Nodemailer

Nodemailer is a module for Node.js applications that allows easy email sending. The project started in 2010 when there were few reliable options for sending email messages, and today, it is the default solution for most Node.js users.

npm install nodemailer

Check out EmailEngine – a self-hosted email gateway that allows you to make REST requests to IMAP and SMTP servers. EmailEngine also sends webhooks whenever something changes on the registered accounts.

Using the email accounts registered with EmailEngine, you can receive and send emails. It supports OAuth2, delayed sends, opens and clicks tracking, bounce detection, and more, all without needing an external MTA service.

Nodemailer features

  • A single module with zero dependencies – easy to audit the code with no hidden complexities
  • Emphasis on security – avoid RCE vulnerabilities
  • Unicode support to use any characters, including emoji 💪
  • Windows support – install with npm on Windows without any compiled dependencies. Perfect for use with Azure or on your local Windows machine
  • Send HTML content with plain text alternatives
  • Attach Attachments to emails
  • Embed Images in HTML emails so your design doesn’t get blocked
  • Secure email delivery with TLS/STARTTLS
  • Various transport methods beyond the default SMTP support
  • Sign emails with DKIM
  • Custom Plugin support for advanced message manipulation
  • Supports OAuth2 authentication
  • Proxies for SMTP connections
  • ES6 codebase – fewer chances of memory leaks from hoisted var’s
  • Autogenerated test email accounts from Ethereal.email

Requirements

  • Node.js v6.0.0 or newer. That’s all you need.

If you’re running Node.js version 6 or later, you can use Nodemailer. There are no specific platform or resource requirements. All Nodemailer methods support both callbacks and Promises (if no callback is provided). If you want to use async..await, you’ll need Node.js v8.0.0 or newer.

TL;DR

To send an email, follow these steps:

  1. Create a Nodemailer transporter using either SMTP or another transport method
  2. Set up your message options (who sends what to whom)
  3. Deliver the message using the sendMail() method of your transporter

Example

Below is an example to send an email with both plain text and HTML content using Ethereal Email.

const nodemailer = require("nodemailer");

const transporter = nodemailer.createTransport({
  host: "smtp.ethereal.email",
  port: 587,
  secure: false, // true for port 465, false for other ports
  auth: {
    user: "maddison53@ethereal.email",
    pass: "jn7jnAPss4f63QBp6D",
  },
});

// async..await is not allowed in global scope, must use a wrapper
async function main() {
  // send mail with defined transport object
  const info = await transporter.sendMail({
    from: '"Maddison Foo Koch 👻" <maddison53@ethereal.email>', // sender address
    to: "bar@example.com, baz@example.com", // list of receivers
    subject: "Hello ✔", // Subject line
    text: "Hello world?", // plain text body
    html: "<b>Hello world?</b>", // html body
  });

  console.log("Message sent: %s", info.messageId);
  // Message sent: <d786aa62-4e0a-070a-47ed-0b0666549519@ethereal.email>
}

main().catch(console.error);

Examples

  • Nodemailer AMQP example: Learn how to use RabbitMQ with Nodemailer for email message management. Source.

Output from the example script viewed through the Ethereal mail catching service:

Source

Find the Nodemailer source code on GitHub.

Nodemailer was created by Andris Reinman, and the Nodemailer logo was designed by Sven Kristjansen.