android-sms-gateway_skill

Overview

This skill provides a self-hosted SMS gateway using an Android phone and compatible SMS gateway apps. It lets you send, receive, and monitor SMS via a simple HTTP API so you retain control over messaging without third-party providers. Ideal for security teams, on-prem automation, and low-cost alerting where privacy and control matter.

How this skill works

The skill communicates with an SMS Gateway app running on an Android device over HTTP(S). It uses API tokens or basic auth to authenticate, sends SMS payloads to the phone, polls or registers webhooks for incoming messages, and supports bulk sends and status checks. Configuration can be provided via environment variables, a config file, or command-line flags.

When to use it

• You need full control of SMS delivery without using cloud SMS providers.
• Sending security alerts, 2FA codes, or monitoring notifications from on-prem systems.
• Integrating SMS into automation or monitoring pipelines with LAN-only devices.
• Testing SMS workflows during development without purchasing external SMS credits.

Best practices

• Keep the gateway on your LAN or behind a VPN; avoid exposing the device directly to the public internet.
• Use strong, rotated API tokens or basic auth credentials and restrict file permissions for config files.
• Rate-limit sends and implement a queue for bulk messages to avoid carrier throttling.
• Enable HTTPS or private server modes where supported, and prefer apps with end-to-end encryption for sensitive content.
• Monitor phone battery, signal strength, and app logs; configure delivery callbacks when available.

Example use cases

• Security alerting: send SMS when a vulnerability scan or SIEM triggers a critical event.
• Two-factor authentication: deliver short-lived verification codes from an internal auth system.
• Scheduled reminders: cron-driven daily or weekly operational checks to on-call staff.
• Monitoring integration: Nagios/Zabbix scripts call the gateway to notify engineers of incidents.
• Bulk notifications: broadcast status updates to a small subscriber list using multi-recipient API calls.