Developer Docs · XML API
SMS XML API — Bulk & Personalised Sending at Scale
Post a single XML document to send thousands of messages in one request — each with its own recipient, sender ID and personalised text. Built for high‑volume campaigns, per‑customer content and enterprise systems that already speak XML.
1POST = many SMS
Per-messagePersonalisation
Unicode15+ languages
BulkCampaign-ready
When to use XML
HTTP API or XML API?
Use the HTTP API when…
You send the same message to one or a few numbers — OTPs, alerts, simple triggers. One line of code per send. See HTTP API →
Use the XML API when…
You send different messages to many recipients in one shot — personalised campaigns, invoices, statements, mixed sender IDs and routes.
Endpoint
Base URL
POST an XML document with Content-Type: application/xml (or as a form field named data) to:
POST https://smsgatewayprovider.com/api/v3/sendsms/xml
Request body
XML structure
A single <MESSAGE> block holds your credentials once, then one <SMS> node per message. Set defaults at the top level and override per message where needed.
<!-- send different text to many recipients in one POST --> <MESSAGE> <AUTH username="acme" apikey="YOUR_API_KEY"/> <SMS> <SENDER>ACMEIN</SENDER> <ROUTE>2</ROUTE> <TYPE>0</TYPE> <TO>919876543210</TO> <TEXT>Hi Asha, your order 4821 has shipped.</TEXT> </SMS> <SMS> <SENDER>ACMEIN</SENDER> <ROUTE>2</ROUTE> <TO>919812345678</TO> <TEXT>Hi Ravi, your order 4822 is out for delivery.</TEXT> </SMS> </MESSAGE>
Reference
XML elements
| Element | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| <AUTH> | Yes | Credentials — username and apikey attributes. Sent once for the whole batch. |
| <SMS> | Yes | One message. Repeat this node for each recipient / body. Thousands per POST. |
| <SENDER> | Yes | Approved sender ID / header for this message. Can differ per <SMS>. |
| <ROUTE> | Yes | Route ID (transactional / OTP / promotional) for this message. |
| <TO> | Yes | Recipient in international format without + (e.g. 919876543210). |
| <TEXT> | Yes | Message body. Escape XML special characters (&, <) or wrap in <![CDATA[ … ]]>. Must match a DLT template for India. |
| <TYPE> | No | 0 = plain text (default), 2 = Unicode for regional languages. |
| <SCHEDULE> | No | Future send time YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS for this message. |
Examples
Post the batch
cURL
curl -X POST https://smsgatewayprovider.com/api/v3/sendsms/xml \ -H "Content-Type: application/xml" \ --data-binary @batch.xml
PHP
$xml = file_get_contents('batch.xml'); $ch = curl_init('https://smsgatewayprovider.com/api/v3/sendsms/xml'); curl_setopt_array($ch, [ CURLOPT_POST => true, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => $xml, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => ['Content-Type: application/xml'], CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true, ]); echo curl_exec($ch);
Response
<RESPONSE> <STATUS>success</STATUS> <BROADCAST_ID>1706donef4-2b9c-4d1a</BROADCAST_ID> <ACCEPTED>2</ACCEPTED> <REJECTED>0</REJECTED> </RESPONSE>
Each accepted message gets a delivery receipt you can pull from the DLR API using the broadcast ID.
FAQ
XML API — frequently asked questions
How many messages can I send in one POST?
Thousands per request. For very large campaigns we recommend batching into chunks (for example 1,000–5,000
<SMS> nodes per POST) so retries stay cheap and you get responses quickly. Your account tier sets the throughput ceiling.Can each recipient get a different message and sender ID?
Yes — that is the whole point of the XML API. Every
<SMS> node carries its own <TO>, <TEXT>, <SENDER> and <ROUTE>, so you can mix personalised content and multiple headers in a single batch.How do I include special characters or emoji?
Escape XML reserved characters (
&, <, >) or wrap the text in a <![CDATA[ ]]> block. For emoji and regional languages set <TYPE>2</TYPE> (Unicode) and encode the document as UTF‑8.What happens if one message in the batch is invalid?
Valid messages are still accepted and sent; invalid ones are counted under
<REJECTED> with a reason. The batch does not fail as a whole, so a single bad number never blocks the rest of your campaign.Is DLT compliance handled the same way?
Yes. For Indian traffic each
<TEXT> must match an approved DLT template tied to the sender header, exactly as with the HTTP API. We assist with entity, header and template registration.