Twilio CLI

Twilio CLI

Official CLI for Twilio. Send SMS, make calls, manage phone numbers, and access all Twilio APIs.

• Official repo: https://github.com/twilio/twilio-cli
• Docs: https://www.twilio.com/docs/twilio-cli

Authentication

twilio login                              # Interactive setup (Account SID + Auth Token)
twilio profiles:list                      # List configured profiles
twilio profiles:use my-profile            # Switch profile

Common Commands

SMS

twilio api:core:messages:create --from "+1XXXXXXXXXX" --to "+1YYYYYYYYYY" --body "Hello from CLI"
twilio api:core:messages:list --limit 10
twilio api:core:messages:fetch --sid SMXXXXXXXX

Phone Numbers

twilio phone-numbers:list
twilio phone-numbers:buy:local --area-code 415
twilio phone-numbers:update PNXXXXXXXX --sms-url https://example.com/webhook

Calls

twilio api:core:calls:create --from "+1XXXXXXXXXX" --to "+1YYYYYYYYYY" --url "http://demo.twilio.com/docs/voice.xml"
twilio api:core:calls:list --limit 10

Debugging

twilio debugger:logs:list --limit 20      # View error logs

Plugins

twilio plugins:install @twilio-labs/plugin-serverless
twilio serverless:init my-project         # Create serverless project
twilio serverless:deploy                  # Deploy serverless functions

Agent Best Practices

• Always use E.164 format for phone numbers (+1XXXXXXXXXX)
• Use --output json for machine-readable output
• Test with Twilio test credentials before using live credentials
• Use twilio debugger:logs:list to troubleshoot delivery issues
• Configure webhook URLs on phone numbers for incoming messages/calls
• Use the serverless plugin for deploying Twilio Functions

Example Workflows

Send an SMS

twilio api:core:messages:create \
  --from "+1XXXXXXXXXX" \
  --to "+1YYYYYYYYYY" \
  --body "Your verification code is 123456"

List recent messages

twilio api:core:messages:list --limit 5 --output json | jq '.[].body'