--- title: Setting up SMTP description: This page goes into detail about the different elements in a standard SMTP configuration, and how to fill out each entry to ensure an optimal configuration of Transactional Email services. tags: smtp configuration forwarding port dates: validation: 2025-11-18 posted: 2024-05-02 --- You can set up Scaleway Transactional Email for your applications using either the [Scaleway API](https://www.scaleway.com/en/developers/api/transactional-email/) or the SMTP configuration options of your CRM or application management tool. On this page, we go through different elements you might find in a standard SMTP configuration, and how to fill out each entry to ensure an optimal configuration of your Transactional Email service. ## Standard settings 1 - **SMTP Server Address (Host)** - The domain name or IP address of the SMTP server. If you are using Scaleway Transactional Email, the domain to use is `smtp.tem.scaleway.com`. 2 - **SMTP Port** - The port number used to connect to the SMTP server. At Scaleway, the default ports are `25`, `587`, and `2587`. Depending on your use case, we recommend using the following ports: - **Port 587**: Used to securely submit emails over TLS. - **Port 465**: Used for SMTP connections over SSL/TLS. At Scaleway, you can also use port `2465`. - **Port 25**: This port was traditionally used for relaying and submitting emails, but it is not recommended when sending emails directly from an application, due to widespread blocking to prevent spam. 3 - **Username and password** - Sometimes you need to authenticate to the SMTP server to connect. You might be asked to provide a valid username and password. Your Scaleway SMTP username is the Project ID of the Project in which the TEM domain was created. You can find it under **Domains & Web Hosting** > **Transactional Email** > **Domain Overview** in the Scaleway console. Your password is the secret key of the API key of the project used to manage your TEM domain. Follow this procedure to [generate API keys for API and SMTP sending with IAM](/transactional-email/how-to/generate-api-keys-for-tem-with-iam/). 4 - **Encryption method** - An encrypted connection between your application and the SMTP server is **mandatory**, and two methods are available: - **SSL/TLS**: Also known as SMTPS, it allows you to directly define a secure connection on a secure port. Directly creates a secure connection on a port such as `465` and `2465`. - **STARTTLS**: This type will upgrade any insecure connections to secure connections on a non-secure port, such as 587. 5 - **Sender email address** - The email address that will appear as the sender. Whenever someone receives an email from your application, this is the email they see. 6 - **Authentication method** - This is the method you can use to ensure that only authorized users can send emails from the SMTP server, which helps avoid spam. SMTP supports different methods: - **PLAIN**: Username and password are transmitted in plain text and secured via SSL/TLS. - **LOGIN**: Username and password are encoded in base64 and then transmitted through SSL/TLS. Note that this method is [considered obsolete by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)](https://www.iana.org/assignments/sasl-mechanisms/sasl-mechanisms.xhtml). ## Optional settings Some SMTP configurations might require additional information, such as: - **Timeouts**: The definition of long the server is expected to wait for a response or connection before quitting the operation. - **Connection retries**: The definition of how many times the server should try to connect if the connection fails the first time. - **DKIM Signing**: DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) signatures allow you to check that the message was not altered in transit. - **IP Address Binding**: If your server has more than one IP address, you can specify which one will be used for outgoing emails.