Bonfire Networks
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Sending email (using Bamboo) / Checking hypothetical email or domain validity
Email delivery is a crucial component of many web applications, including your Bonfire instance. It's used for various purposes such as:
To set up email delivery for your Bonfire instance, you'll need to choose an email delivery method and configure it properly. This guide will help you through that process.
Choose Email Delivery Method and/or Provider: You may choose to sign up with one of the email service providers listed in this guide. Each provider has its own pricing, features, and delivery rates.
Domain Configuration: To ensure reliable email delivery and avoid spam filters, you should configure your email-related DNS settings for your instance's domain name. This typically involves setting up:
Your chosen email provider should provide instructions on how to set these up for your domain.
.env file if you're running Bonfire locally or using Co-op Cloud.For all email delivery methods, you'll need to set the following environment variables:
MAIL_BACKEND environment variable to choose your email delivery method or provider.MAIL_DOMAIN or HOSTNAME: Your domain nameMAIL_FROM: The email address from which emails will be sent (this should match the domain name you set up with SPF/DKIM/DMARC, which will usually be your instance's domain)If no specific email configuration is set, Bonfire will attempt to deliver emails directly to the recipients' SMTP servers. Here's what you need to know about this default behaviour:
What it means: Your server will try to connect directly to the recipient's email server (e.g. a provider such as Gmail or an organisation's own mail server) to deliver the email.
Pros: It requires no additional configuration and can work for basic setups.
Cons: This method is often unreliable and prone to several issues:
Important: While this default method can work for testing or in very small-scale scenarios, it is strongly recommended to configure a proper email delivery service for any production use of Bonfire. If you want to try this method anyway, make sure to configure SPF, DKIM, DMARK, etc. for your instance domain name and IP address.
These providers offer comprehensive email delivery services, usually featuring analytics, bounce handling, high deliverability rates, etc.
Note: the information about free tiers and pricing are only meant to serve as a rough indication of the options available and may be outdated or inaccurate (we'd welcome PRs with any updates of course). Please check with each provider's website for more details.
MAIL_BACKEND=brevo
MAIL_KEY=your_brevo_api_key
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
MAIL_BACKEND=mailjet
MAIL_KEY=your_mailjet_api_key
MAIL_PRIVATE_KEY=your_mailjet_secret_key
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
MAIL_BACKEND=SMTP2GO
MAIL_KEY=your_smtp2go_api_key
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
MAIL_BACKEND=mailtrap
MAIL_KEY=your_mailtrap_api_key
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
MAIL_BACKEND=mailgun
MAIL_KEY=your_mailgun_api_key
MAIL_BASE_URI=https://api.eu.mailgun.net/v3
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
Note: The MAIL_BASE_URI depends on your Mailgun registration region. The default is set to EU, adjust if necessary.
MAIL_BACKEND=sendgrid
MAIL_KEY=your_sendgrid_api_key
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
MAIL_BACKEND=postmark
MAIL_KEY=your_postmark_api_key
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
MAIL_BACKEND=zepto
MAIL_KEY=your_zeptomail_api_key
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
MAIL_BACKEND=scaleway
MAIL_KEY=your_scaleway_api_key
MAIL_PROJECT_ID=your_scaleway_project_id
MAIL_PRIVATE_KEY=your_scaleway_secret_key
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
MAIL_BACKEND=gmail
MAIL_KEY=your_gmail_api_key
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
# ^ OAuth2 access token with `gmail.compose` scope
Note: Using Gmail for sending application email is generally not recommended for production use.
MAIL_BACKEND=mailpace
MAIL_KEY=your_mailpace_api_key
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
MAIL_BACKEND=mandrill
MAIL_KEY=your_mandrill_api_key
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
MAIL_BACKEND=sparkpost
MAIL_KEY=your_sparkpost_api_key
MAIL_BASE_URI=https://api.eu.sparkpost.com
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
Note: The MAIL_BASE_URI depends on your SparkPost registration region. The default is set to EU, adjust if necessary.
MAIL_BACKEND=sendcloud
MAIL_KEY=your_sendcloud_api_key
MAIL_USER=your_sendcloud_api_user
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
MAIL_BACKEND=socketlabs
MAIL_KEY=your_socketlabs_api_key
MAIL_SERVER=your_socketlabs_server_id
MAIL_PRIVATE_KEY=your_socketlabs_api_key
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
MAIL_BACKEND=campaign_monitor
MAIL_KEY=your_campaign_monitor_api_key
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
Amazon SES can be configured in two ways:
MAIL_BACKEND=aws
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
Note: This method will automatically use the credentials set by UPLOADS_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID and UPLOADS_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY. No additional configuration is needed if these are already set up for a Bonfire extension (such as Bonfire.Files) which uses S3 file storage.
MAIL_BACKEND=aws
MAIL_KEY=your_aws_access_key_id
MAIL_PRIVATE_KEY=your_aws_secret_access_key
MAIL_REGION=your_aws_region
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
Note:
MAIL_REGION defaults to "eu-west-1".These methods involve sending emails directly or through your own mail server. They require more setup and maintenance but offer more control.
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the standard method for sending emails across the internet. It's like the postal service for digital messages, ensuring your emails reach their destination regardless of the systems involved. While many opt for using a dedicated email delivery provider (see above), if you already run your own email server or use a provider that's not listed above which provides you with SMTP credentials, you can configure Bonfire to use that:
MAIL_BACKEND=smtp
MAIL_SERVER=your_smtp_server
MAIL_PORT=587
MAIL_USER=your_smtp_username
MAIL_PASSWORD=your_smtp_password
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
Notes:
MAIL_PORT defaults to 587 if not specified.MAIL_BACKEND=sendmail
MAIL_SERVER=/path/to/sendmail
# MAIL_ARGS=
MAIL_QMAIL=true_or_false
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
Notes:
MAIL_SERVER defaults to /usr/bin/sendmail if not specified.MAIL_ARGS defaults to -N delay,failure,success if not specified.MAIL_BACKEND=postal
MAIL_KEY=your_postal_api_key
MAIL_BASE_URI=https://your_postal_server_api.uri/
MAIL_FROM=email@instance.domain
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