cjs-only

CommonJS-Only Nylas SDK Example

This example demonstrates how to use the Nylas Node.js SDK in a pure CommonJS (CJS) environment without ES module syntax.

Purpose

• Shows CommonJS require() syntax with the Nylas SDK
• Demonstrates environment variable handling in CommonJS
• Provides a simple messages listing example
• Serves as a reference for projects that must use CommonJS

Key Differences from ESM

This example showcases the CommonJS equivalent of the ESM-only example:

ESM Syntax	CommonJS Syntax
import Nylas from 'nylas'	const Nylas = require('nylas')
import dotenv from 'dotenv'	const dotenv = require('dotenv')
import path from 'node:path'	const path = require('path')
import.meta.dirname	__dirname
export { logger }	module.exports = { logger }

Setup

1. Install dependencies:

   cd examples/cjs-only
   npm install

2. Set up environment variables:

   • Copy examples/.env.example to examples/.env
   • Fill in your NYLAS_API_KEY and NYLAS_GRANT_ID

3. Run the example:

   npm start
   # or
   node index.js

Requirements

• Node.js (any version - CommonJS is supported in all Node.js versions)
• Valid Nylas API credentials
• A grant with message access permissions

What This Example Does

1. Loads environment variables using dotenv
2. Validates required API credentials
3. Initializes the Nylas client
4. Lists messages from the specified grant
5. Logs the results with proper error handling

File Structure

cjs-only/
├── index.js          # Main example file (CommonJS)
├── package.json      # Package configuration (no "type": "module")
├── utils/
│   └── logger.js     # Logger utility (CommonJS exports)
└── README.md         # This file

Troubleshooting

• "NYLAS_API_KEY environment variable is not set": Make sure you've created the .env file in the examples/ directory with your API key
• "NYLAS_GRANT_ID environment variable is not set": Add your grant ID to the .env file
• Module not found errors: Run npm install to install dependencies
• Permission errors: Ensure your API key and grant have the necessary permissions to list messages

Related Examples

• ../esm-only/ - ESM version of this same example
• ../messages/ - More comprehensive message handling examples