How to Install Mailman on macOS

Mailman is a free and open-source software for managing electronic mail discussion and e-newsletter lists. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the step-by-step process of installing Mailman on macOS.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, you need to ensure that you have the following prerequisites:

• A macOS operating system with administrative access.
• A stable internet connection.

Installation Steps

1. Download the Mailman source code

   • Go to the official Mailman website and download the latest Mailman source code.
   • Open your Terminal application and navigate to the directory where you downloaded the Mailman source code.

2. Install the dependencies

   • Mailman requires several dependencies, including Python and Postfix

   • Install Python3 and Postfix by running the following command in your Terminal:

     brew install python3 postfix
     

   • If you don't have Homebrew installed, you can download it from https://brew.sh/.

3. Install virtualenv

   • Mailman requires virtualenv to create and manage a separate environment with its own set of dependencies.

   • Run the following command in your Terminal to install virtualenv:

     sudo pip3 install virtualenv
     

4. Create a virtual environment

   • Create a virtual environment to install Mailman and its dependencies.

   • Run the following command in your Terminal to create the virtual environment:

     virtualenv -p python3.7 mailman
     

     (Replace python3.7 with the version of Python you installed in previous steps)

5. Activate the virtual environment

   • Activate the virtual environment by running the following command in your Terminal:

     source mailman/bin/activate
     

6. Install Mailman

   • You can now install Mailman inside the virtual environment.

   • Install Mailman by running the following command in your Terminal:

     pip3 install mailman==3.3.2
     

     (Replace 3.3.2 with the version of Mailman you downloaded in step 1)

7. Configure Mailman

   • Mailman uses a configuration file to set up various options such as SMTP, Domain etc.

   • Run the following command in your Terminal to generate a default mm_cfg.py configuration file:

     mailman info | sudo tee /usr/local/mailman/mm_cfg.py >/dev/null
     

8. Install and configure Apache

   • Apache is needed to make the web interface work.

   • Install Apache by running the following command in your Terminal:

     brew install httpd
     

   • After installing Apache, enable its configuration file for Mailman by adding the following lines to the end of the /usr/local/etc/httpd/httpd.conf file:

     LoadModule cgi_module libexec/apache2/mod_cgi.so
     ScriptAlias /mailman/ /Library/WebServer/CGI-Executables/mailman/
     

9. Launch Mailman Interface

   • You can now launch the Mailman interface by visiting the following link:

     http://localhost/mailman/admin
     

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Mailman on macOS. You can now manage electronic mail discussion and e-newsletter lists with ease. If you have any questions or issues while following these steps, feel free to comment below.

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!