Re: git send-email does not work with Google anymore?!

[ankostis <ankostis@gmail.com>]

On 5 October 2017 at 15:43, Paolo Bonzini <bonzini@gnu.org> wrote:
>
> On 05/10/2017 12:52, Lars Schneider wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I used to use the Google SMTP server to send my patches to the list with
> > the following config:
> >
> >     [sendemail]
> >         smtpencryption = tls
> >         smtpserver = smtp.gmail.com
> >         smtpuser = larsxschneider@gmail.com
> >         smtpserverport = 587
> >         from = larsxschneider@gmail.com
> >         chainreplyto = false
> >         suppresscc = self
> >
> > Apparently that stopped working today. I get this error:
> >
> >     (mbox) Adding cc: Lars Schneider <larsxschneider@gmail.com> from line 'From: Lars Schneider <larsxschneider@gmail.com>'
> >     Password for 'smtp://larsxschneider@gmail.com@smtp.gmail.com:587':
> >     5.7.14 <https://accounts.google.com/signin/continue?...token...
> >     5.7.14 ...> Please log in via your web browser and
> >     5.7.14 then try again.
> >     5.7.14  Learn more at
> >     5.7.14  https://support.google.com/mail/answer/78754 ... - gsmtp
> >
> > Of couse I tried to log in via web browser etc. Does anyone else use
> > Google as SMTP server? If yes, does it work for you?

I have been using SMTP+GMail rather a lot, recently.
The situation is a mess, and it becomes worse by the month!

Till recently, you had to perform various steps to achieve this:

1. Got to your web-gmail, Settings | Forwarding and POP/IMAP | Enable
IMAP Access

2. Enable access for "Less secure apps":
   https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6010255?hl=en

3. Try to SMTP-login.

   BUT if the IP had not access web-GMail recently,
   you got the message you report.
   So you had to:
   - reconstruct the URL+token intermingled in the SMTP-error message,
   - paste it in your browser, and
   - do a web-login to prove you are a human.

You had to perform step 3 regularly.


Now, if you had 2-factor-auth enabled, you could use
"app-passwords" to log into your gmail account:
https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/185833?hl=en

But this seems to have stopped working; I clicked the link in the page below
  https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6010255?hl=en
and for my account it tells me "less secure apps" access is unavailable :-(



>
> It's probably a good idea to set up two-factor authentication and add an
> app-specific password for "git send-email" (at least that's what I do).
>
> The password can be stored encrypted using the OS keychain, or if you
> don't want/have one (e.g. you are running headless) you could check if
> your distro installs git-credential-netrc.  Create a ~/.netrc.gpg file,
> where the decrypted content should look like
>
>     machine smtp.gmail.com login larsxschneider@gmail.com password mypassword
>
> Then do
>
>     git config --global credential.helper netrc
>
> and you're all set. :)

I believe the best way forward is to use OAuth.



Ciao,
  Kostis