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Email Notifications

Quackback sends email notifications to keep users and admins informed. Voters are notified when their requested features ship. Admins get alerts when new feedback arrives. No third-party notification service required — configure SMTP or Resend and emails send automatically.

Overview

Email notifications cover two audiences:

For end users (voters and authors):

  • Status change notifications when a post they voted on or authored changes status
  • Comment notifications when someone replies to their post
  • Subscription updates for posts they're watching

For admins and team members:

  • New feedback alerts when a post is submitted
  • Daily or weekly digest of new feedback activity
  • Mentions when tagged in a comment

Prerequisites

  • Admin access to your Quackback workspace
  • An SMTP server or Resend API key

Setup

SMTP works with any email provider: Gmail, SendGrid, Postmark, Mailgun, Amazon SES, or your own mail server.

Set these environment variables:

EMAIL_SMTP_HOST="smtp.example.com"
EMAIL_SMTP_PORT="587"
EMAIL_SMTP_USER="your-username"
EMAIL_SMTP_PASS="your-password"
EMAIL_FROM="feedback@yourcompany.com"

Common provider settings:

ProviderHostPort
SendGridsmtp.sendgrid.net587
Postmarksmtp.postmarkapp.com587
Mailgunsmtp.mailgun.org587
Amazon SESemail-smtp.{region}.amazonaws.com587
Gmailsmtp.gmail.com587

Option 2: Resend

Resend provides a developer-focused email API. Set one environment variable:

EMAIL_RESEND_API_KEY="re_xxxxxxxxxxxx"
EMAIL_FROM="feedback@yourcompany.com"

If neither SMTP nor Resend is configured, OTP codes are printed to the server console instead of emailed. All other email notifications are skipped.

How Notifications Work

User Notifications

Users receive email when events occur on posts they're connected to:

EventWho gets notified
Status change (e.g., "Planned" → "Shipped")All voters and the post author
New comment on a postPost author and users watching the post
Admin reply to a postPost author

Users can unsubscribe from individual posts or all notifications from their account settings.

Admin Notifications

Admins receive email for workspace-level events:

EventWho gets notified
New post submittedAdmins with new-post alerts enabled
Daily/weekly digestAdmins who opted into digest emails
@mention in a commentThe mentioned admin

Configure admin notification preferences in Admin → Settings → Notifications.

Authentication Emails

Quackback uses email for passwordless authentication:

  • OTP codes — six-digit codes sent when a user signs in with email
  • Magic links — one-click sign-in links (when enabled)

These are sent regardless of notification preferences.

Configuration

Sender Identity

The EMAIL_FROM address appears in the "From" field of all emails. Use a domain you own and have configured with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. This improves deliverability and prevents emails from landing in spam.

Use a subdomain like feedback@mail.yourcompany.com to separate feedback notifications from your primary email domain's reputation.

Custom Branding

Emails automatically use your workspace branding:

  • Logo — displayed in the email header
  • Workspace name — used in email subjects and footers
  • Accent color — applied to buttons and links

Configure branding in Admin → Settings → Branding.

Digest Emails

Digest emails summarize feedback activity over a period:

  1. Go to Admin → Settings → Notifications
  2. Enable Digest emails
  3. Choose frequency: Daily or Weekly
  4. Select which boards to include

Digests include:

  • New posts submitted since the last digest
  • Top posts by vote count
  • Status changes

Testing

After configuring email, verify it works:

  1. Go to Admin → Settings → Email
  2. Click Send Test Email
  3. Check your inbox for the test message

If the test email doesn't arrive:

  • Check the server logs for SMTP errors
  • Verify your SMTP credentials
  • Ensure the EMAIL_FROM domain has valid DNS records

Deliverability

To ensure emails reach inboxes:

  1. Set up SPF — add your email provider to your domain's SPF record
  2. Enable DKIM — sign outgoing emails with your domain's DKIM key
  3. Configure DMARC — set a DMARC policy for your sending domain
  4. Use a dedicated sending domain — avoid sharing reputation with marketing emails

Troubleshooting

Emails Not Sending

  1. Check that EMAIL_SMTP_HOST or EMAIL_RESEND_API_KEY is set
  2. Review server logs for connection errors
  3. Verify the SMTP port is not blocked by your hosting provider

Emails Going to Spam

  1. Verify SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your sending domain
  2. Avoid using free email providers (gmail.com, outlook.com) as the EMAIL_FROM address
  3. Check your sender reputation with mail-tester.com

Users Not Receiving Notifications

  1. Check the user's notification preferences in their account settings
  2. Verify they haven't unsubscribed from the post
  3. Check the admin inbox for delivery errors

Next Steps