name: twilio-sms description: "Twilio SMS CLI: buy/list/keep numbers, send/check messages, credential routing." metadata: short-description: Twilio SMS numbers and messages
Twilio SMS
Use for Twilio phone-number and SMS work: create/buy numbers, list owned numbers, keep/label numbers, send texts, and check inbound/outbound messages.
Safety
- Never print Account SIDs, auth tokens, API secrets, TOTP codes, or full 1Password item JSON.
- Do not store real phone numbers, SIDs, names, or account-specific item IDs in this skill.
- Use
$one-passwordfor secret reads.opstays tmux-only. - If desktop 1Password access is needed, unset service-account auth for those commands:
env -u OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN op .... - Print credential shape only: field present, length, prefix class if useful.
- Public writes or logs: avoid leaking message bodies unless the user asked to read/check SMS.
Credential Route
- Check Twilio CLI/profile:
twilio --versionornpx -y twilio-cli --versiontwilio profiles:listornpx -y twilio-cli profiles:list
- Check exact env presence only:
TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SIDTWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN- optional API key/secret vars
- If only partial env exists, search 1Password metadata first.
- Prefer an item with fields matching:
TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SIDTWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN- optional
TWILIO_FROM_NUMBER
- If
oponly sees a restricted vault, retry desktop-backed reads withenv -u OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN. - Verify auth before any purchase/send:
curl -sS -u "$TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID:$TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN" \
"https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/$TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID.json"
CLI Setup
Twilio CLI profile creation requires account auth token, not just API key creds:
npx -y twilio-cli profiles:create "$TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID" \
--auth-token "$TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN" \
--profile default --force --silent
npx -y twilio-cli profiles:use default
Use npx -y twilio-cli when twilio is not installed.
Numbers
List owned:
npx -y twilio-cli api:core:incoming-phone-numbers:list \
--properties phoneNumber,friendlyName,capabilities
Search US local SMS-capable inventory:
npx -y twilio-cli api:core:available-phone-numbers:local:list \
--country-code US --sms-enabled --voice-enabled --limit 5
If the CLI shape is awkward or missing flags, use REST:
curl -sS -u "$TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID:$TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN" \
"https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/$TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID/AvailablePhoneNumbers/US/Local.json?SmsEnabled=true&VoiceEnabled=true&PageSize=5"
Buy one candidate:
curl -sS -u "$TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID:$TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN" \
-X POST "https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/$TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID/IncomingPhoneNumbers.json" \
--data-urlencode "PhoneNumber=$PHONE_NUMBER"
Verify ownership/capabilities after purchase. Twilio JSON uses lowercase keys:
capabilities.sms
capabilities.mms
capabilities.voice
Mark numbers the user wants to keep:
npx -y twilio-cli api:core:incoming-phone-numbers:update \
--sid "$PHONE_NUMBER_SID" \
--friendly-name "KEEP - <purpose>"
Retention rule: a number is kept while it remains in the Twilio account and billing is healthy. Do not release/delete unless explicitly asked.
SMS
Send:
npx -y twilio-cli api:core:messages:create \
--from "$FROM_NUMBER" \
--to "$TO_NUMBER" \
--body "$BODY" \
-o json
Fetch status:
npx -y twilio-cli api:core:messages:fetch --sid "$MESSAGE_SID" -o json
Check inbound to a number:
npx -y twilio-cli api:core:messages:list \
--to "$NUMBER" --limit 20 -o json
Check outbound from a number:
npx -y twilio-cli api:core:messages:list \
--from "$NUMBER" --limit 20 -o json
Twilio CLI JSON can return an array for single-resource commands. Parse defensively:
jq 'if type=="array" then .[0] else . end'
Notes
- International SMS may show an alphanumeric or carrier sender instead of the purchased US number.
- US SMS can be compliance-gated. If sending to US recipients fails, check A2P/10DLC registration state before retrying blindly.
- Trial accounts may restrict recipients.