Sending SMS with Sendly#

Quick start#

typescript

import Sendly from "@sendly/node";

const sendly = new Sendly(process.env.SENDLY_API_KEY!);

const message = await sendly.messages.send({
  to: "+15551234567",
  text: "Your order has shipped!",
  messageType: "transactional",
});

Authentication#

All requests require a Bearer token. Store the API key in SENDLY_API_KEY env var.

• sk_test_* keys → sandbox mode (no real SMS sent, no credits charged)
• sk_live_* keys → production (real SMS on verified numbers)

REST API#

Base URL: https://sendly.live/api/v1

Send a message#

bash

curl -X POST https://sendly.live/api/v1/messages \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SENDLY_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"to": "+15551234567", "text": "Hello!", "messageType": "transactional"}'

Required fields: to (E.164 format), text, messageType ( transactional or marketing)

Optional fields: metadata (object, max 4KB), from (sender ID)

Response shape#

json

{
  "id": "msg_abc123",
  "to": "+15551234567",
  "text": "Hello!",
  "status": "sent",
  "segments": 1,
  "creditsUsed": 2,
  "createdAt": "2026-03-31T10:00:00Z"
}

Schedule a message#

bash

curl -X POST https://sendly.live/api/v1/messages/schedule \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SENDLY_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"to": "+15551234567", "text": "Reminder!", "messageType": "transactional", "scheduledAt": "2026-04-01T14:00:00Z"}'

Schedule window: 5 minutes to 5 days in the future.

Batch send#

bash

curl -X POST https://sendly.live/api/v1/messages/batch \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SENDLY_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"messages": [{"to": "+15551234567", "text": "Hello"}, {"to": "+15559876543", "text": "Hi"}], "messageType": "transactional"}'

Up to 10,000 recipients per batch.

List messages#

bash

curl "https://sendly.live/api/v1/messages?limit=50" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SENDLY_API_KEY"

Supports limit, offset, status, q (full-text search).

Node.js SDK#

bash

npm install @sendly/node

typescript

import Sendly from "@sendly/node";

const sendly = new Sendly(process.env.SENDLY_API_KEY!);

const msg = await sendly.messages.send({ to: "+15551234567", text: "Hello!", messageType: "transactional" });
const scheduled = await sendly.messages.schedule({ to: "+15551234567", text: "Later!", messageType: "transactional", scheduledAt: "2026-04-01T14:00:00Z" });
const batch = await sendly.messages.batch({ messages: [{to: "+15551234567", text: "Hi"}], messageType: "transactional" });
const list = await sendly.messages.list({ limit: 50 });
const single = await sendly.messages.get("msg_abc123");

Message types#

• transactional: OTP codes, order confirmations, appointment reminders, account alerts. Allowed 24/7.
• marketing: Promotions, sales, newsletters. Subject to quiet hours (9pm–8am recipient local time).

Misclassifying marketing as transactional violates TCPA.

Sandbox testing#

Use sk_test_* keys with magic phone numbers:

NumberBehavior+15005550000Always succeeds+15005550001Invalid number error+15005550002Cannot route error+15005550006Carrier rejected

Credit costs#

• US/CA: 2 credits per SMS ($0.02)
• International: varies by country (2–48 credits)
• 1 credit = $0.01

Conversations API#

Messages are automatically threaded into conversations. Use the conversations API for two-way messaging:

typescript

const convos = await sendly.conversations.list({ status: "active", limit: 20 });
const replies = await sendly.conversations.suggestReplies("conv_abc123");

Full reference#

• API docs: https://sendly.live/docs/sms
• SDK docs: https://sendly.live/docs/sdks
• OpenAPI spec: https://sendly.live/openapi.yaml
• Sandbox docs: https://sendly.live/docs/sandbox