Browser Calls - Rails

This repository is now archived and is no longer being maintained. Check out the JavaScript SDK Quickstarts to get started with browser-based calling.

About

Learn how to use Twilio's JavaScript SDK to make browser-to-phone and browser-to-browser calls with ease. The unsatisfied customers of the Birchwood Bicycle Polo Co. need your help!

Set up

Requirements

• Ruby 2.6.x version.
• Sqlite3.
• Node.js 10.x or 12.x version.

Twilio Account Settings

This application should give you a ready-made starting point for writing your own application. Before we begin, we need to collect all the config values we need to run the application:

Config Value	Description
TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID	Your primary Twilio account identifier - find this in the Console.
TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER	A Twilio phone number in E.164 format - you can get one here
TWIML_APPLICATION_SID	The TwiML application with a voice URL configured to access your server running this app - create one in the console here and use its Sid. Also, you will need to configure the Voice "REQUEST URL" on the TwiML app once you've got your server up and running.
TWILIO_API_KEY / TWILIO_API_SECRET	Your REST API Key information needed to create an Access Token - create one here.

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 at https://www.twilio.com/console/voice/twiml/apps and use its Sid as the TWIML_APPLICATION_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.

Local development

1. First clone this repository and cd into it.

   git clone git@github.com:TwilioDevEd/browser-calls-rails.git
   cd browser-calls-rails
   

2. Install the dependencies.

   make install

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

   cp .env.example .env

   See Twilio Account Settings to locate the necessary environment variables.

4. Create database and run migrations.

   make setup-serve

5. Run the server, will run on port 3000.

   make serve

6. Expose your application to the wider internet using ngrok. This step is important because the application won't work as expected if you run it through localhost.

   ngrok http 3000

7. Once you have started ngrok, update your TwiML app's Voice URL setting to use your ngrok hostname, so it will look something like this:

   http://<your-ngrok-subdomain>.ngrok.io/call/connect
   

   You can read this blog post for more details on how to use ngrok.

8. Everything is setup, now you can open two tabs in the browser to test the application.

   • To create a support ticket go to the home page. On this page you could fill some fields and create a ticket or you can call to support: http://localhost:3000

   • To respond to support tickets go to the dashboard page (you should open two windows or tabs). On this page you could call customers and answers phone calls: http://localhost:3000/dashboard

That's it!

Docker

If you have Docker already installed on your machine, you can use our docker-compose.yml to setup your project.

1. Make sure you have the project cloned.
2. Setup the .env file as outlined in the Local Development steps.
3. Run docker-compose up.
4. Follow the steps in Local Development on how to expose your port to Twilio using a tool like ngrok and configure the remaining parts of your application.

Tests

You can run the tests locally by typing:

bundle exec rspec

Resources

• The CodeExchange repository can be found here.

License

MIT

Disclaimer

No warranty expressed or implied. Software is as is.