nodemailer gmail example

Nodemailer Gmail Example#

If you are looking for a way to send emails using Node.js, Nodemailer is a great option. With Nodemailer, you can send emails using various email providers, including Gmail. In this post, I will show you how to send an email using Nodemailer and Gmail.

Prerequisites#

• Node.js installed on your machine
• A Gmail account

Step 1: Install Nodemailer#

You can install Nodemailer using npm. Open your terminal and run the following command:

$ npm install nodemailer

Step 2: Set up Gmail account#

You need to allow third-party access to your Gmail account in order to send emails using Nodemailer. To do this:

• Go to your Google Account settings
• Click on Security
• Scroll down and turn on "Less secure app access"

Step 3: Write the code#

Create a new file called "index.js". Add the following code:

const nodemailer = require('nodemailer');

async function sendEmail() {
  let transporter = nodemailer.createTransport({
    service: 'gmail',
    auth: {
      user: 'your_email@gmail.com',
      pass: 'your_password'
    }
  });

  let info = await transporter.sendMail({
    from: 'your_email@gmail.com',
    to: 'recipient_email@example.com',
    subject: 'Test Email',
    text: 'This is a test email sent using Nodemailer and Gmail.'
  });

  console.log('Message sent: %s', info.messageId);
}

sendEmail().catch(console.error);

Replace "your_email@gmail.com" and "your_password" with your Gmail credentials. Replace "recipient_email@example.com" with the email address of the recipient.

Step 4: Run the code#

Open your terminal and navigate to the directory where "index.js" is located. Run the following command:

$ node index.js

If everything is set up correctly, you should see a message in your terminal saying that the message has been sent.

Alternative Method: OAuth2 Authentication#

You can also use OAuth2 authentication to send emails using Nodemailer and Gmail. This method is more secure and recommended by Google. Here are the steps:

• Create a new project in the Google Cloud Console
• Enable the Gmail API for the project
• Create credentials for the project (choose "OAuth client ID")
• Download the credentials file and rename it to "credentials.json"
• Add the following code to "index.js":

const nodemailer = require('nodemailer');
const { google } = require('googleapis');
const OAuth2 = google.auth.OAuth2;

const oauth2Client = new OAuth2(
  'YOUR_CLIENT_ID',
  'YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET',
  'https://developers.google.com/oauthplayground'
);

oauth2Client.setCredentials({
  refresh_token: 'YOUR_REFRESH_TOKEN'
});

async function sendEmail() {
  const accessToken = await oauth2Client.getAccessToken();

  let transporter = nodemailer.createTransport({
    service: 'gmail',
    auth: {
      type: 'OAuth2',
      user: 'your_email@gmail.com',
      clientId: 'YOUR_CLIENT_ID',
      clientSecret: 'YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET',
      refreshToken: 'YOUR_REFRESH_TOKEN',
      accessToken: accessToken
    }
  });

  let info = await transporter.sendMail({
    from: 'your_email@gmail.com',
    to: 'recipient_email@example.com',
    subject: 'Test Email',
    text: 'This is a test email sent using Nodemailer and Gmail.'
  });

  console.log('Message sent: %s', info.messageId);
}

sendEmail().catch(console.error);

Replace "YOUR_CLIENT_ID", "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET", and "YOUR_REFRESH_TOKEN" with the values from your credentials file. Replace "your_email@gmail.com" and "recipient_email@example.com" with the appropriate email addresses.

Run the code using the same command as before:

$ node index.js

If everything is set up correctly, you should see a message in your terminal saying that the message has been sent.