> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vapi.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Phone Calling

> Learn how to create and configure phone numbers with Vapi.

<Accordion title="Set up a Phone Number">
  You can set up a phone number to place and receive phone calls. Phone numbers can be bought directly through Vapi, or you can use your own from Twilio.

  You can buy a phone number through the dashboard or use the [`/phone-numbers/buy`](/api-reference/phone-numbers/buy-phone-number)\` endpoint.

  If you want to use your own phone number, you can also use the dashboard or the [`/phone-numbers/import`](/api-reference/phone-numbers/import-twilio-number) endpoint. This will use your Twilio credentials to verify the number and configure it with Vapi services.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Outbound Calls">
  You can place an outbound call from one of your phone numbers using the
  [`/call/phone`](/api-reference/calls/create-phone-call) endpoint. If the system message will be
  different with every call, you can specify a temporary assistant in the `assistant` field. If you
  want to reuse an assistant, you can specify its ID in the `assistantId` field.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Inbound Calls">
  You can provide an `assistantId` to a phone number and it will use that assistant when receiving inbound calls.

  You may want to specify the assistant based on the caller's phone number. If a phone number doesn't have an `assistantId`, Vapi will attempt to retrieve the assistant from your server using your [Server URL](/server-url#retrieving-assistants).
</Accordion>

Video Tutorial on How to Import Numbers from Twilio for International Calls:

<div>
  <iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HuF7ELckcyU?si=PPPFZE5aiI-WgP2U" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen />
</div>