Email / SMTP

Admins set up email under Admin > About / Settings > E-MAIL / SMTP. xBit uses it to send:

  • sign-in codes for two-factor authentication (2FA), and password reset and account setup links
  • external users' sign-in codes and access approvals
  • activity emails about evidence, reviews and requests (see Notifications)
  • asset and API key expiry reminders

⚠️ Note: With email off, users without an authenticator app sign in with just their password, and email-only features such as Password Setup and external-user sign-in are unavailable.


Set up email

E-MAIL / SMTP settings with ENABLE SMTP, E-MAIL TYPE, IS SMTP RELAY, throttle fields and the test and submit buttons marked

  1. ENABLE SMTP: turns all email on or off.
  2. E-MAIL TYPE: how xBit sends email (see Email types).
  3. IS SMTP RELAY: on for a relay that doesn't need a sign-in. SMTP USER and SMTP PASSWORD are greyed out.
  4. Email Throttle fields (see Email throttle).
  5. Test SMTP Settings: sends a test email to your own address. SMTP type only.
  6. Submit SMTP Settings: saves the settings above.

To set up email:

  1. Turn on ENABLE SMTP.
  2. Choose an E-MAIL TYPE and fill in its fields.
  3. For SMTP, click Test SMTP Settings. Submit SMTP Settings stays greyed out until the test succeeds.
  4. Click Submit SMTP Settings. For Gmail, xBit then opens Google so you can allow it to send from the account.

To turn email off, switch off ENABLE SMTP and click Submit SMTP Settings.


Email types

E-MAIL TYPE Fields Notes
SMTP See SMTP fields Any SMTP server or relay.
Gmail CLIENT ID, SECRET Sends from the Google account you allow. xBit renews access itself, so the account stays connected. See Gmail setup.
Azure Communication Services AZURE 'FROM' ADDRESS, ACS RESOURCE NAME, ACS KEY Sends through Azure's email API. See Azure Communication Services setup.
Office 365, Microsoft Outlook CLIENT ID, SECRET, TENANT ID Shown only on systems already set up with one of them; they can't be chosen otherwise. See Office 365 setup.

SMTP fields

Field What to enter
SMTP SYSTEM URL Optional. The xBit address used in links in emails, such as https://xbit.youragency.gov. Leave blank to use the address users sign in at.
SMTP 'FROM' ADDRESS The sender address. Required.
SMTP HOST The mail server. Required.
IS SMTP RELAY On for a relay without sign-in. When off, enter SMTP USER and SMTP PASSWORD.
SMTP USER, SMTP PASSWORD The mail server sign-in.
SMTP PORT The mail server port. Required.
SMTP TLS When on, xBit checks the mail server's TLS certificate.


Email throttle

Use the throttle when your email provider limits how fast you can send. It applies to every E-MAIL TYPE and is saved with Submit SMTP Settings.

  • Email Throttle (per second): the most emails per second. Decimals work: 0.5 is one every two seconds. Blank or 0 means no limit.
  • Email Throttle Window (in seconds): the period the limit is counted over. Blank means 1 second.
  • After saving, xBit shows the result, for example "In a window of 60 seconds xbit will send a maximum of 30 emails".
  • Emails over the limit wait their turn; they aren't dropped.


External user sign-in

These settings control the emailed codes that external users sign in with. They show only while ENABLE SMTP is on, and save as soon as you change them.

External User timeout settings

Setting What it does
External User Time between code sending (min 30 seconds) Not used in this release. The Resend the Code button is always available after 30 seconds.
External User Code Timeout How many minutes an emailed code works.
External User Max Code-Send Attempts Before Restart How many codes a requester can ask for. Default 3.
External User Max Code-Verify Attempts Before Restart How many times a requester can enter a code. Default 5.
External User Session Timeout How many minutes a requester stays signed in after entering a code.

Going over either attempt limit sends the requester back to enter their email address again. See Request Submission Manager for the requester's side.


Notifications

The Notifications switches below the external user settings choose which activity emails xBit sends. See Notifications.


Failed Emails

xBit retries an email that can't be sent 3 times. If it still fails:

  • It's listed under Failed Emails at the bottom of this tab, with its Date, To and Subject.
  • While email is on, the Admin menu shows ✉ and the number of Notifications failed to send. Click it to open this tab.

Fix the cause, such as a changed password or a provider limit, then click Clear on each email or Clear all. Cleared emails aren't sent again. The list only appears while there are failed emails.