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SendiMessage
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Example AvailableDirect HTTP API

Send messages from Bash / Shell with the SendiMessage API

Shell scripts send messages the same way everything else does — cURL against the REST API. The example is a complete script with an exit code you can trust in cron jobs, deploy hooks, and monitoring glue.

Operational alerting is the sweet spot: notify an on-call phone when a backup fails, or message a driver when a route is assigned, straight from the systems you already script.

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What this integration enables

Transactional notifications
Order confirmations, payment receipts, and status changes triggered by your backend.
Appointment reminders
Scheduled jobs that message customers before a booking.
Operational alerts
Delivery windows, service updates, and internal notifications.
Two-way conversations
Incoming replies arrive on your webhook endpoint for routing to support or sales.

Architecture

How it fits together: Your application event, then Bash / Shell server code, then SendiMessage API, then Managed messaging line, then Webhook events.
  1. Your application eventAn order ships, a booking nears, a ticket updates
  2. Bash / Shell server codeBuilds the request with credentials from the environment
  3. SendiMessage APIPOST /send-message returns the queued message
  4. Managed messaging lineSMS, or iMessage on supported lines and destinations
  5. Webhook eventsDelivery status and incoming replies post back to your endpoint

Example request

Bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail


NUMBER="${1:?usage: send.sh +15555550123 \"message text\"}"
CONTENT="${2:?missing message text}"


response=$(curl -sS --fail-with-body https://api.sendimessage.com/v1/send-message \
  -H "X-API-Key: ${SENDIMESSAGE_KEY:?SENDIMESSAGE_KEY not set}" \
  -H "X-API-Secret: ${SENDIMESSAGE_SECRET:?SENDIMESSAGE_SECRET not set}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "$(printf '{"number":"%s","content":"%s"}' "$TO" "$TEXT")")


echo "$response"   # {"message_handle":"4e828182-…","status":"QUEUED",…}

Delivery events and incoming replies

Delivery status and incoming replies arrive as signed webhook events. Verify the signature, then correlate events with your own records via the message_handle returned when you sent.

webhook event
// "outbound" event → your bash endpoint
// Verify the SendiMessage-Signature header (t={timestamp},v1=HMAC-SHA256 of
// "{timestamp}.{raw body}", keyed with your webhook secret), then use
// GET /v2/messages/{message_handle} for authoritative state and match it to
// your contact_id in bash.

Limitations and honest notes

  • iMessage delivery is available on supported messaging lines and destinations. Recipients without iMessage receive SMS when fallback is configured — never assume universal iMessage availability.
  • Messages are accepted asynchronously — the API returns status QUEUED and final status arrives via webhook or the message endpoints.
  • No official SDK for this ecosystem yet — the example uses plain HTTP against the REST API. Official SDKs are published for JavaScript/TypeScript (npm: sendimessage), Python (PyPI: sendimessage), PHP (Composer: sendimessage/sdk), and Go (github.com/sendimessage/sendimessage-go). Every SDK is dependency-free and covers the full public API surface.

Security considerations

  • Load the API key pair from the environment — never commit it or embed it in client-side code.
  • Verify webhook signatures before processing events.
  • Log message handles, not message bodies, in shared logs.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an official Bash / Shell SDK for SendiMessage?
Not yet for Bash / Shell. The SendiMessage API is a plain JSON-over-HTTPS REST API, so the standard HTTP client of your ecosystem is all you need — the example on this page is complete. Official SDKs are published for JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, PHP, and Go.
What does the API return when I send a message?
The API accepts messages asynchronously and responds with status "QUEUED" plus a message_handle and the line_handle it will send from. Track final delivery via GET /status, the message history endpoints, or webhook events.
Can I send iMessage from Bash / Shell?
SendiMessage delivers over iMessage where the destination supports it on your managed line, and falls back to SMS when fallback is configured. iMessage is never guaranteed for every recipient.

Ready to connect Bash / Shell?

Request a messaging line and a SendiMessage integration specialist will review your Bash / Shell workflow and guide the setup.