Email Configuration Manager

A modern, professional web application for managing email rules including out-of-office auto-replies and email forwarding. Built with React, Express, and AWS DynamoDB.

Features

• Out of Office Management: Configure auto-reply messages with HTML or plain text formatting
• Email Forwarding: Set up multiple forward addresses for any email
• Modern UI/UX: Clean, professional interface built with React and Tailwind CSS
• Real-time Updates: Instant feedback with toast notifications
• AWS DynamoDB: Reliable cloud storage for email rules

Tech Stack

Frontend

• React 18 - Modern UI library
• Vite - Fast build tool and dev server
• Tailwind CSS - Utility-first CSS framework
• Axios - HTTP client for API calls
• React Icons - Beautiful icon library

Backend

• Node.js & Express - REST API server
• AWS SDK v3 - DynamoDB client
• Express Validator - Request validation
• Helmet - Security headers
• Morgan - HTTP request logger

Project Structure

config-email/
├── backend/                 # Express API server
│   ├── server.js           # Main server file
│   ├── package.json        # Backend dependencies
│   └── .env               # Environment variables
├── frontend/               # React application
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/    # React components
│   │   ├── services/      # API service layer
│   │   ├── App.jsx        # Main app component
│   │   ├── main.jsx       # Entry point
│   │   └── index.css      # Global styles
│   ├── index.html         # HTML template
│   ├── package.json       # Frontend dependencies
│   └── vite.config.js     # Vite configuration
└── README.md              # This file

Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ installed
• AWS Account with DynamoDB access
• AWS credentials (Access Key ID and Secret Access Key)

1. Install Dependencies

# Install backend dependencies
cd backend
npm install

# Install frontend dependencies
cd ../frontend
npm install

2. Configure Environment Variables

Backend environment variables are already configured in backend/.env:

• AWS credentials
• DynamoDB table name: email-rules
• Region: us-east-2

Frontend environment variables are set in frontend/.env:

• API URL: http://localhost:3001

3. Start the Application

Terminal 1 - Start Backend API:

cd backend
npm start

The API will start on http://localhost:3001

Terminal 2 - Start Frontend:

cd frontend
npm run dev

The UI will start on http://localhost:3000

4. Access the Application

Open your browser and navigate to:

http://localhost:3000

Usage

Managing Email Rules

1. Search for an Email: Enter an email address in the search box and click "Search"
2. Configure Out of Office:
   • Toggle the OOO status on/off
   • Choose between Plain Text or HTML format
   • Enter your auto-reply message
   • Preview the message before saving
3. Set Up Forwarding:
   • Add email addresses to forward incoming messages
   • Remove addresses as needed
4. Save Changes: Click "Save Changes" to update the rules
5. View All Rules: Click "All Rules" to see all configured email addresses

API Endpoints

GET /api/rules

Get all email rules

curl http://localhost:3001/api/rules

GET /api/rules/:email

Get rule for specific email

curl http://localhost:3001/api/rules/user@example.com

POST /api/rules

Create or update a rule

curl -X POST http://localhost:3001/api/rules \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "email_address": "user@example.com",
    "ooo_active": true,
    "ooo_message": "I am out of office",
    "ooo_content_type": "text",
    "forwards": ["forward@example.com"]
  }'

PUT /api/rules/:email

Update existing rule

curl -X PUT http://localhost:3001/api/rules/user@example.com \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "ooo_active": false,
    "forwards": []
  }'

DELETE /api/rules/:email

Delete a rule

curl -X DELETE http://localhost:3001/api/rules/user@example.com

DynamoDB Schema

The email-rules table uses the following structure:

{
  email_address: "user@example.com",    // Partition Key (String)
  ooo_active: true,                     // Boolean
  ooo_message: "Out of office message", // String
  ooo_content_type: "text",             // String ("text" or "html")
  forwards: ["email1@example.com"],     // List of Strings
  last_updated: "2025-12-26T12:00:00Z"  // ISO 8601 timestamp
}

Development

Backend Development

cd backend
npm run dev  # Uses nodemon for auto-reload

Frontend Development

cd frontend
npm run dev  # Vite hot-reload enabled

Build for Production

Frontend:

cd frontend
npm run build

The production build will be in frontend/dist/

Security Features

• Helmet.js: Security headers
• CORS: Configured for cross-origin requests
• Input Validation: All API endpoints validate input
• AWS Credentials: Never exposed to frontend
• Environment Variables: Sensitive data in .env files

Troubleshooting

Backend won't start

• Check if port 3001 is available
• Verify AWS credentials are correct
• Ensure DynamoDB table email-rules exists

Frontend won't connect to API

• Verify backend is running on port 3001
• Check VITE_API_URL in frontend/.env
• Check browser console for CORS errors

DynamoDB errors

• Verify AWS credentials have DynamoDB permissions
• Ensure table email-rules exists in us-east-2 region
• Check AWS credentials are not expired

License

MIT License

Support

For issues and questions, please check the application logs or contact your system administrator.