---

name: spring-mail description: | Spring Mail for sending emails in Spring Boot 3.x. Covers JavaMailSender, SimpleMailMessage, MimeMessage, HTML emails, attachments, templates (Thymeleaf/FreeMarker), async sending, and testing.

USE WHEN: user mentions "spring mail", "JavaMailSender", "email Spring Boot", "send email", "MimeMessage", "email templates", "SMTP Spring"

DO NOT USE FOR: transactional email services (SendGrid, SES) - use their SDKs, SMS/push notifications - use appropriate services allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Glob, Write, Edit

Spring Mail

Quick Start

# application.yml
spring:
  mail:
    host: smtp.gmail.com
    port: 587
    username: ${MAIL_USERNAME}
    password: ${MAIL_PASSWORD}
    properties:
      mail:
        smtp:
          auth: true
          starttls:
            enable: true

@Service
@RequiredArgsConstructor
public class EmailService {

    private final JavaMailSender mailSender;

    public void sendSimpleEmail(String to, String subject, String text) {
        SimpleMailMessage message = new SimpleMailMessage();
        message.setTo(to);
        message.setSubject(subject);
        message.setText(text);
        message.setFrom("noreply@example.com");

        mailSender.send(message);
    }
}

---

Configuration

@Configuration
public class MailConfig {

    @Bean
    public JavaMailSender javaMailSender(MailProperties props) {
        JavaMailSenderImpl mailSender = new JavaMailSenderImpl();
        mailSender.setHost(props.getHost());
        mailSender.setPort(props.getPort());
        mailSender.setUsername(props.getUsername());
        mailSender.setPassword(props.getPassword());

        Properties javaMailProperties = new Properties();
        javaMailProperties.put("mail.smtp.auth", true);
        javaMailProperties.put("mail.smtp.starttls.enable", true);
        javaMailProperties.put("mail.smtp.connectiontimeout", 5000);
        javaMailProperties.put("mail.smtp.timeout", 5000);
        javaMailProperties.put("mail.smtp.writetimeout", 5000);

        mailSender.setJavaMailProperties(javaMailProperties);
        return mailSender;
    }
}

---

MimeMessage (HTML & Attachments)

@Service
@RequiredArgsConstructor
@Slf4j
public class EmailService {

    private final JavaMailSender mailSender;

    // HTML Email
    public void sendHtmlEmail(String to, String subject, String htmlContent)
            throws MessagingException {
        MimeMessage message = mailSender.createMimeMessage();
        MimeMessageHelper helper = new MimeMessageHelper(message, true, "UTF-8");

        helper.setTo(to);
        helper.setSubject(subject);
        helper.setText(htmlContent, true);  // true = HTML
        helper.setFrom("noreply@example.com");

        mailSender.send(message);
    }

    // Email con attachment
    public void sendEmailWithAttachment(String to, String subject, String text,
                                        String attachmentPath) throws MessagingException {
        MimeMessage message = mailSender.createMimeMessage();
        MimeMessageHelper helper = new MimeMessageHelper(message, true);

        helper.setTo(to);
        helper.setSubject(subject);
        helper.setText(text);
        helper.setFrom("noreply@example.com");

        FileSystemResource file = new FileSystemResource(new File(attachmentPath));
        helper.addAttachment(file.getFilename(), file);

        mailSender.send(message);
    }

    // Email con inline image
    public void sendEmailWithInlineImage(String to, String subject,
                                         String htmlContent, String imagePath)
            throws MessagingException {
        MimeMessage message = mailSender.createMimeMessage();
        MimeMessageHelper helper = new MimeMessageHelper(message, true);

        helper.setTo(to);
        helper.setSubject(subject);
        // Reference: <img src="cid:logo">
        helper.setText(htmlContent, true);
        helper.setFrom("noreply@example.com");

        FileSystemResource image = new FileSystemResource(new File(imagePath));
        helper.addInline("logo", image);

        mailSender.send(message);
    }

    // Multiple recipients
    public void sendToMultiple(String[] to, String[] cc, String[] bcc,
                               String subject, String text) throws MessagingException {
        MimeMessage message = mailSender.createMimeMessage();
        MimeMessageHelper helper = new MimeMessageHelper(message);

        helper.setTo(to);
        if (cc != null) helper.setCc(cc);
        if (bcc != null) helper.setBcc(bcc);
        helper.setSubject(subject);
        helper.setText(text);
        helper.setFrom("noreply@example.com");

        mailSender.send(message);
    }
}

---

Thymeleaf Templates

@Service
@RequiredArgsConstructor
public class TemplateEmailService {

    private final JavaMailSender mailSender;
    private final TemplateEngine templateEngine;

    public void sendWelcomeEmail(String to, String userName) throws MessagingException {
        Context context = new Context();
        context.setVariable("userName", userName);
        context.setVariable("activationLink", "https://example.com/activate/123");

        String htmlContent = templateEngine.process("email/welcome", context);

        MimeMessage message = mailSender.createMimeMessage();
        MimeMessageHelper helper = new MimeMessageHelper(message, true, "UTF-8");

        helper.setTo(to);
        helper.setSubject("Welcome to Our Platform!");
        helper.setText(htmlContent, true);
        helper.setFrom("noreply@example.com");

        mailSender.send(message);
    }

    public void sendOrderConfirmation(String to, Order order) throws MessagingException {
        Context context = new Context();
        context.setVariable("order", order);
        context.setVariable("items", order.getItems());
        context.setVariable("total", order.getTotal());

        String htmlContent = templateEngine.process("email/order-confirmation", context);

        MimeMessage message = mailSender.createMimeMessage();
        MimeMessageHelper helper = new MimeMessageHelper(message, true, "UTF-8");

        helper.setTo(to);
        helper.setSubject("Order Confirmation #" + order.getId());
        helper.setText(htmlContent, true);
        helper.setFrom("orders@example.com");

        mailSender.send(message);
    }
}

<!-- templates/email/welcome.html -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html xmlns:th="http://www.thymeleaf.org">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
</head>
<body style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
    <div style="max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 20px;">
        <h1 style="color: #333;">Welcome, <span th:text="${userName}">User</span>!</h1>
        <p>Thank you for joining our platform.</p>
        <p>Please click the button below to activate your account:</p>
        <a th:href="${activationLink}"
           style="display: inline-block; padding: 10px 20px; background-color: #007bff;
                  color: white; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 5px;">
            Activate Account
        </a>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

---

Async Email Sending

@Service
@RequiredArgsConstructor
@Slf4j
public class AsyncEmailService {

    private final JavaMailSender mailSender;
    private final TemplateEngine templateEngine;

    @Async("emailExecutor")
    public CompletableFuture<Void> sendEmailAsync(EmailRequest request) {
        try {
            MimeMessage message = mailSender.createMimeMessage();
            MimeMessageHelper helper = new MimeMessageHelper(message, true, "UTF-8");

            helper.setTo(request.getTo());
            helper.setSubject(request.getSubject());
            helper.setText(request.getContent(), request.isHtml());
            helper.setFrom(request.getFrom());

            mailSender.send(message);
            log.info("Email sent successfully to: {}", request.getTo());

            return CompletableFuture.completedFuture(null);
        } catch (Exception e) {
            log.error("Failed to send email to: {}", request.getTo(), e);
            return CompletableFuture.failedFuture(e);
        }
    }

    @Async("emailExecutor")
    @Retryable(retryFor = MailException.class, maxAttempts = 3,
               backoff = @Backoff(delay = 1000, multiplier = 2))
    public void sendWithRetry(String to, String subject, String content) {
        SimpleMailMessage message = new SimpleMailMessage();
        message.setTo(to);
        message.setSubject(subject);
        message.setText(content);
        message.setFrom("noreply@example.com");

        mailSender.send(message);
    }
}

@Configuration
@EnableAsync
public class AsyncConfig {

    @Bean("emailExecutor")
    public Executor emailExecutor() {
        ThreadPoolTaskExecutor executor = new ThreadPoolTaskExecutor();
        executor.setCorePoolSize(2);
        executor.setMaxPoolSize(5);
        executor.setQueueCapacity(100);
        executor.setThreadNamePrefix("email-");
        executor.initialize();
        return executor;
    }
}

---

Email Queue Pattern

@Service
@RequiredArgsConstructor
@Slf4j
public class EmailQueueService {

    private final EmailRepository emailRepository;
    private final JavaMailSender mailSender;

    // Queue email for later sending
    public void queueEmail(EmailRequest request) {
        EmailEntity email = EmailEntity.builder()
            .to(request.getTo())
            .subject(request.getSubject())
            .content(request.getContent())
            .status(EmailStatus.PENDING)
            .createdAt(Instant.now())
            .build();

        emailRepository.save(email);
    }

    // Scheduled job to process queue
    @Scheduled(fixedDelay = 60000)
    public void processEmailQueue() {
        List<EmailEntity> pending = emailRepository
            .findByStatusOrderByCreatedAt(EmailStatus.PENDING);

        for (EmailEntity email : pending) {
            try {
                sendEmail(email);
                email.setStatus(EmailStatus.SENT);
                email.setSentAt(Instant.now());
            } catch (Exception e) {
                email.setStatus(EmailStatus.FAILED);
                email.setErrorMessage(e.getMessage());
                email.setRetryCount(email.getRetryCount() + 1);
                log.error("Failed to send email {}: {}", email.getId(), e.getMessage());
            }
            emailRepository.save(email);
        }
    }

    private void sendEmail(EmailEntity email) throws MessagingException {
        MimeMessage message = mailSender.createMimeMessage();
        MimeMessageHelper helper = new MimeMessageHelper(message, true, "UTF-8");

        helper.setTo(email.getTo());
        helper.setSubject(email.getSubject());
        helper.setText(email.getContent(), true);
        helper.setFrom("noreply@example.com");

        mailSender.send(message);
    }
}

---

Testing

// Con GreenMail
@SpringBootTest
class EmailServiceTest {

    @RegisterExtension
    static GreenMailExtension greenMail = new GreenMailExtension(ServerSetupTest.SMTP)
        .withConfiguration(GreenMailConfiguration.aConfig().withUser("test", "test"))
        .withPerMethodLifecycle(true);

    @Autowired
    private EmailService emailService;

    @Test
    void sendSimpleEmail_shouldDeliverEmail() {
        emailService.sendSimpleEmail(
            "recipient@example.com",
            "Test Subject",
            "Test content"
        );

        MimeMessage[] messages = greenMail.getReceivedMessages();
        assertThat(messages).hasSize(1);
        assertThat(messages[0].getSubject()).isEqualTo("Test Subject");
        assertThat(GreenMailUtil.getBody(messages[0])).contains("Test content");
    }

    @Test
    void sendHtmlEmail_shouldContainHtml() throws Exception {
        emailService.sendHtmlEmail(
            "recipient@example.com",
            "HTML Test",
            "<h1>Hello</h1><p>World</p>"
        );

        MimeMessage[] messages = greenMail.getReceivedMessages();
        assertThat(messages).hasSize(1);

        String content = GreenMailUtil.getBody(messages[0]);
        assertThat(content).contains("<h1>Hello</h1>");
    }
}

// Mock testing
@SpringBootTest
class EmailServiceMockTest {

    @MockBean
    private JavaMailSender mailSender;

    @Autowired
    private EmailService emailService;

    @Test
    void sendEmail_shouldCallMailSender() {
        emailService.sendSimpleEmail("to@example.com", "Subject", "Text");

        verify(mailSender).send(any(SimpleMailMessage.class));
    }
}

---

Best Practices

Do	Don't
Use async for non-blocking	Send emails synchronously in handlers
Implement retry for transient errors	Ignore send failures
Use templates for HTML emails	Build HTML strings manually
Queue emails for reliability	Fire and forget
Configure timeouts	Use infinite timeouts

Production Checklist

• SMTP credentials secured
• TLS/STARTTLS enabled
• Async sending configured
• Retry mechanism implemented
• Email queue for reliability
• SPF/DKIM/DMARC configured
• Bounce handling implemented
• Rate limiting in place
• Templates for all email types
• Testing with GreenMail

When NOT to Use This Skill

• Transactional email services - Use SendGrid, SES, Mailgun SDKs
• High volume - Consider dedicated email services
• SMS/Push - Use appropriate notification services
• Complex campaigns - Use marketing automation tools

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern	Problem	Solution
Sync sending in handlers	Blocks request threads	Use @Async
Credentials in code	Security risk	Use env vars/secrets
No retry	Lost emails	Implement retry with backoff
No queue	Reliability issues	Queue emails in database
Ignoring bounces	Bad reputation	Handle bounce notifications

Quick Troubleshooting

Problem	Diagnostic	Fix
AuthenticationFailed	Check credentials	Verify username/password, app password
Connection timeout	Check firewall	Verify network, increase timeout
Email in spam	Check headers	Configure SPF/DKIM/DMARC
Encoding issues	Check charset	Use UTF-8 explicitly
SSL handshake failed	Check TLS config	Enable STARTTLS properly

Reference Documentation

• Spring Mail Reference