# mlandauer/cuttlefish

Transactional email server with a lovely web interface

Repository: https://github.com/mlandauer/cuttlefish
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/cuttlefish
Homepage: http://cuttlefish.io
Language: Ruby
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: email-sender, email, ruby-on-rails, cross-platform, mta, transactional-emails
Last push: 2024-06-27T03:33:49+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 32/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4904, "days_push": 797, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1623, forks 181 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:12.686417+00:00)

## What it is
Cuttlefish is a self-hosted transactional email server built on Postfix with a Ruby on Rails web interface. It lets applications send email via SMTP while providing delivery monitoring, bounce handling, open/click tracking, and a GraphQL API.

## Use cases
- send transactional emails from my app without vendor lock-in
- self-hosted alternative to sendgrid or mailgun
- monitor which emails bounce in real time
- track email opens and link clicks
- automatically stop sending to hard-bounced addresses
- manage smtp credentials for multiple apps
- check my email sending ip reputation

## When to choose
- you want an open-source, self-hosted replacement for commercial transactional email services
- you need bounce handling, open/click tracking, and delivery webhooks with a friendly web UI
- you're comfortable running your own mail infrastructure with Postfix, PostgreSQL, and Redis

## When to avoid
- you need incoming email handling, spam-complaint detection, or built-in email templates
- you prefer a managed service and don't want to operate an MTA
- you need a fully mature product - it's still labeled beta

## Facets
- artifact type: service
- maturity: active
- function: email, webhook, analytics, api-framework
- domain: email, self-hosted, backend, developer-tools
- platform: self-hosted
- tags: transactional-email, mta, postfix, dkim, email-tracking, smtp, graphql-api, open-source-alternative, linux, web-server, docker

## Member repositories
- mlandauer/cuttlefish (main) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:12.686417+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:48:51.803996+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/mlandauer/cuttlefish (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:12.686417+00:00, sha 40a0e85b4d92)
  - homepage: http://cuttlefish.io (fetched 2026-08-29T11:21:34.177606+00:00, sha b6cc40a8448f)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.