Reloop Mail Server

A complete, portable mail server solution using Docker with PostgreSQL database integration. Based on the BillionMail project architecture.

Features

• Postfix - SMTP server with PostgreSQL integration
• Dovecot - IMAP/POP3 server with PostgreSQL authentication
• Rspamd - Advanced spam filtering
• Redis - Caching and session management
• PostgreSQL - External database support for domains, mailboxes, and aliases
• Portable - Easy to move between servers
• Complete Authentication - User and alias handling
• Remote Database - Support for external PostgreSQL servers
• Direct SSL - SSL/TLS handled directly by mail services

Quick Start

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/rudra-2/mail_server.git
cd mail_server

# 2. Run the setup script
chmod +x setup.sh
./setup.sh

# 3. Follow the prompts to configure your environment
# 4. Set up your remote PostgreSQL database
# 5. Configure DNS records

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose
• Domain name with proper DNS records
• SSL certificates (optional, self-signed will be generated)
• Remote PostgreSQL database server

VPS Setup Instructions

1. Initial Server Setup

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

sudo apt install -y curl wget git ufw fail2ban

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh

sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

2. Firewall Configuration

sudo ufw allow ssh

sudo ufw allow 22/tcp   
sudo ufw allow 25/tcp   # SMTP
sudo ufw allow 465/tcp  # SMTPS
sudo ufw allow 587/tcp  # Submission
sudo ufw allow 143/tcp  # IMAP
sudo ufw allow 993/tcp  # IMAPS
sudo ufw allow 110/tcp  # POP3
sudo ufw allow 995/tcp  # POP3S


sudo ufw enable

3. DNS Configuration

Set up these DNS records for your domain:

A     mail.yourdomain.com    → Your VPS IP
MX    yourdomain.com         → mail.yourdomain.com (priority 10)
SPF   yourdomain.com         → v=spf1 mx a ip4:YOUR_VPS_IP ~all
DKIM  default._domainkey.yourdomain.com → (DKIM key)
DMARC _dmarc.yourdomain.com  → v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com

4. Clone and Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/rudra-2/mail_server.git
cd reloop

# Run the setup script
chmod +x setup.sh
./setup.sh

5. Configure Environment

The setup script will automatically create the .env file and prompt you to configure it. You'll need to set:

Required Configuration:

MAIL_HOSTNAME=mail.yourdomain.com


DB_HOST=your_remote_postgresql_host
DB_NAME=reloop_mail
DB_USER=reloop_user
DB_PASSWORD=reloop_secure_password_2024


REDIS_PASSWORD=reloop_redis_password_2024

6. SSL Certificates

The setup script will automatically generate self-signed certificates for testing.

For production, replace with Let's Encrypt certificates:

sudo apt install certbot

# Generate certificates
sudo certbot certonly --standalone -d mail.yourdomain.com

# Copy certificates
sudo cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/mail.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem ssl/cert.pem
sudo cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/mail.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem ssl/key.pem

# Set proper permissions
sudo chown $USER:$USER ssl/cert.pem ssl/key.pem
chmod 600 ssl/key.pem
chmod 644 ssl/cert.pem

7. Database Setup

On your remote PostgreSQL server:

CREATE DATABASE reloop_mail;


CREATE USER reloop_user WITH PASSWORD 'your_secure_password';

-- Grant privileges
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE reloop_mail TO reloop_user;

-- Connect to database and initialize schema
\c reloop_mail
\i database/init.sql

-- Add your domain
INSERT INTO domain (domain, a_record, create_time) 
VALUES ('yourdomain.com', 'YOUR_VPS_IP', extract(epoch from now()));

-- Add a test user (password: test123)
INSERT INTO mailbox (username, password, password_encode, full_name, maildir, local_part, domain, create_time) 
VALUES ('admin@yourdomain.com', '$1$test123', 'MD5-CRYPT', 'Admin User', 'yourdomain.com/admin/', 'admin', 'yourdomain.com', extract(epoch from now()));

8. Start Services

The setup script will automatically start all services. If you need to restart:

docker-compose up -d

docker-compose ps

docker-compose logs -f

9. Verify Installation

# Test SMTP
telnet localhost 25
EHLO mail.yourdomain.com
QUIT

# Test IMAP
telnet localhost 143
a001 LOGIN admin@yourdomain.com test123
a002 LOGOUT
QUIT

# Test database connection
docker-compose exec postfix psql -h $DB_HOST -U $DB_USER -d $DB_NAME -c "SELECT * FROM domain;"

Services

Service	Port	Description
SMTP	25	Mail sending/receiving
SMTPS	465	Secure SMTP
Submission	587	Mail submission
IMAP	143	Mail access
IMAPS	993	Secure IMAP
POP3	110	POP3 access
POP3S	995	Secure POP3
Redis	6379	Caching (internal)
PostgreSQL	External	Database (remote server)

Database Schema

The mail server uses these tables:

• domain - Mail domains
• mailbox - Email accounts
• alias - Email forwarding
• alias_domain - Domain forwarding

Remote Database Setup

Prerequisites

• Remote PostgreSQL server accessible from your mail server
• PostgreSQL user with proper permissions
• Network connectivity on port 5432

Database Initialization

1. Create the database on your remote PostgreSQL server:

   CREATE DATABASE reloop_mail;

2. Create a user with proper permissions:

   CREATE USER reloop_user WITH PASSWORD 'your_secure_password';
   GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE reloop_mail TO reloop_user;

3. Initialize the database schema:

   psql -h your_remote_host -U reloop_user -d reloop_mail -f database/init.sql

Network Configuration

Ensure your firewall allows connections from your mail server to the remote PostgreSQL server on port 5432.

Sample Data

-- Add a domain
INSERT INTO domain (domain, a_record, create_time) 
VALUES ('yourdomain.com', 'YOUR_SERVER_IP', extract(epoch from now()));

-- Add a mailbox (password should be MD5-CRYPT hashed)
-- Use: openssl passwd -1 "your_password" to generate the hash
INSERT INTO mailbox (username, password, password_encode, full_name, maildir, local_part, domain, create_time) 
VALUES ('admin@yourdomain.com', '$1$hashedpassword', 'MD5-CRYPT', 'Admin User', 'yourdomain.com/admin/', 'admin', 'yourdomain.com', extract(epoch from now()));

-- Add an alias (email forwarding)
INSERT INTO alias (address, goto, domain, create_time) 
VALUES ('info@yourdomain.com', 'admin@yourdomain.com', 'yourdomain.com', extract(epoch from now()));

Mail Client Configuration

Since this mail server doesn't include a webmail interface, users should configure desktop or mobile mail clients:

Desktop Mail Clients

• Thunderbird - Free, open-source email client
• Outlook - Microsoft email client
• Apple Mail - macOS email client
• Evolution - Linux email client

Mobile Mail Apps

• Gmail app - Android/iOS
• Apple Mail - iOS
• Outlook app - Android/iOS
• K-9 Mail - Android (open-source)

Configuration Settings

SMTP Settings:
- Server: your_mail_server_ip
- Port: 587 (Submission) or 465 (SMTPS)
- Security: STARTTLS or SSL/TLS
- Authentication: Username and Password

IMAP Settings:
- Server: your_mail_server_ip
- Port: 143 (IMAP) or 993 (IMAPS)
- Security: STARTTLS or SSL/TLS
- Authentication: Username and Password

Configuration

Postfix Configuration

Main configuration: config/postfix/main.cf

• Virtual domains via PostgreSQL
• TLS/SSL support
• Rspamd integration
• Dovecot SASL authentication

Dovecot Configuration

Main configuration: config/dovecot/dovecot.conf

• PostgreSQL authentication
• Maildir storage
• Sieve filtering
• SSL/TLS support

Rspamd Configuration

Main configuration: config/rspamd/rspamd.conf

• Spam filtering rules
• Redis integration
• Postfix milter integration

SSL Certificates

For production use, you should replace the self-signed certificates:

1. Replace ssl/cert.pem and ssl/key.pem with your certificates
2. Ensure proper file permissions (600 for key, 644 for cert)
3. Restart services after certificate changes

Note: SSL certificates are used by Postfix and Dovecot for secure connections.

Management

Basic Commands

docker-compose up -d

docker-compose down

docker-compose restart

docker-compose ps

docker-compose logs [service_name]

docker-compose logs -f [service_name]

Monitoring

Check Service Status

docker-compose ps

View Logs

docker-compose logs

docker-compose logs postfix
docker-compose logs dovecot
docker-compose logs rspamd


docker-compose logs -f #real-time

Test Mail Server

telnet localhost 25
EHLO mail.yourdomain.com


telnet localhost 587
EHLO mail.yourdomain.com
AUTH LOGIN


telnet localhost 143
a001 LOGIN username password


docker-compose exec postfix psql -h $DB_HOST -U $DB_USER -d $DB_NAME -c "SELECT * FROM domain;"

Portability

To move this mail server to another server:

1. Copy the entire reloop directory
2. Update .env file with new domain settings
3. Update DNS records to point to new server IP
4. Run docker-compose up -d

Security

• All services run in isolated containers
• SSL/TLS encryption for all connections
• Spam filtering with Rspamd
• Proper file permissions
• PostgreSQL authentication
• Firewall protection with UFW

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Database Connection Failed

   • Check database credentials in .env
   • Ensure remote PostgreSQL server is accessible
   • Verify database schema is loaded
   • Test connection: docker-compose exec postfix psql -h $DB_HOST -U $DB_USER -d $DB_NAME

2. Mail Not Received

   • Check DNS records
   • Verify firewall settings
   • Check Postfix logs: docker-compose logs postfix

3. Authentication Failed

   • Verify mailbox exists in database
   • Check password format (MD5-CRYPT)
   • Review Dovecot logs: docker-compose logs dovecot

4. SSL Issues

   • Verify certificate files exist
   • Check file permissions
   • Review service logs

Useful Commands

# Rebuild containers
docker-compose build --no-cache

# Restart specific service
docker-compose restart postfix

# Stop all services
docker-compose down

# Stop and remove volumes
docker-compose down -v

# Check container logs
docker-compose logs -f

# Access container shell
docker-compose exec postfix bash
docker-compose exec dovecot bash

License

This project is based on the Reloop project and is licensed under AGPLv3.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request

Support

For issues and questions:

• Check the troubleshooting section
• Review service logs
• Open an issue on GitHub