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It’s possible to edit the HTML of a Courier Email notification directly using the Handlebars template override.

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Where Handlebars Can Be Used

Handlebars templates can be used in several contexts within Courier:
  • Email Template Overrides: Direct HTML/Handlebars editing for email notifications (described below)
  • Template Blocks: Reusable Handlebars components within the Template Designer
  • Brand Templates: Custom header/footer templates for brand consistency
  • Brand Snippets: Reusable Handlebars code snippets across templates
Courier extends Handlebars with custom helpers for logic operations, string formatting, math functions, date handling, and internationalization.

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Override the Template Designer With Handlebars

If you want to edit the HTML / Handlebars code of an Email Template directly, you can switch from the Template Designer to the Handlebars editor.
Create Your Notification

Create Your Notification

This is a useful way to import existing HTML templates into Courier.
Create Your Notification

HTML Template Editor

Content created using the Handlebars override is not reusable across channels.
When you use the Handlebars override, your brand’s header, footer, and CSS styles are not applied. The override replaces the entire email body. If you need brand styling, include it directly in your Handlebars HTML or use template blocks within the Template Designer instead.
If you need to use Handlebars for a portion of your email, use template blocks and combine them with other block types to allow your non-handlebars code content to be re-used in other channels. Edits made in the Handlebars editor will not apply to other Email notifications. To define the look and feel of all your emails at once, customize your default brand template.

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Use Cases

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Conditionally Rendering Content

#if blocks can be used to control whether content is rendered.

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Pluralizing Text

The formatMessage helper can be used to pluralize text in rendered content. Pluralization respects the ICU format and entries follow Unicode CLDR rules. Example

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Setting Variables in the Payload

Using a Handlebars block, you can transform and set a variable, which can then be used in a template:

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Using the intl Block for Localization

You can wrap Handlebars functions with the intl block in order to access internationalization features including currency, number formatting and dates. See Handlebars-intl for more information.
This formats numbers, currency, and dates for a locale. To translate the copy itself in an Elemental template, set per-locale overrides on the elements with the localization API or Design Studio.