Commit 63b04373 authored by Douwe Maan's avatar Douwe Maan

Merge branch 'reply-by-email-docs' into 'master'

Expand Reply by email documentation

TODO:

- [x] Verify this works on dev server
- [ ] Figure out SSL somehow: http://www.postfix.org/TLS_README.html (Moved to #2453)

See merge request !1193
parents c61b6eeb b92c0373
...@@ -2,11 +2,48 @@ ...@@ -2,11 +2,48 @@
GitLab can be set up to allow users to comment on issues and merge requests by replying to notification emails. GitLab can be set up to allow users to comment on issues and merge requests by replying to notification emails.
In order to do this, you need access to 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, Yahoo! Mail, Outlook.com and iCloud, as well as the [Postfix](http://www.postfix.org/) mail server which you can run on-premises. ## 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, 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 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 ## Set it up
In this example, we'll use the Gmail address `gitlab-replies@gmail.com`. If you're actually using Gmail 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). In this example, we'll use the Gmail address `gitlab-replies@gmail.com`.
### Omnibus package installations
1. Find the `reply_by_email` section in `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`, enable the feature, enter the email address including a placeholder for the `reply_key` and fill in the details for your specific IMAP server and email account:
```ruby
gitlab_rails['reply_by_email_enabled'] = true
gitlab_rails['reply_by_email_address'] = "gitlab-replies+%{reply_key}@gmail.com"
gitlab_rails['reply_by_email_host'] = "imap.gmail.com" # IMAP server host
gitlab_rails['reply_by_email_port'] = 993 # IMAP server port
gitlab_rails['reply_by_email_ssl'] = true # Whether the IMAP server uses SSL
gitlab_rails['reply_by_email_email'] = "gitlab-replies@gmail.com" # Email account username. Usually the full email address.
gitlab_rails['reply_by_email_password'] = "password" # Email account password
gitlab_rails['reply_by_email_mailbox_name'] = "inbox" # The name of the mailbox where incoming mail will end up. Usually "inbox".
```
As mentioned, the part after `+` in the address is ignored, and any email sent here will end up in the mailbox for `gitlab-replies@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:reply_by_email:check
```
1. Reply by email should now be working.
### Installations from source ### Installations from source
...@@ -28,9 +65,9 @@ In this example, we'll use the Gmail address `gitlab-replies@gmail.com`. If you' ...@@ -28,9 +65,9 @@ In this example, we'll use the Gmail address `gitlab-replies@gmail.com`. If you'
address: "gitlab-replies+%{reply_key}@gmail.com" address: "gitlab-replies+%{reply_key}@gmail.com"
``` ```
As mentioned, the part after `+` is ignored, and this will end up in the mailbox for `gitlab-replies@gmail.com`. As mentioned, the part after `+` in the address is ignored, and any email sent here will end up in the mailbox for `gitlab-replies@gmail.com`.
2. Find `config/mail_room.yml.example` and copy it to `config/mail_room.yml`: 2. Copy `config/mail_room.yml.example` to `config/mail_room.yml`:
```sh ```sh
sudo cp config/mail_room.yml.example config/mail_room.yml sudo cp config/mail_room.yml.example config/mail_room.yml
...@@ -72,21 +109,11 @@ In this example, we'll use the Gmail address `gitlab-replies@gmail.com`. If you' ...@@ -72,21 +109,11 @@ In this example, we'll use the Gmail address `gitlab-replies@gmail.com`. If you'
:worker: EmailReceiverWorker :worker: EmailReceiverWorker
``` ```
5. Edit the init script configuration at `/etc/default/gitlab` to enable `mail_room`:
4. Find `lib/support/init.d/gitlab.default.example` and copy it to `/etc/default/gitlab`:
```sh ```sh
sudo cp lib/support/init.d/gitlab.default.example /etc/default/gitlab sudo mkdir -p /etc/default
``` echo 'mail_room_enabled=true' | sudo tee -a /etc/default/gitlab
5. Edit `/etc/default/gitlab` to enable `mail_room`:
```sh
sudo editor /etc/default/gitlab
```
```sh
mail_room_enabled=true
``` ```
6. Restart GitLab: 6. Restart GitLab:
...@@ -95,18 +122,14 @@ In this example, we'll use the Gmail address `gitlab-replies@gmail.com`. If you' ...@@ -95,18 +122,14 @@ In this example, we'll use the Gmail address `gitlab-replies@gmail.com`. If you'
sudo service gitlab restart sudo service gitlab restart
``` ```
7. Check if everything is configured correctly: 7. Verify that everything is configured correctly:
```sh ```sh
sudo bundle exec rake gitlab:reply_by_email:check RAILS_ENV=production sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake gitlab:reply_by_email:check RAILS_ENV=production
``` ```
8. Reply by email should now be working. 8. Reply by email should now be working.
### Omnibus package installations
TODO
### Development ### Development
1. Go to the GitLab installation directory. 1. Go to the GitLab installation directory.
...@@ -121,7 +144,7 @@ TODO ...@@ -121,7 +144,7 @@ TODO
As mentioned, the part after `+` is ignored, and this will end up in the mailbox for `gitlab-replies@gmail.com`. As mentioned, the part after `+` is ignored, and this will end up in the mailbox for `gitlab-replies@gmail.com`.
2. Find `config/mail_room.yml.example` and copy it to `config/mail_room.yml`: 2. Copy `config/mail_room.yml.example` to `config/mail_room.yml`:
```sh ```sh
sudo cp config/mail_room.yml.example config/mail_room.yml sudo cp config/mail_room.yml.example config/mail_room.yml
...@@ -171,7 +194,7 @@ TODO ...@@ -171,7 +194,7 @@ TODO
bundle exec foreman start bundle exec foreman start
``` ```
7. Check if everything is configured correctly: 7. Verify that everything is configured correctly:
```sh ```sh
bundle exec rake gitlab:reply_by_email:check RAILS_ENV=development bundle exec rake gitlab:reply_by_email:check RAILS_ENV=development
......
# Set up Postfix for Reply by email
This document will take you through the steps of setting up a basic Postfix mail server with IMAP authentication on Ubuntu, to be used with Reply by email.
The instructions make the assumption that you will be using the email address `replies@gitlab.example.com`, that is, username `replies` on host `gitlab.example.com`. Don't forget to change it to your actual host when executing the example code snippets.
## Configure your server firewall
1. Open up port 25 on your server so that people can send email into the server over SMTP.
2. If the mail server is different from the server running GitLab, open up port 143 on your server so that GitLab can read email from the server over IMAP.
## Install packages
1. Install the `postfix` package if it is not installed already:
```sh
sudo apt-get install postfix
```
When asked about the environment, select 'Internet Site'. When asked to confirm the hostname, make sure it matches `gitlab.example.com`.
1. Install the `mailutils` package.
```sh
sudo apt-get install mailutils
```
## Create user
1. Create a user for replies.
```sh
sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash replies
```
1. Set a password for this user.
```sh
sudo passwd replies
```
Be sure not to forget this, you'll need it later.
## Test the out-of-the-box setup
1. Connect to the local SMTP server:
```sh
telnet localhost 25
```
You should see a prompt like this:
```sh
Trying 127.0.0.1...
Connected to localhost.
Escape character is '^]'.
220 gitlab.example.com ESMTP Postfix (Ubuntu)
```
If you get a `Connection refused` error instead, verify that `postfix` is running:
```sh
sudo postfix status
```
If it is not, start it:
```sh
sudo postfix start
```
1. Send the new `replies` user a dummy email to test SMTP, by entering the following into the SMTP prompt:
```
ehlo localhost
mail from: root@localhost
rcpt to: replies@localhost
data
Subject: Re: Some issue
Sounds good!
.
quit
```
(Note: The `.` is a literal period on its own line)
1. Check if the `replies` user received the email:
```sh
su - replies
mail
```
You should see output like this:
```
"/var/mail/replies": 1 message 1 unread
>U 1 root@localhost 59/2842 Re: Some issue
```
Quit the mail app:
```sh
q
```
1. Log out of the `replies` account and go back to being `root`:
```sh
logout
```
## Configure Postfix to use Maildir-style mailboxes
Courier, which we will install later to add IMAP authentication, requires mailboxes to have the Maildir format, rather than mbox.
1. Configure Postfix to use Maildir-style mailboxes:
```sh
sudo postconf -e "home_mailbox = Maildir/"
```
1. Restart Postfix:
```sh
sudo /etc/init.d/postfix restart
```
1. Test the new setup:
1. Follow steps 1 and 2 of _[Test the out-of-the-box setup](#test-the-out-of-the-box-setup)_.
2. Check if the `replies` user received the email:
```sh
su - replies
MAIL=/home/replies/Maildir
mail
```
You should see output like this:
```
"/home/replies/Maildir": 1 message 1 unread
>U 1 root@localhost 59/2842 Re: Some issue
```
Quit the mail app:
```sh
q
```
1. Log out of the `replies` account and go back to being `root`:
```sh
logout
```
## Install the Courier IMAP server
1. Install the `courier-imap` package:
```sh
sudo apt-get install courier-imap
```
## Configure Postfix to receive email from the internet
1. Let Postfix know about the domains that it should consider local:
```sh
sudo postconf -e "mydestination = gitlab.example.com, localhost.localdomain, localhost"
```
1. Let Postfix know about the IPs that it should consider part of the LAN:
We'll assume `192.168.1.0/24` is your local LAN. You can safely skip this step if you don't have other machines in the same local network.
```sh
sudo postconf -e "mynetworks = 127.0.0.0/8, 192.168.1.0/24"
```
1. Configure Postfix to receive mail on all interfaces, which includes the internet:
```sh
sudo postconf -e "inet_interfaces = all"
```
1. Configure Postfix to use the `+` delimiter for sub-addressing:
```sh
sudo postconf -e "recipient_delimiter = +"
```
1. Restart Postfix:
```sh
sudo service postfix restart
```
## Test the final setup
1. Test SMTP under the new setup:
1. Connect to the SMTP server:
```sh
telnet gitlab.example.com 25
```
You should see a prompt like this:
```sh
Trying 123.123.123.123...
Connected to gitlab.example.com.
Escape character is '^]'.
220 gitlab.example.com ESMTP Postfix (Ubuntu)
```
If you get a `Connection refused` error instead, make sure your firewall is setup to allow inbound traffic on port 25.
1. Send the `replies` user a dummy email to test SMTP, by entering the following into the SMTP prompt:
```
ehlo gitlab.example.com
mail from: root@gitlab.example.com
rcpt to: replies@gitlab.example.com
data
Subject: Re: Some issue
Sounds good!
.
quit
```
(Note: The `.` is a literal period on its own line)
1. Check if the `replies` user received the email:
```sh
su - replies
MAIL=/home/replies/Maildir
mail
```
You should see output like this:
```
"/home/replies/Maildir": 1 message 1 unread
>U 1 root@gitlab.example.com 59/2842 Re: Some issue
```
Quit the mail app:
```sh
q
```
1. Log out of the `replies` account and go back to being `root`:
```sh
logout
```
1. Test IMAP under the new setup:
1. Connect to the IMAP server:
```sh
telnet gitlab.example.com 143
```
You should see a prompt like this:
```sh
Trying 123.123.123.123...
Connected to mail.example.gitlab.com.
Escape character is '^]'.
- OK [CAPABILITY IMAP4rev1 UIDPLUS CHILDREN NAMESPACE THREAD=ORDEREDSUBJECT THREAD=REFERENCES SORT QUOTA IDLE ACL ACL2=UNION] Courier-IMAP ready. Copyright 1998-2011 Double Precision, Inc. See COPYING for distribution information.
```
1. Sign in as the `replies` user to test IMAP, by entering the following into the IMAP prompt:
```
a login replies PASSWORD
```
Replace PASSWORD with the password you set on the `replies` user earlier.
You should see output like this:
```
a OK LOGIN Ok.
```
1. Disconnect from the IMAP server:
```sh
a logout
```
## Done!
If all the tests were successfull, Postfix is all set up and ready to receive email! Continue with the [Reply by email](./README.md) guide to configure GitLab.
---------
_This document was adapted from https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PostfixBasicSetupHowto, by contributors to the Ubuntu documentation wiki._
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