PostageApp for Node.JS

This is a module for Node.js that allows you to send emails with PostageApp, a service that makes it easy to add personalized, transactional email to your application.

API Documentation • PostageApp FAQs • PostageApp Help Portal

Installation

There are several ways to install this plugin depending on your requirements. The most common method is via the Node Package Manager, NPM.

This version of the library requires Node v6 or more recent. For older Node.js installations you can use a version from the 1.1.x branch. The 1.1.5 release should be current but uses Node.js callback methods instead of promises.

NPM

In your application's main directory:

npm install postageapp --save

Sending a Message

When you require the library, make sure to specify your API key:

var postageapp = require('postageapp')('ACCOUNT_API_KEY');

After that, you should be good to go. Load the module in your app and call the sendMessage function. Here is a sample of how to use it:

var postageapp = require('postageapp')('ACCOUNT_API_KEY');
postageapp.sendMessage(options, function callback() {});

The options parameter on the sendMessage() function is a hash that contains all of the arguments that you will be using in your API call. Here is an example API call:

var options = {
  recipients: "email@example.com",

  subject: "Subject Line",
  from: "sender@example.org",

  content: {
    'text/html': '<strong>Sample bold content.</strong>',
    'text/plain': 'Plain text goes here'
  }
}

You can use any of the arguments available to send_message.json when creating this hash.

Recipients can be passed along as a single string or as an array:

// String form: Comma separated list
recipients: "recipient1@example.com, recipient2@example.com"

// Array form: Individual addresses as strings
recipients: [ "email1@example.com", "email2@example.com" ]

If you wish to set Message Variables for each individual recipient, create an object with keys representing each recipient address:

// Object form: Email address as key, object of key/values as content
recipients: {
  "email@example.com": {
    'variable': 'Value'
  },
  "email2@example.com": {
    'variable': 'Another Value'
  }
};

Content will accept an array for HTML and plain text content:

content: {
  'text/html': '<strong>Sample bold content.</strong>',
  'text/plain': 'Plain text goes here'
};

Subject and from can be simple strings:

subject: 'Subject Line',
from: 'sender@example.org'

Templates are called by using the template slug from your PostageApp projects:

template: 'sample_template'

Message Variables needs to have an array passed into it with the global variable names and values:

variables: {
  'variable': 'Variable value',
  'variable2': 'Another variable'
}

Success and Error Callbacks

The sendMessage() function takes two callback arguments: success and error:

var postageapp = require('postageapp')('ACCOUNT_API_KEY');

postageapp.sendMessage(options).then((response) => {
  console.log('HTTP Status code: ', response.statusCode);
  console.log('Message UID', object.response.uid);
}).catch((error) => {
  console.error(error);
});

Getting Account Info

You can get your PostageApp account info through the Node.js plugin by using the accountInfo() function, which can be used as such:

const PostageApp = require('postageapp');
var postageapp = new PostageApp('ACCOUNT_API_KEY');

postageapp.accountInfo();

You can take a look at the documentation for get_account_info.json to learn about the typical response from the API.

Getting Message Status

You can the status of an individual message sent through PostageApp using the UID that your API call provides. The PostageApp plugin creates a unique UID for each message sent through by using Date.getTime(). You then use that UID in messageStatus().

const PostageApp = require('postageapp');
var postageapp = new PostageApp('ACCOUNT_API_KEY');

postageapp.messageStatus({ uid: 'PREVIOUS_UID' }).then((status) => {
  console.log(status);
});

You will receive a JSON string back from the API server that will look like:

{"response":{"status":"ok","uid":"PREVIOUS_UID"},"data":{"message_status":{"completed":1}}}

For more information about formatting of recipients, templates and variables please see the PostageApp documentation.

Configuration

File Format

The configuration is read in from a JSON file that has this structure:

{
  "host": "api.postageapp.com",
  "port": "443",
  "secure": secure,
  "apiKey": "__PROJECT_API_KEY__"
}

The only one that's required is the apiKey value, the others are optional and will default to what's shown here.

Environment Variables

You can specify the configuration for your PostageApp account via a series of environment variables, in a config file, or in a config file path expressed as an environment variable:

• POSTAGEAPP_CONFIG - Path to a JSON configuration file that will be loaded.
• POSTAGEPPP_API_KEY - Which API key to use by default.
• POSTAGEAPP_HOST - Which host to contact for the API (default api.postageapp.com)
• POSTAGEAPP_PORT - Which port to contact for the API (default 443)
• POSTAGEAPP_SECURE - Use HTTPS to connect to the API (default 1)

Any of these settings can be overruled by constructing a PostageApp instance with different options. For example, if you're sending calls through a custom HTTP proxy:

var postageapp = new PostageApp({
  host: 'my.proxy',
  port: 8080,
  secure: false,
  apiKey: '__PROJECT_API_KEY'
});