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Messaging And Email

What this category is for​

Use these nodes to send notifications to email providers or publish messages to Kafka as part of workflow side effects.

Node list table​

Node typePurposeKey inputsBranch outputs
smtp_nodeSend email through SMTP credential.Config credentials_id, optional timeout_ms; input to, subject, body, optional body_html, cc, bcc, from_override, attachmentssuccess, error
sendgrid_nodeSend email through SendGrid API credential.Config credentials_id, optional timeout_ms; same input shape as smtp_nodesuccess, error
kafka_nodeProduce message to Kafka topic.Config credentials_id, optional timeout_ms; input topic, value, optional key, headersnone (returns result or error field)

Common patterns​

1) Non-blocking notifications​

  • Main request path responds quickly via response_node
  • Side branch triggers smtp_node/sendgrid_node for user or ops notifications

2) Event emission after successful transaction​

  • After DB/API success, publish compact event payload to kafka_node
  • Include deterministic key for partition consistency

3) Provider fallback​

  • Primary sendgrid_node
  • On error branch, route to smtp_node fallback with same content

4) Structured alerting payloads​

  • Build subject/body/topic/value using set_node
  • Keep notification node inputs thin and explicit

Common mistakes and how to debug​

  • Wrong credential type: node returns error when credential type does not match (smtp, sendgrid, kafka).
  • Empty required fields: email nodes require to, subject, body; kafka requires topic and value.
  • Attachment formatting errors: attachments must be array of objects with base64 content; malformed payload causes send failures.
  • Kafka bootstrap resolution issues: if credential uses env-var bootstrap, ensure env var is present at runtime.
  • Missing branch handling: email nodes expose success/error branches; wire both. kafka_node does not emit matched_output, so downstream edges are unconditional.