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README.md 6.2 KiB

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  1. # Email server setup script
  2. I wrote this script during the grueling process of installing and setting up
  3. an email server. It perfectly reproduces my successful steps to ensure the
  4. same setup time and time again.
  5. I've linked this file on Github to a shorter, more memorable address on my
  6. website so you can get it on your machine with this short command:
  7. ```sh
  8. curl -LO lukesmith.xyz/emailwiz.sh
  9. ```
  10. When prompted by a dialog menu at the beginning, select "Internet Site", then
  11. give your full domain without any subdomain, i.e. `lukesmith.xyz`.
  12. ## This script installs
  13. - **Postfix** to send and receive mail.
  14. - **Dovecot** to get mail to your email client (mutt, Thunderbird, etc.).
  15. - Config files that link the two above securely with native log-ins.
  16. - **Spamassassin** to prevent spam and allow you to make custom filters.
  17. - **OpenDKIM** to validate you so you can send to Gmail and other big sites.
  18. ## This script does _not_
  19. - use a SQL database or anything like that.
  20. - set up a graphical interface for mail like Roundcube or Squirrel Mail. If you
  21. want that, you'll have to install it yourself. I just use
  22. [isync/msmtp/mutt-wizard](https://github.com/lukesmithxyz/mutt-wizard) to
  23. have an offline mirror of my email setup and I recommend the same. There are
  24. other ways of doing it though, like Thunderbird, etc.
  25. ## Requirements
  26. 1. A **Debian or Ubuntu server**. I've tested this on a
  27. [Vultr](https://www.vultr.com/?ref=8384069-6G) Debian server and one running
  28. Ubuntu and their setup works, but I suspect other VPS hosts will have
  29. similar/possibly identical default settings which will let you run this on
  30. them. Note that the affiliate link there to Vultr gives you a $100 credit
  31. for the first month to play around.
  32. 2. **A Let's Encrypt SSL certificate for your site's `mail.` subdomain**.
  33. Create a nginx/apache site at `mail.<yourdomain.com>` and get a certificate
  34. for it with Let's Encrypt's [Certbot](https://certbot.eff.org/).
  35. 3. You need two little DNS records set on your domain registrar's site/DNS
  36. server: (1) an **MX record** pointing to your own main domain/IP and (2) a
  37. **CNAME record** for your `mail.` subdomain.
  38. 4. **A Reverse DNS entry for your site.** Go to your VPS settings and add an
  39. entry for your IPv4 Reverse DNS that goes from your IP address to
  40. `<yourdomain.com>` (not mail subdomain). If you would like IPv6, you can do
  41. the same for that. This has been tested on Vultr, and all decent VPS hosts
  42. will have a section on their instance settings page to add a reverse DNS PTR
  43. entry.
  44. You can use the 'Test Email Server' or ':smtp' tool on
  45. [mxtoolbox](https://mxtoolbox.com/SuperTool.aspx) to test if you set up
  46. a reverse DNS correctly. This step is not required for everyone, but some
  47. big email services like Gmail will stop emails coming from mail servers
  48. with no/invalid rDNS lookups. This means your email will fail to even
  49. make it to the recipients spam folder; it will never make it to them.
  50. 5. `apt purge` all your previous (failed) attempts to install and configure a
  51. mail server. Get rid of _all_ your system settings for Postfix, Dovecot,
  52. OpenDKIM and everything else. This script builds off of a fresh install.
  53. 6. Some VPS providers block port 25 (used to send mail). You may need to
  54. request that this port be opened to send mail successfully. Although I have
  55. never had to do this on a Vultr VPS, others have had this issue so if you
  56. cannot send, contact your VPS provider.
  57. ## Post-install requirement!
  58. - After the script runs, you'll have to add additional DNS TXT records which
  59. are displayed at the end when the script is complete. They will help ensure
  60. your mail is validated and secure.
  61. ## Making new users/mail accounts
  62. Let's say we want to add a user Billy and let him receive mail, run this:
  63. ```
  64. useradd -m -G mail billy
  65. passwd billy
  66. ```
  67. Any user added to the `mail` group will be able to receive mail. Suppose a user
  68. Cassie already exists and we want to let her receive mail to. Just run:
  69. ```
  70. usermod -a -G mail cassie
  71. ```
  72. A user's mail will appear in `~/Mail/`. If you want to see your mail while ssh'd
  73. in the server, you could just install mutt, add `set spoolfile="+Inbox"` to
  74. your `~/.muttrc` and use mutt to view and reply to mail. You'll probably want
  75. to log in remotely though:
  76. ## Logging in from Thunderbird or mutt (and others) remotely
  77. Let's say you want to access your mail with Thunderbird or mutt or another
  78. email program. For my domain, the server information will be as follows:
  79. - SMTP server: `mail.lukesmith.xyz`
  80. - SMTP port: 587
  81. - IMAP server: `mail.lukesmith.xyz`
  82. - IMAP port: 993
  83. In previous versions of emailwiz, you also had to log on with *only* your
  84. username (i.e. `luke`) rather than your whole email address (i.e.
  85. `luke@lukesmith.xyz`), which caused some confusion. This is no longer the
  86. case.
  87. ## Benefited from this?
  88. I am always glad to hear this script is still making life easy for people! If
  89. this script or documentation has saved you some frustration, you can donate to
  90. support me at [lukesmith.xyz/donate](https://lukesmith.xyz/donate.html).
  91. ## Troubleshooting -- Can't send mail?
  92. - Always check `journalctl -xe` to see the specific problem.
  93. - Check with your VPS host and ask them to enable mail ports. Some providers
  94. disable them by default. It shouldn't take any time.
  95. - Go to [this site](https://appmaildev.com/en/dkim) to test your TXT records.
  96. If your DKIM, SPF or DMARC tests fail you probably copied in the TXT records
  97. incorrectly.
  98. - If everything looks good and you *can* send mail, but it still goes to Gmail
  99. or another big provider's spam directory, your domain (especially if it's a
  100. new one) might be on a public spam list. Check
  101. [this site](https://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx) to see if it is. Don't
  102. worry if you are: sometimes especially new domains are automatically assumed
  103. to be spam temporaily. If you are blacklisted by one of these, look into it
  104. and it will explain why and how to remove yourself.
  105. - Check your DNS settings using [this site](https://intodns.com/), it'll report any issues with your MX records
  106. - Ensure that port 25 is open on your server. [Vultr](https://www.vultr.com/docs/what-ports-are-blocked) for instance blocks this by default, you need to open a support ticket with them to open it. You can't send mail if 25 is blocked