I’m using the Lemmy ansible installation method. I’ve been trying to add sendgrid to the postfix section of the config.hjson file on my local machine. But where do I add the API key and username? I used port 587 but nothing works. Can anyone help walk me through how to integrate sendgrid into Lemmy-Ansible? Thanks!!

the email section of config.hjson looks like this, did I do this right?

  email: {
    smtp_server: "smtp.sendgrid.net:587"
    smtp_from_address: "noreply@{{ domain }}"
    tls_type: "tls"
  }

I was able to find the server location on my VPS under srv/lemmy/domain, so I can edit the lemmy.hjson file there if need be.

  • hitagi
    2•1 year ago

    You need smtp_login and smtp_password there. Not sure what that is for Sendgrid however. It might be your accoint sername/email and the API key. Sendgrid probably has docs for their SMTP server.

    • @ZMonsterOP
      1•1 year ago

      Thanks for getting back to me!

      Okay, sendgrid gives me this:

      Configure your application with the settings below.
 	Server 	smtp.sendgrid.net
 	Ports 	25, 587 	(for unencrypted/TLS connections)
		465  	(for SSL connections)
 	Username 	apikey
 	Password 	theApiKeyGeneratedBySendgrid

      I edited my lemmy.hjson file to this:

        email: {
    smtp_server: "smtp.sendgrid.net:25" #also tried ports 587 and 465 with no difference
    smtp_login: "apikey"
    smtp_password: "theApiKeyGeneratedBySendgrid"
    smtp_from_address: "noreply@myDomain"
    tls_type: "tls" #also tried "none" with no difference
  }

      The only change is that now when I select “forgot password” the button turns into a rotating arrow for a few seconds and then nothing. No emails in spam, nothing. Any ideas? I feel like I’m getting closer, and maybe I’m using the port wrong?

      • hitagi
        1•1 year ago

        I went through the Sendgrid docs and your configuration seems to be correct. Just to make sure, your login is literally just “apikey” right? As indicated in the docs.

        The rotating arrow means that the email is not sending out.

        You can also try starttls (port 587) if tls and none does not work.

        • @ZMonsterOP
          2•1 year ago

          try starttls (port 587)

          😃 OMG it just worked! Thank you so much!!! You have no idea how excited I am to get my instance up and live! Here is my current lemmy.hjson after a successful ansible install:

            email: {
    smtp_server: "smtp.sendgrid.net:587"
    smtp_login: "apikey"
    smtp_password: "theActualApiKey"
    smtp_from_address: "[email protected]"
    tls_type: "starttls"
  }

          For others, I’m using digitalOcean for my VPS and sendgrid for the SMTP relay.

          • hitagi
            1•1 year ago

            Good to know! Have fun with your new instance!

            • @ZMonsterOP
              1•1 year ago

              So frustrating. I got it working for about 10 minutes. Added users, authenticated them, made posts, uploaded banner, logged in and out many times. Then it just shut down. 502: bad gateway.

              I tried to rebuild it fresh and found out that the ansible method has you request a new letsencrypt cert EVERY TIME IT RUNS. And after 5 certs, it bans your domain for 168 hrs…

              So now I have to wait until next week to try again, and I’ll only have 5 chances at getting it right.

              I keep looking at the mastodon documentation and it’s so nice. It’s complete and thorough. I just wish a Lemmy dev or literally anyone would write a better guide.

              I’m just so fucking deflated right now. Thinking of buying a new domain just so I can keep testing.