SMS API Integration Guide: PHP, Laravel, Node.js, Python & Flutter

<?php

function sendSms(string $phone, string $message, string $senderId = 'YourBrand'): array
{
    $payload = [
        'api_key' => getenv('SMS_API_KEY'),
        'sender_id' => $senderId,
        'phone' => $phone,
        'message' => $message,
    ];

    $ch = curl_init('https://api.smsprovider.net/api/send-sms');
    curl_setopt_array($ch, [
        CURLOPT_POST => true,
        CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
        CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
            'Content-Type: application/json',
            'Accept: application/json',
        ],
        CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode($payload),
        CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 15,
    ]);

    $response = curl_exec($ch);
    $status = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
    curl_close($ch);

    $data = json_decode($response, true) ?? [];

    if ($status === 200 && ($data['success'] ?? false)) {
        return ['ok' => true, 'message_id' => $data['message_id']];
    }

    return ['ok' => false, 'error' => $data['message'] ?? 'SMS request failed'];
}

// Send OTP
$result = sendSms('01712345678', 'Your verification code is 482910. Valid for 5 minutes.');

# config/services.php
'sms' => [
    'endpoint' => env('SMS_ENDPOINT', 'https://api.smsprovider.net/api/send-sms'),
    'api_key' => env('SMS_API_KEY'),
    'sender_id' => env('SMS_SENDER_ID', 'YourBrand'),
],

<?php

namespace App\Services;

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Log;

class SmsService
{
    public function send(string $phone, string $message, ?string $senderId = null): string
    {
        $response = Http::acceptJson()
            ->timeout(15)
            ->post(config('services.sms.endpoint'), [
                'api_key' => config('services.sms.api_key'),
                'sender_id' => $senderId ?? config('services.sms.sender_id'),
                'phone' => $phone,
                'message' => $message,
            ]);

        if ($response->successful() && $response->json('success')) {
            return $response->json('message_id');
        }

        Log::warning('SMS failed', [
            'phone' => $phone,
            'status' => $response->status(),
            'body' => $response->json(),
        ]);

        throw new \RuntimeException($response->json('message', 'SMS delivery failed'));
    }
}

import 'dotenv/config';

const SMS_ENDPOINT = process.env.SMS_ENDPOINT ?? 'https://api.smsprovider.net/api/send-sms';

export async function sendSms(phone, message, senderId = 'YourBrand') {
  const response = await fetch(SMS_ENDPOINT, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      Accept: 'application/json',
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      api_key: process.env.SMS_API_KEY,
      sender_id: senderId,
      phone,
      message,
    }),
  });

  const data = await response.json();

  if (!response.ok || !data.success) {
    throw new Error(data.message ?? `SMS failed (${response.status})`);
  }

  return data.message_id;
}

// Express route — always send OTP from your server, never from the app
app.post('/auth/send-otp', async (req, res) => {
  const otp = String(Math.floor(100000 + Math.random() * 900000));
  await storeOtp(req.body.phone, otp);
  const messageId = await sendSms(req.body.phone, `Your code is ${otp}. Expires in 5 min.`);
  res.json({ ok: true, message_id: messageId });
});

import os
import requests

SMS_ENDPOINT = os.getenv("SMS_ENDPOINT", "https://api.smsprovider.net/api/send-sms")

def send_sms(phone: str, message: str, sender_id: str = "YourBrand") -> str:
    response = requests.post(
        SMS_ENDPOINT,
        json={
            "api_key": os.environ["SMS_API_KEY"],
            "sender_id": sender_id,
            "phone": phone,
            "message": message,
        },
        headers={"Accept": "application/json"},
        timeout=15,
    )
    data = response.json()

    if response.status_code == 200 and data.get("success"):
        return data["message_id"]

    raise RuntimeError(data.get("message", "SMS request failed"))

# Django view example
def send_otp_view(request):
    otp = f"{random.randint(100000, 999999):06d}"
    message_id = send_sms(request.POST["phone"], f"Your code is {otp}. Valid 5 minutes.")
    cache.set(f"otp:{request.POST['phone']}", otp, timeout=300)
    return JsonResponse({"ok": True, "message_id": message_id})

// Flutter calls YOUR backend — never embed the SMS API key in the app.

// Dart (client)
Future<void> requestOtp(String phone) async {
  final res = await http.post(
    Uri.parse('https://your-api.com/auth/send-otp'),
    headers: {'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
    body: jsonEncode({'phone': phone}),
  );
  if (res.statusCode != 200) throw Exception('Could not send OTP');
}