Twilio Getting started with Twilio


Twilio provides a platform for communication via IP messaging (chat), video, voice, SMS and MMS. This simple example demonstrates how to send an SMS text message using the Twilio module for Node.js.


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Sending an SMS Message from a US Number

This is how to send an SMS text message from a US number using Twilio's Node.js SDK.

First you need to install the Node.js client using:

npm install twilio

Then, you have to create an account on their website.

Once you have an account, you'll need the account SID and auth token that you can find on the online dashboard.

Location of Account SID and auth token on online dashboard

In the code example below, replace [Account SID] and [Auth Token] with the ones from your account.

// Twilio Credentials 
var accountSid = '[Account SID]'; 
var authToken = '[Auth Token]'; 
//require the Twilio module and create a REST client 
var client = require('twilio')(accountSid, authToken); 
    to: "+16518675309", // Any number Twilio can deliver to
    from: "+14158141829", // A number you bought from Twilio and can use for outbound communication
    body: "Hey Jenny, thanks for the pull request, will merge it right away." 
}, function(err, message) { 

Sending an SMS Message using Promises

Twilio's Node.JS API natively supports promises, allowing you to use promises when sending SMS messages (this example was taken and adapted directly from Twilio's API Docs).

// Create an authenticated Twilio REST API client
var twilio = require('twilio');
var client = new twilio.RestClient('ACCOUNT_SID', 'AUTH_TOKEN');

// A simple example of sending an sms message using promises
var promise = client.makeCall({
    to:'+16515556667777', // a number to call
    from:'+16518889999', // a Twilio number you own
    body: 'Hello, world.' // A URL containing TwiML instructions for the call

// You can assign functions to be called, at any time, after the request to
// Twilio has been completed.  The first function is called when the request
// succeeds, the second if there was an error.
.then(function(sms) {
    console.log('Call success! SMS SID: ' + sms.sid);
}, function(error) {
    console.error('Call failed!  Reason: ' + error.message);