# Preview a template

> Renders the draft of a template (by id or alias) with the variables you pass, without sending anything. Useful to check a draft before publishing.

Source: https://docs.pidgely.com/api-reference/templates/preview/

`POST https://api.pidgely.com/templates/{key}/preview`

Renders the **draft** of a template (by id or alias) with the variables you pass, without sending anything. Useful to check a draft before [publishing](https://docs.pidgely.com/api-reference/templates/publish/).

**Authorization:** `Bearer pdg_…`. An API key with `full_access`. A `sending_access` key gets `401 restricted_api_key`.

## Path parameters

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `key` | string | Yes | Template id or alias |

## Body parameters

JSON object.

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `variables` | object (map of string \| number) | No | Typed variables (up to 50). `FIRST_NAME`, `LAST_NAME`, `EMAIL` and `UNSUBSCRIBE_URL` are reserved. |

## Request

This endpoint is not in the [SDKs](https://docs.pidgely.com/sdks/) yet; call it over HTTP.

```bash tab="cURL"
curl -X POST 'https://api.pidgely.com/templates/order-confirmation/preview' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PIDGELY_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
  "variables": {
    "ORDER_ID": "1234",
    "TOTAL": 59.9
  }
}'
```

## Response

`200 OK`

```json
{
  "object": "template",
  "from": "Acme <onboarding@acme.com>",
  "subject": "Hello from Acme",
  "reply_to": [
    "reply_to"
  ],
  "html": "<p>Hello!</p>",
  "text": "Hello!",
  "missing_variables": [
    "missing_variable"
  ]
}
```

### Response fields

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `object` | string | No | Object type. |
| `from` | string | No | — |
| `subject` | string | Yes | Subject line, up to 998 bytes. Required unless a template provides it. |
| `reply_to` | string[] | No | Reply-To address or list of addresses. |
| `html` | string | Yes | HTML body. `html` or `text` is required (unless you send with a template). |
| `text` | string | Yes | — |
| `missing_variables` | string[] | Yes | — |

## Errors

Errors have the shape `{"statusCode", "name", "message"}`. See [Errors](https://docs.pidgely.com/errors/) for the full list.

| Status | Name | When |
|---|---|---|
| 401 | `missing_api_key`, `restricted_api_key` | No `Authorization: Bearer` header, or a `sending_access` key called an endpoint that needs `full_access`. |
| 403 | `invalid_api_key`, `validation_error` | The API key is invalid or revoked, or the request is not allowed for this account (unverified domain, plan limit, paused account). |
| 404 | `not_found` | The resource does not exist in this account (or the id is not a valid UUID). |
| 422 | `validation_error` | A field is missing or invalid; `message` names it. |
| 429 | `rate_limit_exceeded` | Too many requests per second. Wait for `Retry-After` seconds. |