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Environment Variables

CAFH Platform uses environment variables for configuration. Create a .env file in the project root to customize your instance.

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Required Variables

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SMTP Configuration

Email functionality requires SMTP server configuration:
.env
# SMTP Configuration for cPanel
SMTP_HOST=mail.yourdomain.com
SMTP_PORT=465
SMTP_USER=[email protected]
SMTP_PASS=your_password
SMTP_SECURE=true

# Throttling Configuration
MAX_EMAILS_PER_HOUR=80
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SMTP_HOST
string
required
Your SMTP server hostnameExamples:
  • cPanel: mail.yourdomain.com
  • Gmail: smtp.gmail.com
  • SendGrid: smtp.sendgrid.net
  • Mailgun: smtp.mailgun.org
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SMTP_PORT
number
required
SMTP server portCommon ports:
  • 465 - SSL/TLS (recommended)
  • 587 - STARTTLS
  • 25 - Unencrypted (not recommended)
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SMTP_USER
string
required
SMTP authentication username (usually an email address)
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SMTP_PASS
string
required
SMTP authentication password
Never commit your .env file to version control. Add it to .gitignore.
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SMTP_SECURE
boolean
required
Enable SSL/TLS encryption
  • true - Use SSL/TLS (port 465)
  • false - Use STARTTLS (port 587)
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MAX_EMAILS_PER_HOUR
number
default:"80"
Maximum emails to send per hour (throttling)Prevents hitting provider limits and maintains good sender reputation.

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SMTP Provider Examples

.env
SMTP_HOST=mail.yourdomain.com
SMTP_PORT=465
SMTP_USER=[email protected]
SMTP_PASS=your_password
SMTP_SECURE=true
MAX_EMAILS_PER_HOUR=80

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Development vs Production

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Development (.env.local)

.env.local
# Optional: Skip SMTP in local development
# Email features will log to console instead
NODE_ENV=development

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Production (.env.production)

.env.production
# Full SMTP configuration required
SMTP_HOST=mail.yourdomain.com
SMTP_PORT=465
SMTP_USER=[email protected]
SMTP_PASS=your_password
SMTP_SECURE=true
MAX_EMAILS_PER_HOUR=80

NODE_ENV=production

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Verification

Test your SMTP configuration:
1

Start the server

npm run dev
2

Login as admin

Navigate to http://localhost:3000 and login with admin credentials
3

Send a test email

Go to Admin > Campaigns and create a test campaign with your email address
4

Check the queue

The email queue processes every 30 seconds. Check the console for:
[Queue Worker] Processing 1 emails...

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Environment Variable Loading

The platform uses dotenv to load environment variables from .env:
server.ts
import dotenv from 'dotenv';
dotenv.config();

const transporter = nodemailer.createTransport({
  host: process.env.SMTP_HOST || "localhost",
  port: parseInt(process.env.SMTP_PORT || "465"),
  secure: process.env.SMTP_SECURE === "true",
  auth: {
    user: process.env.SMTP_USER,
    pass: process.env.SMTP_PASS,
  },
});

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Troubleshooting

  • Verify your SMTP host and port are correct
  • Check if your firewall allows outbound connections on the SMTP port
  • Some ISPs block port 25; use port 587 or 465 instead
  • Double-check your username and password
  • For Gmail, ensure you’re using an App Password, not your regular password
  • For other providers, verify your credentials in their dashboard
  • Check the email queue status at /api/email/status
  • Review the console for error messages
  • Verify you haven’t exceeded MAX_EMAILS_PER_HOUR
  • Check the data.json file for queued emails

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Next Steps

Running Locally

Learn about development workflows

Email Server

Understand the email queue system

SMTP Configuration

Admin guide for SMTP setup

Deployment

Deploy to production

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