Altitude

Email Integration

Set up SMTP email services for automated notifications.

This guide will walk you through setting up SMTP email integration for your Altitude Crew Center. Email is essential for automated notifications, pilot communications, and system alerts.

Important Requirement

You must use your own domain to send emails from Altitude. If you're using a free subdomain like yourva.flyaltitude.app, you cannot set up email integration.

Why? Email providers require domain ownership verification for security and anti-spam compliance. We cannot provide email services for our subdomains.

What is SMTP?

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the standard way email is sent over the internet. It's like the postal service for digital mail - it handles delivering your emails from your application to recipients' email providers.

Why SMTP? SMTP is the most reliable and widely-supported method for sending emails programmatically. Unlike web-based email services, SMTP gives you full control over your email delivery.

Step 1: Choose an Email Provider

Altitude supports any SMTP-compatible email provider. We'll use Resend as our example because it's beginner-friendly and reliable.

Why Resend?

  • Easy setup - Simple dashboard and clear documentation
  • Reliable delivery - Good reputation with major email providers
  • Affordable - Generous free tier (3,000 emails/month)
  • Good support - Active community and helpful documentation

Other Provider Options

You can also use:

  • SendGrid - Professional email delivery service
  • Mailgun - Developer-friendly with good analytics
  • Amazon SES - Cost-effective for high volume
  • Gmail/Outlook - If you already have a business account

Step 2: Set Up Your Email Provider

Create a Resend Account

  1. Go to resend.com and create a free account
  2. Verify your email address
  3. You'll be taken to your dashboard

Verify Your Domain

This step is crucial - without domain verification, your emails will go to spam or be rejected.

  1. In your Resend dashboard, click Domains in the sidebar
  2. Click Add Domain
  3. Enter your domain name (e.g., yourairline.com)
  4. Copy the DNS records shown

Add DNS Records

You need to add these records to your DNS provider (where you manage your domain):

If you used cloudflare like in our Install example, there is a button to do automatically. If you used anything else, go and add the records manually.

DNS Propagation DNS changes can take 5-30 minutes to propagate worldwide. You can check if they're active using tools like dnschecker.org.

Verify Domain Ownership

  1. Go back to Resend dashboard
  2. Click Verify next to your domain
  3. Wait for the green "Verified" status

Step 3: Get Your SMTP Credentials

Generate API Key

  1. In your Resend dashboard, click API Keys in the sidebar
  2. Click Create API Key
  3. Give it a name (e.g., "Altitude Crew Center")
  4. Set Permission to "Sending Access"
  5. Set Domain to the domain you just verified
  6. Copy the API key and save it securely

Security Note Treat your API key like a password. Never share it publicly or commit it to version control. If compromised, regenerate it immediately.

SMTP Credentials

Resend provides these SMTP settings for all users:

  • Host: smtp.resend.com
  • Port: 587 (recommended) or 465
  • Username: resend
  • Password: Your API key (from step above)

Port Selection

  • 587 (STARTTLS): Encrypts the connection after connecting (recommended)
  • 465 (SSL/TLS): Encrypts immediately when connecting
  • 25: Plaintext (not recommended for security)

Step 4: Configure Altitude

Access Email Settings

  1. Log into your Altitude Crew Center admin panel
  2. Navigate to Settings → Email Configuration

Enter SMTP Settings

Fill in the following fields:

  • SMTP Host: smtp.resend.com
  • SMTP Port: 587
  • Username: resend
  • Password: Your Resend API key
  • From Email: Choose a professional address like noreply@yourairline.com
  • From Name: Your airline name (e.g., "Delta Virtual Airlines")
  • Encryption: TLS (automatically selected for port 587)

What Emails Does Altitude Send?

Altitude automatically sends these types of emails:

  • Password reset emails for account recovery
  • Pilot application confirmations
  • Inactivity reminder to pilots

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

  • "Connection failed" error: Double-check your SMTP credentials and port number
  • Emails going to spam: Verify your domain is properly verified in Resend
  • "Authentication failed": Make sure you're using the correct API key as the password
  • Test email not received: Check your spam folder and verify the "From" address
  • DNS records not working: Wait 5-30 minutes for DNS propagation

Quick Fixes

  1. API key expired? Generate a new one in Resend dashboard
  2. Domain not verified? Check DNS records are correctly added

Check Your Setup

  1. Test SMTP connection manually using tools like Telnet or OpenSSL
  2. Verify DNS records using dnschecker.org
  3. Check Resend dashboard for any account or domain issues
  4. Monitor sending limits - Resend free tier allows 3,000 emails/month

Support

Need help with your email integration? Here's how to get assistance:

  1. Check the documentation - Most common issues are covered above
  2. Join our Discord server - Get help from the community and Altitude team
  3. Contact Resend support - For provider-specific issues

Before asking for help:

  • Mention which step you're stuck on
  • Share if you're using a custom domain or flyaltitude subdomain

Ready to start sending professional emails from your Altitude Crew Center? Follow this guide step by step and you'll be up and running in no time!

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