Mastering Laravel Email: Configuration and Command-Line Testing

• For SMTP (most common for production):
• Code snippet
  
  

• MAIL_MAILER=smtp
  MAIL_HOST=your_smtp_host.com
  MAIL_PORT=your_smtp_port
  MAIL_USERNAME=your_smtp_username
  MAIL_PASSWORD=your_smtp_password
  MAIL_ENCRYPTION=tls # or ssl
  [email protected]
  MAIL_FROM_NAME="${APP_NAME}"
  
  

• Replace the placeholder values with your SMTP server details provided by your email hosting provider. Ensure the port and encryption match their requirements. The MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS and MAIL_FROM_NAME will be the default sender for your application's emails.
• For Mailgun:
• Code snippet
  
  

• MAIL_MAILER=mailgun
  MAILGUN_DOMAIN=your_mailgun_domain
  MAILGUN_SECRET=your_mailgun_secret
  MAILGUN_ENDPOINT=api.mailgun.net # or a regional endpoint
  [email protected]
  MAIL_FROM_NAME="${APP_NAME}"
  
  

• Obtain your Mailgun domain and secret from your Mailgun dashboard.
• For Amazon SES:
• Code snippet
  
  

• MAIL_MAILER=ses
  AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your_aws_access_key_id
  AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your_aws_secret_access_key
  AWS_DEFAULT_REGION=your_aws_region # e.g., us-east-1
  [email protected]
  MAIL_FROM_NAME="${APP_NAME}"
  
  

• Ensure you have your AWS credentials and the correct region configured.
• For mail (primarily for local development):
• Code snippet
  
  

• MAIL_MAILER=mail
  [email protected]
  MAIL_FROM_NAME="${APP_NAME}"
  
  

• No further configuration is typically needed for the mail driver, assuming your server has a properly configured mail transfer agent.
• For log (local development and debugging):
• Code snippet
  
  

• MAIL_MAILER=log
  [email protected]
  MAIL_FROM_NAME="${APP_NAME}"
  
  

• All emails will be written to your Laravel log files (storage/logs/laravel.log).

php artisan config:clear
php artisan config:cache

• Change the default mailer.
• Define specific configurations for different mailers within the mailers array.
• Set a global "from" address that can be overridden in individual Mailables.
• Configure mailer-specific options (e.g., transport options for SMTP).

php artisan tinker

Mail::raw('This is a test email sent from Laravel Tinker!', function ($message) {
    $message->to('[email protected]')->subject('Laravel Test Email');
});

• Mail::raw('This is a test email sent from Laravel Tinker!', ...): This calls the raw() method of the Mail facade. The first argument is the plain text body of the email.
• function ($message) { ... }: This is a closure that receives a $message object, which is an instance of Illuminate\Mail\Message. This object provides methods for configuring the email.
• $message->to('[email protected]'): This sets the recipient's email address. Remember to replace '[email protected]' with your actual email address.
• ->subject('Laravel Test Email'): This sets the subject line of the email.

Mail::raw('This is a test email with a custom sender.', function ($message) {
    $message->from('[email protected]', 'Test Sender Name')
            ->to('[email protected]')
            ->subject('Test Email with Custom Sender');
});

• If the email is sent successfully (depending on your driver), Tinker might output null or true.
• If there are any configuration issues or errors with your mail setup, Tinker will likely display an exception or error message, providing valuable clues for troubleshooting. Check your Laravel logs (storage/logs/laravel.log) for more detailed error information.

php artisan make:mail TestMail

<?php

namespace App\Mail;

use Illuminate\Bus\Queueable;
use Illuminate\Contracts\Queue\ShouldQueue;
use Illuminate\Mail\Mailable;
use Illuminate\Mail\Mailables\Content;
use Illuminate\Mail\Mailables\Envelope;
use Illuminate\Queue\SerializesModels;

class TestMail extends Mailable
{
    use Queueable, SerializesModels;

    public $data;

    /**
     * Create a new message instance.
     *
     * @return void
     */
    public function __construct(array $data)
    {
        $this->data = $data;
    }

    /**
     * Get the message envelope.
     */
    public function envelope(): Envelope
    {
        return new Envelope(
            subject: 'Test Email from Mailable',
        );
    }

    /**
     * Get the message content definition.
     */
    public function content(): Content
    {
        return new Content(
            markdown: 'emails.test', // Assuming you have a Blade template at resources/views/emails/test.blade.php
            with: [
                'name' => $this->data['name'],
                'message' => $this->data['body'],
            ],
        );
    }

    /**
     * Get the attachments for the message.
     *
     * @return array
     */
    public function attachments(): array
    {
        return [];
    }
}

<x-mail::message>
# Hello {{ $name }}!

{{ $message }}

Thanks,<br>
{{ config('app.name') }}
</x-mail::message>

$data = ['name' => 'John Doe', 'body' => 'This is a test email sent using a Mailable.'];
Mail::to('[email protected]')->send(new App\Mail\TestMail($data));