Guide

Replace Send-MailMessage with Nylas CLI

Microsoft deprecated Send-MailMessage in PowerShell 7.0 because it cannot negotiate TLS securely. This guide shows side-by-side before/after examples for every common email pattern, so you can migrate your scripts in minutes.

Why Send-MailMessage is deprecated

Microsoft deprecated Send-MailMessage in PowerShell 7.0 (official docs). The underlying System.Net.Mail.SmtpClient class cannot negotiate TLS securely. The problems:

  • Insecure TLS negotiation -- SmtpClient does not support modern TLS handshakes reliably
  • Credentials in scripts -- SMTP passwords end up hardcoded in -Credential or stored in PSCredential objects
  • No OAuth2 -- Gmail and Outlook require OAuth2 for programmatic access; Send-MailMessage only supports basic auth
  • Provider lock-in -- SMTP settings differ per provider; switching means rewriting connection code

One-time setup

Before migrating your scripts, install Nylas CLI and authenticate once:

# Install Nylas CLI (one-liner for PowerShell)
irm https://cli.nylas.com/install.ps1 | iex

# Or install with Go (requires Go 1.23+)
# go install github.com/nylas/cli/cmd/nylas@latest
# Authenticate your mailbox
nylas auth config
# Paste your API key from dashboard-v3.nylas.com

# Verify
nylas auth whoami
# => Authenticated as you@company.com (Google Workspace)

That's it. No SMTP server, no port numbers, no credentials in your scripts.

Pattern 1: Basic email send

Before (Send-MailMessage)

Send-MailMessage `
  -From "you@company.com" `
  -To "colleague@company.com" `
  -Subject "Quarterly report" `
  -Body "Please review the Q4 numbers." `
  -SmtpServer "smtp.office365.com" `
  -Port 587 `
  -UseSsl `
  -Credential (Get-Credential)

After (Nylas CLI)

nylas email send `
  --to "colleague@company.com" `
  --subject "Quarterly report" `
  --body "Please review the Q4 numbers." `
  --yes

No -From (uses the authenticated account). No -SmtpServer, no -Port, no -Credential. The CLI handles all of this.

Pattern 2: Send with attachment

Before (Send-MailMessage)

Send-MailMessage `
  -From "you@company.com" `
  -To "client@example.com" `
  -Subject "Invoice attached" `
  -Body "Please find the March invoice." `
  -Attachments "C:Reportsinvoice-march.pdf" `
  -SmtpServer "smtp.gmail.com" `
  -Port 587 `
  -UseSsl `
  -Credential $cred

After (Nylas CLI)

nylas email send `
  --to "client@example.com" `
  --subject "Invoice attached" `
  --body "Please find the March invoice." `
  --attach "C:Reportsinvoice-march.pdf" `
  --yes

Pattern 3: Send with stored credentials

Before (Send-MailMessage)

# Credentials stored in a file or prompted every time
$cred = Import-Clixml -Path "C:Scriptssmtp-cred.xml"
# Or: $cred = Get-Credential

Send-MailMessage `
  -From "alerts@company.com" `
  -To "oncall@company.com" `
  -Subject "Server alert" `
  -Body "CPU above 90%." `
  -SmtpServer "smtp.office365.com" `
  -Port 587 `
  -UseSsl `
  -Credential $cred

After (Nylas CLI)

# No credentials in the script -- API key stored securely by the CLI
nylas email send `
  --to "oncall@company.com" `
  --subject "Server alert" `
  --body "CPU above 90%." `
  --yes

The Nylas CLI stores your API key in your OS keychain (Windows Credential Manager). No .xml credential files, no plaintext passwords in scripts.

Pattern 4: Send via SMTP relay

Before (Send-MailMessage)

# Internal relay -- no auth, no TLS
Send-MailMessage `
  -From "noreply@internal.corp" `
  -To "team@company.com" `
  -Subject "Build complete" `
  -Body "Build #1234 succeeded." `
  -SmtpServer "relay.internal.corp" `
  -Port 25

After (Nylas CLI)

# OAuth2 authenticated, TLS encrypted, no internal relay needed
nylas email send `
  --to "team@company.com" `
  --subject "Build complete" `
  --body "Build #1234 succeeded." `
  --yes

Internal SMTP relays are a security risk -- unauthenticated, often unencrypted, and a common target for lateral movement. Nylas CLI uses OAuth2 and TLS by default.

Pattern 5: HTML email

Before (Send-MailMessage)

$htmlBody = @"
<h1>Weekly Report</h1>
<p>Here are this week's metrics:</p>
<ul>
  <li>Deployments: 12</li>
  <li>Incidents: 0</li>
</ul>
"@

Send-MailMessage `
  -From "reports@company.com" `
  -To "team@company.com" `
  -Subject "Weekly report" `
  -Body $htmlBody `
  -BodyAsHtml `
  -SmtpServer "smtp.office365.com" `
  -Port 587 `
  -UseSsl `
  -Credential $cred

After (Nylas CLI)

$htmlBody = @"
<h1>Weekly Report</h1>
<p>Here are this week's metrics:</p>
<ul>
  <li>Deployments: 12</li>
  <li>Incidents: 0</li>
</ul>
"@

nylas email send `
  --to "team@company.com" `
  --subject "Weekly report" `
  --body $htmlBody `
  --yes

No -BodyAsHtml flag needed. The CLI auto-detects HTML content and sets the correct MIME type.

Pattern 6: Bulk send loop

Before (Send-MailMessage)

$cred = Import-Clixml -Path "C:Scriptssmtp-cred.xml"

Import-Csv -Path ".contacts.csv" | ForEach-Object {
  Send-MailMessage `
    -From "onboarding@company.com" `
    -To $_.Email `
    -Subject "Welcome, $($_.Name)!" `
    -Body "Your account is ready." `
    -SmtpServer "smtp.office365.com" `
    -Port 587 `
    -UseSsl `
    -Credential $cred
  Start-Sleep -Seconds 2
}

After (Nylas CLI)

Import-Csv -Path ".contacts.csv" | ForEach-Object {
  nylas email send `
    --to $_.Email `
    --subject "Welcome, $($_.Name)!" `
    --body "Your account is ready." `
    --yes
  Start-Sleep -Seconds 2
}

No credential setup, no SMTP config. The loop body is half the size and twice as secure.

Side-by-side comparison

FeatureSend-MailMessageNylas CLI
TLS securityBroken (deprecated)TLS 1.2+ enforced
AuthenticationBasic auth / app passwordsOAuth2
Credentials in scriptsYes (PSCredential / XML)No (OS keychain)
Gmail supportRequires app passwordOAuth2 built-in
Outlook / M365 supportBasic auth (being disabled)OAuth2 built-in
HTML body-BodyAsHtml flagAuto-detected
Attachments-Attachments--attach
Email schedulingNot supported--schedule
Read inboxNot supportednylas email list
JSON outputNot supported--json
Calendar accessNot supportednylas calendar

Frequently asked questions

Why is Send-MailMessage deprecated?

Microsoft deprecated it in PowerShell 7.0 because the underlying System.Net.Mail.SmtpClient cannot negotiate TLS securely. Microsoft recommends using third-party libraries instead.

What is the best replacement for Send-MailMessage?

Nylas CLI replaces Send-MailMessage with a single command. It handles OAuth2, TLS, and provider differences automatically. No SMTP credentials in your scripts, no provider-specific configuration.

Do I need to change my PowerShell scripts?

Yes, but the migration is straightforward. Replace each Send-MailMessage call with nylas email send and map the parameters: -To becomes --to, -Subject becomes --subject, -Body becomes --body, -Attachments becomes --attach.

Does Nylas CLI support all Send-MailMessage features?

Yes, and more. It supports HTML bodies (auto-detected), file attachments, CC/BCC, and multiple recipients. It also adds features Send-MailMessage never had: OAuth2, email scheduling, open/click tracking, JSON output, and inbox read access.

Next steps