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

# send

> Dispatch a templated or raw message from the terminal.

`senderkit send` fires a [send](/concepts/sending) from your terminal — the same
operation as the SDK's `send()` and `sendRaw()`. Useful for smoke-testing
templates while you build them, scripting one-off blasts, and triggering
messages from cron or CI.

Like the SDK, both commands return as soon as the API has accepted the message —
the `id` you get back is a [queued message](/concepts/messages), not a delivered
one. Watch it with [`messages list`](/cli/messages).

## `senderkit send`

Send a [templated message](/concepts/templates), filling in
[variables](/concepts/variables) at send time.

```bash theme={null}
senderkit send <template> <to> [options]
```

### Arguments

<ParamField path="template" required>
  Template slug, e.g. `"welcome"` or `"password-reset"`.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="to" required>
  Recipient address — email, phone number, or push token, matching the
  template's [channel](/concepts/channels-and-providers).
</ParamField>

### Options

<ParamField path="--vars <json>">
  Template variables as a JSON object, e.g. `'{"name":"Ada","city":"London"}'`.
  Substituted into the template's [variable](/concepts/variables) holes.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--channel <email|sms|push|web-push>">
  Force a channel. Defaults to the template's primary channel — only set this
  for multi-channel templates.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--version <number>">
  Pin a specific template [version](/concepts/versioning). Omit to let
  SenderKit pick the current published version for the environment.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--metadata <json>">
  Free-form metadata as a JSON object of strings, numbers, or booleans —
  e.g. `'{"userId":"usr_123","orderId":"ord_9"}'`. Indexed for later filtering
  in [`messages list`](/cli/messages).
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--scheduled-at <iso8601>">
  Defer delivery until a future ISO 8601 timestamp, e.g.
  `"2026-06-01T09:00:00Z"`. Must be in the future and within 30 days. The
  response comes back with `status: scheduled` instead of `queued`.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--idempotency-key <key>">
  Idempotency key. A repeat key within your workspace returns the original
  message instead of duplicating. Auto-generated if omitted — see
  [Sending: Idempotency](/concepts/sending#idempotency).
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--reply-to <string>">
  Reply-To address for the message. Email only.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--cc <addresses>">
  Cc recipients as a comma-separated string (`a@x.com,b@x.com`) or a JSON
  array (`'["a@x.com","b@x.com"]'`). Email only.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--bcc <addresses>">
  Bcc recipients — same format as `--cc`. Email only.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--attachments <json>">
  Attachments as a JSON array, e.g.
  `'[{"filename":"doc.pdf","contentType":"application/pdf","content":"<base64>"}]'`.
  Email only. Total decoded size must not exceed 10 MB. For inline attachments,
  add `"inline": true` and a `"contentId"` value.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--from <string>">
  From address override (bare address, email only). Defaults to the provider
  connection's configured address. On managed sending, honored only on the
  workspace's verified sending domain.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--from-name <string>">
  From display name override (email only), rendered as `Name <address>`. Max
  128 characters; no control characters or angle brackets. Always applies,
  regardless of sending domain.
</ParamField>

### Examples

```bash theme={null}
# Simplest send — slug + recipient
senderkit send welcome user@example.com

# With variables
senderkit send welcome user@example.com --vars '{"name":"Ada"}'

# Pin a version and tag with metadata
senderkit send receipt user@example.com \
  --version 7 \
  --vars '{"amount":"$42"}' \
  --metadata '{"orderId":"ord_9"}' \
  --idempotency-key "receipt:ord_9"

# Schedule for later
senderkit send trial-ending user@example.com \
  --scheduled-at 2026-06-01T09:00:00Z

# Email with cc and an attachment
senderkit send receipt user@example.com \
  --vars '{"amount":"$42"}' \
  --cc "accounting@acme.com" \
  --attachments '[{"filename":"receipt.pdf","contentType":"application/pdf","content":"<base64>"}]'
```

Human-readable output on success:

```
✓ Queued message msg_01HZ…
id:     msg_01HZ…
status: queued
mode:   test
```

With `--json`, the same response as the [send endpoint](/api-reference/introduction):

```json theme={null}
{
  "id": "msg_01HZ…",
  "status": "queued",
  "livemode": false
}
```

## `senderkit send-raw`

Send inline content without a registered template. Useful for one-off messages
that don't warrant a template, or for testing provider configuration before you
move copy into the dashboard.

```bash theme={null}
senderkit send-raw <to> --channel <email|sms|push|web-push> [content options]
```

`--channel` selects the content shape; the required content options depend on
the channel.

### Arguments

<ParamField path="to" required>
  Recipient address — email, phone number, push token, or (for `web-push`) the
  JSON-encoded browser `PushSubscription` object (endpoint + `p256dh`/`auth` keys).
</ParamField>

### Required option

<ParamField path="--channel <email|sms|push|web-push>" required>
  Selects the content shape. Required on every call.
</ParamField>

### Email content (`--channel email`)

<ParamField path="--subject <string>" required>
  Email subject line.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--html <string>" required>
  HTML body.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--text <string>">
  Plain-text fallback body.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--preheader <string>">
  Email preheader — the snippet shown in inbox previews.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--from <string>">
  From address override (bare address). Defaults to your workspace's
  configured sender. On managed sending, honored only on the workspace's
  verified sending domain.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--from-name <string>">
  From display name override, rendered as `Name <address>`. Max 128
  characters; no control characters or angle brackets. Always applies,
  regardless of sending domain.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--reply-to <string>">
  Reply-To address.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--cc <addresses>">
  Cc recipients as a comma-separated string (`a@x.com,b@x.com`) or a JSON
  array (`'["a@x.com","b@x.com"]'`).
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--bcc <addresses>">
  Bcc recipients — same format as `--cc`.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--attachments <json>">
  Attachments as a JSON array. Total decoded size must not exceed 10 MB.
  Each item: `{ filename, contentType, content (base64), inline?, contentId? }`.
</ParamField>

### SMS content (`--channel sms`)

<ParamField path="--body <string>" required>
  SMS body.
</ParamField>

### Push content (`--channel push`)

<ParamField path="--title <string>" required>
  Notification title.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--body <string>" required>
  Notification body.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--badge <number>">
  Badge count.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--sound <string>">
  Notification sound name.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--push-data <json>">
  Push data payload as a JSON object of strings,
  e.g. `'{"deeplink":"app://x"}'`.
</ParamField>

### Web Push content (`--channel web-push`)

<ParamField path="--title <string>" required>
  Notification title.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--body <string>" required>
  Notification body.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--icon <url>">
  Icon URL shown in the notification.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--click-url <url>">
  URL opened when the user clicks the notification.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--badge <number>">
  Badge count.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--push-data <json>">
  Data payload as a JSON object of strings — available to the service worker
  that handles the push event, e.g. `'{"deeplink":"app://orders/9"}'`.
</ParamField>

### Shared options

<ParamField path="--vars <json>">
  Variables for interpolation as a JSON object. Only substituted when
  `--interpolate` is set.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--metadata <json>">
  Free-form metadata as a JSON object.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--interpolate">
  Run server-side variable substitution over the content. Off by default —
  raw content is otherwise delivered verbatim.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--scheduled-at <iso8601>">
  Defer delivery until a future ISO 8601 timestamp, e.g.
  `"2026-06-01T09:00:00Z"`. Must be in the future and within 30 days. The
  response comes back with `status: scheduled` instead of `queued`.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--idempotency-key <key>">
  Idempotency key.
</ParamField>

### Examples

```bash theme={null}
# Email
senderkit send-raw user@example.com \
  --channel email \
  --subject "Hello from the CLI" \
  --html "<p>Welcome, {{name}}.</p>" \
  --vars '{"name":"Ada"}' \
  --interpolate

# Email with cc and attachment
senderkit send-raw user@example.com \
  --channel email \
  --subject "Your invoice" \
  --html "<p>Please find your invoice attached.</p>" \
  --cc "finance@acme.com" \
  --attachments '[{"filename":"invoice.pdf","contentType":"application/pdf","content":"<base64>"}]'

# Email with From overrides
senderkit send-raw user@example.com \
  --channel email \
  --subject "Hello from Acme" \
  --html "<p>Hi there.</p>" \
  --from "hello@acme.com" \
  --from-name "Acme"

# SMS
senderkit send-raw +14155551234 \
  --channel sms \
  --body "Your verification code is 042195"

# Push
senderkit send-raw "dev_token_…" \
  --channel push \
  --title "Order shipped" \
  --body "Tracking attached" \
  --badge 1 \
  --push-data '{"deeplink":"app://orders/9"}'

# Web Push (pass the JSON-serialised PushSubscription as the recipient)
senderkit send-raw '{"endpoint":"https://fcm.googleapis.com/…","keys":{"p256dh":"…","auth":"…"}}' \
  --channel web-push \
  --title "New message" \
  --body "You have a new message from Ada." \
  --icon "https://example.com/icon.png" \
  --click-url "https://example.com/messages"
```

## When to reach for the CLI vs the SDK

Use the CLI for ad-hoc work: triggering a real send while building a template,
scripting backfills, wiring up cron jobs that pipe through `jq`. For
application code, use the [TypeScript SDK](/sdks/typescript) — it adds
automatic retries, batch helpers, and types.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Sending" icon="paper-plane" href="/concepts/sending">
    What `send()` accepts now and delivers later.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Variables" icon="brackets-curly" href="/concepts/variables">
    How `--vars` fills the dynamic holes in a template.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Versioning" icon="code-branch" href="/concepts/versioning">
    Why `--version` is rarely needed.
  </Card>

  <Card title="messages" icon="list-check" href="/cli/messages">
    Watch the message you just queued.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>