How to Integrate Sorbet EmailNotify in Your App

Sorbet EmailNotify: Features & BenefitsSorbet EmailNotify is a notification library designed to simplify sending and managing email alerts from Ruby applications that use Sorbet for static type checking. It combines the clarity and safety of type-checked code with flexible delivery options and pragmatic APIs so teams can build reliable email workflows without sacrificing developer velocity.

What Sorbet EmailNotify Does

At its core, Sorbet EmailNotify provides a typed interface for defining, composing, and sending email notifications. Instead of relying on loosely structured mailer methods that can be error-prone, EmailNotify encourages explicit specification of required fields, payload shapes, and delivery options. This reduces runtime errors, improves IDE discoverability, and makes refactors safer because Sorbet will flag type mismatches during development.

Key Features

• Strong Typing with Sorbet

  • Static checked message schemas: Define the exact shape of notification payloads and have Sorbet verify usage at compile time.
  • Typed delivery interfaces: Ensure mailer calls provide required parameters like recipient, subject, and template data.

• Composer-Friendly API

  • Declarative notification classes: Create small, focused classes for each notification type (e.g., AccountConfirmation, PasswordReset) that specify required fields and rendering context.
  • Reusable components: Share common mailer logic, templates, or helpers across notification classes.

• Flexible Delivery Backends

  • Multiple adapters supported: Plug in SMTP, SendGrid, Postmark, Mailgun, or any HTTP-based email provider via adapters.
  • Swappable at runtime: Configure different backends for environments (development vs. production) or fallback strategies.

• Template Integration

  • Supports ERB, Liquid, and other templating engines: Choose the templating system that fits your stack.
  • Typed template context: Sorbet types describe which variables are available to templates, catching missing keys or type mismatches early.

• Batching and Scheduling

  • Bulk sending utilities: Group similar notifications and deliver them efficiently to reduce provider API calls and improve throughput.
  • Integration with job queues: Work with Sidekiq, ActiveJob, or other background processors to schedule and retry deliveries.

• Localization and Personalization

  • Built-in i18n support: Translate subjects and bodies based on user locale.
  • Personalization helpers: Safely inject user-specific data into templates with type guarantees.

• Observability & Retry Policies

  • Delivery hooks and events: Track success/failure, latency, and provider responses for monitoring.
  • Configurable retries and backoff: Handle transient provider errors gracefully and persist fail-state for manual inspection.

Benefits for Developers and Teams

• Fewer Runtime Errors

  • Stronger compile-time guarantees mean fewer surprises in production: missing template variables, wrong data shapes, or misused APIs are caught earlier.

• Faster Onboarding

  • Self-documenting types and declarative notification classes make it easier for new engineers to understand what data each notification needs and how it’s delivered.

• Easier Refactoring

  • When changing a notification payload or swapping a template engine, Sorbet will highlight all call sites that need updating, reducing regressions.

• Improved Reliability

  • Retry logic, fallbacks, and batching lead to more consistent delivery and better handling of rate limits or transient provider failures.

• Better Observability

  • Hook points for metrics and logs make it straightforward to track deliverability trends, error rates, and per-notification performance.

Typical Usage Pattern

1. Define a typed notification class specifying required attributes and template context.
2. Implement render methods or point to templates.
3. Configure a delivery adapter (e.g., SendGrid) and queueing for background delivery.
4. Call the notification from application code; Sorbet validates arguments at development time.
5. Monitor delivery events and handle failures via retries or fallbacks.

Example (conceptual):

class PasswordResetNotify   extend T::Sig   sig { params(user: User, reset_url: String).void }   def initialize(user, reset_url)     @user = user     @reset_url = reset_url   end   def deliver     # build typed payload, render template, and send via configured adapter   end end 

When Not to Use It

• Small projects without Sorbet: the added complexity of static typing may not be worth it.
• Extremely simple one-off email needs: a minimal mailer might be faster to implement.
• Environments where adding Sorbet or extra build steps is not possible.

Migration Tips

• Start by typing critical notification classes first (password reset, billing).
• Add Sorbet gradually and enable stricter checks for the mailer layer before widening scope.
• Create adapter interfaces early so swapping providers requires minimal changes.
• Write tests for template rendering using the typed contexts.

Comparison with Un-typed Mailers

Conclusion

Sorbet EmailNotify brings the discipline of static typing to email notifications, improving reliability, developer experience, and maintainability for Ruby applications already using Sorbet. It’s particularly valuable in teams and codebases where predictable behavior and safe refactors matter — while small or simple projects may prefer lighter-weight approaches.