Email

Email sending is controlled by EMAIL_ADAPTER: choose resend (Resend REST API) or smtp (Nodemailer / any SMTP). The adapter is selected in src/payload.config.ts based on this env var.

On Railway: use EMAIL_ADAPTER=resend. Railway blocks outbound SMTP on many plans; the Resend API uses HTTP and works without SMTP.

Resend API (`EMAIL_ADAPTER=resend`) — recommended for Railway

Resend can be used via its REST API (no SMTP). This is the right choice when your host blocks SMTP (e.g. Railway Hobby/Free).

Setup

Create a Resend account and verify your domain.
Generate an API key in the Resend dashboard.
Set:


EMAIL_ADAPTER=resend
RESEND_API_KEY=re_...
EMAIL_FROM=noreply@yourdomain.com   # optional
EMAIL_FROM_NAME=Your App            # optional

RESEND_API_KEY is required when EMAIL_ADAPTER=resend; the app will throw at startup if it is missing.

SMTP (`EMAIL_ADAPTER=smtp`)

With EMAIL_ADAPTER=smtp, Payload uses the Nodemailer adapter. By default it is configured for Resend’s SMTP server; you can point it at any SMTP provider.

Resend via SMTP (local / when SMTP is allowed)


EMAIL_ADAPTER=smtp
RESEND_API_KEY=re_...
EMAIL_FROM=noreply@yourdomain.com
EMAIL_FROM_NAME=Your App

Defaults: host smtp.resend.com, port 465, user resend, password = RESEND_API_KEY.

Custom SMTP

To use another provider (Mailgun, SendGrid, Amazon SES, or your own server):


EMAIL_ADAPTER=smtp
EMAIL_SMTP_HOST=smtp.your-provider.com
EMAIL_SMTP_PORT=465
EMAIL_SMTP_USER=your-username
EMAIL_SMTP_PASS=your-password
EMAIL_FROM=noreply@yourdomain.com
EMAIL_FROM_NAME=Your App

SMTP-related env vars are optional when using the default Resend SMTP settings.

Environment variables

Variable	Required	Description
`EMAIL_ADAPTER`	Yes	`resend` (Resend REST API) or `smtp` (Nodemailer)
`RESEND_API_KEY`	When `resend`	Required if `EMAIL_ADAPTER=resend`; used as SMTP password when `smtp`
`EMAIL_FROM`	No	Default “from” address
`EMAIL_FROM_NAME`	No	Default “from” name
`EMAIL_SMTP_HOST`	No	SMTP host (default: `smtp.resend.com`) — only for `smtp`
`EMAIL_SMTP_PORT`	No	SMTP port (default: `465`) — only for `smtp`
`EMAIL_SMTP_USER`	No	SMTP user (default: `resend`) — only for `smtp`
`EMAIL_SMTP_PASS`	No	SMTP password — only for `smtp`

Email templates

Email templates are built with @react-email/components and live in src/domains/emails/components/templates/:

Template	Purpose
`newsletter-welcome.tsx`	Sent when someone subscribes to the newsletter. Includes the tenant’s site name and URL.
`welcome.tsx`	Generic welcome email for new sign-ups.
`test.tsx`	Test email for verifying SMTP configuration. Shows the configured SMTP host.

Templates use a shared email-wrapper.tsx for consistent layout and email-button.tsx for CTA buttons.

Customizing templates

Templates are standard React components rendered to HTML by @react-email/components. To customize:

Edit the template file in src/domains/emails/components/templates/.
Use components from @react-email/components (e.g. Html, Head, Body, Text, Button, Img).
Preview with the React Email dev server or by sending a test email via the admin.

Sending emails

The sendEmail() function in src/lib/email.ts wraps Payload’s payload.sendEmail(). It handles:

Rendering the React Email template to HTML.
Resolving the “from” address from the tenant’s siteEmail or the global EMAIL_FROM env var.

Server actions and hooks call sendEmail() to send transactional emails.

The newsletter flow is built into the Leads feature — see Leads & Newsletter. Subscribers are stored in the Leads collection (tenant-scoped) and receive a tenant-aware welcome email.