Node-RED SMS: send and receive texts with the http request and http in nodes

What you need

• Node-RED 3 or newer. The function node loads the crypto module through its Setup tab.
• A textbee account with the Android app installed on the phone that holds the SIM, and an API key from the dashboard.
• For receiving: the http in endpoint reachable over public HTTPS, through a reverse proxy or a tunnel.
• The textbee app on the phone. Download the app, then create an API key in the dashboard.

Send SMS from Node-RED

The API key comes from an environment variable, so an exported flow never contains it. Set TEXTBEE_API_KEY where Node-RED starts, or in settings.js.

1. 1

   Build the request in a function node

   The node expects msg.to and msg.text from whatever feeds it: an inject node, an MQTT message, a sensor flow.

   function: build request

   Copy

   msg.url = 'https://api.textbee.dev/api/v1/gateway/send-sms'
   msg.headers = { 'x-api-key': env.get('TEXTBEE_API_KEY'), 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }
   msg.payload = { recipients: [msg.to], message: msg.text }
   return msg

2. 2

   Add the http request node

   Leave the URL field empty so the node uses msg.url, and set the return type so the response is parsed.

   Field	Value
   Method	POST
   URL	empty, taken from msg.url
   Return	a parsed JSON object

3. 3

   Trigger it

   Wire an inject node that sets msg.to to +12015550123 and msg.text to a test message, then the function node, the http request node and a debug node. Deploy and click inject. The debug shows data.success true.

4. 4

   Feed it from your flows

   Replace the inject node with the flow that should text: an MQTT in node, a Home Assistant event, a schedule. Any message with msg.to and msg.text sends a text.

Receive SMS in Node-RED

The http in node parses JSON into msg.payload and keeps the headers in msg.req.headers, so a function node can verify the signature before anything else runs.

1. 1

   Add the endpoint

   An http in node with Method POST and URL /textbee. Wire it to the function below. Output 1 carries verified texts, output 2 goes to an http response node.

2. 2

   Verify the signature

   In the function node Setup tab add the module crypto as the variable crypto. Set TEXTBEE_WEBHOOK_SECRET in the environment to the signing secret you use in the textbee dashboard.

   function: verify and route

   Copy

   const secret = env.get('TEXTBEE_WEBHOOK_SECRET')
   const expected = Buffer.from(crypto.createHmac('sha256', secret).update(JSON.stringify(msg.payload)).digest('hex'))
   const given = Buffer.from(msg.req.headers['x-signature'] || '')
   if (given.length !== expected.length || !crypto.timingSafeEqual(given, expected)) {
     msg.statusCode = 401
     return [null, msg]
   }
   msg.statusCode = 200
   if (msg.payload.webhookEvent !== 'MESSAGE_RECEIVED') return [null, msg]
   msg.sender = msg.payload.sender
   msg.text = msg.payload.message
   return [msg, msg]

3. 3

   Expose and register

   Put Node-RED behind HTTPS with a reverse proxy or a tunnel, then register https://your-host/textbee in the textbee dashboard with the MESSAGE_RECEIVED event and the same signing secret.

4. 4

   Test it

   Text the phone from another number. Output 1 emits a message with msg.sender and msg.text; wire it to a switch node that branches on the text.

Ask your AI agent to set it up

The prompt below carries the endpoints, the payloads and the Node-RED details from this page. Change the line that starts with What I want, paste the prompt into your agent, and it walks you through the setup with your own field names and numbers.

I want to connect textbee to Node-RED. textbee is an SMS gateway that sends and receives SMS through my own Android phone. Help me set it up step by step.

Facts about the textbee API. Use only these. Do not invent endpoints or fields.
- Send an SMS: POST https://api.textbee.dev/api/v1/gateway/send-sms with the header x-api-key: <TEXTBEE_API_KEY> and a JSON body like {"recipients": ["+12015550123"], "message": "Hello"}. recipients must be a JSON array of E.164 numbers, even for one number. Optional fields: deviceId, simSubscriptionId, scheduledAt (ISO 8601, in the future). The response is {"data": {"success": true, "smsBatchId": "..."}}.
- Check delivery or read replies: GET https://api.textbee.dev/api/v1/gateway/messages with the same header. Filters: direction=received, smsBatchId=<id from the send>, from and to as ISO timestamps. Each row has a status such as sent, delivered, failed or received.
- Receive an SMS: textbee posts JSON to a webhook URL I register in the dashboard. A MESSAGE_RECEIVED delivery has these top-level fields: smsId, message, deviceId, webhookSubscriptionId, webhookEvent, idempotencyKey, sender, receivedAt. The header X-Signature holds an HMAC-SHA256 hex digest of the raw body, keyed with the signing secret I set on the webhook. Retries reuse the same idempotencyKey.
- Limits: One Android phone sends roughly 10 to 15 messages a minute. Text only, no MMS. Messages over 160 characters are split into segments.

What I want: Send SMS from my Node-RED flows, and receive texts into a flow with the signature verified, using core nodes only.

Node-RED specifics you should know:
- Core nodes only: a function or change node sets msg.url, msg.headers and msg.payload, then an http request node with Return set to a parsed JSON object.
- http in with Method POST plus http response; the parsed body is msg.payload and the headers are in msg.req.headers.
- Function nodes load Node modules through the Setup tab, and env.get() reads environment variables.
- textbee signs JSON.stringify of the payload with no extra whitespace, so re-serializing msg.payload reproduces the signed bytes.

Give me:
1. The exact clicks and field values in Node-RED, using its real field labels.
2. The request body or field mapping, with placeholders for my API key and phone numbers. Never ask me to paste the real key into this chat.
3. A test with one number and what a correct result looks like.
4. The three most likely failure causes and how to check each one.

Automations that work well

Sensor alert

MQTT in node on a temperature topic, a switch node on the threshold, then the send flow. A text reaches you when the freezer warms up.

Daily summary

An inject node at 8 am, a function that reads global context or a database, then one text with the numbers.

Command by text

The receive flow, a switch node on msg.text, then GPIO, MQTT or a Home Assistant call. Restrict it to your own number in the switch.

Two phones, two SIMs

Register both phones in textbee and set deviceId in msg.payload to pick which SIM sends. Useful when one number is for the family and one for the business.

Why teams move Node-RED SMS to their own phone

No provider account

The usual Node-RED SMS path is a contrib node wrapped around a cloud provider, with a number to rent and a per-message fee. Core nodes and a phone replace it.

Alerts that get through

A text from a number people have saved wakes a phone on do not disturb and needs no app on the receiving side.

Runs where your flows run

On the same Raspberry Pi or server as the rest of the flows, with the key in an environment variable and nothing new to install.

A cloud SMS provider in Node-RED vs textbee in Node-RED

Per-message prices by provider and country, with sources and dates, are on the provider comparison pages.

What works and what does not

What Node-RED charges

Node-RED is free and open source. Receiving needs the http in endpoint reachable over public HTTPS. nodered.org, checked on September 25, 2026. textbee itself charges a flat monthly plan with messages included; see pricing.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. nodered.org, checked on September 25, 2026
2. cookbook.nodered.org: Create an HTTP endpoint, checked on September 25, 2026

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