Setup a new Mailu server

Things to consider

Mailu is working, it has been powering hundreds of e-mail accounts since around January 2016, and has delivered over a million emails. It is still not massively tested however and you should not run any critical mail server until you have properly tested every feature.

Also, the idea behind Mailu is based on the work by folks from Poste.io. If free software is not the reason you chose Mailu or if you are seeking long-term professional support, you should probably turn to them instead.

Prepare the environment

Mailu ships multi-arch images which are designed to work on linux/amd64, linux/arm64v8 or linux/armv7 hardware, so it should run on pretty much any cloud server as long as enough power is provided.

You should also have at least a DNS hostname and a DNS name for receiving emails. Some instructions are provided on the matter in the article Setting up your DNS.

Pick a Mailu version

Mailu is shipped in multiple versions.

  • 2024.06 features the most recent stable version for Mailu. This is the recommended build for new setups, old setups should migrate when possible.

  • 1.0, 1.1, and other version branches feature old versions of Mailu they will not receive any more patches (except for the stable one) and you should not remain forever on one of those branches; you could however setup the stable branch by number to avoid introducing unexpected new feature until you read the changelog properly. This is the most conservative option.

  • latest points at the latest build from the master development branch. It will most likely contain many more bugs, also you should never use it for a production server. You are more than welcome to run a testing server however and report bugs.

Perform the specific setup steps

Specific setup steps are described per flavor (Compose, Kubernetes, etc.) and you should follow the steps after completing the requirements.

After setting up your flavor, continue to the DNS setup instructions, additional steps in the admin dashboard will be needed to generate your DMARC and SPF/DKIM keys.

Make sure that you test properly before going live!

  • Try to send an email to an external service

  • On the external service, verify that DKIM and SPF are listed as passing

  • Try to receive an email from an external service

  • Check the logs (docker compose logs -f servicenamehere) to look for warnings or errors

  • Use an open relay checker like mxtoolbox to ensure you’re not contributing to the spam problem on the internet.

  • If using DMARC, be sure to check the reports you get to verify that legitimate email is getting through and forgeries are being properly blocked.