Forward SMS Messages to Email

Overview

This guide shows how to forward incoming SMS messages to an email address using Node.js, Express, and Nodemailer. This is a great way to centralize communications and create a searchable archive.

Prerequisites

A Plivo account — sign up for free.
An SMS-enabled Plivo phone number. You can rent a number.
A Gmail account with an App Password enabled.
Node.js and ngrok. See our Node.js setup guide.

Create the email forwarding application

Create a file named smsemail.js. This code sets up an Express server that listens for incoming SMS webhooks from Plivo. When a message is received, it uses Nodemailer to send its contents to your email address.Replace all the placeholder values in the <...> brackets with your actual information.

const express = require('express');
const nodemailer = require("nodemailer");
const app = express();

app.use(express.urlencoded({ extended: true }));
app.set('port', (process.env.PORT || 5000));

app.all('/email_sms/', async (request, response) => {
    const from_number = request.body.From;
    const text = request.body.Text;
    console.log(`Message from: ${from_number}, Text: ${text}`);

    // Acknowledge the webhook from Plivo immediately
    response.status(204).send();

    const transporter = nodemailer.createTransport({
        service: 'gmail',
        auth: {
            user: "<your_gmail_address>",
            pass: "<your_gmail_app_password>"
        }
    });

    const mailOptions = {
        from: "<your_from_email_address>", // e.g., [email protected]
        to: "<your_recipient_email_address>",
        subject: `New SMS from ${from_number}`,
        text: text
    };

    try {
        let info = await transporter.sendMail(mailOptions);
        console.log('Email sent: ' + info.response);
    } catch (error) {
        console.error('Error sending email:', error);
    }
});

app.listen(app.get('port'), () => {
    console.log('Node app is running on port', app.get('port'));
});

Create and configure a Plivo application

Create an Application: Go to Messaging > Applications and click Add New Application.
Configure the URL: Name the application (e.g., Forward SMS to Email). In the Message URL field, enter your ngrok URL (e.g., https://<yourdomain>.ngrok.io/email_sms/). Set the method to POST. Click Create Application.
Assign a Number: Go to the Numbers page, select your number, and link it to the Forward SMS to Email application.

Test

Send an SMS to your Plivo number. The message content should arrive in your email inbox shortly.

Overview

This guide shows how to forward incoming SMS messages to an email address using Ruby on Rails and the Mail gem. This is a great way to centralize communications and create a searchable archive.

Prerequisites

A Plivo account — sign up for free.
An SMS-enabled Plivo phone number. You can rent a number.
A Gmail account with an App Password enabled.
Ruby on Rails and ngrok. See our Ruby setup guide.
The Mail gem (gem install mail).

Create the email forwarding application

In your Rails controller (e.g., app/controllers/plivo_controller.rb), paste this code. This action receives the SMS webhook, sends the email, and then responds to Plivo to acknowledge receipt.Replace all the placeholder values in the <...> brackets with your actual information.

require 'mail'

class PlivoController < ApplicationController
  skip_before_action :verify_authenticity_token

  def forward_sms_to_email
    from_number = params[:From]
    text = params[:Text]
    puts "Message received from #{from_number}: #{text}"

    options = {
      address: "smtp.gmail.com",
      port: 587,
      user_name: '<your_gmail_address>',
      password: '<your_gmail_app_password>',
      authentication: 'plain',
      enable_starttls_auto: true
    }

    Mail.defaults do
      delivery_method :smtp, options
    end

    begin
      Mail.deliver do
        to '<your_recipient_email_address>'
        from '<your_from_email_address>'
        subject "New SMS from #{from_number}"
        body text
      end
      puts "Email sent successfully."
    rescue => e
      puts "Error sending email: #{e.message}"
    end

    # Acknowledge the webhook from Plivo
    head :ok
  end
end

Create and configure a Plivo application

Create an Application: Go to Messaging > Applications and click Add New Application.
Configure the URL: Name the application (e.g., Forward SMS to Email). In your Message URL, enter your ngrok URL (e.g., https://<yourdomain>.ngrok.io/your_route/). Set the method to POST. Click Create Application.
Assign a Number: Go to the Numbers page, select your number, and link it to the Forward SMS to Email application.

Test

Send an SMS to your Plivo number. The message content should arrive in your email inbox shortly.

Overview

This guide shows how to forward incoming SMS messages to an email address using Python, Flask, and the smtplib library. This is a great way to centralize communications and create a searchable archive.

Prerequisites

A Plivo account — sign up for free.
An SMS-enabled Plivo phone number. You can rent a number.
A Gmail account with an App Password enabled.
Python and ngrok. See our Python setup guide.

Create the email forwarding application

Create a file named smsemail.py and paste this code into it. This app listens for SMS webhooks and forwards the message content to your email.Replace all the placeholder values in the <...> brackets with your actual information.

from flask import Flask, request
import smtplib
from email.mime.text import MIMEText

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route("/email_sms/", methods=['POST'])
def forward_sms_to_email():
    from_number = request.values.get('From')
    text = request.values.get('Text')
    print(f'Message from: {from_number}, Text: {text}')

    user_name = '<your_gmail_address>'
    password = '<your_gmail_app_password>'
    from_email = '<your_from_email_address>'
    to_email = '<your_recipient_email_address>'

    msg = MIMEText(text)
    msg['Subject'] = f"New SMS from {from_number}"
    msg['From'] = from_email
    msg['To'] = to_email

    try:
        with smtplib.SMTP("smtp.gmail.com", 587) as server:
            server.starttls()
            server.login(user_name, password)
            server.send_message(msg)
            print('Successfully sent email')
    except Exception as e:
        print(f'Failed to send email: {e}')

    return 'Webhook received', 200

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app.run(host='0.0.0.0', port=5000, debug=True)

Create and configure a Plivo application

Create an Application: Go to Messaging > Applications and click Add New Application.
Configure the URL: Name the application (e.g., Forward SMS to Email). In the Message URL field, enter your ngrok URL (e.g., https://<yourdomain>.ngrok.io/email_sms/). Set the method to POST. Click Create Application.
Assign a Number: Go to the Numbers page, select your number, and link it to the Forward SMS to Email application.

Test

Send an SMS to your Plivo number. The message content should arrive in your email inbox shortly.

Overview

This guide shows how to forward incoming SMS messages to an email address using PHP and the PHPMailer library. This is a great way to centralize communications and create a searchable archive.

Prerequisites

A Plivo account — sign up for free.
An SMS-enabled Plivo phone number. You can rent a number.
A Gmail account with an App Password enabled.
PHP, Composer, and ngrok. See our PHP setup guide.
PHPMailer (composer require phpmailer/phpmailer).

Create the email forwarding application

In your controller, paste this code. This action receives the SMS webhook, uses PHPMailer to send the email, and then responds to Plivo to acknowledge receipt.Replace all the placeholder values in the <...> brackets with your actual information.

<?php
namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer;
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\Exception;

class EmailController extends Controller
{
    public function forward_sms_to_email()
    {
        $from_number = $_REQUEST["From"];
        $text = $_REQUEST["Text"];

        $mail = new PHPMailer(true);
        try {
            //Server settings
            $mail->isSMTP();
            $mail->Host       = 'smtp.gmail.com';
            $mail->SMTPAuth   = true;
            $mail->Username   = '<your_gmail_address>';
            $mail->Password   = '<your_gmail_app_password>';
            $mail->SMTPSecure = PHPMailer::ENCRYPTION_STARTTLS;
            $mail->Port       = 587;

            //Recipients
            $mail->setFrom('<your_from_email_address>', 'SMS Notifier');
            $mail->addAddress('<your_recipient_email_address>');

            //Content
            $mail->Subject = 'New SMS from ' . $from_number;
            $mail->Body    = $text;
            $mail->AltBody = $text;

            $mail->send();
            error_log('Message has been sent');
        } catch (Exception $e) {
            error_log("Message could not be sent. Mailer Error: {$mail->ErrorInfo}");
        }

        // Acknowledge the webhook from Plivo
        http_response_code(204);
    }
}

Create and configure a Plivo application

Create an Application: Go to Messaging > Applications and click Add New Application.
Configure the URL: Name the application (e.g., Forward SMS to Email). In your Message URL, enter your ngrok URL (e.g., https://<yourdomain>.ngrok.io/your_route/). Set the method to POST. Click Create Application.
Assign a Number: Go to the Numbers page, select your number, and link it to the Forward SMS to Email application.

Test

Send an SMS to your Plivo number. The message content should arrive in your email inbox shortly.

Overview

This guide shows how to forward incoming SMS messages to an email address using .NET. This is a great way to centralize communications and create a searchable archive.

Prerequisites

A Plivo account — sign up for free.
An SMS-enabled Plivo phone number. You can rent a number.
A Gmail account with an App Password enabled.
.NET and ngrok. See our .NET setup guide.

Create the email forwarding application

In your controller, paste this code. This action receives the SMS webhook, sends the email, and then responds to Plivo to acknowledge receipt.Replace all the placeholder values in the <...> brackets with your actual information.

using System;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using System.Net;
using System.Net.Mail;

namespace EmailSms.Controllers
{
    public class EmailSmsController : Controller
    {
        [HttpPost]
        public IActionResult Index()
        {
            string from_number = Request.Form["From"];
            string text = Request.Form["Text"];
            Console.WriteLine($"Message from: {from_number}, Text: {text}");

            string smtp_user = "<your_gmail_address>";
            string smtp_password = "<your_gmail_app_password>";
            string from_email = "<your_from_email_address>";
            string to_email = "<your_recipient_email_address>";

            try
            {
                SmtpClient smtp = new SmtpClient
                {
                    Host = "smtp.gmail.com",
                    Port = 587,
                    EnableSsl = true,
                    DeliveryMethod = SmtpDeliveryMethod.Network,
                    Credentials = new NetworkCredential(smtp_user, smtp_password)
                };

                MailMessage message = new MailMessage(from_email, to_email, $"New SMS from {from_number}", text);
                smtp.Send(message);
                Console.WriteLine("Email sent successfully.");
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Error sending email: " + ex.Message);
            }

            return Ok("Webhook received.");
        }
    }
}

Create and configure a Plivo application

Create an Application: Go to Messaging > Applications and click Add New Application.
Configure the URL: Name the application (e.g., Forward SMS to Email). In the Message URL field, enter your ngrok URL (e.g., https://<yourdomain>.ngrok.io/EmailSms/). Set the method to POST. Click Create Application.
Assign a Number: Go to the Numbers page, select your number, and link it to the Forward SMS to Email application.

Test

Send an SMS to your Plivo number. The message content should arrive in your email inbox shortly.

Overview

This guide shows how to forward incoming SMS messages to an email address using Java with Spring and JavaMail. This is a great way to centralize communications and create a searchable archive.

Prerequisites

A Plivo account — sign up for free.
An SMS-enabled Plivo phone number. You can rent a number.
A Gmail account with an App Password enabled.
Java and ngrok. See our Java setup guide.
The JavaMail dependency (javax.mail:mail).

Create the email forwarding application

In your main application file, paste this code. This controller receives the SMS webhook, sends the email, and then responds to Plivo to acknowledge receipt.Replace all the placeholder values in the <...> brackets with your actual information.

package com.example.plivo;

import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
import org.springframework.http.ResponseEntity;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.*;
import javax.mail.*;
import javax.mail.internet.InternetAddress;
import javax.mail.internet.MimeMessage;
import java.util.Properties;

@SpringBootApplication
@RestController
public class PlivoApplication {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SpringApplication.run(PlivoApplication.class, args);
    }

    @PostMapping("/email_sms/")
    public ResponseEntity<Void> forwardSmsToEmail(String From, String Text) {
        System.out.println("Message from: " + From + ", Text: " + Text);

        final String username = "<your_gmail_address>";
        final String password = "<your_gmail_app_password>";

        Properties prop = new Properties();
        prop.put("mail.smtp.host", "smtp.gmail.com");
        prop.put("mail.smtp.port", "587");
        prop.put("mail.smtp.auth", "true");
        prop.put("mail.smtp.starttls.enable", "true");

        Session session = Session.getInstance(prop, new javax.mail.Authenticator() {
            protected PasswordAuthentication getPasswordAuthentication() {
                return new PasswordAuthentication(username, password);
            }
        });

        try {
            Message message = new MimeMessage(session);
            message.setFrom(new InternetAddress("<your_from_email_address>"));
            message.setRecipients(Message.RecipientType.TO, InternetAddress.parse("<your_recipient_email_address>"));
            message.setSubject("New SMS from " + From);
            message.setText(Text);
            Transport.send(message);
            System.out.println("Email sent successfully.");
        } catch (MessagingException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }

        return ResponseEntity.noContent().build();
    }
}

Create and configure a Plivo application

Create an Application: Go to Messaging > Applications and click Add New Application.
Configure the URL: Name the application (e.g., Forward SMS to Email). In the Message URL field, enter your ngrok URL (e.g., https://<yourdomain>.ngrok.io/email_sms/). Set the method to POST. Click Create Application.
Assign a Number: Go to the Numbers page, select your number, and link it to the Forward SMS to Email application.

Test

Send an SMS to your Plivo number. The message content should arrive in your email inbox shortly.

Overview

This guide shows how to forward incoming SMS messages to an email address using Go and its standard net/smtp library. This is a great way to centralize communications and create a searchable archive.

Prerequisites

A Plivo account — sign up for free.
An SMS-enabled Plivo phone number. You can rent a number.
A Gmail account with an App Password enabled.
Go and ngrok. See our Go setup guide.

Create the email forwarding application

Create a file named smsemail.go and paste this code into it. This server listens for SMS webhooks and forwards the message content to your email.Replace all the placeholder values in the <...> brackets with your actual information.

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "net/smtp"
    "net/http"
)

func forwardSmsToEmail(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    from_number := r.FormValue("From")
    text := r.FormValue("Text")
    fmt.Printf("Message from: %s, Text: %s\n", from_number, text)

    from_email := "<your_from_email_address>"
    password := "<your_gmail_app_password>"
    to_email := []string{"<your_recipient_email_address>"}

    smtpHost := "smtp.gmail.com"
    smtpPort := "587"

    subject := "Subject: New SMS from " + from_number + "\r\n"
    body := text
    message := []byte(subject + "\r\n" + body)

    auth := smtp.PlainAuth("", from_email, password, smtpHost)

    err := smtp.SendMail(smtpHost+":"+smtpPort, auth, from_email, to_email, message)
    if err != nil {
        fmt.Println(err)
    } else {
        fmt.Println("Email sent successfully")
    }

    w.WriteHeader(http.StatusNoContent)
}

func main() {
    http.HandleFunc("/email_sms/", forwardSmsToEmail)
    http.ListenAndServe(":8080", nil)
}

Create and configure a Plivo application

Create an Application: Go to Messaging > Applications and click Add New Application.
Configure the URL: Name the application (e.g., Forward SMS to Email). In the Message URL field, enter your ngrok URL (e.g., https://<yourdomain>.ngrok.io/email_sms/). Set the method to POST. Click Create Application.
Assign a Number: Go to the Numbers page, select your number, and link it to the Forward SMS to Email application.

Test

Send an SMS to your Plivo number. The message content should arrive in your email inbox shortly.

Getting Started

SMS Concepts

WhatsApp Concepts

Use Case Guides

API Reference

XML Reference

10DLC

Troubleshooting

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Create the email forwarding application

​Create and configure a Plivo application

​Test

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Create the email forwarding application

​Create and configure a Plivo application

​Test

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Create the email forwarding application

​Create and configure a Plivo application

​Test

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Create the email forwarding application

​Create and configure a Plivo application

​Test

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Create the email forwarding application

​Create and configure a Plivo application

​Test

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Create the email forwarding application

​Create and configure a Plivo application

​Test

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Create the email forwarding application

​Create and configure a Plivo application

​Test

Overview

Prerequisites

Create the email forwarding application

Create and configure a Plivo application

Test

Overview

Prerequisites

Create the email forwarding application

Create and configure a Plivo application

Test

Overview

Prerequisites

Create the email forwarding application

Create and configure a Plivo application

Test

Overview

Prerequisites

Create the email forwarding application

Create and configure a Plivo application

Test

Overview

Prerequisites

Create the email forwarding application

Create and configure a Plivo application

Test

Overview

Prerequisites

Create the email forwarding application

Create and configure a Plivo application

Test

Overview

Prerequisites

Create the email forwarding application

Create and configure a Plivo application

Test