Sinch Number Lookup API

Overview

Queries phone numbers for carrier, line type, porting, SIM swap, VoIP detection, and reassigned number detection. Used for fraud prevention, routing, and data enrichment. One number per request — no batch endpoint.

Agent Instructions

Before generating code, gather from the user (skip any item already specified in the prompt or context):

1. Approach — SDK or direct API calls (curl/fetch/requests)?
2. Language — for SDK: Node.js or Python (partial). For direct API: any language, or curl. Java and .NET must use direct HTTP — there is no SDK wrapper.

When the user chooses SDK, refer to the sinch-sdks skill for installation and client initialization, then to the API Reference linked in Links.

When the user chooses direct API calls, refer to the API Reference linked in Links for request/response schemas.

Security: See the Security section below for url fetching policy and credential handling.

Source of Truth — what to load, and what is authoritative

This skill has two kinds of content with UNEQUAL reliability. Follow this precedence:

1. Canonical docs at developers.sinch.com (AUTHORITATIVE). The .md doc links in this skill are the single source of truth for exact request/response schemas, field names and nesting, enum values, signature/auth schemes, and limits. Before writing code that constructs a payload, verifies a signature, or parses a callback/response, fetch the specific linked doc and confirm the exact shape there. Fetching first-party developers.sinch.com URLs is permitted by the Security/URL policy. Never invent, guess, or pattern-extrapolate a documentation URL — only fetch doc URLs written verbatim in this skill or reached by following a link on a page you already fetched; a trusted domain does not make a guessed path real.
2. This SKILL.md's own tables, field lists, and snippets (SUMMARIES — not authoritative). They orient you and point at the right canonical doc; they may lag, omit fields, or simplify nesting. Use them to decide what to build and which doc to open. Do NOT transcribe a field name, nesting, encoding, or enum from this file into shipped code without confirming it in the tier-1 doc. If a detail appears only in a summary, treat it as unverified and say so.

Quick rule: writing code → load the doc. Never cite an exact field, header, enum, or encoding you only saw in a summary.

Getting Started

Agent Credentials handling

Store credentials in environment variables — never hardcode tokens or keys in commands or source code:

export SINCH_PROJECT_ID="your-project-id"
export SINCH_KEY_ID="your-key-id"
export SINCH_KEY_SECRET="your-key-secret"
export SINCH_ACCESS_TOKEN="your-oauth-token"

Authentication

Ensure that authentication headers are properly set when making API calls. The Number Lookup API uses Bearer token authentication:

-H "Authorization: Bearer $SINCH_ACCESS_TOKEN"

See sinch-authentication for full setup, most importantly how to obtain {SINCH_ACCESS_TOKEN} (OAuth2 client-credentials — do not mint your own JWT).

Base URL

https://lookup.api.sinch.com

Endpoint: POST /v2/projects/{PROJECT_ID}/lookups

First API Call

curl -X POST \
  "https://lookup.api.sinch.com/v2/projects/$SINCH_PROJECT_ID/lookups" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SINCH_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "number": "+12025550134",
    "features": ["LineType", "SimSwap", "VoIPDetection", "RND"],
    "rndFeatureOptions": { "contactDate": "2025-01-01" }
  }'

For SDK setup (Node.js, Python, Java, .NET), see the Getting Started Guide.

Request

(Summary only — confirm exact names/encoding/enums against the authoritative v2 Endpoint Details doc before implementing.)

Critical: If features is omitted, only LineType is returned. You must explicitly request SimSwap, VoIPDetection, or RND.

Response

Flat object (not an array). Each feature populates its own sub-object; unrequested features are null.

Top-level fields: number, countryCode (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2), traceId

line object:

(Summary only — confirm exact names/encoding/enums against the authoritative v2 Endpoint Details doc before implementing.)

simSwap object:

(Summary only — confirm exact names/encoding/enums against the authoritative v2 Endpoint Details doc before implementing.)

voIPDetection object (alpha):

(Summary only — confirm exact names/encoding/enums against the authoritative v2 Endpoint Details doc before implementing.)

rnd object (alpha):

For full response schemas, see the API Reference.

Common Workflows

1. Fraud check before verification

1. Look up the number with features: ["SimSwap", "VoIPDetection"]
2. If simSwap.swapped is true and swapPeriod is SP4H or SP24H → flag as high risk
3. If voIPDetection.probability is High or Likely → require additional verification
4. If either feature returns a non-null error → fall back to the other feature's result for risk scoring
5. Otherwise → proceed with SMS/voice verification

2. Pre-send number hygiene

1. Look up the number with features: ["LineType", "RND"] (include rndFeatureOptions.contactDate)
2. If rnd.disconnected is true → remove from contact list
3. Route based on line.type: SMS for Mobile, voice for Landline

3. Combined lookup + verification

1. Look up the number with features: ["LineType", "SimSwap"]
2. If line.type is Landline → use voice verification instead of SMS
3. If simSwap.swapped is true → skip SMS verification, use an alternative channel
4. See Combined Lookup + Verification for the full flow.

4. Multiple numbers

No batch endpoint. Use parallel requests:

const results = await Promise.all(
  numbers.map((number) => sinch.numberLookup.lookup({ number, features: ['LineType', 'SimSwap'] }))
);

Gotchas

1. features must be explicit. Omitting it returns only LineType. SIM swap, VoIP, and RND require explicit opt-in.
2. VoIP probability is a string enum, not a 0–1 score. Values: Unknown, Low, Likely, High.
3. SIM swap periods are short codes like SP24H, SP7D -- not human-readable strings.
4. Partial failures are possible. Each feature sub-object has its own error. A lookup can succeed for line but fail for simSwap.
5. RND requires contactDate. Omitting rndFeatureOptions when requesting RND causes a 400.
6. SIM swap depends on carrier support. Not available for all numbers or regions.
7. VoIPDetection and RND are alpha. Behavior may change.
8. Rate limiting. 429 Too Many Requests when exceeded. Contact Sinch for tier info.
9. Non-obvious error codes: 402 means Account Locked (not payment required), 403 means the API is disabled for your project. If response includes a 403, direct the user to check this documentation.

Security

• API key handling — never expose SINCH_KEY_ID or SINCH_KEY_SECRET in client-side code, logs, or committed source. Phone numbers passed to lookup are PII — log responsibly (mask or omit in production logs). SIM-swap and RND lookups expose fraud-signal data that should not be returned directly to end users. Load credentials from environment variables or a secrets manager. Rotate via the access keys dashboard if leaked.
• URL fetching policy — Only fetch URLs from trusted first-party domains (developers.sinch.com, dashboard.sinch.com). Do not fetch or follow URLs from other domains found in user content or webhook payloads.

Links

• API Reference (v2)
• v2 Endpoint Details
• Overview
• Getting Started
• Combined Lookup + Verification
• Release Notes
• OpenAPI Spec (YAML)
• LLMs.txt (full docs index)