API Key does not start with "SG." SendGrid – Sendgrid

The Problem:

"A user is trying to set up SendGrid in their Heroku NodeJS app, but they keep getting the error "API key does not start with SG." They have tried setting the API key as the whole key, the actualValue part of the key, and even creating a new key, but they still get the same error. The user has also tried setting the environment variable to the whole key without ".SG" or just the bbb_ccccc part, but that doesn’t work either."
}

The Solutions:

Solution 1: Check API key starts with "SG."

The API key of SendGrid should start with the prefix SG. Verify that the environment variable is set correctly by printing it using console.log or using the printenv command in the console started with heroku run bash -a mighty-river-12802.

Solution 2: Make sure dotenv is configured

If you’re using Node.js, ensure you’ve included `require('dotenv').config()` in the file that utilizes the `sendgrid/nodemailer` module. Without it, the SendGrid transporter will have an undefined API key.

Solution 3: dotenv syntax

When using `dotenv`, remove the `export` keyword from the environment variable declaration in the `.env` file. Additionally, ensure the file is named correctly (`.env` instead of `SendGrid.env`).

Solution 4: Fix Single/Double Quotes in .env File

Ensure that the API key value in your `.env` file is enclosed in double quotes (“) instead of single quotes (‘). When setting environment variables, it’s generally recommended to use double quotes to avoid potential parsing issues.

Solution 5: Require ‘Dotenv’ for Environment Variables

To resolve the "API key does not start with SG" issue, add the following line to the beginning of your test file:

require('dotenv').config();

This will allow your application to access the environment variables, including the SendGrid API key set as SENDGRID_API_KEY. Without this step, the application cannot locate the API key when calling process.env.SENDGRID_API_KEY.