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Walk through the full lifecycle of a Courier notification: configure a provider, design a template with content blocks and variables, preview it with test data, publish, and send a test message. By the end, you’ll have a working notification ready to integrate into your codebase.

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Prerequisites

  • A Courier account
  • Credentials for at least one provider (e.g. SendGrid API key, Twilio SID). Courier also provides a built-in test email provider you can use to get started without external credentials.

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Step 1: Configure a Provider

Before you can send anything, your Courier workspace needs at least one integrated provider. If you’ve already configured a provider, skip to Step 2.
1

Open the Integrations page

Navigate to the Integrations tab in the left sidebar.
2

Choose a provider

Search for your provider (e.g. SendGrid, Twilio, Firebase) and click it. Fill in the required credentials from your provider’s dashboard and click Install.
3

Verify installation

Your newly configured provider appears in the Installed section. You can now use it in any notification template.
You can also configure providers inline while designing a template. If you add a channel that has no provider, Courier will prompt you to configure one in the channel settings.

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Step 2: Create a Notification Template

1

Create a new template

Navigate to Templates and click + New > Message Template. Give it a name (e.g. “Welcome Email”), then click Create Template.
2

Add a channel

Under Add Notification Channels, select Email. In the left sidebar under Channels, hover over Email and click the cog icon to open channel settings. Choose the provider you configured in Step 1.
Providers you’ve already configured appear under “Configured” in the integrations list. You can add multiple providers per channel and set priority rules to control failover.

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Step 3: Add Content

Click on the email channel to open the content editor. Use the content toolbar to build your notification with blocks.
1

Add a text block

Click the T icon in the toolbar to add a text block. Replace the placeholder text with your message, e.g. Hello, {profile.name}!
2

Add an action block

Click the button icon to add an action block. This renders as a clickable button (CTA) in email. You can set the button text and URL; use a variable like {invite_url} for dynamic links.
3

Add more blocks as needed

Add images, dividers, markdown, or template blocks. Courier auto-saves and adapts your blocks for all channels. See Content Blocks for the full list.

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Variables for Dynamic Data

Use curly-brace placeholders to insert dynamic data from the send request:
  • {profile.name} - Recipient’s name from their Courier profile
  • {data.invite_url} or {invite_url} - Custom data passed in the send request
  • {urls.preferences} - Link to the user’s preference page
  • {urls.unsubscribe} - One-click unsubscribe link
See Variables for the full syntax and available built-in variables.

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Multi-Channel Content

Once you’ve built content in one channel, open another channel and pull in the same blocks from the content library. Courier dynamically adjusts blocks to match each channel’s format (e.g. stripping images for SMS).

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Step 4: Preview with Test Data

1

Open the Preview tab

Click Preview at the top of the editor, then click Create Test Event.
2

Add test data

Replace the data and profile objects with values that match your variables:
{
  "data": {
    "invite_url": "https://www.example.com"
  },
  "profile": {
    "email": "you@example.com",
    "name": "Test User"
  }
}
3

Verify the preview

Your variables should render with the test data. If any show as raw {variable} text, check that the key names match between your template and test event JSON.
For more on test events (including creating them from message logs), see How to Use Test Events.

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Step 5: Configure Branding (Optional)

Brands let you apply consistent logos, colors, headers, and footers across notifications. If no brand is configured, Courier uses simple default styling. To apply a brand, open Template Settings and select a brand from the dropdown. See How to Create and Use Brands for a full walkthrough.

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Step 6: Publish

Click Publish Changes to save your notification template. Unpublished changes are only visible in draft mode; your live notifications won’t update until you publish.
You can roll back to any previously published version in Template Settings > Publish History.

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Step 7: Send a Test Notification

1

Open the Send tab

Click the Send tab at the top of the editor.
2

Configure the code snippet

Select your programming language, confirm the notification event, and set the recipient ID. Courier generates a ready-to-use code snippet.
3

Send a test

Select a test event (from Step 4), optionally choose a brand, and click Send Notification. Check the Message Logs to verify delivery.
4

Integrate into your codebase

Copy the code snippet and integrate it into your application. You can also use the Send API directly or any of the Courier SDKs.

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What’s Next

Content Blocks

Explore all available block types for building notification content

Multi-Channel Routing

Configure channel priority and failover rules

Brands

Apply consistent branding to your notifications

Send API Reference

Full API reference for sending notifications