Use the Vonage Messages API with the Node.js Server SDK. Initialize the Vonage client with your Application ID and private key path, then use vonage.messages.send() with the recipient's number, your Vonage number, and the message text. Ensure your Vonage number is linked to your application in the Vonage Dashboard.

The Vonage Messages API is a unified platform for sending messages across various channels, including SMS, MMS, and WhatsApp. It uses Application authentication (App ID and Private Key) for improved security, offering a consistent interface for multi-channel messaging.

Webhooks provide near real-time updates on message delivery status (e.g., delivered, failed) without constant polling. This allows for efficient tracking and automated responses, enhancing the reliability of your messaging application.

Use ngrok during local development to expose your Express server's webhook endpoints to the internet, enabling Vonage to send delivery status updates to your server. For production, deploy to a server with a stable public URL.

Yes, the Vonage Messages API supports various channels like SMS, MMS, and WhatsApp. This allows you to use a consistent API for sending messages across different platforms, streamlining your communication strategy.

Create a Vonage Application in the Vonage API Dashboard, generate public and private keys, and link a Vonage virtual number to the application. Enable the Messages capability and configure the Inbound and Status URLs for webhooks.

You need a Vonage API account, a Vonage Application with a linked number, Node.js and npm, ngrok for local testing, and optionally the Vonage CLI. Ensure you have saved your API credentials, Application ID, private key, and Vonage number.

Create an Express server with a POST route at /webhooks/status. The request body will contain delivery status data like timestamp, status, and message UUID. Always respond with a 200 OK status to acknowledge receipt.

The private.key file contains your application's private key, crucial for authenticating with the Vonage Messages API. It should be kept secure, never committed to version control, and added to your .gitignore file.

Create a .env file and store your Vonage API Key, API Secret, Application ID, private key path, Vonage number, and recipient number. Load these variables into your application using require('dotenv').config().

Vonage requires a 200 OK response to confirm successful receipt of the webhook. If your server doesn't respond with 200 OK, Vonage may retry sending the webhook, which could lead to duplicate processing of delivery updates.

Use ngrok to create a public URL for your local server, update the webhook URLs in your Vonage application settings to point to your ngrok URL, and then run your Express server. Send a test SMS and observe the webhook logs.

The inbound SMS webhook contains data such as timestamp, sender number, recipient number, message UUID, and the text content of the message. This information allows your application to respond to incoming SMS messages programmatically.

Webhook signature verification is essential for production applications. It confirms the webhook request originated from Vonage and prevents tampering. Refer to Vonage's documentation on Signed Webhooks to implement this security measure.