Mail-in-a-Box

Setup scripts that turn a fresh Ubuntu server into a complete mail host with webmail, spam filtering, DNS and TLS, run from a single control panel.

15.5k stars, 1.6k forks Python On GitHub since August 2013

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

Mail-in-a-Box at a glance

Open sourceYes, CC0-1.0No paid parts in the repository
Health53 of 100Actively developed
Self-hostingFrom sourceSteps in the README
InterfaceEnglish onlyNo translation files found
Issue repliesWithin ~12 daysMedian first reply; 30% of recent issues answered

What is Mail-in-a-Box?

Mail-in-a-Box installs and configures a whole email system on a clean Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 64-bit machine. Postfix handles SMTP, Dovecot handles IMAP, Roundcube provides webmail, Nextcloud supplies contacts and calendars, and z-push offers Exchange ActiveSync. The box also runs its own DNS server and sets SPF, DKIM, DMARC, DNSSEC, DANE and MTA-STS records automatically, fetches Let's Encrypt certificates, and adds spam filtering, greylisting, backups, a firewall and fail2ban. A control panel and matching API manage users, aliases and DNS, while daily health checks report problems. The project deliberately avoids user-configurable setup options and does not aim to please power users.

Good fit if

  • You want to leave Gmail or another hosted mailbox for a server of your own without learning each mail component.
  • You run mail for a family, a small group or a handful of domains and value sane defaults over tuning.
  • You want DNS records and certificates handled for you instead of by hand.

Look elsewhere if

Before you adopt it

The code is dedicated to the public domain under the CC0-1.0 license, so you may use and change it with no conditions, and there are no paid parts. JoshData started the project in August 2013, and six authors have committed to it in the last 90 days. It takes over an entire dedicated machine and offers no Docker image. The README warns that other providers may still block or filter your outgoing mail, a problem for any self-run server.

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 Mail-in-a-Box 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
None in the repository
Compose file
None in the repository
Setup effort
Not rated: no compose file to judge from
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
No app builds in GitHub releases
Interface languages
English only

Install instructions: mailinabox.email or the README on GitHub.

Mail-in-a-Box health: is it still maintained?

53 of 100, actively developed

Release rhythmEvery ~4 months4 releases in 12 months; latest v77
Issue repliesWithin ~12 daysMedian first reply; 30% of recent issues answered
Bus factorLow riskThe most active of 7 authors wrote 45% of recent commits
  • Activity
    11 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 8 November 2026.
    13 / 30
  • Contributors
    7 people wrote the 11 commits of the last 90 days; the most active wrote 45% of them.
    12 / 20
  • Releases
    4 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v77, on 26 September 2026.
    16 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 30% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 12 days.
    6 / 20
  • Security practices
    OpenSSF Scorecard 5.7 of 10.
    6 / 10

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

Mail-in-a-Box 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 advisoriesNone publishedNo advisories in the repository’s Security tab
OpenSSF Scorecard5.7 of 10How the project is built and released
Security policyYesExplains how to report a vulnerability

What each Scorecard check found

  • Binary files10 / 10No compiled binaries checked into the repository
  • License file10 / 10A license file is present
  • Maintained10 / 10Steady commits and issue activity in the last 90 days
  • Security policy10 / 10Explains how to report a vulnerability
  • Code review5 / 10Some changes are merged without review
  • Branch protection3 / 10Rules on the main branch are partly enforced
  • Best-practices badge0 / 10No OpenSSF Best Practices badge
  • Fuzzing0 / 10No fuzz testing found
  • Static analysis0 / 10No static analysis found

Advisories read from GitHub on 12 November 2026. From the OpenSSF Scorecard of 2 November 2026; checks that do not apply to Mail-in-a-Box are left out.

Mail-in-a-Box license: is it open source?

Mail-in-a-Box uses CC0-1.0, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. August 2013First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayCC0-1.0.

Mail-in-a-Box for developers

Written in

  • Python 53%
  • Shell 26%
  • HTML 20%
  • PHP 1%
  • Handlebars <1%

Getting involved

Contributing guideYesCONTRIBUTING.mdOpen issues554On GitHub
Authors, 90 days7Of 11 commits

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

Alternatives to Mail-in-a-Box

  • MailuInsular email distribution - mail server as Docker images 76 health · MIT · 7.6k stars
  • Stalwart Mail ServerAll-in-one Mail & Collaboration server. Secure, scalable and fluent in every protocol (IMAP, JMAP, SMTP,… 57 health · Unidentified license · 15.9k stars
  • Maddy Mail ServerComposable all-in-one mail server. 73 health · GPL-3.0 · 6.1k stars
  • docker-mailserverProduction-ready fullstack but simple mail server (SMTP, IMAP, LDAP, Antispam, Antivirus, etc.) running… 80 health · MIT · 19.7k stars
  • PostalA fully featured open source mail delivery platform for incoming & outgoing e-mail 45 health · MIT · 17k stars

All 17 projects in Email servers & webmail

Questions about Mail-in-a-Box

Is Mail-in-a-Box open source?

Yes. Mail-in-a-Box is published under CC0-1.0, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is Mail-in-a-Box still maintained?

Its health score is 53 of 100 (actively developed). It had 11 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 8 November 2026, and its latest release came out on 26 September 2026.

How do I run Mail-in-a-Box?

The repository has no Docker files or app builds, so you build it from source. The README on GitHub has the steps.

What is Mail-in-a-Box written in?

Mail-in-a-Box is written mainly in Python (53% of the code), with Shell (26%) and HTML (20%), by GitHub’s count of the repository.

What are the alternatives to Mail-in-a-Box?

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