Receiving Verification Codes by Webhook: Automation Without a Browser
2026-08-27 · SMS-GO Research Team · 5 min read
Written by the team that operates SMS-GO. Figures reflect first-hand operation and an August 2026 audit of 16 providers\u2019 published price data. Pricing moves, so treat specific numbers as a snapshot.
Manual verification does not survive automation. The moment you run a pipeline, you need codes delivered to your system directly. Webhooks are the standard way: the service pushes each code to an endpoint you control.
How webhook delivery works
You register an endpoint URL with the service. When an SMS arrives on one of your numbers, the service sends an HTTP POST to that URL with the number, sender, and message content. Your pipeline parses the code and continues.
What to handle on your side
A robust consumer handles the messy reality.
- Parse the code from free-form message text (codes are embedded in prose).
- Deduplicate: a provider may deliver the same SMS more than once.
- Timeout: if no code arrives in the window, treat it as a failure and move on.
- Verify the delivery is genuine if the provider signs the payload.
Parsing the code
Verification messages vary — "Your code is 123456", "123456 is your verification code", and localized variants. A regex that pulls 4–8 digit groups from the text, combined with knowing the expected length per service, is the standard approach.
Make delivery observable
Log each delivery with the number and timestamp, and track your success rate per service. That is how you catch a degrading pool early instead of discovering it from a wave of failed accounts.
SMS-GO delivery
SMS-GO can push codes to your webhook as they arrive, alongside REST v1 for pulling. The webhook payload includes the number and message so you can route each code to the right account.
Questions, answered
What is a verification-code webhook?+
An endpoint you control that receives an HTTP POST each time an SMS arrives on one of your numbers, so your pipeline gets the code without a browser.
How do I extract the code from the message?+
Parse 4–8 digit groups from the message text with a regex, using the expected length for the service.
Can I get duplicate deliveries?+
Yes. Deduplicate on the provider’s message id or on number + content + time.
What if no code arrives?+
Set a timeout and treat it as a failure. On SMS-GO, an undelivered code refunds within 20 minutes.
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