# TypeScript · Express

Send an email from an Express 5 POST route with `@messagebird/sdk`. You need a Bird API key: create one in **Developers → API keys** ([Send your first email](/docs/get-started/send-your-first-email) walks through it), then export it as `BIRD_API_KEY`.

## 1. Install

```bash
npm install express @messagebird/sdk
# pnpm add express @messagebird/sdk
# yarn add express @messagebird/sdk
# bun add express @messagebird/sdk
```

## 2. Send

Create `src/server.ts`. Express 5 forwards rejections from async handlers to the error middleware, so no try/catch wrapper is needed:

```typescript
import express from "express";
import { BirdClient } from "@messagebird/sdk";

const bird = new BirdClient({ apiKey: process.env.BIRD_API_KEY! });
const app = express();

app.post("/send", async (req, res) => {
  const msg = await bird.email.send({
    from: "onboarding@messagebird.dev",
    to: ["delivered@messagebird.dev"],
    subject: "Hello from Bird",
    html: "<p>My first Bird email.</p>",
  });

  console.log(msg.id, msg.status); // "em_…", "accepted"
  res.json({ id: msg.id, status: msg.status });
});

app.listen(3000);
```

`onboarding@messagebird.dev` is Bird's shared onboarding sender and `delivered@messagebird.dev` is a [sandbox recipient](/docs/guides/email/testing-sandbox) that always delivers: no domain verification needed. The SDK infers the region from your key's `bk_us1_` / `bk_eu1_` prefix (no base URL to configure) and auto-generates an `Idempotency-Key` per call, so retried sends are safe.

## 3. Try it

Run the server and POST to the route:

```bash
npx tsx src/server.ts
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/send
```

Bird accepts the email with a `202` and delivers it asynchronously; your route returns the `em_` ID and status:

```json
{
  "id": "em_01ky7ma8y2es1s2akzk53tmjn0",
  "status": "accepted"
}
```

## Next steps

- [TypeScript email SDK](/docs/sdks/typescript): the full email surface (`send`, `get`, `list`) and the error model.
- [Send your first email](/docs/get-started/send-your-first-email): creating an API key and the full set of sandbox addresses.
- [Sending domains](/docs/guides/email/sending-domains): verify your own domain for production sending.
- [Email API reference](/docs/api/reference/create-email-message): the full request and response schema.