SMSTunnel for IFTTT

Applet texts from your own phone and number

Built into IFTTT · Webhooks service

Make a web request action

If this, then a text from your number

When an applet's trigger fires (you leave the office, you press a button widget, a smart device reports something), IFTTT hands the text to your SMSTunnel account and your own Android phone sends it from your own number.

1. Get your key

1. Install the SMSTunnel app from Google Play on your Android phone and sign in.
2. In your dashboard, open Apps → Add an app, pick Script or server, name it (for example "IFTTT") and click Create the key.
3. Copy the key right away: it's shown only once. You can stop or delete the app there anytime, and IFTTT can't send texts anymore.

Get the steps with your key in them

It opens Add an app with Script or server picked. Once the key is made, the dashboard shows every step and command with the key already filled in, ready to copy.

2. Create the applet

1. Create an applet and pick the trigger in If This, for example Location → You exit an area or Button widget → Button press.
2. In Then That, search for Webhooks and choose Make a web request:

URL: https://smstunnel.io/api/v1/sms/send
Method: POST
Content Type: application/json
Additional Headers: X-API-Key: sk_live_...
Body: {"to": "+14155550123", "message": "On my way home"}

Put your number (or the person's who expects it) in to, with + and the country code.
With ingredients, wrap them in <<< >>>, as IFTTT suggests, so their content can't break the JSON: {"to": "+14155550123", "message": "<<<{{Value1}}>>>"}. Try it once with a text that has a double quote in it.
Save the applet and make the trigger happen; the applet's activity shows each run.

Worth knowing

Credits. Since October 2026, IFTTT plans count credits, and each applet run uses some. Check that your plan includes the Webhooks service.
One text, one number. For several people, one applet (or one action) per number.
IFTTT waits 12 seconds for an answer. If your phone is offline, the text waits and goes out when it's back.

If it doesn't work

401 "Invalid or expired API key": the key is wrong or was deleted. "API key is required. Use X-API-Key header.": the key isn't in an X-API-Key header. SMSTunnel reads the key only from that header: Bearer or Basic authentication won't work.
403 with PERMISSION_REQUIRED: the key may not send texts. Make a new one under Apps → Add an app.
400 "property … should not exist": the body has a field SMSTunnel doesn't know. Send only to and message (and, if you need them, deviceId and defaultCountryCode). "message must be shorter than or equal to 1600 characters": shorten the text. "Phone number must contain…": put the number in international format, like +14155550123.
400 with "to must be a string" and "message must be a string": the body didn't arrive as JSON. Add the header Content-Type: application/json.
404 "Cannot GET /api/v1/sms/send": the tool sent a GET. Choose POST.
429: too many texts at once. SMSTunnel takes 30 send requests a minute. Wait a minute and try again.
No text, but no error? If your phone is offline, the text waits and goes out as soon as the phone is back online. Open the SMSTunnel app on the phone to check it's linked.

Build it with an AI assistant

Copy this prompt into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Copilot and replace the part in [brackets]. Don't paste your API key into the chat: the prompt doesn't need it.

Help me send texts from IFTTT applets through my own phone, with SMSTunnel.

About SMSTunnel (https://smstunnel.io): my own apps and tools hand text messages (SMS) to my SMSTunnel account, and my own Android phone sends them from my own number, on my own SIM and plan. The phone runs the SMSTunnel app from Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.smstunnel.app), signed in to my account.

What I want: [describe what should send a text, to whom, and when]

How it works:
- No IFTTT service of its own: the Webhooks service's action "Make a web request" calls SMSTunnel's API.
- Make a web request: URL https://smstunnel.io/api/v1/sms/send, Method POST, Content Type application/json, Additional Headers "X-API-Key: <my key>" (one "Name: value" per line), Body {"to": "+14155550123", "message": "On my way home"}.
- With ingredients: {"to": "+14155550123", "message": "<<<{{Value1}}>>>"}. IFTTT says to wrap ingredients in <<< and >>> so their content can't break the JSON; test it with a text that contains a double quote.
- Triggers: anything IFTTT offers, e.g. Location (you exit an area), Button widget, Date & Time, or the Webhooks trigger "Receive a web request" (https://maker.ifttt.com/trigger/<event>/with/key/<webhooks key>, with value1 to value3).
- IFTTT waits 12 seconds for an answer. Since October 2026 IFTTT plans use credits; each run of the applet uses some.
- One recipient per request: SMSTunnel sends one text to one number. For several people, one request (or one notification) per number.
- Answers: 200 {"success": true, "messageId": "…"}; 401 wrong or deleted key; 403 the key lacks a permission ("code": "PERMISSION_REQUIRED"); 400 a missing, unknown or too long field; 429 too many requests (30 sends a minute, with Retry-After): wait and retry; without Retry-After, the plan's limit for the day or month is reached. If my phone is offline the text waits and goes out when it is back, within 3 days.
- The API key comes from my SMSTunnel dashboard (https://dashboard.smstunnel.io): Apps → Add an app → Create the key. It is shown only once and can send texts and check whether they went out.

Rules for your answer:
- Do not ask for my SMSTunnel password or API key and do not put a real key in your answer; I will not paste it in this chat.
- Phone numbers must be in international format (+ and the country code).
- Help me test it with my own number first.
- Only send texts people expect from me. No unsolicited texts.
- Only applets that text people who expect it.

Responsible use

Built for alerts to yourself and your team, and texts people expect from you. One text goes to one number. Sending unsolicited messages from a consumer SIM generally breaches mobile carrier terms of service.

IFTTT is a trademark of IFTTT Inc.. SMSTunnel is a third-party integration and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by IFTTT Inc..

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No phone paired yet?

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