Configure smartd monitoring

 To automate these alerts on Linux, you can use the smartd daemon (part of smartmontools). It runs in the background and can be configured to email you or run a script the moment an attribute like Current_Pending_Sector or Offline_Uncorrectable changes. 

ArchWiki

ArchWiki

 +4

1. Configure the smartd Daemon 

The main configuration file is typically located at /etc/smartd.conf. 

Die.net

Die.net

Open the file: sudo nano /etc/smartd.conf

Add a monitoring line: You can monitor all drives or a specific one (e.g., /dev/sda). A robust configuration looks like this:

text

/dev/sdX -a -o on -S on -n standby,q -s (S/../.././02|L/../../6/03) -m your-email@example.com -M test

Use code with caution.


-a: Monitors all SMART properties (including the error counts you’re watching).

-o on / -S on: Enables automatic offline data collection and attribute persistence.

-s ...: Schedules a Short self-test every day at 2 AM and a Long test every Saturday at 3 AM.

-m: Sends an email to the specified address if an error is detected.

-M test: Sends a test email immediately when the service starts to confirm your alerting works. 

LinuxConfig

LinuxConfig

 +4

2. Set Up Email (MTA) 

For the -m flag to work, your system needs a way to send mail (a Mail Transfer Agent like msmtp, postfix, or ssmtp). 

LinuxConfig

LinuxConfig

 +1

If you don't want to set up a full mail server, msmtp is a popular lightweight choice for forwarding alerts to a Gmail or Outlook account. 

LinuxConfig

LinuxConfig

3. Desktop Notifications (Alternative)

If this is a desktop machine and you'd prefer a popup over an email:

Install smart-notifier (on Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt install smart-notifier).

Modify your smartd.conf line to include: -M exec /usr/share/smartmontools/smartd-runner. 

Unix & Linux Stack Exchange

Unix & Linux Stack Exchange

4. Apply Changes

After saving your configuration, restart the service to begin monitoring:

bash

sudo systemctl enable smartd

sudo systemctl restart smartd

Use code with caution.


Check journalctl -u smartd to ensure the "test" alert was triggered successfully. 

ArchWiki

ArchWiki

Would you like the msmtp configuration steps to link this to your personal email account? 





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13 sites

Configure smartd Email Notifications Easily - LinuxConfig

Oct 7, 2020 — Table_title: The smartd daemon Table_content: header: | Directive | Use | row: | Directive: -H | Use: Checks the SMART health stat...


LinuxConfig

S.M.A.R.T. - ArchWiki

Dec 3, 2025 — The smartd daemon monitors SMART statuses and emits notifications when something goes wrong. It can be managed with systemd and co...


ArchWiki

Best practices to enable SMART disk notifications on a Linux ...

Jul 30, 2021 — I installed smartmontools and smart-notifier. # apt-get install smartmontools smart-notifier. I then configured the smartd daemon ...


Unix & Linux Stack Exchange

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yes

To link smartd to your personal email (using Gmail as an example), you must create a global configuration for msmtp and generate a dedicated app password for security. 

LinuxConfig

LinuxConfig

 +1

1. Generate a Gmail App Password

Standard passwords will not work due to security protocols. 

Go to your Google Account Security settings.

Enable 2-Step Verification if it isn't already.

Select App passwords (usually at the bottom of the "Signing in to Google" section).

Choose "Other (Custom name)" and enter "smartd alerts".

Copy the 16-character code generated; you will need this for the configuration file. 

arnaudr.io

arnaudr.io

 +4

2. Configure msmtp

Install the package first if you haven't already: sudo apt install msmtp msmtp-mta.

Create/edit the global configuration file: sudo nano /etc/msmtprc. 

Medium

Medium

 +2

text

# Set default values for all following accounts.

defaults

auth           on

tls            on

tls_trust_file /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt

logfile        /var/log/msmtp.log


# Gmail configuration

account        gmail

host           smtp.gmail.com

port           587

from           your-email@gmail.com

user           your-email@gmail.com

password       your-app-password-no-spaces


# Set a default account

account default : gmail

Use code with caution.


Note: Ensure the file has secure permissions so other users cannot read your password: sudo chmod 600 /etc/msmtprc. 

Medium

Medium

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3. Link smartd to msmtp

By default, smartd looks for a generic mail command. Since you installed msmtp-mta, it should provide a compatible symlink. However, to be explicit, ensure your /etc/smartd.conf includes the -m flag with your email. 

LinuxConfig

LinuxConfig

 +2

4. Test the Connection

Verify your configuration manually before relying on it for drive failures: 

bash

echo "Subject: SMART Test" | msmtp -a default your-email@gmail.com


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