Modernize the Default Email Notification Template

[GeekStreetSolutions]

First, thank you for all the work that has gone into Seerr. The application itself has become a great media request platform, but I think the default email notification template could benefit from a visual refresh.

This isn't a request for themes or custom branding. Rather, it's a suggestion to improve the default template that every Seerr user receives.

Overall, the current email feels like it was designed several years ago. While it functions well, a few layout and spacing improvements could make it feel much more polished and modern without changing Seerr's overall visual identity.

Current Issues

1. The background feels disconnected

In many email clients, the content appears as a dark panel sitting on top of a white page instead of feeling like a cohesive email.

Looking at the HTML, this seems to stem from the outer layout using a dark container with vertical padding around a centered table:

<div style="background-color:#111827; padding:2.5rem 0;">
    <table>

A more cohesive background treatment would make the email feel significantly more polished.

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2. The layout feels unnecessarily narrow

The email doesn't make great use of the available width on either phones or desktop email clients, causing content to feel compressed.

The current template uses a fixed-width layout:

width: 26rem;

A responsive maximum width would improve readability while still remaining comfortable on all screen sizes.

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3. The media card needs more breathing room

The media card nearly touches the sides of the email.

Adding more horizontal padding around the card would improve the visual balance and make the layout feel less cramped.

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4. Inconsistent spacing

Some elements have generous spacing while others feel very close together.

Examples include:

• Logo
• Greeting
• Description
• Media card
• Call-to-action button

Using a more consistent spacing system would make the email feel much more intentional.

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5. The call-to-action button feels disconnected

The button is separated from the media card by a noticeable gap while also being considerably narrower.

The current spacing comes from:

margin: 1.5rem 3rem 0;

Aligning the button with the width of the media card—or placing it immediately beneath the card—would create a much stronger visual hierarchy.

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6. The logo dominates the header

The logo currently spans nearly the full width of the email.

Reducing it slightly would allow the notification content to become the primary focus while still maintaining Seerr branding.

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7. Timestamp formatting

The timestamp currently appears as:

17:35:00 GMT-0700 (Pacific Daylight Time)

This is more detailed than most users need in a notification email.

A localized format such as:

Jul 19, 2026 • 5:35 PM

would be easier to scan while still conveying the same information.

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8. Email text cannot be customized

Currently, administrators can configure how email is delivered (SMTP settings, sender information, and notification types), but not what the email says.

Even simple customization options would make the notification system much more flexible while keeping the existing defaults for users who don't want to change anything.

Some examples include:

• Custom email subject
• Greeting text
• Notification message
• Call-to-action button text
• Footer text or signature

For example, an administrator may want to rename "View Media in Seerr" to "Open in Plex Requests", or adjust the wording of notifications to better match their server's branding or audience.

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Overall Goal

I'm not requesting a complete redesign or a theme system.

I think Seerr could keep its current visual identity while modernizing the default email template through:

• Better spacing and padding
• A more responsive layout
• Better use of whitespace
• Cleaner typography hierarchy
• Better alignment between the media card and the call-to-action button
• A more cohesive background layout
• More concise timestamp formatting
• Optional customization of email subjects and text

These changes would improve the appearance of every notification without changing Seerr's branding or requiring administrators to modify source files after every update.

I believe this is a relatively small UI improvement that would noticeably improve the first impression users receive from Seerr's email notifications.

[M0NsTeRRR]

Avoid 30000000 words full AI writed issue, read our contributing guide. Ask your AI next time to search across Issues/PRs/Discussions #1876.

[GeekStreetSolutions]

Thanks for directing me towards #1876.

Yes, I definitely see the connection between the last part of my proposal (customizable emails) and this topic, although I wasn’t aware that this was an open PR on it.

With that said, most of my points did not focus on customizable emails at all. They were focused on the existing template structure itself and how it looks—things such as spacing, responsiveness, padding, button positioning, size of the logo, timestamp formatting, etc.

And I’ve gone over the contributing guide, and as far as I can tell, the AI contribution guidelines only apply to AI assistance for code/PR submissions, not to GitHub discussions. Is there another set of guidelines for feature discussions?

I'm sure to keep future discussions brief and to-the-point, but #1876 does not address most of what I was trying to bring up.

[M0NsTeRRR]

With that said, most of my points did not focus on customizable emails at all. They were focused on the existing template structure itself and how it looks—things such as spacing, responsiveness, padding, button positioning, size of the logo, timestamp formatting, etc.

The default template is provided as a baseline. It won’t cover every use case, nor will it suit every user. Many users appreciate this template (as evidenced by the lack of open discussion/issue about it), so modifying it would likely spark significant debate. With this PR, however, you’ll have the freedom to fully customize the template to meet your specific needs.

And I’ve gone over the contributing guide, and as far as I can tell, the AI contribution guidelines only apply to AI assistance for code/PR submissions, not to GitHub discussions. Is there another set of guidelines for feature discussions?

As the name suggest it's about contribution, commenting, giving feedback is a contribution (note the all comments in the link below).
https://github.com/seerr-team/seerr/blob/develop/CONTRIBUTING.md#expectations-for-ai-assisted-contributions

PR descriptions and all comments must be your own words. Do not paste LLM output as your PR description, review response, or issue comment. We want your understanding and explanation of the changes, not a machine-generated summary. An exception is made for LLM-assisted translation, however, note it explicitly if used.

[GeekStreetSolutions]

I understand your point about the upcoming template customization PR, and I agree that it will address the customization aspect.

My suggestion wasn't really about personal branding or themes. It was about improving the baseline template that ships with Seerr.

To clarify what I meant, I took the current email's HTML and made a few small layout changes. These screenshots aren't Photoshop mockups, they're rendered directly from the modified HTML using the current template as a starting point. I'm sharing screenshots rather than the HTML itself since the rendered HTML contains server- and user-specific information that I'd rather not post publicly.

CURRENT

PROPOSED

The changes are intentionally modest:

The background now extends across the full email instead of appearing as a dark panel on a white page.
I added horizontal padding so the content has more breathing room across different email clients.
I slightly reduced the logo and overall element sizes to make the notification content the primary focus.

I started looking into the template because several users commented on the overall layout. After testing it across different browsers, email clients, and device sizes, I consistently saw the same issues. These HTML-only changes produced a more balanced layout while keeping Seerr's existing branding, colors, and overall design intact.

Even if template customization is added later, I believe a few small improvements to the default template would benefit every user out of the box.

[GeekStreetSolutions]

I ended up working around this by bind-mounting a modified media-request/html.pug into the container, so I can keep a customized template without maintaining a fork or rebuilding the image after updates. My custom email template is miles better than the original, and I hope to see similar improvements officially implemented in the default template.