build_email( ... )

This function returns a new Courriel object. It takes the results of all the other functions you call as input.

It expects you to pass in a body of some sort, whether text, html, or both, and will throw an error if you don't.

It will add Date and Message-ID headers to your email if you don't provide them, ensuring that the email is RFC-compliant.

subject($subject)

This sets the subject of the email. It expects a single string. You can pass an empty string, but not "undef".

from($from)

This sets the From header of the email. It expects a single string or an object with a "format()" method like "Email::Address::XS".

to($from)

This sets the To header of the email. It expects a list of strings and/or objects with a "format()" method like "Email::Address::XS".

cc($from)

This sets the Cc header of the email. It expects a list of strings and/or objects with a "format()" method like "Email::Address::XS".

header( $name => $value )

This sets a header's value. You can call it as many times as you want, and you can call it more than once with the same header name to set multiple values for that header.

plain_body( ... )

This defines a plain text body for the email. You can call it with a single argument, a scalar or reference to a scalar. This creates a text/plain part based on the content you provide in that argument. By default, the charset for the body is UTF-8 and the encoding is base64.

You can also call this function with a hash of options. It accepts the following options:

• content

  The content of the body. This can be a string or scalar reference.

• charset

  The charset for the body. This defaults to UTF-8.

• encoding

  The encoding for the body. This defaults to base64. Other valid values are quoted-printable, 7bit, and 8bit.

  It is strongly recommended that you let Courriel handle the transfer encoding for you.

html_body( ... )

This accepts the same arguments as the "plain_body()" function.

You can also pass in the results of one or more calls to the "attach()" function. If you pass in attachments, it creates a multipart/related email part, which lets you refer to images by the Content-ID using the "cid:" URL scheme.

attach( ... )

This function creates an attachment for the email. In the simplest form, you can pass it a single argument, which should be a path to a file on disk. This file will be attached to the email.

You can also pass a hash of options. The valid keys are:

• file

  The file to attach to the email. You can also pass the content explicitly.

• content

  The content of the attachment. This can be a string or scalar reference.

• filename

  You can set the filename that will be used in the attachment's Content-Disposition header. If you pass a "file" parameter, that will be used when this isn't provided. If you pass as "content" parameter, then there will be no filename set for the attachment unless you pass a "filename" parameter as well.

• mime_type

  You can explicitly set the mime type for the attachment. If you don't, this function will use File::LibMagic to try to figure out the mime type for the attachment.

• content_id

  This will set the Content-ID header for the attachment. If you're creating a HTML body with "cid:" scheme URLs, you'll need to set this for each attachment that the HTML body refers to.

  The id will be wrapped in angle brackets ("<id-goes-here>") when set as a header.

Simple Email With Plain Text Body

    my $email = build_email(
        subject('An email for you'),
        from('joe@example.com'),
        to( 'jane@example.com', 'alice@example.com' ),
        plain_body($plain_text),
    );

This creates an email with a single text/plain part.

Simple Email With HTML Body

    my $email = build_email(
        subject('An email for you'),
        from('joe@example.com'),
        to( 'jane@example.com', 'alice@example.com' ),
        html_body($html_text),
    );

This creates an email with a single text/html part.

Email With Both Plain and HTML Bodies

    my $email = build_email(
        subject('An email for you'),
        from('joe@example.com'),
        to( 'jane@example.com', 'alice@example.com' ),
        plain_body($plain_text),
        html_body($html_text),
    );

This creates an email with this structure:

    multipart/alternative
      |
      |-- text/plain (disposition = inline)
      |-- text/html  (disposition = inline)

Email With Both Plain and HTML Bodies and Inline Images

    my $email = build_email(
        subject('An email for you'),
        from('joe@example.com'),
        to( 'jane@example.com', 'alice@example.com' ),
        plain_body($plain_text),
        html_body(
            $html_text,
            attach(
                file       => 'path/to/image1.jpg',
                content_id => 'image1',
            ),
            attach(
                file       => 'path/to/image2.jpg',
                content_id => 'image2',
            ),
        ),
    );

This creates an email with this structure:

    multipart/alternative
      |
      |-- text/plain (disposition = inline)
      |-- multipart/related
            |
            |-- text/html  (disposition = inline)
            |-- image/jpeg (disposition = attachment, Content-ID = image1)
            |-- image/jpeg (disposition = attachment, Content-ID = image2)

Email With Both Plain and HTML Bodies and Attachments

    my $email = build_email(
        subject('An email for you'),
        from('joe@example.com'),
        to( 'jane@example.com', 'alice@example.com' ),
        plain_body($plain_text),
        html_body(
            $html_text,
        ),
        attach('path/to/spreadsheet.xls'),
        attach( content => \$png_image_content ),
    );

This creates an email with this structure:

    multipart/mixed
      |
      |-- multipart/alternative
      |     |
      |     |-- text/plain (disposition = inline)
      |     |-- text/html  (disposition = inline)
      |
      |-- application/vnd.ms-excel (disposition = attachment)
      |-- image/png                (disposition = attachment)