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Messaging

Twilio in a decision flow.

4 Twilio operations a decision flow can call directly, with the credentials your own contract issued. The response is data the rest of the flow reads, branches on, and keeps in the trace.

Category
Messaging
Type
Integration
Authentication
HTTP basic auth
Test environment
Production host only

Who they are

Programmable SMS, voice and messaging APIs.

Twilio sells communication as an API: SMS, voice, WhatsApp and verification codes, with the carrier relationships and number provisioning behind them. In a decision it is how a message reaches someone who is not sitting in front of your product at the time.

What a flow can call

4 operations, each one a step you can place on the canvas.

  1. POST/Accounts/$data.twilio_account_sid/Messages.json

    Send an SMS

    Sends a text. To and From are E.164 — a leading plus, digits only.

  2. GET/Accounts/$data.twilio_account_sid/Messages/$data.twilio_message_sid.json

    Check delivery status

    Fetches one message by the SM… SID that Send an SMS returned at body.sid.

  3. GET/Accounts/$data.twilio_account_sid/Messages.json

    List messages to a number

    Message history, newest first. Filter with query parameters on the node — To, From, DateSent, PageSize — rather than pulling the whole account.

  4. DELETE/Accounts/$data.twilio_account_sid/Messages/$data.twilio_message_sid.json

    Redact a message body

    Deletes the message record, including the text, from Twilio.

Where it sits in the decision

Messaging calls have a natural place in a flow.

Notifying a person is part of the decision rather than an afterthought to it: the message goes out from the flow, at the point the flow decided it was warranted, carrying the same version and trace as the outcome that triggered it.

Whatever Twilio returns is part of the run, so it is part of the record. When someone asks months later why an applicant was declined, the answer cites what came back at the time rather than re-fetching from a service whose answer has since changed.

  • 01Add Twilio as a connection authenticating with HTTP basic auth.
  • 02Twilio has one host for both environments, so guard test runs with your own credentials and limits.
  • 03Place a Connection node and pick an operation — “Send an SMS” is usually the first one a flow needs.
  • 04Map the response into the fields your rules read, then test the whole path before it carries live traffic.

Common questions

Using Twilio in a flow.

How do I connect Twilio to a decision flow?

Add Twilio as a connection in your workspace authenticating with HTTP basic auth, with the credentials your own contract issued — ArboRule calls the provider as you, and never holds a contract on your behalf. Once the connection exists, any flow in the workspace can place a Connection node and choose one of its operations. The credentials live on the connection, not in the flow, so a policy owner can use Twilio in a decision without ever seeing the secret.

Can I test Twilio without touching production?

Twilio exposes one host for both environments, so there is no separate sandbox to point at. Test runs still execute in Sandbox and are recorded separately in decision history, but the call goes to the same place as production — so guard it with your own test credentials, rate limits, or data.

What can a flow call on Twilio?

4 operations, including “Send an SMS”, “Check delivery status”, “List messages to a number”. Each one is a step you place on the canvas and map into the fields your rules read, and most flows start with “Send an SMS”. The list comes from the same manifest the engine uses to make the call, so this page cannot describe an operation the product does not have.

Where in a decision should Twilio be called?

Notifying a person is part of the decision rather than an afterthought to it: the message goes out from the flow, at the point the flow decided it was warranted, carrying the same version and trace as the outcome that triggered it.

Also in Messaging

Ready when you are

Wire Twilio into a real decision.

Build the flow in Sandbox, connect your account, and watch the decision pull what it needs before it answers.

Read the docs