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This guide walks you through sending your first SMS message using the Sling API. You will get your API token, register a sender ID, make a single HTTP request, and confirm delivery — all in a few minutes.
1

Get your API token

Log in to your dashboard and visit Account → API to copy your API token. You will add this token to the Authorization header of every request.If you need help with this step, see the Authentication page for a detailed walkthrough.
2

Register a sender ID

A sender ID is the name or number your recipients see as the message source. You must register one before sending.Visit Sender IDs in your dashboard to register a sender ID. Once approved, use that name as the sender value in your API requests.
3

Send your first SMS

Make a POST request to /send-sms with your token, a recipient number, your message text, and your registered sender ID.
cURL
curl --request POST \
  --url https://app.sling.com.ng/api/v1/send-sms \
  --header "Accept: application/json" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{
    "to": "2349123772222",
    "message": "Hello, from Sling!",
    "sender": "YourSenderID"
  }'
A successful request returns 200 OK with the following response body:
{
  "status": "success",
  "status_delivery": "delivered",
  "message_id": "2bajqzt5tw",
  "sender": "YourSenderID",
  "message": "Hello, from Sling!",
  "recipient": "2349123772222",
  "message_history": [],
  "credit_used": 1
}
Save the message_id value — you will need it to check delivery status.
Each SMS consumes credit from your balance. The credit_used field in the response tells you how many credits were deducted. A standard single-page SMS costs 1 credit. Messages up to 3 pages are supported.
4

Check message status

Use your message_id to confirm delivery by calling the status endpoint:
cURL
curl --request GET \
  --url https://app.sling.com.ng/api/v1/status/2bajqzt5tw \
  --header "Accept: application/json" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN"
A successful response looks like this:
{
  "status": "success",
  "status_delivery": "delivered",
  "message_id": "2bajqzt5tw",
  "credit_used": "1",
  "sender": "YourSenderID",
  "recipient": "2349123772222",
  "message_history": []
}
The status_delivery field confirms whether the message was delivered to the recipient’s handset.

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Next steps

You have sent your first message. Explore the rest of the Sling API to add richer messaging to your application:

Send SMS guide

Full parameter reference for SMS — groups, contacts, callbacks, and more.

Send RCS guide

Rich messages with cards, carousels, images, and interactive suggestions. Use fallback_sms and fallback_sms_sender for SMS fallback when RCS is unavailable.

SMS API reference

Complete endpoint spec for POST /send-sms.