ssmtp is a nice and simple solution for sending emails from the command line etc.
Installing
sudo apt-get install ssmtp
sudo apt-get install mailutils
Now edit the SSMTP configuration file
sudo nano /etc/ssmtp/ssmtp.conf
It needs to include this:
root=postmaster
mailhub=smtp.gmail.com:587
hostname=raspberrypi
[email protected]
AuthPass=TheGmailPassword
FromLineOverride=YES
UseSTARTTLS=YES
Save and exit
Sending an email
echo "Hello world email body" | mail -s "Test Subject" [email protected]
Sending A File
Install mpack
sudo apt-get install mpack
To send a file
mpack -s "Test" /home/pi/some_folder/somefile.ext [email protected]
USEFUL?
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3 years ago
Scripts that had been working for years sending mail with Gmail stopped working. I had to enable two-step authorization and an “APP password” in the Gmail account.
2 years ago
I think it’s not possible anymore from May 30, 2022 for keep gmail accounts secure.. i understand well?
3 years ago
Followed orignal instructions, but result of echo… was “bash: mail: command not found”
Also I noticed that:
mailhub=smtp.gmail.com:587
said smtp, so I changed that to smtp.gmail.com:587
but got same result, mail command not found.
2 years ago
you need to install mailutils package
3 years ago
I’ve been trying to get this to work for the better part of the day. My problem was that I too was getting the “mail: cannot send message: Process exited with a non-zero status” message.
The key for me turned out to the “SSL connection using ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384” entry in the /var/log/mail.log file. I found another website that indicates ssmtp does not work with the Rpi Buster OS; ssmtp has been deprecated for that OS.
The recommendation was to use msmtp package. I uninstalled ssmtp, installed msmtp, created the required entries in the configuration file ( /etc/msmtprc), and five minutes was sending email.
The relevant website is: https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=244147
3 years ago
Yes! Thanks Donald. You nailed it for me. I tried everything else on this page, but your post was worth the wait for the “zero status” error.
I found this post laid out a good step by step for installing msmtp:
https://www.howtoraspberry.com/2021/06/how-to-send-mail-from-a-raspberry-pi/
Mark
4 years ago
first it did not work.
I had to allow the server for certain users:
sudo nano /etc/ssmtp/revaliases
there added:
root:[email protected]:smtp.gmail.com:587
OTTO:[email protected]:smtp.gmail.com:587
furthermore for me personally the connection was tls and not starttls.
therfore
UseTLS=Yes
and
ports 465
4 years ago
got the message: mail: cannot send message: Process exited with a non-zero status
First of all what is actually going on? I found these:
root@pi2:/home/pi# ls /var/log/mail.*/var/log/mail.err /var/log/mail.info /var/log/mail.log /var/log/mail.warn
root@pi2:/home/pi# tail /var/log/mail.logApr 2 15:31:46 pi2 sSMTP[7839]: Authorization failed (535 Incorrect authentication data)
Apr 2 15:41:53 pi2 sSMTP[7855]: Creating SSL connection to host
Apr 2 15:41:53 pi2 sSMTP[7855]: SSL connection using ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
Apr 2 15:41:53 pi2 sSMTP[7855]: 550 Sender e-mail address invalid / Afzender e-mail adres bestaat niet
Apr 2 15:42:04 pi2 sSMTP[7858]: Creating SSL connection to host
Apr 2 15:42:05 pi2 sSMTP[7858]: SSL connection using ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
Apr 2 15:42:05 pi2 sSMTP[7858]: 550 Sender e-mail address invalid / Afzender e-mail adres bestaat niet
Apr 2 16:21:07 pi2 sSMTP[8000]: Creating SSL connection to host
Apr 2 16:21:07 pi2 sSMTP[8000]: SSL connection using ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
Apr 2 16:21:07 pi2 sSMTP[8000]: 550 Sender e-mail address invalid / Afzender e-mail adres bestaat niet
from another post I found out that it is possible to specify the from mail address by specifying it in /etc/ssmtp/revaliases.
Add the line root:[email protected]:smtp.isp.com in that file and try again.
4 years ago
Hi, it did not work for me. I made the changes to ssmtp.comtp.conf. I check them serial time. Checked email passwords. logon to the accounts. sent email between. Could not get it to work.
I tryed with gmail and outlook accounts
I also trying python example programs. I get the same thing.
Thank you
pi@retrotest:~ $ sudo nano /etc/ssmtp/ssmtp.conf
pi@retrotest:~ $ echo “Hello world email body” | mail -s “Test subject” [email protected]
mail: cannot send message: Process exited with a non-zero status
pi@retrotest:~ $
4 years ago
Seems to fail on recent Raspbian (at least for me). See https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=244147#p1496767 for a replacement solution
4 years ago
Thank you! Worked like a charm!
4 years ago
You can send mail even with 2-step verification turned on. First, make sure you’re signed into gmail with the email address, then go here: https://myaccount.google.com/u/2/apppasswords
Use the same configuration as the original post. Creating an App Password will require a name for the APP ( I used my hostname). When it generates a password copy it, then paste it into your configuration (AuthPass=PASTE_PASSWORD_HERE). Test by sending an email.
4 years ago
hi how to setup this email if the internet connection is not so good and the email is not sent out it will send it after the raspberry pi got an internet connection? Like an outbox
4 years ago
E: Unable to locate package ssmtp
Is ssmtp depreciated or is there another source?
7 years ago
It didn’t work for me until I took out the port number at the end of mailhub=smtp.gmail.com – this could have been a firewall issue on my end though.
7 years ago
Just what I needed. Nice and simple. Thank You.
8 years ago
when i enter “sudo apt-get install ssmtp” and “sudo apt-get install mailutils” it says
“dpkg was interrupted you must manually run sudo bkpg –configure -a” to correct the problem
how can i fix this
8 years ago
for security reasons lest your account is compromised, see https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/SSMTP , “Using an app password”
8 years ago
Thanks a lot for this post. It perfectly works for me fomr ubuntu 14.10 :)
8 years ago
Hi,
Thank you for your useful info.
I’d like to add more info here in case the others ran into same problem as me.
On my machine, in addition to given instructions, I need to change
1. Less secure apps –> turn on (follow URL in lemanoman’s comment)
2. root=postmaster line to [email protected]
the “[email protected]” is the same as the one used for AuthUser parameter.
And that does the trick.
(this info is as of 9-Sep-2016)
8 years ago
I had no success with port 465, so modified it back to 587 as suggested with gmail’s “Less secure apps” setting turned on.
Don’t forget you can ‘tail -f /var/log/mail.log’ (without the quotes) to display the message status.
Thanks for sharing!
8 years ago
Thanks for the tip :-)
9 years ago
If you got the error : “mail: cannot send message: Process exited with a non-zero status”, you must to activate the less secure apps on you google account: “https://www.google.com/settings/security/lesssecureapps”
8 years ago
yes, gmail sent me a notification of the failed attempt and included a hot link for enabling less secure email; then everything worked fine just as you said.
9 years ago
Can I sned an e-mail with attachment and body text?
9 years ago
Can anyone help me by sending an example in python?
thanks a lot
9 years ago
Hi! Not good in english and not good in Linux – but: How to send emails in this manner directly from programm written in C language? Pls, little code example. Thx.
Feri
9 years ago
Allowing less secure apps in gmail solves the problem – mail: cannot send message: Process exited with a non-zero status
9 years ago
I had the same issue mail: cannot send message: Process exited with a non-zero status.
9 years ago
One problem that may be hiding under the “returned non-zero status” error is that an existing GMAIL account may refuse the connection as insufficiently secure.
I made a new account just for the pi and that seemed to clear up the issue for me. I did not have to reset any security settings on the new account and was unwilling to relax the security I had set up on my main GMAIL account.
Everyone should look at the various Linux ssmtp install guides to understand how to secure your ssmtp.conf file (where your GMAIL password sits in plaintext!).
9 years ago
Create a gmail account for the device ([email protected]) or something like that, then use that as the sending email, get an API key from gmail for the security and that may help.
4 years ago
How do we get an API key from Gmail?
9 years ago
Sir
When we work out all the commands it shows error –
send-mail:cannot open stpm.gmail.com:587
9 years ago
use smtp.gmail.com:465
10 years ago
Appreciate your effort to make using pi very easy…
Thanks for your efforts
10 years ago
I followed all the steps.
I’m getting an error:
mail: cannot send message: Process exited with a non-zero status
8 years ago
this may mean you need to turn on less secure apps for your gmail account
8 years ago
i got the same error and I tried doing this but didn’t work.
10 years ago
Works fine on my system, except for messages addressed to recipient ‘root@localhost’.
System: raspberrypi 2.
Does anybody knows to fix this issue?
thans in advance.
9 years ago
Check that your permissions are correct. that looks like a resolution problem. If there is no POP server, it won’t receive any messaging.
10 years ago
doesn’t work for me. something’s missing.
10 years ago
followed steps exactly, works for me
10 years ago
TX! Usefull and simple!