phorge-phorge/src/docs/configuring_outbound_email.diviner

@title Configuring Outbound Email
@group config

Instructions for configuring Phabricator to send mail.

= Overview =

Phabricator can send outbound email via four different adapters:

  - by running ##sendmail## on the local host; or
  - by using Amazon SES (Simple Email Service); or
  - via a custom adapter you write; or
  - by dropping email into a hole and not delivering it.

Of these, ##sendmail## is the default but requires some configuration. SES is
the easiest but costs money and has some limitations. Writing a custom solution
requires digging into the code. See below for details on how to set up each
method.

Phabricator can also send outbound email in two ways:

  - immediately, when messages are generated (default); or
  - in the background, via a daemon.

Sending mail in the background requires more configuration, but will greatly
improve the performance of the application if your mail handler is slow. Note
that Amazon SES commonly takes 1-2 seconds per email. If you use SES,
**strongly consider** configuring the daemon. You should also configure the
daemon if commenting on Revisions or Tasks feels slow, as it may significantly
improve performance.

= Basics =

Regardless of how outbound email is delivered, you should configure these keys
in your configuration file:

  - **metamta.default-address** determines where mail is sent "From" by
    default. If your domain is ##example.org##, set this to something like
    "##noreply@example.org##".
  - **metamta.domain** should be set to your domain, e.g. "##example.org##".
  - **metamta.can-send-as-user** should be left as ##false## in most cases,
    but see the documentation in ##default.conf.php## for details.

= Configuring Mail Adapters =

To choose how mail will be sent, change the **metamta.mail-adapter** key in
your configuration. Possible values are:

  - ##PhabricatorMailImplementationPHPMailerLiteAdapter##: default, uses
    "sendmail", see "Adapter: Sendmail".
  - ##PhabricatorMailImplementationAmazonSESAdapter##: use Amazon SES, see
    "Adapter: Amazon SES".
  - ##Some Custom Class You Write##: use a custom adapter you write, see
    "Adapter: Custom".
  - ##PhabricatorMailImplementationTestAdapter##: this will
    **completely disable** outbound mail. You can use this if you don't want to
    send outbound mail, or want to skip this step for now and configure it
    later.

= Adapter: Sendmail =

This is the default, and selected by choosing
##PhabricatorMailImplementationPHPMailerLiteAdapter## as the value for
**metamta.mail-adapter**. This requires a 'sendmail' binary to be installed on
the system. Most MTAs (e.g., sendmail, qmail, postfix) should do this, but your
machine may not have one installed by default. For install instructions, consult
the documentation for your favorite MTA.

Since you'll be sending the mail yourself, you are subject to things like SPF
rules, blackholes, and MTA configuration which are beyond the scope of this
document. If you can already send outbound email from the command line or know
how to configure it, this option is straightforward. If you have no idea how to
do any of this, consider using Amazon SES.

= Adapter: Amazon SES =

Amazon SES is Amazon's cloud email service. It is not free, but is easier to
configure than sendmail and can simplify outbound email configuration. To use
Amazon SES, you need to sign up for an account with Amazon at
<http://aws.amazon.com/ses/>.

To configure Phabricator to use Amazon SES, set these configuration keys:

  - **metamta.mail-adapter**: set to
    "PhabricatorMailImplementationAmazonSESAdapter".
  - **amazon-ses.access-key**: set to your Amazon SES access key.
  - **amazon-ses.secret-key**: set to your Amazon SES secret key.

NOTE: Amazon SES is slow to accept mail (often 1-2 seconds) and application
performance will improve greatly if you configure outbound email to send in
the background.

= Adapter: Custom =

You can provide a custom adapter by writing a concrete subclass of
@{class:PhabricatorMailImplementationAdapter} and setting it as the
**metamta.mail-adapter**.

TODO: This needs to be better documented once extending Phabricator is better
documented.

= Adapter: Disable Outbound Mail =

You can use the @{class:PhabricatorMailImplementationTestAdapter} to completely
disable outbound mail, if you don't want to send mail or don't want to configure
it yet. Just set **metamta.mail-adapter** to
"PhabricatorMailImplementationTestAdapter".

= Configuring the MetaMTA Daemon =

Regardless of how you are sending outbound email, you can move the handoff to
the MTA out of the main process and into a daemon. This will greatly improve
application performance if your mailer is slow, like Amazon SES. In particular,
commenting on Differential Revisions and Maniphest Tasks sends outbound email.

To use the MetaMTA daemon:

  - set **metamta.send-immediately** to ##false## in your configuration; and
  - launch a ##metamta## daemon with ##phabricator/bin/phd launch metamta##.

For more information on using daemons, see @{article:Managing Daemons with phd}.

= Testing and Debugging Outbound Email =

Phabricator has a mail log and test console at ##/mail/##, or click the
**MetaMTA** link from the homepage. This console shows all the mail Phabricator
has attempted to deliver, plus debugging and error information.

You can use the "Send New Message" button to send mail using the current
configuration. This can help test that your setup is correct.

NOTE: when you send mail, "to" and "cc" must be valid users of the system, not
arbitrary email addresses.

You can monitor daemons using the Daemon Console (##/daemon/##, or click
**Daemon Console** from the homepage).

= Next Steps =

Continue by:

  - @{article:Configuring Inbound Email} so users can reply to email they
  receive about revisions and tasks to interact with them; or
  - learning about daemons with @{article:Managing Daemons with phd}; or
  - returning to the @{article:Configuration Guide}.