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Email Sending Blocked on Replit Free Tier
Your Replit app needs to send emails — password resets, notifications, confirmations — but all email sending attempts fail silently or with connection errors. The SMTP connections time out and no emails are delivered.
Replit's free tier blocks outbound SMTP ports (25, 465, 587) to prevent spam abuse. This means traditional SMTP-based email sending using nodemailer, Python's smtplib, or similar libraries will not work. The connections simply time out without any helpful error message.
This is a common surprise for developers who build email functionality in the Replit IDE where it may appear to work in development mode but fails completely in deployment.
Error Messages You Might See
Error: connect ETIMEDOUT smtp.gmail.com:587
Error: Connection timeout
Error: getaddrinfo ENOTFOUND smtp.example.com
Nodemailer: Connection refused
Email transport failed: SMTP connection timed out
Common Causes
- SMTP ports blocked — Replit blocks outbound ports 25, 465, and 587 on free-tier deployments
- Nodemailer SMTP transport — AI-generated code uses nodemailer with SMTP which cannot connect
- No fallback configured — the app has no alternative email sending method when SMTP fails
- Silent failures — email sending fails without clear error messages, so users never receive emails
- Gmail SMTP specifically blocked — even with app passwords, Gmail SMTP cannot connect from Replit
How to Fix It
- Use API-based email services — switch from SMTP to HTTP API-based services like SendGrid, Resend, Mailgun, or Postmark
- Replace nodemailer transport — swap the SMTP transport for the email provider's official SDK or REST API
- Store API keys in Replit Secrets — add your email service API key as a secret, never in source code
- Add error handling — wrap email sending in try-catch and log failures so you know when emails are not delivered
- Verify sender domain — most API email services require domain verification (DNS records) before allowing email sending
- Use a queue for reliability — send emails asynchronously and retry on failure instead of sending inline with request handling
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Get HelpFrequently Asked Questions
Why can't I send emails from Replit?
Replit blocks outbound SMTP ports (25, 465, 587) on free-tier deployments to prevent spam. Use an API-based email service like SendGrid, Resend, or Mailgun instead.
Does upgrading to Replit Pro unblock SMTP?
Paid plans may have different network restrictions. However, using API-based email services is still recommended as it is more reliable and easier to manage.
What is the easiest email service to set up on Replit?
Resend is the simplest — sign up, verify your domain, get an API key, and send emails with a single API call. SendGrid also has a generous free tier with 100 emails per day.