Felix!

by @alexpgates

Here's a quick and dirty way to manage SMS groups using PHP and Twilio. This is handy for events like summer camps or other events when you want to get a message out to organizers / counselors quickly.

This code is a few years old, but it has been updated to use the latest Twilio PHP library.

Features

• Onboarding flow for new members
  • Users join by texting anything to the number, then following the directions.
• Members can leave the group by sending: -stop.
• Members can change their nicknames by sending: -name (new nickname).
• The group administrator get alerted when members join.
• All messages are logged in the database.
• Messages can contain up to 1600 characters.

Requirements

• Twilio PHP library
• A Twilio account with credits and a caller ID verified phone number.
• PHP
• MySQL database
• A tolerance for procedural PHP

Setup

• Get your account set up at Twilio and verify your number.
• Point your SMS settings to the location of sms.php on your server.
• Execute database_setup.sql to set up the required tables.
• Fill in the necessary variables in settings.php.
• Drop the Twilio PHP Library in the directory root and make sure the path at the top of sms.php is correct.
• Send a text to your number and follow the directions to join the group.

To Do

• This needs a better way for an admin to manage the users. Right now, you need to manage users directly in the database.
• Yeah, it uses the depracated mysql_connect(). It should be updated to mysqli_connect() or pdo. (Updated to mysqli on 7-15-2014)

Screenshots

Join Flow

Use