Using Sendgrid email API
Introduction
This section explains how you can integrate SendGrid with a Cloud Code function. After completing this guide with step-by-step instructions, you will be ready to use your function in your App and call it at your iOS or Android App.
Prerequisites
To complete this tutorial, you will need:
- An app created at Back4App.
- Follow the Create New App tutorial to learn how to create an app at Back4App.
- Back4App Command Line Configured with the project (Optional to upload codes).
- Follow the Setting up Cloud Code tutorial to learn how to set up cloud code for a project.
- Account created in SendGrid.
- Installing Parse SDK at your project:
- Android Studio Project.
- iOS project (Swift - Objective-C).
Let’s get started!
We will write a function using SendGrid that you will be able to work with a lot from possibilities as Delivering messages to our customers and configuring parameters to use the SendGrid v3 REST API.
To learn how to create or access an Account in SendGrid, check the links given below:
Create a new account - Log in to your account
Step 1 - Create a SendGrid API Key
The most important step before start to code is create the correct keys to setup your enviroment. After access your account, locate in the Settings drop-down menu, the API Keys
option as in the picture below:
After that, at the top right locate and choose a identification to the API Key Name
, like as shown below:
As you can see at the image above, it’s necessary to select one option to allow the Full Access to the API Key.
After click on the Create & View
to proceed with creating of the key, you will be able to see the screen below:
Hint: Be careful to write it down, as there is no way to retrieve it. Click on the text to copy it.
Step 2 - Add a function to the Cloud Code
The main strategy to this way of using SendGrid’s API is to create a function on the Cloud Code named sendgridEmail
and call it from the App.
Step 2.1 - Install module from Sendgrid
Create a file called package.json
, and inside this file, you need to install the Twilio module, like:
1
2
3
4
5
{
"dependencies": {
"@sendgrid/mail": "*"
}
}
Step 2.2 - Implement Cloud Code
You should note that every email field has to be send by the App – from the subject to the content – as a parameters. The code is as follows:
main.js
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Parse.Cloud.define("sendgridEmail", async(request) => {
const sgMail = require('@sendgrid/mail');
// Import SendGrid module and call with your SendGrid API Key
sgMail.setApiKey("your SendGrid API key here");
const msg = {
to: request.params.toEmail,
replyTo: '[email protected]',
from: '[email protected]',
subject: request.params.subject,
text: request.params.body
};
try{
await sgMail.send(msg);
return 'OK'
} catch (e){
return `Error: ${e.message}`
}
});
main.js
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Parse.Cloud.define("sendgridEmail", (request, response) => {
const sgMail = require('@sendgrid/mail');
// Import SendGrid module and call with your SendGrid API Key
sgMail.setApiKey("your SendGrid API key here");
const msg = {
to: request.params.toEmail,
replyTo: '[email protected]',
from: '[email protected]',
subject: request.params.subject,
text: request.params.body
};
sgMail.send(msg).then(() => {
response.success("The message was sent!");
})
.catch(error => {
//Log friendly error
response.error(error.toString());
});
});
Hint: Remeber to change the fields
from
andreply_to
to your personal informations.
Then it is necessary to implement a call to the Cloud Code function on the app.
Step 3 - Call Cloud Code function
In this current step, we can work with two possibilities to call our function, they’re: Android and iOS (Swift and Objective-C).
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Map<String, String> params = new HashMap<>();
// Create the fields "emailAddress", "emailSubject" and "emailBody"
// As Strings and use this piece of code to add it to the request
params.put("toEmail", emailAddress);
params.put("subject", emailSubject);
params.put("body", emailBody);
ParseCloud.callFunctionInBackground("sendgridEmail", params, new FunctionCallback<Object>() {
@Override
public void done(Object response, ParseException exc) {
if(exc == null) {
// The function executed, but still has to check the response
}
else {
// Something went wrong
}
}
});
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
PFCloud.callFunctionInBackground("sendgridEmail", withParameters: [
// These fields have to be defined earlier
"toEmail": toEmail,
"subject": subject,
"body": body
]) { (response, error) in
if error == nil {
// The function executed, but still has to check the response
} else {
// The function returned an error
}
}
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
[PFCloud callFunctionInBackground:@"sendgridEmail"
withParameters:@{@"toEmail": toEmail,
@"subject": subject,
@"body": body}
block:^(NSString *myAlertMsg, NSError *error){
if(!error) {
// The function executed, but still has to check the response
}
else {
// The function returned an error
}
}
];
Step 4 - It’s done!
And that’s it for the SendGrid usage. Note that you might want to use some sort of authentication before allowing anyone to use your SendGrid API to send emails.
In case you need any help or a function/link doesn’t work, please contact our team via chat!