chesterdocs

#Send email with an email adapter

An E-Mail (SMTP) adapter holds a mail server, its login and the default sender; send tasks use it, and it has no actions and no environments.

flowchart LR
  T["Send task<br/>To, Subject, content"] --> A["Email adapter<br/>SMTP host, login, sender"]
  A --> M["Mail server"] --> R["Recipients"]

#Create an email adapter

  1. Open the system, click Add adapter and choose E-Mail (SMTP).
  2. Fill in:
    • SMTP host and Port — 587 by default;
    • TLS directly on connect — on for port 465; off to let the server offer encryption;
    • Username and Password, if the server needs a login;
    • From-Address and From name — the default sender — and an optional Reply-To;
    • Timeout (ms) — how long to wait for the server, 10 seconds by default.
  3. Click Create adapter.

Name, host and sender address are required.

#Where the login lives

Unlike HTTP adapters, an email adapter keeps its server and its login on the adapter. There is no environment and no credential for it, so development and production deployments send through the same server with the same login.

The password is stored encrypted and is never shown again. To change it, type a new one; leaving the field empty keeps the old one. ⚠️ It cannot be removed, only replaced.

#Use it

Pick the adapter in a send task's Email adapter. A send task cannot use any other kind of adapter, and an email adapter cannot be used anywhere else.

#What it cannot do

  • ❌ Send a test email or check the connection. The first send task shows whether the settings work.
  • ⚠️ Enforce encryption. With TLS directly on connect off, Chester encrypts only if the server offers it.
  • ⚠️ Check the fields. An invalid address or port is only noticed when a mail is sent.
  • ⚠️ When a send task sets From (override), the adapter's From name and Reply-To are not used.
  • ⚠️ Many labels on the adapter's page are German, whatever the language of the screen: Authentifizierung, Passwort, Standard-Absender.