twilio-send-message

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Overview

A single messages.create() call sends on any messaging channel — SMS, MMS, RCS, or WhatsApp. The channel is determined by the sender address and the recipient's capabilities. For channel selection guidance and the full onboarding sequence, see twilio-messaging-overview and twilio-messaging-channel-advisor.

Channel	to format	Notes	Template required?
SMS/MMS	+15551234567	MMS: US/CA/AU only	No
RCS (with SMS fallback)	+15551234567	Send via Messaging Service that has both an RCS sender and an SMS sender — Twilio attempts RCS first, falls back to SMS on failure	No
RCS (no fallback)	rcs:+15551234567	Forces RCS only — fails if recipient isn't RCS-capable	No
WhatsApp	whatsapp:+15551234567	Send via whatsapp:-prefixed from	Outside 24-hr window: yes

For production: Send via messagingServiceSid instead of from. This enables sender pool management, RCS→SMS fallback, SMS pumping protection, link shortening, compliance toolkit, and scheduling. See twilio-messaging-services.

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Prerequisites

• Twilio account — New to Twilio? See twilio-account-setup
• Environment variables: TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID, TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN — see twilio-iam-auth-setup
• SDK: pip install twilio / npm install twilio
• Channel-specific senders:
  • SMS/MMS: a Twilio phone number (see twilio-account-setup)
  • RCS: an RCS sender added to a Messaging Service (see twilio-rcs-messaging)
  • WhatsApp: an active WhatsApp sender (see twilio-whatsapp-send-message for sandbox, twilio-whatsapp-manage-senders for production)

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Quickstart

Python

import os
from twilio.rest import Client

client = Client(os.environ["TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID"], os.environ["TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN"])

# SMS
sms = client.messages.create(
    from_="+15017122661",
    to="+15558675310",
    body="Your order has shipped."
)

# RCS — forces RCS only, no fallback
rcs = client.messages.create(
    messaging_service_sid="MGxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
    to="rcs:+15558675310",
    body="Your order has shipped."
)

# WhatsApp
whatsapp = client.messages.create(
    from_="whatsapp:+15017122661",
    to="whatsapp:+15558675310",
    body="Your order has shipped."
)

# Via Messaging Service (recommended — attempts RCS first, falls back to SMS)
msg = client.messages.create(
    messaging_service_sid="MGxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
    to="+15558675310",
    body="Your order has shipped."
)

Node.js

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

// SMS
const sms = await client.messages.create({
    from: "+15017122661",
    to: "+15558675310",
    body: "Your order has shipped.",
});

// RCS — forces RCS only, no fallback
const rcs = await client.messages.create({
    messagingServiceSid: "MGxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
    to: "rcs:+15558675310",
    body: "Your order has shipped.",
});

// WhatsApp
const whatsapp = await client.messages.create({
    from: "whatsapp:+15017122661",
    to: "whatsapp:+15558675310",
    body: "Your order has shipped.",
});

// Via Messaging Service (attempts RCS first, falls back to SMS)
const msg = await client.messages.create({
    messagingServiceSid: "MGxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
    to: "+15558675310",
    body: "Your order has shipped.",
});

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Key Patterns

Send with media (MMS, WhatsApp, RCS)

client.messages.create(
    from_="+15017122661",
    to="+15558675310",
    body="Here is your invoice.",
    media_url=["https://example.com/invoice.pdf"]
)

Supported: images (JPEG, PNG, GIF), PDF, audio, video. 5 MB max per attachment.

Send a template (WhatsApp required outside 24-hr window; RCS rich content)

client.messages.create(
    messaging_service_sid="MGxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
    to="+15558675310",
    content_sid="HXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
    content_variables='{"1": "Sarah", "2": "12345"}'
)

See twilio-content-template-builder for building templates.

Track delivery status

client.messages.create(
    messaging_service_sid="MGxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
    to="+15558675310",
    body="Hello!",
    status_callback="https://yourapp.com/status"
)

Twilio POSTs at each state transition: queued → sent → delivered (or failed/undelivered).

Configure RCS→SMS fallback

Configured on the Messaging Service, not per-message. Add both an RCS sender and an SMS sender to the same Messaging Service. Twilio attempts RCS first and falls back to SMS on failure. See twilio-messaging-services and twilio-rcs-messaging.

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Common Errors

Code	Meaning	Fix
21211	Invalid to number	Validate E.164 format
21408	Region not permitted	Enable geo-permissions in Console
21610	Recipient opted out	Do not retry; respect opt-out
21664	FallbackFrom cannot be used with From sender	Use messaging_service_sid instead of from
21666	FallbackFrom requires MessagingServiceSid	Send via a Messaging Service
21667	FallbackFrom requires an RCS Sender on the Messaging Service	Add an RCS sender before configuring fallback
30003	Unreachable destination	Carrier cannot deliver
30007	Message filtered as spam	Review content and sender reputation
30034	US A2P 10DLC — sender not registered	Register brand + campaign. See twilio-compliance-onboarding
30036	Validity Period expired	Message aged out. Often indicates RCS fallback is misconfigured
63036	RCS recipient unreachable	Configure SMS fallback on the Messaging Service

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CANNOT

• Cannot send cross-channel in a single API call. One messages.create() = one channel. For multi-channel fallback, use RCS→SMS via a Messaging Service, or implement sequencing in your app.
• Cannot send WhatsApp free-form outside the 24-hour service window. Use a pre-approved template (content_sid). See twilio-whatsapp-send-message.
• Cannot send MMS outside US/Canada. For international rich media, use WhatsApp or RCS.
• Cannot configure RCS→SMS fallback without a Messaging Service. Raw from sends don't support FallbackFrom.
• Cannot guarantee delivery on any channel. Always implement status callbacks.

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Next Steps

• Pick a channel for your use case: twilio-messaging-channel-advisor
• Full messaging platform overview: twilio-messaging-overview
• Channel-specific deep dives: twilio-sms-send-message, twilio-rcs-messaging, twilio-whatsapp-send-message
• Sender pools, fallback, production features: twilio-messaging-services
• Build templates (cards, carousels, quick replies): twilio-content-template-builder
• Handle inbound messages and status callbacks: twilio-messaging-webhooks
• US A2P 10DLC compliance: twilio-compliance-onboarding
• OTP / verification use cases: twilio-verify-send-otp