Email Templates

Authentication emails are the part of your product a user reads before they have ever seen your app. auth.emailTemplates replaces the defaults with your own subject and body.

Every template is optional — Better Auth supplies a sensible default for each, so an app that sets none still sends working mail.

auth:
  strategies:
    - type: emailAndPassword
    - type: magicLink
  emailTemplates:
    verification:
      subject: Verify your email for MyApp
      text: 'Hi $name, confirm your email: $url'
    resetPassword:
      subject: Reset your password
      text: 'Reset your password: $url'
      html: '<p>Click <a href="$url">here</a> to reset your password.</p>'
    magicLink:
      subject: Your sign-in link
      text: 'Sign in to MyApp: $url'

The Eight Templates

Template	When it is sent
verification	Email verification after sign-up.
resetPassword	Password-reset request.
magicLink	Magic-link sign-in.
emailOtp	Email one-time code (its presence enables email-OTP).
twoFactorBackupCodes	Two-factor backup codes delivery.
welcome	Welcome email after verification.
accountDeletion	Account-deletion confirmation.
invitation	Admin-issued invitation (passwordless onboarding).

Template Shape

Each template takes a required subject and an optional text and/or html body.

Key	Description
subject	Required. Subject line. Supports $variable.
text	Plain-text body. Supports $variable.
html	HTML body. Supports $variable.

Supplying both text and html gives clients a choice; supplying only text is the safest default, since it renders everywhere and never trips a spam filter on markup.

Variables

Bodies and subjects support $variable substitution. Which variables carry a value depends on the email being sent — $code is meaningless in a password reset, $inviterName only in an admin invitation.

Variable	Meaning
$url	Action link (verify, reset, magic link, invitation accept).
$name	Recipient's name.
$email	Recipient's email address.
$code	One-time code (email-OTP).
$organizationName	Organization name (invitations).
$inviterName	Name of the admin who sent the invitation (admin invitations only).

auth:
  emailTemplates:
    invitation:
      subject: '$inviterName invited you to MyApp'
      text: |
        Hi $name,
        $inviterName invited you to join.
        Set your password: $url

Related Pages

• Strategies Overview — the auth block these sit in.
• Magic Link & Email OTP — the flow emailOtp enables.
• Email & Password — where verification and resetPassword fire.
• Invitations — where invitation fires.
• Two-Factor — where twoFactorBackupCodes fires.