Email Relay Server

Because Flutter cannot securely send SMTP emails directly from the client without exposing credentials, BabyShopHub uses a lightweight Node.js Express server to handle transactional emails (e.g., order confirmations, shipping updates).

Architecture

Located in the server/ directory of the repository.

• Framework: Express.js
• Mailer: Nodemailer
• Provider: Zoho Mail (or any standard SMTP provider)

Setup & Running

1. Navigate to the server/ directory.
2. Install dependencies: npm install
3. Create a .env file:

   PORT=3000
   SMTP_HOST=smtp.zoho.com
   SMTP_PORT=465
   SMTP_USER=your-email@babyshophub.com
   SMTP_PASS=your-secure-password
   

4. Run the server: node index.js

API Endpoints

POST /send-order-confirmation

Payload:

{
  "email": "customer@example.com",
  "orderId": "ORD-12345",
  "total": 120.50,
  "items": [...]
}

Response: Returns 200 OK on success, 500 Internal Server Error on failure.

Client Integration

The Flutter app communicates with this relay server using the http package.

Future<void> sendConfirmationEmail(OrderModel order, String userEmail) async {
  final url = Uri.parse('https://your-relay-server.com/send-order-confirmation');
  
  await http.post(
    url,
    headers: {'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
    body: jsonEncode({
      'email': userEmail,
      'orderId': order.id,
      'total': order.totalAmount,
    }),
  );
}

Deployment

This server is typically deployed as a serverless function on Vercel or a small container on Render/Heroku. Ensure CORS is configured to only accept requests from your app's domain.