[HOWTO] Send emails(using mail

function) from localhost in PHP through

msmtp (using gmail account) on Linux
By: Deepak Mittal
Thereve been lots of times when I wanted to use the mail() function on my local server. I am sure lots of you
wouldve been wanting it too but most of you wouldve settled for PHPMailer or just used a web host to test
the code instead. I myself had been doing the same until recently when I finally decided to do some research
and get it to work.
Here are the steps in short for the geeks who like to do things on their own:
All I did was used smtp client called msmtp, configured it to work with my gmail account and configured PHP
to use msmtp to send emails.
This tutorial is only applicable for linux users. Ill write another article for windows users soon when I get my
hands on a windows box.
All the commands used in the instructions are for Ubuntu, however you may use corresponding commands for
your distro (for eg; you can use yum install instead of apt-get install on fedora, redhat, centos.
Step by step instructions:
1. First of all, follow this tutorial:
Install msmtp on your linux box and configure it to work with Gmail.
Msmtp is highly configurable and you can easily configure it to work with any smtp server. If you
wish to use any other service with msmtp, you may read its manual and configure it.
Proceed to next step only if you have successfully configured and are able to send a test message.
2. Open php.ini in your text editor.
sudo gedit /etc/php5/apache2/php.ini
3. Search for sendmail_path and change it to look like
sendmail_path = '/usr/bin/msmtp -t'
4. Save the file and exit the text editor.
Please note that your msmtp path may vary if you are not using Ubuntu. You may find the path to
executable by:
which msmtp
5. Restart apache:
sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart
6. OR
sudo /opt/lampp/lampp restart
7. Everythings done. Lets test if the mail() function is working now:
if ( mail ( 'yourusername@gmail.com', 'Test mail from localhost', 'Working Fine.' ) );
echo 'Mail sent';
else
echo 'Error. Please check error log.';
8. Replace the yourusername@gmail.com with your own username, save it into a php file along with php
delimeters in your virtual host root folder and execute it through the browser. You should receive a
mail.
Give yourself a pat on the back.
Some points to note:
o If you werent able to send yourself a test mail in Step 1 ie. setting up msmtp, you should look at the
debug information and search for solutions accordingly on the internet. Heres the manpage of
msmtp to help you with configuration
o If you didnt receive a mail in your inbox on the last step, check in your Spam folder. If its not there
your should check the php error log for hint about what went wrong and act accordingly.
o For any other questions, suggestions or appreciation feel free to use the comment box.