Resend-skills react-email
Use when building HTML email templates with React components, adding a visual email editor to an application using the React Email visual editor, rendering emails to HTML, or sending emails with Resend. Covers welcome emails, password resets, notifications, order confirmations, newsletters, transactional emails, and the embeddable email editor component.
git clone https://github.com/resend/resend-skills
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/resend/resend-skills "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/react-email" ~/.claude/skills/resend-resend-skills-react-email && rm -rf "$T"
skills/react-email/SKILL.mdReact 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
Scaffold a new React Email project, install dependencies, and start the dev server:
npx create-email@latest cd react-email-starter npm install npm run dev
This works with any package manager (npm, yarn, pnpm, bun) — substitute accordingly.
The dev server runs at localhost:3000 with a preview interface for templates in the
emails folder.
Adding to an Existing Project
Install the packages and add a script to your
package.json:
{ "scripts": { "email": "email dev --dir emails --port 3000" } }
Make sure the path to the emails folder is relative to the base project directory. Ensure
tsconfig.json includes proper support for JSX.
Basic Email Template
Create an email component with proper structure using the Tailwind component for styling:
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 /> <Body className="bg-gray-100 font-sans"> <Preview>Welcome - Verify your email</Preview> <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 box-border" > 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 };
Behavioral Guidelines
- When iterating over the code, only update what the user asked for. Keep the rest intact.
- If the user asks to use media queries, inform them that most email clients don't support them and suggest a different approach.
- Never use template variables (like
) directly in TypeScript code. Instead, reference the underlying properties directly. If the user explicitly asks for{{name}}
, place the mustache string only in PreviewProps, never in the component JSX:{{variableName}}
const EmailTemplate = (props) => { return ( <h1>Hello, {props.variableName}!</h1> ); } EmailTemplate.PreviewProps = { variableName: "{{variableName}}", }; export default EmailTemplate;
- Never write the
pattern directly in the component structure. If the user insists, explain that this would make the template invalid.{{variableName}}
Essential Components
See references/COMPONENTS.md for complete component documentation.
Core Structure:
- Root wrapper withHtml
attributelang
- Meta elements, styles, fontsHead
- Main content wrapperBody
- Outermost centering wrapper (has built-inContainer
). Use only once per email.max-width: 37.5em
- Interior content blocks (no built-in max-width). Use for grouping content insideSection
.Container
&Row
- Multi-column layoutsColumn
- Enables Tailwind CSS utility classesTailwind
Content:
- Inbox preview text, always first insidePreview<Body>
- h1-h6 headingsHeading
- ParagraphsText
- Styled link buttons (always includeButton
)box-border
- HyperlinksLink
- Images (see Static Files section below)Img
- Horizontal dividersHr
Specialized:
- Syntax-highlighted codeCodeBlock
- Inline codeCodeInline
- Render markdownMarkdown
- Custom web fontsFont
Before Writing Code
When a user requests an email template, ask clarifying questions FIRST if they haven't provided:
- Brand colors - Ask for primary brand color (hex code like #007bff)
- Logo - Ask if they have a logo file and its format (PNG/JPG only - warn if SVG/WEBP)
- Style preference - Professional, casual, or minimal tone
- Production URL - Where will static assets be hosted in production?
Static Files and Images
Directory Structure
Local images must be placed in the
static folder inside your emails directory:
project/ ├── emails/ │ ├── welcome.tsx │ └── static/ <-- Images go here │ └── logo.png
Dev vs Production URLs
Use this pattern for images that work in both dev preview and production:
const baseURL = process.env.NODE_ENV === "production" ? "https://cdn.example.com" // User's production CDN : ""; export default function Email() { return ( <Img src={`${baseURL}/static/logo.png`} alt="Logo" width="150" height="50" /> ); }
How it works:
- Development:
is empty, so URL isbaseURL
- served by React Email's dev server/static/logo.png - Production:
is the CDN domain, so URL isbaseURLhttps://cdn.example.com/static/logo.png
Important: Always ask the user for their production hosting URL. Do not hardcode
localhost:3000.
Styling
See references/STYLING.md for comprehensive styling documentation including typography, layout patterns, dark mode, and brand consistency.
Key Rules
- Use
withTailwind
(email clients don't supportpixelBasedPreset
). Importrem
frompixelBasedPreset
.@react-email/components - Never use flexbox or grid — use
/Row
components or tables for layouts.Column - Avoid CSS/Tailwind media queries (
,sm:
,md:
,lg:
) — limited email client support.xl: - Never use theme selectors (
,dark:
) — not supported.light: - Never use SVG or WEBP images — warn users about rendering issues.
- Always specify border type (
,border-solid
, etc.) — email clients don't inherit it.border-dashed - For single-side borders, reset others first (
).border-none border-l border-solid
Required Classes
| Component | Required Class | Why |
|---|---|---|
| | Prevents padding from overflowing the button width |
/ any border | (or , etc.) | Email clients don't inherit border type |
| Single-side borders | + the side | Resets default borders on other sides |
Structure Notes
- Always define
inside<Head />
when using Tailwind CSS<Tailwind>
should always be the first element inside<Preview><Body>- Only include props in
that the component actually usesPreviewProps - Use fixed width/height for known-size elements (logos, icons); responsive sizing (
,w-full
) for content imagesh-auto
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
const text = await render(<WelcomeEmail name="John" verificationUrl="https://example.com/verify" />, { plainText: true });
Sending
React Email supports sending with any email service provider. See references/SENDING.md for complete sending documentation including Resend, Nodemailer, and SendGrid examples.
Quick example using the Resend SDK:
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" /> });
The Resend Node SDK automatically handles both HTML and plain-text rendering.
CLI Commands
The
react-email package provides a CLI accessible via the email command:
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| Start the preview development server (default: , port 3000) |
| Build the preview app for production deployment |
| Run the built preview app |
| Export templates to static HTML files |
| Connect the CLI to your Resend account via API key |
| Remove the stored Resend API key |
Internationalization
See references/I18N.md for complete i18n documentation. React Email supports three libraries: next-intl, react-i18next, and react-intl.
Email Editor
React Email includes a visual editor (
@react-email/editor) that can be embedded in your app. It's built on TipTap/ProseMirror and produces email-ready HTML.
See references/EDITOR.md for complete documentation including:
— batteries-included component with bubble menus, slash commands, and themingEmailEditor
— 35+ email-aware extensions (headings, lists, tables, columns, buttons, etc.)StarterKit
— contextual sidebar for editing stylesInspector
— built-in themes (EmailTheming
,basic
) with customizable CSS propertiesminimal
— export editor content to email-ready HTML and plain textcomposeReactEmail- Custom extensions via
andEmailNodeEmailMark
Quick example:
import { EmailEditor, type EmailEditorRef } from '@react-email/editor'; import '@react-email/editor/themes/default.css'; import { useRef } from 'react'; export function MyEditor() { const ref = useRef<EmailEditorRef>(null); return ( <EmailEditor ref={ref} content="<p>Start typing...</p>" theme="basic" /> ); }
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
- Team invitation emails
Email Best Practices
- Test across email clients - Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, Yahoo Mail
- Keep it responsive - Max-width around 600px, test on mobile
- Use absolute image URLs - Host on reliable CDN, always include
textalt - Provide plain text version - Required for accessibility
- Keep file size under 102KB - Gmail clips larger emails
- Add proper TypeScript types - Define interfaces for all email props
- Include preview props - Add
for development testing.PreviewProps - Use verified domains - For production
addressesfrom
Additional Resources
- React Email Documentation
- React Email GitHub
- Resend Documentation
- Email Client CSS Support
- Component Reference: references/COMPONENTS.md
- Styling Guide: references/STYLING.md
- Email Editor: references/EDITOR.md
- Sending Guide: references/SENDING.md
- Internationalization Guide: references/I18N.md
- Common Patterns: references/PATTERNS.md