin Bacon.",5"date_created": "Thu, 24 Aug 2023 05:01:45 +0000",6"date_sent": "Thu, 24 Aug 2023 05:01:45 +0000",7"date_updated": "Thu, 24 Aug 2023 05:01:45 +0000",8"direction": "outbound-api",9"error_code": null,10"error_message": null,11"from": "+15017122661",12"num_media": "0",13"num_segments": "1",14"price": null,15"price_unit": null,16"messaging_service_sid": "MGaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",17"sid": "SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",18"status": "queued",19"subresource_uris": {20"media": "/2010-04-01/Accounts/ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Messages/SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Media.json"21},22"tags": {23"campaign_name": "Spring Sale 2022",24"message_type": "cart_abandoned"25},26"to": "+15558675310",27"uri": "/2010-04-01/Accounts/ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Messages/SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.json"28}
You'll need to edit your send_sms.py
file a little more before your message will send.
Swap the placeholder values for account_sid
and auth_token
with your personal Twilio credentials. You can find these values in your Twilio console, as described previously.
Open send_sms.py
and replace the values for account_sid
and auth_token
with your unique values.
Please note: it's okay to hardcode your credentials when getting started, but you should use environment variables to keep them secret before deploying to production. Check out how to set environment variables for more information.
Remember that SMS-enabled phone number you bought just a few minutes ago? Go ahead and replace the existing from_
number with that one, making sure to use E.164 formatting:
[+][country code][phone number including area code]
Replace the to
phone number with your mobile phone number. This can be any phone number that can receive text messages, but it's a good idea to test with your own phone so you can see the magic happen! As above, you should use E.164 formatting for this value.
If you are on a Twilio Trial account, your outgoing SMS messages are limited to phone numbers that you have verified with Twilio. Phone numbers can be verified via your Twilio Console's Verified Caller IDs.
When you send an SMS from your free trial phone number, it will always begin with "Sent from a Twilio trial account." We remove this message after you upgrade.
Save your changes and run this script from your terminal:
python send_sms.py
That's it! In a few moments, you should receive an SMS from your Twilio number on your phone.
In this code sample, we are making a POST
request to the Programmable Messaging API's Message endpoint in order to create a new outbound message. We are using the twilio-python
library's built-in create
method, but you could make this request using the Twilio CLI (that you already installed), curl, or a request module of your choosing.
Check out the code samples to send an SMS with the Twilio CLI and curl. Don't forget to update the body
, to
, and from
parameters!
1# Install the twilio-cli from https://twil.io/cli23twilio api:core:messages:create \4--body "Join Earth's mightiest heroes. Like Kevin Bacon." \5--to +15558675310 \6--from +15017122661
1{2"account_sid": "ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",3"api_version": "2010-04-01",4"body": "Join Earth's mightiest heroes. Like Kevin Bacon.",5"date_created": "Thu, 24 Aug 2023 05:01:45 +0000",6"date_sent": "Thu, 24 Aug 2023 05:01:45 +0000",7"date_updated": "Thu, 24 Aug 2023 05:01:45 +0000",8"direction": "outbound-api",9"error_code": null,10"error_message": null,11"from": "+15017122661",12"num_media": "0",13"num_segments": "1",14"price": null,15"price_unit": null,16"messaging_service_sid": "MGaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",17"sid": "SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",18"status": "queued",19"subresource_uris": {20"media": "/2010-04-01/Accounts/ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Messages/SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Media.json"21},22"tags": {23"campaign_name": "Spring Sale 2022",24"message_type": "cart_abandoned"25},26"to": "+15558675310",27"uri": "/2010-04-01/Accounts/ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Messages/SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.json"28}
1curl -X POST "https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/$TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID/Messages.json" \2--data-urlencode "Body=Join Earth's mightiest heroes. Like Kevin Bacon." \3--data-urlencode "To=+15558675310" \4--data-urlencode "From=+15017122661" \5-u $TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID:$TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN
1{2"account_sid": "ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",3"api_version": "2010-04-01",4"body": "Join Earth's mightiest heroes. Like Kevin Bacon.",5"date_created": "Thu, 24 Aug 2023 05:01:45 +0000",6"date_sent": "Thu, 24 Aug 2023 05:01:45 +0000",7"date_updated": "Thu, 24 Aug 2023 05:01:45 +0000",8"direction": "outbound-api",9"error_code": null,10"error_message": null,11"from": "+15017122661",12"num_media": "0",13"num_segments": "1",14"price": null,15"price_unit": null,16"messaging_service_sid": "MGaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",17"sid": "SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",18"status": "queued",19"subresource_uris": {20"media": "/2010-04-01/Accounts/ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Messages/SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Media.json"21},22"tags": {23"campaign_name": "Spring Sale 2022",24"message_type": "cart_abandoned"25},26"to": "+15558675310",27"uri": "/2010-04-01/Accounts/ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Messages/SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.json"28}
Are your customers in the U.S. or Canada? You can also send them MMS messages by adding just one line of code. Check out this guide to sending MMS to see how it's done.
Congratulations, you've sent your first SMS with Twilio Programmable Messaging and received it on your personal device.
At this point, we have acquired one Twilio phone number and used it to send one outbound SMS. You can imagine a time in the not-so-distant future where you'll need a more robust, feature-rich way to send messages, such as:
In the next part of the Quickstart, we'll walk through setting up your first Messaging Service. You can think of a Messaging Service as a container to hold all of your available phone numbers (and other senders) and comes with features that you may need along your messaging journey.
Run the following Twilio CLI command to create a Messaging Service that we will use to send our first programmable SMS.
twilio api:messaging:v1:services:create --friendly-name "My first Messaging Service"
Take note of the Messaging Service SID (It starts with "MGXXX..."). We'll need it to send our next message.
Next, add the phone number you just purchased. Forgot the number already? No worries, you can list it with the Twilio CLI:
1twilio phone-numbers:list2# Grab the SID ("PNXXXX...") of your number
Add your phone number to your newly created Messaging Service with the following command:
1twilio api:messaging:v1:services:phone-numbers:create --service-sid MGXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX --phone-number-sid PNXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX2
Sending an outbound SMS from a Messaging Service is similar to sending from an individual Twilio phone number. The primary difference is replacing the from_
parameter with the messaging_service_sid
to indicate that you are sending from a phone number within your Messaging Service's sender pool. (Currently, there is only one phone number in your sender pool, so we'll be sending from that one.)
1# Download the helper library from https://www.twilio.com/docs/python/install2import os3from twilio.rest import Client45# Find your Account SID and Auth Token at twilio.com/console6# and set the environment variables. See http://twil.io/secure7account_sid = os.environ["TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID"]8auth_token = os.environ["TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN"]9client = Client(account_sid, auth_token)1011message = client.messages.create(12messaging_service_sid="MGXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX",13to="+15558675310",14body="This will be the body of the new message!",15)1617print(message.body)
1{2"account_sid": "ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",3"api_version": "2010-04-01",4"body": "This will be the body of the new message!",5"date_created": "Thu, 24 Aug 2023 05:01:45 +0000",6"date_sent": "Thu, 24 Aug 2023 05:01:45 +0000",7"date_updated": "Thu, 24 Aug 2023 05:01:45 +0000",8"direction": "outbound-api",9"error_code": null,10"error_message": null,11"from": "+14155552345",12"num_media": "0",13"num_segments": "1",14"price": null,15"price_unit": null,16"messaging_service_sid": "MGXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX",17"sid": "SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",18"status": "queued",19"subresource_uris": {20"media": "/2010-04-01/Accounts/ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Messages/SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Media.json"21},22"tags": {23"campaign_name": "Spring Sale 2022",24"message_type": "cart_abandoned"25},26"to": "+15558675310",27"uri": "/2010-04-01/Accounts/ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Messages/SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.json"28}
Remember that Messaging Service you just created? We will modify the code from the first example to use your Messaging Service to send a message. Go ahead and open the send_sms.py
file you used for that example. In that file, instead of the from_
parameter and your phone number, use the messaging_service_sid
parameter with the "MGXXXX..." of your Messaging Service SID. Save your changes and run this script from your terminal:
python send_sms.py
And that's it to send an SMS using a Twilio Messaging Service! In a few seconds, you should receive a second SMS on your phone from your Twilio phone number. The Messaging Service seamlessly selected your number from its Sender Pool to send that second outbound message.
Now that you've sent your first SMS messages, check out the following resources to continue your messaging journey with Twilio:
We can't wait to see what you build!