The Ultimate Guide to Setting up MailCow – Best Self-Hosted Mail Server

Setting up a self-hosted mail server can be complex, but with MailCow, the process becomes more manageable. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the installation and configuration of MailCow, an open-source mailing script based on Dovecot, Postfix, and SoGo. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have a fully functional self-hosted mail server running on Docker.

Requirements:

• Domain name
• VPS or Cloud server with minimum 6 GB RAM
• Recommended OS: Ubuntu 20.04

Initial DNS Setup:

Before installation, set up the following DNS records:

Type	Host	Value
A	mail	Your IP address
CNAME	autodiscover	mail.yourdomain.com
CNAME	autoconfig	mail.yourdomain.com
MX	@	mail.yourdomain.com 10

Installation of MailCow:

1. Set hostname:

   hostnamectl set-hostname mail.yourdomain.com

2. Install Git:

   apt install git -y

3. Install Docker:

   curl -sSL https://get.docker.com/ | CHANNEL=stable sh
   systemctl enable --now docker

4. Install Docker Compose:

   apt update
   apt install docker-compose-plugin

5. Install Git:

   apt install git -y

6. Clone MailCow repository:

   cd /opt && git clone https://github.com/mailcow/mailcow-dockerized

7. Navigate to the cloned directory:

   cd mailcow-dockerized

8. Generate the configuration:

   ./generate_config.sh

9. Pull MailCow Docker images:

   docker-compose pull

10. Run Docker Compose:

    docker-compose up -d

11. Open required ports in firewall:

    sudo ufw allow 25,80,443,110,143,465,587,993,995/tcp

12. Access MailCow: Open https://mail.yourdomain.com in your browser and log in with admin/password (moohoo).

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured MailCow as a Docker container on your server. Enjoy the benefits of a feature-rich mail server while maintaining control over your data.

Note: Ensure proper security and maintenance practices for your mail server.

That’s it! You now have a comprehensive guide on installing and configuring MailCow as a Docker container. Enjoy your self-hosted mail server experience!