Prerequisites
- A Cal.com organization (see Organization setup)
- Organization admin access
- The
custom-smtp-for-orgsfeature flag enabled for your organization - SMTP server credentials (host, port, username, and password)
Configure custom SMTP
Open organization settings
Log in as an organization admin and navigate to your organization’s settings.
Add your SMTP configuration
Provide the following details:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| From email | The email address that appears as the sender (e.g., [email protected]). |
| From name | The display name shown alongside the from email (e.g., Your Company). |
| SMTP host | Your mail server hostname (e.g., smtp.yourcompany.com). Must be a publicly reachable address. |
| SMTP port | The port your SMTP server listens on. Common values: 587 (STARTTLS), 465 (SSL/TLS), or 25. |
| SMTP username | The username for SMTP authentication. |
| SMTP password | The password for SMTP authentication. |
| SMTP secure | Whether to use a secure TLS connection. Defaults to true. |
Test the connection
After entering your credentials, test the SMTP connection to verify that Cal.com can reach your mail server. This checks connectivity and authentication without sending an email.
Update or delete a configuration
You can update individual fields of your SMTP configuration at any time without re-entering all values. To stop using a custom SMTP server and revert to the default Cal.com email infrastructure, delete the configuration from your organization settings.Each organization can have only one SMTP configuration. To change SMTP providers, delete the existing configuration first, then create a new one.
Validation and security
- Host validation — SMTP hosts must resolve to a public IP address. Private, loopback, and link-local addresses are blocked.
- Encrypted credentials — SMTP usernames and passwords are encrypted at rest and are never exposed through the API.
- Input sanitization — All inputs are sanitized to prevent CRLF injection attacks.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Connection test fails | Verify that the SMTP host is publicly accessible and the port is open. Check that your firewall allows outbound connections on the configured port. |
| Authentication error | Double-check your SMTP username and password. Some providers require app-specific passwords when two-factor authentication is enabled. |
| Test email not received | Check spam/junk folders. Verify that your DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) are configured to authorize the SMTP server to send on behalf of your domain. |
| ”SMTP host must be a public address” | The hostname resolves to a private or reserved IP. Use a publicly routable SMTP server. |