CursorTwilioIntermediate8 min read

How to Send SMS Notifications from Your Cursor App

Send text message notifications to users from your Cursor-built app using the Twilio API. Order confirmations, alerts, and verification codes.

Before you start

✓Cursor IDE with a Next.js or Node.js project
✓A Twilio account with a phone number
✓Your Twilio Account SID, Auth Token, and phone number

Step by step

Install the Twilio SDK

Add the Twilio Node.js library to your project.

npm install twilio

Add your Twilio credentials

Store your Twilio credentials in environment variables.

TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID=ACxxxxxxxxxxxx
TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN=your_auth_token
TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER=+1234567890

Create the SMS utility

Build a reusable function for sending SMS messages.

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Create a lib/sms.ts file that:
1. Imports twilio and creates a client using TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID and TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN
2. Exports a sendSMS function that accepts 'to' phone number and 'body' message
3. Sends from TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER
4. Returns the message SID on success
5. Handles errors and logs them

Create an API route for sending SMS

Build an endpoint that triggers SMS notifications.

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Create an API route at /api/send-sms that:
1. Accepts 'to' and 'message' in the request body
2. Validates the phone number format
3. Calls the sendSMS function
4. Requires authentication (check for logged-in user)
5. Returns the message SID

Send SMS on important events

Trigger text messages for order confirmations, alerts, or verification codes.

// Example: Send order confirmation
import { sendSMS } from '@/lib/sms'

await sendSMS({
  to: customer.phone,
  body: `Order #${order.id} confirmed! We'll notify you when it ships.`
})