How to Send Emails in Django 6.1.1

Django 6.1 introduces the biggest email configuration change in years. Previous Django versions used EMAIL_BACKEND together with several EMAIL_* settings. Starting with Django 6.1, these settings are deprecated in favor of the new MAILERS configuration.

Your existing project will continue to work for now, but Django will emit deprecation warnings. The old settings are scheduled for removal in a future Django release, so new projects should use MAILERS immediately, and existing projects should migrate as soon as possible.

What Changed in Django 6.1?

Before Django 6.1, email configuration looked like this:

EMAIL_BACKEND = "django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend"
EMAIL_HOST = "smtp.gmail.com"
EMAIL_PORT = 587
EMAIL_HOST_USER = "your@gmail.com"
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD = "your-app-password"
EMAIL_USE_TLS = True

Starting with Django 6.1, all of these settings are replaced by a single MAILERS dictionary.

MAILERS = {
    "default": {
        "BACKEND": "django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend",
        "OPTIONS": {
            "host": "smtp.gmail.com",
            "port": 587,
            "username": "your@gmail.com",
            "password": "your-app-password",
            "use_tls": True,
        },
    },
}

Instead of configuring multiple global variables, every email backend is now defined as a named mailer. This makes it possible to configure multiple email providers inside a single Django project.

Old Configuration vs New Configuration

Every deprecated EMAIL_* setting now lives inside the OPTIONS dictionary of a mailer configuration.

Easy Migration Guide

Before (Django 6.0 and Earlier)

EMAIL_BACKEND = "django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend"

EMAIL_HOST = "smtp.gmail.com"
EMAIL_PORT = 587
EMAIL_HOST_USER = "your@gmail.com"
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD = "password"
EMAIL_USE_TLS = True

After (Django 6.1+)

MAILERS = {
    "default": {
        "BACKEND": "django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend",
        "OPTIONS": {
            "host": "smtp.gmail.com",
            "port": 587,
            "username": "your@gmail.com",
            "password": "password",
            "use_tls": True,
        },
    },
}

For most projects, this is the only settings change required.

Sending an Email

The actual email sending API has not changed if you only use the default mailer.

from django.core.mail import send_mail

send_mail(
    subject="Welcome",
    message="Thanks for registering!",
    from_email="[email protected]",
    recipient_list=["[email protected]"],
)

Using Multiple Email Providers

The primary reason Django introduced MAILERS is to support multiple named email backends.

MAILERS = {
    "default": {
        "BACKEND": "django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend",
        "OPTIONS": {
            "host": "smtp.gmail.com",
            "port": 587,
            "username": "[email protected]",
            "password": "password",
            "use_tls": True,
        },
    },

    "support": {
        "BACKEND": "django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend",
        "OPTIONS": {
            "host": "smtp.office365.com",
            "port": 587,
            "username": "[email protected]",
            "password": "another-password",
            "use_tls": True,
        },
    },
}

You can then choose which mailer to use when sending email.

from django.core.mail import send_mail

send_mail(
    subject="Support Ticket",
    message="Your ticket has been received.",
    from_email="[email protected]",
    recipient_list=["[email protected]"],
    using="support",
)

The new using argument replaces the older connection argument, which is now deprecated.

Development Email Backend

Instead of SMTP, you can print emails directly in the terminal while developing.

MAILERS = {
    "default": {
        "BACKEND": "django.core.mail.backends.console.EmailBackend",
    },
}

Every email will be displayed in your terminal instead of being sent.

File Email Backend

To save emails into files instead of sending them:

MAILERS = {
    "default": {
        "BACKEND": "django.core.mail.backends.filebased.EmailBackend",
        "OPTIONS": {
            "file_path": BASE_DIR / "sent_emails",
        },
    },
}

In-Memory Backend (Testing)

MAILERS = {
    "default": {
        "BACKEND": "django.core.mail.backends.locmem.EmailBackend",
    },
}

Django's test runner automatically switches to the in-memory backend during tests, preventing real emails from being sent.

Other Email Changes in Django 6.1

• EMAIL_BACKEND is deprecated.
• All SMTP-related EMAIL_* settings are deprecated.
• mail.get_connection() is deprecated.
• The connection= parameter has been replaced by using=.
• auth_user and auth_password parameters are deprecated.
• Direct creation of EmailBackend objects is discouraged.
• The new django.core.mail.mailers registry manages configured mailers.

These changes are part of Django's long-term transition to a more flexible email configuration system. Existing code still works for compatibility, but projects should migrate before the deprecated APIs are removed.

Complete Gmail Example

MAILERS = {
    "default": {
        "BACKEND": "django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend",
        "OPTIONS": {
            "host": "smtp.gmail.com",
            "port": 587,
            "username": "[email protected]",
            "password": "YOUR_GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD",
            "use_tls": True,
            "timeout": 30,
        },
    },
}

DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL = "[email protected]"

For Gmail, use an App Password instead of your Google account password if two-factor authentication is enabled.

Summary

• Django 6.1 replaces EMAIL_BACKEND and related settings with MAILERS.
• Existing projects continue to work temporarily but receive deprecation warnings.
• The new configuration allows multiple named email backends.
• The using argument replaces connection when selecting a mailer.
• New Django projects should adopt MAILERS immediately.