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Exotel Setup

Connect your Exotel account to make outbound calls through the Vocobase platform. Exotel is popular in India and supports local and toll-free numbers.
Exotel telephony must be enabled for your partner account by the Vocobase team before you can configure it. Check your allowed_telephony_providers in the config endpoint to verify.

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Prerequisites

  • A Vocobase account with approved partner status
  • Exotel enabled in your allowed_telephony_providers
  • An Exotel account with:
    • Account SID
    • API Key and API Token
    • A configured Voicebot applet
    • At least one caller ID (phone number)

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Get your Exotel credentials

  1. Log in to the Exotel Dashboard
  2. Navigate to Settings > API Settings
  3. Note your Account SID, API Key, and API Token
  4. Note your Subdomain (e.g., api.exotel.com or your custom subdomain)
  5. Navigate to Phone Numbers and note your Caller ID (the number calls will originate from)
  6. Navigate to App Bazaar > Voicebot and note your Applet ID

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Configure via API

curl -X PUT https://api.vocobase.com/api/v2/config/telephony/exotel \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer rg_live_abc123def456ghi789jkl012" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "account_sid": "your_exotel_sid",
    "api_key": "your_api_key",
    "api_token": "your_api_token",
    "subdomain": "api.exotel.com",
    "caller_id": "+919876543210",
    "applet_id": "your_applet_id"
  }'
FieldRequiredDescription
account_sidYesYour Exotel Account SID
api_keyYesAPI Key from Exotel dashboard
api_tokenYesAPI Token from Exotel dashboard
subdomainYesAPI subdomain (e.g., api.exotel.com or your cluster subdomain)
caller_idYesPhone number to display on outbound calls
applet_idYesVoicebot applet ID from Exotel App Bazaar
Credentials are encrypted at rest and never returned in API responses. Store them securely — you’ll need them again if you update the configuration.

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Verify configuration

After saving, confirm Exotel is configured by checking your partner config: 
curl -X GET https://api.vocobase.com/api/v2/config \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer rg_live_abc123def456ghi789jkl012"
The response will include: 
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "allowed_telephony_providers": ["exotel"],
    "telephony": {
      "exotel": {
        "configured": true,
        "allowed": true,
        "account_sid": "your_exotel_sid",
        "subdomain": "api.exotel.com",
        "caller_id": "+919876543210",
        "applet_id": "your_applet_id"
      }
    }
  }
}

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Make a test call

Once configured, initiate an outbound call with provider: "exotel": 
curl -X POST https://api.vocobase.com/api/v2/calls/start \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer rg_live_abc123def456ghi789jkl012" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "agent_id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
    "to_number": "+919876543210",
    "provider": "exotel"
  }'

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "call_id": "c1234567-abcd-1234-abcd-123456789012",
    "session_id": "s1234567-abcd-1234-abcd-123456789012",
    "status": "pending",
    "provider": "exotel",
    "from_number": "+919876543210",
    "to_number": "+919876543210",
    "agent_id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890"
  }
}

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How Exotel calls work

  1. Vocobase calls the Exotel Connect API to initiate the call
  2. Exotel dials the customer using your caller ID
  3. When the customer answers, Exotel triggers your configured Voicebot applet
  4. The applet connects to the Vocobase voice agent via WebSocket
  5. The agent handles the conversation in real time
  6. When the call ends, a webhook fires with the transcript and duration

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Troubleshooting

IssueSolution
”Exotel not configured” errorEnsure all 6 fields are set: account_sid, api_key, api_token, subdomain, caller_id, applet_id
”Provider not allowed” (403)Contact Vocobase to enable Exotel for your partner account
Calls fail to connectVerify credentials in the Exotel dashboard. Check that the applet is active.
Wrong caller ID displayedUpdate the caller_id field with the correct E.164 number
API token expiredExotel API tokens may expire. Generate a new one and update via the API.

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Next steps

Twilio Setup

Configure Twilio as an alternative provider.

Credits & Billing

Understand how calls consume credits.