Sending SMS messages

In order to send a message, you must have an active SMS channel and perform a HTTP request to the following endpoint with a valid access key

Send a message

post

Send a message to a channel

Authorizations

accessKey

HTTPRequired

Uses the Authorization header: 'AccessKey ' followed by your access key token (e.g., 'Authorization: AccessKey AbCdEfGhIjKlMnOpQrStUvWxYzAbCdEfGhIj')

Path parameters

workspaceIdstring · uuidRequired

The ID of the workspace

channelIdstring · uuidRequired

The ID for a channel

Body

application/json

and

anyOptional

object · ChannelMessageCreateWithTemplateOptional

or

object · ChannelMessageCreateWithBodyOptional

Responses

202

Message was accepted for processing

application/json

400

The request did not pass validation

application/json

404

The request did not pass validation

application/json

409

Creating the message was not possible because of conflicting conditions

application/json

422

The request did not pass validation

application/json

post

/workspaces/{workspaceId}/channels/{channelId}/messages

HTTPcURLJavaScriptPython

POST /workspaces/{workspaceId}/channels/{channelId}/messages HTTP/1.1
Host: api.bird.com
Authorization: AccessKey YOUR_SECRET_TOKEN
Content-Type: application/json
Accept: */*
Content-Length: 2728

{
  "sender": {
    "connector": {
      "identifierValue": "[email protected]",
      "annotations": {
        "name": "text"
      }
    }
  },
  "receiver": {
    "contacts": [
      {
        "id": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
        "identifierKey": "emailaddress",
        "identifierValue": "[email protected]",
        "type": "cc",
        "identifiers": [
          {
            "identifierKey": "emailaddress",
            "identifierValue": "[email protected]"
          }
        ],
        "platformAddress": "text",
        "platformAddressSelector": "text"
      }
    ]
  },
  "reference": "my-own-identifier",
  "template": {
    "name": "text",
    "projectId": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
    "version": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
    "locale": "text",
    "attachments": [
      {
        "mediaUrl": "https://example.com",
        "filename": "text",
        "inline": true
      }
    ],
    "shortLinks": {
      "enabled": true,
      "domain": "text"
    },
    "utmParameters": [
      {
        "key": "text",
        "value": "text"
      }
    ],
    "parameters": [
      {
        "type": "string",
        "key": "text",
        "value": "text"
      }
    ],
    "settings": {
      "disallowMmLite": true
    }
  },
  "meta": {
    "extraInformation": {
      "ANY_ADDITIONAL_PROPERTY": "anything"
    },
    "referral": {
      "source": "text",
      "title": "text",
      "text": "text",
      "group": "text",
      "metadata": {
        "source_id": "text",
        "source_url": "text",
        "media_url": "text",
        "tracking_id": "text"
      }
    },
    "order": {
      "products": [
        {
          "externalCatalogId": "text",
          "externalProductId": "text",
          "quantity": 1,
          "price": {
            "amount": 1,
            "exponent": 1,
            "currencyCode": "text"
          }
        }
      ]
    },
    "referredProduct": {
      "externalCatalogId": "text",
      "externalProductId": "text"
    },
    "email": {
      "subject": "text",
      "headers": {
        "ANY_ADDITIONAL_PROPERTY": "text"
      },
      "from": {
        "username": "text",
        "displayName": "text"
      }
    },
    "sms": {
      "smartEncoding": true
    },
    "pushNotifications": {
      "gatewayTypeOverride": "apns"
    },
    "navigatorId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
    "navigatorMessageId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
    "flow": {
      "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "name": "text",
      "stepId": "text",
      "runId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000"
    },
    "journey": {
      "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "name": "text",
      "stepId": "text",
      "runId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000"
    },
    "campaign": {
      "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "name": "text"
    }
  },
  "replyTo": {
    "id": "text",
    "order": 1,
    "type": "message"
  },
  "body": {
    "type": "text",
    "text": {
      "text": "text",
      "attachments": [
        {
          "mediaUrl": "https://example.com",
          "filename": "text",
          "inline": true,
          "contentId": "text"
        }
      ],
      "actions": [
        {
          "type": "link",
          "link": {
            "text": "text",
            "url": "text"
          }
        }
      ],
      "metadata": {
        "subject": "text",
        "headers": {
          "ANY_ADDITIONAL_PROPERTY": "text"
        },
        "whatsapp": {
          "previewUrl": true
        },
        "line": {
          "emoji": {
            "items": [
              {
                "index": 1,
                "productId": "text",
                "emojiId": "text"
              }
            ]
          }
        },
        "telegram": {
          "parseMode": "Markdown"
        },
        "apple": {
          "summaryText": "text",
          "appClipPreview": true,
          "appClipRegion": "text"
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "notification": {
    "url": "text"
  },
  "capFrequency": true,
  "enableLinkTracking": true,
  "ignoreQuietHours": true,
  "ignoreGlobalHoldout": true,
  "tags": [
    "text"
  ],
  "shortLinks": {
    "domain": "text"
  },
  "scheduledFor": "2026-02-02T19:49:23.696Z",
  "validity": 1
}

{
  "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
  "channelId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
  "sender": {
    "connector": {
      "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "identifierValue": "text",
      "annotations": {
        "name": "text"
      },
      "types": [
        "text"
      ]
    }
  },
  "receiver": {
    "connector": {
      "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "identifierValue": "text",
      "annotations": {
        "name": "text"
      },
      "types": [
        "text"
      ]
    }
  },
  "meta": {
    "extraInformation": {
      "ANY_ADDITIONAL_PROPERTY": "anything"
    },
    "referral": {
      "source": "text",
      "title": "text",
      "text": "text",
      "group": "text",
      "metadata": {
        "source_id": "text",
        "source_url": "text",
        "media_url": "text",
        "tracking_id": "text"
      }
    },
    "order": {
      "products": [
        {
          "externalCatalogId": "text",
          "externalProductId": "text",
          "quantity": 1,
          "price": {
            "amount": 1,
            "exponent": 1,
            "currencyCode": "text"
          }
        }
      ]
    },
    "referredProduct": {
      "externalCatalogId": "text",
      "externalProductId": "text"
    },
    "email": {
      "subject": "text",
      "headers": {
        "ANY_ADDITIONAL_PROPERTY": "text"
      },
      "from": {
        "username": "text",
        "displayName": "text"
      }
    },
    "sms": {
      "smartEncoding": true
    },
    "pushNotifications": {
      "gatewayTypeOverride": "apns"
    },
    "navigatorId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
    "navigatorMessageId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
    "flow": {
      "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "name": "text",
      "stepId": "text",
      "runId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000"
    },
    "journey": {
      "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "name": "text",
      "stepId": "text",
      "runId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000"
    },
    "campaign": {
      "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "name": "text"
    }
  },
  "reference": "my-own-identifier",
  "parts": [
    {
      "platformReference": "text"
    }
  ],
  "status": "accepted",
  "reason": "text",
  "direction": "incoming",
  "origin": {
    "type": "text",
    "id": "text"
  },
  "replyTo": {
    "id": "text",
    "order": 1,
    "type": "message"
  },
  "lastStatusAt": "2026-02-02T19:49:23.696Z",
  "createdAt": "2026-02-02T19:49:23.696Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-02-02T19:49:23.696Z",
  "details": "text",
  "failure": {
    "code": 1,
    "description": "Unsupported media type",
    "source": {
      "code": "text",
      "name": "text"
    }
  },
  "tags": [
    "text"
  ],
  "shortLinks": {
    "domain": "text"
  },
  "scheduledFor": "2026-02-02T19:49:23.696Z",
  "body": {
    "type": "text",
    "text": {
      "text": "text",
      "attachments": [
        {
          "mediaUrl": "https://example.com",
          "filename": "text",
          "inline": true,
          "contentId": "text"
        }
      ],
      "actions": [
        {
          "type": "link",
          "link": {
            "text": "text",
            "url": "text"
          }
        }
      ],
      "metadata": {
        "subject": "text",
        "headers": {
          "ANY_ADDITIONAL_PROPERTY": "text"
        },
        "whatsapp": {
          "previewUrl": true
        },
        "line": {
          "emoji": {
            "items": [
              {
                "index": 1,
                "productId": "text",
                "emojiId": "text",
                "length": 1
              }
            ]
          }
        },
        "telegram": {
          "parseMode": "Markdown"
        },
        "apple": {
          "summaryText": "text",
          "appClipPreview": true,
          "appClipRegion": "text"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

When sending outbound messages as well as setting the receiver information you must set message body field in all cases except for sending a message template when you must only set the template field

Body

{
 "receiver": {
   "contacts": [
     {
       "identifierKey": "phonenumber",
       "identifierValue": "[phone]"
     }
   ]
 },
 "body": {...}
}

Template

{
 "receiver": {
   "contacts": [
     {
       "identifierKey": "phonenumber",
       "identifierValue": "[phone]"
     }
   ]
 },
 "template": {...}
}

SMS messages

All SMS channels support sending basic text messages. The example below must be set in the message body field

{
 "receiver": {
   "contacts": [
     {
       "identifierValue": "[phone]"
     }
   ]
 },
 "body": {...}
}

Send an SMS message

To send an SMS text message, set the message body as follows:

 {
  "type": "text",
  "text": {
    "text": "Single text message"
  }
}

Read more about which characters are supported by SMS and how to avoid unexpected costs when using special characters: Smart Encoding.

MMS messages

SMS channels installed with MMS-capable numbers (currently, numbers purchased for the United States and Canada) also support media messaging. You can also verify whether the channel is MMS-capable via the API, as described here.

Image

Single image message

{ "type": "image", "image": { "images": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FRPPgQAGyZE7rvIh3WM2Z%2Fimage2.avif?alt=media" } ] } }

Single image message with text

{ "type": "image", "image": { "images": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FRPPgQAGyZE7rvIh3WM2Z%2Fimage2.avif?alt=media" } ], "text": "Single image message" } }

Single image message with text and title

{ "type": "image", "image": { "images": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FRPPgQAGyZE7rvIh3WM2Z%2Fimage2.avif?alt=media" } ], "text": "Single image message", "metadata": { "subject": "Message subject" } } }

Multiple image message

When sending multiple image messages it is possible to send up to an array of 10 media URLs.

{ "type": "image", "image": { "images": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FRPPgQAGyZE7rvIh3WM2Z%2Fimage2.avif?alt=media" }, { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FrEM9zztd8SEiJS6RQuR3%2Fimage.png?alt=media" } ] } }

Multiple image message with text

{ "type": "image", "image": { "images": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FRPPgQAGyZE7rvIh3WM2Z%2Fimage2.avif?alt=media" }, { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FrEM9zztd8SEiJS6RQuR3%2Fimage.png?alt=media" } ], "text": "Multiple images message" } }

Multiple image message with text and title

{ "type": "image", "image": { "images": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FRPPgQAGyZE7rvIh3WM2Z%2Fimage2.avif?alt=media" }, { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FrEM9zztd8SEiJS6RQuR3%2Fimage.png?alt=media" } ], "text": "Multiple images message", "metadata": { "subject": "Message subject" } } }

File

Single file message

{ "type": "file", "file": { "files": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FtXMQ4lIinia9ehf4EpC4%2Fvideo.mp4?alt=media", "contentType": "video/mp4" } ] } }

Single file message with text

{ "type": "file", "file": { "files": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FtXMQ4lIinia9ehf4EpC4%2Fvideo.mp4?alt=media", "contentType": "video/mp4" } ], "text": "Single file message" } }

Single file message with text and title

{ "type": "file", "file": { "files": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FtXMQ4lIinia9ehf4EpC4%2Fvideo.mp4?alt=media", "contentType": "video/mp4" } ], "text": "Single file message", "metadata": { "subject": "Message subject" } } }

Multiple file message

{ "type": "file", "file": { "files": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FtXMQ4lIinia9ehf4EpC4%2Fvideo.mp4?alt=media", "contentType": "video/mp4" }, { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FbgnxOoaF4aHSHUzMFCna%2Faudio.mp3?alt=media", "contentType": "audio/mpeg" } ], "text": "Multiple files message" } }

Multiple file message with text

{ "type": "file", "file": { "files": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FtXMQ4lIinia9ehf4EpC4%2Fvideo.mp4?alt=media", "contentType": "video/mp4" }, { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FbgnxOoaF4aHSHUzMFCna%2Faudio.mp3?alt=media", "contentType": "audio/mpeg" } ], "text": "Multiple files message" } }

Multiple file message with text and title

{ "type": "file", "file": { "files": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FtXMQ4lIinia9ehf4EpC4%2Fvideo.mp4?alt=media", "contentType": "video/mp4" }, { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FbgnxOoaF4aHSHUzMFCna%2Faudio.mp3?alt=media", "contentType": "audio/mpeg" } ], "text": "Multiple files message", "metadata": { "subject": "Message subject" } } }

Template messages

Using studio it is possible to create text and media templates that can quickly be reused to send to contacts. Templates must be active before they are used.

The examples below must be set in the message template field

{
 "receiver": {
   "contacts": [
     {
       "identifierValue": "[phone]"
     }
   ]
 },
 "template": {...}
}

Text templates

Text templates will be sent as SMS messages and are compatible with all SMS channels

	{ "projectId":"ce6a2fd6-b2fa-4f5a-a2cd-f3bd15883318", "version":"latest", "locale":"en", "parameters":[ { "type":"string", "key":"name", "value":"Robert" } ] }