Node.js SDK authentication

Obtain your credentials

The Email API service requires one credential:

API key: a secret token that authenticates your requests

It is available in the Paubox dashboard under API Credentials.

Option 1: Environment variables (recommended)

Create a .env file in your project root:

API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY

The SDK reads API_KEY from process.env but does not load .env files itself. Load the file with dotenv (npm install dotenv) before creating the service, then call the factory with no arguments:

require('dotenv').config();
const pbMail  = require('paubox-node');
const service = pbMail.emailService();

Option 2: Direct configuration

Pass the API key explicitly to the factory:

const service = pbMail.emailService({
  apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY'
});

The service factory throws immediately if the API key is missing, so errors surface at startup rather than at send time. The SDK sets the Authorization header automatically on every request:

Authorization: Token token=YOUR_API_KEY

Forms service

getForm and submitForm are public and need no credentials:

const formsService = pbMail.formService();

All other formService methods need an API key with the forms scope, sent as Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY. Set FORMS_API_KEY in the environment, or pass it directly. FORMS_BASE_URL (or the baseURL option) overrides the default https://api.paubox.com/v1/forms.

const scopedFormsService = pbMail.formService({ apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY' });

Security notes

Add .env to your .gitignore; never commit credentials to source control.
In production, prefer your platform’s secret management (environment variables injected by your hosting provider) over .env files.

Get started

Email API

Migrate to Paubox

Marketing API

MCP Server

SDKs

CLI

Forms API

Obtain your credentials

Option 1: Environment variables (recommended)

Option 2: Direct configuration

Forms service

Security notes

​Obtain your credentials

​Option 1: Environment variables (recommended)

​Option 2: Direct configuration

​Forms service

​Security notes

Obtain your credentials

Option 1: Environment variables (recommended)

Option 2: Direct configuration

Forms service

Security notes