Reactions (Tapbacks) API

Send iMessage tapback reactions to messages. Tapbacks are the heart, thumbs up, and other reactions that appear on messages in iMessage.

Send a Reaction

Add a tapback reaction to a message.

POST https://api.sendblue.co/api/send-reaction

Request Body

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
from_number	string	Yes	Your Sendblue line number (E.164 format)
message_handle	string	Yes	The message handle/GUID to react to (from inbound webhook)
reaction	string	Yes	The reaction type to send
part_index	number	No	For multi-part messages (default: 0)

Valid Reaction Types

Reaction	Description
love	Heart reaction
like	Thumbs up
dislike	Thumbs down
laugh	Ha ha reaction
emphasize	Double exclamation
question	Question mark

Example Request

curl -X POST 'https://api.sendblue.co/api/send-reaction' \
  -H 'sb-api-key-id: YOUR_API_KEY' \
  -H 'sb-api-secret-key: YOUR_API_SECRET' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "from_number": "+19175551234",
    "message_handle": "E8F2C3D1-A5B7-4E9F-8C1D-2A3B4C5D6E7F",
    "reaction": "love"
  }'

Node.js Example

const axios = require('axios');

await axios.post(
  'https://api.sendblue.co/api/send-reaction',
  {
    from_number: '+19175551234',
    message_handle: 'E8F2C3D1-A5B7-4E9F-8C1D-2A3B4C5D6E7F',
    reaction: 'love'
  },
  {
    headers: {
      'sb-api-key-id': 'YOUR_API_KEY',
      'sb-api-secret-key': 'YOUR_API_SECRET',
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    }
  }
);

Success Response (200)

{
  "status": "OK",
  "message": "Reaction request sent",
  "message_handle": "E8F2C3D1-A5B7-4E9F-8C1D-2A3B4C5D6E7F",
  "reaction": "love"
}

---

Error Responses

Missing from_number (400)

{
  "status": "ERROR",
  "message": "You must specify a valid `from_number` in the request body."
}

Missing message_handle (400)

{
  "status": "ERROR",
  "message": "You must specify `message_handle` in the request body."
}

Invalid Reaction (400)

{
  "status": "ERROR",
  "message": "Invalid reaction. Must be one of: love, like, dislike, laugh, emphasize, question"
}

Invalid part_index (400)

{
  "status": "ERROR",
  "message": "`part_index` must be a non-negative integer."
}

Line Not Found (404)

{
  "status": "ERROR",
  "message": "The from_number is not registered"
}

Notes

1. Message Handle: The message_handle comes from inbound webhooks as the message_handle field. This is the Apple GUID for the message.

2. iMessage Only: Reactions only work on iMessage conversations, not SMS.

3. Timing: Reactions can be sent to messages received within the last few days. Very old messages may not accept reactions.

4. Multi-part Messages: Use part_index when reacting to a specific part of a multi-part message (e.g., an image in a message that also has text).