# zone-eu/wildduck

Opinionated email server

Repository: https://github.com/zone-eu/wildduck
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/wildduck
Homepage: https://wildduck.email/
Language: JavaScript
License: EUPL-1.2
License Family: copyleft
Topics: imap-server, lmtp, mongodb, pop3-server
Last push: 2026-08-26T15:31:34+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 99/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 98, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3468, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 14, "gap_med": 7, "n_releases_24m": 50}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2109, forks 278 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:14.130585+00:00)

## What it is
WildDuck is a scalable, no-single-point-of-failure IMAP/POP3 email server built on Node.js that stores all mail in sharded and replicated MongoDB. It exposes a full REST API for managing accounts, mailboxes, messages, filters, and security, and pairs with Haraka (inbound SMTP) and ZoneMTA (outbound SMTP) to form a complete mail platform.

## Use cases
- run a self-hosted IMAP and POP3 email server for my domain
- host email for 1000+ accounts with horizontal scaling
- manage mail users and mailboxes via a REST API instead of config files
- build a Gmail-like email service with no single point of failure
- store email in MongoDB with attachment deduplication and compression
- add 2FA, application passwords, and PGP encryption to a mail server
- integrate inbound SMTP via Haraka and outbound via ZoneMTA

## When to avoid
- you run a small personal mail server — Postfix+Dovecot is simpler
- you prefer filesystem-based Maildir storage or relational databases
- you need a turnkey all-in-one mail server without assembling Haraka, ZoneMTA, MongoDB, and Redis

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: http-server, api-framework, auth, search-engine, webhook
- domain: email, self-hosted, backend, apis
- platform: self-hosted, cross-platform
- tags: imap-server, pop3-server, lmtp, mongodb, mail-server, no-spof, rest-api, dkim, two-factor-auth, nodejs, linux, docker

## Member repositories
- zone-eu/wildduck (main) score 99

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:14.130585+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 2026-08-30T02:53:52.002421+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/zone-eu/wildduck (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:14.130585+00:00, sha b5ccbfa1dce1)
  - homepage: https://wildduck.email/ (fetched 2026-08-29T10:34:29.779282+00:00, sha a85915540468)
  - site_page: https://docs.wildduck.email/docs/getting-started/introduction (fetched 2026-08-29T10:34:29.788393+00:00, sha b267ebf77d20)
  - site_page: https://docs.wildduck.email/docs/category/wildduck-api (fetched 2026-08-29T10:34:29.790575+00:00, sha a4965593e67f)
  - site_page: https://docs.wildduck.email/docs/architecture/inbound-smtp (fetched 2026-08-29T10:34:29.792357+00:00, sha f2673a8e39ba)
  - site_page: https://docs.wildduck.email/docs/architecture/outbound-smtp (fetched 2026-08-29T10:34:29.794422+00:00, sha de356760e8f6)
  - site_page: https://docs.wildduck.email/docs/architecture/overview (fetched 2026-08-29T10:34:29.796361+00:00, sha 5896b4141805)
  - site_page: https://docs.wildduck.email/docs/getting-started/installation (fetched 2026-08-29T10:34:29.798241+00:00, sha 98af8c65ce50)
  - site_page: https://docs.wildduck.email/docs/category/http-api (fetched 2026-08-29T10:34:29.799958+00:00, sha dfa9c74aba38)
  - site_page: https://docs.wildduck.email/docs/getting-started/faq (fetched 2026-08-29T10:34:29.801544+00:00, sha 8ac0295e43f0)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.