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SMS Component

The SMS component sends a text message to one or more phone numbers as part of a workflow. Use it for short, time-sensitive notifications where email is too slow or may go unread. For longer or richer messages, or when you need to attach a file, use the Email component instead.

Set it up​

  1. Add an SMS step to the workflow.
  2. Under Enter Recepients Phone Number, type a phone number and press Enter. The number appears as a tag. Repeat for each recipient. Clicking away from the field, or the plus icon next to it, also confirms the number you typed. To remove a recipient, use the remove button on its tag.
  3. Write the text in Message. A counter under the field shows how many of the 160 characters you have used. The message can include values from the workflow with {{ }} placeholders, for example {{ body.orderNumber }}, in the same way as the Email component.
  4. Click Save.

Both a recipient and a message are required.

Example​

Send an SMS alert to the on-call phone when something important happens, such as a Schedule-triggered check that finds a problem:

  • Recipient: +4712345678
  • Message: Stock sync failed for warehouse {{ body.warehouse }}. Check the workflow execution log.

Each time the workflow reaches the SMS step, the recipient gets that text. Put a filter step before the SMS step if the alert should only go out when a condition is met.

Tips and limits​

  • International format. Every number must start with + followed by the country code and the number, with digits only: no spaces, dashes or brackets. For example +4712345678 (Norway) or +14155550123 (US). A number that doesn't match is rejected with Invalid phone number and is not added.
  • 160 characters. The message can't be longer than 160 characters; the field stops accepting text at the limit.
  • Order. The SMS component sends after all preceding components have completed. The execution log records the send time and whether each message was dispatched successfully.

Further reading​

  • Email — send richer notifications with HTML content and file attachments
  • Execution Logs — verify that messages were sent successfully
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