Twilio setup guide

Agents read conversations and write messages for your company. Anything a customer or the public sees, such as a sent email or a posted message, is tier 3, so it asks first unless you decide otherwise.

Ways to connect

Company admins connect apps, on the Integrations page in Everdeck: open Twilio, choose one of the ways below, follow its steps and fill in its fields. Everdeck checks what you enter before it saves anything, and asks you to confirm it’s you (your second factor) before you type any secret. How connecting works.

Twilio can be connected 2 ways.

API key (recommended)

Username and password.

1. In the Twilio Console (https://console.twilio.com), copy your Account SID from the dashboard.
2. Go to Account > API keys & tokens (https://console.twilio.com/us1/account/keys-credentials/api-keys), create a Standard API key, and copy its SID (starts with SK) and secret. The secret is shown once.
3. Enter the Twilio phone number the agent should send from, in E.164 format (+15551234567).
4. To let incoming texts start agent work, also copy the Auth Token from the dashboard: Twilio signs webhooks with it even when requests use API keys.

Field	What to enter
Account SID	Text. For example AC.... Where to find it.
API key SID	Text. For example SK....
API key secret	A secret: Everdeck saves it encrypted and never shows it again.
Default sender number	Text. For example +15551234567.
Auth Token (lets incoming texts start agent work) (optional)	A secret: Everdeck saves it encrypted and never shows it again.

Disconnecting deletes the credentials Everdeck saved, but Everdeck can't revoke them: the key, token or password itself keeps working at Twilio until you delete or rotate it there.

Account SID and Auth Token

Username and password.

1. In the Twilio Console (https://console.twilio.com), copy the Account SID and Auth Token from the dashboard.
2. Enter the Twilio phone number the agent should send from, in E.164 format (+15551234567). Prefer an API key: it can be revoked on its own without changing the account's Auth Token.

Field	What to enter
Account SID	Text. For example AC....
Auth Token	A secret: Everdeck saves it encrypted and never shows it again.
Default sender number	Text. For example +15551234567.

Disconnecting deletes the credentials Everdeck saved, but Everdeck can't revoke them: the key, token or password itself keeps working at Twilio until you delete or rotate it there.

What agents can do

An agent uses an action only when its charter grants it, on the agent’s Tools tab, where you choose whether each one runs by itself (Auto), asks first or never runs. Each action has a risk tier: tier 3 actions, which customers or the public see, ask first unless you choose otherwise, and tier 4 actions (money, deleting things, access) always need a person. How tools and tiers work.

Actions marked Reads outside content return things people outside your company may have written. Agents treat what they read as information, never as instructions, and their riskier actions later in the same session need approval.

• Send a text messageTier 3 · ExternalReads outside contenttwilio_send_sms

  Send an SMS from the connected number (or another number on the account). Up to 1,600 characters; long texts are split into billed segments. For WhatsApp through Twilio, use whatsapp:+<number> for both numbers.

• Send a picture messageTier 3 · ExternalReads outside contenttwilio_send_mms

  Send an MMS with one image from a public HTTPS URL (JPEG, PNG or GIF up to 5 MB; other types up to 500 KB) and optional text. MMS is for US and Canadian numbers.

• List text messagesTier 0 · ReadReads outside contenttwilio_list_messages

  List sent and received messages, newest first, filtered by number and by sent date (YYYY-MM-DD in UTC).

• Get a text messageTier 0 · ReadReads outside contenttwilio_get_message

  Get one message with its delivery status, error code and price.

• Place a voice callTier 3 · ExternalReads outside contenttwilio_make_call

  Call a number and read a short message aloud with text-to-speech, for example an appointment reminder. Optionally record the call.

• List callsTier 0 · ReadReads outside contenttwilio_list_calls

  List recent calls, newest first, filtered by number, status and start date.

• Get a callTier 0 · ReadReads outside contenttwilio_get_call

  Get one call's status, duration, direction and price.

• List phone numbersTier 0 · ReadReads outside contenttwilio_list_phone_numbers

  List the account's phone numbers with their capabilities, for choosing a sender.

Testing, problems and disconnecting

Everdeck checks the connection when you save it. On the connection’s page in Integrations, Test checks it again at any time.

If Twilio later refuses the connection, for example because a key was deleted or a sign-in expired, the connection shows Needs attention on the Integrations page and the people who manage connections are told. Agents can’t use it until a company admin fixes it with Edit.

To stop agents using Twilio, open the connection and select Disconnect. Agents stop using it at once and its saved credentials are deleted. What else happens depends on how it was connected: each way above says.