AnonAddy

AnonAddy is a self‑hosted anonymous email forwarding service that abstracts the complexity of creating, managing, and routing disposable aliases. From a developer’s standpoint, it functions as a lightweight proxy layer between external mail providers and the user’s personal inbox. Incoming messages to any *@<username>.anonaddy.com address are parsed, optionally encrypted with OpenPGP, and then relayed to one or more configured recipients. Replies are automatically rewritten so that the original alias is preserved, allowing fully anonymous two‑way communication without exposing the user’s real address.

Key Features

• Alias Generation – Create on‑demand or pre‑generated aliases, with support for shared domain names to obfuscate ownership links.
• Encryption & Signing – Optional GPG/OpenPGP integration for end‑to‑end encryption of both headers and attachments.
• Webhooks & API – RESTful endpoints for alias creation, deletion, and event notifications, enabling integration with CI/CD pipelines or custom dashboards.
• Spam & Abuse Controls – Rate limiting, blacklisting, and the ability to mark forwarded emails as spam directly from the UI.

Technical Stack

• Backend – Built in Python 3.x using the FastAPI framework for asynchronous request handling and automatic OpenAPI documentation.
• Database – Relies on PostgreSQL for relational storage of users, domains, aliases, and audit logs. Optional SQLite support is available for lightweight deployments.
• Email Transport – Utilizes the smtplib library to send emails via SMTP, with support for popular providers (Gmail, Outlook, custom MX records). Incoming mail is processed through an imaplib loop or via inbound webhook from external MTAs.
• Containerization – Docker images are provided, encapsulating the web service and a sidecar for scheduled cleanup tasks. Kubernetes manifests (Helm chart) are available for production clusters.

Deployment & Infrastructure

Running AnonAddy requires a domain with MX records pointing to the host’s public IP. The service can be deployed on any Linux VM, VPS, or cloud instance (DigitalOcean, AWS EC2, GCP Compute). For high‑availability scenarios, a load balancer can front multiple replicas behind a shared PostgreSQL cluster. The Docker image exposes environment variables for SMTP credentials, domain whitelists, and GPG key paths, making it straightforward to integrate into existing CI pipelines or Docker‑compose setups.

Integration & Extensibility

Developers can extend AnonAddy through its plugin‑style architecture: custom middleware can intercept requests, apply additional validation, or route emails to third‑party APIs. The public REST API allows programmatic alias management; for example, a SaaS platform can auto‑generate unique aliases per user during onboarding. Webhooks fire on events such as “alias created” or “email received,” enabling real‑time analytics or triggering downstream workflows (e.g., adding a user to a marketing list).

Developer Experience

The project ships with comprehensive documentation, including an OpenAPI spec that can be imported into Swagger UI or Postman. Community support is active on GitHub Discussions and Discord, where contributors frequently review PRs related to new features like DKIM signing or multi‑tenant deployment. Configuration is declarative: a single YAML/JSON file defines domains, SMTP settings, and feature flags, keeping the codebase clean while offering deep customization.

Use Cases

• Privacy‑Focused SaaS – Offer customers disposable addresses for account verification without exposing their real email.
• Security Testing Platforms – Generate temporary aliases to receive phishing test emails, ensuring internal teams never use personal addresses.
• Automated Ticketing Systems – Route support emails to multiple agents while keeping the original alias intact for anonymity.
• Developer Tooling – Integrate with CI pipelines to receive build failure notifications on a per‑branch alias, avoiding clutter in the main inbox.

Advantages

AnonAddy’s open‑source nature eliminates vendor lock‑in and licensing costs, while its lightweight Python/SQL stack ensures low resource consumption. Compared to commercial services, it offers full control over data residency, compliance (GDPR, HIPAA), and custom encryption policies. The modular architecture allows developers to drop in additional security layers (e.g., S/MIME) or replace the database backend without rewriting core logic.

In sum, AnonAddy provides a robust, extensible foundation for any project that requires anonymous email routing. Its clear API surface, container‑friendly deployment, and strong encryption support make it a compelling choice for developers prioritizing privacy, control, and scalability.