Refactor email to use WooCommerce transactional email system

- Remove legacy email template files
- Use WooCommerce's email-header.php and email-footer.php templates
- Render email content inline for consistent WooCommerce styling
- Remove template location filter from LicenseEmailController

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

CLAUDE.md

@@ -36,6 +36,12 @@ This project is proudly **"vibe-coded"** using Claude.AI - the entire codebase w
 
 _No known bugs at this time._
 
+### Version 0.0.9
+
+
+
+**Note for AI Assistants:** Cleanup the versions in this section after implementation, but keep this notice!
+
 ## Technical Stack
 
 - **Language:** PHP 8.3.x
@@ -432,20 +438,15 @@ Full API documentation available in `openapi.json` (OpenAPI 3.1 specification).
 
 - Removed "Current Version" field from product license settings
 - Current version now automatically derived from latest product version in database
-- Refactored email system to use WooCommerce email notification classes
+- Refactored email system to use WooCommerce transactional email system
-- License Expiration Warning email is now configurable via WooCommerce > Settings > Emails
+- License Expiration Warning email configurable via WooCommerce > Settings > Emails
-- Email templates can be overridden in themes (woocommerce/emails/license-expiration.php)
+- Uses WooCommerce's email header/footer templates for consistent styling
 - Configurable warning days for expiration notifications (first and second warning)
 
 **New classes:**
 
 - `LicenseExpirationEmail` - WooCommerce WC_Email subclass for license expiration warnings
 
-**New files:**
-
-- `templates/emails/license-expiration.php` - HTML email template
-- `templates/emails/plain/license-expiration.php` - Plain text email template
-
 **Modified classes:**
 
 - `LicensedProduct` - `get_current_version()` and `get_major_version()` now query VersionManager
@@ -456,7 +457,8 @@ Full API documentation available in `openapi.json` (OpenAPI 3.1 specification).
 
 **Technical notes:**
 
-- WooCommerce email system allows admins to customize subject, heading, content, and enable/disable
+- Email uses WooCommerce's `emails/email-header.php` and `emails/email-footer.php` templates
-- Email templates follow WooCommerce conventions and can be overridden in themes
+- Email content is rendered inline, inheriting WooCommerce's styling and customizations
+- Admins can customize subject, heading, additional content, and enable/disable via WC settings
 - Expiration warning schedule (days before) remains in plugin settings
 - Email enable/disable is controlled through WooCommerce email settings

src/Email/LicenseEmailController.php

@@ -44,9 +44,6 @@ final class LicenseEmailController
 
         // Cron action for checking expiring licenses
         add_action('wclp_check_expiring_licenses', [$this, 'sendExpirationWarnings']);
-
-        // Add email templates location for theme overrides
-        add_filter('woocommerce_locate_template', [$this, 'locateTemplate'], 10, 3);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -61,30 +58,6 @@ final class LicenseEmailController
         return $email_classes;
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Locate templates in plugin directory
-     *
-     * @param string $template Template path
-     * @param string $template_name Template name
-     * @param string $template_path Template path prefix
-     * @return string Modified template path
-     */
-    public function locateTemplate(string $template, string $template_name, string $template_path): string
-    {
-        // Only handle our email templates
-        if (strpos($template_name, 'emails/license-') !== 0) {
-            return $template;
-        }
-
-        $plugin_template = WC_LICENSED_PRODUCT_PLUGIN_DIR . 'templates/' . $template_name;
-
-        if (file_exists($plugin_template)) {
-            return $plugin_template;
-        }
-
-        return $template;
-    }
-
     /**
      * Schedule the expiration check cron job
      */

src/Email/LicenseExpirationEmail.php

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ use WC_Email;
  * License Expiration Warning Email class
  *
  * Sends email notifications to customers when their licenses are about to expire.
+ * Uses WooCommerce's transactional email system for consistent styling and customization.
  */
 class LicenseExpirationEmail extends WC_Email
 {
@@ -39,6 +40,11 @@ class LicenseExpirationEmail extends WC_Email
      */
     public string $expiration_date = '';
 
+    /**
+     * Customer display name
+     */
+    public string $customer_name = '';
+
     /**
      * Constructor
      */
@@ -49,10 +55,6 @@ class LicenseExpirationEmail extends WC_Email
         $this->title = __('License Expiration Warning', 'wc-licensed-product');
         $this->description = __('License expiration warning emails are sent to customers when their licenses are about to expire.', 'wc-licensed-product');
 
-        $this->template_html = 'emails/license-expiration.php';
-        $this->template_plain = 'emails/plain/license-expiration.php';
-        $this->template_base = WC_LICENSED_PRODUCT_PLUGIN_DIR . 'templates/';
-
         $this->placeholders = [
             '{site_title}' => $this->get_blogname(),
             '{product_name}' => '',
@@ -99,6 +101,7 @@ class LicenseExpirationEmail extends WC_Email
         $this->license = $license;
         $this->days_remaining = $days_remaining;
         $this->recipient = $customer->user_email;
+        $this->customer_name = $customer->display_name ?: __('Customer', 'wc-licensed-product');
 
         $product = wc_get_product($license->getProductId());
         $this->product_name = $product ? $product->get_name() : __('Unknown Product', 'wc-licensed-product');
@@ -134,22 +137,17 @@ class LicenseExpirationEmail extends WC_Email
      */
     public function get_content_html(): string
     {
-        return wc_get_template_html(
+        ob_start();
-            $this->template_html,
+
-            [
+        // Use WooCommerce's email header
-                'license' => $this->license,
+        wc_get_template('emails/email-header.php', ['email_heading' => $this->get_heading()]);
-                'days_remaining' => $this->days_remaining,
+
-                'product_name' => $this->product_name,
+        $this->render_email_body_html();
-                'expiration_date' => $this->expiration_date,
+
-                'email_heading' => $this->get_heading(),
+        // Use WooCommerce's email footer
-                'additional_content' => $this->get_additional_content(),
+        wc_get_template('emails/email-footer.php', ['email' => $this]);
-                'sent_to_admin' => false,
+
-                'plain_text' => false,
+        return ob_get_clean();
-                'email' => $this,
-            ],
-            '',
-            $this->template_base
-        );
     }
 
     /**
@@ -157,22 +155,132 @@ class LicenseExpirationEmail extends WC_Email
      */
     public function get_content_plain(): string
     {
-        return wc_get_template_html(
+        ob_start();
-            $this->template_plain,
+
-            [
+        echo "=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\n";
-                'license' => $this->license,
+        echo esc_html(wp_strip_all_tags($this->get_heading()));
-                'days_remaining' => $this->days_remaining,
+        echo "\n=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\n\n";
-                'product_name' => $this->product_name,
+
-                'expiration_date' => $this->expiration_date,
+        $this->render_email_body_plain();
-                'email_heading' => $this->get_heading(),
+
-                'additional_content' => $this->get_additional_content(),
+        return ob_get_clean();
-                'sent_to_admin' => false,
+    }
-                'plain_text' => true,
+
-                'email' => $this,
+    /**
-            ],
+     * Render HTML email body content
-            '',
+     */
-            $this->template_base
+    private function render_email_body_html(): void
-        );
+    {
+        $account_url = wc_get_account_endpoint_url('licenses');
+        ?>
+        <p><?php printf(esc_html__('Hello %s,', 'wc-licensed-product'), esc_html($this->customer_name)); ?></p>
+
+        <?php if ($this->days_remaining === 1) : ?>
+            <p style="color: #e2401c; font-weight: 600;">
+                <?php printf(
+                    esc_html__('Your license for %s will expire tomorrow (%s).', 'wc-licensed-product'),
+                    '<strong>' . esc_html($this->product_name) . '</strong>',
+                    esc_html($this->expiration_date)
+                ); ?>
+            </p>
+        <?php else : ?>
+            <p style="color: #94660c; font-weight: 600;">
+                <?php printf(
+                    esc_html__('Your license for %1$s will expire in %2$d days (%3$s).', 'wc-licensed-product'),
+                    '<strong>' . esc_html($this->product_name) . '</strong>',
+                    $this->days_remaining,
+                    esc_html($this->expiration_date)
+                ); ?>
+            </p>
+        <?php endif; ?>
+
+        <h2><?php esc_html_e('License Details', 'wc-licensed-product'); ?></h2>
+
+        <div style="margin-bottom: 40px;">
+            <table class="td" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" style="width: 100%; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif;" border="1">
+                <tbody>
+                    <tr>
+                        <th class="td" scope="row" style="text-align:<?php echo is_rtl() ? 'right' : 'left'; ?>;"><?php esc_html_e('Product:', 'wc-licensed-product'); ?></th>
+                        <td class="td" style="text-align:<?php echo is_rtl() ? 'right' : 'left'; ?>;"><?php echo esc_html($this->product_name); ?></td>
+                    </tr>
+                    <tr>
+                        <th class="td" scope="row" style="text-align:<?php echo is_rtl() ? 'right' : 'left'; ?>;"><?php esc_html_e('License Key:', 'wc-licensed-product'); ?></th>
+                        <td class="td" style="text-align:<?php echo is_rtl() ? 'right' : 'left'; ?>;">
+                            <code style="background: #f5f5f5; padding: 3px 8px; border-radius: 3px; font-family: monospace;">
+                                <?php echo esc_html($this->license->getLicenseKey()); ?>
+                            </code>
+                        </td>
+                    </tr>
+                    <tr>
+                        <th class="td" scope="row" style="text-align:<?php echo is_rtl() ? 'right' : 'left'; ?>;"><?php esc_html_e('Domain:', 'wc-licensed-product'); ?></th>
+                        <td class="td" style="text-align:<?php echo is_rtl() ? 'right' : 'left'; ?>;"><?php echo esc_html($this->license->getDomain()); ?></td>
+                    </tr>
+                    <tr>
+                        <th class="td" scope="row" style="text-align:<?php echo is_rtl() ? 'right' : 'left'; ?>;"><?php esc_html_e('Expires:', 'wc-licensed-product'); ?></th>
+                        <td class="td" style="text-align:<?php echo is_rtl() ? 'right' : 'left'; ?>; color: #e2401c; font-weight: 600;"><?php echo esc_html($this->expiration_date); ?></td>
+                    </tr>
+                </tbody>
+            </table>
+        </div>
+
+        <?php
+        $additional_content = $this->get_additional_content();
+        if ($additional_content) :
+            ?>
+            <p><?php echo wp_kses_post($additional_content); ?></p>
+        <?php endif; ?>
+
+        <p style="margin-top: 25px;">
+            <a href="<?php echo esc_url($account_url); ?>" class="button" style="display: inline-block; background-color: #7f54b3; color: #ffffff; padding: 12px 24px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 4px; font-weight: 600;">
+                <?php esc_html_e('View My Licenses', 'wc-licensed-product'); ?>
+            </a>
+        </p>
+        <?php
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Render plain text email body content
+     */
+    private function render_email_body_plain(): void
+    {
+        printf(esc_html__('Hello %s,', 'wc-licensed-product'), esc_html($this->customer_name));
+        echo "\n\n";
+
+        if ($this->days_remaining === 1) {
+            printf(
+                esc_html__('Your license for %s will expire tomorrow (%s).', 'wc-licensed-product'),
+                esc_html($this->product_name),
+                esc_html($this->expiration_date)
+            );
+        } else {
+            printf(
+                esc_html__('Your license for %1$s will expire in %2$d days (%3$s).', 'wc-licensed-product'),
+                esc_html($this->product_name),
+                $this->days_remaining,
+                esc_html($this->expiration_date)
+            );
+        }
+        echo "\n\n";
+
+        echo "----------\n";
+        echo esc_html__('License Details', 'wc-licensed-product') . "\n";
+        echo "----------\n\n";
+
+        echo esc_html__('Product:', 'wc-licensed-product') . ' ' . esc_html($this->product_name) . "\n";
+        echo esc_html__('License Key:', 'wc-licensed-product') . ' ' . esc_html($this->license->getLicenseKey()) . "\n";
+        echo esc_html__('Domain:', 'wc-licensed-product') . ' ' . esc_html($this->license->getDomain()) . "\n";
+        echo esc_html__('Expires:', 'wc-licensed-product') . ' ' . esc_html($this->expiration_date) . "\n\n";
+
+        $additional_content = $this->get_additional_content();
+        if ($additional_content) {
+            echo "----------\n\n";
+            echo esc_html(wp_strip_all_tags(wptexturize($additional_content)));
+            echo "\n\n";
+        }
+
+        echo esc_html__('View My Licenses', 'wc-licensed-product') . ': ' . esc_url(wc_get_account_endpoint_url('licenses')) . "\n\n";
+
+        echo "=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\n";
     }
 
     /**

templates/emails/license-expiration.php

@@ -1,97 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-/**
- * License Expiration Warning Email (HTML)
- *
- * This template can be overridden by copying it to yourtheme/woocommerce/emails/license-expiration.php.
- *
- * @package Jeremias\WcLicensedProduct\Templates\Emails
- * @version 0.0.8
- *
- * @var \Jeremias\WcLicensedProduct\License\License $license
- * @var int $days_remaining
- * @var string $product_name
- * @var string $expiration_date
- * @var string $email_heading
- * @var string $additional_content
- * @var bool $sent_to_admin
- * @var bool $plain_text
- * @var \Jeremias\WcLicensedProduct\Email\LicenseExpirationEmail $email
- */
-
-defined('ABSPATH') || exit;
-
-/*
- * @hooked WC_Emails::email_header() Output the email header
- */
-do_action('woocommerce_email_header', $email_heading, $email);
-
-$customer = get_userdata($license->getCustomerId());
-$customer_name = $customer ? $customer->display_name : __('Customer', 'wc-licensed-product');
-$account_url = wc_get_account_endpoint_url('licenses');
-?>
-
-<p><?php printf(esc_html__('Hello %s,', 'wc-licensed-product'), esc_html($customer_name)); ?></p>
-
-<?php if ($days_remaining === 1) : ?>
-    <p style="color: #dc3545; font-weight: 600;">
-        <?php printf(
-            esc_html__('Your license for %s will expire tomorrow (%s).', 'wc-licensed-product'),
-            esc_html($product_name),
-            esc_html($expiration_date)
-        ); ?>
-    </p>
-<?php else : ?>
-    <p style="color: #856404; font-weight: 600;">
-        <?php printf(
-            esc_html__('Your license for %1$s will expire in %2$d days (%3$s).', 'wc-licensed-product'),
-            esc_html($product_name),
-            $days_remaining,
-            esc_html($expiration_date)
-        ); ?>
-    </p>
-<?php endif; ?>
-
-<h2><?php esc_html_e('License Details', 'wc-licensed-product'); ?></h2>
-
-<div style="margin-bottom: 40px;">
-    <table class="td" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" style="width: 100%; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif;" border="1">
-        <tbody>
-            <tr>
-                <th class="td" scope="row" style="text-align:left;"><?php esc_html_e('Product:', 'wc-licensed-product'); ?></th>
-                <td class="td" style="text-align:left;"><?php echo esc_html($product_name); ?></td>
-            </tr>
-            <tr>
-                <th class="td" scope="row" style="text-align:left;"><?php esc_html_e('License Key:', 'wc-licensed-product'); ?></th>
-                <td class="td" style="text-align:left;">
-                    <code style="background: #f5f5f5; padding: 3px 8px; border-radius: 3px; font-family: monospace;">
-                        <?php echo esc_html($license->getLicenseKey()); ?>
-                    </code>
-                </td>
-            </tr>
-            <tr>
-                <th class="td" scope="row" style="text-align:left;"><?php esc_html_e('Domain:', 'wc-licensed-product'); ?></th>
-                <td class="td" style="text-align:left;"><?php echo esc_html($license->getDomain()); ?></td>
-            </tr>
-            <tr>
-                <th class="td" scope="row" style="text-align:left;"><?php esc_html_e('Expires:', 'wc-licensed-product'); ?></th>
-                <td class="td" style="text-align:left; color: #dc3545; font-weight: 600;"><?php echo esc_html($expiration_date); ?></td>
-            </tr>
-        </tbody>
-    </table>
-</div>
-
-<?php if ($additional_content) : ?>
-    <p><?php echo wp_kses_post($additional_content); ?></p>
-<?php endif; ?>
-
-<p style="margin-top: 25px;">
-    <a href="<?php echo esc_url($account_url); ?>" style="display: inline-block; background: #7f54b3; color: #fff; padding: 12px 24px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 4px; font-weight: 600;">
-        <?php esc_html_e('View My Licenses', 'wc-licensed-product'); ?>
-    </a>
-</p>
-
-<?php
-/*
- * @hooked WC_Emails::email_footer() Output the email footer
- */
-do_action('woocommerce_email_footer', $email);

templates/emails/plain/license-expiration.php

@@ -1,64 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-/**
- * License Expiration Warning Email (Plain Text)
- *
- * This template can be overridden by copying it to yourtheme/woocommerce/emails/plain/license-expiration.php.
- *
- * @package Jeremias\WcLicensedProduct\Templates\Emails
- * @version 0.0.8
- *
- * @var \Jeremias\WcLicensedProduct\License\License $license
- * @var int $days_remaining
- * @var string $product_name
- * @var string $expiration_date
- * @var string $email_heading
- * @var string $additional_content
- * @var bool $sent_to_admin
- * @var bool $plain_text
- * @var \Jeremias\WcLicensedProduct\Email\LicenseExpirationEmail $email
- */
-
-defined('ABSPATH') || exit;
-
-echo "=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\n";
-echo esc_html(wp_strip_all_tags($email_heading));
-echo "\n=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\n\n";
-
-$customer = get_userdata($license->getCustomerId());
-$customer_name = $customer ? $customer->display_name : __('Customer', 'wc-licensed-product');
-
-echo sprintf(esc_html__('Hello %s,', 'wc-licensed-product'), esc_html($customer_name)) . "\n\n";
-
-if ($days_remaining === 1) {
-    echo sprintf(
-        esc_html__('Your license for %s will expire tomorrow (%s).', 'wc-licensed-product'),
-        esc_html($product_name),
-        esc_html($expiration_date)
-    ) . "\n\n";
-} else {
-    echo sprintf(
-        esc_html__('Your license for %1$s will expire in %2$d days (%3$s).', 'wc-licensed-product'),
-        esc_html($product_name),
-        $days_remaining,
-        esc_html($expiration_date)
-    ) . "\n\n";
-}
-
-echo "----------\n";
-echo esc_html__('License Details', 'wc-licensed-product') . "\n";
-echo "----------\n\n";
-
-echo esc_html__('Product:', 'wc-licensed-product') . ' ' . esc_html($product_name) . "\n";
-echo esc_html__('License Key:', 'wc-licensed-product') . ' ' . esc_html($license->getLicenseKey()) . "\n";
-echo esc_html__('Domain:', 'wc-licensed-product') . ' ' . esc_html($license->getDomain()) . "\n";
-echo esc_html__('Expires:', 'wc-licensed-product') . ' ' . esc_html($expiration_date) . "\n\n";
-
-if ($additional_content) {
-    echo "----------\n\n";
-    echo esc_html(wp_strip_all_tags(wptexturize($additional_content)));
-    echo "\n\n";
-}
-
-echo esc_html__('View My Licenses', 'wc-licensed-product') . ': ' . esc_url(wc_get_account_endpoint_url('licenses')) . "\n\n";
-
-echo "=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\n";