Send Emails with Node.js the Easy Way

Sending emails by using Node.js is a simple process. It is commonly achieved by using the nodemailer npm package.

What is nodemailer?

Nodemailer is an npm package which is used to send emails from a server by providing an API for constructing and sending emails.

Installation of nomailer

To use nodemailer, open your terminal and use the command:-

npm i nodemailer

After completing the installation of nodemailer, you should require the nodemailer package in your Node.js programme.

const nodemailer = require('nodemailer');

Features available in nodemailer

To configure nodemailer, use the 'createTransport' function inside the nodemailer variable.

const transporter = nodemailer.createTransport({ mailOptions });

The mailOptions object (which defines the connection (detailed below)) contains multiple parameters used to create a transport.

Creating a SMTP transport

const transporter = nodemailer.createTransport({
     host: process.env.SMTP_HOST,
     port: 465,
     secure: true,
     auth: {
        user: process.env.SMTP_USERNAME,
        pass: process.env.SMTP_PASSWORD
     }
});

host("string") - default("localhost"): Hostname or IP address of the SMTP server.
port("number") - default("587" ("465" if secure: true)): Port to connect to.
secure("boolean") - default("false"): If "true", the connection will use TLS immediately (recommended for port "465").
service("string"): Connection preset for a well‑known email service, for example "gmail". Overrides host, port, and secure if set. See the well‑known services list.
auth("object"): Authentication data (see Authentication).
authMethod("string") - Default("PLAIN"): Preferred authentication method.

Sending email using nodemailer

const info = await transporter.sendMail({
    from,
    to,
    subject,
    text,
    html,
    attachments
});

from("string") - default("default email"): From email address.
to("string"): To email address.
subject("string"): Subject of the email.
text("string"): Plane text body of the email.
html("string"): Html body of the email.
attachments("array"): Attachements of the email.

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