| name | mail |
| description | Transactional email in an AdonisJS app — `@adonisjs/mail` classes extending `BaseMail`, MJML templates via a shared `@email.layout` component, and `mailContext()` for appName/appUrl. Never author raw HTML+CSS blocks. Use when adding a new email, editing an existing template, testing mail with `mail.fake()`, or wiring the SMTP env. Trigger on: "add email", "send mail", "MJML template", "reset password mail", "welcome email". |
| license | MIT |
| allowed-tools | Read, Edit, Write, Bash, Grep, Glob |
Mail
Emails are classes that extend @adonisjs/mail's BaseMail. The prepare() method sets recipients, subject, and calls this.message.htmlView('<mod>::emails/<template>', {...}). Templates are .edge files at app/<mod>/ui/emails/<name>.edge that consume a shared @email.layout component. The layout owns fonts, colors, button styles, header, and footer; each template only fills the body slot. Raw <html><head><style> blocks are never authored — MJML with the shared layout is mandatory. Emails are always dispatched from event listeners, not from actions directly (see [[actions-events]]), so unit tests can fake the emitter and end-to-end tests can fake the mail transport.
Rules
- Mail class location:
app/<mod>/mails/<name>_notification.ts — one file per email.
- Class shape: extends
BaseMail, declares from = env.get('EMAIL_FROM'), sets subject either as a class field or dynamically in prepare() from a translations field.
prepare() does all the work: build any URL (via signedUrlFor for time-limited links), call this.message.to(recipient).subject(...), then render with htmlView('<mod>::emails/<template>', props). Always spread ...mailContext() into props so the layout has appName + appUrl.
- Templates live at
app/<mod>/ui/emails/<name>.edge. Every template opens with @email.layout({ title, preview: subtitle }) and closes with @end. Between them, only <mj-section> markup — body, button, text.
- Shared MJML layout is the single source of truth for typography, colors, header, footer. Change once, all emails update.
mailContext() returns { appName, appUrl } from env with a fallback name. Every mail class spreads it into htmlView props so the layout can render brand chrome.
- Env:
EMAIL_FROM required; APP_NAME optional (has a fallback); APP_URL required. SMTP vars for local dev (typically Mailpit) and the prod driver's API key (e.g. RESEND_API_KEY).
- i18n: the translation shape is a plain interface (
subject, title, subtitle, actionBtn, defaultMessage). Passed from the caller. Keys live per module under emails.<name>.* in the locale JSON — see [[i18n]].
Repo refs
- Mail class +
prepare(): app/auth/mails/reset_password_notification.ts, app/users/mails/welcome_notification.ts.
- Shared MJML layout:
resources/views/components/email/layout.edge. Template: app/users/ui/emails/welcome.edge.
mailContext(): app/common/services/mail_context.ts.
Doc refs
Workflow
Add a new email
- Class at
app/<mod>/mails/<name>_notification.ts:
import { BaseMail } from '@adonisjs/mail'
import env from '#start/env'
import { mailContext } from '#common/services/mail_context'
export default class OrderConfirmedNotification extends BaseMail {
from = env.get('EMAIL_FROM')
subject = 'Order confirmed'
constructor(
private user: User,
private order: Order,
private translations: MailBasicTranslation,
) {
super()
this.subject = translations.subject
}
async prepare() {
const { title, subtitle, actionBtn, defaultMessage } = this.translations
this.message.to(this.user.email).subject(this.translations.subject)
this.message.htmlView('<mod>::emails/order_confirmed', {
...mailContext(),
title,
subtitle,
actionBtn,
defaultMessage,
orderUrl: `${env.get('APP_URL')}/orders/${this.order.id}`,
})
}
}
- Template at
app/<mod>/ui/emails/<name>.edge:
@email.layout({ title, preview: subtitle })
<mj-section background-color="#ffffff" padding="36px 40px 8px">
<mj-column>
<mj-text font-size="28px" font-weight="800" color="#141820">{{ title }}</mj-text>
<mj-text padding="24px 0 0" font-size="16px" color="#3A4150">{{ subtitle }}</mj-text>
</mj-column>
</mj-section>
<mj-section background-color="#ffffff" padding="0 40px 28px">
<mj-column>
<mj-button href="{{ orderUrl }}" align="left">{{ actionBtn }}</mj-button>
</mj-column>
</mj-section>
@end
- Mount the edge namespace for the module —
app/<mod>/start/view.ts calls edge.mount('<mod>', new URL('ui', BASE_URL)). Preload the file via adonisrc.ts — see [[module-scaffolding]].
- i18n: add
emails.<name>.{subject,title,subtitle,actionBtn,defaultMessage} to the locale JSON — see [[i18n]].
- Trigger via event: emit the domain event from the action; the listener in
<mod>/start/events.ts calls mail.send(new Mail(...)) — see [[actions-events]].
- Verify: a spec that asserts the send with
mail.fake() (see Testing below) — not done until it confirms the mail dispatches.
Change the shared look
Edit the shared MJML layout component. Every email updates. Ask whether a change belongs in the shared layout (font, brand color, corners) or per-template (headline size, hero image).
Signed / time-limited URLs
Use signedUrlFor('route.name', params, { expiresIn, prefixUrl, purpose }) for password-reset-style links so the URL expires and can only be consumed once.
Testing
tests/bootstrap.ts typically calls mail.fake() as a safety net so no spec accidentally emails a real inbox. Per-spec, opt into stricter assertions:
const mails = mail.fake()
await someActionThatSends()
mails.assertSent(WelcomeNotification, (msg) => msg.to === user.email)
mails.restore()
For listener specs, call mail.fake() before emitter.emit(...) — see [[testing]].
Anti-patterns
- ❌ Authoring
<html><head><style> blocks — bypasses the layout, breaks responsive defaults, drifts from other emails.
- ❌ Duplicating header/footer HTML in every template — use the layout.
- ❌ Calling
mail.send(...) directly from an action — emit an event; the listener sends. Otherwise unit tests must stub the mail service.
- ❌ Hardcoding
appName inside a template — read {{ appName }} (provided by mailContext()).
- ❌ Assembling URLs by string concat when
signedUrlFor (or urlFor on the frontend) is available.
- ❌ Forgetting
preview in @email.layout({ title, preview }) — a good preview text noticeably improves inbox opens.
- ❌ Passing a Lucid model into the mail class and dereferencing it inside
prepare() — pull the fields you need into a plain object first, so the class stays serializable and easy to test.
Related skills
[[actions-events]] · [[i18n]] · [[testing]] · [[notifications]]