SMS Quickstart

Before you start

1. You need a ClickSend account with credit to start sending. If you don’t have an account, create one here.
2. If you need to add more credit to your account, you can top up here. You’ll be credited $2 AUD free credit when you sign up.
3. Make sure you’re using the latest version of Python.

Installation

Install Typescript

You will need to install TypeScript to compile the code. Use the following command:

            
                npm install typescript
            
        

Compile TypeScript into JavaScript

Compile TypeScript into JavaScript by running the following commands:

            
                npm add request http bluebird @types/node
tsc --target es5 /node_modules/clicksend/api.ts
            
        

Add the SDK to your project

Copy the api.js file along with the node_modules directory into your project to use the library. Include this in your file to use the SDK:

            
                var api = require('./node_modules/clicksend/api.js');
            
        

Send your first message

Below is the full snippet you can use to send an SMS. It includes placeholders that will need to be replaced when implementing the code in your project.

            
                var api = require('./api.js');

var smsMessage = new api.SmsMessage();

smsMessage.source = "SOURCE";
smsMessage.body = "MESSAGE";
smsMessage.to = "TO_PHONE_NUMBER";

var smsApi = new api.SMSApi("USERNAME", "API_KEY");

var smsCollection = new api.SmsMessageCollection();

smsCollection.messages = [smsMessage];

smsApi.smsSendPost(smsCollection)
.then(function(response) {
  console.log(response.body);
})
.catch(function(err) {
  console.error(err.body);
});
            
        

The code explained

Import modules

Prepare your environment to use the ClickSend API by importing the required SDK and required modules.

            
                var api = require('./api.js');
            
        

Create an instance of the API class

The following snippet of code will create an instance of the SmsMessage class. This instance will be called in the following steps, allowing you to interact with ClickSend’s SMS-related functionality.

            
                var smsMessage = new api.SmsMessage();
            
        

Configure your message

It’s time to configure the content of your message and specify who you’re sending to. This code includes everything that you need to send an SMS message. To see what other parameters you can include, see our full API reference.

Now, it’s a simple matter of a few tweaks:

1. Replace SOURCE with your preferred source (eg. the name of your application). This is not seen by recipients, but will help you to identify messages sent from various applications.
2. Replace MESSAGE with your own message.
3. Replace TO_PHONE_NUMBER with your own mobile number, including country code. For example, if you have an Australian number, it will start with +61.

            
                smsMessage.source = "SOURCE";
smsMessage.body = "MESSAGE";
smsMessage.to = "TO_PHONE_NUMBER";
            
        

Authorisation

Next, add your API credentials so you can use the ClickSend API in your project. In the following snippet, simply replace the USERNAME and API_KEY placeholders with your own Username and API key. These can be found on your Dashboard here. This creates an instance of the SMSApi class, which passes your API credentials as parameters.

            
                var smsApi = new api.SMSApi("USERNAME", "API_KEY");
            
        

Create an SMS message collection

Next, we’ll create a collection and add the smsMessage that you created earlier.

            
                var smsMessage = new api.SmsMessage();
smsCollection.messages = [smsMessage];
            
        

Send SMS message

Finally, try to call the smsSendPost method. If everything works as expected then it will print the formatted response.

If an error occurs during the API call, the catch function will log the error message body. This structure helps you handle both successful API calls and potential errors that might occur during the process.

            
                smsApi.smsSendPost(smsCollection)
.then(function(response) {
  console.log(response.body);
})
.catch(function(err) {
  console.error(err.body);
});