clawdbot-workspace/textnow-integration/cli

TextNow CLI

A command-line interface for TextNow SMS messaging using cookie-based authentication.

Installation

cd /path/to/textnow-integration/cli
npm install
npm link  # Makes 'textnow' available globally

Authentication

Before using the CLI, you need to authenticate with your TextNow account cookies:

textnow auth

This will guide you through extracting cookies from your browser:

1. Log into https://textnow.com
2. Open DevTools (F12 or Cmd+Option+I)
3. Go to the Console tab
4. Run: document.cookie
5. Copy the entire output
6. Paste when prompted

Credentials are stored in ~/.textnow/credentials.json.

Commands

Check Authentication

textnow whoami

Shows your username and phone number.

Send SMS

textnow send "+1234567890" "Hello, world!"
textnow send "555-123-4567" "Your message here"

Send Image

textnow send-image "+1234567890" ./photo.jpg
textnow send-image "555-123-4567" ~/Pictures/image.png --caption "Check this out!"

List Recent Messages

textnow messages
textnow messages --limit 50

Credentials

Credentials are stored at ~/.textnow/credentials.json and include:

• Your browser cookies (full cookie string)
• Parsed auth tokens (connect.sid, _csrf, XSRF-TOKEN)
• Username (if extracted or manually entered)
• Timestamp

Troubleshooting

Session Expired

If you get 401/403 errors, your session has expired. Run textnow auth again with fresh cookies.

API Errors

TextNow's API may change. If commands stop working, check for updates to this CLI or file an issue.

Security Note

Your cookies contain sensitive session data. The credentials file is stored locally and should be kept secure.