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What is this?
Mailcow is a self-hosted, dockerized mail server suite - it bundles Postfix (SMTP), Dovecot (IMAP), SOGo (webmail/groupware), Rspamd (spam filtering), ClamAV (antivirus) and ACME certificate automation into a set of containers you run yourself.
Mailcow is a self-hosted, dockerized mail server suite - it bundles Postfix (SMTP), Dovecot (IMAP), SOGo (webmail/groupware), Rspamd (spam filtering), ClamAV (antivirus) and ACME certificate automation into a set of containers you run yourself.Is this one app or a bundle of separate services?It's a multi-container stack defined via Docker Compose - mail transport, IMAP, webmail/groupware, spam filtering, antivirus and certificate handling each run in their own container rather than one monolithic app.
It's a multi-container stack defined via Docker Compose - mail transport, IMAP, webmail/groupware, spam filtering, antivirus and certificate handling each run in their own container rather than one monolithic app.How do I get mailcow running?The README doesn't inline setup steps - it points you to the official documentation for installation and configuration, after which you deploy the stack with the included docker-compose.yml.
The README doesn't inline setup steps - it points you to the official documentation for installation and configuration, after which you deploy the stack with the included docker-compose.yml.Do I need Docker and Docker Compose before trying this?Yes - mailcow ships as a docker-compose.yml stack, so a Linux host with a working Docker and Docker Compose setup is required before you can deploy it.
Yes - mailcow ships as a docker-compose.yml stack, so a Linux host with a working Docker and Docker Compose setup is required before you can deploy it.Anything to know before relying on this for production email?Running mailcow means operating a full mail stack yourself (SMTP, IMAP, antivirus, spam filtering, certificates), so expect real sysadmin work; the README itself has no troubleshooting or sizing guidance and defers entirely to the external docs.
Running mailcow means operating a full mail stack yourself (SMTP, IMAP, antivirus, spam filtering, certificates), so expect real sysadmin work; the README itself has no troubleshooting or sizing guidance and defers entirely to the external docs.What mail components does mailcow actually run under the hood?It runs Postfix for SMTP, Dovecot for IMAP, SOGo for webmail and groupware, Rspamd for spam filtering, ClamAV for antivirus scanning, Olefy for OLE malware detection, and ACME for automatic TLS certificates - all as separate Docker containers.
It runs Postfix for SMTP, Dovecot for IMAP, SOGo for webmail and groupware, Rspamd for spam filtering, ClamAV for antivirus scanning, Olefy for OLE malware detection, and ACME for automatic TLS certificates - all as separate Docker containers.What does the project name 'mailcow' mean?The tagline 'mailcow: dockerized - 🐮 + 🐋 = 💕' plays on cow (mailcow) plus whale (Docker's mascot), reflecting that it's a mail server packaged entirely as Docker containers.
The tagline 'mailcow: dockerized - 🐮 + 🐋 = 💕' plays on cow (mailcow) plus whale (Docker's mascot), reflecting that it's a mail server packaged entirely as Docker containers.What are similar projects?docker-mailserver, BillionMail, mailinabox, azerioid-stack-manager, acme.sh, postal, omamail, mail
docker-mailserver, BillionMail, mailinabox, azerioid-stack-manager, acme.sh, postal, omamail, mailWhich topics is it in?mailserver, acme, mail, imap, smtp, ssl, tls, email, sysadmin, docker-compose, hacktoberfest, devops
mailserver, acme, mail, imap, smtp, ssl, tls, email, sysadmin, docker-compose, hacktoberfest, devops