Zabbix text alerts: email-to-SMS setup
Zabbix already knows what's down — the Email media type just needs somewhere to send it. Give your on-call users an EmailToTxt address as their media and trigger alerts arrive as texts.
What you’ll need
- An EmailToTxt account and an endpoint (created in step 1).
- A mailbox for the device to send from — a free Gmail/Outlook account with an app password works.
- Access to your Zabbix settings (web interface, app, or local console).
- The phone number(s) that should receive the texts.
- 1
Create your EmailToTxt endpoint
In your EmailToTxt dashboard, add an endpoint and choose the “generic” template. EmailToTxt generates a unique inbound address for it, like
server-room-a1b2c@alerts.emailtotxt.com. - 2
Set up an email account to send from
EmailToTxt receives your alert emails, but your device still needs a mailbox to send from. The simplest option is a free, dedicated Gmail or Outlook account with an app password — most NVRs can’t do modern sign-in, and an app password works around that. You only set this up once and can reuse the same sending account across every recorder and endpoint.
Provider SMTP server SSL port STARTTLS port Gmail smtp.gmail.com 465 587 Outlook.com smtp-mail.outlook.com — 587 Microsoft 365 smtp.office365.com — 587 Yahoo Mail smtp.mail.yahoo.com 465 587 Tip: turn on 2-Step Verification for the account, then generate an app password and use that 16-character value as the SMTP password — typed without the spaces Google shows (they’re display-only, and some recorders reject them). Use the account’s full email address as the user name. - 3
Configure Zabbix email (SMTP) settings
Administration (Alerts in newer versions) → Media types → Email — set the SMTP server, port, hello, From address, and authentication.
- Use your sending mailbox credentials (app password for Gmail/Outlook) and test with the built-in Test button.
- 4
Turn on email for the events you want texted
Users → your on-call user → Media → add Email with "Send to" set to the EmailToTxt endpoint address, then make sure a trigger action (Alerts → Actions) notifies that user for the severities you care about.
- Scope the action to High/Disaster severities so flapping warnings don't consume texts — EmailToTxt's duplicate cooldown catches repeats, but clean actions are better.
- 5
Set the recipient to your EmailToTxt address and send a test
Set the device’s recipient/receiver to your EmailToTxt endpoint address, then use the built-in Test button (or trigger a test event). The email should reach EmailToTxt within seconds — you’ll see it appear in your Activity log.
- 6
Add phone numbers and confirm delivery
In EmailToTxt, open the endpoint and add the phone numbers that should receive alerts in E.164 format (for example
+15555550123). Trigger a real event and watch the Activity tab — each alert is logged as received → parsed → sent. Recipients can reply STOP to opt out anytime.
What the text looks like
EmailToTxt reads the alert emails Zabbix sends and pulls out the event and key details, so your phone gets a single clean line instead of a full email.
The alert email
Subject: Problem: High CPU on web-01
Problem started at 22:47 on 2026.07.12 Problem name: High CPU on web-01 Host: web-01 Severity: High
The text you receive
EmailToTxt
Delivered · now
Zabbix text alerts: FAQ
- Why not use a Zabbix SMS gateway script instead?
- Custom alert scripts mean owning an SMS API integration, credentials, and A2P registration. The Email media type is built in, battle-tested, and needs zero code — you're just changing where it points.
Other setup guides
Ready to text your Zabbix alerts?
Create an endpoint, paste the address into your recorder, add your number.