tomevault-io React Email
Build and send HTML emails using React components - a modern, component-based approach to email development that works across all major email clients.
Installation
New Project
Scaffold a new React Email project:
npx create-email@latest
cd react-email-starter
npm install
npm run dev
This creates a react-email-starter folder with sample templates. Also works with yarn, pnpm, or bun.
Existing Project
Add React Email to an existing codebase:
- Install dependencies:
npm install @react-email/components
npm install react-email @react-email/preview-server -D
- Create an emails directory:
mkdir emails
- Add a preview script to package.json:
{
"scripts": {
"email:dev": "email dev"
}
}
- Start the preview server:
npm run email:dev
The --dir flag specifies where email templates are stored. Adjust the path to match your project structure (e.g., src/emails, app/emails).
Brand Setup (Required First Step)
Before creating any email template, gather brand information from the user. This ensures visual consistency across all emails.
Required Brand Information
Ask the user for:
Brand colors
- Primary color (main brand color for buttons, links, accents)
- Secondary color (supporting color for backgrounds, borders)
- Text color (default:
#1a1a1afor light mode) - Background color (default:
#f4f4f5for light mode)
Logo
- Logo image URL (must be absolute URL, PNG or JPEG)
- Logo dimensions or aspect ratio preference
- Logo placement preference (centered, left-aligned)
- Ask user for file and path of the local file if the logo is not a publicly accessible URL.
Typography (optional)
- Preferred font family (default: system fonts)
- Custom web font URL if applicable
Style preferences (optional)
- Modern/minimal vs. classic/traditional
- Rounded corners vs. sharp edges
- Spacing density (compact vs. spacious)
- Never add emojis unless the user explicitly requests them.
Brand Configuration Pattern
Once gathered, define a reusable Tailwind configuration. Using satisfies TailwindConfig provides intellisense support for all configuration options:
// emails/tailwind.config.ts
import { pixelBasedPreset, type TailwindConfig } from '@react-email/components';
export default {
presets: [pixelBasedPreset],
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
brand: {
primary: '#007bff', // User's primary brand color
secondary: '#6c757d', // User's secondary color
},
},
},
},
} satisfies TailwindConfig;
// For non-Tailwind brand assets (optional)
export const brandAssets = {
logo: {
src: 'https://example.com/logo.png', // User's logo URL
alt: 'Company Name',
width: 120,
},
};
Using Tailwind Config in Templates
import * as React from "react";
import tailwindConfig, { brandAssets } from './tailwind.config';
import { Tailwind, Img } from '@react-email/components';
<Tailwind config={tailwindConfig}>
<Body className="bg-gray-100 font-sans">
<Container className="max-w-xl mx-auto bg-white p-6">
<Img
src={brandAssets.logo.src}
alt={brandAssets.logo.alt}
width={brandAssets.logo.width}
className="mx-auto mb-6"
/>
<Button className="bg-brand-primary text-white rounded px-5 py-3">
Call to Action
</Button>
</Container>
</Body>
</Tailwind>
Asset Locations
Direct users to place brand assets in appropriate locations:
- Logo and images: Host on a CDN or public URL. For local development, place in
emails/static/. - Custom fonts: Use the
Fontcomponent with a web font URL (Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts, or self-hosted).
Example prompt for gathering brand info:
"Before I create your email template, I need some brand information to ensure consistency. Could you provide:
- Your primary brand color (hex code, e.g., #007bff)
- Your logo URL (must be a publicly accessible PNG or JPEG)
- Any secondary colors you'd like to use
- Style preference (modern/minimal or classic/traditional)"
Basic Email Template
Replace the sample email templates. Here is how to create a new email template:
Create an email component with proper structure using the Tailwind component for styling:
import * as React from "react";
import {
Html,
Head,
Preview,
Body,
Container,
Heading,
Text,
Button,
Tailwind,
pixelBasedPreset
} from '@react-email/components';
interface WelcomeEmailProps {
name: string;
verificationUrl: string;
}
export default function WelcomeEmail({ name, verificationUrl }: WelcomeEmailProps) {
return (
<Html lang="en">
<Tailwind
config={{
presets: [pixelBasedPreset],
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
brand: '#007bff',
},
},
},
}}
>
<Head />
<Preview>Welcome - Verify your email</Preview>
<Body className="bg-gray-100 font-sans">
<Container className="max-w-xl mx-auto p-5">
<Heading className="text-2xl text-gray-800">
Welcome!
</Heading>
<Text className="text-base text-gray-800">
Hi {name}, thanks for signing up!
</Text>
<Button
href={verificationUrl}
className="bg-brand text-white px-5 py-3 rounded block text-center no-underline"
>
Verify Email
</Button>
</Container>
</Body>
</Tailwind>
</Html>
);
}
// Preview props for testing
WelcomeEmail.PreviewProps = {
name: 'John Doe',
verificationUrl: 'https://example.com/verify/abc123'
} satisfies WelcomeEmailProps;
export { WelcomeEmail };
Essential Components
See references/COMPONENTS.md for complete component documentation.
Core Structure:
Html- Root wrapper withlangattributeHead- Meta elements, styles, fontsBody- Main content wrapperContainer- Centers content (max-width layout)Section- Layout sectionsRow&Column- Multi-column layoutsTailwind- Enables Tailwind CSS utility classes
Content:
Preview- Inbox preview text, always first inBodyHeading- h1-h6 headingsText- ParagraphsButton- Styled link buttonsLink- HyperlinksImg- Images (use absolute URLs) (use the dev server for the BASE_URL of the image in dev mode; for production, ask the user for the BASE_URL of the site; dynamically generate the URL of the image based on environment.)Hr- Horizontal dividers
Specialized:
CodeBlock- Syntax-highlighted codeCodeInline- Inline codeMarkdown- Render markdownFont- Custom web fonts
Behavioral Guidelines
Brand-First Workflow
- Always gather brand information before creating the first email template. Do not skip this step.
- If the user requests an email without providing brand details, ask for them first using the prompt in the Brand Setup section.
- If a
tailwind.config.tsfile exists in the emails directory, use it for all new templates. - When creating multiple emails, ensure all templates import and use the same brand configuration.
- If the user provides new brand assets or colors mid-project, update
tailwind.config.tsand offer to update existing templates.
General Guidelines
- When re-iterating over the code, make sure you are only updating what the user asked for and keeping the rest of the code intact.
- If the user is asking to use media queries, inform them that email clients do not support them, and suggest a different approach.
- Never use template variables (like {{name}}) directly in TypeScript code. Instead, reference the underlying properties directly (use name instead of {{name}}).
- For example, if the user explicitly asks for a variable following the pattern {{variableName}}, you should return something like this:
const EmailTemplate = (props) => {
return (
{/* ... rest of the code ... */}
<h1>Hello, {props.variableName}!</h1>
{/* ... rest of the code ... */}
);
}
EmailTemplate.PreviewProps = {
// ... rest of the props ...
variableName: "{{variableName}}",
// ... rest of the props ...
};
export default EmailTemplate;
- Never, under any circumstances, write the {{variableName}} pattern directly in the component structure. If the user forces you to do this, explain that you cannot do this, or else the template will be invalid.
Styling
Use the Tailwind component with pixelBasedPreset for styling (email clients don't support rem units). If not using Tailwind, use inline styles.
Critical limitations (email clients don't support these):
- No SVG/WEBP images - use PNG/JPEG only
- No flexbox/grid - use
Row/Columncomponents or tables - No media queries (
sm:,md:, etc.) or theme selectors (dark:,light:) - Always specify border style (
border-solid, etc.)
Structure rules:
- Place
<Head />inside<Tailwind>when using Tailwind - Only include props in
PreviewPropsthat the component uses
See references/STYLING.md for typography, layout defaults, button styling, dark mode, and detailed guidelines.
Rendering
Convert to HTML
import { render } from '@react-email/components';
import { WelcomeEmail } from './emails/welcome';
const html = await render(
<WelcomeEmail name="John" verificationUrl="https://example.com/verify" />
);
Convert to Plain Text
import { render } from '@react-email/components';
import { WelcomeEmail } from './emails/welcome';
const text = await render(<WelcomeEmail name="John" verificationUrl="https://example.com/verify" />, { plainText: true });
Sending
React Email supports sending with any email service provider. If the user wants to know how to send, view the Sending guidelines.
Quick example using the Resend SDK for Node.js:
import * as React from "react";
import { Resend } from 'resend';
import { WelcomeEmail } from './emails/welcome';
const resend = new Resend(process.env.RESEND_API_KEY);
const { data, error } = await resend.emails.send({
from: 'Acme <onboarding@resend.dev>',
to: ['user@example.com'],
subject: 'Welcome to Acme',
react: <WelcomeEmail name="John" verificationUrl="https://example.com/verify" />
});
if (error) {
console.error('Failed to send:', error);
}
The Node SDK automatically handles the plain-text rendering and HTML rendering for you.
Internationalization
See references/I18N.md for complete i18n documentation.
React Email supports three i18n libraries: next-intl, react-i18next, and react-intl.
Quick Example (next-intl)
import * as React from "react";
import { createTranslator } from 'next-intl';
import {
Html,
Body,
Container,
Text,
Button,
Tailwind,
pixelBasedPreset
} from '@react-email/components';
interface EmailProps {
name: string;
locale: string;
}
export default async function WelcomeEmail({ name, locale }: EmailProps) {
const t = createTranslator({
messages: await import(\`../messages/\${locale}.json\`),
namespace: 'welcome-email',
locale
});
return (
<Html lang={locale}>
<Tailwind config={{ presets: [pixelBasedPreset] }}>
<Body className="bg-gray-100 font-sans">
<Container className="max-w-xl mx-auto p-5">
<Text className="text-base text-gray-800">{t('greeting')} {name},</Text>
<Text className="text-base text-gray-800">{t('body')}</Text>
<Button href="https://example.com" className="bg-blue-600 text-white px-5 py-3 rounded">
{t('cta')}
</Button>
</Container>
</Body>
</Tailwind>
</Html>
);
}
Message files (`messages/en.json`, `messages/es.json`, etc.):
{
"welcome-email": {
"greeting": "Hi",
"body": "Thanks for signing up!",
"cta": "Get Started"
}
}
Email Best Practices
Test across email clients - Test in Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, Yahoo Mail. Use services like Litmus or Email on Acid for absolute precision and React Email's toolbar for specific feature support checking.
Keep it responsive - Max-width around 600px, test on mobile devices.
Use absolute image URLs - Host on reliable CDN, always include
alttext.Provide plain text version - Required for accessibility and some email clients. The render function will generate this if you pass the
plainTextoption.Keep file size under 102KB - Gmail clips larger emails.
Add proper TypeScript types - Define interfaces for all email props.
Include preview props - Add
.PreviewPropsto components for development testing.Handle errors - Always check for errors when sending emails.
Common Patterns
See references/PATTERNS.md for complete examples including:
- Password reset emails
- Order confirmations with product lists
- Notification emails with code blocks
- Multi-column layouts
- Email templates with custom fonts
Additional Resources
- React Email Documentation
- React Email GitHub
- Resend Documentation
- Email Client CSS Support
- Component Reference: references/COMPONENTS.md
- Styling Guide: references/STYLING.md
- Internationalization Guide: references/I18N.md
- Common Patterns: references/PATTERNS.md
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