> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.clickatell.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.clickatell.com/developers-api-reference/developers-archive/sms-rest-api-overview/send-message.md).

# Send message

Archived

This command allows you to send one or more SMS messages. To send messages to your database of mobile numbers, you can call this command in a loop.

The server will respond with a unique identifier for each message (referred to as an API message ID). This API message ID can be used to [track and monitor the status of your message](broken://pages/IGu1kyKq8IyGrhIPmVnS). You can also send to multiple handsets in one single `HTTP/S` request (up to 600 messages). This is useful if you are sending the same message text to all handsets.

For high volume messaging, we encourage the use of persistent (keep-alive) `HTTP/S` connections. Multiple concurrent `HTTP/S` connections may also be used for additional performance.

```
POST https://api.clickatell.com/rest/message
```

{% hint style="info" %}
The REST API may respond with various HTTP status codes. See the full list [here](broken://pages/sX2rvw0QeyQCuvzuQ5GC).
{% endhint %}

### **JSON**

#### **Request**

```
POST /rest/message HTTP/1.1
HOST: api.clickatell.com
X-Version: 1
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer [Your Authorization Token]
Accept: application/json
{"text":"Test Message","to":["2799900001", "2799900002"]}
```

#### **Response**

```
HTTP/1.1 202 Accepted
Content-Type: application/json
{
 "data":{
    "message":[
      {
       "accepted":true,
       "to":"2799900001",
        "apiMessageId":"a55b8f8d56f33440e993aa614c68bf8b"
     },
      {
       "accepted":true,
       "to":"2799900002",
       "apiMessageId":"7f1d32762f6db11f3b7d2aaca2aaf362"
     }
    ]
  }
}
```

### **XML**

#### **Request**

{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```
POST /rest/message HTTP/1.1
HOST: api.clickatell.com
X-Version: 1
Content-Type: application/xml
Authorization: Bearer [Your Authorization Token]
Accept: application/xml
<?xml version "1.0"?>
<request>
    <data>
        <text>Test Message</text>
        <to>2799900001</to>
    </data>
</request>
```

{% endcode %}

#### **Response**

{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```
HTTP/1.1 202 Accepted
Content-Type: application/xml
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<response>
    <data>
        <message>
            <accepted>1</accepted>
            <to>2799900001</to>
            <apiMessageId>93f924cad9664cfbb0c6ab03a3032ef0</apiMessageId>
        </message>
    </data>
</response>
```

{% endcode %}

### **Sample code**

#### **cURL**

```
to="[\"<mobile number>\"]"
message="Test Message"
authToken="<place auth token here>"
  
curl -X POST \
-H "X-Version: 1" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Accept: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $authToken" \
-d "{\"text\":\"$message\",\"to\":$to}" \
https://api.clickatell.com/rest/message
```

#### **Python**

{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```
import httplib2, json
 
to=["mobile number"]
message="Test Message"
authToken = ""
 
resp, content = httplib2.Http().request(
    "https://api.clickatell.com/rest/message",
    "POST",
    body=json.dumps({
        "text":message,
        "to":to
    }),
    headers={
        "X-Version" : "1",
        'Content-Type':'application/json',
        "Accept" : "application/json",
        "Authorization" : "Bearer " + authToken
    }
)
```

{% endcode %}

#### **PHP**

{% code overflow="wrap" lineNumbers="true" %}

```
<?php
 
$to="[\"<mobile number>\"]";
$message="Test Message";
$authToken="<place auth token here>";
 
$ch = curl_init();
 
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL,            "https://api.clickatell.com/rest/message");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST,           1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS,     "{\"text\":\"$message\",\"to\":$to}");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER,     array(
    "X-Version: 1",
    "Content-Type: application/json",
    "Accept: application/json",
    "Authorization: Bearer $authToken"
));
  
$result = curl_exec ($ch);
?>
```

{% endcode %}


---

# Agent Instructions
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## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters:

```
GET https://help.clickatell.com/developers-api-reference/developers-archive/sms-rest-api-overview/send-message.md?ask=<question>&goal=<user_goal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. Sharing it helps GitBook give you a better, more relevant answer. A goal is most helpful when it describes the outcome the user wants rather than restating the question. For example, with `ask=how do I create an API token`, a goal like `automate deployments from our CI pipeline` lets GitBook tailor the answer to that use case.

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Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.
