Modoboa

Self-Hosted

Self‑hosted email server in minutes

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Overview

Discover what makes Modoboa powerful

Modoboa is a **full‑stack, self‑hosted email platform** that bundles together an SMTP/MTA stack, a webmail interface, and an administrative portal into one cohesive system. From a developer’s standpoint it is essentially a *mail‑server framework* that abstracts the complexities of setting up Postfix, Dovecot, SpamAssassin, DKIM/DMARC, and a modern web stack. The goal is to deliver a production‑ready mail solution in under ten minutes while exposing a rich API surface for custom extensions and automation.

RESTful Admin API

Event Hooks

SMTP/IMAP Filtering

Webhooks

Overview

Modoboa is a full‑stack, self‑hosted email platform that bundles together an SMTP/MTA stack, a webmail interface, and an administrative portal into one cohesive system. From a developer’s standpoint it is essentially a mail‑server framework that abstracts the complexities of setting up Postfix, Dovecot, SpamAssassin, DKIM/DMARC, and a modern web stack. The goal is to deliver a production‑ready mail solution in under ten minutes while exposing a rich API surface for custom extensions and automation.

Technical Stack & Architecture

Layer	Technology	Rationale
Web Framework	Django (Python)	Provides a batteries‑included admin UI, ORM, and authentication.
Mail Transfer	Postfix (MTA)	Handles SMTP delivery; Modoboa configures it via templated `main.cf`/`master.cf`.
Mail Retrieval	Dovecot (IMAP/POP3)	Supplies secure mailbox access; Modoboa manages users, aliases, and virtual domains.
Spam & Security	SpamAssassin, ClamAV, OpenDKIM, Amavis	Integrated for content filtering and DKIM signing.
Database	PostgreSQL or MySQL	Stores domain, user, policy, and configuration data; Django ORM abstracts queries.
Webmail	Roundcube (PHP)	Embedded in the same project via a reverse proxy; shares user authentication.
Calendar & Address Book	SOGo or CalDAV/CardDAV services (optional)	Extensible via plugins; can be swapped with other open‑source solutions.

Modoboa orchestrates these components through a set of Django management commands that generate configuration files, reload services, and perform routine maintenance. The entire stack is packaged as a single repository, allowing developers to clone, tweak, and deploy without juggling multiple source trees.

Core Capabilities & APIs

RESTful Admin API: Exposes endpoints for domains, users, aliases, and policies. Authentication is token‑based (JWT), enabling automated provisioning scripts.
Event Hooks: Custom Python callbacks can be registered for events such as user creation, domain addition, or mailbox quota alerts.
SMTP/IMAP Filtering: Hooks into Postfix’s header_checks and Dovecot’s userdb to implement dynamic policies.
Webhooks: External services can subscribe to events (e.g., mailbox creation) via configurable URLs.
Plugin System: A Django‑style plugin architecture lets developers drop in new modules that register models, admin pages, and CLI commands.

Deployment & Infrastructure

Modoboa ships with Docker Compose files for quick prototyping and supports Kubernetes via Helm charts. For production, the recommended approach is a dedicated VM or bare‑metal server with at least 4 GB RAM, SSD storage, and a static IP. It scales horizontally by adding more mail workers (Postfix) or IMAP/POP3 servers, while the Django application can be load‑balanced behind a reverse proxy (NGINX/Traefik). Backups are managed through the built‑in modoboa-backup command, which snapshots PostgreSQL and mail directories.

Integration & Extensibility

LDAP/AD Support: Seamlessly bind to external directory services for user authentication.
OAuth2 & SAML: Optional single‑sign‑on providers can be configured for the admin panel.
Custom Domains & MX Records: Programmatic DNS updates via Cloudflare or AWS Route 53 APIs.
Email Templates & Filters: Developers can write custom Python filters that manipulate headers or content before delivery.
CLI Tooling: The modoboa command line offers sub‑commands for mass user import, quota checks, and service reloads.

Developer Experience

Modoboa’s documentation is developer‑centric: the README, API reference, and plugin guide are all hosted in a single Sphinx build. The codebase follows Django conventions, making it familiar to Python developers. Community support is active on GitHub Discussions and a dedicated mailing list, with frequent updates that align with upstream Postfix/Dovecot releases. Licensing is GPLv3, ensuring freedom to modify and redistribute the software without vendor lock‑in.

Use Cases

Private Email Hosting for SMBs – Deploy a single VM that handles domain registration, user provisioning, and spam filtering without external subscriptions.
Educational Institutions – Provide students with custom email accounts while integrating LDAP for campus authentication.
Developer Workspaces – Automate mailbox creation via CI pipelines (e.g., GitHub Actions) to test email integrations.
Compliance‑Focused Enterprises – Use the built‑in DKIM/DMARC tooling to meet regulatory requirements for email integrity.

Advantages Over Alternatives

Unified Stack: One repository manages both mail server and web UI, reducing integration friction.
Rapid Provisioning: Less than ten minutes from clone to a fully functional mail server, thanks to templated configs and automated reloads.
Extensible API: Built‑in REST endpoints and plugin hooks eliminate the need for custom scripts to manage mailboxes.
Open Source Freedom: GPLv3 license guarantees that no vendor lock‑in or hidden costs exist.
Active Community & Regular Updates: Frequent patches keep the stack current with security fixes for Postfix, Dovecot, and other components.

In summary, Modoboa offers developers a complete, extensible mail‑server framework