Send email in 1C-Bitrix over SMTP

1C-Bitrix: Site Manager hands every message to the bxmail() function, which by default calls PHP's mail() — so on most hosts order confirmations and form notifications either never leave the server or arrive unauthenticated and land in spam. Since version 21.900.0 of the main module, Bitrix can send through an authenticated SMTP server instead. It takes one line in a config file and one form in the admin panel.

Menu names below are from the English interface, with the Russian originals in brackets, since most installations run in Russian.

SMTP connection settings

Step 1 — enable the smtp option

SMTP connections are ignored until the smtp section is present in /bitrix/.settings.php with 'enabled' => true. The file has no admin UI; edit it over SSH or FTP and add the section inside the main settings array:

<?php
// /bitrix/.settings.php — add the section inside the main settings array
return [
    // ...existing sections...
    'smtp' => [
        'value' => [
            'enabled' => true,
            'debug' => true,                    // optional: log the SMTP dialogue
            'log_file' => '/var/log/bitrix-mailer.log', // optional: defaults to mailer.log in DOCUMENT_ROOT
        ],
    ],
];

Step 2 — add an SMTP connection

Go to Settings → Product Settings → Mail and SMS Events → SMTP Settings (Настройки → Настройки продукта → Почтовые и СМС события → Настройки SMTP) and click Add SMTP connection:

Step 3 — make the default address match

Addresses you pick by hand — in mailings or CRM emails — use the connection directly. System emails (order confirmations, password recovery, web form notifications) go through SMTP only when the default e-mail address matches the sender of one of the configured connections; otherwise Bitrix falls back to the server's own mail setup.

So set the default e-mail address in the main module settings and in the site settings to the same noreply@your-domain.com you used above. Mail templates under Mail and SMS Events → Mail templates use it through the #DEFAULT_EMAIL_FROM# macro; check that none of them hardcodes a different From address.

Send a test email

Every message leaves through bxmail(), so calling it directly tests the whole path:

<?php
// mail-test.php — put it in the site root, open it in a browser, then delete it
require($_SERVER["DOCUMENT_ROOT"] . "/bitrix/modules/main/include/prolog_before.php");

$result = bxmail(
    "you@example.com",
    "Bitrix SMTP test",
    "If this arrived, SMTP is working.",
    "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8\r\n" .
    "From: Acme <noreply@your-domain.com>\r\n"
);

var_dump($result);

With 'debug' => true, the full SMTP dialogue is written to the log file — to mailer.log in the site root when log_file is not set. Turn debug off once mail flows.

Troubleshooting