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For a self-hosted Omnibus GitLab server, the simplest Gmail setup is mailbox SMTP at smtp.gmail.com on port 587 with STARTTLS and a Google app password. Edit /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb, run sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure, then send a test notification. Do not use the normal Google account password.
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Use smtp-relay.gmail.com instead when your organization manages Google Workspace and wants centralized policy, sender-domain controls, IP-based authentication, or relay auditing. The two services solve different operational problems; choosing the endpoint that matches your account and Workspace policy prevents most authentication and delivery failures.
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GitLab can submit mail either through an individual Gmail or Google Workspace mailbox, or through the Google Workspace SMTP relay service. Both use SMTP, but their identities, authentication and administrative controls differ.
| Decision point | Mailbox SMTP | Google Workspace relay |
|---|---|---|
| Hostname | smtp.gmail.com |
smtp-relay.gmail.com |
| Typical use | One small installation sending as one mailbox | Organization-wide server or application relay |
| Authentication | Mailbox credentials with a Google app password; OAuth is the strategic option where supported | Workspace relay policy using a registered public IP, SMTP authentication, or both, according to the administrator’s configuration |
| Common client port | 587 with STARTTLS | 587 with TLS; Google also documents 25 and 465 for the relay service |
| Sender control | Normally tied to the authenticated mailbox and its permitted aliases | Workspace policy can restrict source IPs and sender domains |
| Administration | Managed in the individual Google account | Managed centrally in the Google Workspace Admin console |
| Best fit | Personal Gmail or a low-volume, single-project server | Managed domains, static egress IPs, several applications, and organizational auditing |
A Workspace relay is not simply a faster name for Gmail SMTP. It will reject a server whose source IP, sender domain, or authentication method does not match the relay policy. Conversely, a personal Gmail account generally has no reason to use the relay hostname.
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What you need before editing GitLab
Omnibus GitLab scope
The instructions below target an Omnibus installation whose configuration file is /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb. You need root or sudo access, a working GitLab installation, outbound network access from the GitLab host, and a way to generate a test notification.
Mailbox SMTP prerequisites
Google requires 2-Step Verification before an app password can be used. Google describes an app password as a 16-digit passcode and explicitly states: “App passwords can only be used with accounts that have 2-Step Verification turned on.” The app-password option can be unavailable for some work or school accounts, accounts enrolled in Advanced Protection, or accounts whose 2-Step Verification is restricted to security keys.
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteCreate the app password in the Google account that will send GitLab mail. Treat it as a secret, not as a substitute for your normal sign-in password. If the Google account password is changed, Google revokes existing app passwords; generate a new one and update GitLab in that situation.
Relay prerequisites
For Workspace relay, an administrator must decide whether the server authenticates by registered public source IP, SMTP credentials, or an approved combination. The server’s public IP must be stable if the policy uses IP authentication. The sender domain must be registered and permitted, and the identities presented in HELO/EHLO and MAIL FROM must satisfy the Workspace policy.
Configure GitLab with a Gmail mailbox
Use this method when a single Gmail or Workspace mailbox is the sending identity. The documented GitLab example uses port 587 and upgrades the connection with STARTTLS.
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1. Generate the app password
- Sign in to the Google account that will send GitLab notifications.
- Turn on 2-Step Verification if it is not already enabled.
- Open the account’s app-password management page and create a new passcode for GitLab or another recognizable label.
- Copy the generated 16-digit value immediately. Google shows it as a passcode; enter the value without spaces if the account interface displayed spaces for readability.
If the account does not offer app passwords, do not keep guessing credentials. Check whether it is a managed work or school account, Advanced Protection account, or a security-key-only 2-Step Verification setup. Ask the Workspace administrator for an OAuth-capable integration or an approved relay policy instead.
2. Edit gitlab.rb
Open the file with an editor that does not expose its contents in shell history:
sudo editor /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rbAdd or update the SMTP settings below. Replace the example address and app password with the real values.
gitlab_rails['smtp_enable'] = true
gitlab_rails['smtp_address'] = "smtp.gmail.com"
gitlab_rails['smtp_port'] = 587
gitlab_rails['smtp_user_name'] = "[email protected]"
gitlab_rails['smtp_password'] = "APP_PASSWORD"
gitlab_rails['smtp_domain'] = "smtp.gmail.com"
gitlab_rails['smtp_authentication'] = "login"
gitlab_rails['smtp_enable_starttls_auto'] = true
gitlab_rails['smtp_tls'] = false
gitlab_rails['smtp_openssl_verify_mode'] = 'peer'The combination is intentional: port 587 starts as a plain SMTP session and then negotiates encryption with STARTTLS, so smtp_enable_starttls_auto is enabled while smtp_tls remains false. Certificate verification is set to peer; do not disable verification to conceal a certificate or interception problem.
GitLab warns that the password must not contain Ruby or YAML string delimiters such as an unescaped single quote. If the generated secret includes a character that conflicts with the quoting style in your file, use a safely escaped Ruby string or generate a replacement app password. Keep the file readable only by administrators and do not commit it to source control.
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3. Apply the configuration
Save the file and reconfigure the Omnibus installation:
sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigureChef will render the GitLab mail configuration and restart components as needed. A successful reconfigure does not prove that Google accepted a message; it only proves that GitLab accepted the configuration syntax and applied it.
4. Send a test notification
Trigger a GitLab action that sends an email, such as inviting a test user, requesting a password reset, or changing notification settings for a test account. Use a recipient you control and record the time, sender, recipient and GitLab project or action that generated the message.
If the message does not arrive, check the GitLab Sidekiq and mail-related logs immediately after the test. A message can be queued successfully and fail later when the worker opens the SMTP connection, authenticates, or receives a Google response.
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Configure GitLab through Google Workspace SMTP relay
Choose relay when the organization, rather than one mailbox owner, should control which servers may send. First create the relay rule in Google Workspace Admin according to the organization’s security policy. Select the permitted source IP addresses, authentication requirement, TLS requirement, sender restrictions and allowed ports. Google documents smtp-relay.gmail.com and ports 25, 465 and 587; 587 is the usual choice for a TLS-enabled application connection.
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Relay settings GitLab must match
- Endpoint: Set
gitlab_rails['smtp_address']tosmtp-relay.gmail.com, notsmtp.gmail.com. - Port and encryption: Use the port and TLS requirement selected in the Workspace rule. For a STARTTLS client, port 587 and
smtp_enable_starttls_auto = trueare typical. - Source identity: The public egress IP seen by Google must be one of the IPs registered in the relay policy. A private address from the GitLab host is not sufficient.
- Sender domain: Configure GitLab’s From and Reply-To addresses with a domain the relay rule permits. The domain in the visible sender, envelope sender and policy should be deliberately aligned.
- Credentials: If the rule uses SMTP authentication, provide the Workspace-approved username and secret. If it uses IP authentication, do not invent mailbox credentials; configure the relay exactly as the administrator specified.
GitLab’s relay example also sets the GitLab From and Reply-To addresses. Those values matter because a relay may authorize the connection but reject a message whose sender domain is outside policy. Keep the From address stable and monitored; use Reply-To when replies should go to a support or engineering mailbox different from the automated sender.
After changing /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb, run:
sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigureSend a controlled test notification and ask the Workspace administrator to check Email Log Search for the same timestamp. This separates a GitLab queueing problem from a Google policy rejection.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsMailbox SMTP versus Workspace relay: practical trade-offs
Authentication and account ownership
Mailbox SMTP is quick to deploy because one account owns the credential, but that also makes the account a dependency. A password change, account suspension or app-password revocation stops GitLab delivery. Relay moves the decision to Workspace policy and can avoid storing a personal mailbox secret on the server when IP authentication is approved.
Sender-domain control
A mailbox setup is appropriate when every notification should come from one mailbox address or an allowed alias. Relay is better when several GitLab instances or applications must send from a managed organizational domain and administrators need to constrain those senders centrally.
Network assumptions
Mailbox SMTP only requires outbound access to the Gmail endpoint and valid credentials. IP-authenticated relay additionally requires a predictable public egress address. Cloud hosts with changing NAT addresses, multiple egress paths, or restrictive outbound firewalls need an explicit network design before relay will be dependable.
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Policy and auditability
Workspace relay provides central controls and Workspace-side event records. That makes it easier to investigate which source sent a message and why Google rejected it. A mailbox remains simpler for a small installation but puts more operational evidence in the Google account and GitLab logs.
Google’s sending limits and when to change architecture
Google’s published guidance reports a limit of 10,000 recipients per user per day for SMTP relay and a limit of 100 recipients in one SMTP transaction for smtp-relay.gmail.com. These are vendor-published operational limits, not a promise of throughput. A GitLab message addressed to more than 100 recipients must be split into separate transactions when using the relay.
GitLab also warns that Gmail has strict sending limits that can impair functionality as an organization grows. GitLab notifications are event-driven and can spike during incidents, large imports, repository migrations or mass user changes. If your delivery volume is approaching Google’s limits, move the notification workload to a transactional email service designed for application traffic, or redesign notification fan-out before Google begins throttling or deferring messages.
Troubleshoot authentication and delivery failures
“SMTP authentication failed” with smtp.gmail.com
- Confirm that the hostname is exactly
smtp.gmail.comand the port is 587. - Verify that 2-Step Verification is enabled on the sending account.
- Replace the normal account password with a newly generated app password. Do not paste spaces, quotation marks or a trailing newline into the GitLab setting.
- Check whether a recent Google account password change revoked the app password. Generate a new one if it did.
- Review the Ruby string in
gitlab.rbfor an unescaped single quote or other delimiter in the secret. - Run
sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigureagain, trigger a fresh test message, and inspect the worker log rather than relying on an earlier queued job.
“Relay access denied” or sender rejected
- Confirm that GitLab is using
smtp-relay.gmail.com, not the mailbox endpoint. - Ask the Workspace administrator to verify the server’s current public IP against the relay rule.
- Check that the From address and its domain are allowed by the rule.
- Validate the HELO/EHLO name and MAIL FROM identity if the Workspace error identifies either one.
- Ensure the selected authentication method matches the rule. An IP-authenticated relay will not be fixed by adding an arbitrary mailbox password, and an SMTP-authenticated rule will not accept an unregistered source.
Connection timeout or TLS errors
- Check outbound TCP 587 in the host firewall, cloud security group and network egress policy.
- Confirm that a proxy, inspection gateway or NAT device is not interrupting STARTTLS.
- For port 587, keep STARTTLS enabled and implicit TLS disabled in the mailbox configuration.
- For relay ports 25 or 465, use only the encryption mode required by the Workspace policy and the GitLab version you operate; do not copy the port 587 settings unchanged.
- Retest from the GitLab host so the result reflects the server’s actual network path.
GitLab reports success but no one receives the message
Check the GitLab Sidekiq/mail logs for deferred or rejected jobs, then use Google Workspace Email Log Search when the sender is a managed Workspace account. Compare the message timestamp, recipient and sender. Also inspect the recipient’s spam, quarantine and organizational routing rules. A successful SMTP handoff means Google accepted the message for processing; it does not guarantee inbox placement.
Only large notifications fail
Count recipients per SMTP transaction and split any relay submission above 100 recipients. Check the account’s daily recipient total as well. A burst that is individually valid can still be throttled when the per-user or organizational sending budget is exhausted.
Security and maintenance checklist
- Store the app password or relay credential only in protected GitLab configuration and administrator-managed backups.
- Keep
gitlab.rbout of public repositories, issue attachments and shell history. - Use a dedicated sending mailbox rather than a personal administrator account when mailbox SMTP is unavoidable.
- Restrict the sender address and domain to the minimum required by your notification policy.
- Keep TLS certificate verification enabled with
smtp_openssl_verify_mode = 'peer'. - Document who can rotate the credential and how quickly GitLab will be reconfigured after rotation.
- Monitor Sidekiq/mail errors and Google delivery records, especially after GitLab upgrades, firewall changes or Workspace policy edits.
- Test password resets and invitation mail, not just one project notification; different GitLab jobs can exercise different queue paths.
Recommended implementation by installation type
Small personal or single-project server
Use a dedicated Gmail or Workspace mailbox with smtp.gmail.com:587, 2-Step Verification and an app password. This minimizes Workspace administration and is usually enough for low notification volume. Set a calendar reminder to review the account and credential lifecycle so a forgotten password change does not silently stop delivery.
Company-managed GitLab with a fixed public egress IP
Prefer smtp-relay.gmail.com when the Workspace administrator can register the egress IP and enforce the sender domain. Relay centralizes policy and gives administrators a clearer audit trail. Confirm the network address will remain stable before selecting IP authentication.
High-volume or burst-heavy GitLab
Do not treat Gmail or Workspace limits as a queueing guarantee. Measure recipients, incident bursts and daily totals. Once application traffic approaches the published limits or delivery latency becomes operationally important, use a transactional mail architecture approved for that volume and keep GitLab’s From and Reply-To identities consistent.
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