Twilio

Overview

Twilio is the leading cloud communications platform. This skill covers sending SMS/MMS messages, WhatsApp messaging, two-factor authentication (Verify API), voice calls, and handling incoming messages via webhooks. Twilio provides phone numbers in 100+ countries and handles carrier-level complexity so you work with a simple API.

Instructions

Step 1: Setup

# Node.js
npm install twilio

# Python
pip install twilio

// lib/twilio.ts — Client initialization
import twilio from 'twilio'

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

Step 2: Send SMS

// sms.ts — Send and receive SMS messages
import twilio from 'twilio'

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

// Send SMS
const message = await client.messages.create({
  body: 'Your order #1234 has shipped! Track it at: https://track.example.com/1234',
  from: process.env.TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER,    // your Twilio number
  to: '+15551234567',                        // recipient (E.164 format)
})

console.log(message.sid)    // SM1234567890abcdef

// Send MMS (with image)
await client.messages.create({
  body: 'Check out this photo!',
  from: process.env.TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER,
  to: '+15551234567',
  mediaUrl: ['https://example.com/photo.jpg'],
})

Step 3: Two-Factor Authentication (Verify API)

// lib/verify.ts — Phone number verification / 2FA
// Uses Twilio Verify — handles code generation, delivery, and validation

const client = twilio(process.env.TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID, process.env.TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN)
const VERIFY_SERVICE_SID = process.env.TWILIO_VERIFY_SERVICE_SID!    // create in Twilio console

export async function sendVerificationCode(phoneNumber: string) {
  /**
   * Send a 6-digit verification code via SMS.
   * Twilio handles code generation, expiry (10 min), and rate limiting.
   */
  const verification = await client.verify.v2
    .services(VERIFY_SERVICE_SID)
    .verifications.create({
      to: phoneNumber,
      channel: 'sms',    // or 'call', 'email', 'whatsapp'
    })
  return verification.status    // 'pending'
}

export async function checkVerificationCode(phoneNumber: string, code: string) {
  /**
   * Verify a code entered by the user.
   * Returns 'approved' if correct, 'pending' if wrong.
   */
  const check = await client.verify.v2
    .services(VERIFY_SERVICE_SID)
    .verificationChecks.create({
      to: phoneNumber,
      code,
    })
  return check.status    // 'approved' or 'pending'
}

Step 4: WhatsApp Messaging

// whatsapp.ts — Send WhatsApp messages via Twilio
// Requires WhatsApp Business API setup in Twilio console

await client.messages.create({
  body: 'Your appointment is confirmed for tomorrow at 2 PM.',
  from: 'whatsapp:+14155238886',    // Twilio WhatsApp sandbox number
  to: 'whatsapp:+15551234567',
})

// WhatsApp with template (required for initiating conversations)
await client.messages.create({
  from: 'whatsapp:+14155238886',
  to: 'whatsapp:+15551234567',
  contentSid: 'HXb5b62575e6e4ff6129ad7c8efe1f983e',    // approved template SID
  contentVariables: JSON.stringify({ '1': 'John', '2': 'March 15' }),
})

Step 5: Receive Incoming Messages (Webhooks)

// app/api/webhooks/twilio/route.ts — Handle incoming SMS/WhatsApp messages
import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server'
import twilio from 'twilio'

const { MessagingResponse } = twilio.twiml

export async function POST(req: NextRequest) {
  const formData = await req.formData()
  const from = formData.get('From') as string
  const body = formData.get('Body') as string
  const messageSid = formData.get('MessageSid') as string

  console.log(`Incoming from ${from}: ${body}`)

  // Auto-reply with TwiML
  const response = new MessagingResponse()

  if (body.toLowerCase().includes('status')) {
    response.message('Your order is on its way! Expected delivery: tomorrow.')
  } else if (body.toLowerCase().includes('help')) {
    response.message('Available commands: STATUS, HELP, CANCEL')
  } else {
    response.message('Thanks for your message! Reply HELP for options.')
  }

  return new NextResponse(response.toString(), {
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'text/xml' },
  })
}

Step 6: Voice Calls

// voice.ts — Make automated phone calls
// TwiML controls what happens during the call

await client.calls.create({
  url: 'https://myapp.com/api/voice/greeting',    // TwiML endpoint
  from: process.env.TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER!,
  to: '+15551234567',
})

// Voice webhook endpoint
// app/api/voice/greeting/route.ts
import twilio from 'twilio'
const { VoiceResponse } = twilio.twiml

export async function POST() {
  const response = new VoiceResponse()
  response.say({ voice: 'alice' }, 'Hello! Your appointment is confirmed for tomorrow at 2 PM.')
  response.say('Press 1 to confirm, or 2 to reschedule.')

  const gather = response.gather({ numDigits: 1, action: '/api/voice/handle-input' })
  gather.say('Please make your selection.')

  return new Response(response.toString(), {
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'text/xml' },
  })
}

Examples

Example 1: Add SMS-based 2FA to a login flow

User prompt: "Add phone number verification to our signup flow. Users enter their phone number, receive a code, and verify it."

The agent will:

1. Create a Twilio Verify service in the console.
2. Build API endpoints: /api/verify/send and /api/verify/check.
3. Frontend flow: phone input → send code → code input → verify.
4. Handle edge cases: rate limiting, expired codes, invalid numbers.

Example 2: Build an order notification system

User prompt: "Send customers an SMS when their order ships, and a WhatsApp message when it's delivered. Include tracking link."

The agent will:

1. Set up SMS and WhatsApp messaging channels.
2. Create notification functions triggered by order status changes.
3. Use WhatsApp templates (required for business-initiated messages).
4. Handle delivery status callbacks via webhooks.

Guidelines

• Use E.164 format for all phone numbers (+15551234567, not 555-123-4567). Twilio rejects incorrectly formatted numbers.
• Use the Verify API for 2FA instead of sending raw SMS codes — it handles code generation, expiry, rate limiting, and fraud detection.
• WhatsApp requires pre-approved message templates for business-initiated conversations. User-initiated conversations (replies within 24h) allow freeform messages.
• Always validate webhook requests using Twilio's signature validation to prevent forged webhooks.
• SMS costs vary by country — US SMS costs ~$0.0079/message, international can be 10-50x more. Use WhatsApp for international messaging when possible (often cheaper).
• Set up a status callback URL to track message delivery. Not all SMS messages are delivered — carriers can silently drop them.