# Templates

> Store email content once with typed variables and fallbacks, edit drafts safely, publish versions and send with template id or alias.

Source: https://docs.pidgely.com/guides/templates/

A template holds the subject, HTML, text and (optionally) sender of an email, with **variables** filled in at send time. Templates have a **draft** you can edit freely and **published versions** that sends use, so editing never changes what goes out until you publish.

## Create a template

```js tab="Node.js"
import { Pidgely } from 'pidgely';

const pidgely = new Pidgely(process.env.PIDGELY_API_KEY);

const { data, error } = await pidgely.templates.create({
  name: 'Order confirmation',
  alias: 'order-confirmation',
  from: 'Acme <orders@acme.com>',
  subject: 'Order {{{ORDER_ID}}} confirmed',
  html: '<p>Hi {{{CUSTOMER_NAME|there}}}, your order {{{ORDER_ID}}} totals ${{{TOTAL}}}.</p>',
  variables: [
    {
      key: 'ORDER_ID',
      type: 'string',
    },
    {
      key: 'TOTAL',
      type: 'number',
      fallbackValue: 0,
    },
    {
      key: 'CUSTOMER_NAME',
      type: 'string',
      fallbackValue: 'there',
    },
  ],
});
console.log(data ?? error);
```

```python tab="Python"
import os
import pidgely

pidgely.api_key = os.environ["PIDGELY_API_KEY"]

result = pidgely.Templates.create({
    "name": "Order confirmation",
    "alias": "order-confirmation",
    "from": "Acme <orders@acme.com>",
    "subject": "Order {{{ORDER_ID}}} confirmed",
    "html": "<p>Hi {{{CUSTOMER_NAME|there}}}, your order {{{ORDER_ID}}} totals ${{{TOTAL}}}.</p>",
    "variables": [
        {
            "key": "ORDER_ID",
            "type": "string",
        },
        {
            "key": "TOTAL",
            "type": "number",
            "fallback_value": 0,
        },
        {
            "key": "CUSTOMER_NAME",
            "type": "string",
            "fallback_value": "there",
        },
    ],
})
print(result)
```

```php tab="PHP"
<?php

require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

$pidgely = Pidgely::client(getenv('PIDGELY_API_KEY'));

$result = $pidgely->templates->create([
    'name' => 'Order confirmation',
    'alias' => 'order-confirmation',
    'from' => 'Acme <orders@acme.com>',
    'subject' => 'Order {{{ORDER_ID}}} confirmed',
    'html' => '<p>Hi {{{CUSTOMER_NAME|there}}}, your order {{{ORDER_ID}}} totals ${{{TOTAL}}}.</p>',
    'variables' => [
        [
            'key' => 'ORDER_ID',
            'type' => 'string',
        ],
        [
            'key' => 'TOTAL',
            'type' => 'number',
            'fallback_value' => 0,
        ],
        [
            'key' => 'CUSTOMER_NAME',
            'type' => 'string',
            'fallback_value' => 'there',
        ],
    ],
]);
var_dump($result);
```

```go tab="Go"
package main

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"os"

	"github.com/pidgely/pidgely-go"
)

func main() {
	ctx := context.Background()
	client := pidgely.NewClient(os.Getenv("PIDGELY_API_KEY"))

	result, err := client.Templates.Create(ctx, &pidgely.CreateTemplateRequest{
		Name:      "Order confirmation",
		Alias:     "order-confirmation",
		From:      "Acme <orders@acme.com>",
		Subject:   "Order {{{ORDER_ID}}} confirmed",
		Html:      "<p>Hi {{{CUSTOMER_NAME|there}}}, your order {{{ORDER_ID}}} totals ${{{TOTAL}}}.</p>",
		Variables: []pidgely.TemplateVariableInput{
		{
			Key:  "ORDER_ID",
			Type: "string",
		},
		{
			Key:           "TOTAL",
			Type:          "number",
			FallbackValue: 0,
		},
		{
			Key:           "CUSTOMER_NAME",
			Type:          "string",
			FallbackValue: "there",
		},
	},
	})
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	fmt.Println(result)
}
```

```ruby tab="Ruby"
require "pidgely"

Pidgely.api_key = ENV["PIDGELY_API_KEY"]

result = Pidgely::Templates.create({
  name: "Order confirmation",
  alias: "order-confirmation",
  from: "Acme <orders@acme.com>",
  subject: "Order {{{ORDER_ID}}} confirmed",
  html: "<p>Hi {{{CUSTOMER_NAME|there}}}, your order {{{ORDER_ID}}} totals ${{{TOTAL}}}.</p>",
  variables: [
    {
      key: "ORDER_ID",
      type: "string"
    },
    {
      key: "TOTAL",
      type: "number",
      fallback_value: 0
    },
    {
      key: "CUSTOMER_NAME",
      type: "string",
      fallback_value: "there"
    }
  ]
})
puts result
```

```bash tab="cURL"
curl -X POST 'https://api.pidgely.com/templates' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PIDGELY_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
  "name": "Order confirmation",
  "alias": "order-confirmation",
  "from": "Acme <orders@acme.com>",
  "subject": "Order {{{ORDER_ID}}} confirmed",
  "html": "<p>Hi {{{CUSTOMER_NAME|there}}}, your order {{{ORDER_ID}}} totals ${{{TOTAL}}}.</p>",
  "variables": [
    {
      "key": "ORDER_ID",
      "type": "string"
    },
    {
      "key": "TOTAL",
      "type": "number",
      "fallback_value": 0
    },
    {
      "key": "CUSTOMER_NAME",
      "type": "string",
      "fallback_value": "there"
    }
  ]
}'
```

- `name` (1–200 characters) and `html` are required. `from` and `reply_to` are validated as addresses when present.
- `alias` is an optional, unique, human-readable key (`^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_.-]{0,99}$`, not shaped like a UUID). Every endpoint accepts the id **or** the alias. A duplicate alias gets `409 alias_taken`.

## Variables

Variables use **triple braces** in `subject`, `html` and `text`:

| Syntax | Result |
|---|---|
| `{{{ORDER_ID}}}` | The value passed at send time (or the declared fallback) |
| `{{{CUSTOMER_NAME\|there}}}` | The value, or `there` when none is available |
| `{{ ORDER_ID }}` | Left as is (double braces are not variables) |

Spaces inside the braces are allowed. In `html`, values are HTML-escaped; in `subject` and `text` they are inserted as is.

Declare up to **50** variables with a `key` (`^[A-Za-z0-9_]{1,50}$`), a `type` (`string` or `number`) and an optional `fallback_value` of that type. The names `FIRST_NAME`, `LAST_NAME`, `EMAIL` and `UNSUBSCRIBE_URL` are reserved.

## Drafts and publishing

1. Every create or update changes the **draft** and sets `has_unpublished_versions: true`.
2. [`POST /templates/{id}/publish`](https://docs.pidgely.com/api-reference/templates/publish/) turns the draft into an immutable published version.
3. Sends always use the **latest published version**. A template that was never published can't be used (`template.id: only published templates can be used to send`).

[Duplicate](https://docs.pidgely.com/api-reference/templates/duplicate/) creates a draft copy named `<name> (copy)`, handy for A/B variants.

## Send with a template

```json
{
  "to": ["steve@example.com"],
  "template": {
    "id": "order-confirmation",
    "variables": { "ORDER_ID": "1234", "TOTAL": 59.9, "CUSTOMER_NAME": "Steve" }
  }
}
```

- `template.id` takes the id or the alias.
- `template` can't be combined with `html` or `text`: the template's bodies are always used.
- `from`, `subject` and `reply_to` come from the template **only when the request leaves them empty**: values in the request win.
- Each variable resolves to the value you pass, then the declared `fallback_value`, then the inline `|fallback`. If any is still missing, the send fails with `422 validation_error` and `template.variables: missing value for ORDER_ID`.
- String values can be up to 2,000 characters; numbers are formatted as given. A string passed to a `number` variable fails with `must be a number`. Keys you didn't declare are treated as strings.

Templates work in [batch sends](https://docs.pidgely.com/guides/sending/#batch-sending) too, each email with its own variables.