Password Reset Email Never Arrives from Bolt App
Users click 'Forgot Password' in your Bolt.new application and see a success message, but the password reset email never arrives in their inbox. They check their spam folder, wait hours, and still nothing. This locks users out of their accounts with no way to recover access.
Password reset is a critical authentication flow, and when it's broken, users have no self-service path to regain access. They'll either abandon your app entirely or flood your support channels. The problem is especially frustrating because the UI shows a success message even when email delivery fails.
This commonly happens because Bolt sets up authentication with Supabase Auth but doesn't configure email delivery beyond Supabase's built-in email service, which has strict rate limits and often lands in spam. For production apps, you need a proper email delivery service.
Error Messages You Might See
Common Causes
- Supabase built-in email rate limit — Supabase's default email service limits sending to 3 emails per hour in development, silently dropping additional requests
- No custom SMTP configured — The app relies on Supabase's built-in email which has low deliverability and often lands in spam folders
- Wrong redirect URL in reset email — The password reset link in the email points to localhost:3000 instead of your production domain
- Email template not customized — The default Supabase email template looks like spam to email providers, lowering delivery rates
- User email typo not caught — No email validation on signup allows misspelled emails (gmial.com, outlok.com) that never receive anything
- Reset endpoint silently fails — The API returns 200 OK even when email sending fails, giving users a false success message
How to Fix It
- Configure custom SMTP — In Supabase dashboard, go to Authentication > SMTP Settings and configure a real email provider: Resend, SendGrid, Postmark, or Amazon SES
- Update the redirect URL — In Supabase Auth settings, set the Site URL to your production domain and add it to Redirect URLs whitelist
- Customize email templates — Edit the password reset template in Supabase dashboard to include your brand name, logo, and clear instructions
- Add proper error handling — Check the Supabase response for errors: const { error } = await supabase.auth.resetPasswordForEmail(email, { redirectTo: 'https://yourapp.com/reset' }); if (error) showError(error.message)
- Verify with email testing — Use a service like Mailtrap or Ethereal to test emails in development before going live
- Add SPF and DKIM records — Configure DNS records for your sending domain to improve deliverability and avoid spam filters
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Get HelpFrequently Asked Questions
Why does Supabase only send 3 emails per hour?
Supabase's built-in email service uses a shared IP with strict rate limits to prevent abuse. This is intentionally limited for development only. For production, you must configure a custom SMTP provider like Resend, SendGrid, or Postmark in the Supabase dashboard.
How do I test password reset emails during development?
Use Supabase's built-in email for basic testing (check Supabase dashboard logs for email content). For realistic testing, use Mailtrap or Ethereal Email as your SMTP provider - they catch all emails in a test inbox without sending them to real addresses.