Search for a virtual number using .NET SDK

Use this guide to create a .NET application for use with the Numbers API and search for an available Sinch virtual number.

Note:

Before you can get started, you need the following already set up:

All Numbers API prerequisite steps.
.NET 7.0 SDK or later and a familiarity with how to create a new app.

Steps:

Set up your .NET application.
Search for an available virtual number for SMS, Voice or both.

Sinch .NET SDK for Numbers API

The Sinch Numbers .NET SDK allows you to quickly interact with the Numbers API from inside your .NET applications.

Set up your .NET application

Create a new folder where you want your app project. Then, open a terminal or command prompt to that location.
Create a new .NET console app with the following command:
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```
dotnet new console
```
The easiest way to install the SDK is using the dotnet CLI:
1. Open a command prompt or terminal to the local repository folder.
2. Execute the following command:
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  dotnet add package Sinch --prerelease
Note:
Because the Sinch .NET SDK is in prerelease, you must include the --prerelease option to install it.
Open the Program.cs file in your project folder. Replace all of the code with the "Search for a virtual number" code.

Modify your application

The code provided includes placeholder parameters. You'll need to update the parameters detailed in the following subsections with your values.

Initialize the client

Before initializing a client using this SDK, you'll need three pieces of information:

Your Project ID
An access key ID
An access key Secret

These values can be found on the Access Keys page of the Customer Dashboard. You can also create new access key IDs and Secrets, if required.

Note:

If you have trouble accessing the above link, ensure that you have gained access to the Conversation API by accepting the corresponding terms and conditions.

To start using the SDK, you need to initialize the main client class with your credentials from your Sinch dashboard.

Note:

For testing purposes on your local environment it's fine to use hardcoded values, but before deploying to production we strongly recommend using environment variables to store the credentials.

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using Sinch;

var sinch = new SinchClient("YOUR_project_id",
                            "YOUR_access_key", 
                            "YOUR_access_secret");

You can also implement the client using ASP.NET dependency injection. SinchClient is thread safe, so it's fine to add it as a singleton:

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builder.Services.AddSingleton<ISinchClient>(x => new SinchClient(
    builder.Configuration["YOUR_project_id"],
    builder.Configuration["YOUR_access_key"],
    builder.Configuration["YOUR_access_secret"]));

When finished, save the file.

Build your project

Before executing your code, you must first compile your application. Execute the following command:

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dotnet build

Search for an available number

Now you can execute the code. Run the following command:

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dotnet run

Response

These steps should return a JSON list of numbers available to rent.

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{
  "availableNumbers": [
    {
      "phoneNumber": "+12089087284",
      "regionCode": "US",
      "type": "LOCAL",
      "capability": ["SMS"],
      "setupPrice": {
        "currencyCode": "USD",
        "amount": "0.00"
      },
      "monthlyPrice": {
        "currencyCode": "USD",
        "amount": "2.00"
      },
      "paymentIntervalMonths": 1
    }
  ]
}

Next steps

Copy the phoneNumber you would like to use and rent your virtual number using the Numbers API.

Additional resources

Explore the API specification to test more endpoints.
Prefer a UI to search for a number? Follow the entire number searching and renting process in the Customer Dashboard.