The number of segments that make up the complete message. SMS message bodies that exceed the character limit are segmented and charged as multiple messages. Note: For messages sent via a Messaging Service, num_segments is initially 0, since a sender hasn't yet been assigned.
The direction of the message. Can be: inbound for incoming messages, outbound-api for messages created by the REST API, outbound-call for messages created during a call, or outbound-reply for messages created in response to an incoming message.
The sender's phone number (in E.164 format), alphanumeric sender ID, Wireless SIM, short code, or channel address (e.g., whatsapp:+15554449999). For incoming messages, this is the number or channel address of the sender. For outgoing messages, this value is a Twilio phone number, alphanumeric sender ID, short code, or channel address from which the message is sent.
The amount billed for the message in the currency specified by price_unit. The price is populated after the message has been sent/received, and may not be immediately availalble. View the Pricing page for more details.
The status of the Message. Possible values: accepted, scheduled, canceled, queued, sending, sent, failed, delivered, undelivered, receiving, received, or read (WhatsApp only). For more information, See detailed descriptions.
The RFC 2822 timestamp (in GMT) of when the Message was sent. For an outgoing message, this is when Twilio sent the message. For an incoming message, this is when Twilio sent the HTTP request to your incoming message webhook URL.
A list of related resources identified by their URIs relative to https://api.twilio.com
Message Status values
The table below lists possible values of a Message resource's Status. As messages can be either outbound or inbound, each status description explicitly indicates to which message direction the status applies.
ENUM:STATUS possible values in REST API format
'queued'
The API request to send an outbound message was successful and the message is queued to be sent out by a specific From sender. For messages sent without a Messaging Service this is the initial Status value of the Message resource.
'sending'
Twilio is in the process of dispatching the outbound message to the nearest upstream carrier in the network.
'sent'
The nearest upstream carrier accepted the outbound message.
'failed'
The outbound message failed to send. This can happen for various reasons including queue overflows, Account suspensions and media errors. Twilio does not charge you for failed messages.
'delivered'
Twilio has received confirmation of outbound message delivery from the upstream carrier, and, where available, the destination handset.
'undelivered'
Twilio received a delivery receipt indicating that the outbound message was not delivered. This can happen for many reasons including carrier content filtering and the availability of the destination handset.
'receiving'
The inbound message was received by Twilio and is currently being processed.
'received'
The inbound message was received and processing is complete.
'accepted'
[Messaging Service only] Twilio has received your API request to immediately send an outbound message with a Messaging Service. If you did not provide a specific From sender in the service's Sender Pool to use, the service is dynamically selecting a From sender. For unscheduled messages to be sent with a Messaging Service, this is the initial Status value of the Message resource.
'scheduled'
[Messaging Service only] The Message resource is scheduled to be sent with a Messaging Service. If you schedule a message with a Messaging Service, this is the initial Status value of the Message resource.
'read'
WhatsApp only: The recipient opened the outbound message. Recipient must have read receipts enabled.
'partially_delivered'
[Deprecated]
'canceled'
[Messaging Service only] The message scheduled with a Messaging Service has been canceled.
NumSegments property
The NumSegments property is relevant for SMS messages only.
For outbound SMS messages, this property indicates the number of SMS messages it took to deliver the body of the message.
If the body of a message is more than 160 GSM-7 characters (or 70 UCS-2 characters), Twilio segments and annotates your messages to attempt proper reassembly on the recipient's handset (not supported by all carriers and handsets). This ensures your body text transmits with the highest fidelity.
On inbound SMS messages, this property indicates the number of SMS messages that make up the message received.
If the body of a message is more than 160 GSM-7 characters (or 70 UCS-2 characters), Twilio attempts to reassemble the message received by your Twilio phone number. All carriers and handsets do not necessarily support this.
Your account is charged for each segment sent or received.
Twilio queues messages for delivery at your prescribed rate limit. API requests for messages that exceed the specified rates will be queued and executed as capacity is available.
If you need to enqueue a large number of messages, you may want to use Messaging Services.
Every request to create a new Message resource requires a recipient, a sender, and content.
A recipient is specified via the To parameter.
The sender is specified via one of the following parameters:
From
MessagingServiceSid
The message content is specified via one of the following parameters:
MediaUrl
Body
ContentSid
The table below describes these parameters in more detail.
The URL of the endpoint to which Twilio sends Message status callback requests. URL must contain a valid hostname and underscores are not allowed. If you include this parameter with the messaging_service_sid, Twilio uses this URL instead of the Status Callback URL of the Messaging Service.
The SID of the associated TwiML Application. Message status callback requests are sent to the TwiML App's message_status_callback URL. Note that the status_callback parameter of a request takes priority over the application_sid parameter; if both are included application_sid is ignored.
Boolean indicating whether or not you intend to provide delivery confirmation feedback to Twilio (used in conjunction with the Message Feedback subresource). Default value is false.
The maximum length in seconds that the Message can remain in Twilio's outgoing message queue. If a queued Message exceeds the validity_period, the Message is not sent. Accepted values are integers from 1 to 36000. Default value is 36000. A validity_period greater than 5 is recommended. Learn more about the validity period
For Messaging Services with Link Shortening configured only: A Boolean indicating whether or not Twilio should shorten links in the body of the Message. Default value is false. If true, the messaging_service_sid parameter must also be provided.
The sender's Twilio phone number (in E.164 format), alphanumeric sender ID, Wireless SIM, short code, or channel address (e.g., whatsapp:+15554449999). The value of the from parameter must be a sender that is hosted within Twilio and belongs to the Account creating the Message. If you are using messaging_service_sid, this parameter can be empty (Twilio assigns a from value from the Messaging Service's Sender Pool) or you can provide a specific sender from your Sender Pool.
MessagingServiceSidSID<MG>required if From is not passed
The SID of the Messaging Service you want to associate with the Message. When this parameter is provided and the from parameter is omitted, Twilio selects the optimal sender from the Messaging Service's Sender Pool. You may also provide a from parameter if you want to use a specific Sender from the Sender Pool.
The text content of the outgoing message. Can be up to 1,600 characters in length. SMS only: If the body contains more than 160 GSM-7 characters (or 70 UCS-2 characters), the message is segmented and charged accordingly. For long body text, consider using the send_as_mms parameter.
MediaUrlarray[string<uri>]required if Body or ContentSid is not passed
The URL of media to include in the Message content. jpeg, jpg, gif, and png file types are fully supported by Twilio and content is formatted for delivery on destination devices. The media size limit is 5 MB for supported file types (jpeg, jpg, png, gif) and 500 KB for other types of accepted media. To send more than one image in the message, provide multiple media_url parameters in the POST request. You can include up to ten media_url parameters per message. International and carrier limits apply.
ContentSidSID<HX>required if Body or MediaUrl is not passed
For Content Editor/API only: The SID of the Content Template to be used with the Message, e.g., HXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. If this parameter is not provided, a Content Template is not used. Find the SID in the Console on the Content Editor page. For Content API users, the SID is found in Twilio's response when creating the Template or by fetching your Templates.
Whenever a Message resource's Status changes, Twilio sends a POST request to the Message resource's StatusCallback URL.
In a status callback request, Twilio provides a subset of the standard request properties, and additionally MessageStatus and ErrorCode. These properties are described in the table below.
Property
Description
MessageStatus
The status of the Message resource at the time the status callback request was sent.
ErrorCode
If an error occurred (i.e. the MessageStatus is failed or undelivered), this property provides additional information about the failure.
(warning)
Warning
The properties included in Twilio's request to the StatusCallback URL vary by messaging channel and event type and are subject to change.
Twilio occasionally adds new properties without advance notice.
When integrating with status callback requests, it is important that your implementation is able to accept and correctly run signature validation on an evolving set of parameters.
Twilio strongly recommends using the signature validation methods provided in the Helper Libraries and not implementing your own signature validation.
If the Message resource uses WhatsApp or another messaging channel, Twilio's request to the StatusCallback URL contains additional properties. These properties are listed in the table below.
The error message returned by the underlying messaging channel if Message delivery failed. This property is present only if the Message delivery failed.
ChannelPrefix
The channel-specific prefix identifying the messaging channel associated with this Message
EventType
This property contains information about post-delivery events. If the channel supports read receipts (currently WhatsApp only), this property's value is READ after the recipient has read the message.
Send an SMS message
The example below shows how to create a Message resource with an SMS recipient.
Sending this POST request causes Twilio to send a text message from +15557122661 (a Twilio phone number belonging to the Account sending the request) to +15558675310. The content of the text message is Hi there.
Send an SMS message
Node.js
Python
C#
Java
Go
PHP
Ruby
twilio-cli
curl
_20
// Download the helper library from https://www.twilio.com/docs/node/install
_20
const twilio = require("twilio"); // Or, for ESM: import twilio from "twilio";
_20
_20
// Find your Account SID and Auth Token at twilio.com/console
_20
// and set the environment variables. See http://twil.io/secure
Note: WhatsApp does not support including a text body in the same message as a video, audio file, document, contact (vCard), or location. If you pass the Body parameter on a message with one of these media types, the body is ignored and not delivered to the recipient.
Send a WhatsApp Message
Node.js
Python
C#
Java
Go
PHP
Ruby
twilio-cli
curl
_20
// Download the helper library from https://www.twilio.com/docs/node/install
_20
const twilio = require("twilio"); // Or, for ESM: import twilio from "twilio";
_20
_20
// Find your Account SID and Auth Token at twilio.com/console
_20
// and set the environment variables. See http://twil.io/secure
When sending a message with a Messaging Service, you must provide a recipient via the To parameter and content via the Body, ContentSid, or MediaUrl parameters. In addition, you must provide the MessagingServiceSid.
If you provide a MessagingServiceSid and no From parameter, Twilio determines the optimal From value from your Sender Pool. In this case, the Message resource's initial Status value is accepted.
Optionally, you can provide a MessagingServiceSidand a From parameter. The From parameter must be a sender from your Messaging Service's Sender Pool. In this case, the Message resource's initial Status value is queued.
GET https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/{AccountSid}/Messages.json
Read multiple Message resources by sending a GET request to your Account's Messages list URI.
Results are sorted by the DateSent field, with the most recent messages appearing first.
(warning)
Warning
If you are using the Twilio REST API and plan on requesting more records than will fit on a single page, you may want to use the response's nextpageuri property. Requesting this URI ensures that your next request picks up where it left off and can prevent you from retrieving duplicate data if you are actively sending or receiving messages.
This is not necessary if you are using one of the Helper Libraries, which automatically handle pagination. Take a look at the Helper Library documentation for more information.
You can also filter the Messages list by providing the following query string parameters to the listing resource:
Filter by Message sent_date. Accepts GMT dates in the following formats: YYYY-MM-DD (to find Messages with a specific sent_date), <=YYYY-MM-DD (to find Messages with sent_dates on and before a specific date), and >=YYYY-MM-DD (to find Messages with sent_dates on and after a specific date).
Filter by Message sent_date. Accepts GMT dates in the following formats: YYYY-MM-DD (to find Messages with a specific sent_date), <=YYYY-MM-DD (to find Messages with sent_dates on and before a specific date), and >=YYYY-MM-DD (to find Messages with sent_dates on and after a specific date).
Filter by Message sent_date. Accepts GMT dates in the following formats: YYYY-MM-DD (to find Messages with a specific sent_date), <=YYYY-MM-DD (to find Messages with sent_dates on and before a specific date), and >=YYYY-MM-DD (to find Messages with sent_dates on and after a specific date).
POST https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/{AccountSid}/Messages/{Sid}.json
Updates the body of a Message resource. Send a POST request to a Message resource's URI containing the updated parameters.
This action is primarily used to redact Message content. To redact a Message resources's Body, send a POST request to the Message resource's URI and set the Body parameter as an empty string: "". This redacts the Body of a message while keeping the other Message resource properties intact.
To delete a Message resource, send a DELETE request to the Message resource's URI.
If the DELETE request is successful, Twilio's response status code is HTTP 204 (No Content).
A deleted Message resource no longer appears in your Account's Messaging logs. Deleted messages cannot be recovered.
Deleting a Message resource also deletes any associated Media and/or MessageFeedback sub-resources. Any associated media file is also deleted unless the same media file is associated with another Message resource in your Account. For example, if you send 1,000 messages with the same media file (e.g., a .jpeg file), that media file remains accessible until all 1,000 associated Message resources (and/or the associated Media sub-resources) are deleted.
(warning)
Warning
Message bodies may persist for up to 30 days after an HTTP DELETE request in our database backups.