By default, Formbricks doesn’t include an SMTP server for sending emails. However, you can easily configure your self-hosted instance to use your own email provider through environment variables.

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Why Configure SMTP?

Setting up an SMTP server enables important email functionality in Formbricks, including:
  • Email verification for new accounts
  • Password reset emails
  • Team member invitation emails
  • Survey response notifications

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Email Configuration Options

Formbricks uses Nodemailer to send emails and supports various SMTP providers like:
  • AWS SES
  • SendGrid
  • Mailgun
  • Gmail (for low volume)
  • Custom SMTP servers
  • Other SMTP providers

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Required Environment Variables

To enable email functionality, configure the following environment variables: 
# Basic SMTP Configuration
MAIL_FROM=noreply@yourdomain.com
MAIL_FROM_NAME=Formbricks
SMTP_HOST=smtp.yourprovider.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_USER=your_username
SMTP_PASSWORD=your_password
Additional optional settings: 
# Enable SMTP_SECURE_ENABLED for TLS (port 465)
SMTP_SECURE_ENABLED=0

# If set to 0, the server won't require authentication
SMTP_AUTHENTICATED=1

# If set to 0, the server will accept connections without requiring
# authorization from the list of supplied CAs (default is 1)
SMTP_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED_TLS=0

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Enabling Email Features

By default, email verification and password reset features are disabled in Formbricks. To enable these features: 
# Set to 0 to enable email verification (requires working SMTP)
EMAIL_VERIFICATION_DISABLED=0

# Set to 0 to enable password reset functionality (requires working SMTP)
PASSWORD_RESET_DISABLED=0

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Configuration for One-Click Setup

If you’re using the one-click setup with Docker Compose, you can either:
  1. Edit the docker-compose.yml file and add the SMTP environment variables:
environment:
  # Email Configuration
  MAIL_FROM: noreply@yourdomain.com
  MAIL_FROM_NAME: Formbricks
  SMTP_HOST: smtp.yourprovider.com
  SMTP_PORT: 587
  SMTP_USER: your_username
  SMTP_PASSWORD: your_password
  EMAIL_VERIFICATION_DISABLED: 0
  PASSWORD_RESET_DISABLED: 0
  1. Or during the setup, answer “Yes” when prompted to set up the email service:
📧 Do you want to set up the email service? You will need SMTP credentials for the same! [y/N] y

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Provider-Specific Examples

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SendGrid

MAIL_FROM=noreply@yourdomain.com
MAIL_FROM_NAME=Formbricks
SMTP_HOST=smtp.sendgrid.net
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_USER=apikey
SMTP_PASSWORD=your_sendgrid_api_key

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AWS SES

MAIL_FROM=noreply@yourdomain.com
MAIL_FROM_NAME=Formbricks
SMTP_HOST=email-smtp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_USER=your_ses_access_key
SMTP_PASSWORD=your_ses_secret_key

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Gmail

MAIL_FROM=your_email@gmail.com
MAIL_FROM_NAME=Formbricks
SMTP_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_USER=your_email@gmail.com
SMTP_PASSWORD=your_app_password
Note: For Gmail, you need to use an App Password if you have 2FA enabled.

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Troubleshooting

If you’re experiencing issues with your email configuration:
  1. Check that all required environment variables are set correctly
  2. Verify your SMTP credentials are valid
  3. Ensure your email provider allows sending from the specified MAIL_FROM address
  4. If using Gmail, ensure you’re using an App Password
  5. For secure connections, make sure you’ve set the correct port and SMTP_SECURE_ENABLED value
For additional help, join the conversation on GitHub Discussions.