Maddy Mail Server

A composable mail server that sends, receives and stores email in one daemon, for people who want a simpler alternative to a multi-part Postfix setup.

6.1k stars, 348 forks Go On GitHub since November 2016

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

Maddy Mail Server at a glance

Open sourceYes, GPL-3.0No paid parts in the repository
Health73 of 100Actively developed
Self-hostingDocker, Helm chart, LinuxHelm chart in the repository
AppsLinux, including ARMBuilds in GitHub releases
InterfaceEnglish onlyNo translation files found
Issue repliesWithin ~20 hoursMedian first reply; 60% of recent issues answered

What is Maddy Mail Server?

Maddy Mail Server covers the whole job of running an email domain in a single program. It relays outgoing messages over SMTP as an MTA, accepts incoming mail as an MX, and stores mailboxes that clients read over IMAP. The security protocols that mail needs today, DKIM, SPF, DMARC, DANE and MTA-STS, are part of the server rather than separate add-on daemons. The goal is to replace Postfix, Dovecot, OpenDKIM, OpenSPF, OpenDMARC and similar tools with one configuration format and less upkeep.

Good fit if

  • You run mail for a personal or small domain and want one process to configure instead of several daemons.
  • You need a lean outbound or inbound SMTP relay with modern authentication checks and plan to keep mailboxes elsewhere.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want stable, feature-rich IMAP storage today: the README itself points to Dovecot, or a packaged stack such as Mailcow or docker-mailserver.
  • You want a one-click setup for a complete mail box: Mail-in-a-Box.

Before you adopt it

Maddy is licensed under GPL-3.0, and there are no paid parts in the repository. The README marks its IMAP storage as beta. Almost all recent commits come from foxcpp, the repository owner, so one developer maintains the project; work continues, with a fresh release in November 2026. Linux builds, a Docker image and a Helm chart are available. As with any mail server, you still need to handle DNS records and IP reputation yourself.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 7 November 2026. Report a correction

How to run Maddy Mail Server yourself

One-click install

Not listed in the app catalogs of Umbrel, YunoHost, TrueNAS, Unraid, CasaOS, Runtipi, Proxmox VE Helper-Scripts and Coolify.

Ways to install

Docker files
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Docker image
foxcpp/maddy: 551k pulls · x86-64, ARM64 · 31 MB downloadAlso ghcr.io/foxcpp/maddy
Compose file
None in the repository
Setup effort
Not rated: no compose file to judge from
Kubernetes
Helm chart in the repository
Packages
AUR, Alpine, Void, Nix and MacPorts versions on Repology
Desktop and mobile
Builds for Linux, including ARM in GitHub releases
Interface languages
English only

Install instructions: maddy.email or the README on GitHub. Docker images and packages are checked weekly.

Maddy Mail Server health: is it still maintained?

73 of 100, actively developed

Release rhythmEvery ~51 days9 releases in 12 months; latest v0.9.7
Issue repliesWithin ~20 hoursMedian first reply; 60% of recent issues answered
Bus factorHigh riskThe most active of 5 authors wrote 92% of recent commits
  • Activity
    74 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 11 November 2026.
    23 / 30
  • Contributors
    5 people wrote the 74 commits of the last 90 days; the most active wrote 92% of them.
    10 / 20
  • Releases
    9 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v0.9.7, on 5 November 2026.
    18 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 60% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 20 hours.
    17 / 20
  • Security practices
    OpenSSF Scorecard 5.2 of 10.
    5 / 10

Read from GitHub on 12 November 2026. How the score works

Maddy Mail Server security

Security advisories are the vulnerabilities the maintainers disclosed on GitHub, with the versions that fix them; many advisories can mean careful disclosure as much as weak code. OpenSSF Scorecard checks how a project is developed and released: reviews, protected branches, pinned dependencies, signed releases. It does not audit the code itself.

Security advisories16 published2 critical, 6 high; all list a fixed version
OpenSSF Scorecard5.2 of 10How the project is built and released
Security policyPartlyExplains how to report a vulnerability
Signed releasesPartlyOnly some downloads can be checked against a signature

Latest advisories

All 16 advisories on GitHub

What each Scorecard check found

  • Binary files10 / 10No compiled binaries checked into the repository
  • Dangerous workflows10 / 10No risky patterns in GitHub Actions
  • License file10 / 10A license file is present
  • Maintained10 / 10Steady commits and issue activity in the last 90 days
  • Packaging10 / 10Releases are published as packages from CI
  • Signed releases8 / 10Some releases are signed
  • Security policy4 / 10A security policy exists but leaves things out
  • Branch protection3 / 10Rules on the main branch are partly enforced
  • Code review2 / 10Some changes are merged without review
  • Best-practices badge0 / 10No OpenSSF Best Practices badge
  • Fuzzing0 / 10No fuzz testing found
  • Pinned dependencies0 / 10Dependencies are not pinned to fixed versions
  • Static analysis0 / 10No static analysis found
  • Token permissions0 / 10CI tokens have broad write rights

Advisories read from GitHub on 12 November 2026. From the OpenSSF Scorecard of 26 October 2026; checks that do not apply to Maddy Mail Server are left out.

Maddy Mail Server license: is it open source?

Maddy Mail Server uses GPL-3.0, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. November 2016First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayGPL-3.0.

Maddy Mail Server for developers

Written in

  • Go 99%
  • C <1%
  • Shell <1%
  • Go Template <1%
  • Dockerfile <1%

Getting involved

Good first issues17Open, labelled “good first issue”Help wanted6Open, labelled “help wanted”Contributing guideYesCONTRIBUTING.mdOpen issues93On GitHub
Authors, 90 days5Of 74 commits

Language shares are GitHub’s count of the code in the repository.

Alternatives to Maddy Mail Server

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Questions about Maddy Mail Server

Is Maddy Mail Server open source?

Yes. Maddy Mail Server is published under GPL-3.0, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is Maddy Mail Server still maintained?

Its health score is 73 of 100 (actively developed). It had 74 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 11 November 2026, and its latest release came out on 5 November 2026.

How do I run Maddy Mail Server?

You can run it with the Docker image foxcpp/maddy, on Kubernetes with the Helm chart in the repository and as an app for Linux, including ARM. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What is Maddy Mail Server written in?

Maddy Mail Server is written mainly in Go (99% of the code), by GitHub’s count of the repository.

What are the alternatives to Maddy Mail Server?

Close alternatives in the Email servers & webmail category include Mailu, Stalwart Mail Server, docker-mailserver.