Our clients’ Auth0 accounts are created using the management API in our backend. The emails are provided by our clients directly and do not need to be verified. However we do want to send welcome emails to the SPA application at creation.
Using the management API in the backed, I create accounts with verify_email = False and email_verified = True. Some accounts are created with the “Username-Password-Authentication” (default Database) connection scheme, some others with the “email” (passwordless, aka OTP) connection scheme.
In the former case, the welcome email sent to the client email address is the SPA application’s welcome email as intended, which can be customized.
In the latter case, it comes from the backend, and it doesn’t seem to be customizable.
The connection seems to be the only parameter that controls this behavior. I wonder why it is behaving like so and how to remediate this?
The “Welcome” email template is tied specifically to database connections, while passwordless (email) connections have their own distinct email flow for enrollment and authentication.
The root cause isn’t a bug, but a difference in design between connection types:
Database Connections (Username-Password-Authentication): When a new user is created on this connection, it’s considered a “classic” signup, which can trigger the standard “Welcome” email template located under Branding > Email Templates. This is the customizable “SPA application” email you’re seeing.
Passwordless Connections (email): This connection’s purpose is to manage sign-in via one-time codes or magic links. The emails it sends (configured under Authentication > Passwordless > Email) are functional—they are for enrollment and sign-in, not a generic “welcome.” This is the different, less customizable “backend” email you’ve noted.
The system doesn’t treat these two signups identically, so it sends different emails.
To remediate this and send a single, consistent, and customized welcome email to all new users, regardless of their connection, the most modern and flexible approach is to disable the Default Welcome Email on the Database Connection use an Auth0 Post User Registration Action to send an email to the user.
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Hello Vlad, thanks for this clarification, it is now clear that those two connection types are differing much more than I thought. I find that the documentation or the UI could be more explicit about what is “generic” and what is not, or about the limitations of the passwordless connection type (cannot create accounts with that type in the UI, f.e.)