twilio-sms-send-message

Overview

SMS is one channel in Twilio's Messaging platform. All channels — SMS, WhatsApp, RCS, Facebook Messenger — share the same messages.create() API. See twilio-messaging-overview for the full channel comparison and onboarding sequence.

When to use SMS	When to consider alternatives
Reach any phone number globally	Need rich media outside US/CA/AU → WhatsApp
No app install required	Opted-in audience prefers chat apps → WhatsApp
Time-sensitive alerts (OTP, outage)	Marketing campaigns → twilio-marketing-promotions-advisor
Regulatory/compliance requires SMS	Cost-sensitive high-volume → WhatsApp (lower per-msg cost in many markets)

For production SMS: Use a Messaging Service (messagingServiceSid) instead of a raw from number. It enables sender pool management, compliance toolkit, SMS pumping protection, link shortening, and message scheduling. See twilio-messaging-services.

Every outbound SMS requires a from Twilio number (or messagingServiceSid) and a to recipient — both in E.164 format.

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Prerequisites

• Twilio account with an SMS-capable phone number — New to Twilio? See twilio-account-setup for signup, getting a number, and trial limitations
• 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

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Quickstart

Python

import os
from twilio.rest import Client

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

message = client.messages.create(
    from_="+15017122661",   # Your Twilio number (E.164)
    to="+15558675310",      # Recipient (E.164)
    body="Your appointment is confirmed for tomorrow at 2pm."
)

print(message.sid)     # SMxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
print(message.status)  # queued | sent | delivered | failed

Node.js

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

const message = await client.messages.create({
    from: "+15017122661",
    to: "+15558675310",
    body: "Your appointment is confirmed for tomorrow at 2pm.",
});

console.log(message.sid);
console.log(message.status);