Getting Started with Twilio SDK

Get an overview of the Twilio SDK.

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What is an SDK?

A software development kit (SDK) is a set of software development tools that includes, but is not limited to, libraries, documentation, sample codes, compilers, and debuggers related to a specific platform.

SDKs allow developers to build applications more quickly and smoothly. It enables developers to integrate third-party software with their applications efficiently.

API vs. SDK

APIs and SDKs are software development tools allowing developers to communicate with third-party services. They’re both used to shorten the development cycle. However, they differ to some extent.

An API is an interface that allows developers to extract information or processes from third-party resources. APIs are used to create a communication link between existing applications.

On the other hand, an SDK is a complete set of tools required to build an application from scratch on a specific platform. An SDK contains at least one API.

To simplify things, let’s suppose we want to build a car. An API can be seen as the instruction manual for building the car, whereas an SDK is the workshop with all the equipment required to build it (including the instruction manual).

Twilio JavaScript SDKs

Twilio provides various JavaScript SDKs that can assist developers while building applications. The following are the SDKs provided by Twilio:

  • Conversations SDK
  • Voice SDK
  • Sync SDK
  • Video SDK
  • TaskRouter SDK