send-sms-from-android

v1.2.1

Published

15 days ago

Twilio alternative for developers. Send SMS from an Android phone via CLI — order alerts, OTPs, 2FA codes, bulk reminders. No Twilio, no Vonage, no MessageBird. No per-SMS fees, no markups, no A2P 10DLC. Real phone number as sender. Free 5-day trial at sm

send-sms-from-android — send SMS from any Android phone via CLI

Send SMS from Android without writing API code. This CLI routes through your own Android phone — real SIM as sender — and skips Twilio, A2P 10DLC paperwork, and per-message fees. $29/month flat for unlimited messages.

npx send-sms-from-android send +14155550100 "Hi from my Android phone"

What this does

Send SMS from an Android phone to any number — from any script, cron, CI job, AI agent, or shell
Generate, verify, and wait for OTP codes — perfect for 2FA, signup flows, and integration tests
Read your inbox programmatically
No CPaaS account — your Android SIM is the sender

Why send SMS from Android instead of Twilio

| | Twilio / Vonage / Plivo | Send-SMS-from-Android | |---|---|---| | Per-SMS cost (US) | $0.0075 – $0.04 | $0 (flat $29/mo) | | A2P 10DLC paperwork | Required for any bulk SMS | Not required — P2P from real SIM | | Sender ID | Short code or random LCN | Your real mobile number | | Recipient reply rate | Drops near 0% on cold lists | Stays normal — they recognise the number | | Setup time | Days (brand registration) | Minutes (pair Android + paste API key) | | Cancel any time | Hard contracts | $29/mo, cancel anytime |

Install

# Run without installing
npx send-sms-from-android send +14155550100 "Hi"

# Or install globally for the shorthand
npm install -g send-sms-from-android
send-sms-from-android send +14155550100 "Hi"
send-android-sms send +14155550100 "Hi"   # short alias

Node 18 or newer.

Get started in 4 steps

Sign up free at sms8.io (5-day trial, no card)
Download the SMS8 Android app on any Android phone, scan the QR code from your dashboard to pair
Copy your API key from app.sms8.io/api.php

Send your first SMS:

export SMS8_API_KEY=sk_xxx
send-sms-from-android send +14155550100 "It works!"

What you can do

# Send SMS
send-sms-from-android send <phone> "<message>"

# Generate / verify / wait for OTP codes
send-sms-from-android otp send <phone>
send-sms-from-android otp verify <phone> <code>
send-sms-from-android otp wait <sender-phone> [--timeout=120]

# Read your inbox
send-sms-from-android inbox [--limit=25] [--received] [--sent] [--phone=+14155550100]

# Inspect your paired phones
send-sms-from-android devices

# Account / balance
send-sms-from-android balance
send-sms-from-android setup

Pick which Android device or SIM sends each message

By default SMS8 uses your primary paired Android. To route through a specific phone or SIM slot (on dual-SIM phones), or to broadcast across multiple phones:

# Pin a specific paired Android
send-sms-from-android send +14155550100 "Hi" --device-id=10700

# Pin device + SIM 2 (dual-SIM phone)
send-sms-from-android send +14155550100 "Hi" --device-id=10700 --sim-slot=2

# Explicit list (each entry: deviceID or deviceID|simSlot)
send-sms-from-android send +14155550100 "Hi" --devices=10700,10701|0

# Broadcast across every paired phone
send-sms-from-android send +14155550100 "Status update" --option=1

# Broadcast across every SIM of every paired phone
send-sms-from-android send +14155550100 "Status update" --option=2

# Round-robin: pick one random sender from the resolved list
send-sms-from-android send +14155550100 "Hi" --random-device

The same routing flags work on otp send and otp wait. Run send-sms-from-android devices to list your device IDs.

OTP send options

send-sms-from-android otp send +14155550100 --length=8 --expires-in=180
send-sms-from-android otp send +14155550100 --template="Your YourApp code: {code}"

OTP verify

otp verify checks the most-recent unverified code for the phone. No device routing needed (the code lives server-side):

send-sms-from-android otp verify +14155550100 482937

OTP wait

otp wait watches incoming SMS on a paired Android and extracts the verification code from the body. Pass the sender's phone or partial match:

CODE=$(send-sms-from-android otp wait +Google --contains="Google" --timeout=180)

Common use cases

OTP / 2FA login for SaaS and mobile apps
WooCommerce / Shopify order notifications
Server / deploy alerts to your real phone
CI integration tests that need a real incoming SMS
Bulk reminders for appointments, drip sequences, abandoned carts
Two-way conversations — replies flow back via webhook

AI / MCP integration

Want Claude Code, Cursor, or Windsurf to send SMS from your AI assistant? Use sms8-mcp — the companion Model Context Protocol launcher. Same API key, zero extra setup.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sms8": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "sms8-mcp"],
      "env": { "SMS8_API_KEY": "sk_xxx" }
    }
  }
}

Related packages

sms8-cli — same CLI under the SMS8 brand
sms8-mcp — MCP server for Claude / Cursor / Windsurf
phone-sms-gateway — phone-as-gateway brand of the CLI
sms-otp-using-myphone — OTP-focused brand

All four CLI packages share one codebase — pick whichever name fits your project's wording best.

License

MIT