SMTP and email

Mail is required for password reset, invites, and most task/project notifications. Configure it under Settings → SMTP (/settings/smtp) or in .env.

Gmail

1. Turn on 2-Step Verification for the Google account.
2. Create an App password (Google account → Security → App passwords).
3. Use that app password as MAIL_PASSWORD, not the normal Gmail password.

Example .env:

MAIL_MAILER=smtp
MAIL_HOST="smtp.gmail.com"
MAIL_PORT=465
MAIL_USERNAME="your-name@gmail.com"
MAIL_PASSWORD="your-app-password"
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=ssl
MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS="your-name@gmail.com"
MAIL_FROM_NAME="ProTask"

Port 587 with tls is also common; match what Google currently documents.

Hosting / cPanel mailbox

In cPanel: Email Accounts → Connect Devices → Mail Client Manual Settings. Copy host, port, and encryption.

Use the host’s SSL/TLS values. If a panel shows port 465, follow that panel’s encryption label (often SSL). If mail fails, ask the host for SMTP host, port, and encryption rather than guessing.

Mailgun, Postmark, and similar SMTP endpoints work the same way: host, port, user, password, encryption, from address.

Queue

If QUEUE_ENABLE=true, outbound mail is queued and needs cron. If the queue is off, mail is sent during the web request (simpler, easier to timeout on slow SMTP).