Add SMTP support for Authelia notifications and fix config persistence

SMTP: Add host, port, username, sender, and password fields to the
Authelia configuration. Uses modern address format (submission:// for
STARTTLS on 587, smtps:// for implicit TLS on 465) with explicit TLS
server name. Falls back to filesystem notifier when SMTP is not
configured.

Fixes: Config changes now persist before attempting service restart,
so a restart failure (e.g. bad SMTP credentials) no longer prevents
saving. The specific Authelia error is extracted from the journal and
shown in the UI.

Frontend: SMTP fields added to the Authentication config card. Form
no longer continuously resets from server state while user is editing.
OIDC client edit UI added (pencil icon).

internal/api/v1/handlers_authelia.go

@@ -31,6 +31,19 @@ func (api *API) AutheliaStatus(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		defaultPolicy = state.Cloud.Authelia.DefaultPolicy
 	}
 
+	smtp := struct {
+		Host     string `json:"host"`
+		Port     int    `json:"port"`
+		Username string `json:"username"`
+		Sender   string `json:"sender"`
+	}{}
+	if state != nil {
+		smtp.Host = state.Cloud.Authelia.SMTP.Host
+		smtp.Port = state.Cloud.Authelia.SMTP.Port
+		smtp.Username = state.Cloud.Authelia.SMTP.Username
+		smtp.Sender = state.Cloud.Authelia.SMTP.Sender
+	}
+
 	respondJSON(w, http.StatusOK, map[string]any{
 		"active":        status.Active,
 		"version":       status.Version,
@@ -40,6 +53,7 @@ func (api *API) AutheliaStatus(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		"userCount":     api.authelia.UserCount(),
 		"clientCount":   api.authelia.OIDCClientCount(),
 		"installed":     api.authelia.IsInstalled(),
+		"smtp":          smtp,
 	})
 }
 
@@ -59,6 +73,11 @@ func (api *API) AutheliaUpdateConfig(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		Enabled       *bool   `json:"enabled"`
 		Domain        *string `json:"domain"`
 		DefaultPolicy *string `json:"defaultPolicy"`
+		SMTPHost      *string `json:"smtpHost"`
+		SMTPPort      *int    `json:"smtpPort"`
+		SMTPUsername  *string `json:"smtpUsername"`
+		SMTPSender    *string `json:"smtpSender"`
+		SMTPPassword  *string `json:"smtpPassword"`
 	}
 	if err := json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&req); err != nil {
 		respondError(w, http.StatusBadRequest, "Invalid JSON")
@@ -79,6 +98,21 @@ func (api *API) AutheliaUpdateConfig(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	if req.Enabled != nil {
 		state.Cloud.Authelia.Enabled = *req.Enabled
 	}
+	if req.SMTPHost != nil {
+		state.Cloud.Authelia.SMTP.Host = *req.SMTPHost
+	}
+	if req.SMTPPort != nil {
+		state.Cloud.Authelia.SMTP.Port = *req.SMTPPort
+	}
+	if req.SMTPUsername != nil {
+		state.Cloud.Authelia.SMTP.Username = *req.SMTPUsername
+	}
+	if req.SMTPSender != nil {
+		state.Cloud.Authelia.SMTP.Sender = *req.SMTPSender
+	}
+	if req.SMTPPassword != nil && *req.SMTPPassword != "" {
+		_ = api.secrets.SetSecret("authelia.smtpPassword", *req.SMTPPassword)
+	}
 
 	// Enabling Authelia
 	if state.Cloud.Authelia.Enabled {
@@ -132,27 +166,36 @@ func (api *API) AutheliaUpdateConfig(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		api.ensureAuthDomain(state.Cloud.Authelia.Domain)
 
 		// Start service — requires at least one user
+		startErr := error(nil)
 		if api.authelia.UserCount() > 0 {
-			if err := api.authelia.RestartService(); err != nil {
+			startErr = api.authelia.RestartService()
-				respondError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, fmt.Sprintf("Failed to start Authelia: %v", err))
+		}
-				return
+
-			}
+		// Save state and reconcile regardless of whether the service started
+		if err := config.SaveState(state, api.statePath()); err != nil {
+			respondError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, "Failed to save state")
+			return
+		}
+		go api.reconcileNetworking()
+		api.broadcastAutheliaEvent("authelia:config", "Authelia configuration updated")
+
+		if startErr != nil {
+			respondError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, fmt.Sprintf("Configuration saved but Authelia failed to start: %v", startErr))
+			return
 		}
 	} else {
 		// Disabling — stop service and deregister domain
 		_ = api.authelia.StopService()
 		api.deregisterAuthDomain()
+
+		if err := config.SaveState(state, api.statePath()); err != nil {
+			respondError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, "Failed to save state")
+			return
+		}
+		go api.reconcileNetworking()
+		api.broadcastAutheliaEvent("authelia:config", "Authelia configuration updated")
 	}
 
-	if err := config.SaveState(state, api.statePath()); err != nil {
-		respondError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, "Failed to save state")
-		return
-	}
-
-	// Trigger reconciliation to update HAProxy
-	go api.reconcileNetworking()
-
-	api.broadcastAutheliaEvent("authelia:config", "Authelia configuration updated")
 	respondMessage(w, http.StatusOK, "Authelia configuration updated")
 }
 
@@ -382,6 +425,8 @@ func (api *API) generateAutheliaConfig(state *config.State) error {
 
 	sessionDomain := authelia.SessionDomainFromAuthDomain(state.Cloud.Authelia.Domain)
 
+	smtpPassword, _ := api.secrets.GetSecret("authelia.smtpPassword")
+
 	opts := authelia.ConfigOpts{
 		Domain:         state.Cloud.Authelia.Domain,
 		JWTSecret:      jwtSecret,
@@ -391,6 +436,11 @@ func (api *API) generateAutheliaConfig(state *config.State) error {
 		DefaultPolicy:  defaultPolicy,
 		SessionDomain:  sessionDomain,
 		OIDCClients:    clients,
+		SMTPHost:       state.Cloud.Authelia.SMTP.Host,
+		SMTPPort:       state.Cloud.Authelia.SMTP.Port,
+		SMTPUsername:   state.Cloud.Authelia.SMTP.Username,
+		SMTPSender:     state.Cloud.Authelia.SMTP.Sender,
+		SMTPPassword:   smtpPassword,
 	}
 
 	return api.authelia.GenerateConfig(opts)

internal/authelia/config.go

@@ -25,6 +25,11 @@ type ConfigOpts struct {
 	DataDir        string       // authelia data directory path
 	ListenAddr     string       // listen address (default: 127.0.0.1:9091)
 	OIDCClients    []OIDCClient // registered OIDC clients
+	SMTPHost       string       // SMTP server host (empty = use filesystem notifier)
+	SMTPPort       int          // SMTP server port (default: 587)
+	SMTPUsername   string       // SMTP login username (defaults to sender if empty)
+	SMTPSender     string       // From address
+	SMTPPassword   string       // SMTP password (from secrets)
 }
 
 // GenerateConfig builds Authelia's configuration.yml and writes it atomically.
@@ -143,11 +148,7 @@ func (m *Manager) buildConfig(opts ConfigOpts) map[string]any {
 			},
 		},
 
-		"notifier": map[string]any{
+		"notifier": buildNotifier(opts, m.notificationPath()),
-			"filesystem": map[string]any{
-				"filename": m.notificationPath(),
-			},
-		},
 
 		"identity_validation": map[string]any{
 			"reset_password": map[string]any{
@@ -202,6 +203,40 @@ func (m *Manager) buildConfig(opts ConfigOpts) map[string]any {
 	return cfg
 }
 
+// buildNotifier returns the notifier config — SMTP if configured, filesystem otherwise.
+func buildNotifier(opts ConfigOpts, filesystemPath string) map[string]any {
+	if opts.SMTPHost != "" && opts.SMTPSender != "" {
+		username := opts.SMTPUsername
+		if username == "" {
+			username = opts.SMTPSender
+		}
+		port := opts.SMTPPort
+		if port == 0 {
+			port = 587
+		}
+		// Use the modern address format: submission:// for STARTTLS on 587, smtps:// for implicit TLS on 465
+		scheme := "submission"
+		if port == 465 {
+			scheme = "smtps"
+		}
+		smtp := map[string]any{
+			"address":  fmt.Sprintf("%s://%s:%d", scheme, opts.SMTPHost, port),
+			"sender":   opts.SMTPSender,
+			"username": username,
+			"password": opts.SMTPPassword,
+			"tls": map[string]any{
+				"server_name": opts.SMTPHost,
+			},
+		}
+		return map[string]any{"smtp": smtp}
+	}
+	return map[string]any{
+		"filesystem": map[string]any{
+			"filename": filesystemPath,
+		},
+	}
+}
+
 // GenerateSecret creates a cryptographically random hex string of the given byte length.
 func GenerateSecret(byteLen int) (string, error) {
 	b := make([]byte, byteLen)

internal/authelia/manager.go

@@ -95,17 +95,66 @@ func (m *Manager) GetStatus() (*Status, error) {
 	return status, nil
 }
 
-// RestartService restarts the Authelia systemd service
+// RestartService restarts the Authelia systemd service and verifies it stays running.
 func (m *Manager) RestartService() error {
 	cmd := exec.Command("systemctl", "restart", "authelia.service")
 	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to restart authelia: %w (output: %s)", err, string(output))
 	}
+
+	// Give it a moment to start (or crash)
+	time.Sleep(2 * time.Second)
+
+	// Check if it's actually running
+	if exec.Command("systemctl", "is-active", "--quiet", "authelia.service").Run() != nil {
+		// It crashed — grab the error from the journal
+		reason := m.lastError()
+		if reason != "" {
+			return fmt.Errorf("authelia started but crashed: %s", reason)
+		}
+		return fmt.Errorf("authelia started but crashed (check journalctl -u authelia.service)")
+	}
+
 	slog.Info("authelia service restarted", "component", "authelia")
 	return nil
 }
 
+// lastError extracts the most recent error-level message from the Authelia journal.
+// Authelia logs look like: time="..." level=error msg="..." error="..." provider=...
+func (m *Manager) lastError() string {
+	cmd := exec.Command("journalctl", "-u", "authelia.service", "-n", "20", "--no-pager", "-o", "cat")
+	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	// Find the last line containing level=error
+	var lastErr string
+	for _, line := range strings.Split(string(output), "\n") {
+		if strings.Contains(line, "level=error") {
+			lastErr = line
+		}
+	}
+	if lastErr == "" {
+		return ""
+	}
+	// Extract error="..." field (has the actual detail)
+	if i := strings.Index(lastErr, "error=\""); i >= 0 {
+		detail := lastErr[i+7:]
+		if j := strings.Index(detail, "\""); j >= 0 {
+			return detail[:j]
+		}
+	}
+	// Fall back to msg="..." field
+	if i := strings.Index(lastErr, "msg=\""); i >= 0 {
+		detail := lastErr[i+5:]
+		if j := strings.Index(detail, "\""); j >= 0 {
+			return detail[:j]
+		}
+	}
+	return lastErr
+}
+
 // StopService stops the Authelia systemd service
 func (m *Manager) StopService() error {
 	cmd := exec.Command("systemctl", "stop", "authelia.service")

internal/config/config.go

@@ -118,6 +118,12 @@ type State struct {
 			Enabled       bool   `yaml:"enabled,omitempty" json:"enabled,omitempty"`
 			Domain        string `yaml:"domain,omitempty" json:"domain,omitempty"`                 // login portal domain (e.g. auth.payne.io)
 			DefaultPolicy string `yaml:"defaultPolicy,omitempty" json:"defaultPolicy,omitempty"`   // one_factor or two_factor
+			SMTP          struct {
+				Host     string `yaml:"host,omitempty" json:"host,omitempty"`         // e.g. smtp.gmail.com
+				Port     int    `yaml:"port,omitempty" json:"port,omitempty"`         // e.g. 587
+				Username string `yaml:"username,omitempty" json:"username,omitempty"` // SMTP login username
+				Sender   string `yaml:"sender,omitempty" json:"sender,omitempty"`     // From address (e.g. auth@payne.io)
+			} `yaml:"smtp,omitempty" json:"smtp,omitempty"`
 		} `yaml:"authelia,omitempty" json:"authelia,omitempty"`
 		DNSFilter struct {
 			Enabled       bool `yaml:"enabled,omitempty" json:"enabled,omitempty"`

web/src/components/AutheliaComponent.tsx

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import { Switch } from './ui/switch';
 import { Select, SelectContent, SelectItem, SelectTrigger, SelectValue } from './ui/select';
 import { useAuthelia } from '../hooks/useAuthelia';
 import { domainsApi } from '../services/api';
+import type { AutheliaStatus } from '../services/api/authelia';
 import { useQuery, useMutation, useQueryClient } from '@tanstack/react-query';
 
 export function AutheliaComponent() {
@@ -312,21 +313,37 @@ function ConfigCard({ status, onUpdate, showSuccess, showError }: {
   showError: (msg: string) => void;
 }) {
   const [editing, setEditing] = useState(false);
-  const { register, handleSubmit, watch, setValue } = useForm({
+  const [initialized, setInitialized] = useState(false);
+  const { register, handleSubmit, watch, setValue, reset } = useForm({
     defaultValues: {
-      domain: status?.domain ?? '',
+      domain: '',
-      defaultPolicy: status?.defaultPolicy || 'one_factor',
+      defaultPolicy: 'one_factor',
+      smtpHost: '',
+      smtpPort: 587,
+      smtpUsername: '',
+      smtpSender: '',
+      smtpPassword: '',
     },
-    values: status ? {
+  });
+
+  // Sync form with status data once on load, not continuously
+  if (status && !initialized) {
+    reset({
       domain: status.domain ?? '',
       defaultPolicy: status.defaultPolicy || 'one_factor',
-    } : undefined,
+      smtpHost: status.smtp?.host ?? '',
-  });
+      smtpPort: status.smtp?.port || 587,
+      smtpUsername: status.smtp?.username ?? '',
+      smtpSender: status.smtp?.sender ?? '',
+      smtpPassword: '',
+    });
+    setInitialized(true);
+  }
 
   const enabled = status?.enabled ?? false;
   const isUpdating = onUpdate.isPending;
 
-  const doUpdate = (data: { enabled?: boolean; domain?: string; defaultPolicy?: string }) => {
+  const doUpdate = (data: { enabled?: boolean; domain?: string; defaultPolicy?: string; smtpHost?: string; smtpPort?: number; smtpUsername?: string; smtpSender?: string; smtpPassword?: string }) => {
     onUpdate.mutate(data, {
       onSuccess: () => {
         setEditing(false);
@@ -363,7 +380,11 @@ function ConfigCard({ status, onUpdate, showSuccess, showError }: {
           <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">Authelia is not installed. Install it first: <code className="bg-muted px-1 rounded">apt install authelia</code></p>
         )}
         {(enabled || editing) && (
-          <form onSubmit={handleSubmit((data) => doUpdate({ ...data, enabled: true }))} className="space-y-3">
+          <form onSubmit={handleSubmit((data) => {
+            const update: any = { ...data, enabled: true };
+            if (!update.smtpPassword) delete update.smtpPassword; // don't send empty password
+            doUpdate(update);
+          })} className="space-y-3">
             <div>
               <Label htmlFor="auth-domain">Auth Portal Domain</Label>
               <Input {...register('domain', { required: 'Required' })} id="auth-domain" placeholder="auth.example.com" className="mt-1 font-mono" />
@@ -380,6 +401,34 @@ function ConfigCard({ status, onUpdate, showSuccess, showError }: {
                 </SelectContent>
               </Select>
             </div>
+            <div className="pt-2 border-t">
+              <p className="text-sm font-medium mb-2">Email Notifications (SMTP)</p>
+              <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground mb-3">Required for password resets and 2FA enrollment. Without SMTP, notifications are written to a local file.</p>
+              <div className="grid grid-cols-3 gap-3">
+                <div className="col-span-2">
+                  <Label htmlFor="smtp-host">SMTP Host</Label>
+                  <Input {...register('smtpHost')} id="smtp-host" placeholder="smtp.gmail.com" className="mt-1 font-mono" />
+                </div>
+                <div>
+                  <Label htmlFor="smtp-port">Port</Label>
+                  <Input {...register('smtpPort', { valueAsNumber: true })} id="smtp-port" type="number" placeholder="587" className="mt-1 font-mono" />
+                </div>
+              </div>
+              <div className="grid grid-cols-3 gap-3 mt-3">
+                <div>
+                  <Label htmlFor="smtp-sender">Sender Email</Label>
+                  <Input {...register('smtpSender')} id="smtp-sender" placeholder="auth@example.com" className="mt-1 font-mono" />
+                </div>
+                <div>
+                  <Label htmlFor="smtp-username">Username</Label>
+                  <Input {...register('smtpUsername')} id="smtp-username" placeholder="(defaults to sender)" className="mt-1 font-mono" />
+                </div>
+                <div>
+                  <Label htmlFor="smtp-password">Password</Label>
+                  <Input {...register('smtpPassword')} id="smtp-password" type="password" placeholder={status?.smtp?.host ? '••••••••' : ''} className="mt-1" />
+                </div>
+              </div>
+            </div>
             {editing && (
               <div className="flex gap-2">
                 <Button type="submit" size="sm" disabled={isUpdating}>
@@ -556,17 +605,6 @@ function EditOIDCClientForm({ client, onSubmit, onCancel, isSubmitting }: {
   );
 }
 
-interface AutheliaStatus {
-  active: boolean;
-  version?: string;
-  enabled: boolean;
-  domain: string;
-  defaultPolicy: string;
-  userCount: number;
-  clientCount: number;
-  installed: boolean;
-}
-
 function ProtectedDomainsCard({ authDomain }: { authDomain: string }) {
   const queryClient = useQueryClient();
   const domainsQuery = useQuery({

web/src/hooks/useAuthelia.ts

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ export function useAuthelia() {
   };
 
   const updateConfigMutation = useMutation({
-    mutationFn: (data: { enabled?: boolean; domain?: string; defaultPolicy?: string }) =>
+    mutationFn: (data: { enabled?: boolean; domain?: string; defaultPolicy?: string; smtpHost?: string; smtpPort?: number; smtpUsername?: string; smtpSender?: string; smtpPassword?: string }) =>
       autheliaApi.updateConfig(data),
     onSuccess: invalidateAll,
   });

web/src/services/api/authelia.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,12 @@ export interface AutheliaStatus {
   userCount: number;
   clientCount: number;
   installed: boolean;
+  smtp: {
+    host: string;
+    port: number;
+    username: string;
+    sender: string;
+  };
 }
 
 export interface AutheliaUser {
@@ -74,7 +80,7 @@ export const autheliaApi = {
   async getConfig(): Promise<{ content: string }> {
     return apiClient.get('/api/v1/authelia/config');
   },
-  async updateConfig(data: { enabled?: boolean; domain?: string; defaultPolicy?: string }): Promise<{ message: string }> {
+  async updateConfig(data: { enabled?: boolean; domain?: string; defaultPolicy?: string; smtpHost?: string; smtpPort?: number; smtpUsername?: string; smtpSender?: string; smtpPassword?: string }): Promise<{ message: string }> {
     return apiClient.put('/api/v1/authelia/config', data);
   },
   async restart(): Promise<{ message: string }> {