Twilio API
Twilio · Company
Send SMS, make voice calls, and handle two-factor authentication via API. Free trial account includes credit to send real messages with no credit card required.
Authentication
Basic Auth
Use HTTP Basic Auth with your Twilio Account SID as the username and your Auth Token as the password. Both are available in the Twilio console dashboard.
Sample Requests
POST
Send an SMS
Sends an SMS from your Twilio number to any verified number (on trial accounts).
https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID/Messages.json
Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does
Headers — extra info sent with the request
| Content-Type | application/x-www-form-urlencoded |
curl -X POST "https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID/Messages.json" \ -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \ -H "Authorization: Basic YOUR_BASE64_CREDENTIALS"
import requests
headers = {
"Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded",
"Authorization": "Basic YOUR_BASE64_CREDENTIALS"
}
response = requests.post(
"https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID/Messages.json",
headers=headers,
)
print(response.json())const url = 'https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID/Messages.json';
const response = await fetch(url, {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
'Authorization': 'Basic YOUR_BASE64_CREDENTIALS'
},
});
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"net/http"
)
func main() {
targetURL := "https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID/Messages.json"
req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", targetURL, nil)
req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/x-www-form-urlencoded")
req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Basic YOUR_BASE64_CREDENTIALS")
client := &http.Client{}
resp, _ := client.Do(req)
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}require "net/http"
require "json"
uri = URI("https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID/Messages.json")
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"
req = Net::HTTP::Post.new(uri)
req["Content-Type"] = "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
req["Authorization"] = "Basic YOUR_BASE64_CREDENTIALS"
res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)<?php
$url = "https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID/Messages.json";
$opts = ["http" => [
"method" => "POST",
"header" => implode("\r\n", [
"Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded",
"Authorization: Basic YOUR_BASE64_CREDENTIALS"
]),
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));
GET
List sent messages
Returns a list of messages sent from your Twilio account.
https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID/Messages.json?PageSize=5
Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does
curl -X GET "https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID/Messages.json?PageSize=5" \ -H "Authorization: Basic YOUR_BASE64_CREDENTIALS"
import requests
params = {
"PageSize": "5"
}
headers = {
"Authorization": "Basic YOUR_BASE64_CREDENTIALS"
}
response = requests.get(
"https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID/Messages.json",
params=params,
headers=headers,
)
print(response.json())const url = new URL('https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID/Messages.json');
url.searchParams.set('PageSize', '5');
const response = await fetch(url, {
headers: {
'Authorization': 'Basic YOUR_BASE64_CREDENTIALS'
},
});
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"net/http"
"net/url"
)
func main() {
baseURL, _ := url.Parse("https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID/Messages.json")
q := baseURL.Query()
q.Set("PageSize", "5")
baseURL.RawQuery = q.Encode()
targetURL := baseURL.String()
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)
req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Basic YOUR_BASE64_CREDENTIALS")
client := &http.Client{}
resp, _ := client.Do(req)
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}require "net/http"
require "json"
uri = URI("https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID/Messages.json")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
"PageSize" => "5"
})
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["Authorization"] = "Basic YOUR_BASE64_CREDENTIALS"
res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)<?php
$url = "https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID/Messages.json?" . http_build_query([
"PageSize" => "5"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
"method" => "GET",
"header" => implode("\r\n", [
"Authorization: Basic YOUR_BASE64_CREDENTIALS"
]),
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));Postman Setup Guide
- Sign up at twilio.com — free trial includes credit, no credit card required
- From the Twilio Console Dashboard, copy your Account SID and Auth Token
- In Postman, go to the Authorization tab and select Basic Auth
- Set Username = Account SID, Password = Auth Token
- Replace YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID in the URL path with your actual Account SID
- For the send SMS request, set Body as x-www-form-urlencoded with To, From, and Body fields
- Tip: on trial accounts you can only send to verified phone numbers — verify yours in the console first
What can you build with Twilio API?
Twilio API is a Company API. Developers commonly use company APIs for:
- enriching CRM records with company firmographics
- building lead-generation and prospecting tools
- verifying business identity and registration details
- monitoring competitors and market intelligence
- powering B2B data enrichment pipelines
Basic authentication. Send your username and password (Base64-encoded) in the Authorization header. Always use HTTPS — Basic auth over plain HTTP exposes your credentials.
New to APIs? Read our beginner's guide · Learn about API keys · What is REST?