# mail-in-a-box/mailinabox

Mail-in-a-Box helps individuals take back control of their email by defining a one-click, easy-to-deploy SMTP+everything else server: a mail server in a box.

Repository: https://github.com/mail-in-a-box/mailinabox
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/mailinabox
Homepage: https://mailinabox.email/
Language: Python
License: CC0-1.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: smtp, email, mail, server
Last push: 2026-08-21T14:01:37+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 90/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 73, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4760, "days_push": 12, "days_rel": 101, "gap_med": 37, "n_releases_24m": 8}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 15396, forks 1548 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:09.779905+00:00)

## What it is
Mail-in-a-Box is a one-click, easy-to-deploy mail server appliance that turns a fresh Ubuntu 22.04 machine into a complete email provider with SMTP, IMAP, webmail, DNS, and security features. It bundles Postfix, Dovecot, Nextcloud, Roundcube, spam filtering, automatic TLS, and a web control panel with no user-configurable setup options.

## Use cases
- self-host my own email server
- run my own gmail alternative
- set up SMTP and IMAP on a cloud VPS
- get automatic SPF DKIM DMARC DNS records for email deliverability
- host webmail with contacts and calendar sync
- deploy a mail server with automatic Let's Encrypt TLS
- become my own email service provider

## When to choose
- you want a dedicated, turnkey mail server that just works with minimal configuration
- you value decentralization and privacy and want control over your email end to end
- you have a fresh cloud VM running Ubuntu 22.04 and don't need to customize the box
- you want built-in backups, monitoring, spam filtering, and DNS management in one appliance

## When to avoid
- you want to run mail on a home/residential connection with a dynamic IP
- you need a highly customizable or multi-purpose server you can modify freely
- you need fine-grained control over individual mail components or alternative configurations
- you want to co-host other services on the same machine

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: email, self-hosted, deployment, configuration-management, security, backup, monitoring
- domain: email, self-hosted, privacy, networking
- platform: self-hosted, cli
- tags: mail-server, smtp, imap, dns, dkim, spf, dmarc, lets-encrypt, nextcloud, roundcube, one-click-appliance, devops, linux, web-server

## Member repositories
- mail-in-a-box/mailinabox (main) score 90

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:09.779905+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 2026-08-29T17:05:55.343791+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/mail-in-a-box/mailinabox (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:09.779905+00:00, sha cf88668e3f47)
  - homepage: https://mailinabox.email/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:04:06.876239+00:00, sha 202c210435d7)
  - site_page: https://mailinabox.email/guide.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:04:06.885752+00:00, sha 7a70da748ca9)
  - site_page: https://mailinabox.email/api-docs.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:04:06.888224+00:00, sha f5a0a1bfb77b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.