Contact Methods Overview

Contact methods define how users receive notifications. Each user can have multiple email and SMS contact methods. When a relay rule notifies an on-call user, it uses their configured contact methods.

Automatic Email Contact Method

When you sign up for beeps, your signup email is automatically added as a verified contact method. This means you’ll start receiving notifications immediately without any extra setup.

Managing Contact Methods

Contact methods are managed through the beeps web UI at Settings > Profile. From there you can:

• Add additional email addresses
• Add SMS phone numbers (E.164 format, e.g. +14155551234)
• Remove contact methods you no longer need
• Resend verification for unverified SMS numbers

Transport Types

Email

Email contact methods are automatically verified when added.

SMS

SMS contact methods require verification. After adding a phone number, you’ll receive a text message and must reply YES to confirm.

Verification Status

Contact methods have a verified status:

• Verified: Confirmed to be working and deliverable
• Unverified: Not yet confirmed

Unverified contact methods receive notifications, but delivery is not guaranteed. Verify methods for reliable delivery.

Listing Contact Methods via SDK

You can list and delete contact methods programmatically:

const methods = await client.contactMethod.list({
  userId: "usr_alice",
});

console.log(`Alice has ${methods.length} contact methods`);

const emailMethods = methods.filter((m) => m.transport === "email");
const smsMethods = methods.filter((m) => m.transport === "sms");

console.log(`Emails: ${emailMethods.length}, SMS: ${smsMethods.length}`);

Cleaning Up Old Contact Methods

Remove outdated contact information:

const methods = await client.contactMethod.list({
  userId: "usr_alice",
});

const oldEmail = methods.find(
  (m) => m.value === "old-email@example.com"
);

if (oldEmail) {
  await client.contactMethod.delete(oldEmail.id, {
    userId: "usr_alice",
  });
}

Best Practices

See Best Practices - Contact Methods for configuration guidelines.