Email / SMTP Setup

FeedbackPulse sends various transactional emails. Proper email configuration is important for:

• Welcome emails to new tenants
• Team invitation links
• Password reset emails
• Email OTP verification (for feedback forms)
• Daily/weekly digests
• Scheduled reports
• Usage alerts
• Plan change notifications

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⚙️ Configuration Methods

Method 1: Via Admin Panel (Recommended)

1. Log in as superadmin
2. Go to Admin → Settings → Email
3. Fill in your SMTP details
4. Click Send Test Email to verify
5. Save

Method 2: Via .env File

MAIL_MAILER=smtp
MAIL_HOST=smtp.mailgun.org
MAIL_PORT=587
MAIL_USERNAME=your_username
MAIL_PASSWORD=your_password
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=tls
[email protected]
MAIL_FROM_NAME="FeedbackPulse"

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📮 Provider-Specific Setup

📧 Gmail

MAIL_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
MAIL_PORT=587
[email protected]
MAIL_PASSWORD=your_app_password
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=tls

⚠️ Important: Gmail requires an App Password, not your regular password.

1. Go to Google Account Security
2. Enable 2-Step Verification (required)
3. Go to App passwords → select "Mail" → generate
4. Use the generated 16-character password

🔴 Gmail limits: 500 emails/day (personal) or 2,000/day (Workspace). Not recommended for production SaaS.

🔫 Mailgun

MAIL_HOST=smtp.mailgun.org
MAIL_PORT=587
[email protected]
MAIL_PASSWORD=your_mailgun_smtp_password
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=tls

1. Sign up at Mailgun
2. Add your domain → verify DNS records
3. Go to Sending → Domain Settings → SMTP credentials
4. Copy the SMTP password

📦 Amazon SES

MAIL_HOST=email-smtp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
MAIL_PORT=587
MAIL_USERNAME=your_ses_smtp_username
MAIL_PASSWORD=your_ses_smtp_password
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=tls

1. Go to AWS SES Console
2. Verify your domain
3. Go to SMTP Settings → Create SMTP Credentials
4. Move out of sandbox mode for production

📨 SendGrid

MAIL_HOST=smtp.sendgrid.net
MAIL_PORT=587
MAIL_USERNAME=apikey
MAIL_PASSWORD=your_sendgrid_api_key
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=tls

💡 Note: The username is literally apikey (not your email). The password is your SendGrid API key.

✉️ Postmark

MAIL_HOST=smtp.postmarkapp.com
MAIL_PORT=587
MAIL_USERNAME=your_postmark_server_api_token
MAIL_PASSWORD=your_postmark_server_api_token
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=tls

🔵 ZOHO Mail

MAIL_HOST=smtp.zoho.com
MAIL_PORT=587
[email protected]
MAIL_PASSWORD=your_zoho_password
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=tls

🧪 Mailtrap (Testing Only!)

MAIL_HOST=sandbox.smtp.mailtrap.io
MAIL_PORT=587
MAIL_USERNAME=your_mailtrap_username
MAIL_PASSWORD=your_mailtrap_password
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=tls

⚠️ Mailtrap is for development/testing only. Emails are captured in your Mailtrap inbox and never delivered to real recipients.

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🧪 Testing Email

Via Admin Panel

1. Go to Admin → Settings → Email
2. Click Send Test Email
3. Check your inbox

Via Command Line

php artisan tinker

Mail::raw('Test email from FeedbackPulse', function ($message) {
    $message->to('[email protected]')->subject('SMTP Test');
});

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📨 Emails Sent by FeedbackPulse

Email	When	Recipient
Welcome	New tenant registers	Tenant admin
Team Invitation	Admin invites team member	Invitee email
Plan Changed	Subscription changes	Tenant admin
New Submission Alert	New feedback received	Tenant admin/staff
Email Digest	Daily/weekly schedule	Tenant admin
Scheduled Report	Daily/weekly/monthly	Tenant admin
Usage Alert	90%+ of plan limit	Tenant admin
Password Reset	User requests reset	Requesting user
Email Verification	New registration	New user
OTP Code	Feedback form with OTP	End user submitting feedback

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🐛 Troubleshooting Email

Issue	Solution
Emails not sending	Check .env SMTP settings. Try MAIL_MAILER=log to test without SMTP. Check storage/logs/laravel.log.
Emails going to spam	Add SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to your domain's DNS. Use a reputable SMTP provider.
"Connection timed out"	Port 587/465 might be blocked by your hosting provider. Try a different port or provider.
Gmail "Less secure apps" error	Use App Password instead. See Gmail section above.
Emails delayed	If using QUEUE_CONNECTION=database, make sure the queue worker is running.

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⏭️ Next Steps

• Payment Gateways
• Social Login