Sending Email in TypeScript: Libraries and Code Examples

Sending Email in TypeScript: Overview of Libraries and Tools

Sending emails is one of the key tasks for web applications. In TypeScript (and its runtime Node.js), there are several mature solutions. In this article, we will cover the most popular libraries, their configuration, and usage examples with full typing.

1. Nodemailer — Universal SMTP Client

Nodemailer is the most popular library for sending email in Node.js. It supports SMTP, built-in transports (Sendmail, SES), and is fully compatible with TypeScript thanks to built-in types.

Installation

npm install nodemailernpm install --save-dev @types/nodemailer

Example of sending via Gmail SMTP

import nodemailer from 'nodemailer';

interface EmailOptions {  to: string;  subject: string;  text: string;  html?: string;}

async function sendEmail(options: EmailOptions): Promise<void> {  const transporter = nodemailer.createTransport({    service: 'gmail',    auth: {      user: process.env.EMAIL_USER,      pass: process.env.EMAIL_PASS,    },  });

  await transporter.sendMail({    from: `"MyApp" <${process.env.EMAIL_USER}>`,    to: options.to,    subject: options.subject,    text: options.text,    html: options.html || options.text,  });}

// UsagesendEmail({  to: 'user@example.com',  subject: 'Hello from TypeScript!',  text: 'This is a test email.',}).catch(console.error);

Working with Attachments

await transporter.sendMail({  to: 'user@example.com',  subject: 'File Attached',  text: 'Please see the attached document.',  attachments: [    {      filename: 'report.pdf',      path: './files/report.pdf',    },  ],});

2. SendGrid — Cloud Email Service

SendGrid (now part of Twilio) provides a powerful API for sending transactional and marketing emails. For TypeScript, there is an official package with ready-made types.

Installation

npm install @sendgrid/mail

Example of sending with typing

import sgMail from '@sendgrid/mail';

sgMail.setApiKey(process.env.SENDGRID_API_KEY!);

interface SendGridMessage {  to: string;  from: string;  subject: string;  text: string;  html?: string;}

async function sendViaSendGrid(msg: SendGridMessage): Promise<void> {  try {    await sgMail.send({      to: msg.to,      from: msg.from,      subject: msg.subject,      text: msg.text,      html: msg.html,    });    console.log('Email sent via SendGrid');  } catch (error) {    console.error('SendGrid error:', error);  }}

// UsagesendViaSendGrid({  to: 'client@example.com',  from: 'noreply@myapp.com',  subject: 'Registration Confirmation',  text: 'Welcome!',  html: '<h1>Welcome!</h1><p>Thank you for registering</p>',});

3. AWS SES — For High-Load Systems

AWS Simple Email Service (SES) is an enterprise solution for sending large volumes of emails. It is used via the @aws-sdk/client-ses SDK.

Installation

npm install @aws-sdk/client-ses

Example with TypeScript

import { SESClient, SendEmailCommand } from '@aws-sdk/client-ses';

const sesClient = new SESClient({  region: 'us-east-1',  credentials: {    accessKeyId: process.env.AWS_ACCESS_KEY!,    secretAccessKey: process.env.AWS_SECRET_KEY!,  },});

interface SESEmailParams {  to: string[];  from: string;  subject: string;  bodyText: string;  bodyHtml?: string;}

async function sendViaSES(params: SESEmailParams): Promise<void> {  const command = new SendEmailCommand({    Destination: {      ToAddresses: params.to,    },