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Email Configuration Guide - AdLab

Current Setup (Development)

Status: ✅ Configured for development
Backend: Console (emails printed to terminal)
Cost: FREE
Use case: Development and testing

Production Configuration Options

Best for: University laboratory system

Step 1: Contact IT Department

Contact Universidad Nacional del Litoral IT support and request: - SMTP server address - SMTP port (usually 587 or 465) - Email account credentials for the laboratory - Suggested email: laboratorio@fcv.unl.edu.ar or similar

Step 2: Update .env File

Edit /Users/facundomoreyra/pdf-documentation-project/laboratory-system/.env:

# Email Configuration (Production - Institutional)
EMAIL_BACKEND=django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend
EMAIL_HOST=smtp.unl.edu.ar  # Get from IT
EMAIL_PORT=587  # Get from IT (587 for TLS, 465 for SSL)
EMAIL_HOST_USER=laboratorio@fcv.unl.edu.ar  # Your institutional email
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD=your_password_here  # Secure password from IT
EMAIL_USE_TLS=true  # true for port 587, false for port 465
EMAIL_USE_SSL=false  # false for port 587, true for port 465
DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL=laboratorio@fcv.unl.edu.ar
SERVER_EMAIL=laboratorio@fcv.unl.edu.ar

Step 3: Test Email Sending

docker compose exec web python3 manage.py shell

from django.core.mail import send_mail
send_mail(
    'Test Email - AdLab',
    'This is a test from the laboratory system.',
    'laboratorio@fcv.unl.edu.ar',
    ['your-test-email@example.com'],
    fail_silently=False,
)

Step 4: Security Considerations

  • ✅ Store password in .env (never in code)
  • ✅ Ensure .env is in .gitignore
  • ✅ Use strong password
  • ✅ Enable 2FA if available
  • ✅ Request SPF/DKIM configuration from IT for better deliverability

Option 2: SendGrid (Professional Service)

Best for: If institutional email not available or needs advanced features

Step 1: Sign Up

  1. Go to https://sendgrid.com/
  2. Create free account (100 emails/day)
  3. Verify your email
  4. Verify your domain (optional but recommended)

Step 2: Create API Key

  1. Go to Settings → API Keys
  2. Click "Create API Key"
  3. Name it "AdLab Production"
  4. Choose "Restricted Access" → Full Access for Mail Send
  5. Copy the API key (you'll only see it once!)

Step 3: Update .env File

# Email Configuration (Production - SendGrid)
EMAIL_BACKEND=django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend
EMAIL_HOST=smtp.sendgrid.net
EMAIL_PORT=587
EMAIL_HOST_USER=apikey  # Literally the word "apikey"
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD=SG.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  # Your API key
EMAIL_USE_TLS=true
EMAIL_USE_SSL=false
DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL=laboratorio@yourdomain.com
SERVER_EMAIL=laboratorio@yourdomain.com
  1. In SendGrid: Settings → Sender Authentication
  2. Click "Authenticate Your Domain"
  3. Follow instructions to add DNS records
  4. This improves deliverability significantly

Cost:

  • FREE: 100 emails/day forever
  • Essentials ($15/mo): 50,000 emails/month
  • Pro ($90/mo): 100,000 emails/month

Option 3: Gmail SMTP (Quick Testing Only)

Best for: Quick testing with real emails (NOT for production)

Step 1: Enable App Password

  1. Go to Google Account → Security
  2. Enable 2-Factor Authentication
  3. Go to Security → App Passwords
  4. Generate password for "Mail" on "Other"
  5. Copy the 16-character password

Step 2: Update .env File

# Email Configuration (Testing - Gmail)
EMAIL_BACKEND=django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend
EMAIL_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
EMAIL_PORT=587
EMAIL_HOST_USER=your-email@gmail.com
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD=xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx  # 16-char app password
EMAIL_USE_TLS=true
EMAIL_USE_SSL=false
DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL=your-email@gmail.com
SERVER_EMAIL=your-email@gmail.com

Limitations: - ⚠️ 500 emails per day limit - ⚠️ May go to spam - ⚠️ Not professional - ⚠️ NOT recommended for production

Option 4: Amazon SES (High Volume)

Best for: Very high volume or AWS infrastructure

Cost:

  • $0.10 per 1,000 emails
  • Very cheap at scale

Setup:

  1. Create AWS account
  2. Set up Amazon SES
  3. Verify email/domain
  4. Get SMTP credentials
  5. Configure .env:
# Email Configuration (Production - Amazon SES)
EMAIL_BACKEND=django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend
EMAIL_HOST=email-smtp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com  # Your region
EMAIL_PORT=587
EMAIL_HOST_USER=AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE  # AWS SMTP credentials
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD=wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY
EMAIL_USE_TLS=true
EMAIL_USE_SSL=false
DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL=laboratorio@yourdomain.com
SERVER_EMAIL=laboratorio@yourdomain.com

Testing Your Configuration

Method 1: Django Shell

docker compose exec web python3 manage.py shell

from django.core.mail import send_mail

# Test basic email
send_mail(
    subject='Test Email from AdLab',
    message='This is a test email.',
    from_email='laboratorio@fcv.unl.edu.ar',
    recipient_list=['your-email@example.com'],
    fail_silently=False,
)

# Test HTML email (like verification emails will use)
from django.core.mail import EmailMultiAlternatives

email = EmailMultiAlternatives(
    subject='HTML Test Email from AdLab',
    body='This is the plain text version.',
    from_email='laboratorio@fcv.unl.edu.ar',
    to=['your-email@example.com'],
)
email.attach_alternative('<h1>HTML Test</h1><p>This is the HTML version.</p>', "text/html")
email.send()

Method 2: Management Command

Create a test management command:

# Test sending verification email
docker compose exec web python3 manage.py shell -c "
from accounts.models import User
from django.core.mail import send_mail

user = User.objects.first()
send_mail(
    'Test Verification Email',
    'This would be your verification link.',
    'laboratorio@fcv.unl.edu.ar',
    [user.email],
)
print('✅ Email sent successfully!')
"

Environment Variables Reference

Add these to your .env file:

# ==============================================================================
# EMAIL CONFIGURATION
# ==============================================================================

# Backend: console (dev) or smtp (production)
EMAIL_BACKEND=django.core.mail.backends.console.EmailBackend

# SMTP Settings (uncomment for production)
# EMAIL_BACKEND=django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend
# EMAIL_HOST=smtp.yourdomain.com
# EMAIL_PORT=587
# EMAIL_HOST_USER=your-email@yourdomain.com
# EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD=your-secure-password
# EMAIL_USE_TLS=true
# EMAIL_USE_SSL=false

# Email Addresses
DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL=noreply@adlab.com
SERVER_EMAIL=server@adlab.com

# Optional: Email timeout settings
# EMAIL_TIMEOUT=10

Troubleshooting

Problem: "Connection refused"

Solution: Check EMAIL_HOST and EMAIL_PORT are correct

Problem: "Authentication failed"

Solution: - Verify EMAIL_HOST_USER and EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD - For Gmail: Use App Password, not regular password - Check if 2FA is required

Problem: "TLS/SSL Error"

Solution: - For port 587: EMAIL_USE_TLS=true, EMAIL_USE_SSL=false - For port 465: EMAIL_USE_TLS=false, EMAIL_USE_SSL=true

Problem: Emails go to spam

Solution: - Use institutional/verified domain - Set up SPF, DKIM, DMARC records - Use professional email service (SendGrid, SES) - Don't use Gmail for production

Problem: "SMTP connection timeout"

Solution: - Check firewall allows outbound connection to EMAIL_PORT - Try different port (587 vs 465 vs 25) - Check if server requires authentication

Security Best Practices

  1. Never commit credentials to git
  2. Always use .env file

  3. Verify .env is in .gitignore

  4. Use strong passwords

  5. Generate random passwords for email accounts

  6. Store securely (password manager)

  7. Enable 2FA when possible

  8. For Gmail/SendGrid/AWS accounts

  9. Use environment-specific credentials

  10. Different credentials for dev/staging/production

  11. Rotate credentials regularly

  12. Change passwords every 3-6 months

  13. Especially if team members change

  14. Monitor email sending

  15. Check for unusual sending patterns
  16. Set up alerts for failures

Cost Estimation

For Laboratory Use Case:

Assuming: - 50 new veterinarian registrations per month - Each gets 1-2 verification emails - Plus password resets, notifications, etc. - Total: ~200-500 emails/month

  1. Institutional Email: FREE ✅
  2. SendGrid Free Tier: FREE (100/day = 3,000/month) ✅
  3. Amazon SES: $0.10/month ✅

Conclusion: You can easily stay within FREE tiers for years.

Next Steps

For Development (Current):

✅ Already configured - console backend works fine

For Production:

  1. Choose email provider (recommend: institutional)
  2. Get credentials
  3. Update .env file
  4. Test with shell commands
  5. Deploy and monitor

Need Help?

For Institutional Email: - Contact: UNL IT Support - Ask for: SMTP configuration for laboratory system

For SendGrid: - Documentation: https://docs.sendgrid.com/for-developers - Support: support@sendgrid.com

For Django Email Issues: - Django Docs: https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/5.2/topics/email/

Last Updated: October 11, 2025
Version: 1.0