Plunk Integration

This document explains how the Plunk email service is integrated for sending transactional emails. Plunk can be a cost-effective alternative to other providers, leveraging Amazon SES under the hood, and offers self-hosting options.

Configuration

1. Provider Selection: To use Plunk, the NEXT_PUBLIC_EMAIL_PROVIDER environment variable must be set to "plunk". This can be done via the configuration UI (/configure) or directly in the .env file.

2. Secret Key: The PLUNK_SECRET_KEY environment variable must contain a valid Secret Key obtained from your Plunk account or self-hosted instance.

How it Works

When NEXT_PUBLIC_EMAIL_PROVIDER is set to "plunk", the core email router calls the Plunk-specific sending logic located in src/server/email/send-email-plunk.ts.

This logic:

• Uses the official @plunk/node SDK.

• Checks if PLUNK_SECRET_KEY is configured (isPlunkConfigured).

• Takes a standard EmailPayload.

• Renders React components to HTML using @react-email/render, as Plunk primarily uses the HTML body.

• Calls plunk.emails.send with to, subject, and body (HTML or text).

• Includes basic error handling.

• Cost-Effective: Plunk often presents a cheaper alternative, especially when self-hosted or using their managed service built on AWS SES.

• Daily Sending Limit: Be aware of potential sending limits, especially on free/basic tiers. See the General Email Configuration for discussion and mitigation strategies.

• From Address: The from address is typically managed within your Plunk dashboard settings, not directly in the API call.

• Self-Hosting: Plunk can be self-hosted, giving you more control over your email infrastructure. Setup details are beyond this document; refer to official Plunk documentation.