I want to share a little exercise I practiced today, something I already did on the AWS laboratories during the AWS re/Start programme. With this exercise I learned to send emails using AWS Lambda and Amazon SES (Simple Email Service). Here's a detailed overview of what I did and what I learned.

🔎 Steps to Send an Email Using AWS Lambda and SES:

1. Set Up SES:

   • In the AWS Console, search for SES.

     

   • Create an Identity for your email address.

     

     

   • Verify your email by checking your inbox.

     

     

     

     

2. Create IAM Role:

   • Go to IAM (Identity and Access Management) in the AWS Console.

     

   • Create a role for Lambda with Amazon SES Full Access.

     

     

     

     

3. Create Lambda Function:

   • In the AWS Console, search for Lambda and create a new function.

     

   • Name your function and choose Python as the runtime.

     

   • Assign the IAM role you created earlier to the Lambda function and hit “Create Function”.

     

4. Write the Code:

   import json
   import boto3
   
   def lambda_handler(event, context):
       client = boto3.client("ses")
       subject = "Test Subject from Lambda"
       body = "Test body from Lambda"
       message = {
           "Subject": {"Data": subject},
           "Body": {"Html": {"Data": body}}
       }
       response = client.send_email(
           Source="[email protected]",
           Destination={"ToAddresses": ["[email protected]"]},
           Message=message
       )
       return response
   

   • Use the boto3 library to interact with AWS services.

   • Define the SES client and construct the email subject and body.

   • Use the send_email method to send the email.

     

5. Deploy and Test:

   • Deploy your Lambda function. You need to always deploy after any changes to the function before testing.

   • Create and run a test event to see the email in your inbox.

     

   • Here you can see that the function worked and there isn’t any error.

     

   • Check your email for the email. (Don’t forget to check your spam folder!)

     

→ What I Learned:

• AWS Lambda: How to create and deploy serverless functions.
• Amazon SES: How to set up and use SES for sending emails.
• IAM Roles: How to manage permissions and roles in AWS.
• Boto3: Using AWS SDK for Python to interact with AWS services.

→ AWS Services Used:

• AWS Lambda: For running code without provisioning servers.
• Amazon SES: For sending and receiving emails.
• IAM: For managing access to AWS services securely.

This project was a fantastic learning experience, helping me understand the power of serverless architectures and cloud-based email services.