Quick Setup with GMail

(1) GMail

1. Create a brand-new GMail account. (Something specific to your site like yoursite.reply@gmail.com.) Do not use an existing Gmail account! If you use Google Apps, create a new, dedicated email account in your Google Apps dashboard.
2. Once you've created your GMail account, enable IMAP in GMail.
3. You will also need to create an app-specific password for use with GMail. This password will only be used with the BP Reply By Email plugin and is more secure than using your regular account password. In order to create an app password, you will need to turn on two-step verification for your Google account. Learn more about app passwords here.

(2) Activate the plugin

1. Now, login to the WP dashboard and activate the BuddyPress Reply By Email plugin. (If you're using Multisite, at this time, it is recommended to activate the plugin on the root blog only. Do not network-activate the plugin.)
2. Once you've activated the plugin, navigate to "BuddyPress > BP Reply By Email". (If you're using Multisite, navigate to the root blog's dashboard and navigate to "Settings > BP Reply By Email".)
3. If you see a section called "Webhost Warnings", please resolve any issues that appear. (See "Server Requirements" section below.)
4. On the settings page, check the "Using GMail?" checkbox and in the Username field, enter in the full email address you created in step 1. Also enter in the password in the Password field. Submit the form.
   • Note: If you are continuously seeing the "Reply By Email is currently NOT CONNECTED. Please refresh the page to initiate a connection.", please create and use an app password instead:
     https://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=77695
5. If you want to use bbPress for group forums, follow this guide as well - https://github.com/r-a-y/bp-reply-by-email/wiki/bbPress

(3) Test the plugin

1. You should now see a section called "Schedule Info" at the top. If Reply By Email is CONNECTED, navigate to your profile and @mention someone. That person should receive an email notification with the following:
2. If you see the "--- Reply ABOVE THIS LINE to add a comment ---" line, that means the plugin is working. Try replying to this email.
3. The comment should post on the site!

Note: The plugin depends on traffic on your site. For example, let's say I schedule BP Reply By Email to run every five minutes. Six minutes pass by and I expect the inbox check to run again, however if no user visits my site, the task will not run. (Tear runs down face!) Read the Frequently Asked Questions page for workarounds.

Server Requirements

• [IMAP module] (http://www.php.net/manual/en/imap.installation.php) (required) (with OpenSSL recommended)
• Safe mode off (recommended)
• A VPS or dedicated server (recommended)

If you find that the IMAP module isn't enabled on your server, ask your hosting provider to see if they can enable it for you.

Note: Some shared hosts do not allow the IMAP module to be enabled for PHP. If you're on such a hosting account, BP Reply By Email plugin will not work. (GoDaddy is a prime example.) Consider finding a different host.

Note 2: Using a shared host is not recommended due to the persistent nature of the plugin. Technically, this plugin uses the set_time_limit() function, which shared hosts mostly ignore. If you encounter issues, try setting the "Keep Alive Connection" limit in the settings area to a shorter duration like 1 or 2 minutes. However, this still might not solve the problem. The codebase could be improved to help those on shared hosts, but this is not a priority at the moment.