EmailTemplate Metadata Type Reference

The EmailTemplate metadata type represents a Classic (Aloha) or Lightning Experience (SFX) email template used across AutoResponseRules, EscalationRules, ApprovalProcess, Flow emailSimple / Email Alerts, and Apex Messaging.SingleEmailMessage.

In Salesforce DX projects, email templates are stored inside folder subdirectories under force-app/main/default/email/<FolderName>/ as a pair of files:

1. <TemplateName>.email — the raw text, HTML, or Visualforce markup body.
2. <TemplateName>.email-meta.xml — the metadata XML file defining name, subject, type, uiType, and encodingKey.

Supported Template Types (type and uiType)#

Key Metadata Fields#

Production-Grade Example (Support_Templates/Priority_Case_Acknowledgment)#

1. Metadata File (Priority_Case_Acknowledgment.email-meta.xml)#

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<EmailTemplate xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <available>true</available>
    <description>Sent automatically when a High or Critical Case is logged.</description>
    <encodingKey>UTF-8</encodingKey>
    <name>Priority Case Acknowledgment</name>
    <style>none</style>
    <subject>[Case #{!Case.CaseNumber}] Priority Support Acknowledgment: {!Case.Subject}</subject>
    <textOnly>Hello {!Contact.FirstName}, We have received your priority support case #{!Case.CaseNumber} ({!Case.Subject}). A Tier 3 engineer is reviewing your request.</textOnly>
    <type>custom</type>
    <uiType>Aloha</uiType>
</EmailTemplate>

2. HTML Content File (Priority_Case_Acknowledgment.email)#

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: #181818;">
    <p>Hello {!Contact.FirstName},</p>
    <p>We have received your priority support request <strong>#{!Case.CaseNumber}</strong> regarding <em>{!Case.Subject}</em>.</p>
    <p>A Tier 3 Support Engineer has been paged and will respond within your SLA window.</p>
</body>
</html>

Querying EmailTemplate with SOQL#

-- 1. Find EmailTemplates in a specific folder by DeveloperName
SELECT Id, Name, DeveloperName, FolderName, Folder.DeveloperName,
       TemplateType, UiType, Subject, IsActive
FROM EmailTemplate
WHERE Folder.DeveloperName = 'Support_Templates'
  AND IsActive = true
ORDER BY Name ASC

Retrieving Foldered Email Templates (package.xml)#

Note that templates in the Unfiled Public Classic Email Templates folder use the special folder name unfiled$public:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Package xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <types>
        <members>unfiled$public/SalesNewCustomerEmail</members>
        <members>Support_Templates</members>
        <members>Support_Templates/Priority_Case_Acknowledgment</members>
        <name>EmailTemplate</name>
    </types>
    <version>68.0</version>
</Package>

Frequently asked questions

Why does retrieving EmailTemplate with a wildcard (*) in package.xml fail?

EmailTemplate is a foldered metadata type (inFolder = true) and does not support the asterisk wildcard in package.xml. You must specify the folder and template developer name separated by a slash, such as unfiled$public/Case_Resolved_Template.

What is the difference between Classic and Lightning Email Templates in Metadata API?

Classic Email Templates (uiType Aloha: text, html, custom, visualforce) are supported in 1GP and 2GP packages and required by ApprovalProcess, AutoResponseRules, and EscalationRules. Lightning Email Templates (uiType SFX) use Handlebars merge syntax and are only packageable in 1GP.

How are EmailTemplate files structured in SFDX?

Each EmailTemplate consists of two paired files inside force-app/main/default/email/FolderName/: the body file (TemplateName.email) and the metadata XML file (TemplateName.email-meta.xml).

How do I retrieve an EmailFolder alongside its EmailTemplate files?

Include the folder path itself as a member under the EmailTemplate type in package.xml (for example, Support_Templates), followed by each template member (Support_Templates/Priority_Case_Acknowledgment).

How do I query EmailTemplates in SOQL to send emails from Apex?

Query the standard EmailTemplate object by DeveloperName to retrieve its Id, HtmlValue, Body, Subject, and UiType, then pass the Id into Messaging.SingleEmailMessage.setTemplateId(templateId).