Arch wiki mail server

Here's a basic guide to setting up a mail server using Arch Linux:

Prerequisites

• A fresh install of Arch Linux
• A static IP address for your server
• A domain name (optional, but recommended)

Step 1: Install required packages

Install the following packages:

sudo pacman -S postfix dovecot procmail

Step 2: Configure Postfix

Edit the Postfix configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/postfix/main.cf

Add the following lines to the end of the file:

mydestination = example.com
myhostname = mail.example.com
myorigin = $myhostname

Replace example.com with your domain name.

Step 3: Configure Dovecot

Edit the Dovecot configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf

Add the following lines to the end of the file:

mail_location = maildir:~/Maildir
first_valid_uid = 500
first_valid_gid = 500

Step 4: Configure Procmail

Edit the Procmail configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/procmailrc

Add the following lines to the end of the file:

:0
* ^X-No-Archive:.*

This will prevent emails from being archived.

Step 5: Start and enable services

Start the Postfix and Dovecot services:

sudo systemctl start postfix
sudo systemctl start dovecot

Enable them to start automatically on boot:

sudo systemctl enable postfix
sudo systemctl enable dovecot

Step 6: Configure DNS

If you have a domain name, you'll need to configure your DNS settings to point to your mail server. You can do this by creating a TXT record with your DNS provider.

Step 7: Test your mail server

Use a tool like telnet to test your mail server:

telnet mail.example.com 25

Replace mail.example.com with your mail server's hostname.

Step 8: Set up email clients

You can now set up email clients like Thunderbird or Outlook to connect to your mail server.

Additional tips

• Make sure to secure your mail server by setting up SSL/TLS certificates and configuring firewall rules to only allow incoming connections on port 25.
• Consider using a webmail interface like Roundcube or SquirrelMail to manage your email accounts.
• You may need to configure additional settings depending on your specific use case (e.g., spam filtering, virus scanning, etc.).

That's it! With these steps, you should have a basic mail server up and running on Arch Linux.