allowing a rails app to send emails

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Sendmail as the delivery method

To allow a rails app to send emails a simple solution is to install the Postfix Mail Server, which allows rails to use the sendmail delivery method:

sudo aptitude install telnet postfix

When prompted, choose "Internet Site" and leave the system mail name at the default.

Now, to ensure Postfix and Sendmail are working do:

/usr/sbin/sendmail your_email_account@gmail.com
FROM: me
SUBJECT: hi
this is only a test
. <press Enter twice>

Then check your inbox for the email.

Once the server can send emails edit config/environments/production.rb:

nano config/environments/production.rb

and add the following lines, by default these lines are included, but the :host should be changed to match the server:

config.action_mailer.delivery_method = :sendmail
config.action_mailer.default_url_options = { :host => "somedomain.com" }

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SMTP as the delivery method

It is also possible for rails to send emails using the SMTP delivery method, and for more details please refer to the Rails Guides.

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Emails, Redis, and Resque Mailer

If Redis has been installed and is running, this rails app will process any emails sent in the background using Resque Mailer which is a more efficient way to handle emails. If the rails app can not detect Redis it will send emails as normal in the foreground.

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