Send SMS and MMS Messages in Node.js

Twilio's helper library for Node.js helps you create a new instance of the Message resource, specifying the To, From, and Body parameters of your message.

If you don't already have the Node helper library installed, you can do so using npm:

npm install twilio

This will install the twilio module so that Node.js scripts in the current directory can use it.

Now, create a file named sms.js and include the following code.

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// Download the helper library from https://www.twilio.com/docs/node/install
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const twilio = require("twilio"); // Or, for ESM: import twilio from "twilio";
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// Find your Account SID and Auth Token at twilio.com/console
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// and set the environment variables. See http://twil.io/secure
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const accountSid = process.env.TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID;
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const authToken = process.env.TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN;
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const client = twilio(accountSid, authToken);
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async function createMessage() {
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  const message = await client.messages.create({
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    body: "This is the ship that made the Kessel Run in fourteen parsecs?",
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    from: "+15017122661",
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    to: "+15558675310",
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  });
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  console.log(message.body);
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}
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createMessage();

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{
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  "account_sid": "ACXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX",
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  "api_version": "2010-04-01",
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  "body": "This is the ship that made the Kessel Run in fourteen parsecs?",
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  "date_created": "Thu, 30 Jul 2015 20:12:31 +0000",
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  "date_sent": "Thu, 30 Jul 2015 20:12:33 +0000",
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  "date_updated": "Thu, 30 Jul 2015 20:12:33 +0000",
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  "direction": "outbound-api",
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  "error_code": null,
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  "error_message": null,
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  "from": "+15017122661",
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  "messaging_service_sid": "MGaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
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  "num_media": "0",
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  "num_segments": "1",
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  "price": null,
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  "price_unit": null,
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  "sid": "SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
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  "status": "queued",
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  "subresource_uris": {
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    "media": "/2010-04-01/Accounts/ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Messages/SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Media.json"
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  },
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  "tags": null,
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  "to": "+15558675310",
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  "uri": "/2010-04-01/Accounts/ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Messages/SMaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.json"
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}

Replace the placeholder values for accountSid and authToken with your unique values. You can find these in your Twilio console.

You'll tell Twilio which phone number to use to send this message by replacing the from number with the Twilio phone number you purchased earlier.

Next, specify yourself as the message recipient by replacing the to number with your mobile phone number. Both the from and to parameters must use E.164 formatting ("+" and a country code, e.g., +16175551212).

We also include the body parameter, which contains the content of the SMS we're going to send.

Once you've updated the code sample, you can test it out by running it from the command line:

node sms.js

In just a few moments you should receive an SMS!

Let's take a moment to understand what's going on behind the scenes when you send this request to Twilio.

Need some help?