How to send SMS using Python?
You may have used Python to automate the boring stuff and wanted to take it a step further by using it to send text messages. Whether it's to a single person or a group of people, Python provides an efficient platform for sending SMS messages. This guide will walk you through how to send SMSs using Python and how to do it well.
The Basics of Python
Before learning how to send an SMS using Python, it's important to understand the basics of how Python works. Python is a high-level programming language that is relatively easy to learn and use. It is open-source and runs an ever-growing library of helpful functions and modules. Python has become increasingly popular for automating processes, executing tasks on its own, and dealing with complex scientific and data problems.
Installing Necessary Libraries
In order to use SMS with Python, you need to install the Twilio library into your Python environment. To do this, open up your terminal and install the Twilio package by typing the following command: pip install twilio
Once the Twilio package is installed, you can now start using Twilio from your code!
Getting Your Account Credentials
In order to start sending SMSs, you must get your account credentials from Twilio. In order to do this, you must go to the Twilio website and create an account. After successfully creating an account, you will be given a unique Account Sid and Auth Token which are both used to authenticate the use of your Twilio account. Make sure to save these credentials as you will need them in the next step.
Instantiating a Client
Now that you have the account credentials you can now create a client as seen below:
# Importing Twilio
from twilio.rest import Client
# Your Account SID from twilio.com/console
account_sid = "YOUR ACCOUNT SID GOES HERE"
# Your Auth Token from twilio.com/console
auth_token = "YOUR AUTH TOKEN GOES HERE"
client = Client(account_sid, auth_token)
This will create a client instance that can now be used to send messages.
Open up phone numbers
Once you have a client instance available, you can now register phone numbers to your account. You can either do this by buying a phone number from Twilio's website or porting a number to your account.
Once you've done this, the next step is to send an SMS.
Sending an SMS
Once you have a phone number registered to your account, you can start sending messages through your client instance. To send a message, use the code below.
# Your Twilio Phone Number
from_number = "+19103334444"
# The Phone Number you would like to send
# the message to
to_number = "+19102223344"
# The body of the SMS
message_body = "Hello World!"
# Send the Message
client.messages.create(
from_= from_number
to = to_number
body = message_body
)
The code above will send an SMS from the from_number to the to_number with the body of "Hello World!" You can also send to multiple numbers by simply passing in an array of phone numbers:
# Your Twilio Phone Number
from_number = "+19103334444"
# The Phone Numbers you would like to send
# the message to
to_numbers = ["+19102223344", "+19105551234"]
# The body of the SMS
message_body = "Hello World!"
# Send the Message
client.messages.create(
from_= from_number
to = to_numbers
body = message_body
)
Conclusion
As you can see, it’s relatively easy to use Python to send SMS messages. In this guide, you’ve learned how to install the necessary packages and libraries, get your credentials, and send messages using the Twilio library. With the help of this guide, you now have the tools to integrate SMS capabilities into your Python projects.