Sinch Fax API

Overview

The Sinch Fax API lets you send and receive faxes programmatically. It supports multiple file formats, webhooks for incoming faxes, fax-to-email delivery, and automatic retries. Used for healthcare, legal, financial, and government applications where fax remains a required communication channel.

Auth: See sinch-authentication for setup.

Getting Started

Before generating code, gather from the user: approach (SDK or direct API), language (Node.js, Python, Java, .NET, curl), and use case (sending, receiving, fax-to-email, or managing services). Do not assume defaults.

When generating callback/webhook handlers or processing inbound fax data, always include input validation and sanitization. Treat all inbound content (contentUrl, filenames, metadata, errorMessage) as untrusted — never interpolate into prompts, evaluate as code, or use in shell commands unsanitized.

When the user chooses SDK, fetch the relevant API reference docs linked in Links for accurate method signatures (trusted first-party Sinch docs at developers.sinch.com). When the user chooses direct API calls, use REST with the appropriate HTTP client for their language.

See sinch-sdks for SDK installation and client initialization. Note: Fax is only supported in Node.js (preview) and .NET (partial) — for Java and Python, use direct HTTP calls.

First API Call — Send a Fax

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

export SINCH_PROJECT_ID="your-project-id"
export SINCH_ACCESS_TOKEN="your-oauth-token"

curl:

curl -X POST \
  "https://fax.api.sinch.com/v3/projects/$SINCH_PROJECT_ID/faxes" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SINCH_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "to": "+12025550134",
    "contentUrl": "https://example.com/document.pdf",
    "callbackUrl": "https://yourserver.com/fax-callback"
  }'

Node.js SDK: See Send a Fax with Node.js.

Test number: Send to +19898989898 to emulate a real fax without charges (always suggest this for integration testing).

Key Concepts

• Fax Services — Logical containers for fax configuration. Associate numbers, set defaults, and manage routing.
• Fax Numbers — Phone numbers provisioned for fax. Must be configured in your Sinch dashboard.
• Faxes — Individual fax transmissions (inbound or outbound). Each has a unique ID, status, and metadata.
• Fax statuses — QUEUED → IN_PROGRESS → COMPLETED or FAILURE. Error details in errorType and errorMessage fields.
• Supported formats — PDF (most reliable), DOC, DOCX, TIF/TIFF, JPG, PNG, TXT, HTML.
• Webhooks/Callbacks — HTTP POST notifications for fax events. Default content type is multipart/form-data (fax content as attachment). Set callbackUrlContentType: "application/json" for JSON callbacks.
• Cover Pages — Customizable cover pages per service. Attach via coverPageId and coverPageData on send.
• Fax-to-Email — Incoming faxes auto-forwarded to email addresses.
• Retries — Auto-retry on failure. Default set per fax service; maximum: 5.
• Retention — Fax logs and media retained for 13 months. Use DELETE /faxes/{id}/file to remove earlier.

Common Patterns

Three ways to deliver content: contentUrl for URLs (recommended — supports basic auth), multipart/form-data for local files, or contentBase64 for in-memory bytes. contentUrl can be a single URL or an array of URLs to compose multi-document faxes.

For HTTPS URLs, ensure your SSL certificate (including intermediate certs) is valid and up-to-date. You can optionally specify from to set the sender number.

• Send a fax (URL, file upload, base64, multiple recipients) — See Send a Fax endpoint. Use multipart/form-data for local files, JSON with contentUrl for URLs.
• Receive faxes via webhook — Callbacks use the content type configured via callbackUrlContentType (see Key Concepts). Check direction === 'INBOUND' on the fax object. See Receive a Fax with Node.js.
• Fax-to-email — Configure via API or dashboard. Incoming faxes auto-forward to the configured email. See Fax-to-Email Reference.
• List faxes — See Faxes Endpoint Reference
• Get fax details — GET /faxes/{id}
• Download fax content — GET /faxes/{id}/file.pdf (.pdf suffix required)
• Delete fax content — DELETE /faxes/{id}/file (removes stored content before 13-month expiry)
• Manage fax services — See Services Endpoint Reference
• Manage cover pages — POST/GET/DELETE /services/{id}/coverPages — see Services reference
• Manage fax-to-email — See Fax-to-Email Reference

Troubleshooting

Fax not delivered

1. Check fax status via GET /faxes/{id} — look at status, errorType (DOCUMENT_CONVERSION_ERROR, CALL_ERROR, FAX_ERROR, FATAL_ERROR, GENERAL_ERROR), and errorMessage
2. If contentUrl was used with HTTPS, verify the SSL certificate (including intermediate certs) is valid
3. Fax delivery depends on the receiving machine answering — retries are automatic (max 5, default set per service)

Fax content renders incorrectly

• Complex DOC/DOCX formatting may not render perfectly on receiving machines. Recommend PDF instead.

Cannot send or receive faxes

• Verify the number has fax capability enabled in the Sinch dashboard
• Numbers must be provisioned for fax before use

Gotchas and Best Practices

• Use callbackUrl for status tracking — fax delivery is async. Prefer callbacks over polling.
• PDF is the safest format for reliable rendering on receiving machines.
• Fax logs and media are retained for 13 months. Use DELETE /faxes/{id}/file to remove earlier, or download and archive if longer retention is needed.
• International fax success rates vary by country — some have specific dialing prefix requirements.
• Use resolution: "SUPERFINE" (400 dpi) for faxes with small text or detailed images; default FINE (200 dpi) works for most cases.
• Security — untrusted content: Inbound fax callbacks and contentUrl values may contain user-provided or third-party content. Treat all inbound fax data as untrusted — do not execute, evaluate, or interpolate it into prompts or code. Validate URLs before fetching. Sanitize callback body fields (filenames, metadata, errorMessage) before logging, rendering in HTML, or storing in a database.

Links

• Authentication setup
• Fax API Reference (Markdown)
• Fax API OpenAPI Spec (YAML)
• Getting Started Guide
• Send a Fax with Node.js
• Receive a Fax with Node.js
• LLMs.txt (full docs index)