30-Oct-2026 — SMTP and IMAP for Apple Mail, Outlook and Thunderbird #407

build 1026 — commit 558cbbc

What's new

• A group can let committee members use Apple Mail, Outlook or Thunderbird with a committee role address. This is optional. If the group is happy reading and sending from Admin → Inbox on the website, leave it switched off.
• A site administrator turns it on under Admin → Mail Settings → API by ticking Allow Apple Mail, Outlook and Thunderbird, then saving. Until that is done, mail applications cannot connect.
• Only people who hold a committee role with an email address see this. On Profile → External Email Setup they get step-by-step setup for the mail app they use, with copyable host, port, username and password fields. Type a short label (Phone, laptop), click Create application password, and copy it straight away. It is shown once and is not the website login password.
• On a live site, incoming mail uses port 993 and outgoing mail uses port 465, both with SSL/TLS. Username is the committee role address. Password is the application password. Do not choose STARTTLS. Local testing uses 127.0.0.1 with ports 1993 and 1587 and connection security None; restart Thunderbird after restarting the local app.
• You can only send From a committee role address listed on that Profile page. Sending from a personal address is refused. Mail you send this way is saved in the shared committee inbox Sent folder so the rest of the committee can see it, then it goes out as normal. Replies stay in the original Inbox conversation on the website as well as appearing in Sent. Newsletters and mail to the member list still go from the website composer.
• There is a limit of 20 people on one send, a 10 MB size limit, and 30 sends per hour. Incoming mail appears in Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Junk and Deleted, plus any folders you already created on the website. Marking something read or deleting it behaves the same as on the website.
• If a phone or laptop is lost, or you no longer want that application connected, go back to Profile → External Email Setup and use the bin icon on that application password. That stops that device immediately. To stop everyone, a site administrator unticks Allow Apple Mail, Outlook and Thunderbird and saves.