# Set Up Your Opentact Portal

Here we'll show you how to get started with Opentact Messaging within the Opentact Portal.&#x20;

1. Sign up for a Opentact account&#x20;
2. Buy an SMS-capable phone number.
3. Create a messaging profile to configure how you send and receive messages on your phone number.

### Step 1: Sign Up for your Opentact Account <a href="#step-1--sign-up-for-a-telnyx-mission-control-portal-account" id="step-1--sign-up-for-a-telnyx-mission-control-portal-account"></a>

Sign up here [portal.opentact.org](https://portal.opentact.org/) for a free Opentact account. Here you will have access to all your Portal options where you can buy numbers, set up and manage messaging profiles, and more.

### Step 2: Buy an SMS-capable Phone Number <a href="#step-2--buy-an-sms-capable-phone-number" id="step-2--buy-an-sms-capable-phone-number"></a>

To use the Messaging API successfully, you will need to purchase a SMS-capable phone number from the Opentact platform. If purchasing a new number, select the SMS number feature when searching.

Inside the [Numbers](https://portal.opentact.org/app/numbers/search-numbers) subsection of your Portal, you can search for, buy and provision new numbers.

1. Click on the Search & Buy Numbers tab and enter your pattern, city, state or rate center.
2. Select the number features you want. You can choose “Any” or check the individual boxes to select specific features such as Voice, Fax, SMS, MMS, emergency and click Search.
3. Find the number or numbers you want to purchase from the list of results and then click +Add to Cart.
4. Click on your Cart in the top-right corner of the portal. The number or numbers you selected should now be in your Cart.
5. To purchase, click Place Order. Your number(s) should now be visible in both the “My Numbers” and “Orders” tabs.

> **Notes:**
>
> * You’ll need to ensure that you have enough available credit to make the purchase. To add credit to your account, click the + button to the left of your balance in the top-right corner of the portal.

### Step 3: Create a Messaging Profile <a href="#step-3--create-a-messaging-profile" id="step-3--create-a-messaging-profile"></a>

You will have a messaging profile created by default.

Messaging Profiles are the place for you to configure all of your inbound and outbound messaging settings. You can enable an SMS-capable phone number by assigning it to a Messaging Profile.

Configure your profile to send and receive SMS messages.

1. Click on  [**Messaging**](https://portal.opentact.org/app/messaging/messaging-profiles) on the left-hand side of the navigation area in your portal.
2. Click Add new profile.
3. Enter a name for your Messaging Profile. Configure any other necessary settings, such as webhook URLs.
4. Then click Save to create the profile.

> You can also do this  via our **RESTful API**. For more info, head to our documentation here, for  creating a [Messaging Profile](https://dantonia.gitbook.io/test/account/profile/messaging-profile#createmessagingprofile).
>
> As an alternative to sending SMS from a phone number, you can use an alphanumeric sender ID. Messages sent in this manner are outbound only; it is not possible to receive replies. To use an alphanumeric sender, simply put it in the `from` field when you submit a send request.

That’s it, you’re all set to start messaging. Next, learn how to [set up your development environment](https://developers.telnyx.com/docs/v2/messaging/quickstarts/dev-env-setup).
