> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://dugble.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sending SMS

> Send SMS messages with Dugble and understand the core request fields.

Dugble lets you send SMS messages immediately or schedule them for later delivery.

## Basic request

Send an SMS with `POST /sms` and include an idempotency key so retries do not create duplicate messages.

```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST https://api.dugble.com/sms \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DUGBLE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: verification-42" \
  -d '{
    "to": "+233201234567",
    "from": "Dugble",
    "body": "Your verification code is 123456.",
    "metadata": {
      "user_id": "user_42"
    }
  }'
```

A successful send request returns `202 Accepted`. This means Dugble accepted the message for asynchronous delivery; it does not mean the handset has received it.

## Recipient numbers

The `to` value must be a supported E.164 phone number, for example:

```text theme={null}
+233201234567
```

## Sender

The `from` value must match an approved sender ID available to the authenticated team. Sender IDs can contain up to 11 characters.

See [Sender IDs](/docs/sms/sender-ids) for registration and approval guidance.

## Message body

The `body` field is required and can contain up to 1,600 Unicode characters.

Dugble determines whether the message uses GSM-7 or UCS-2 encoding and calculates the resulting number of SMS segments. The SMS resource exposes this as `segments`.

Longer messages may use multiple billable segments even though they are submitted through one API request.

## Metadata

Use the optional `metadata` field to associate application data with the SMS. It must contain valid JSON.

## Schedule delivery

Set `scheduled_at` when the SMS should be delivered later instead of immediately. See [Schedule SMS](/docs/sms/schedule-sms).

## Send many messages

For up to 50 independent SMS messages in one request, use the batch endpoint. See [Batch Sending](/docs/sms/batch-sending).

## Track delivery

Use the SMS resource and its event history to monitor delivery. See [Delivery Status](/docs/sms/delivery-status) and [SMS Events](/docs/sms/events).