How to send SMS through SMPP from AnythingLLM
This guide explains how to connect AnythingLLM to Ozeki SMS Gateway's built in SMS MCP server, enabling the AI assistant to send and receive SMS messages through your own on-premises SMS gateway. You will learn how to install Ozeki SMS Gateway, create an MCP user account, generate an API key, register the MCP endpoint in AnythingLLM, and verify the setup by sending a test message.
Solution: How to send SMS from AnythingLLM
AnythingLLM connects to the SMPP SMS MCP Server through the MCP protocol, where AnythingLLM acts as the MCP client and Ozeki SMS Gateway acts as the MCP server. Ozeki SMS Gateway is installed on your local machine or server and connects to the SMS service provider over the internet using an SMPP client connection. When an SMS is sent, it first travels from AnythingLLM to the Ozeki SMS Gateway as an MCP tool call, and the gateway forwards it to the SMS service provider over SMPP, which delivers it to the recipient's mobile phone.
What is AnythingLLM?
AnythingLLM is an open-source, full-stack desktop and web application that allows you to chat with your documents and use AI agents powered by local or cloud-based large language models. It supports MCP servers through its Agent Skills configuration, enabling it to be extended with external tools such as SMS messaging, database access, and more.
What is an SMPP SMS MCP Server?
An SMPP SMS MCP Server is a standardized software bridge that uses the Model Context Protocol to connect AI assistants (like Claude) to an SMS gateway system such as Ozeki SMS Gateway, which in turn delivers messages to the mobile network over an SMPP client connection. It exposes tools like "send_message" or "list_incomings" that an AI can autonomously call to perform real-world texting tasks without custom coding. This allows users to simply ask an AI to "send John a reminder text" and have the AI securely execute the action through the server. The SMS MCP Server built into Ozeki SMS Gateway also makes receiving SMS messages possible.
Download Ozeki SMS Gateway
To use this solution you need to install the SMS Gateway on your system.
Download the software: SMS Gateway
https://ozeki-sms-gateway.com/p_727-download-sms-gateway.html
Steps to follow
You will need AnythingLLM installed on your system. If you have not set it up yet, follow our AnythingLLM installation guide.
- Install Ozeki SMS Gateway
- Setup the SMPP SMS connection
- Create an MCP user account
- AnythingLLM SMS MCP Server Config
- Add the SMS MCP Server config to AnythingLLM
- Send a test SMS
- Check the SMS in the SMS Gateway logs
Install Ozeki SMS Gateway
For a full tutorial on installing Ozeki SMS Gateway, check out our How to install Ozeki SMS Gateway on Windows guide.
Before you can use the SMS MCP Server, you need to install Ozeki SMS Gateway on your Windows machine or server. Download the installer zip file from the website, extract it, and run the executable to complete the installation. Once installed, the gateway will start automatically and its web-based management interface will be accessible from your browser.
Setup the SMPP SMS connection
For a full tutorial on setting up an SMPP Client connection, check out our SMPP Client Connection guide.
Before creating the MCP user, you need to connect Ozeki SMS Gateway to the mobile network by setting up an SMPP client. In the Connections panel, select Add new connection, and install a new SMPP client connection. Enter the host, port, and credentials provided by your SMS service provider, then save and activate the connection to bring the gateway online.
Create an MCP user account
For a full tutorial on creating an MCP User, check out our Create an MCP User guide.
Click Add new user/application, and select the MCP user type from the list. Enter a username and password for the account, then open the Advanced tab to generate an API key. Copy this key and store it in a safe location, as you will need it in the next steps.
AnythingLLM MCP server configuration
Application Settings -> Agent Skills -> MCP Servers -> Edit MCP Config
# Replace {address} with your Ozeki SMS Gateway IP
# Replace the Bearer token with the API key generated for your MCP user account
{
"mcpServers": {
"Ozeki": {
"type": "streamable",
"url": "http://{address}:9529/mcp",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer your-bearer-token"
}
}
}
}
Example prompt
@agent Send an SMS to +36301234567, the message should be "Hello from AnythingLLM".
Add the SMS MCP Server config to AnythingLLM
The following video shows how to add the Ozeki SMPP SMS MCP Server to AnythingLLM step-by-step.
Open AnythingLLM and click the settings icon in the bottom right to open the application settings (Figure 1).
In the settings menu, navigate to Agent Skills, locate the MCP Servers section and click the Edit MCP Config button. This will open the underlying JSON configuration file where MCP server entries are stored (Figure 2).
In the configuration file, add the Ozeki SMPP SMS MCP Server entry inside the
mcpServers object as shown below. Replace {address}
with the IP address of your Ozeki SMS Gateway installation, and
replace the Bearer token with the API key you generated for your MCP user account (Figure 3).
{
"mcpServers": {
"Ozeki": {
"type": "streamable",
"url": "http://{address}:9529/mcp",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer your-bearer-token"
}
}
}
}
Save the configuration file and close the text editor (Figure 4).
Return to the Agent Skills page and click the refresh button to reload the MCP server list. This tells AnythingLLM to re-read the configuration file and attempt to connect to any newly added server entries (Figure 5).
After refreshing, the Ozeki MCP server should appear in the list along with the SMS tools it exposes. This confirms that AnythingLLM has successfully connected to your Ozeki SMS Gateway and the AI agent is ready to send and receive SMS messages (Figure 6).
Send a test SMS
The following video shows how to send an SMS message from AnythingLLM using the Ozeki SMPP SMS MCP server step-by-step.
In AnythingLLM, MCP tools are only available when the AI is running in agent mode.
To start an agent session, type @agent at the beginning of your message
in the chat input (Figure 7).
In the chat input, type your SMS request in plain language and press the Send button. The AI agent will interpret the request and invoke the appropriate MCP tool to deliver the message (Figure 8).
@agent Send an SMS to +36301234567, the message should be "Hello from AnythingLLM".
Once the tool has been executed, the result will appear in the chat. A successful response confirms that the message was submitted to the gateway and handed off for delivery (Figure 9).
Check the SMS in the SMS Gateway logs
The following video shows how to check the SMS in the logs in Ozeki SMS Gateway step-by-step.
Open Ozeki SMS Gateway in your browser and navigate to the MCP user details page by clicking on the MCP user entry in the Users and applications panel (Figure 10).
In the MCP user event log, you should see an entry for the outgoing message, including the recipient number and message text, confirming that it was successfully processed by the gateway (Figure 11).
Final thoughts
In this guide, you have learned how to connect AnythingLLM to Ozeki SMS Gateway's built-in SMS MCP Server and use it to send SMS messages directly from the chat interface. By installing the gateway, setting up an SMPP connection to the mobile network, creating an MCP user account, and registering the MCP endpoint in AnythingLLM, you now have a fully functional on-premises SMS integration that your locally hosted AI model can use to communicate with any mobile phone.