Email alerts (SMTP)

DBDock sends email via standard SMTP — any provider works.

Configuration

`dbdock.config.json`

{
  "alerts": {
    "email": {
      "enabled": true,
      "smtp": {
        "host": "smtp.gmail.com",
        "port": 587,
        "secure": false
      },
      "from": "backups@yourapp.com",
      "to": ["admin@yourapp.com", "devops@yourapp.com"]
    }
  }
}

`.env`

DBDOCK_SMTP_USER=your-smtp-username
DBDOCK_SMTP_PASS=your-smtp-password

Multiple to addresses are supported — all recipients get every alert.

Provider setup

Gmail

"smtp": { "host": "smtp.gmail.com", "port": 587, "secure": false }

DBDOCK_SMTP_USER=your-email@gmail.com
DBDOCK_SMTP_PASS=your-app-password

Important: Gmail requires an App Password, not your regular account password. Enable 2FA first, then generate an App Password for “Mail”.

SendGrid

"smtp": { "host": "smtp.sendgrid.net", "port": 587, "secure": false }

DBDOCK_SMTP_USER=apikey
DBDOCK_SMTP_PASS=YOUR_SENDGRID_API_KEY

The username is literally the word apikey — not your SendGrid username. The password is the API key.

AWS SES

"smtp": { "host": "email-smtp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com", "port": 587, "secure": false }

DBDOCK_SMTP_USER=YOUR_SMTP_USERNAME
DBDOCK_SMTP_PASS=YOUR_SMTP_PASSWORD

SES SMTP credentials are distinct from your AWS access keys. Generate them from the SES console → SMTP Settings.Replace us-east-1 with your SES region.

Mailgun

"smtp": { "host": "smtp.mailgun.org", "port": 587, "secure": false }

DBDOCK_SMTP_USER=postmaster@your-domain.mailgun.org
DBDOCK_SMTP_PASS=YOUR_MAILGUN_SMTP_PASSWORD

Postmark

"smtp": { "host": "smtp.postmarkapp.com", "port": 587, "secure": false }

DBDOCK_SMTP_USER=YOUR_POSTMARK_SERVER_TOKEN
DBDOCK_SMTP_PASS=YOUR_POSTMARK_SERVER_TOKEN

Username and password are the same — both your server token.

Custom SMTP

Any SMTP server works:

"smtp": { "host": "mail.example.com", "port": 587, "secure": false }

Use secure: true + port: 465 for implicit TLS. Use secure: false + port: 587 for STARTTLS (most modern servers).

Email content

Success

Subject: ✓ Backup complete — myapp (45.2 MB) Body: backup ID, database, size, duration, storage path, encryption status.

Failure

Subject: ✗ Backup failed — myapp Body: error message, timestamp, troubleshooting suggestion.

Testing

npx dbdock test

Sends a test email to all to addresses. Check spam folders if it doesn’t arrive.

Common issues

Authentication failed

Wrong username/password
Gmail: not using an App Password
Provider requires API key, not account password (SendGrid, Postmark)

Connection timeout

Port blocked by network firewall
Try port 465 with secure: true instead of 587

Email not received

Check spam folder
Verify from address is allowed by the provider (SendGrid/SES require domain verification)
Check provider’s send logs (SendGrid activity feed, SES CloudWatch)

Security

SMTP credentials live in .env, never in dbdock.config.json
DBDock uses STARTTLS when secure: false + port 587
If your SMTP server requires a certificate chain outside the Node defaults, you’ll need to set NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS

Slack alerts

Real-time Slack notifications.

Custom webhooks

Discord, WhatsApp, and custom endpoints.

CLI

Cloud Sync (CLI)

Storage Providers

Migration

Alerts & Automation

Email alerts (SMTP)

Configuration

`dbdock.config.json`

`.env`

Provider setup

Email content

Success

Failure

Testing

Common issues

Security

See also

Slack alerts

Custom webhooks

​Configuration

​dbdock.config.json

​.env

​Provider setup

​Email content

​Success

​Failure

​Testing

​Common issues

​Security

​See also

Slack alerts

Custom webhooks

Configuration

`dbdock.config.json`

`.env`

Provider setup

Email content

Success

Failure

Testing

Common issues

Security

See also