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Install send mail service on Fedora

Overview

This guide explains how to set up authenticated email sending from the command line on Fedora using msmtp (a lightweight SMTP client) and s-nail (a mailx-compatible mail utility). This method is ideal for scripts and system notifications in environments where only authenticated SMTP is allowed.

1. Install Required Packages

sudo dnf install -y msmtp s-nail

2. Configure msmtp

  1. Copy the example configuration (optional): 
    sudo cp /usr/share/doc/msmtp/msmtprc-system.example /etc/msmtprc
  2. Edit /etc/msmtprc and adjust to your SMTP provider: 
    sudo nano /etc/msmtprc

    Example configuration:

    defaults
auth           on
tls            on
tls_trust_file /etc/ssl/certs/ca-bundle.crt
logfile        /var/log/msmtp.log

account        default
host           mail.hosting.de
port           587
from           admin@simmy.org
user           admin@simmy.org
password       <super-secret>

  3. Set permissions to protect your password: 
    sudo chmod 600 /etc/msmtprc

3. Configure s-nail to Use msmtp

Add the following line to /etc/s-nail.rc or your ~/.mailrc:

set mta=/usr/bin/msmtp

4. Send a Test Email

echo "This is the body" | mail -s "Test Subject" recipient@example.com
  • If the command returns no errors, the mail was sent successfully.
  • Check /var/log/msmtp.log for troubleshooting if needed.

5. Notes

  • If you receive an error like "Authenticated user is not permitted to override sender address", ensure the from address in /etc/msmtprc matches the authenticated SMTP user, or configure your SMTP provider to allow the desired sender address.
  • For use in scripts (e.g., backup notifications), simply use the mail command as shown above.

References

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