email-best-practices

# Email Best Practices

Guidance for building deliverable, compliant, user-friendly emails.

## Architecture Overview

```
[User] → [Email Form] → [Validation] → [Double Opt-In]
                                              ↓
                                    [Consent Recorded]
                                              ↓
[Suppression Check] ←──────────────[Ready to Send]
        ↓
[Idempotent Send + Retry] ──────→ [Email API]
                                       ↓
                              [Webhook Events]
                                       ↓
              ┌────────┬────────┬─────────────┐
              ↓        ↓        ↓             ↓
         Delivered  Bounced  Complained  Opened/Clicked
                       ↓        ↓
              [Suppression List Updated]
                       ↓
              [List Hygiene Jobs]
```

## Quick Reference

| Need to... | See |
|------------|-----|
| Set up SPF/DKIM/DMARC, fix spam issues | [Deliverability](./resources/deliverability.md) |
| Build password reset, OTP, confirmations | [Transactional Emails](./resources/transactional-emails.md) |
| Plan which emails your app needs | [Transactional Email Catalog](./resources/transactional-email-catalog.md) |
| Build newsletter signup, validate emails | [Email Capture](./resources/email-capture.md) |
| Send newsletters, promotions | [Marketing Emails](./resources/marketing-emails.md) |
| Ensure CAN-SPAM/GDPR/CASL compliance | [Compliance](./resources/compliance.md) |
| Decide transactional vs marketing | [Email Types](./resources/email-types.md) |
| Handle retries, idempotency, errors | [Sending Reliability](./resources/sending-reliability.md) |
| Process delivery events, set up webhooks | [Webhooks & Events](./resources/webhooks-events.md) |
| Manage bounces, complaints, suppression | [List Management](./resources/list-management.md) |

## Start Here

**New app?**
Start with the [Catalog](./resources/transactional-email-catalog.md) to plan which emails your app n...

```
  ╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
  ║   _____ __  __    _    ___ _         ║
  ║  | ____|  \/  |  / \  |_ _| |        ║
  ║  |  _| | |\/| | / _ \  | || |        ║
  ║  | |___| |  | |/ ___ \ | || |___     ║
  ║  |_____|_|  |_/_/   \_\___|_____|    ║
  ║                                      ║
  ║           Best Practices             ║
  ╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
```

# Email Best Practices Skill

A comprehensive agent skill for building production-ready email systems. Covers everything from DNS authentication to webhook processing, with a focus on deliverability, compliance, and reliability.

## Installation

```bash
npx skills add resend/email-best-practices
```

## What This Skill Covers

**Getting Started**
- Planning which emails your app needs (password reset, verification, order confirmations)
- Setting up email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) so emails reach inboxes

**Sending Emails**
- Transactional email design (subject lines, content structure, mobile-first)
- Marketing email best practices (consent, segmentation, unsubscribe)
- Compliance requirements by region (CAN-SPAM, GDPR, CASL)

**Production Infrastructure**
- Idempotency and retry logic to prevent duplicates
- Webhook processing for delivery events
- Suppression lists and list hygiene automation

## Structure

```
email-best-practices/
├── SKILL.md                             # Start here - routes to the right resource
└── resources/
    ├── deliverability.md                # SPF/DKIM/DMARC, sender reputation
    ├── transactional-emails.md          # Password resets, OTPs, confirmations
    ├── transactional-email-catalog.md   # Email combinations by app type
    ├── marketing-emails.md              # Newsletters, campaigns, consent
    ├── email-capture.md                 # Validation, verification, opt-in
    ├── compliance.md                    # CAN-SPAM, GDPR, CASL
    ├── email-types.md                   # Transactional vs marketing
    ├── sending-reliability.md...