AWS SES v2: How to List Messages with Pagination (2026)

Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) v2 is a powerful tool for sending emails at scale, but it can be challenging to retrieve message data without a clear understanding of the available APIs. If you are trying to list messages or get MessageIds with pagination in AWS SES v2, this guide will walk you through the process step-by-step. We'll explore the available endpoints and how you can use them effectively to manage your email insights.

Key Takeaways

• Understand the limitations of AWS SES v2 in listing messages directly.
• Learn how to use the CreateExportJob API to export message insights.
• Implement pagination using AWS's NextToken mechanism.
• Explore common errors and troubleshooting tips.

Why This Matters

Being able to list and paginate through messages in AWS SES is crucial for monitoring and analyzing email campaigns. Unfortunately, AWS SES v2 does not provide a straightforward ListMessages endpoint. Understanding how to work around this limitation is essential for developers who need to process large volumes of email data efficiently. This tutorial will guide you through alternative methods such as using the CreateExportJob feature to achieve similar functionality.

Prerequisites

• AWS account with SES v2 enabled.
• Basic understanding of AWS SDKs and REST APIs.
• Access to AWS Management Console or AWS CLI.
• Node.js environment set up (v16.0 or later).

Step 1: Understanding AWS SES v2 Limitations

AWS SES v2 does not provide a direct endpoint for listing messages or retrieving MessageIds. Instead, it offers the GetMessageInsights endpoint, which requires a MessageId, and the CreateExportJob endpoint, which can be used with a MessageInsightsDataSource to export message data. This approach requires some workarounds to list messages effectively.

Step 2: Setting Up AWS SDK for JavaScript

// Install AWS SDK for JavaScript
npm install aws-sdk

// Import the AWS SDK
const AWS = require('aws-sdk');

// Configure AWS SDK
AWS.config.update({
  region: 'us-east-1', // Update to your region
  accessKeyId: 'YOUR_ACCESS_KEY',
  secretAccessKey: 'YOUR_SECRET_KEY'
});

const sesv2 = new AWS.SESV2();

Ensure you replace YOUR_ACCESS_KEY and YOUR_SECRET_KEY with your actual AWS credentials.

Step 3: Using CreateExportJob for Message Insights

The CreateExportJob API can be used to export message insights. This method involves setting up a job to export data to an S3 bucket, from which you can retrieve the data.

const params = {
  ExportDataSource: {
    MessageInsightsDataSource: {
      StartDate: '2026-01-01T00:00:00Z',
      EndDate: '2026-12-31T23:59:59Z'
    }
  },
  ExportDestination: {
    S3Destination: {
      BucketName: 'your-bucket-name',
      ObjectKeyPrefix: 'exports/'
    }
  }
};

sesv2.createExportJob(params, (err, data) => {
  if (err) console.log(err, err.stack); // an error occurred
  else console.log(data); // successful response
});

This will initiate an export job that stores the message data in your specified S3 bucket.

Step 4: Implementing Pagination with NextToken

To paginate through large sets of data, AWS uses a NextToken mechanism. Unfortunately, for SES v2 message insights, you don't directly paginate through messages, but you can paginate through export jobs or results if implemented in other contexts.

const listParams = {
  MaxResults: 10
};

function listExportJobs(nextToken) {
  if (nextToken) listParams.NextToken = nextToken;

  sesv2.listExportJobs(listParams, (err, data) => {
    if (err) console.log(err, err.stack);
    else {
      console.log(data.ExportJobs);
      if (data.NextToken) listExportJobs(data.NextToken);
    }
  });
}

listExportJobs();

This function recursively fetches export jobs using the NextToken to handle pagination.

Common Errors/Troubleshooting

When working with AWS SES v2, you may encounter some common errors:

• Invalid credentials: Ensure your AWS credentials are correctly set in the SDK.
• Permissions error: Make sure your IAM user has necessary permissions for SES and S3 operations.
• Export job issues: Verify that your S3 bucket policies allow access from SES.

By understanding these errors, you can troubleshoot issues more effectively.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I list messages directly in AWS SES v2?

No, AWS SES v2 does not provide a direct ListMessages endpoint. You need to use export jobs to retrieve message data.

How can I paginate through message data?

You can use AWS's NextToken mechanism for pagination, but note that it's typically used for job listings rather than direct messages in SES.

What permissions are needed for export jobs?

You need permissions for both SES operations and S3 bucket access where the export data will be stored.