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

> ## Agent Instructions
> AhaSend stores all message data in the EU. See /facts.
> The API base URL is https://api.ahasend.com. Send the API key in the Authorization: Bearer header. See /api-reference/authentication.
> Use send.ahasend.com for SMTP in the EU, or send-us.ahasend.com as a US connection point forwarding to the EU. Ports 25, 587 and 2525 use STARTTLS. Port 465 is not supported. See /smtp.
> For send-only integrations, create an API Key v2 under Credentials → Add and scope it to messages:send:{your-domain}. See /send-api/credentials and /api-reference/scopes.

# How to Send Email with Laravel via SMTP

> Send email from Laravel through AhaSend SMTP: configure the mailer, require STARTTLS, run a sandbox command and handle failed submissions in your app.

AhaSend lets Laravel send transactional email through its SMTP mailer; this guide gives you a short sandbox test and a production configuration with required TLS.

Before sending, [verify your domain](/docs/domains) and [create an SMTP credential](/docs/smtp/credentials). Use a [sandbox credential](/docs/send-api/sandbox) for these examples so no email is delivered. Keep the username and password in your server's secret store.

Use PHP 8.2 or newer, Composer and a Laravel 12 application. In its private `.env`, set `MAIL_USERNAME`, `MAIL_PASSWORD` to sandbox SMTP credentials and `MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS` to your verified sender. Do not commit that file.

## Install Laravel

In a new working directory, create a test app. For an existing Laravel 12 app, use its root directory instead.

```bash theme={null}
composer create-project laravel/laravel:^12.0 ahasend-laravel
cd ahasend-laravel
```

Save `quick-send.php` in the app root:

```php quick-send.php theme={null}
<?php
require __DIR__.'/vendor/autoload.php';
$app = require __DIR__.'/bootstrap/app.php';
$app->make(Illuminate\Contracts\Console\Kernel::class)->bootstrap();
config(['mail.default' => 'smtp', 'mail.mailers.smtp' => [
    'transport' => 'smtp', 'scheme' => 'smtp', 'host' => 'send.ahasend.com', 'port' => 587,
    'username' => env('MAIL_USERNAME'), 'password' => env('MAIL_PASSWORD'),
    'require_tls' => true, 'timeout' => 10,
]]);
Illuminate\Support\Facades\Mail::raw('Hello from AhaSend', function ($message) {
    $message->from(env('MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS'))->to('recipient@example.com')
        ->subject('Laravel sandbox test');
});
echo "Accepted by SMTP\n";
```

Run `php quick-send.php`. A transport failure throws an exception.

## Configure Laravel's SMTP Mailer

Replace the sample app's `config/mail.php` with this file. In an existing app, merge the `smtp` mailer and sender settings with your current configuration.

```php config/mail.php theme={null}
<?php
return [
    'default' => 'smtp',
    'mailers' => ['smtp' => [
        'transport' => 'smtp', 'scheme' => 'smtp',
        'host' => 'send.ahasend.com', 'port' => 587,
        'username' => env('MAIL_USERNAME'), 'password' => env('MAIL_PASSWORD'),
        'require_tls' => true, 'timeout' => 10,
    ]],
    'from' => ['address' => env('MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS'), 'name' => env('MAIL_FROM_NAME', 'Example App')],
];
```

Laravel passes `require_tls` to Symfony's SMTP transport. Keep TLS certificate checks enabled. Clear any old cached configuration with `php artisan config:clear`; rebuild the configuration cache in your normal deployment process after the secrets are present. See [Laravel Mail](https://laravel.com/docs/12.x/mail) for mailables and queues.

## Add a Command with Failure Handling

Add this to `routes/console.php`, after its existing opening PHP tag. The following complete file also works in the sample app.

```php routes/console.php theme={null}
<?php
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Artisan;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Mail;
Artisan::command('mail:send-test {recipient}', function (string $recipient) {
    if (!filter_var($recipient, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
        $this->error('Invalid recipient');
        return 1;
    }
    try {
        Mail::raw('Your account is ready.', function ($message) use ($recipient) {
            $message->to($recipient)->subject('Welcome');
        });
        $this->info('Accepted by SMTP');
        return 0;
    } catch (Throwable $error) {
        $this->error('Email failed; inspect the job and SMTP settings.');
        return 1;
    }
});
```

Run `php artisan mail:send-test recipient@example.com` with a sandbox credential. In your app, choose the recipient from the authenticated user's data and dispatch a job after its database transaction commits. Save the job outcome. SMTP does not have API idempotency keys, so reconcile an uncertain submission before retrying. Track [delivery events](/docs/integrations/webhooks) separately from SMTP acceptance.

## Related Guides

* Before sending: [verify your domain](/docs/domains) and [create an SMTP credential](/docs/smtp/credentials).
* Connection and message rules: [SMTP hosts, ports and limits](/docs/smtp), [special headers](/docs/smtp/special-headers), [sandbox mode](/docs/send-api/sandbox), [retention](/docs/retention) and [plan features](/docs/facts#plans-and-features).
* Other ways to send: [REST API](/docs/send-api/send-email), [AhaSend CLI](/docs/cli/quickstart), [Node.js SDK](/docs/guides/nodejs-sdk) and [Go SDK](/docs/guides/go-sdk).
* Delivery events: [webhook setup](/docs/integrations/webhooks) and [local webhook testing](/docs/cli/webhook-testing).