ThreadCount Community edition

Uniform stock management for healthcare linen rooms: the coordinator app, the phone counter and the staff app, for your own server. Built from a113353 on 2026-09-15. Licensed under the Functional Source License (FSL-1.1-ALv2).
2026-09-15 22:54:09 +10:00
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+---
+title: Email
+section: selfhost
+order: 5
+summary: The SMTP settings, every email the product sends, what each screen does when no mail is configured, and how to test it.
+role: Self-hosting admin
+keywords: email, mail, smtp, password reset, approval link, notifications, ready to collect, supplier order, no-reply, from address, test email
+---
+
+## The settings
+
+Email is optional. It is set with five variables in `.env`:
+
+| Setting | Required for mail | What it does |
+|---|---|---|
+| `SMTP_HOST` | Yes | Your mail server's hostname |
+| `SMTP_PORT` | No | Defaults to `587`. On `465` the connection uses TLS from the start; on any other port it starts plain and upgrades if the server offers it. |
+| `SMTP_USER` | Yes | The login for the mail server |
+| `SMTP_PASS` | Yes | The password for that login |
+| `SMTP_FROM` | No | The From line, e.g. `"ThreadCount <no-reply@example.health>"`. If blank, `SMTP_USER` is used. |
+
+Mail counts as configured only when `SMTP_HOST`, `SMTP_USER` and `SMTP_PASS` are all set. A mail server that needs no login cannot be used.
+
+These are read while the app runs, not when it is built, so a change needs a restart but no rebuild:
+
+```sh
+docker compose up -d
+```
+
+Links in emails are built from `NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL`, which is compiled in. If the links are wrong, fix that setting and rebuild with `docker compose up -d --build`.
+
+## What is sent
+
+| Email | Sent to | When |
+|---|---|---|
+| Facility set up | The person who signed up | A facility is created |
+| Password reset | An admin or issuer | They ask on the sign-in page. The link works once and expires in 1 hour. |
+| Uniform request needing approval | The manager, with a link to approve | A request is raised in the staff app or at the counter, or moved to another manager |
+| Decision | The person the request is for | A manager approves or declines, or the linen room withdraws the request |
+| Ready to collect, or coming on the round | The person the request is for | The linen room marks the bag ready or puts it on a delivery round |
+| Waitlist offer | The person on the waitlist | A garment is offered to them, with the time it is held until |
+| Supplier order | The supplier's email under `Settings › Catalogue & suppliers` | An admin emails a raised order. Replies go to that admin's address. |
+
+Staff notices go only to people whose staff app login has an email address. See [the staff app](/docs/apps/staff-app) and [requests from staff](/docs/counter/requests-from-staff).
+
+When an admin adds a user, the product does not email them their password.
+
+## With no mail configured
+
+Nothing is sent, and the log records `[mail] no SMTP configured — not sending:` followed by the subject. The work itself is still recorded.
+
+- **Sign-up.** The facility is created. The screen says no mail is configured, so the address has not been checked.
+- **Requests and decisions.** The request is raised and the decision is recorded. The screens report that nobody was emailed, rather than that the manager or wearer was told.
+- **Supplier orders.** The order is not emailed. The screen says "Email is not set up on this server — print the order instead."
+- **Password reset.** No link is sent, but the sign-in page still shows "Reset link sent". The only way back in is another admin setting a new password under `Settings › People & sign-in`.
+
+> **Careful** Without mail, a facility whose only admin forgets their password cannot get back in through the product. Keep a second admin.
+
+## When sending fails
+
+If mail is configured but the server refuses a message, the action that caused the email still succeeds and `[mail] send failed:` is logged with the reason. Emailing a supplier order is the exception: the screen says the email could not be sent and the order is not marked as emailed.
+
+## Test it
+
+1. **Restart after setting the variables.** Run `docker compose up -d`.
+2. **Ask for a password reset for your own address.** On the sign-in page, enter your email and use the forgot-password link.
+3. **Check the inbox and the log.**
+
+```sh
+docker compose logs app | grep '\[mail\]'
+```
+
+If a reset email arrives and there is no `[mail]` line, mail works. At most 4 reset emails go to one address in an hour. Check that the link in the email starts with your own address, not `http://localhost:3000`.