What causes "SMTP: missing smtp.host or $SMTP_HOST" in goreleaser/goreleaser?

Set `announce.smtp.host` in .goreleaser.yaml (e.g. smtp.example.com).

SMTP: missing smtp.host or $SMTP_HOST

Error message

SMTP: missing smtp.host or $SMTP_HOST

What it means

Sentinel error errNoHost, returned by the SMTP config loader when the resolved `host` is empty — i.e. neither `smtp.host` in .goreleaser.yaml nor the $SMTP_HOST environment variable was set. Without a relay host the mail cannot be sent, so config validation fails fast.

Source

Thrown at internal/pipe/smtp/smtp.go:100

	// This is only needed when SSL/TLS certificate is not valid on server.
	// In production this should be set to false.
	d.TLSConfig = &tls.Config{InsecureSkipVerify: ctx.Config.Announce.SMTP.InsecureSkipVerify}

	// Now send E-Mail
	if err := d.DialAndSend(m); err != nil {
		return err
	}

	log.Infof("The mail has been send from %s to %s\n", ctx.Config.Announce.SMTP.From, receivers)

	return nil
}

var (
	errNoPort     = errors.New("SMTP: missing smtp.port or $SMTP_PORT")
	errNoUsername = errors.New("SMTP: missing smtp.username or $SMTP_USERNAME")
	errNoHost     = errors.New("SMTP: missing smtp.host or $SMTP_HOST")
)

func getConfig(smtp config.SMTP) (Config, error) {
	cfg := Config{
		Host:     smtp.Host,
		Port:     smtp.Port,
		Username: smtp.Username,
	}
	if err := env.Parse(&cfg); err != nil {
		return cfg, fmt.Errorf("SMTP: %w", err)
	}
	if cfg.Username == "" {
		return cfg, errNoUsername
	}
	if cfg.Host == "" {
		return cfg, errNoHost
	}
	if cfg.Port == 0 {

View on GitHub (pinned to f5edd73956)

Solutions

Set `announce.smtp.host` in .goreleaser.yaml (e.g. smtp.example.com).
Export $SMTP_HOST in your environment/CI.
Verify YAML indentation so `host` is nested directly under `announce.smtp`.

Example fix

# before
announce:
  smtp:
    port: 587
    from: ci@example.com
# after
announce:
  smtp:
    host: smtp.example.com
    port: 587
    from: ci@example.com

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if os.Getenv("SMTP_HOST") == "" {
    fmt.Println("set announce.smtp.host or export SMTP_HOST before running goreleaser")
}

Try / catch

if err := Pipe{}.Run(ctx); err != nil {
    if errors.Is(err, errNoHost) {
        log.Fatal("SMTP announce: missing smtp.host / $SMTP_HOST")
    }
    log.Fatal(err)
}

Prevention

Define host, port, username, from/receivers as a complete set in one config block.
Keep SMTP settings in a shared .env sourced by both local and CI runs.
Verify YAML nesting: host must sit directly under announce.smtp.

When it happens

Trigger: `announce.smtp` block present in .goreleaser.yaml but `host` field empty and $SMTP_HOST unset when announcing.

Common situations: Users add the announce pipe with only from/to/receivers configured; migrating between environments where $SMTP_HOST was defined locally but not in CI; YAML indentation mistakes putting host at the wrong level.

Understand the failure class

Background: "environment variable is not set" and "Missing keys in environment" errors: what missing required env var messages mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 28 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of goreleaser/goreleaser@f5edd73956 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ac8e92e1286a0715. Report an issue: GitHub.