django_aws_ses

A Django email backend for Amazon Simple Email Service (SES), featuring bounce and complaint handling, unsubscribe functionality, and robust integration with Django’s email system. Developed by ZeeksGeeks.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Installation
  • Prerequisites
  • Step 1: Install the Package
  • Step 2: Configure Django Settings
  • Step 3: Set Up URLs
  • Step 4: Apply Migrations
  • Step 5: Configure AWS SES
• Usage
  • Sending a Basic Email
  • Sending HTML Emails
  • Handling Bounce and Complaint Notifications
  • Generating Unsubscribe Links
  • Viewing SES Statistics
  • Debugging and Error Handling
  • Rate Limiting and Throttling
• Contributors
• License
• PyPI Distribution

Features

• Seamless integration with Django’s email framework using a custom SES backend.
• Handles AWS SES bounce and complaint notifications via SNS.
• Secure unsubscribe functionality.
• Django Admin dashboard for SES statistics.
• (Optional) Supports DKIM signing, requires dkimpy.

Installation

Follow these steps to install and configure django_aws_ses in your Django project.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.6 or higher
• Django 3.2 or higher
• An AWS account with SES access
• Verified email address or domain in AWS SES

Step 1: Install the Package

Install django_aws_ses from PyPI:

pip install django-aws-ses

For development or testing, include development dependencies:

pip install django-aws-ses[dev]

For DKIM signing support (optional):

pip install django-aws-ses[dkim]

This installs core dependencies:

• django>=3.2
• boto3>=1.18.0
• requests>=2.26.0
• cryptography>=3.4.7
• dnspython>=2.1.0

Step 2: Configure Django Settings

Add django_aws_ses and required Django apps to INSTALLED_APPS in your settings.py:

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    'django.contrib.admin',
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'django.contrib.messages',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
    'django.contrib.sites',
    'django_aws_ses',
]

SITE_ID = 1

Configure AWS SES credentials and the email backend:

AWS_SES_ACCESS_KEY_ID = 'your-access-key-id'  # Replace with your AWS IAM credentials
AWS_SES_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY = 'your-secret-access-key'
AWS_SES_REGION_NAME = 'us-east-1'  # Adjust to your AWS SES region
AWS_SES_REGION_ENDPOINT = 'https://email.us-east-1.amazonaws.com'

EMAIL_BACKEND = 'django_aws_ses.backends.SESBackend'
DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL = 'no-reply@yourdomain.com'  # Verified in AWS SES

Optional: Enable debugging logs for troubleshooting:

LOGGING = {
    'version': 1,
    'disable_existing_loggers': False,
    'handlers': {
        'console': {
            'level': 'DEBUG',
            'class': 'logging.StreamHandler',
        },
    },
    'loggers': {
        'django_aws_ses': {
            'handlers': ['console'],
            'level': 'DEBUG',
            'propagate': True,
        },
    },
}

Step 3: Set Up URLs

Include the django_aws_ses URLs in your project’s urls.py:

from django.urls import path, include

urlpatterns = [
    path('aws_ses/', include('django_aws_ses.urls', namespace='django_aws_ses')),
]

This enables endpoints for bounce/complaint handling (https://yourdomain.com/aws_ses/bounce/) and unsubscribe functionality (https://yourdomain.com/aws_ses/unsubscribe/<uuid>/<token>/).

Step 4: Apply Migrations

Run migrations to create the django_aws_ses models (e.g., AwsSesSettings, BounceRecord):

python manage.py migrate

Step 5: Configure AWS SES

Follow these detailed steps to set up Amazon SES in your AWS account for use with django_aws_ses:

1. Sign Up for AWS SES:

   • Log in to the AWS Management Console.
   • Navigate to SES: https://console.aws.amazon.com/ses/.
   • If new to SES, follow prompts to activate the service.
   • Docs: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/dg/get-set-up.html

2. Verify Sender Email or Domain:

   • In the SES console, go to "Verified identities."
   • Click "Create identity":
     • Email Address: Enter the sender email (e.g., no-reply@yourdomain.com). AWS sends a verification email; click the link to verify.
     • Domain: Enter your domain (e.g., yourdomain.com). Add provided DNS records (TXT, CNAME, MX) to your DNS provider to verify ownership.
   • Docs: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/dg/creating-identities.html

3. Create IAM Credentials:

   • Create an IAM user for SES:
     • Go to IAM in AWS Console: https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/.
     • Create a user (e.g., ses-user) with programmatic access.
     • Attach permissions (e.g., AmazonSESFullAccess and AmazonSNSFullAccess).
     • Save the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key for settings.py.
   • Docs: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/dg/control-user-access.html

4. Set Up SNS Notifications:

   • Create an SNS topic (e.g., SES_Notifications) in the SNS console: https://console.aws.amazon.com/sns/.
   • Subscribe your bounce/complaint endpoint (https://yourdomain.com/aws_ses/bounce/) to the topic using the HTTPS protocol.
   • In SES, go to "Verified identities," select your email/domain, and configure notifications to send bounces, complaints, and deliveries to the SNS topic.
   • Docs: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/dg/monitor-using-notifications.html

5. (Optional) Configure DKIM Signing:

   • If using DKIM, enable it in SES:
     • In "Verified identities," select your domain and enable DKIM.
     • Add provided DKIM DNS records to your DNS provider.
   • Ensure dkimpy is installed (pip install django-aws-ses[dkim]).
   • Docs: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/dg/send-email-authentication-dkim.html

6. Test SES Configuration:

   • In SES console, send a test email from "Verified identities."
   • Verify receipt in the recipient’s inbox.
   • Test sending from Django (see Usage).
   • Docs: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/dg/send-an-email.html

7. Exit Sandbox Mode (Production):

   • SES sandbox mode restricts sending to verified emails only.
   • For production, request access:
     • Open a support case in AWS Support Center.
     • Provide use case (e.g., transactional emails for user registration).
     • Approval typically takes 24 hours.
   • Docs: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/dg/request-production-access.html

Usage

django_aws_ses integrates with Django’s email API and provides additional features for SES-specific functionality. The following examples are shown in a Python console (e.g., Django shell or within a view).

Sending a Basic Email

Use Django’s send_mail for simple emails:

from django.core.mail import send_mail

send_mail(
    subject='Test Email',
    message='This is a test email from django_aws_ses.',
    from_email='no-reply@yourdomain.com',  # Must be SES-verified
    recipient_list=['recipient@example.com'],
    fail_silently=False,
)

• Set fail_silently=False to raise exceptions for debugging (e.g., unverified email errors).

Sending HTML Emails

Send emails with HTML content and plain text fallback:

from django.core.mail import EmailMultiAlternatives

subject = 'Welcome to Our Platform'
from_email = 'no-reply@yourdomain.com'
to = 'recipient@example.com'
text_content = 'Thank you for joining our platform!'
html_content = '<p>Thank you for joining! <a href="https://yourdomain.com">Visit us</a></p>'

email = EmailMultiAlternatives(subject, text_content, from_email, [to])
email.attach_alternative(html_content, 'text/html')
email.send()

Handling Bounce and Complaint Notifications

• Bounce and complaint notifications are processed via the SNS endpoint (/aws_ses/bounce/).
• Records are stored in the BounceRecord model.
• View bounce/complaint data in the Django Admin or SES dashboard (/aws_ses/status/).
• Configure additional SNS notifications for deliveries in SES console.
• Docs: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/dg/monitor-sending-activity.html

Generating Unsubscribe Links

Add secure unsubscribe links to emails:

from django_aws_ses.models import AwsSesUserAddon

user = User.objects.get(email='recipient@example.com')
addon = AwsSesUserAddon.objects.get_or_create(user=user)[0]
unsubscribe_url = addon.unsubscribe_url_generator()
# Include in email template, e.g., <a href="{{ unsubscribe_url }}">Unsubscribe</a>

• Users clicking the link are redirected to /aws_ses/unsubscribe/<uuid>/<token>/, which marks them as unsubscribed.
• Customize the unsubscribe view or template in django_aws_ses/templates/django_aws_ses/unsubscribe.html.

Viewing SES Statistics Phelps

• Access the SES dashboard at /aws_ses/status/ (superusers only).
• Displays bounce rates, complaint rates, and email sending history.
• Uses BounceRecord and SES API data for metrics.
• Docs: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/dg/monitor-sending-metrics.html

Debugging and Error Handling

• Enable debug logging (see Step 2) to troubleshoot SES errors.
• Common issues:
  • Unverified email/domain: Verify in SES console.
  • IAM permissions: Ensure AmazonSESFullAccess and AmazonSNSFullAccess.
  • SNS endpoint errors: Confirm HTTPS endpoint is publicly accessible.
• Check BounceRecord in Django Admin for failed deliveries.

Rate Limiting and Throttling

• SES imposes sending quotas and rate limits.
• Monitor limits in SES console ("Sending Statistics").
• If approaching limits, request a quota increase:
  • Open a support case in AWS Support Center.
  • Specify desired sending rate and daily quota.
• Docs: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/dg/manage-sending-limits.html

Contributors

Developed by the ZeeksGeeks team. See CONTRIBUTORS.md for individual contributors and their roles.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

PyPI Distribution

• Install: pip install django-aws-ses
• Source: https://git-vault.zeeksgeeks.com/public/django_aws_ses
• Issues: https://git-vault.zeeksgeeks.com/public/django_aws_ses/issues
• PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/django-aws-ses/