# Reply by email GitLab can be set up to allow users to comment on issues and merge requests by replying to notification emails. ## Get a mailbox Reply by email requires an IMAP-enabled email account, with a provider or server that supports [email sub-addressing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_address#Sub-addressing). Sub-addressing is a feature where any email to `user+some_arbitrary_tag@example.com` will end up in the mailbox for `user@example.com`, and is supported by providers such as Gmail, Google Apps, Yahoo! Mail, Outlook.com and iCloud, as well as the Postfix mail server which you can run on-premises. If you want to use Gmail / Google Apps with Reply by email, make sure you have [IMAP access enabled](https://support.google.com/mail/troubleshooter/1668960?hl=en#ts=1665018) and [allow less secure apps to access the account](https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6010255). To set up a basic Postfix mail server with IMAP access on Ubuntu, follow [these instructions](./postfix.md). ## Set it up ### Omnibus package installations 1. Find the `incoming_email` section in `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`, enable the feature and fill in the details for your specific IMAP server and email account: ```ruby # Configuration for Postfix mail server, assumes mailbox incoming@gitlab.example.com gitlab_rails['incoming_email_enabled'] = true # The email address including a placeholder for the key that references the item being replied to. # The `%{key}` placeholder is added after the user part, before the `@`. gitlab_rails['incoming_email_address'] = "incoming+%{key}@gitlab.example.com" # Email account username # With third party providers, this is usually the full email address. # With self-hosted email servers, this is usually the user part of the email address. gitlab_rails['incoming_email_email'] = "incoming" # Email account password gitlab_rails['incoming_email_password'] = "[REDACTED]" # IMAP server host gitlab_rails['incoming_email_host'] = "gitlab.example.com" # IMAP server port gitlab_rails['incoming_email_port'] = 143 # Whether the IMAP server uses SSL gitlab_rails['incoming_email_ssl'] = false # Whether the IMAP server uses StartTLS gitlab_rails['incoming_email_start_tls'] = false # The mailbox where incoming mail will end up. Usually "inbox". gitlab_rails['incoming_email_mailbox_name'] = "inbox" ``` ```ruby # Configuration for Gmail / Google Apps, assumes mailbox gitlab-incoming@gmail.com gitlab_rails['incoming_email_enabled'] = true # The email address including the `%{key}` placeholder that will be replaced to reference the item being replied to. # The `%{key}` placeholder is added after the user part, after a `+` character, before the `@`. gitlab_rails['incoming_email_address'] = "gitlab-incoming+%{key}@gmail.com" # Email account username # With third party providers, this is usually the full email address. # With self-hosted email servers, this is usually the user part of the email address. gitlab_rails['incoming_email_email'] = "gitlab-incoming@gmail.com" # Email account password gitlab_rails['incoming_email_password'] = "[REDACTED]" # IMAP server host gitlab_rails['incoming_email_host'] = "imap.gmail.com" # IMAP server port gitlab_rails['incoming_email_port'] = 993 # Whether the IMAP server uses SSL gitlab_rails['incoming_email_ssl'] = true # Whether the IMAP server uses StartTLS gitlab_rails['incoming_email_start_tls'] = false # The mailbox where incoming mail will end up. Usually "inbox". gitlab_rails['incoming_email_mailbox_name'] = "inbox" ``` As mentioned, the part after `+` in the address is ignored, and any email sent here will end up in the mailbox for `incoming@gitlab.example.com`/`gitlab-incoming@gmail.com`. 1. Reconfigure GitLab for the changes to take effect: ```sh sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure ``` 1. Verify that everything is configured correctly: ```sh sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:incoming_email:check ``` 1. Reply by email should now be working. ### Installations from source 1. Go to the GitLab installation directory: ```sh cd /home/git/gitlab ``` 1. Find the `incoming_email` section in `config/gitlab.yml`, enable the feature and fill in the details for your specific IMAP server and email account: ```sh sudo editor config/gitlab.yml ``` ```yaml # Configuration for Postfix mail server, assumes mailbox incoming@gitlab.example.com incoming_email: enabled: true # The email address including the `%{key}` placeholder that will be replaced to reference the item being replied to. # The `%{key}` placeholder is added after the user part, after a `+` character, before the `@`. address: "incoming+%{key}@gitlab.example.com" # Email account username # With third party providers, this is usually the full email address. # With self-hosted email servers, this is usually the user part of the email address. user: "incoming" # Email account password password: "[REDACTED]" # IMAP server host host: "gitlab.example.com" # IMAP server port port: 143 # Whether the IMAP server uses SSL ssl: false # Whether the IMAP server uses StartTLS start_tls: false # The mailbox where incoming mail will end up. Usually "inbox". mailbox: "inbox" ``` ```yaml # Configuration for Gmail / Google Apps, assumes mailbox gitlab-incoming@gmail.com incoming_email: enabled: true # The email address including the `%{key}` placeholder that will be replaced to reference the item being replied to. # The `%{key}` placeholder is added after the user part, after a `+` character, before the `@`. address: "gitlab-incoming+%{key}@gmail.com" # Email account username # With third party providers, this is usually the full email address. # With self-hosted email servers, this is usually the user part of the email address. user: "gitlab-incoming@gmail.com" # Email account password password: "[REDACTED]" # IMAP server host host: "imap.gmail.com" # IMAP server port port: 993 # Whether the IMAP server uses SSL ssl: true # Whether the IMAP server uses StartTLS start_tls: false # The mailbox where incoming mail will end up. Usually "inbox". mailbox: "inbox" ``` As mentioned, the part after `+` in the address is ignored, and any email sent here will end up in the mailbox for `incoming@gitlab.example.com`/`gitlab-incoming@gmail.com`. 1. Enable `mail_room` in the init script at `/etc/default/gitlab`: ```sh sudo mkdir -p /etc/default echo 'mail_room_enabled=true' | sudo tee -a /etc/default/gitlab ``` 1. Restart GitLab: ```sh sudo service gitlab restart ``` 1. Verify that everything is configured correctly: ```sh sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake gitlab:incoming_email:check RAILS_ENV=production ``` 1. Reply by email should now be working. ### Development 1. Go to the GitLab installation directory. 1. Find the `incoming_email` section in `config/gitlab.yml`, enable the feature and fill in the details for your specific IMAP server and email account: ```yaml # Configuration for Gmail / Google Apps, assumes mailbox gitlab-incoming@gmail.com incoming_email: enabled: true # The email address including a placeholder for the key that references the item being replied to. # The `%{key}` placeholder is added after the user part, before the `@`. address: "gitlab-incoming+%{key}@gmail.com" # Email account username # With third party providers, this is usually the full email address. # With self-hosted email servers, this is usually the user part of the email address. user: "gitlab-incoming@gmail.com" # Email account password password: "[REDACTED]" # IMAP server host host: "imap.gmail.com" # IMAP server port port: 993 # Whether the IMAP server uses SSL ssl: true # Whether the IMAP server uses StartTLS start_tls: false # The mailbox where incoming mail will end up. Usually "inbox". mailbox: "inbox" ``` As mentioned, the part after `+` is ignored, and this will end up in the mailbox for `gitlab-incoming@gmail.com`. 1. Uncomment the `mail_room` line in your `Procfile`: ```yaml mail_room: bundle exec mail_room -q -c config/mail_room.yml ``` 1. Restart GitLab: ```sh bundle exec foreman start ``` 1. Verify that everything is configured correctly: ```sh bundle exec rake gitlab:incoming_email:check RAILS_ENV=development ``` 1. Reply by email should now be working.