How to Forward SMS to a Webhook or API from iPhone (Complete Developer Guide)

Most SMS forwarding apps offer a limited "webhook URL" field that fires a fixed JSON payload — take it or leave it. That's fine for basic integrations, but it doesn't work when your API needs an Authorization header, a specific body structure, or a non-POST method.

Re:Text takes a different approach. When you add a Webhook destination, you get:

• Full HTTP method choice — POST, GET, or PUT
• Unlimited custom headers — Authorization, Content-Type, API keys, User-Agent, anything
• Configurable body key — decide what JSON field holds the SMS content (text, message, content, or anything else)
• Static body fields — send extra JSON fields on every request (like chat_id for Telegram or token for Pushover)

Effectively, Re:Text turns your iPhone SMS stream into a fully-configurable HTTP request generator. If your target service accepts REST calls, you can forward SMS to it.

How Re:Text's webhook compares to other SMS forwarders

What you'll need

• An iPhone (iOS 15 or later)
• The Re:Text SMS Forwarder app
• A webhook endpoint — your own server, Zapier catch hook, Home Assistant, or a public API like Telegram Bot / Pushover
• Any authentication credentials (tokens, keys) your endpoint requires
• ~5 minutes

Understanding the webhook fields

Before diving into setup, it helps to understand the four main fields Re:Text exposes:

URL

The endpoint you're POSTing to. Must be HTTPS for production integrations. Examples:

• https://api.telegram.org/bot123456789:ABC-DEF/sendMessage
• https://api.pushover.net/1/messages.json
• https://hooks.zapier.com/hooks/catch/1234567/abcdef/
• https://your-server.com/sms-webhook

Method

Choose POST, GET, or PUT. Most APIs use POST for creating resources (like sending a message). GET is rarely needed — but Re:Text supports it for services that expect query parameters.

Body Key

The JSON field name that will hold the SMS content. For example:

• Telegram Bot API → text
• Pushover → message
• Discord webhook → content
• Slack webhook → text
• Your custom API → whatever you named it

Headers

Any HTTP headers your endpoint requires. Common ones:

• Content-Type: application/json
• Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN
• Authorization: Basic BASE64_CREDENTIALS
• X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY

Body Fields

Static JSON fields sent with every request, in addition to the SMS content. Examples:

• Telegram: chat_id = 1001234567890
• Pushover: token = YOUR_APP_TOKEN, user = YOUR_USER_KEY
• Custom: source = iphone-sms, env = production

Step-by-step: set up a webhook destination

1

Add Webhook as a destination

Open Re:Text. Tap + on the Destinations screen. Scroll down in the bottom sheet and tap Webhook.

Choose Webhook from the destinations bottom sheet.

2

Enter your webhook URL

Paste the URL your endpoint expects. Give the destination a name that describes its purpose (e.g. "Telegram Bot", "Zapier Sync", "Home Assistant").

Enter the webhook URL and destination name.

3

Choose HTTP method and body key

Tap the Method dropdown and pick POST (most common), GET, or PUT. Then set the Body Key — the JSON field name that will hold the SMS content.

Choose the HTTP method your endpoint expects.

4

Add custom headers

Tap Headers to open the header editor. Add a Content-Type header (usually application/json), plus any auth headers your API requires.

Add unlimited custom headers — auth tokens, content type, and more.

5

Add body fields (optional)

If your API needs additional JSON fields beyond the SMS content (like chat_id for Telegram or token for Pushover), tap Body Fields and add them.

Static body fields are sent with every request, alongside the SMS content.

6

Test and save

Tap Test Automation to fire a test payload at your endpoint. Verify it arrives correctly, then tap Save Destination.

Test the webhook before enabling to catch any configuration issues.

Real-world integration examples

Here are ready-to-use configurations for the most popular webhook targets. Copy the values and adapt them to your accounts.

📱 Forward SMS to Telegram Bot API

If you want to forward SMS to a Telegram group, channel, or a different account (not the built-in one-tap Telegram destination), use the Telegram Bot API directly.

Setup: First, create a bot via @BotFather in Telegram, get the bot token, and find your chat_id. Then configure Re:Text:

URL:        https://api.telegram.org/bot<BOT_TOKEN>/sendMessage
Method:     POST
Body Key:   text
Headers:    Content-Type: application/json
Body Fields:
  chat_id:  <YOUR_CHAT_ID>

Replace <BOT_TOKEN> with your bot token from BotFather, and <YOUR_CHAT_ID> with the destination chat ID (positive number for user, negative for group).

💡 Prefer one-tap setup? Re:Text has a built-in Telegram destination that skips BotFather entirely.

🔔 Forward SMS to Pushover

Pushover delivers push notifications to all your devices with rich formatting. Great for critical SMS alerts.

URL:        https://api.pushover.net/1/messages.json
Method:     POST
Body Key:   message
Headers:    Content-Type: application/json
Body Fields:
  token:    <YOUR_APP_TOKEN>
  user:     <YOUR_USER_KEY>

Get your app token by creating an application in Pushover's dashboard. Your user key is on the main dashboard.

⚡ Forward SMS to Zapier

Zapier lets you connect the forwarded SMS to 5,000+ apps — Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable, Salesforce, and more.

Setup: In Zapier, create a Zap with Webhooks by Zapier → Catch Hook trigger. Copy the webhook URL Zapier generates.

URL:        https://hooks.zapier.com/hooks/catch/1234567/abcdef/
Method:     POST
Body Key:   message
Headers:    Content-Type: application/json

Add whatever downstream action you want in Zapier — log to Google Sheets, save to Notion, send to Slack, or trigger any of 5,000+ apps.

🔧 Forward SMS to Make (Integromat)

Similar to Zapier but with more visual workflow control.

URL:        https://hook.eu2.make.com/abc123xyz
Method:     POST
Body Key:   text
Headers:    Content-Type: application/json

Create a scenario in Make with the Custom Webhook module as the trigger. Copy the URL it provides.

🏠 Forward SMS to Home Assistant

Trigger automations, log SMS to your database, or announce SMS on your smart speakers when they arrive.

URL:        https://your-home-assistant.local/api/webhook/sms_received
Method:     POST
Body Key:   message
Headers:    Content-Type: application/json
            Authorization: Bearer <LONG_LIVED_TOKEN>

Get a long-lived access token from your Home Assistant user profile. Configure a webhook trigger automation to react to the payload.

🤖 Forward SMS to n8n

Self-hosted workflow automation with unlimited executions.

URL:        https://your-n8n.com/webhook/sms-received
Method:     POST
Body Key:   text
Headers:    Content-Type: application/json

Add a Webhook node in n8n, copy the URL, and build any downstream workflow from there.

🌐 Forward SMS to your own server

Full flexibility — capture SMS in your own backend for custom processing.

Node.js (Express)

const express = require('express');
const app = express();
app.use(express.json());

app.post('/sms-webhook', (req, res) => {
  const { message, sender, timestamp } = req.body;
  console.log(`SMS from ${sender}: ${message}`);
  // Your logic here
  res.status(200).json({ ok: true });
});

app.listen(3000);

Python (Flask)

from flask import Flask, request, jsonify

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route('/sms-webhook', methods=['POST'])
def sms_webhook():
    data = request.json
    message = data.get('message')
    # Your logic here
    return jsonify({'ok': True}), 200

app.run(port=3000)

📊 Forward SMS to Google Sheets

Log every SMS to a spreadsheet via Google Apps Script.

Create an Apps Script bound to a Sheet with a doPost(e) function. Deploy as a Web App with anonymous access. Use the deployment URL as your webhook.

URL:        https://script.google.com/macros/s/DEPLOYMENT_ID/exec
Method:     POST
Body Key:   message
Headers:    Content-Type: application/json

Advanced: filters and schedules for webhooks

Webhook destinations support the same filters and schedules as every other destination:

• Filter by keyword — only forward SMS containing "CODE", "OTP", "alert", etc.
• Filter by sender — only forward SMS from specific phone numbers or shortcodes
• Schedule — forward only during business hours or specific days

Combine multiple webhook destinations for advanced routing — send SMS from your bank to one endpoint, 2FA codes to another, and delivery notifications to a third.

Security best practices

• Always use HTTPS. HTTP endpoints are unencrypted — anyone on the network can read SMS content.
• Store API tokens in headers, not URLs. URL query strings often end up in server logs.
• Rotate tokens periodically. Especially if you suspect compromise.
• Use IP whitelisting on your endpoint if it supports it.
• Validate payloads on your server — don't trust incoming webhook data blindly.
• Log carefully. Don't log full SMS content in production logs — verification codes could be exposed.

Troubleshooting

401 Unauthorized

Your Authorization header is missing, malformed, or contains an invalid/expired token. Double-check the format (usually Bearer <token>).

400 Bad Request

The JSON body is missing required fields or has wrong types. Check what your API expects and confirm your Body Fields match.

404 Not Found

Wrong URL — double-check the endpoint path. For Telegram Bot API, make sure the bot token in the URL is correct.

429 Too Many Requests

Rate-limited by the destination. Telegram allows about 30 messages/second per bot. Slack: 1/sec per webhook. Adjust filters to reduce forwarding volume.

Timeouts

Your endpoint took too long to respond. Ensure your webhook handler returns 200 quickly — do heavy processing asynchronously after acknowledging the request.

Frequently asked questions