Bolt integration

Twilio SMS Messages Not Sending from Bolt App

Your Bolt.new application uses Twilio for SMS notifications (verification codes, order updates, appointment reminders) but messages are never delivered. The API calls appear to succeed, or they fail with cryptic error codes, and users never receive the SMS on their phones.

SMS is often used for critical user flows like two-factor authentication and order notifications. When it fails, users can't verify their phone numbers, miss important updates, or can't complete checkout processes that require SMS verification. Unlike email, there's no spam folder to check - the message either arrives or it doesn't.

Twilio has strict compliance requirements, number formatting rules, and sender registration requirements that Bolt's AI-generated code often doesn't account for. A message that works when testing with your own phone may fail when sending to other numbers, carriers, or countries.

Error Messages You Might See

Error 20003: Authentication error - invalid credentials Error 21211: Invalid 'To' phone number Error 21608: The 'from' phone number is not a valid SMS-capable number Error 21610: Message cannot be sent to unsubscribed recipient Error 30007: Message delivery - carrier violation Error 63018: A2P 10DLC - Campaign not registered
Error 20003: Authentication error - invalid credentialsError 21211: Invalid 'To' phone numberError 21608: The 'from' phone number is not a valid SMS-capable numberError 21610: Message cannot be sent to unsubscribed recipientError 30007: Message delivery - carrier violationError 63018: A2P 10DLC - Campaign not registered

Common Causes

  • Trial account limitations — Twilio trial accounts can only send to verified phone numbers, silently failing for all other recipients
  • Invalid phone number format — Numbers not in E.164 format (+1234567890) cause immediate failures or delivery to wrong numbers
  • Twilio credentials on client side — Account SID and Auth Token placed in frontend code where they can't authenticate (and are exposed publicly)
  • Unregistered sender ID — In the US, A2P 10DLC registration is required for application-to-person messaging; unregistered numbers get filtered
  • Message content filtered — SMS contains URLs or keywords that carrier spam filters block
  • Wrong Twilio phone number — The 'from' number is not a Twilio number you own, or it's not SMS-capable

How to Fix It

  1. Upgrade from trial — Twilio trial accounts can only send to verified numbers. Upgrade to a paid account to send to any phone number
  2. Format numbers correctly — Always use E.164 format: const formattedNumber = `+${countryCode}${phoneNumber.replace(/\D/g, '')}` and use Twilio's Lookup API to validate numbers before sending
  3. Keep credentials server-side — Never put Twilio credentials in frontend code. Create an API route: const client = twilio(process.env.TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID, process.env.TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN)
  4. Register for A2P 10DLC — In Twilio console, register your brand and campaign under Messaging > Compliance to ensure delivery in the US
  5. Check message logs — In Twilio console, go to Monitor > Logs > Messages to see delivery status and error codes for every message attempt
  6. Handle errors in code — Wrap Twilio calls in try-catch: try { const message = await client.messages.create({...}); } catch (err) { console.error('SMS Error:', err.code, err.message); }

Real developers can help you.

Tejas Chokhawala Tejas Chokhawala Full-stack engineer with 5 years experience building production web apps using React, Next.js and TypeScript. Focused on performance, clean architecture and shipping fast. Experienced with Supabase/Postgres backends, Stripe billing, and building AI-assisted developer tools. Mehdi Ben Haddou Mehdi Ben Haddou - Founder of Chessigma (1M+ users) & many small projects - ex Founding Engineer @Uplane (YC F25) - ex Software Engineer @Amazon and @Booking.com Jacek Rozanski Jacek Rozanski Senior PHP/Symfony developer and DevOps engineer with 20+ years of professional experience, running opcode.pl (web development agency, est. 2004). Day job: I'm the sole backend developer at merketing company where I own and maintain 11 PHP/Symfony microservices on AWS (ECS Fargate, RDS, S3, CloudFront), handle the full CI/CD pipeline (Bitbucket Pipelines, Docker), and manage monitoring with Sentry and CloudWatch. These services handle high request volumes in production every month. What I bring to AI-built apps: - I audit and fix security issues (OWASP methodology), performance bottlenecks, and architectural problems in codebases generated by Cursor, Claude Code, Lovable, Bolt, and v0 - I refactor AI-generated prototypes into production-grade applications with proper error handling, testing, and clean architecture (SOLID, DDD, hexagonal architecture) - I set up the infrastructure AI tools don't touch: AWS hosting, CI/CD pipelines, automated deployments, database optimization, monitoring, and alerting - I integrate external services: payment providers, email systems, partner APIs, SSO/auth Tech stack: PHP 8.x, Symfony, React, Next.js, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Docker, AWS (ECS, RDS, S3, SQS/SNS, CloudFront), Terraform, Supabase. I also use AI tools daily (Claude Code, Cursor) in my own workflow, so I understand both the strengths and the gaps in AI-generated code. Based in Poland (CET timezone). Available for async work and calls during EU/US business hours. AUXLE AUXLE I am a Full Stack Developer experienced in building Websites, Web apps and Cross Platform Mobile Apps for Startups and Companies. Matt Butler Matt Butler Software Engineer @ AWS Omar Faruk Omar Faruk As a Product Engineer at Klasio, I contributed to end-to-end product development, focusing on scalability, performance, and user experience. My work spanned building and refining core features, developing dynamic website templates, integrating secure and reliable payment gateways, and optimizing the overall system architecture. I played a key role in creating a scalable and maintainable platform to support educators and learners globally. I'm enthusiastic about embracing new challenges and making meaningful contributions. Taufan Taufan I’m a product-focused engineer and tech leader who builds scalable systems and turns ideas into production-ready platforms. Over the past years, I’ve worked across startups and fast-moving teams, leading backend architecture, improving system reliability, and shipping products used by thousands of users. My strength is not just writing code — but connecting product vision, technical execution, and business impact. Daniel Vázquez Daniel Vázquez Software Engineer with over 10 years of experience on Startups, Government, big tech industry & consulting. Matthew Jordan Matthew Jordan I've been working at a large software company named Kainos for 2 years, and mainly specialise in Platform Engineering. I regularly enjoy working on software products outside of work, and I'm a huge fan of game development using Unity. I personally enjoy Python & C# in my spare time, but I also specialise in multiple different platform-related technologies from my day job. Victor Denisov Victor Denisov Developer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why can I send SMS to my phone but not to other numbers?

You're on a Twilio trial account, which can only send messages to phone numbers you've verified in the Twilio console. Upgrade to a paid account (minimum $20 credit) to send to any phone number.

What is A2P 10DLC and do I need it?

A2P 10DLC (Application-to-Person 10-Digit Long Code) is a US carrier requirement for businesses sending SMS from standard phone numbers. Without registration, your messages may be silently filtered. Register in Twilio console under Messaging > Compliance > Registration.

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