Install Required Libraries
- To integrate Twilio's Programmable SMS API into your Python application, first, ensure that the Twilio library is installed. Use the following pip command in your terminal or command line.
pip install twilio
Setup Environment Variables
- Storing your Twilio credentials securely is vital. Use environment variables to keep your account SID, auth token, and from a phone number secure. You can achieve this through Python's `os` library.
import os
TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID = os.getenv('TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID')
TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN = os.getenv('TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN')
TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER = os.getenv('TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER')
Initialize Twilio Client
- Once credentials are set, initialize the Twilio client with your account SID and auth token. This client will be used to send messages.
from twilio.rest import Client
client = Client(TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID, TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN)
Sending SMS
- With the client initialized, implement a function to send an SMS. Use the `messages.create()` method to specify the body of the message, the sender's number, and the recipient's number.
def send_sms(to_number, message_body):
message = client.messages.create(
body=message_body,
from_=TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER,
to=to_number
)
return message.sid
Error Handling
- Ensure your implementation includes error handling to manage exceptions that may arise during the API call. Twilio's API will raise errors if issues occur with sending SMS.
try:
sid = send_sms('+1234567890', 'Hello from Twilio!')
print(f'Message sent successfully, SID: {sid}')
except Exception as e:
print(f'An error occurred: {e}')
Explore Additional Features
- Beyond sending messages, Twilio's API offers functionalities like scheduling messages, tracking delivery statuses, or sending multimedia messages (MMS). Refer to the Twilio API documentation for advanced features.
