Django email configuration issue with AnyMail and Mailgun

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1

I’m having trouble setting up AnyMail with Mailgun in my Django project. When I try to use mail_admins, I get an unauthorized error. Here’s what I’ve done so far:

  1. Added AnyMail and Mailgun settings to my settings.py file
  2. Set up the email backend, API key, and sender domain
  3. Configured admin email addresses

But when I run the code, I get a 401 Unauthorized error. The weird thing is, I can send emails using these same settings with CURL. So I’m pretty sure the problem is in my Django configuration.

Here’s a simplified version of my email setup:

EMAIL_BACKEND = 'custom.email.backend'
CUSTOM_EMAIL = {
    'API_KEY': 'my_secret_key',
    'API_URL': 'https://api.example.com/v3',
    'SENDER_DOMAIN': 'sandbox123.example.org'
}
SERVER_EMAIL = '[email protected]'
ADMINS = [('Admin', '[email protected]')]

Any ideas on what I might be missing or doing wrong? I’ve been stuck on this for hours and could really use some help!

2

I encountered a similar issue when integrating AnyMail with Mailgun. One crucial step that’s often overlooked is verifying your domain in Mailgun. Even if you’re using a sandbox domain, it needs to be properly set up.

Also, ensure you’re using the correct API key type. Mailgun offers different keys for various purposes. For sending emails, you need the ‘Private API Key’, not the ‘Public Validation Key’.

If you’ve confirmed these, try testing with Django’s send_mail() function instead of mail_admins(). This can help isolate whether the issue is specific to the admin email configuration or a more general problem with the email backend setup.

Lastly, check your firewall settings. Sometimes, outgoing connections to Mailgun’s API are blocked, causing authentication errors. If possible, try running your Django project on a different network to rule this out.

3

hey there Alice45, sounds like a real headache! have u double-checked ur API key is correct? sometimes tiny typos can cause big probs. also, make sure ur sender domain matches exactly whats in ur mailgun account. if those look good, try using the django shell to send a test email - might help pinpoint the issue. good luck!

4

I’ve dealt with similar issues before, and it can be frustrating. One thing that often gets overlooked is the SERVER_EMAIL setting. Make sure it matches an authorized sender in your Mailgun account. Also, double-check that your custom email backend is properly configured to use AnyMail with Mailgun.

Another potential issue could be your CUSTOM_EMAIL dictionary. Try renaming it to ANYMAIL and structure it like this:

ANYMAIL = {
    'MAILGUN_API_KEY': 'your_api_key',
    'MAILGUN_SENDER_DOMAIN': 'sandbox123.example.org',
}

If that doesn’t work, enable logging for AnyMail to get more detailed error messages. Add this to your settings:

LOGGING = {
    ...
    'loggers': {
        'anymail': {
            'level': 'DEBUG',
            'handlers': ['console'],
        },
    },
}

This should give you more information about what’s causing the 401 error. Let us know if you need more help!