From and Reply-to Addresses

The Global Settings page includes a setting that lets you set the address for sending email notifications in YouTrack. This sets the value for the "From:" field in the email header. However, this is not the only location in YouTrack where you can specify a value for this field.

The From address setting determines which address is used to send email notifications from YouTrack. This sets the value for the "From:" field in the email header. However, this is not the only location in YouTrack where you can specify a value for this field.

A "From:" address has two components. The first part is the sender name. The second part is the email address itself. These two components are written in the format sender name <email@yourdomain.com>. In many email clients, only the sender name is displayed. Others discard the sender name and display only the email address.

The "From:" address helps the email recipient recognize where the notification comes from. For a conventional email message, the recipient is also able to use this email address to send a reply.

With notification from YouTrack, you don't really want to encourage this behavior. All the back-and-forth conversation between your users should be posted as comments to your issues, not buried inside an email thread. Unless you use the Mailbox Integration, use your "From:" addresses for identification purposes only (for more on this topic, see Addresses for Mailbox Integrations).

Consider the following general guidelines when you specify a "From:" address for YouTrack email notifications:

Component	Guidelines
Sender name	If you do not specify a sender name, YouTrack uses the full name of the user who performed the action that triggers the notification. Simply enter the email address as `no_reply@yourdomain.com`. The email is sent from the specified address, but email clients that display sender names show the name of a real person. There are a few advantages to this approach: The notification has more personality. Recipients see the names of their colleagues instead of the cold and impersonal Server. Recipients immediately recognize who applied changes to the issue in the message preview. There is also a disadvantage: Recipients are more likely to send a reply to an unmonitored inbox. These replies are not copied to the issue that generated the notification. If you choose to specify a sender name, use a name that helps recipients identify the source of the notification. If you're only sending notification to internal users, consider setting the sender name to YouTrack. This directs recipients back to the application that sent the message. If you send notification to clients or other external users, use your company name.
Email address	Always use a valid email account for the `"From:"` address. This doesn't mean that you have to monitor its inbox for replies, but it must be able to receive incoming mail. You also need to use a domain that is authorized to send email. Use email validation mechanisms like the Sender Policy Framework to ensure that your email messages are not rejected.

Component

Guidelines

Sender name

If you do not specify a sender name, YouTrack uses the full name of the user who performed the action that triggers the notification. Simply enter the email address as no_reply@yourdomain.com. The email is sent from the specified address, but email clients that display sender names show the name of a real person. There are a few advantages to this approach:

The notification has more personality. Recipients see the names of their colleagues instead of the cold and impersonal Server.
Recipients immediately recognize who applied changes to the issue in the message preview.

There is also a disadvantage:

Recipients are more likely to send a reply to an unmonitored inbox. These replies are not copied to the issue that generated the notification.

If you choose to specify a sender name, use a name that helps recipients identify the source of the notification.

If you're only sending notification to internal users, consider setting the sender name to YouTrack. This directs recipients back to the application that sent the message.
If you send notification to clients or other external users, use your company name.

Email address

Always use a valid email account for the "From:" address. This doesn't mean that you have to monitor its inbox for replies, but it must be able to receive incoming mail.

You also need to use a domain that is authorized to send email. Use email validation mechanisms like the Sender Policy Framework to ensure that your email messages are not rejected.

Global Addresses

The default From address for YouTrack is defined on the Administration > Global Settings page on the Notifications tab. For YouTrack Server installations, you provide the default From address for your server.

This From address is used as the default email address for sending notifications and all other server-related messages. Invitations to register an account, verification emails, and password recovery instructions are sent from this address.

The From address for issue-related notifications can be overridden on a per-project basis, as described below.

The Global Settings page also has an input field for the global Reply-to address. This sets the value for the "Reply-To:" field in the header for email messages that are sent by YouTrack. Use this setting when, for example, the address that you use to send email notifications cannot receive replies. When the Reply-to address is empty, replies are sent to the address from which the message was sent.

Project-specific Addresses

You can override the default From address for your server on a per-project basis. You set this value independently for each project on the Notifications tab of the Edit Project page. For more information, see Manage From and Reply-to Addresses.

The same general guidelines for setting a "From:" address apply here, with a few more things to consider:

A custom "From:" address helps you highlight that a notification for an issue belongs to a specific project.
If you don't set the From address at the project level, the default server From address is used in notification for issues that belong to the project.

Addresses for Mailbox Integrations

The Mailbox Integration transforms incoming email messages into issues and comments in YouTrack. This integration is set up on a per-project basis.

The mailbox integration uses the Reply-to address for the integrated project to send as the email address that is used to reply to incoming email messages. If the Reply-to address for the project is empty, replies are sent to the address from which the message was sent.

If the project uses a dedicated From address, replies are sent to this address.
If the From address for the project is empty, replies are sent to the address that is set as the global default.

To help recipients recognize how to react to messages in their inboxes, follow these guidelines:

When you use the mailbox integration to manage support and feedback requests, you want your interactions to be as personal as possible. If you omit the sender name, the recipient sees the name of the agent who responded to the request.
To ensure that your issues are created in the right project, use unique email addresses for each project.
Avoid using a generic email address like info@ or postmaster@. Use an address that highlights the purpose of the email message in the preview. For example, support@yourdomain.com or feedback@yourdomain.com.

For more information, see Configure Your Project.

Last modified: 22 March 2024