Need to send SMS or WhatsApp messages from a Linux server or terminal?
Want to use your own phone number without relying on external SMS gateways?
Meet smsmobileapi-cli — a lightweight command-line tool that sends messages using your own mobile device. Perfect for DevOps, backend alerts, cron jobs, or server monitoring systems.
✅ Key Features
Send SMS or WhatsApp messages from any Linux terminal
Uses your real phone number (via your Android or iOS device)
No Twilio, no third-party gateways, no virtual numbers
Privacy-focused: you own your logs and control the delivery
3-day free trial, no credit card or registration required
Lightweight, open-source CLI written in Bash
🔧 How It Works
You install the CLI on your server
You install the SMSMobileAPI app on your phone (Android or iOS)
The app links your mobile to the API and sends messages on your behalf
Messages are sent from your phone, using your actual number, via SMS or WhatsApp.
🛠 Installation (One-liner)
curl -O https://smsmobileapi.com/downloads-cli/install-cli.sh && bash install-cli.sh
This script installs the command globally as smsmobileapi and optionally stores your API key
💬 Usage
Send SMS:
smsmobileapi send --to "+32471234567" --message "Hello via CLI" --via sms
Send WhatsApp:
smsmobileapi send --to "+32471234567" --message "Hello via WhatsApp" --via whatsapp
You can store your API key in ~/.smsmobileapi.conf for convenience:
apikey=YOUR_API_KEY
📲 Get the Mobile App
To generate your API key, install the official mobile app:
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smsmobileapiapp
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sms-mobile-api/id6667092442
Free 3-day trial. No billing setup. No commitments.
🔒 Why This is Different
Most SMS APIs send messages through cloud providers or virtual gateways.
smsmobileapi-cli sends messages through your phone:
You use your number (SMS or WhatsApp)
You keep the delivery logs
No one else sees your data
It’s private. It’s flexible. It’s yours.
📦 Open Source on GitHub
The project is open-source and ready to fork or contribute:
👉 https://github.com/SmsMobileApi/smsmobileapi-cli