Question

How do I setup SMTP on a Discourse Droplet ?

Posted June 21, 2016 7.5k views
Email One-Click Install Apps

Just installed the Discourse droplet, changed the root password, and followed the prompts. I was asked for SMTP information and thought it was as simple as using the default, adding my email address, and be done with it. However, emails are not being sent.

Is there another step that I missed?

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6 answers
AndewTheTechie August 10, 2016

Hello,

Configuring and administering a mail server on your own is not always an easy, straight forward task. We have a great tutorial/article about some of the issues you might run into: https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/why-you-may-not-want-to-run-your-own-mail-server

If you DO decide you want to run your mail server after reading that article, we have a lot of articles about different options to setup a mail server: https://www.digitalocean.com/community/search?q=mail+server. Depending on your skill level I would either suggest mail in a box (https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-run-your-own-mail-server-with-mail-in-a-box-on-ubuntu-14-04) for an easier solution or send-only postfix (https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-install-and-configure-postfix-as-a-send-only-smtp-server-on-ubuntu-16-04) for a more advanced solution.

Regards,

–Andrew

Why You May Not Want To Run Your Own Mail Server
by Mitchell Anicas
When setting up a web site or application under your own domain, it is likely that you will also want a mail server to handle the domain's incoming and outgoing email. While it is possible to run your own mail server, it is often not the best option for a variety of reasons. This guide will cover many of the reasons that you may not want to run your own mail server, and offer a few alternatives.
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andxblink October 14, 2016

I have the same question as the original poster. And, if I may say so, I feel that Andrews does not answer the question.

I am quite happy to have you handle my mail server but at the first SSH sign-in I was asked for my SMTP settings and I think I may have given the wrong port.

How can I change the SMPT port now?

Thank you
and

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andxblink October 14, 2016
[deleted]
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andxblink October 14, 2016 
app.yml
cd /var/discourse
./launcher rebuild app
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  • ooogwayduhrock January 20, 2018

    The above tip wasn’t what I wanted.

    I didn’t want to rebuild the entire app’s world just to get past the hurdle for

    “Discourse Setup”
    “Confirm your Email”

    which got configured, possibly wrong.

    The better way was suggested by pfaffman as:-

    1. cd /var/discourse
2. ./launcher stop app
3. ./discourse-setup
    Reply Report
shalom January 14, 2017

I have the same problem. I’ve almost completed the Discourse setup, but I can’t log in and complete the process because the confirmation email never sends. My mail server (and web host) are 1and1. I used app.yml to change the port from 587 to 25, as advised on another forum post, but that didn’t work. Does anyone have a fix for this? I’m blocked.

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bdschaap January 23, 2017

Hi, I’m also having difficulty getting the registration email to work for the admin account.

I’m using Zoho as my email provider. I have successfully configured DKIM and SPF. The production.log file shows this where the email address is a valid address.

Sent mail to testemailaddress@mydomain.net (1449.1ms)
Job exception: end of file reached

Any suggestions? I read through the questions and answers in https://meta.discourse.org/t/troubleshooting-email-on-a-new-discourse-install/16326 without luck. Here is a snippet of app.yml.

DISCOURSE_DEVELOPER_EMAILS: 'testemailaddress@mydomain.net'

## TODO: The SMTP mail server used to validate new accounts and send notifications
DISCOURSE_SMTP_ADDRESS: smtp.zoho.com
DISCOURSE_SMTP_PORT: 587
DISCOURSE_SMTP_USER_NAME: testemailaddress@mydomain.net
DISCOURSE_SMTP_PASSWORD: "longpasswordforaboveusername"
#DISCOURSE_SMTP_ENABLE_START_TLS: true # (optional, default true)
edited by asb
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  • burningluxray June 6, 2017

    Hi bdschaap,
    I have literally the same issue. I’ve tried changing the port to 465, turning Start TLS to false and none of them work. Have you found a solution to using zoho for discourse?

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    • Lykle July 3, 2017

      Same problem here. Tried every combination there is.

      I suspect we need to add a new line with “login” or “password” as a parameter.
      Frustrating

      Reply Report
      • burningluxray August 20, 2017

        I never figured out how to use zoho itself, however I have been able to connect zoho to mailgun and use mailgun for the SMTP. To do so, I had to add a new domain in my networking mg.mydomain.com (where mydomain is your primary domain) and added the records there.

        Reply Report
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