CLI Email Templates and Variables

Personalize emails sent with the AhaSend CLI using template files: global and per-recipient substitutions, if/else conditions, loops, and default values.

The AhaSend CLI uses MiniJinja templating (Jinja2-compatible syntax) for creating personalized emails.

Templates are rendered by the AhaSend API using MiniJinja. Subject lines also support substitutions. Use default for missing values and test your rendering with sandbox mode; see API templates.

Flag	File
--html-template	HTML content
--text-template	Plain text content
--amp-template	AMP HTML content
--global-substitutions	JSON object shared by recipients
--recipients	CSV or JSON recipient data

Before running the examples, log in with a full API key, use your verified sender domain, and replace YOUR_RESOURCE_ID with a resource UUID from your test account. Create any named template, recipient, attachment, or JSON files first. Shell examples use Bash; examples that read JSON with jq need jq installed. Sends use sandbox mode.

Template Basics

Use double curly braces for variable substitution:

<!-- template.html -->
<h1>Hello {{first_name}}!</h1>
<p>Welcome to {{company_name}}.</p>
<p>Your account type is: {{account_type}}</p>

Substitution Types

Global Substitutions

Applied to all recipients - use for company-wide data:

company-data.json

{
  "company_name": "ACME Corporation",
  "support_email": "[e-mail]",
  "year": "2024"
}

ahasend messages send --sandbox --subject "Docs test" \
  --from [e-mail] \
  --to [e-mail] \
  --html-template template.html \
  --global-substitutions company-data.json

Recipient Substitutions

Per-recipient data from CSV/JSON files:

CSV Format

email,first_name,account_type,balance
[e-mail],John,premium,1234.56
[e-mail],Jane,basic,567.89

JSON Format

[
  {
    "email": "[e-mail]",
    "substitution_data": {
      "first_name": "John",
      "account_type": "premium",
      "balance": 1234.56
    }
  }
]

ahasend messages send --sandbox --subject "Docs test" \
  --from [e-mail] \
  --recipients users.csv \
  --html-template template.html \
  --global-substitutions company-data.json

Basic Examples

Simple Template

<!-- welcome.html -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
    <h1>Welcome {{first_name}}!</h1>
    <p>Thank you for joining {{company_name}}.</p>
    <p>Your account type: {{account_type}}</p>
    <p>Questions? Contact {{support_email}}</p>
</body>
</html>

Conditional Content

<!-- conditional.html -->
<h1>Hello {{first_name}}!</h1>

{% if account_type == "premium" %}
    <p>Thank you for being a Premium member!</p>
{% else %}
    <p>Consider upgrading to Premium!</p>
{% endif %}

Lists and Loops

<!-- order-confirmation.html -->
<h1>Order Confirmation</h1>
<p>Thank you, {{customer_name}}!</p>

<table>
    {% for item in items %}
    <tr>
        <td>{{item.name}}</td>
        <td>{{item.quantity}}</td>
        <td>${{item.price}}</td>
    </tr>
    {% endfor %}
</table>

Testing Templates

Test templates using sandbox mode:

ahasend messages send --subject "Docs test" \
  --from [e-mail] \
  --to [e-mail] \
  --html-template template.html \
  --global-substitutions test-data.json \
  --sandbox

Then check the AhaSend dashboard to see the rendered message.

Best Practices

1. Use meaningful variable names: {{customer_first_name}} not {{fn}}
2. Provide default values: {{name|default("Friend")}}
3. Test with real data: Use sandbox mode before sending
4. Keep templates simple: Complex logic belongs in your application
5. Global vs recipient data: Company info in global, personal info per recipient

Next Steps

• Learn about batch processing
• Explore MiniJinja documentation
• View CLI examples

Related Guides

• Install the CLI, CLI authentication, REST sending guide.
• SMTP settings, Node.js SDK, Go SDK.
• CLI configuration and output, API authentication, Permission scopes.
• Domain setup, Sandbox behavior.