Zero README

The project's README from github.com/Mail-0/Zero. As one markdown file: README.md.

Zero Logo

Zero

An Open-Source Gmail Alternative for the Future of Email

What is Zero?

Zero is an open-source AI email solution that gives users the power to self-host their own email app while also integrating external services like Gmail and other email providers. Our goal is to modernize and improve emails through AI agents to truly modernize emails.

Why Zero?

Most email services today are either closed-source, data-hungry, or too complex to self-host. 0.email is different:

Tech Stack

Zero is built with modern and reliable technologies:

Getting Started

Video Tutorial

Watch this helpful video tutorial on how to set up Zero locally:

Zero Setup Tutorial

Prerequisites

Required Versions:

Before running the application, you'll need to set up services and configure environment variables. For more details on environment variables, see the Environment Variables section.

Setup Options

You can set up Zero in two ways:

Standard Setup (Recommended)

Quick Start Guide

  1. Clone and Install

    # Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Mail-0/Zero.git
cd Zero

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Start database locally
pnpm docker:db:up

  2. Set Up Environment

    • Run pnpm nizzy env to setup your environment variables
    • Run pnpm nizzy sync to sync your environment variables and types
    • Start the database with the provided docker compose setup: pnpm docker:db:up
    • Initialize the database: pnpm db:push

  3. Start the App

    pnpm dev

  4. Open in Browser

    Visit http://localhost:3000

Devcontainer Setup

Quick Start guide

  1. Clone and Install

    # Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Mail-0/Zero.git
cd Zero

    Then open the code in devcontainer and install the dependencies:

    pnpm install

# Start the database locally
pnpm docker:db:up

  2. Set Up Environment

    • Run pnpm nizzy env to setup your environment variables
    • Run pnpm nizzy sync to sync your environment variables and types
    • Start the database with the provided docker compose setup: pnpm docker:db:up
    • Initialize the database: pnpm db:push

  3. Start The App

    pnpm dev

    Visit http://localhost:3000

Environment Setup

  1. Better Auth Setup

    • Open the .env file and change the BETTER_AUTH_SECRET to a random string. (Use openssl rand -hex 32 to generate a 32 character string)

      BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=your_secret_key

  2. Google OAuth Setup (Required for Gmail integration)

    • Go to Google Cloud Console

    • Create a new project

    • Add the following APIs in your Google Cloud Project: People API, Gmail API

      • Use the links above and click 'Enable' or
      • Go to 'APIs and Services' > 'Enable APIs and Services' > Search for 'Google People API' and click 'Enable'
      • Go to 'APIs and Services' > 'Enable APIs and Services' > Search for 'Gmail API' and click 'Enable'

    • Enable the Google OAuth2 API

    • Create OAuth 2.0 credentials (Web application type)

    • Add authorized redirect URIs:

      • Development:
        • http://localhost:8787/api/auth/callback/google
      • Production:
        • https://your-production-url/api/auth/callback/google

    • Add to .env:

      GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret

    • Add yourself as a test user:

      • Go to Audience
      • Under 'Test users' click 'Add Users'
      • Add your email and click 'Save'

[!WARNING] The authorized redirect URIs in Google Cloud Console must match exactly what you configure in the .env, including the protocol (http/https), domain, and path - these are provided above.

  1. Autumn Setup (Required for some encryption)

    • Go to Autumn

    • For Local Use, click onboarding button and generate an Autumn Secret Key

    • For production, select the production mode from upper left corner and generate and fill the other fields. After that, generate an Autumn Secret Key

    • Add to .env:

    AUTUMN_SECRET_KEY=your_autumn_secret

  2. Twilio Setup (Required for SMS Integration)

    • Go to the Twilio

    • Create a Twilio account if you don’t already have one

    • From the dashboard, locate your:

      • Account SID
      • Auth Token
      • Phone Number

    • Add to your .env file:

    TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID=your_account_sid
TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN=your_auth_token
TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER=your_twilio_phone_number

Environment Variables

Run pnpm nizzy env to setup your environment variables. It will copy the .env.example file to .env and fill in the variables for you. For local development a connection string example is provided in the .env.example file located in the same folder as the database.

Database Setup

Zero uses PostgreSQL for storing data. Here's how to set it up:

  1. Start the Database

    Run this command to start a local PostgreSQL instance:

    pnpm docker:db:up

    This creates a database with:

    • Name: zerodotemail
    • Username: postgres
    • Password: postgres
    • Port: 5432

  2. Set Up Database Connection

    Make sure your database connection string is in .env file. And you have ran pnpm nizzy sync to sync the latest env.

    For local development use:

    DATABASE_URL="postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/zerodotemail"

  3. Database Commands

    • Set up database tables:

      pnpm db:push

    • Create migration files (after schema changes):

      pnpm db:generate

    • Apply migrations:

      pnpm db:migrate

    • View database content:

      pnpm db:studio

      If you run pnpm dev in your terminal, the studio command should be automatically running with the app.

Sync

Background: https://x.com/cmdhaus/status/1940886269950902362 We're now storing the user's emails in their Durable Object & an R2 bucket. This allow us to speed things up, a lot. This also introduces 3 environment variables, DROP_AGENT_TABLES,THREAD_SYNC_MAX_COUNT, THREAD_SYNC_LOOP. DROP_AGENT_TABLES: should the durable object drop the threads table before starting a sync THREAD_SYNC_MAX_COUNT: how many threads should we sync? max 500 because it's using the same number for the maxResults number from the driver. i.e 500 results per page. THREAD_SYNC_LOOP: should make sure to sync all of the items inside a folder? i.e if THREAD_SYNC_MAX_COUNT=500 it will sync 500 threads per request until the folder is fully synced. (should be true in production)

Contribute

Please refer to the contributing guide.

If you'd like to help with translating Zero to other languages, check out our translation guide.

Star History

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This project wouldn't be possible without these awesome companies

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🤍 The team

Curious who makes Zero? Here are our contributors and maintainers

Zero (Mail-0/Zero)

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10.9K ·GitHub
Zero
What is this?Zero (Mail0) is an open-source, self-hostable email app that lets you connect Gmail, Outlook and other providers into one inbox, enhanced with AI agents, while keeping your data private.
Is this a hosted inbox I sign into, or something I run myself?It's a self-hosted web app you deploy yourself, not a SaaS inbox — Zero's whole pitch is giving you self-hosting freedom, built with a Next.js/React frontend and a Node.js/PostgreSQL backend.
How do I get it running locally?Clone the repo and install with pnpm, run 'pnpm nizzy env' and 'pnpm nizzy sync' to configure environment variables, start Postgres with 'pnpm docker:db:up', initialize the schema with 'pnpm db:push', then run 'pnpm dev'.
What do I need installed and configured before running it?Node.js v18+, pnpm v10+, and Docker v20+ for the Postgres database, plus Google Cloud OAuth credentials (People API and Gmail API) to connect Gmail, an Autumn secret key for encryption, and optionally Twilio credentials for SMS integration.
Is the setup a quick clone-and-run, or more involved?It's more involved than a typical clone-and-run: you have to manually create Google OAuth credentials with exactly matching redirect URIs, generate an Autumn secret key, and optionally wire up Twilio for SMS before the app fully works.
Does Zero track or sell my email data?No — Zero says it does not track, collect, or sell your data, though anything passed through connected providers like Gmail is still governed by that provider's own privacy policy.
What's the tech stack behind Zero?Next.js, React, TypeScript, TailwindCSS and Shadcn UI power the frontend, while Node.js with Drizzle ORM and PostgreSQL handle the backend, with Better Auth and Google OAuth for authentication.
Can I manage multiple email accounts in one place?Yes, Zero provides a unified inbox that connects multiple providers like Gmail and Outlook into a single interface.
Why build Zero instead of just using Gmail?The project argues most email services are closed-source, data-hungry, or too complex to self-host, so Zero offers an open, privacy-first, AI-enhanced alternative you fully control.
How does Zero keep email syncing fast?Synced emails are stored in a Cloudflare Durable Object plus an R2 bucket, with environment variables like THREAD_SYNC_MAX_COUNT controlling how many threads sync per request.
What are similar projects?crm, rankme.fast, chatbot, openhikmah-web, OpenStock, OpenInstinct, vibe-vibe, gemini-fullstack-langgraph-quickstart
Which topics is it in?drizzle-orm, shadcn-ui, oauth2, privacy-first, email, google, tailwindcss, nextjs, postgresql, web-app, agent, react
Creator
Mail-0
Size
120.2 MB
Stars
10.9K
Updated
CommitAug 31Releasev0.1Jul 18
Age
1y
Commits · 90 Days