‍Are you looking for a robust and open-source mail server for your websites and web servers? Look no further! Postal Mail Server is a complete and fully-featured mail server that can be run on your own servers. Similar to popular platforms like Sendgrid, Mailgun, and Postmark, Postal is developed by Krystal and has been released as an open-source project for the community. In this article, we will guide you through the process of installing Postal Mail Server on AlmaLinux 8, empowering you to take control of your email infrastructure.

Prerequisites

Before we dive into the installation process, let’s make sure we have everything we need:

1. A system with AlmaLinux 8 installed and running.
2. Root access to the system.
3. Docker installed and running. If you haven’t installed Docker yet, you can refer to one of our comprehensive guides on installing Docker on AlmaLinux 8.
4. LAMP Stack (Apache, MariaDB, and PHP) installed and running. If you haven’t set up your LAMP Stack yet, don’t worry! We have a detailed guide on installing the LAMP Stack on AlmaLinux 8 that you can follow.

Now that we have all the prerequisites in place, let’s proceed with the installation and configuration of Postal Mail Server.

Step 1: Install Git, Curl & JSON data

To run certain Postal commands, we need to have a few system utilities installed. Let’s start by installing Git, Curl, and JSON data:

yum install git curl jq

Step 2: Download Postal Git Repository

Next, let’s download the Postal Git Repository:

git clone https://postalserver.io/start/install /opt/postal/install
ln -s /opt/postal/install/bin/postal /usr/bin/postal

Step 3: Setup Database Connection using Docker

Postal requires a database engine to store all email and configuration data. Let’s set up a MariaDB database using Docker:

docker run -d \
--name postal-mariadb \
-p 127.0.0.1:3306:3306 \
--restart always \
-e MARIADB_DATABASE=crowncloud \
-e MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD=crowncloud_password \
mariadb

Make sure you replace “crowncloud_password” with a strong and secure password of your choice.

Step 4: Install RabbitMQ using Docker

RabbitMQ is responsible for dispatching messages between different processes in Postal. Let’s set up RabbitMQ using Docker:

docker run -d \
--name postal-rabbitmq \
-p 127.0.0.1:5672:5672 \
--restart always \
-e RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER=crowncloud \
-e RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS=crowncloud_password \
-e RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_VHOST=crowncloud \
rabbitmq:3.8

Similar to the previous step, make sure to replace “crowncloud_password” with a strong password.

Step 5: Install Postal Mail Server

Now it’s time to install Postal Mail Server. Run the following command, replacing “dev1.domainhere.info” with the actual hostname you want to access your Postal web interface at. Make sure you have set up this domain with your DNS provider before proceeding:

postal bootstrap dev1.domainhere.info

Step 6: Configure Postal Mail Server

After the installation, we need to configure Postal with appropriate values for your setup. Open the Postal configuration file using the following command:

nano /opt/postal/config/postal.yml

In the configuration file, you will find a section named “DNS”. Replace the placeholder values with your actual domain name or IP address. Here’s an example of how it should look like:

dns:
mx_records:
- postal.dev1.domainhere.info
smtp_server_hostname: postal.dev1.domainhere.info
track_domain: postal.dev1.domainhere.info
spf_include: spf.postal.dev1.domainhere.info
return_path: rp.postal.dev1.domainhere.info
route_domain: routes.postal.dev1.domainhere.info

Save the changes and exit the editor.

Step 7: Install Docker Compose

To manage the Postal Mail Server, we need to install Docker Compose. Run the following commands:

curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/1.29.2/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
ln -s /usr/local/bin/docker-compose /usr/bin/docker-compose

Step 8: Initialize the Database

Before we can start using Postal, we need to initialize the database. Run the following command:

postal initialize

Step 9: Create a User Account

To access and manage Postal, we need to create a user account. Run the following command:

postal make-user

Follow the prompts to set up your username and password.

Step 10: Start Postal Mail Server

Now that everything is set up, it’s time to start Postal Mail Server:

postal start

Step 11: Enable Firewall

To ensure the security of your Postal Mail Server, it’s essential to enable the firewall and allow the necessary ports. Run the following commands:

firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-port 5000/tcp
firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
firewall-cmd --reload

Step 12: Install Caddy Server using Docker

To handle SSL termination and web traffic, we’ll use Caddy Server as a web proxy. Run the following command to install Caddy Server using Docker:

docker run -d \
--name postal-caddy \
--restart always \
--network host \
-v /opt/postal/config/Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile \
-v /opt/postal/caddy-data:/data \
caddy

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Postal Mail Server on AlmaLinux 8. Now, let’s access and manage your Postal Mail Server.

Open your preferred web browser and enter the domain name or IP address configured on your server, followed by port 5000:

https://dev1.domainhere.info:5000

Replace “dev1.domainhere.info” with your actual IP or domain. You will be redirected to the Postal Mail Server interface, where you can configure and manage your mail server.

Conclusion

By following this comprehensive guide, you have successfully installed Postal Mail Server on AlmaLinux 8. Postal provides a reliable and open-source solution for managing your email infrastructure. With its extensive features and easy-to-use interface, Postal empowers businesses to take control of their email delivery.

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So, what are you waiting for? Install Postal Mail Server on AlmaLinux 8 today and streamline your email delivery process with ease and efficiency.

Christian Wells