Twilio Notifications connector - Amazon IoT Greengrass
RequirementsParametersInput dataOutput dataUsage ExampleLicensesChangelogSee also
Services or capabilities described in Amazon Web Services documentation might vary by Region. To see the differences applicable to the China Regions, see Getting Started with Amazon Web Services in China (PDF).

Amazon IoT Greengrass Version 1 entered the extended life phase on June 30, 2023. For more information, see the Amazon IoT Greengrass V1 maintenance policy. After this date, Amazon IoT Greengrass V1 won't release updates that provide features, enhancements, bug fixes, or security patches. Devices that run on Amazon IoT Greengrass V1 won't be disrupted and will continue to operate and to connect to the cloud. We strongly recommend that you migrate to Amazon IoT Greengrass Version 2, which adds significant new features and support for additional platforms.

Twilio Notifications connector

Warning

This connector has moved into the extended life phase, and Amazon IoT Greengrass won't release updates that provide features, enhancements to existing features, security patches, or bug fixes. For more information, see Amazon IoT Greengrass Version 1 maintenance policy.

The Twilio Notifications connector makes automated phone calls or sends text messages through Twilio. You can use this connector to send notifications in response to events in the Greengrass group. For phone calls, the connector can forward a voice message to the recipient.

This connector receives Twilio message information on an MQTT topic, and then triggers a Twilio notification.

Note

For a tutorial that shows how to use the Twilio Notifications connector, see Getting started with Greengrass connectors (console) or Getting started with Greengrass connectors (CLI).

This connector has the following versions.

Version

ARN

5

arn:aws:greengrass:region::/connectors/TwilioNotifications/versions/5

4

arn:aws:greengrass:region::/connectors/TwilioNotifications/versions/4

3

arn:aws:greengrass:region::/connectors/TwilioNotifications/versions/3

2

arn:aws:greengrass:region::/connectors/TwilioNotifications/versions/2

1

arn:aws:greengrass:region::/connectors/TwilioNotifications/versions/1

For information about version changes, see the Changelog.

Requirements

This connector has the following requirements:

Version 4 - 5

  • Amazon IoT Greengrass Core software v1.9.3 or later. Amazon IoT Greengrass must be configured to support local secrets, as described in Secrets Requirements.

    Note

    This requirement includes allowing access to your Secrets Manager secrets. If you're using the default Greengrass service role, Greengrass has permission to get the values of secrets with names that start with greengrass-.

  • Python version 3.7 or 3.8 installed on the core device and added to the PATH environment variable.

    Note

    To use Python 3.8, run the following command to create a symbolic link from the the default Python 3.7 installation folder to the installed Python 3.8 binaries.

    sudo ln -s path-to-python-3.8/python3.8 /usr/bin/python3.7

    This configures your device to meet the Python requirement for Amazon IoT Greengrass.

  • A Twilio account SID, auth token, and Twilio-enabled phone number. After you create a Twilio project, these values are available on the project dashboard.

    Note

    You can use a Twilio trial account. If you're using a trial account, you must add non-Twilio recipient phone numbers to a list of verified phone numbers. For more information, see How to Work with your Free Twilio Trial Account.

  • A text type secret in Amazon Secrets Manager that stores the Twilio auth token. For more information, see Creating a basic secret in the Amazon Secrets Manager User Guide.

    Note

    To create the secret in the Secrets Manager console, enter your token on the Plaintext tab. Don't include quotation marks or other formatting. In the API, specify the token as the value for the SecretString property.

  • A secret resource in the Greengrass group that references the Secrets Manager secret. For more information, see Deploy secrets to the Amazon IoT Greengrass core.

Versions 1 - 3

  • Amazon IoT Greengrass Core software v1.7 or later. Amazon IoT Greengrass must be configured to support local secrets, as described in Secrets Requirements.

    Note

    This requirement includes allowing access to your Secrets Manager secrets. If you're using the default Greengrass service role, Greengrass has permission to get the values of secrets with names that start with greengrass-.

  • Python version 2.7 installed on the core device and added to the PATH environment variable.

  • A Twilio account SID, auth token, and Twilio-enabled phone number. After you create a Twilio project, these values are available on the project dashboard.

    Note

    You can use a Twilio trial account. If you're using a trial account, you must add non-Twilio recipient phone numbers to a list of verified phone numbers. For more information, see How to Work with your Free Twilio Trial Account.

  • A text type secret in Amazon Secrets Manager that stores the Twilio auth token. For more information, see Creating a basic secret in the Amazon Secrets Manager User Guide.

    Note

    To create the secret in the Secrets Manager console, enter your token on the Plaintext tab. Don't include quotation marks or other formatting. In the API, specify the token as the value for the SecretString property.

  • A secret resource in the Greengrass group that references the Secrets Manager secret. For more information, see Deploy secrets to the Amazon IoT Greengrass core.

Connector Parameters

This connector provides the following parameters.

Version 5
TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID

The Twilio account SID that's used to invoke the Twilio API.

Display name in the Amazon IoT console: Twilio account SID

Required: true

Type: string

Valid pattern: .+

TwilioAuthTokenSecretArn

The ARN of the Secrets Manager secret that stores the Twilio auth token.

Note

This is used to access the value of the local secret on the core.

Display name in the Amazon IoT console: ARN of Twilio auth token secret

Required: true

Type: string

Valid pattern: arn:aws:secretsmanager:[a-z0-9\-]+:[0-9]{12}:secret:([a-zA-Z0-9\\]+/)*[a-zA-Z0-9/_+=,.@\-]+-[a-zA-Z0-9]+

TwilioAuthTokenSecretArn-ResourceId

The ID of the secret resource in the Greengrass group that references the secret for the Twilio auth token.

Display name in the Amazon IoT console: Twilio auth token resource

Required: true

Type: string

Valid pattern: .+

DefaultFromPhoneNumber

The default Twilio-enabled phone number that Twilio uses to send messages. Twilio uses this number to initiate the text or call.

  • If you don't configure a default phone number, you must specify a phone number in the from_number property in the input message body.

  • If you do configure a default phone number, you can optionally override the default by specifying the from_number property in the input message body.

Display name in the Amazon IoT console: Default from phone number

Required: false

Type: string

Valid pattern: ^$|\+[0-9]+

IsolationMode

The containerization mode for this connector. The default is GreengrassContainer, which means that the connector runs in an isolated runtime environment inside the Amazon IoT Greengrass container.

Note

The default containerization setting for the group does not apply to connectors.

Display name in the Amazon IoT console: Container isolation mode

Required: false

Type: string

Valid values: GreengrassContainer or NoContainer

Valid pattern: ^NoContainer$|^GreengrassContainer$

Version 1 - 4
TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID

The Twilio account SID that's used to invoke the Twilio API.

Display name in the Amazon IoT console: Twilio account SID

Required: true

Type: string

Valid pattern: .+

TwilioAuthTokenSecretArn

The ARN of the Secrets Manager secret that stores the Twilio auth token.

Note

This is used to access the value of the local secret on the core.

Display name in the Amazon IoT console: ARN of Twilio auth token secret

Required: true

Type: string

Valid pattern: arn:aws:secretsmanager:[a-z0-9\-]+:[0-9]{12}:secret:([a-zA-Z0-9\\]+/)*[a-zA-Z0-9/_+=,.@\-]+-[a-zA-Z0-9]+

TwilioAuthTokenSecretArn-ResourceId

The ID of the secret resource in the Greengrass group that references the secret for the Twilio auth token.

Display name in the Amazon IoT console: Twilio auth token resource

Required: true

Type: string

Valid pattern: .+

DefaultFromPhoneNumber

The default Twilio-enabled phone number that Twilio uses to send messages. Twilio uses this number to initiate the text or call.

  • If you don't configure a default phone number, you must specify a phone number in the from_number property in the input message body.

  • If you do configure a default phone number, you can optionally override the default by specifying the from_number property in the input message body.

Display name in the Amazon IoT console: Default from phone number

Required: false

Type: string

Valid pattern: ^$|\+[0-9]+

Create Connector Example (Amazon CLI)

The following example CLI command creates a ConnectorDefinition with an initial version that contains the Twilio Notifications connector.

aws greengrass create-connector-definition --name MyGreengrassConnectors --initial-version '{
    "Connectors": [
        {
            "Id": "MyTwilioNotificationsConnector",
            "ConnectorArn": "arn:aws:greengrass:region::/connectors/TwilioNotifications/versions/5",
            "Parameters": {
                "TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID": "abcd12345xyz",
                "TwilioAuthTokenSecretArn": "arn:aws-cn:secretsmanager:region:account-id:secret:greengrass-secret-hash",
                "TwilioAuthTokenSecretArn-ResourceId": "MyTwilioSecret",
                "DefaultFromPhoneNumber": "+19999999999",
                "IsolationMode" : "GreengrassContainer"
            }
        }
    ]
}'

For tutorials that show how add the Twilio Notifications connector to a group, see Getting started with Greengrass connectors (CLI) and Getting started with Greengrass connectors (console).

Input data

This connector accepts Twilio message information on two MQTT topics. Input messages must be in JSON format.

  • Text message information on the twilio/txt topic.

  • Phone message information on the twilio/call topic.

Note

The input message payload can include a text message (message) or voice message (voice_message_location), but not both.

Topic filter: twilio/txt
Message properties
request

Information about the Twilio notification.

Required: true

Type: object that includes the following properties:

recipient

The message recipient. Only one recipient is supported.

Required: true

Type: object that include the following properties:

name

The name of the recipient.

Required: true

Type: string

Valid pattern: .*

phone_number

The phone number of the recipient.

Required: true

Type: string

Valid pattern: \+[1-9]+

message

The text content of the text message. Only text messages are supported on this topic. For voice messages, use twilio/call.

Required: true

Type: string

Valid pattern: .+

from_number

The phone number of the sender. Twilio uses this phone number to initiate the message. This property is required if the DefaultFromPhoneNumber parameter isn't configured. If DefaultFromPhoneNumber is configured, you can use this property to override the default.

Required: false

Type: string

Valid pattern: \+[1-9]+

retries

The number of retries. The default is 0.

Required: false

Type: integer

id

An arbitrary ID for the request. This property is used to map an input request to an output response.

Required: true

Type: string

Valid pattern: .+

Example input
{
    "request": {
        "recipient": {
            "name": "Darla",
            "phone_number": "+12345000000",
            "message": "Hello from the edge"
        },
        "from_number": "+19999999999",
        "retries": 3
    },
    "id": "request123"
}
Topic filter: twilio/call
Message properties
request

Information about the Twilio notification.

Required: true

Type: object that includes the following properties:

recipient

The message recipient. Only one recipient is supported.

Required: true

Type: object that include the following properties:

name

The name of the recipient.

Required: true

Type: string

Valid pattern: .+

phone_number

The phone number of the recipient.

Required: true

Type: string

Valid pattern: \+[1-9]+

voice_message_location

The URL of the audio content for the voice message. This must be in TwiML format. Only voice messages are supported on this topic. For text messages, use twilio/txt.

Required: true

Type: string

Valid pattern: .+

from_number

The phone number of the sender. Twilio uses this phone number to initiate the message. This property is required if the DefaultFromPhoneNumber parameter isn't configured. If DefaultFromPhoneNumber is configured, you can use this property to override the default.

Required: false

Type: string

Valid pattern: \+[1-9]+

retries

The number of retries. The default is 0.

Required: false

Type: integer

id

An arbitrary ID for the request. This property is used to map an input request to an output response.

Required: true

Type: string

Valid pattern: .+

Example input
{
    "request": {
        "recipient": {
            "name": "Darla",
            "phone_number": "+12345000000",
            "voice_message_location": "https://some-public-TwiML"
        },
        "from_number": "+19999999999",
        "retries": 3
    },
    "id": "request123"
}

Output data

This connector publishes status information as output data on an MQTT topic.

Topic filter in subscription

twilio/message/status

Example output: Success
{
    "response": {
        "status": "success",
        "payload": {
            "from_number": "+19999999999",
            "messages": {
                "message_status": "queued",
                "to_number": "+12345000000",
                "name": "Darla"
            }
        }
    },
    "id": "request123"
}
Example output: Failure
{
    "response": {
        "status": "fail",
        "error_message": "Recipient name cannot be None",
        "error": "InvalidParameter",
        "payload": None
        }
    },
    "id": "request123"
}

The payload property in the output is the response from the Twilio API when the message is sent. If the connector detects that the input data is invalid (for example, it doesn't specify a required input field), the connector returns an error and sets the value to None. The following are example payloads:

{
    'from_number':'+19999999999',
    'messages': {
        'name':'Darla',
        'to_number':'+12345000000',
        'message_status':'undelivered'
    }
}
{
    'from_number':'+19999999999',
    'messages': {
        'name':'Darla',
        'to_number':'+12345000000',
        'message_status':'queued'
    }
}

Usage Example

Use the following high-level steps to set up an example Python 3.7 Lambda function that you can use to try out the connector.

Note

The Getting started with Greengrass connectors (console) and Getting started with Greengrass connectors (CLI) topics contain end-to-end steps that show how to set up, deploy, and test the Twilio Notifications connector.

  1. Make sure you meet the requirements for the connector.

  2. Create and publish a Lambda function that sends input data to the connector.

    Save the example code as a PY file. Download and unzip the Amazon IoT Greengrass Core SDK for Python. Then, create a zip package that contains the PY file and the greengrasssdk folder at the root level. This zip package is the deployment package that you upload to Amazon Lambda.

    After you create the Python 3.7 Lambda function, publish a function version and create an alias.

  3. Configure your Greengrass group.

    1. Add the Lambda function by its alias (recommended). Configure the Lambda lifecycle as long-lived (or "Pinned": true in the CLI).

    2. Add the required secret resource and grant read access to the Lambda function.

    3. Add the connector and configure its parameters.

    4. Add subscriptions that allow the connector to receive input data and send output data on supported topic filters.

      • Set the Lambda function as the source, the connector as the target, and use a supported input topic filter.

      • Set the connector as the source, Amazon IoT Core as the target, and use a supported output topic filter. You use this subscription to view status messages in the Amazon IoT console.

  4. Deploy the group.

  5. In the Amazon IoT console, on the Test page, subscribe to the output data topic to view status messages from the connector. The example Lambda function is long-lived and starts sending messages immediately after the group is deployed.

    When you're finished testing, you can set the Lambda lifecycle to on-demand (or "Pinned": false in the CLI) and deploy the group. This stops the function from sending messages.

Example

The following example Lambda function sends an input message to the connector. This example triggers a text message.

import greengrasssdk
import json

iot_client = greengrasssdk.client('iot-data')
TXT_INPUT_TOPIC = 'twilio/txt'
CALL_INPUT_TOPIC = 'twilio/call'

def publish_basic_message():

    txt = {
        "request": {
            "recipient" : {
                "name": "Darla",
                "phone_number": "+12345000000",
                "message": 'Hello from the edge'
            },
            "from_number" : "+19999999999"
        },
        "id" : "request123"
    }
    
    print("Message To Publish: ", txt)

    client.publish(topic=TXT_INPUT_TOPIC,
                   payload=json.dumps(txt))

publish_basic_message()

def lambda_handler(event, context):
    return

Licenses

The Twilio Notifications connector includes the following third-party software/licensing:

This connector is released under the Greengrass Core Software License Agreement.

Changelog

The following table describes the changes in each version of the connector.

Version

Changes

5

Added the IsolationMode parameter to configure the containerization mode for the connector.

4

Upgraded the Lambda runtime to Python 3.7, which changes the runtime requirement.

3

Fix to reduce excessive logging.

2

Minor bug fixes and improvements.

1

Initial release.

A Greengrass group can contain only one version of the connector at a time. For information about upgrading a connector version, see Upgrading connector versions.

See also