📧 BoxMTA

Open-source mail server solution for Ubuntu VPS

Set up your own email server with just one command

By @iiniit

📖 Visit our website for setup guide and documentation!

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🚀 Overview

BoxMTA is an open-source mail server solution that lets anyone set up their own email server on Ubuntu VPS with just one command. It's designed to be simple, secure, and complete - turning a fresh Ubuntu machine into a fully functional mail server in minutes.

🎯 Our Goals

• ✅ Simplify Email Hosting - Make it easy for anyone — regardless of technical expertise — to deploy a secure, self-hosted mail server in minutes
• 🛡️ Prioritize Security - Provide a pre-configured setup that includes SPF, DKIM, DMARC, TLS encryption, and anti-spam protections out of the box
• 🧰 Offer Complete Tools - Bundle all necessary tools (Postfix, Dovecot, Roundcube, etc.) in one installation to avoid complex manual configuration
• 📦 Enable One-Command Setup - Ensure that users can install and configure the server with a single command, reducing setup time and error-prone steps
• 💡 Educate and Empower - Promote self-hosting and teach users how email systems work, helping them gain control over their digital communication
• 🧑‍💻 Build a Community - Foster a welcoming, open-source community that supports contributors, developers, and self-hosters
• 🚀 Continually Improve - Maintain, update, and expand the project based on community feedback and evolving standards

📦 What's In The Box

BoxMTA turns a fresh Ubuntu 18.04, 20.04, 22.04, or 24.04 LTS machine into a working mail server by installing and configuring various components. It is a one-click email appliance with no user-configurable setup options - it "just works."

Core Mail Components

• SMTP (Postfix) and IMAP (Dovecot)
• Webmail (Roundcube) with mail filter rules and email client autoconfig settings (served by Apache)

Security & Anti-Spam

• Spam filtering (SpamAssassin and Postgrey)
• DNS (NSD4) with SPF, DKIM (OpenDKIM), and DMARC
• TLS certificates automatically provisioned using Let's Encrypt

Management Tools

• Comprehensive health monitoring (daily checks for services, ports, TLS certificates, and DNS records)
• Control panel for adding/removing mail users and domains
• API for all control panel actions

🛠️ Installation

Quick Start

See the setup guide for detailed, user-friendly instructions.

For Experts

Start with a completely fresh Ubuntu LTS 64-bit machine:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/iiniit/boxmta
cd boxmta

# Begin installation
sudo ./setup/start.sh