Email

How do I set up outgoing email?

Configure an email provider first; a new site has none and sends nothing until you do. Without one, password reset cannot work, and a forgotten password means a trip to the server.

Open /admin/admin_settings_email, or the Email step of the setup wizard. Choose your provider, save its credentials, send the test message, and confirm it arrived.

See: docs/email_system.md > Configuring a provider is the first task on a new deployment

Which email providers does Joinery support?

Mailgun, SMTP (any provider that offers SMTP), SendGrid, Amazon SES, Postmark, Brevo, Resend, Mailjet, and a Connected Email Account (Gmail, Microsoft 365, Yahoo, iCloud or Fastmail). SMTP2GO is also supported, set up with a single API key.

You can also set a fallback service (email_fallback_service) that is tried when the main one fails.

See: docs/email_system.md > Built-in Providers

Can my server send email by itself, without a provider?

Not in a normal setup. Most hosting providers, Linode included, block outbound port 25 at the account level, so a mail server on your machine cannot deliver. Name a provider.

Sending straight from your own server is an advanced setup: it needs your hosting provider to unblock port 25, a matching reverse DNS (PTR) record, and you take on your server's sending reputation. Receiving mail on your own server does not change this; outgoing mail still goes through a provider.

See: docs/email_system.md > Overview

Can I send the site's email through my Gmail or Microsoft 365 account?

Yes. Connect the account, then choose Connected Email Account as the email service. All site mail is then sent through that account, and the From address is always that account's address.

• A Microsoft account needs permission to send. If it was connected without it, the site refuses to send and says "Reconnect to allow sending."
• Some Microsoft 365 organisations turn off SMTP sending; the tenant admin must turn it on, or use a provider such as Mailgun or SES.
• A connected account has its provider's sending limits. When the provider is rate-limiting, the site says so; that is the signal to move to a dedicated provider, which is one setting change.

Emails are not going out. How do I find out why?

1. Turn on the email_debug_mode setting.
2. Read the log at /admin/admin_debug_email_logs. Each row is one step: which service a message went to, a fallback, or a send held back by test mode or dry run.
3. Check that email_test_mode and email_dry_run are off. Test mode sends every message only to email_test_recipient; dry run sends nothing at all.

See: docs/email_system.md > Debug Tools

How do I receive email at my own domain?

Use the Mailbox plugin. It is part of the default bundle on a new site.

1. On a server with its own mail stack, run the plugin's provisioning/install_email.sh as root, once. The Plugins page (/admin/admin_plugins) shows Needs setup with this command until it is done. A site in a container has no mail server and receives through a relay.
2. Open Emails > Mailbox. It opens on the Setup tab.
3. Add your domain (+ Add Domain on the Accounts tab, or the one-click action on the Setup tab), then publish the DNS records the Setup tab shows.
4. Add a mailbox for the address, and use the Setup tab's end-to-end check to send a real message and watch it arrive.

How do I forward an address like info@ to my personal email?

1. Go to Emails > Mailbox > Accounts.
2. Click + Mailbox on your domain.
3. Enter the name (info), choose the forward delivery mode, add the destination addresses, and save.

See: plugins/mailbox/docs/overview.md > Delivery Modes

What DNS records do I need for email?

The Setup tab lists the exact records your domain still needs, with copy-ready values, and checks them live. A fully configured domain has:

• An MX record pointing at the server (or relay) that receives your mail.
• An SPF record on the domain that authorizes your outbound provider, ending in -all.
• The provider's DKIM record for the domain.
• SPF and DKIM records for mail.<domain>, which the site's own automated mail sends from.
• A DMARC record at _dmarc.<domain>.

See: plugins/mailbox/docs/domain_onboarding.md > The record set

Mail sent to my domain is not arriving. What should I check?

1. The Mailbox Logs tab: did the message reach the site at all?
2. That the address (alias) and the domain are both enabled.
3. The MX record (dig MX yourdomain.com), that port 25 is open, and that Postfix is running.
4. The site's error.log.

See: plugins/mailbox/docs/overview.md > Troubleshooting

Why is my mail landing in spam?

Check, in order:

1. SRS is enabled.
2. rspamd is running, a DKIM key has been generated, and its DNS record is published.
3. SPF includes your server's IP address.
4. Reverse DNS (PTR) is set for the server.
5. Your server's IP is not on a block list (check at mxtoolbox.com).