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How to Send urlwatch Change Alerts to Email

Set up urlwatch email change alerts by configuring the email reporter, testing delivery, and scheduling periodic runs.
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To get urlwatch change alerts by email, enable its email reporter in the global urlwatch.yaml, configure a sender and recipient plus an SMTP or local sendmail transport, test it with urlwatch --test-reporter email, and schedule urlwatch to run. Email is sent when a run produces reportable results; the scheduler determines how often checks happen.

Configure the email reporter

  1. Open the global configuration with urlwatch --edit-config.
  2. Under the top-level report key, enable the email reporter and enter the sender and recipient addresses. The settings belong under report.email.
  3. Choose a delivery method: smtp for an SMTP server or sendmail for a local mail setup.
  4. For SMTP, enter the server host, authentication, port, and TLS settings required by your provider. Use that provider’s current configuration values; urlwatch’s examples are not a guarantee of current account policies.
  5. For local delivery, use method: sendmail. If needed, configure the executable path shown in the urlwatch configuration documentation. The host must have a working local mail transfer agent.
  6. Optionally set a subject template, such as {count} changes: {jobs}. The configuration also supports html: true for HTML-formatted email.

A simplified configuration shape is:

report:
  email:
    enabled: true
    method: smtp
    from: [email protected]
    to: [email protected]

This is only a structural example, not a complete SMTP configuration: add the host, authentication, port, and TLS options required by your mail service. Replace the example addresses with valid ones. For the exact supported keys and syntax, see the urlwatch configuration documentation.

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Choose SMTP or local sendmail

Transport Use it when What to account for
Local sendmail A mail transfer agent is already installed and configured on the machine running urlwatch. Delivery depends on that local mail infrastructure. You can set a sendmail executable path if necessary.
SMTP You can connect to an organization or provider SMTP server. Configure the correct host, authentication, port, TLS, sender, recipient, and credentials.
Managed email provider You need hosted delivery infrastructure; urlwatch’s email guidance names Amazon SES and Mailgun as examples. Check the provider’s current account requirements and policies. urlwatch does not require a paid provider.

For SMTP credentials, urlwatch --smtp-login prompts for the password, checks the login, and stores the credential in the keyring for later runs. Prefer this over putting a password directly in the configuration. The documentation also describes insecure_password for situations where a keyring cannot be used, but warns that plaintext storage is insecure and advises against using a primary email account with that setup. See the email reporter and SMTP guidance.

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Test delivery and schedule checks

  1. Run urlwatch --test-reporter email to check the configured reporter.
  2. If the test fails, review the reporter settings and transport details, then run with --verbose for detailed logs.
  3. Schedule urlwatch with cron or another scheduler at the cadence you want. urlwatch checks pages when it runs, so the scheduler controls the checking interval.

The urlwatch introduction recommends not running it more frequently than every 30 minutes. Its documentation puts the cadence plainly: “The checking interval is defined by how often you run urlwatch.” See the urlwatch introduction and reporter test instructions.

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Understand which runs generate email

urlwatch retrieves each configured job’s output, filters it, and compares it with the previous retrieval. Enabled reporters are invoked when differences produce reportable results. Reporter display settings determine whether new jobs, errors, unchanged items, and empty diffs appear. The default configuration reports changes, new pages, and errors, but not unchanged pages; check your configuration if you expect a different report.

Troubleshoot missing or unexpected alerts

  • No message arrives: Run urlwatch --test-reporter email to check the reporter directly, then inspect logs with --verbose.
  • The reporter is skipped: Confirm report.email.enabled is true, and verify the configured from, to, and method.
  • SMTP authentication or connection fails: Check the provider’s current hostname, credentials, port, and TLS requirements. Confirm the stored keyring credential is valid.
  • Local delivery fails: Confirm a mail transfer agent is installed and configured, and that the sendmail executable path, if specified, is correct.
  • Alerts arrive at the wrong frequency: Check the cron entry or scheduler interval. urlwatch’s cadence follows how often it is run.
  • No alert appears for an unchanged page: The default display settings omit unchanged pages. Review reporter display settings if you need them included.
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