How to Install Mailtrain on Windows 10

Mailtrain is an open-source self-hosted email newsletter application that allows you to send newsletters to your subscribers. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of installing Mailtrain on your Windows 10 machine.

Prerequisites

Before we begin with the installation process, make sure your Windows 10 machine meets the following prerequisites:

• Node.js version 14 or higher
• MongoDB Community Server
• Git

Step 1 - Download Mailtrain

The first step is to download Mailtrain from Github. You can either download the ZIP file or clone the repository using Git.

To clone the repository:

1. Open Command Prompt (CMD) or Git Bash.
2. Change the current working directory to where you would like to install Mailtrain.
3. Type the following command and press Enter: git clone https://github.com/Mailtrain-org/mailtrain

This will clone the Mailtrain repository to your local machine.

Step 2 - Install Dependencies

After downloading Mailtrain, navigate to the Mailtrain directory in CMD or Git Bash and install the necessary dependencies by running the following command:

npm install

This command installs all the required dependencies for Mailtrain to function correctly.

Step 3 - MongoDB Setup

Next, we need to set up MongoDB. Follow these steps to install and set up MongoDB Community Server:

1. Go to https://www.mongodb.com/try/download/community and download MongoDB Community Server for Windows.
2. Run the installer and follow the setup wizard to install MongoDB on your machine.
3. Once installed, open CMD and navigate to the MongoDB installation directory (by default, C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\{version}\bin).
4. Run the following command to start the MongoDB server: mongod --dbpath C:\data\db (Note: If you want to use a different directory for your database, replace C:\data\db with the path of your preferred directory).
5. MongoDB server should now be running on your machine.

Step 4 - Set up Mailtrain

Now that all the dependencies are installed, let's set up Mailtrain:

1. In the Mailtrain directory, create a copy of the .env.example file by running the following command:

   copy .env.example .env
   

2. Open the .env file using a text editor of your choice and update the following fields:

   VIRTUAL_HOST=localhost
   VIRTUAL_PORT=3000
   MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost/mailtrain
   

   • VIRTUAL_HOST is the hostname on which Mailtrain is running. By default, it is set to localhost.
   • VIRTUAL_PORT is the port on which Mailtrain is running. By default, it is set to 3000.
   • MONGODB_URI is the URI to connect to the MongoDB server. By default, it is set to mongodb://localhost/mailtrain. (Note: If you have changed the MongoDB server's default port or database name, adjust the URI accordingly).

3. To start Mailtrain, run the following command:

   npm start
   

4. Mailtrain should now be running on your Windows 10 machine. You can access it by opening a web browser and navigating to localhost:3000 (or whatever hostname/port you set up in the .env file). You should see the Mailtrain login page.

Conclusion

We hope this tutorial helped you install Mailtrain on your Windows 10 machine. Now that you have Mailtrain installed, you can explore its features and start creating and sending newsletters to your subscribers.

If you want to self-host in an easy, hands free way, need an external IP address, or simply want your data in your own hands, give IPv6.rs a try!

Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!