IMAP / SMTP server setup (administrator)

Already have a mailbox somewhere — your own mailserver, your hosting provider, FastMail, Mailcow, or any standard email service — and want it inside Odoo? This page walks you through connecting it with a username and password, step by step. By the end you'll have a mailbox that receives new mail automatically and sends from your real address, all without leaving Odoo.

Already have a mailbox somewhere — your own mailserver, your hosting provider, FastMail, Mailcow, or any standard email service — and want it inside Odoo? This page walks you through connecting it with a username and password, step by step. By the end you'll have a mailbox that receives new mail automatically and sends from your real address, all without leaving Odoo.

This is the right path for any mailserver that speaks standard IMAP (for receiving) and SMTP (for sending) — including Gmail or Outlook when you have to use an app password instead of the one-click sign-in.

Available in: Basic. The incoming and outgoing servers are standard Odoo mail server records that the MailDesk engine drives, so this works exactly the same with or without Pro.

Before you start

You'll move quickly if you have these ready:

• MailDesk Basic installed — works on Odoo 17, 18, or 19; the steps below are identical on each.
• IMAP turned on at your mail provider (it usually is by default).
• Four addresses and ports: the incoming (IMAP) host and port, and the outgoing (SMTP) host and port.
• The mailbox login and password — or an app password if your provider requires one.
• A quick check that your Odoo server is allowed to reach those hosts and ports (most are, but a tight firewall can block them).

Who can do this

Configuring mail servers and mailbox accounts is a Mailbox Admin task in MailDesk. The server menus appear only for administrators, under MailDesk → Configuration → Mailboxes.

How the three pieces fit together

A working mailbox is really three small records, and MailDesk wires them together for you:

flowchart LR
    A[Mailbox Account] -->|Incoming Mail Server| B[Incoming server<br/>IMAP — receives mail]
    A -->|Outgoing SMTP Server| C[Outgoing server<br/>SMTP — sends mail]

• The incoming server holds the IMAP host, port, encryption, username and password. Its Server Type tells MailDesk how to sign in — plain IMAP password, Gmail sign-in, or Outlook sign-in.
• The outgoing server holds the SMTP host, port, encryption, username and password.
• The mailbox account points at both, and adds the friendly name, who can use it, and the signature. See Mailbox account setup for that record in detail.

You'll build them in that order below: incoming first, outgoing second, then link them on the account.

Common provider settings

Not sure what to type? These are sensible starting points. Always confirm against your provider's own help pages, because hosts and ports do vary.

Step 1 — Create the incoming (IMAP) server

This is the record that receives your mail.

1. Open the MailDesk app.

2. Go to Configuration → Mailboxes → Incoming Mail Servers, then click New.

3. Fill in the form (it's titled Incoming Mail Server): - Name — a label so you'll recognise it later, for example Support IMAP. - Server Type — choose IMAP Server for a standard mailbox. (The same list also offers Gmail OAuth Authentication and Outlook OAuth Authentication, which belong to the sign-in path, not this one.) - Under Server Information: enter the Server Name (your IMAP host, e.g. imap.example.com), the Port, and turn SSL/TLS on for an encrypted connection. - Under Login Information: enter the Username (usually your full email address) and the Password (the mailbox password, or an app password if your provider needs one).

4. Click Test & Confirm in the form header to check the connection and credentials in one go.

What you should see: the server status flips from Not Confirmed to Confirmed — that's MailDesk telling you the IMAP login succeeded.

Step 2 — Create the outgoing (SMTP) server

This is the record that sends your mail.

1. Still in MailDesk, go to Configuration → Mailboxes → Outgoing Mail Servers, then click New.

2. Fill in the form (titled Outgoing Mail Servers): - Name — a label for this server. - Connection Encryption — choose SSL/TLS or TLS (STARTTLS) to match your provider. - SMTP Server — the SMTP host, for example smtp.example.com. - SMTP Port — for example 465 for SSL/TLS, or 587 for STARTTLS. - Username and Password — the SMTP login. This is often the very same credentials you used for IMAP.

3. Click Test Connection to confirm the server accepts your login.

What you should see: a green success notification confirming the SMTP server is reachable and the credentials work.

Step 3 — Attach the servers to a mailbox account

Now bring the two halves together so MailDesk knows they belong to one mailbox.

1. Open or create the mailbox account (see Mailbox account setup for the full walkthrough).
2. Set Incoming Mail Server to the IMAP server you built in Step 1, and Outgoing SMTP Server to the SMTP server from Step 2.
3. Save the account, then use the buttons in the form header: Test Incoming Server, Test Outgoing Server, and finally Fetch folders.

What you should see: both tests report Connection Test Successful!, your folders appear on the Folders tab, and MailDesk starts filling the mailbox with your messages.

Gmail over IMAP (App Password)

Only reach for this when the Gmail sign-in path isn't an option for you.

1. In your Google Account, turn on 2-Step Verification.
2. Create a Google App Password for Mail and copy the 16-character code.
3. Build the incoming server with Server Name imap.gmail.com, Port 993, SSL/TLS on, Username = your full Gmail address, Password = the app password.
4. Build the outgoing server with SMTP Server smtp.gmail.com, SMTP Port 465 or 587, the matching encryption, and the same username and app password.

How the mailbox stays in sync

Once a server is attached and confirmed, you're done — MailDesk keeps the mailbox fresh on its own with automatic background jobs. There's nothing to schedule by hand. New mail appears within the normal polling window, and an open MailDesk view refreshes itself as messages arrive. For the full picture, including the near-realtime push options, see Realtime & synchronization architecture.

Troubleshooting

Most setup hiccups come down to a wrong host, port, or encryption choice. This table covers the usual ones.

Related

• Mailbox account setup — the account that points to these servers, plus shared mailboxes and access control.
• Gmail OAuth setup — connect Gmail/Google Workspace by sign-in instead of a password.
• Realtime & synchronization architecture — how new mail is fetched and the view kept fresh.