How to Install Mailu on macOS

In this tutorial, you will learn how to install Mailu on macOS, a self-hosted, privacy-focused email server, using Docker.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure that you have :

• A macOS machine with Docker installed.
• A domain name pointing to your server's IP address.
• A basic understanding of the terminal and running commands.

Step 1: Installing Docker

To install Docker on macOS, follow these steps:

1. Visit the Docker website (https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop) to download the Docker Desktop installer for macOS.
2. Once the installer has downloaded, double-click on it to begin the installation process.
3. Follow the instructions in the installer to complete the installation.

Step 2: Setting Up Mailu

To set up Mailu on your macOS machine, follow these steps:

1. Open the terminal application on your macOS machine.

2. Run the following command to clone Mailu's git repo:

   git clone https://github.com/Mailu/Mailu.git
   

3. Navigate to the Mailu directory by running:

   cd Mailu
   

4. Next, create a file named .env in the same directory, and add the following environment variables to it:

   BACKEND_HOSTNAME=mail.example.com # Replace "mail.example.com" with your domain name
   FRONTEND_HOSTNAME=webmail.example.com # Replace "webmail.example.com" with your domain name
   LETSENCRYPT_HOSTS=mail.example.com,webmail.example.com # Replace the domain names with your own
   LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL=your-email@example.com # Replace "your-email@example.com" with your own email address
   MAIL_SERVER_HOSTNAME=mail.example.com # Replace "mail.example.com" with your domain name
   MAILU_SECRET=your-secret # Replace "your-secret" with a strong secret key
   

5. Finally, run the following command to start Mailu:

   docker-compose up -d
   

This command will start Mailu, and once it has been started, you can access it by visiting https://mail.example.com in your web browser.

Step 3: Adding Mailboxes

To add mailboxes to your Mailu server, follow these steps:

1. Open the terminal application on your macOS machine.

2. Navigate to the Mailu directory by running:

   cd Mailu
   

3. Run the following command to open the Mailu management console:

   docker-compose exec admin flask mailu admin YOUR_EMAIL_ADDRESS
   

   Replace YOUR_EMAIL_ADDRESS with the email address of the admin account you want to create.

4. Follow the prompts to create your admin account.

   You can now use your admin account to manage your Mailu server and create mailboxes as needed.

Congratulations! You have now successfully installed Mailu on your macOS machine using Docker.

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Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!