nodemailer

What is nodemailer?

Nodemailer is a module for Node.js applications to allow easy email sending. It supports various transport methods and has a simple setup process for sending emails.

What are nodemailer's main functionalities?

Send Emails

This feature allows you to send emails using Nodemailer. The code sample shows how to set up a transporter using Gmail, define mail options, and send an email.

const nodemailer = require('nodemailer');

let transporter = nodemailer.createTransport({
  service: 'gmail',
  auth: {
    user: '[e-mail]',
    pass: 'yourpassword'
  }
});

let mailOptions = {
  from: '[e-mail]',
  to: '[e-mail]',
  subject: 'Test Email Subject',
  text: 'Hello world?',
  html: '<b>Hello world?</b>'
};

transporter.sendMail(mailOptions, function(error, info){
  if (error) {
    console.log(error);
  } else {
    console.log('Email sent: ' + info.response);
  }
});

HTML Email Content

Nodemailer allows you to send HTML content in your emails. The code sample demonstrates how to send an email with HTML content.

const nodemailer = require('nodemailer');

let transporter = nodemailer.createTransport({
  // transport configuration
});

let mailOptions = {
  from: '[e-mail]',
  to: '[e-mail]',
  subject: 'HTML Email',
  html: '<h1>Welcome</h1><p>That was easy!</p>'
};

transporter.sendMail(mailOptions, function(error, info){
  // callback
});

Attachments

Nodemailer supports sending attachments in emails. The code sample shows how to attach a file to an email.

const nodemailer = require('nodemailer');

let transporter = nodemailer.createTransport({
  // transport configuration
});

let mailOptions = {
  from: '[e-mail]',
  to: '[e-mail]',
  subject: 'Attachment',
  text: 'Please find the attachment.',
  attachments: [
    {
      filename: 'file.txt',
      path: '/path/to/file.txt'
    }
  ]
};

transporter.sendMail(mailOptions, function(error, info){
  // callback
});

Custom Transport Methods

Nodemailer allows the use of custom transport methods for sending emails. The code sample illustrates how to use a custom transport plugin.

const nodemailer = require('nodemailer');
const customTransport = require('my-custom-transport');

let transporter = nodemailer.createTransport(customTransport({
  // custom transport options
}));

// send mail with defined transport object
transporter.sendMail({
  // mail options
}, function(error, info){
  // callback
});

Other packages similar to nodemailer

mailgun-js

A simple Node.js module for Mailgun. Mailgun-js is designed to work with the Mailgun API for sending, receiving, and tracking emails. It's similar to Nodemailer in functionality but is specifically tailored for Mailgun's service.

postmark

The official Node.js client library for interacting with the Postmark API. This package is intended for sending emails through Postmark's transactional email service. Unlike Nodemailer, which is more generic, Postmark is focused on providing a robust service for transactional emails.

aws-sdk

Amazon Web Services SDK for JavaScript in Node.js. It includes support for SES (Simple Email Service), which can be used to send emails. While Nodemailer is a standalone package for email, aws-sdk is a comprehensive cloud services SDK that includes email sending capabilities among many other AWS services.

README

Nodemailer

Send e-mails from Node.js – easy as cake! 🍰✉️

See nodemailer.com for documentation and terms.

Why version bump to 5?

Nodemailer changed from dns.lookup() to dns.resolve for resolving SMTP hostnames which might be backwards incompatible and thus the version bump. Nodemailer tries first resolve4() and if no match is found then resolve6() and finally reverts back to lookup(). Additionally found DNS results are cached (for 5 minutes). This should make it easier to manage high performance clients that send a lot of messages in parallel.

Having an issue?

First review the docs

Documentation for Nodemailer can be found at nodemailer.com

Nodemailer throws a SyntaxError for "..."

You are using older Node.js version than v6.0. Upgrade Node.js to get support for the spread operator

I'm having issues with Gmail

Gmail either works well or it does not work at all. It is probably easier to switch to an alternative service instead of fixing issues with Gmail. If Gmail does not work for you then don't use it.

I get ETIMEDOUT errors

Check your firewall settings. Timeout usually occurs when you try to open a connection to a port that is firewalled either on the server or on your machine

I get TLS errors

If you are running the code in your own machine, then check your antivirus settings. Antiviruses often mess around with email ports usage. Node.js might not recognize the MITM cert your antivirus is using.

I have a different problem

If you are having issues with Nodemailer, then the best way to find help would be Stack Overflow or revisit the docs.

Contributors

This project exists thanks to all the people who contribute. [Contribute].

Backers

Thank you to all our backers! 🙏 [Become a backer]

Sponsors

Support this project by becoming a sponsor. Your logo will show up on our README on Github with a link to your website. [Become a sponsor]

License

Nodemailer is licensed under the MIT license

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The Nodemailer logo was designed by Sven Kristjansen.

Changelog

5.0.1 2019-01-09

• Fixed regression error to support Node versions lower than 6.11
• Added expiremental custom authentication support