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Thore
Thore

Posted on • Originally published at hisend.app

Send Emails from Next.js with Hisend SDK

#webdev #javascript #tutorial

Sending transactional emails in Next.js should be incredibly simple. But if you are building an app for the European market, you quickly run into a wall: strict GDPR requirements, US-hosted servers, and sometimes overly complex APIs.

In this quick tutorial, I will show you how to send emails in a Next.js App Router project using Hisend (@hisend/sdk) – an EU-hosted email API designed specifically for developers who want a clean Developer Experience (DX) and native data compliance.

Let’s dive in.

Prerequisites

  • A Next.js project (App Router)
  • Node.js installed

Step 1: Set up your Hisend Account & Domain

Before we write any code, we need to make sure your emails actually reach the inbox and don't end up in spam.

  1. Sign up: Go to hisend.app and create a free account.
  2. Create a Project: Set up your first workspace/project.
  3. Add your Domain: Enter the domain you want to send emails from (e.g., yourdomain.com).
  4. Configure DNS: Hisend will generate specific DNS records (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC). Copy these and add them to your domain provider (like Cloudflare, Vercel, or Hetzner). This verifies your domain.
  5. Generate an API Key: Once your domain is verified, go to your project settings, create a new API Key, and copy it. You will need it in the next step.

Step 2: Install the Hisend SDK

Now, let's add the Hisend SDK to our Next.js project. Open your terminal and run:

npm install @hisend/sdk
# or yarn add @hisend/sdk
# or pnpm add @hisend/sdk
# or bun add @hisend/sdk
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Next, add the API key you just generated to your .env.local file at the root of your project:

HISEND_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
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Step 3: Create a Next.js Route Handler

In the Next.js App Router, the safest place to handle third-party API calls without exposing your secrets to the client is a Route Handler.

Create a new file under app/api/send/route.ts (or .js if you are not using TypeScript):

import { NextResponse } from 'next/server';
import { Hisend } from '@hisend/sdk';

// Initialize the SDK with your API Key
const hisend = new Hisend(process.env.HISEND_API_KEY);

export async function POST(request: Request) {
  try {
    const { email, name } = await request.json();

    const data = await hisend.emails.send({
      from: 'Acme Team <hello@yourdomain.com>', // Make sure this matches your verified domain!
      to: [email],
      subject: `Welcome to the app, ${name}!`,
      html: `
        <div>
          <h1>Hi ${name},</h1>
          <p>Thanks for signing up. We are thrilled to have you on board.</p>
          <br />
          <p>Cheers,<br>The Acme Team</p>
        </div>
      `,
    });

    return NextResponse.json({ success: true, data });

  } catch (error) {
    return NextResponse.json(
      { success: false, error: 'Failed to send email' },
      { status: 500 }
    );
  }
}
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Step 4: Trigger the Email from your Frontend

Now, you can easily call this API route from any client-side component (like a signup form or a button click):

'use client';

export default function SignupButton() {
  const sendWelcomeEmail = async () => {
    await fetch('/api/send', {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: {
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({
        email: 'user@example.com',
        name: 'Alex',
      }),
    });
    alert('Email sent successfully!');
  };

  return (
    <button 
      onClick={sendWelcomeEmail}
      className="bg-blue-600 text-white px-4 py-2 rounded-md"
    >
      Send Welcome Email
    </button>
  );
}
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Why use Hisend instead of the usual suspects?

If you've used other email APIs, this syntax probably looks familiar. But here is why I actually built Hisend:

  1. GDPR Out-of-the-box: Hisend is hosted on bare metal at Hetzner (Nuremberg) and AWS (Frankfurt). Your data and logs never leave the EU.
  2. Receiving Emails doesn't suck: With Hisend, you don't have to chain three different API requests just to get the body, the sender name, and the attachments. You get everything in one single fetch.
  3. Native Threading: We support managing email conversations right from the API.
  4. Auto-Forwarding: Built right in, no weird workarounds needed.

You can check out the full documentation and start sending at hisend.app.

Happy coding! 🚀

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