twilio-conversations-classic-api

Overview

Conversations (classic) API provides persistent, multi-channel threads where participants on SMS, WhatsApp, and web chat can message together. Unlike single-message APIs, Conversations maintains history and supports multi-agent access.

Note: This is the Conversations (classic) API (v1).

Prerequisites

• Twilio account with Conversations (classic) enabled — New to Twilio? See twilio-account-setup — Enable at: Console > Conversations > Manage > Overview > Enable Conversations
• Environment variables:
  • TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID
  • TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN — See twilio-iam-auth-setup for credential setup and best practices
• SDK: pip install twilio / npm install twilio
• For SMS/WhatsApp participants: a Twilio number assigned to a Conversations Service

Setup: Create a Conversation Service (classic)

A Conversation Service is the parent configuration container for all your conversations in the classic API. You need one before creating conversations with SMS/WhatsApp participants.

Python

import os
from twilio.rest import Client

client = Client(os.environ["TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID"], os.environ["TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN"])

# Create a Conversation Service
service = client.conversations.v1.services.create(
    friendly_name="Customer Support Service"
)
print(f"Service SID: {service.sid}")

Node.js

const twilio = require("twilio");
const client = twilio(process.env.TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID, process.env.TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN);

// Create a Conversation Service
const service = await client.conversations.v1.services.create({
    friendlyName: "Customer Support Service"
});
console.log(`Service SID: ${service.sid}`);

Next: Assign your Twilio phone number to this service at Console > Conversations > Manage > Services > Select your service > Add phone number.

Quickstart