Plivo

Warnings

• breaking Legacy 0.11.3 (plivo.RestAPI) and current 4.x (plivo.RestClient) are completely different APIs. pip install --upgrade plivo from 0.11.3 may fail silently or leave a broken installation. All old code using RestAPI, send_message(), dict-based params will raise AttributeError on 4.x.
  Fix: Uninstall first: pip uninstall plivo, then pip install plivo. Rewrite all code from plivo.RestAPI pattern to plivo.RestClient pattern — they are not compatible.
• breaking Phone numbers must be in E.164 format (+country_code + number). Passing numbers without the + prefix causes API errors. Common mistake: passing '12025551234' instead of '+12025551234'.
  Fix: Always use E.164 format: '+' + country_code + local_number. Example: +12025551234 for a US number, +919876543210 for an Indian number.
• gotcha calls.create() requires an answer_url that returns valid Plivo XML (ResponseElement). Passing an answer_url that returns JSON or empty response causes the call to fail silently after connecting.
  Fix: The answer_url endpoint must return Plivo XML with Content-Type: application/xml. Use plivoxml.ResponseElement() to generate the response.
• gotcha The src number for SMS must be a Plivo-owned number in your account, not your personal number. Sending from an unverified or unowned number returns a 400 error.
  Fix: Purchase a Plivo number at console.plivo.com. The src parameter must match a number in your Plivo account.
• gotcha client.messages.list() returns max 20 results by default. For pagination, use limit and offset parameters explicitly. There is no automatic pagination built into list().
  Fix: Use offset parameter: client.messages.list(limit=20, offset=20) for page 2. Or iterate manually while response has results.

Install

• pip install plivo Standard (current 4.x API)
• pip uninstall plivo && pip install plivo If upgrading from legacy 0.11.3 — upgrade alone may fail

Imports

• RestClient

  import plivo
  
  # Credentials from environment variables (recommended)
  client = plivo.RestClient()
  
  # Or explicit
  client = plivo.RestClient(auth_id='YOUR_AUTH_ID', auth_token='YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN')
  
  # Send SMS
  response = client.messages.create(
      src='+12025551234',
      dst='+14155551234',
      text='Hello from Plivo!'
  )

  The legacy API (0.11.3) used plivo.RestAPI and dict-based method calls. The current 4.x API uses plivo.RestClient with attribute-based resource access. These are completely different interfaces — legacy code fails silently or with AttributeError on 4.x.
• plivoxml

  from plivo import plivoxml
  
  response = plivoxml.ResponseElement()
  response.add(plivoxml.SpeakElement('Hello, welcome to Plivo!'))
  print(response.to_string())

  Plivo XML generation module is plivoxml in 4.x, not xml. Always import from plivo import plivoxml.

Quickstart

Send SMS, make a call, generate Plivo XML. Store credentials in env vars.

import plivo
import os

# Use env vars: PLIVO_AUTH_ID and PLIVO_AUTH_TOKEN
client = plivo.RestClient()

# Send SMS
sms = client.messages.create(
    src='+12025551234',   # Your Plivo number in E.164 format
    dst='+14155551234',   # Destination in E.164 format
    text='Hello from Plivo!'
)
print('SMS sent:', sms)

# Make a call
call = client.calls.create(
    from_='+12025551234',
    to_='+14155551234',
    answer_url='https://yourapp.com/answer_url'  # Returns Plivo XML
)
print('Call made:', call)

# Generate Plivo XML (for answer_url endpoint)
from plivo import plivoxml
xml = plivoxml.ResponseElement()
xml.add(plivoxml.SpeakElement('Hello! This call is powered by Plivo.'))
print(xml.to_string())