Go to file
Joshua Tauberer e39b777abc require TLS on SMTP submission (port 587) to prevent accidental client misconfiguration, although this has no other practical consequences since without TLS clients couldn't authenticate anyway 2015-05-06 00:25:03 +00:00
conf anonymize X-Pgp-Agent, Mime-Version outgoing mail headers; fixes #342 2015-05-03 14:03:59 +00:00
management move the server: block of nsd.conf out of the management daemon and into the setup scripts 2015-05-04 11:24:40 +00:00
setup require TLS on SMTP submission (port 587) to prevent accidental client misconfiguration, although this has no other practical consequences since without TLS clients couldn't authenticate anyway 2015-05-06 00:25:03 +00:00
tests update test_dns 2014-06-21 12:32:20 -04:00
tools editconf.py: better error message if command line arguments are not valid 2015-04-11 15:25:11 -04:00
.gitignore adding externals and .env to gitignore 2014-07-07 07:06:36 -04:00
CHANGELOG.md update CHANGELOG 2015-05-03 14:33:22 +00:00
CONTRIBUTING.md adding CONTRIBUTING.md, see #23 2014-04-23 15:52:49 -04:00
LICENSE add CC0 1.0 Universal in LICENSE 2014-04-23 15:49:23 -04:00
README.md add instructions for verifying the signed tags to the README 2015-04-01 10:38:09 -04:00
Vagrantfile replace '-t 0' test with an environment variable since '-t 0' is false when standard input has been redirected and doesn't tell us whether or not we can use dialog for input, but Vagrant must be non-interactive 2014-08-25 07:54:11 -04:00

README.md

Mail-in-a-Box

By @JoshData and contributors.

Mail-in-a-Box helps individuals take back control of their email by defining a one-click, easy-to-deploy SMTP+everything else server: a mail server in a box.

Please see https://mailinabox.email for the project's website and setup guide!


I am trying to:

  • Make deploying a good mail server easy.
  • Promote decentralization, innovation, and privacy on the web.
  • Have automated, auditable, and idempotent configuration.
  • Not be a mail server that the NSA cannot hack.
  • Not be customizable by power users.

The long-term goal is to have this be a one-click email appliance with no user-configurable setup options.

For more background, see The Rationale.

This setup is what has been powering my own personal email since September 2013.

The Box

Mail-in-a-Box turns a fresh Ubuntu 14.04 LTS 64-bit machine into a working mail server, including SMTP (postfix), IMAP (dovecot), Exchange ActiveSync (z-push), webmail (Roundcube), spam filtering (spamassassin), greylisting (postgrey), CardDAV/CalDAV (ownCloud), DNS, SPF, DKIM (OpenDKIM), DMARC, DNSSEC, DANE TLSA, SSHFP, and basic system services like a firewall, intrusion protection, and setting the system clock.

Authenticity

I sign the release tags. To verify that a tag is signed by me, you can perform the following steps:

# Download my PGP key.
$ curl -s https://keybase.io/joshdata/key.asc | gpg --import
gpg: key C10BDD81: public key "Joshua Tauberer <jt@occams.info>" imported

# Clone this repository.
$ git clone https://github.com/mail-in-a-box/mailinabox
$ cd mailinabox

# Verify the tag.
$ git verify-tag v0.08
gpg: Signature made ..... using RSA key ID C10BDD81
gpg: Good signature from "Joshua Tauberer <jt@occams.info>"
gpg: WARNING: This key is not certified with a trusted signature!
gpg:          There is no indication that the signature belongs to the owner.
Primary key fingerprint: 5F4C 0E73 13CC D744 693B  2AEA B920 41F4 C10B DD81

The key ID and fingerprint above should match my Keybase.io key and the fingerprint I publish on my homepage.

The Acknowledgements

This project was inspired in part by the "NSA-proof your email in 2 hours" blog post by Drew Crawford, Sovereign by Alex Payne, and conversations with @shevski, @konklone, and @GregElin.

Mail-in-a-Box is similar to iRedMail and Modoboa.

The History

  • In 2007 I wrote a relatively popular Mozilla Thunderbird extension that added client-side SPF and DKIM checks to mail to warn users about possible phishing: add-on page, source.
  • Mail-in-a-Box was a semifinalist in the 2014 Knight News Challenge, but it was not selected as a winner.
  • Mail-in-a-Box hit the front page of Hacker News in April and September 2014.