> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.usenash.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

> ## Agent Instructions
> Nash exposes two MCP servers. The docs MCP server at https://docs.usenash.com/mcp searches this documentation and needs no credentials. The Nash MCP server at https://mcp.usenash.com/mcp operates an organization's deliveries and needs a Nash API key. See https://docs.usenash.com/reference/build-with-ai.
> Use the Sandbox environment (https://api.sandbox.usenash.com/v1) for anything that creates or dispatches deliveries during development.

# Email templates

> Build a delivery email once under Engage, publish it, and have your workflows and notification triggers send the latest published version.

An email template is a designed email you keep in one library under **Engage → Email templates** in the Portal. Workflows and notification triggers point at a template instead of carrying their own copy of the message, so when you change the email, you change it in one place and every send that uses it follows.

## When to use this

* The same delivery email goes out from several places, such as a "your order is on its way" email sent by a notification trigger and by two workflows, and keeping their wording in step is a chore.
* You want a branded email with a logo, buttons, and columns, not a plain-text subject and body.
* Someone other than the person who built the workflow owns the wording, and they need to change it without opening the workflow.
* You want to see which workflows and triggers an edit will reach before it goes out.

If a message only goes out from one place and is a line or two of text, writing it inline on the step is simpler. Templates are email only: SMS, Slack, and WhatsApp messages stay inline.

## How it works

A template has a draft and a published version. You edit the draft as often as you like, and **Save draft** keeps your work without changing what customers receive. **Publish** makes the draft the version that's sent. A template's status reads **Draft** before its first publish, **Published** once it's live, and **Unpublished changes** when the draft has moved on from what's live.

Workflows and notification triggers always send the latest published version. Publishing takes effect on their next send; nothing needs to be re-saved.

Templates use the same `{{variables}}` as the rest of your notifications, such as `{{customer.first_name}}` or `{{job_tracking_link}}`. Nash fills them in when the email is sent. The [notifications catalog](/api-reference/notifications/notifications) lists them.

## Build a template

<Steps>
  <Step title="Start one">
    Under **Engage → Email templates**, choose **New template**, give it a **Template name**, and under **Start from** pick **Blank email** or an existing template to copy. On an empty library, **Add starter templates** adds six delivery emails to edit: Delivery booked, Order is on its way, Order delivered, Delivery unsuccessful, Delivery time updated, and Delivery feedback request.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Lay it out">
    **Add block** inserts a heading, button, image, divider, section, or two columns. **Variables** inserts a variable as a chip in the text. The **Design** panel sets the email's style: typography, page and email background, email width, padding, text and button colors, and corner radius. Images are added by an HTTPS **Image URL**, with **Alternative text** for screen readers and email clients that block images.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Preview it">
    The preview shows the email at **Desktop** and **Mobile** widths, with sample data in place of the variables.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Publish">
    **Publish** lists the **Affected workflows** and **Affected notification triggers** that use the template, so you can see what an edit will reach before you confirm.
  </Step>
</Steps>

**Duplicate** copies a template as "*name* copy". **Archive** takes a template out of the library; a template that a workflow or trigger still uses can't be archived. If someone else saved the same draft while you were editing, you choose between **Load latest draft** and **Save my version**, so neither of you overwrites the other by accident.

Viewing templates needs read access to notifications, and creating, editing, and publishing them needs write access. See [Roles and access](/reference/roles-and-access).

## Use a template in a workflow

On a workflow's **Send email** step, set **Email content** to **Use a template** and select a published template. The step's recipients stay on the workflow; the template supplies the subject and body. See [Workflows](/reference/workflows#send-an-email-from-a-template).

## Use a template on a notification trigger

On a delivery notification trigger, each recipient group that has email contacts can **Use a template** for its email. Contacts on other channels in the same group get the trigger's **Message for other channels**. Templates work on triggers that watch a delivery, such as a status change, a late pickup or dropoff, or a stuck status; a status trigger on **Created** or a dispatch failure keeps its inline message. See [Notifications](/reference/notifications#customize-your-messages).

If a template can't render when the email is sent, Nash sends the trigger's saved inline subject and message instead, so the customer still hears from you.

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Notifications" icon="bell" href="/reference/notifications">
    Triggers, destinations, and channels for delivery alerts.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Workflows" icon="diagram-project" href="/reference/workflows">
    Automate what happens when an order or delivery changes.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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