Python Messaging Quickstart

Step 1: Create a FreeClimb account

1. Go to the FreeClimb create an account page and sign up for an account using either your business email or GitHub account.
2. After signing up, you’ll be prompted to verify your email and phone number (US only). You’ll receive an SMS confirmation code.
3. Enter the confirmation code, and you will be taken to your FreeClimb dashboard. Here, you can manage your account, add applications, configure phone settings, and review call logs.
4. Click on FreeClimb Numbers in the left sidebar. You will see your free FreeClimb number that comes with the trial account. This number has been automatically attached to “My FreeClimb Application.” You are now ready to move on to Step 2.

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What is my FreeClimb number?

FreeClimb numbers are regular phone numbers that you can dial from any mobile or landline phone. When a call is received, FreeClimb picks it up for you and forwards it to an application.

FreeClimb applications are the interface between your code and the FreeClimb backend, which handles the transmission of data between the Internet and telephone networks. FreeClimb will connect your App ID to a FreeClimb telephone number so that it can correctly direct incoming and outgoing voice data

Step 2: Create a python application to receive and send a message

Clone your quickstart

1. For this quickstart, clone the repository for Python Messaging Quickstart using GitHub's interface or git in the command line.

git clone https://github.com/FreeClimbAPI/Python-Receive-Message-Tutorial.git

Add your credentials to your project

Now that you've cloned the repo for your sample app, the next step is to add your API credentials so you can authenticate with FreeClimb.

2. Copy your account ID and API key from your dashboard homepage.

3. Edit the .env.sample file and save as .env. Make sure to add the file to your .gitignore file.
4. Add your account ID, FreeClimb number (be sure to remove special characters), and API key to your .env file, and save the file. Your .env file should look something like this:

ACCOUNT_ID=YOUR-ACCOUNT-TOKEN
API_KEY=YOUR-API-KEY
FREECLIMB_NUMBER=YOUR-FREECLIMB-NUMBER

The quickstart uses dotenv to read in your credentials, and anything else you save, as environment variables.

Make your local server publicly accessible

The fastest way to start testing your FreeClimb application is to temporarily make your local server publicly accessible through a tunneling service. We'll use ngrok to do this.

1. Start by downloading ngrok.
2. Unzip the file to install.
3. Open your terminal and navigate to the directory where you've unzipped ngrok.
4. Use the following command to start a HTTP tunnel on port 3000:

ngrok http 3000

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Heads Up

• Running this command without an ngrok account will result in an error.
• Ensure ngrok is included in your $PATH variable.

Once you run ngrok you should receive a response with a public URL, that looks something like this:

ngrok by @inconshreveable

Tunnel Status                 online
Version                       2.0/2.0
Web Interface                 http://127.0.0.1:4040
Forwarding                    http://92832de0.ngrok.io -> localhost:3000
Forwarding                    https://92832de0.ngrok.io -> localhost:3000

Connnections                  ttl     opn     rt1     rt5     p50     p90
                              0       0       0.00    0.00    0.00    0.00

5. The Forwarding URLs point to your local server. Save the URLs and go on to the next step.

Step 3: Connect your python application to FreeClimb

Now that you've got a public URL you're ready to configure your application's endpoints. We'll be configuring the smsUrl using your ngrok URL and the route reference /incomingSms.

1. Go to the Apps page in your dashboard. You should see your registered FreeClimb app..

2. Open its App Config, and you'll see its application ID, alias, and some options for URL configuration. Enter your ngrok URL into the smsUrl field, and add the route /incomingSms at the end of the URL.

https://YOUR-URL.ngrok.io/incomingSms

When you're done the App Config should look something like this:

3. Save your updated App Config.

Step 4: Test your application

Once you've updated your App Config you're all ready to run your app.

1. Run the quickstart application with the command:

yarn install
yarn start

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Using Docker instead?

Follow these instructions:

1. Pull docker image from dockerhub

Terminal

docker pull freeclimbapi/node-sms-quickstart

2. Run docker image after replacing placeholder values

Terminal

docker run -e ACCOUNT_ID=<YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID> -e API_KEY=<YOUR_API_KEY> -e FREECLIMB_NUMBER=<YOUR_FREECLIMB_NUMBER> -p 3000:3000 freeclimbapi/node-sms-quickstart

2. Once the quickstart app is running, use your verified number to send a message to your configured FreeClimb number. If everything is set up right, you should receive the message, "Hello, World!" Congratulations! You've just made your first messaging application.

If you did not receive this message, confirm the following:

• You sent the message from your verified number to the configured FreeClimb number.
• Your FreeClimb Number is connected to My FreeClimb Application.
• The SMS URL in your app config is the correct public URL and contains /incomingSms on the end.

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Need additional help?

Please reach out to our support team.

Next steps

For a more detailed explanation of the code used, see our Receive a Message how-to guide.