Deployment

🚢 Deployment

Mailbox supports two primary deployment strategies. Choose the one that best fits your infrastructure.

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Option A — Vercel (Recommended)

Vercel is the easiest and fastest way to deploy a Next.js application. It handles scaling, SSL, and zero-downtime deployments automatically.

Step 1 — Connect Repository

1. Go to vercel.com and log in.
2. Click Add New Project → Import your mail-box GitHub repository.
3. Select Next.js as the framework preset (should be auto-detected).

Step 2 — Configure Environment Variables

In the Vercel project settings, add the following environment variables:

Variable	Description
DATABASE_URL	Pooled connection string from Neon/Supabase
AUTH_SECRET	A long random secret string (use openssl rand -base64 32)
SMTP_HOST	Outgoing SMTP server
SMTP_PORT	SMTP port (465 or 587)
SMTP_USER	SMTP username
SMTP_PASS	SMTP password
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL	Your public app URL (e.g., https://mail.yourcompany.com)

Step 3 — Set Build Command

In Project Settings → Build & Development Settings, set the Build Command to:

npm run vercel-build

This command runs:

prisma generate && prisma db push && next build

It automatically handles client generation, schema sync, and the Next.js production build.

Step 4 — Deploy

Click Deploy. Vercel will build and publish the application. Your app will be live at a .vercel.app URL, which you can then map to your custom domain.

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Option B — Self-Hosted (VPS with Docker)

Use this option if you want full control over your infrastructure (AWS EC2, DigitalOcean Droplet, Hetzner, etc.).

Prerequisites

• A Linux VPS with Docker and Docker Compose installed.
• A domain name pointing to your server's IP address.
• A reverse proxy (Nginx or Caddy) for SSL termination.

Step 1 — Clone the Repository on the Server

git clone https://github.com/Prashant4900/mail-box.git
cd mail-box

Step 2 — Configure Environment

cp .env.example .env
nano .env  # or use your preferred editor

Fill in your production database URL, SMTP credentials, and app URL.

Step 3 — Start the Application

npm run docker:up

This builds the Docker image and starts all containers in detached mode.

Step 4 — Configure Nginx as a Reverse Proxy

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name mail.yourcompany.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}

Use Certbot to provision a free SSL certificate:

sudo certbot --nginx -d mail.yourcompany.com

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Docker Commands Reference

Command	Description
npm run docker:up	Build and start all containers
npm run docker:down	Stop and remove containers
npm run docker:logs	Stream live logs from all containers

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Post-Deployment Checklist

• Application loads at your public URL over HTTPS.
• Setup wizard completes and admin account is created.
• Database connection is healthy (check logs).
• SMTP sending works (send a test email from compose).
• Cloudflare domain is linked in Settings.
• At least one mailbox address is configured and tested.
• Team members are invited via the Users panel.

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Updating the Application

Vercel

Pushing to the main branch on GitHub will trigger an automatic Vercel deployment. Zero manual steps needed.

Self-Hosted (Docker)

cd mail-box
git pull origin main
npm run docker:down
npm run docker:up