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Email notifications and reports

PatchBase can send email notifications about vulnerability status and advisory updates. This is optional — the dashboard works fine without it.

Configuring SMTP​

Email settings are configured from the dashboard under Settings. You'll need:

  • SMTP host and port (e.g., smtp.gmail.com:587)
  • Username and password (or app-specific password)
  • From address — the sender for outgoing emails
  • Use TLS — enable for port 587 (STARTTLS) or 465 (implicit TLS)

You can test the configuration with the Send test email button before saving.

Mailpit for development​

The included Docker Compose file runs Mailpit — a local SMTP catcher with a web UI. It's available at http://localhost:8025 and catches all email on port 1025 without actually sending anything.

For local development, configure SMTP as:

  • Host: localhost
  • Port: 1025
  • No authentication
  • No TLS

Sending reports​

From the dashboard, you can trigger a vulnerability report to be sent to the configured email address. The report includes:

  • A summary of hosts needing attention
  • Vulnerability counts by severity
  • Recent advisories affecting your fleet

This is a manual action for now. Future versions will add scheduled report delivery.