From twilio-developer-kit
Twilio CLI reference for managing Twilio resources from the terminal: installation, authentication, phone numbers, SMS, email, webhooks, local dev with tunneling, debugging, serverless deployment, and plugins.
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The Twilio CLI lets you manage Twilio resources, send messages, configure webhooks, and deploy serverless functions directly from the terminal. AI coding agents can use CLI commands to provision resources and test integrations without writing application code.
The Twilio CLI lets you manage Twilio resources, send messages, configure webhooks, and deploy serverless functions directly from the terminal. AI coding agents can use CLI commands to provision resources and test integrations without writing application code.
Install:
| Platform | Command |
|---|---|
| macOS | brew tap twilio/brew && brew install twilio |
| Windows | scoop bucket add twilio-scoop https://github.com/twilio/scoop-twilio-cli && scoop install twilio-cli |
| Linux (apt) | See twilio-cli/getting-started/install for repo setup, then apt install twilio |
| npm | npm install -g twilio-cli |
Update: brew upgrade twilio / scoop update twilio-cli / npm install -g twilio-cli@latest
# First-time login — creates a local API key stored as a profile
twilio login
# Named profiles for multiple accounts
twilio profiles:create --account-sid ACxxx --auth-token xxx --profile staging
# Avoid --auth-token as a plain argument — it will be stored in shell history. Use TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN env var instead.
twilio profiles:list
twilio profiles:use staging
# Run a single command against a different profile
twilio api:core:messages:list -p production
# Subaccount access
twilio api:core:messages:list --account-sid ACxxx_SUBACCOUNT
Credential priority: explicit -p/--account-sid flag > env vars (TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID, TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN) > active profile.
# Search available numbers (US local, area code 415)
twilio api:core:available-phone-numbers:local:list --country-code US --area-code 415
# Purchase a number
twilio api:core:incoming-phone-numbers:create --phone-number "+14155551234"
# List owned numbers
twilio phone-numbers:list
# Set webhooks on a number
twilio phone-numbers:update +14155551234 \
--sms-url "https://example.com/sms" \
--voice-url "https://example.com/voice"
twilio api:core:messages:create \
--from "+14155551234" \
--to "+14155556789" \
--body "Your order has shipped."
# List recent messages
twilio api:core:messages:list --to "+14155556789" --limit 10
Requires SENDGRID_API_KEY environment variable.
# Configure defaults
twilio email:set --from "[email protected]" --subject "Default Subject"
# Send email
twilio email:send \
--to "[email protected]" \
--subject "Invoice attached" \
--text "Please find your invoice." \
--attachment ./invoice.pdf
# Pipe output as email body
ps aux | twilio email:send --to "[email protected]" --subject "Process list"
# Set webhook URLs on a number
twilio phone-numbers:update +14155551234 --sms-url "https://your-tunnel-url.example.com/sms"
# Emulate webhook events locally (requires plugin)
twilio plugins:install @twilio-labs/plugin-webhook
twilio webhook:invoke http://localhost:3000/sms --type sms
Local development: The CLI rejects localhost URLs directly. Tunneling services such as ngrok are not bundled with twilio-cli. install one separately, then set the public tunnel URL as your webhook.
** ngrok is NOT included in the CLI — install separately: npm install -g ngrok or via https://ngrok.com
# Debug logging on any command (logs to stderr)
twilio api:core:messages:create --from +14155551234 --to +14155556789 --body "test" -l debug
# Real-time monitoring (requires plugin)
twilio plugins:install @twilio-labs/plugin-watch
twilio watch # stream debugger alerts, calls, messages in real time
# Output formatting
twilio api:core:messages:list -o json # JSON output
twilio api:core:messages:list -o tsv # tab-separated
twilio api:core:messages:list --properties sid,status,direction # select columns
twilio api:core:messages:list --limit 200 # override default 50-record cap
twilio plugins:install @twilio-labs/plugin-serverless
# Create a new Functions project
twilio serverless:init my-project --template blank
cd my-project
# Local development
twilio serverless:start # serves functions at localhost:3000
# Deploy to Twilio
twilio serverless:deploy
twilio plugins:install <package>
twilio plugins:list
twilio plugins:remove <package>
| Plugin | What it does |
|---|---|
@twilio-labs/plugin-serverless | Develop and deploy Twilio Functions and Assets |
@twilio-labs/plugin-dev-phone | Test SMS/Voice without a real phone |
@twilio-labs/plugin-watch | Real-time monitoring of debugger alerts, calls, messages |
@twilio-labs/plugin-token | Generate client-side SDK tokens (Voice, Chat, Video) |
@twilio-labs/plugin-assets | Upload static resources |
@twilio-labs/plugin-webhook | Emulate webhook events for local testing |
@twilio-labs/plugin-flex | Create, build, deploy Flex plugins |
# Login to a specific region
twilio login --region au1 --edge sydney
# Set edge globally
twilio config:set --edge=sydney
# Or via env vars
export TWILIO_REGION=au1
export TWILIO_EDGE=sydney
Supported: au1/sydney, ie1/dublin, jp1/tokyo. Each region uses a different Auth Token from your US1 credentials. Find yours in the Twilio Console under API keys & tokens, selecting your target region.
twilio config:list # show all settings
twilio config:set --edge=sydney # set default edge
twilio config:set --require-profile-input # prompt before using active profile
Config stored at ~/.twilio-cli/config.json.
Syntax notes:
twilio api core messages create = twilio api:core:messages:createtwilio [COMMAND] --help for any command's options\ for line continuation--limit for larger result sets.twilio email:send uses SendGrid only. For Twilio Email, use the REST API directly.twilio-account-setup, twilio-iam-auth-setuptwilio-webhook-architecturetwilio-debugging-observabilitytwilio-send-messagetwilio-sendgrid-account-setupnpx claudepluginhub twilio/ai --plugin twilio-developer-kitCreates and configures a Twilio account from scratch: signup, credentials, phone number purchase, SDK install, first API call, subaccount management, and product activation (AI Assistants, Conversations, Verify, WhatsApp).
Runs Telnyx CLI commands to manage phone numbers, send SMS/calls, provision SIMs/AI agents, and access 946 OpenAPI-generated API endpoints from terminal.
Build Twilio-powered communication features: SMS, voice calls, WhatsApp, and 2FA verification. Covers simple notifications, IVR systems, and multi-channel auth with compliance and error handling.