Task Router - NodeJS/Express

Increase your rate of response by automating the workflows that are key to your business. In this tutorial, learn how to build a ready-for-scale automated SMS workflow, for a vacation rental company.

Read the full tutorial here

Prerequisites

First you need to install

• Node.js which should also install npm.
• MongoDB

Create a TwiML App

This project is configured to use a TwiML App, which allows us to easily set the voice URLs for all Twilio phone numbers we purchase in this app.

Create a new TwiML app and use its Sid as the TWILIO_APP_SID environment variable wherever you run this app.

See the end of the "Local development" section for details on the exact URL to use in your TwiML app.

Once you have created your TwiML app, configure your Twilio phone number. If you don't have a Twilio phone number yet, you can purchase a new number in your Twilio Account Dashboard.

Local Development

1. First clone this repository and cd into it.

$ git clone git@github.com:TwilioDevEd/task-router-node.git
$ cd task-router-node

1. Copy the sample configuration file and edit it to match your configuration

$ cp .env.example .env

You can find your TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID and TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN in your Twilio Account Settings. You will also need a TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER, which you may find here.

1. Install dependencies.

$ npm install

1. Make sure the tests succeed.

$ npm test

1. Run the application.

$ npm start

1. Expose your local web server to the internet using ngrok.

You can click here for more details. This step is important because the application won't work as expected if you run it using localhost.

$ ngrok http 3000

Once ngrok is running open up your browser and go to your ngrok URL. It will look something like this:

http://<sub-domain>.ngrok.io/

1. Configure Twilio to call your webhooks.

You will also need to configure Twilio to call your application via POST when phone calls are received on your Twilio Number. The configuration of Voice should look something like this:

http://<sub-domain>.ngrok.io/call/incoming

The configuration for Messaging should look like this:

http://<sub-domain>.ngrok.io/sms/incoming

How to Demo

1. When you run the app, a new workspace will be configured. Once that is done, you are ready to call your Twilio Number where you'll be asked to select a product using your key pad.

2. Select an option and the phone assigned to the product you selected (Bob or Alice's) will start ringing. You can answer the call and have a conversation.

3. Alternatively, if you don't answer the call within 15 seconds, the call should be redirected to the next worker. If the call isn't answered by the second worker, you should be redirected to voice mail and leave a message. The transcription of that message should be sent to the email you specified in your environment variables.

4. Each time a worker misses a call, their activity is changed to offline. Right after they should receive a notification, via SMS, saying that they missed the call. In order to go back online they can reply with On. They can as well reply with Off in order to go back to offline status.

5. If both workers' activity changes to Offline and you call your Twilio Number again, you should be redirected to voice mail after a few seconds as the workflow timeouts when there are no available workers. Change your workers status with the On SMS command to be able to receive calls again.

6. Navigate to https://<ngrok_subdomain>.ngrok.io to see a list of the missed calls.

Meta

• No warranty expressed or implied. Software is as is. Diggity.
• MIT License
• Lovingly crafted by Twilio Developer Education.