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Email Setup

Configure email to enable user invitations, password resets, and email verification.

Why Email?​

Email configuration enables:

  • User Invitations - Invite users via email from the Admin Panel
  • Password Reset - Allow users to reset forgotten passwords
  • Email Verification - Verify new user email addresses (optional)
Without Email

If email is not configured:

  • The "Invite User" button is replaced with "Create User" in the Admin Panel
  • You can create users directly by providing username and password
  • Password reset functionality will be unavailable (users must change passwords while logged in via Profile menu)
  • See User Management for creating users without email

Setting Up Resend​

BillManager uses Resend for transactional emails.

1. Create a Resend Account​

  1. Go to resend.com and sign up
  2. Verify your email address
  3. Navigate to API Keys in the dashboard

2. Create an API Key​

  1. Click "Create API Key"
  2. Give it a name (e.g., "BillManager Production")
  3. Select "Full access" permissions
  4. Copy the API key (starts with re_)

For production, add and verify your domain:

  1. Go to Domains in Resend
  2. Add your domain (e.g., yourdomain.com)
  3. Add the DNS records Resend provides
  4. Wait for verification

4. Configure BillManager​

Add these environment variables to your docker-compose.yml:

environment:
  - RESEND_API_KEY=re_your_api_key_here
  - [email protected]
  - APP_URL=https://bills.yourdomain.com
VariableDescription
RESEND_API_KEYYour Resend API key
FROM_EMAILThe sender email address (must be from your verified domain in production)
APP_URLYour BillManager URL (used in email links)

Testing Email​

After configuration, test that emails work:

  1. Log in as admin
  2. Go to Admin Panel → Users
  3. Click "Invite User"
  4. Enter your own email address
  5. Check that you receive the invitation

Troubleshooting​

"Invite User" Button Not Visible​

  • RESEND_API_KEY is not set or is invalid
  • Restart the container after adding the environment variable

Emails Not Received​

  1. Check the Resend dashboard for delivery status
  2. Verify FROM_EMAIL matches a verified domain
  3. Check spam/junk folders
  4. Verify APP_URL is correct (links in emails use this)

Invalid API Key​

  • Ensure the key starts with re_
  • Check for extra whitespace when copying
  • Verify the key hasn't been revoked in Resend dashboard

Using a Different Email Provider​

BillManager currently only supports Resend. If you need a different provider, you can:

  1. Open an issue on GitHub requesting support
  2. Fork the project and modify apps/server/email.py