Console.text() – SMS alerts when code executes

6 pointsposted 2 months ago
by Noel04

Item id: 46228881

17 Comments

vunderba

2 months ago

This is a pretty crowded space (Vonage, Clicksend, TopMessage, etc). They all provide very simple SMS sending libraries for JavaScript.

The biggest problem you’re going to have going forward is establishing trust over existing platforms.

Noel04

2 months ago

You’re absolutely right, SMS itself is commoditized, and there are many solid providers. Console.text() isn’t trying to compete as “yet another SMS API”. The focus is on developer ergonomics and intent, not transport: one-line, code-level alerts (console.text("error")) built for early-stage teams that don’t want to wire PagerDuty / Datadog yet

Jeremy1026

2 months ago

It seems like my carrier is blocking the messages. The console says it was delivered, but my phone isn't getting anything.

Noel04

2 months ago

“Delivered” at the API level means the message was accepted by the downstream carrier / aggregator, not that it necessarily reached the handset. In some regions and carriers, especially for A2P traffic, messages can be filtered or silently dropped after that point. we’re actively working on: clearer delivery state distinctions (accepted vs handset-delivered) fallback routing where possible better guidance on sender IDs and content patterns that reduce filtering

If you’re open to it, sharing the country, carrier, and message type (transactional vs promo) helps us dig deeper.

Jeremy1026

2 months ago

USA, T-Mobile, message was "Error Detected"

Noel04

2 months ago

Hey Jeremy, did you try: debug:true ie, init({ apiKey: "ct_live_key" ,debug:true}); if yes, what did it show?

Jeremy1026

2 months ago

% cat test.js

const { init } = require ( "@holler2660/console-text") ;

init({ apiKey: "ct_live_<key removed>", debug: true });

console.text("Error detected!");

% node test.js

[console.text] SDK initialized successfully

[console.text] Alert sent: { id: 'zzmfq6eltuqica32krircrql', delivered: true, rateLimited: false }

Noel04

2 months ago

  Thanks for the detailed debug output! This confirms what we suspected, the message is being accepted by Twilio but it might be filtered by T-Mobile before reaching your handset.

  Can you try sending "Error Detected" one more time just to confirm it's consistently filtered (not a one-time glitch)?

  If it fails again, then:

  1. The immediate problem: "Error Detected" is likely triggering T-Mobile's spam filter. Try a more specific message like "[YourApp] Error in payment processor at 3:42 PM", generic error messages get filtered heavily. Let me know if that gets through.

  2. Our misleading status: You're right - showing "delivered: true" when it just means "accepted by carrier" is confusing. We're working on:
     - Clearer status terminology ("accepted" vs "delivered")
     - Webhook integration to track actual handset delivery
     - Guidance on avoiding carrier filtering
Again, Thank you so much for testing this out.

Jeremy1026

2 months ago

Sending "Error Detected" has failed multiple times, including in a re-test now.

Tried changing to "Hey Jeremy1026: Error in payment processor at 3:42 PM", same status with no delivery to my phone number, ID: jz44a46jjpx7vjpzsa9c0soc.

I used to work with Twilio pretty heavily at a SaaS, I left as they started to crack down on SMS. One of my last projects was developing an in-app front-end to submit the regulatory paperwork to get higher delivery rates for SMS. I know it was a huge pain, sounds like it still is.

davydm

2 months ago

interesting

btw - can't connect to any consoletext.dev domain - dashboard, docs, etc

nicbou

2 months ago

Why not use ntfy.sh?

Noel04

2 months ago

  ntfy.sh is great! But it requires:
  - Setting up a topic/channel
  - Installing their app on your phone
  - Subscribing to topics
  - Running a curl command or HTTP client

  console.text() is:
    npm install @holler2660/console-text
    console.text('thing happened');
That said, ntfy.sh doesn't do SMS, so if you genuinely need to wake up at 3am for critical alerts, it's push notifications vs actual phone calls/texts. The main thing I'm going for is ease of use

pestatije

2 months ago

is this cloud-friendly? or just us-based?

Noel04

2 months ago

It's global! The SDK works anywhere, and you can receive SMS to any phone number worldwide.