Nylas Node.js Bindings

Installation

npm install nylas

Example Express App

A small example Express app is included in the example directory. you can run the sample app to see how an authentication flow might be implemented:

cd example
npm install
DEBUG=example:* ./bin/www

Note that you'll need to replace the Nylas App ID and Secret in app.js with your application's credentials.

API Overview

Every resource is accessed via an instance of Nylas. Before making any requests, be sure to call config and initialize the Nylas with your App ID and App Secret.

var Nylas = require('nylas').config({
    appId: 'c96gge1jo29pl2rebcb7utsbp',
    appSecret: 'l2rebcb7utsbpc96gge1jo29p'
});

Every resource method accepts an optional callback as the last argument:

Nylas.with(accessToken).threads.list({}, function(err, threads){
	console.log(threads.length);
});

Additionally, every resource method returns a promise, so you don't have to use callbacks if the rest of your code is promise-friendly:

Nylas.with(accessToken).threads.list({}).then(function(threads){
	console.log(threads.length);
});

Authentication

The Nylas REST API uses server-side (three-legged) OAuth, and the Node.js bindings provide convenience methods that simplifiy the OAuth process. For more information about authenticating users with Nylas, visit the Developer Documentation

Step 1: Redirect the user to Nylas:

var Nylas = require('nylas').config({
    appId: 'c96gge1jo29pl2rebcb7utsbp',
    appSecret: 'l2rebcb7utsbpc96gge1jo29p'
});

router.get('/connect', function(req, res, next) {
    options = {
        redirectURI: 'http://localhost:3000/oauth/callback',
        trial: false
    }
    res.redirect(Nylas.urlForAuthentication(options));
});

Step 2: Handle the Authentication Response:

router.get('/oauth/callback', function (req, res, next) {
    if (req.query.code) {
        Nylas.exchangeCodeForToken(req.query.code).then(function(token) {
        	// save the token to the current session, save it to the user model, etc.
        });

    } else if (req.query.error) {
        res.render('error', {
            message: req.query.reason,
            error: {
                status: 'Please try authenticating again or use a different email account.',
                stack: ''
            }
        });
    }
});

Fetching Threads, Messages, etc.

The Javascript SDK exposes API resources as attributes of the nylas object. You can query these resources in several ways. Available filters can be found in the API Documentation

var nylas = Nylas.with(accessToken);

// Find the first thread matching the filter criteria

nylas.threads.first({from: 'ben@nylas.com'}).then(function(thread) {
   console.log(thread.subject);
   console.log(thread.snippet);
})

// Count threads with the inbox tag

nylas.threads.count({tag: 'inbox'}).then(function(count) {
   console.log('There are ' + count + 'threads in your Nylas.');
})

// Fetch a single thread

nylas.threads.find('c96gge1jo29pl2rebcb7utsbp').then(function(thread) {
   console.log(thread.subject);
}).catch(function(err) {
   console.log('Thread not found! Error: ' + err.toString());
});

// Fetch a single thread (using optional callback instead of promise)

nylas.threads.find('c96gge1jo29pl2rebcb7utsbp', function(err, thread) {
   if (err) {
      console.log('Thread not found! Error: ' + err.toString());
      return;
   }
   console.log(thread.subject);
});

// Iterate over every matching thread. Automatically paginates the underlying API
// as necessary and calls the provided block as threads are received. Calls the final
// block upon an error, or when processing is finished.

nylas.threads.forEach({tag: 'unread', from: 'no-reply@sentry.com'}, function(err, thread) {
   console.log(thread.subject);
}, function (err) {
   console.log('finished iterating through threads');
});

// Returns an array of all matching threads, paginating the underlying API as necessary.
// May take a long time and return many, many objects if used with a broad filter.

nylas.threads.list({tag: 'inbox'}).then(function(threads) {
});

Folders and labels

The new folders and labels API replaces the now deprecated Tags API. It allows you to apply Gmail labels to whole threads or individual messages and, for providers other than Gmail, to move threads and messages between folders.

var nylas = Nylas.with(accessToken);

// List the labels for this account
nylas.labels.list({}).then(function(labels) {
   console.log(label.displayName);
   console.log(label.id);
})

// The same, with folders.
nylas.folders.list({}).then(function(folders) {
   console.log(folder.displayName);
   console.log(folder.id);
})

// Create a folder
fld = nylas.folders.build({ displayName: 'Reminders'});
fld.save();

// Add the 'Junk Email' label to a thread.
var label = undefined;
nylas.labels.list({}).then(function(labels) {
    for(var i = 0; i < labels.length; i++) {
        label = labels[i];
        if (label.displayName == 'Junk Email') {
            break;
        }
    }

    nylas.threads.list({}, function(err, threads) {
        var thread = threads[0];
        thread.labels.push(label);
        thread.save();
})

// Note that Folders and Labels are absolutely identical from the standpoint of the SDK.
// The only difference is that a message can have many labels but only a single folder.

File metadata

var nylas = Nylas.with(accessToken);

// to get the metadata of a particular file
var f = nylas.files.build({
  id: fileId
});

f.metadata(function(err, data) {
  // On success, data looks like:
  //  {
  //    "content_type": "application/msword",
  //    "filename": "Reinstatement of Corporation.doc",
  //    "id": "9tm2n206vdj29wrhcxfvmvo4o",
  //    "message_ids": [
  //        "93mtrpk4uo3wsvwcpb5yh57kp"
  //    ],
  //    "account_id": "6aakaxzi4j5gn6f7kbb9e0fxs",
  //    "object": "file",
  //    "size": 100864
  //  }
  console.log(data)
});


// for an array of file metadata, build a dummy file with no id
f = nylas.files.build();
f.metadata(function(err, dataArray){
  console.log(dataArray);
});

Uploading files

var nylas = Nylas.with(accessToken);
var fs = require('fs');

// Because of a bug in the library we use to issue http requests,
// we can't pass a stream to the file upload function, which is
// why we read the file directly.
fs.readFile(filePath, 'utf8', function (err, data) {
    f = nylas.files.build({
        filename: filePath,
        data: data,
        contentType: 'text/plain'
    });

    f.upload(function(err, file) {
        // Create a draft and attach the file to it.
        var draft = nylas.drafts.build({
            subject: 'Ice-cream',
            to: [{email: 'helena@nylas.com'}],
            body: 'Hey, find the file attached.',
        });

        draft.files = [file];

        draft.send().then(function(draft) {
            console.log(draft.id + ' was sent');
        });
    });
});

Downloading files

var nylas = Nylas.with(accessToken);
var fs = require('fs');

var f = nylas.files.build({
    id: fileId
});

f.download(function(err, file) {
  // file contains some headers like 'content-disposition',
  // the data is stored in 'body'
  fs.writeFile('/tmp/' + file.filename, file.body);
});

Creating and Sending Drafts

var nylas = Nylas.with(accessToken);

var draft = nylas.drafts.build({
    subject: 'My New Draft',
    to: [{email: 'ben@nylas.com'}]
    replyToMessageId: "8i4u7sid2ygvfso9gomu9rcw3" // id of the message we're replying to. When set,
                                                  // the Nylas sending API will set specific email
                                                  // headers to mark your message as a reply to `message_id`.
});

// Sending the Draft

draft.send().then(function(draft) {
    console.log(draft.id + ' was sent');
});

// Saving a Draft

draft.save().then(function(draft) {
    console.log(draft.id + ' was saved');
});

// Retrieving and sending a saved draft

var savedId = '1234';

nylas.drafts.find(savedId).then(draft) {
	draft.send().then(function (draft) {
  	    console.log('sent!');
	});
});

Using the Delta Streaming API

var DELTA_EXCLUDE_TYPES = ['contact', 'calendar', 'event', 'file', 'tag'];
var nylas = Nylas.with(accessToken);

nylas.deltas.latestCursor(function(error, cursor) {

  // Save inital cursor.
  persistCursor(cursor);

  // Start the stream and add event handlers.
  var stream = nylas.deltas.startStream(cursor, DELTA_EXCLUDE_TYPES);

  stream.on('delta', function(delta) {
    // Handle the new delta here.
    console.log('Received delta:', delta);
    // Save new cursor so this delta doesn't need to be re-fetched for future streams.
    persistCursor(delta.cursor);

  }).on('error', function(err) {
    // Handle errors here, such as by restarting the stream at the last cursor.
    console.error('Delta streaming error:', err);

  });

  // Closing the stream explicitly, if needed
  stopButton.addEventListener('click', function() {
    stream.close();
  });
})

Interacting with Events

// Create an event and send an invite.
// The Nylas API supports sending invites/updates to the event's participants.
// To do this we need to set the 'notify_participants' parameter to true.
var nylas = Nylas.with(accessToken);

var ev = nylas.events.build({
    title: 'Out of time',
    calendarId: 'c4y597l3adg8mskfqxxns8hsj',
    when: {'start_time': 1437500000, 'end_time': 1437501600},
    participants: [{email: 'karim@nylas.com', name: "Karim Hamidou"}]
});

ev.save({'sendNotifications': true}, function(err, event) {
    console.log('Sent an invite to the participants');
});

// RSVP to an invite. Note that you can only RSVP to invites found in the
// "Emailed events" calendar.
nylas.events.find('30xunbe3033d44kip9bnau5ph').then(function(ev) {
    ev.rsvp('maybe', 'I may attend this event').then(function(ev) {
        console.log('RSVP sent!');
    });
});

Account objects

It's possible to get details about the account you're accessing by using the account method:

nylas.account.get().then(function(model) {
    console.log(model);
});

You can also access the billing status for the accounts in your app by using the accounts method:

Nylas.accounts.list().then(function(accounts) {
    console.log(accounts.length);
    for(var i = 0; i < accounts.length; i++) {
        console.log(accounts[i].id, accounts[i].billingState, accounts[i].syncState);
    }
});

Open source API

The Nylas Sync Engine is open source, and you can also use the Node SDK with the open source API. Since the open source API provides no authentication or security, connecting to it is simple.

/* This example shows how to fetch messages from the first account
   using a version of the Nylas sync engine running locally.
*/

Nylas = require('nylas').config({
    appId: 'appId---doesnt matter when running locally',
    appSecret: 'appSecret---same',
    apiServer: 'http://localhost:5555'
});

/* The open source version of the engine requires us to "auth" to it by
   passing the account id as an auth token. Get the account id of the
   first account.
*/
Nylas.accounts.first({}, function(err, account) {
    var nylas = Nylas.with(account.id).messages.list({limit: 20}, function(err, messages) {
        for(var i = 0; i < messages.length; i++) {
            console.log(messages[i].subject);
        }
    });
});

Contributing

We'd love your help making the Nylas Node.js bindings better. Join the Google Group for project updates and feature discussion. We also hang out on the Nylas community Slack channel, or you can email support@nylas.com.

Please sign the Contributor License Agreement before submitting pull requests. (It's similar to other projects, like NodeJS or Meteor.)

Tests can be run with:

npm test