G Suite/google cloud

Product Support

AI-generated summary

The discussion revolves around configuring Discourse on Google Cloud to use G Suite SMTP for email sending. travisdeeth reports that while test emails work with the provided settings, registration emails fail to send. Despite trying various ports and configurations, including smtp-relay.gmail.com, the issue persists. mpalmer notes that Bitnami’s modifications make their Discourse setup unsupported, making troubleshooting difficult. travisdeeth points out discrepancies between Bitnami’s documentation and the official Discourse guide, highlighting the lack of an app.yml file. travisdeeth eventually resolves the issue by switching to a standard Ubuntu server, criticizing Bitnami for using an unsupported method and potentially profiting from it. codinghorror notes that Bitnami predates Docker, while mpalmer acknowledges the mystery behind Bitnami’s choices.

1

I am attempting to configure Discourse which is running through google cloud to use SMTP through G Suite. I am editing the “discourse.conf” found in “/opt/bitnami/apps/discourse/htdocs/config” to contain the following information;

smtp_address = "smtp.gmail.com"
smtp_port = 587
smtp_domain = *****.org
smtp_user_name = '******@*****.org'
smtp_password = '********************'
smtp_enable_start_tls = true

When I use the above information the test email successfully goes through! But when I go to register, Discourse says it’s sending a confirmation email, but it never does.

I have also tried ports 465 and 2525 w/ the above information. I have also tried smtp_address = “smtp-relay.gmail.com”

The sections that contain asterisks are obviously to protect my private information.

contains some information regarding this issue.

also contains information regarding this issue.

Any help with this would be most appreciated.

2

We don’t know what weirdnesses Bitnami have done to their Discourse setup, so we can’t really provide much useful information. Have you tried the steps outlined in our official e-mail troubleshooting guide?

3

@mpalmer There does seem to be some discrepancies between what I have and what that guide states. The biggest being that there is no “app.yml” the information I was trying to follow was found at https://docs.bitnami.com/google/apps/discourse/#how-to-configure-outbound-email-settings
What I don’t understand is why the test email is successful, but the registration email is not.

4

Hence why Bitnami installs are unsupported, and strongly discouraged.

That’s what the e-mail troubleshooting guide is all about. While some of it won’t apply to a Bitnami install, most of it will.

5

Well, I just switched from the generic Bitnami Discourse to an Ubuntu 16.04 server and ran the installer. It’s already working. Why is Bitnami packaging an opensource software and using a method that isn’t supported? I could be wrong, but they are probably profiting from it. The least they could do is do it the correct way.

6

Bitnami predates Docker.

7

You’d have to ask Bitnami why they do what they do. It’s a mystery to me, too.