webmail_dovecot_postfix_jprjr.pmx

---
name: Email with Dovecot, Postfix, SpamAssassin, and Webmail with RainLoop
description: "This aspires to be a full-fledged email system as an easy-to-deploy
  template. I want to make email easier to use!\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, Postfix and
  Docker seem to not get along, and I'm simply out of time to continue working on
  this further.\r\n\r\nMaking this template really taught me how I *should* be making
  my Docker images, though, to be friendlier towards systems like Panamax - I've written
  about it here: https://jrjrtech.com/blog/blog/2014/08/20/panamax-docker-best-practices/"
keywords: email,webmail,dovecot,postfix,rainloop,mysql
type: Default
documentation: |
  # Email with Dovecot, Postfix, SpamAssassin, and Webmail with RainLoop

  ## Current working status: partially

  So off the bat, just to let you know - this template doesn't fully work yet
  (you can't actually send or recieve mail).
  I'm still putting it out there, in the hopes that somebody can pick
  up where I left off and build something useful.

  I've written a [blog post](https://jrjrtech.com/blog/blog/2014/08/20/panamax-docker-best-practices/) about the process, where I try to outline some
  best practices for making new Docker images.

  ## Requirements

  I recommend at least 1GB of RAM and two cores for good performance.

  ## Application Setup

  ### Environment variables

  Setting up an email system is no easy task! First thing's first, here's the
  list of **required** environment variables you'll need to deploy this template:

  * `MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD` - This sets the root password on the `mysql` image.
  * `MYSQL_USER` and `MYSQL_PASS` - Set this to `root` and whatever you put into `MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD`, respectively.
  * `DOVECOT_SQL_USER` and `DOVECOT_SQL_PASS` - This is the username and password for accessing the user database.
  * `ADMIN_EMAIL` - This does two things: it creates a default mail account, and it also drives what domain this mail system serves.
  * `ADMIN_PASS` - This is the password for the `ADMIN_EMAIL` account.
  * `NGINX` - Set this to `1` on the `jprjr/rainloop` image to use an embedded NGINX process.

  Here's the list of what environment variables each container needs:

  * `mysql` - `MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD`
  * `jprjr/ubuntu-dovecot` - `MYSQL_USER`, `MYSQL_PASS`, `DOVECOT_SQL_USER`,
    `DOVECOT_SQL_PASS`, `ADMIN_EMAIL`, `ADMIN_PASS`
  * `jprjr/ubuntu-spamassassin` - None.
  * `jprjr/ubuntu-postfix` - `DOVECOT_SQL_USER`, `DOVECOT_SQL_PASS`, `ADMIN_EMAIL`
  * `jprjr/rainloop` - `NGINX`
  * `jprjr/mailadmin` - `DOVECOT_SQL_USER`, `DOVECOT_SQL_PASS`

  Some images have a few other variables available, but they're not needed
  for this application.

  ### Required files

  You'll need to place your public ssh key into an `authorized_keys` file at
  `/home/core/jprjr-webmail/private/ssh/authorized_keys` and restart.

  ### Port Forwarding

  In order to use these services, you'll need to forward some ports.

  If you're running Panamax on a local machine with VirtualBox, here's
  some handy port-forwarding commands:

  * SSH access to `jprjr/mailadmin`:
    `VBoxManage controlvm panamax-vm natpf1 mailadmin,tcp,,10022,,10022`
  * HTTP access to `jprjr/rainloop`:
    `VBoxManage controlvm panamax-vm natpf1 webmail,tcp,,8080,,8080`
  * IMAP access to `jprjr/ubuntu-dovecot`:
    `VBoxManage controlvm panamax-vm natpf1 imap,tcp,,143,,143`
  * SMTP access to `jprjr/ubuntu-postfix`:
    `VBoxManage controlvm panamax-vm natpf1 smtp,tcp,,25,,25`
  * Submission access to `jprjr/ubuntu-postfix`:
    `VBoxManage controlvm panamax-vm natpf1 submission,tcp,,587,,587`

  ## Post-Run Usage


  ### jprjr/rainloop
  Open a web browser to [localhost:8080/?admin](http://localhost:8080/?admin)
  (or whatever you setup - the important part of the url is `?admin`), and
  login as `admin` with the password `12345`.

  In the rainloop administrative interface, click `Domains`, and add your
  domain from the `ADMIN_EMAIL` environment variable. The Dovecot and
  Postfix containers are linked as `imap` and `smtp`, respectively, so
  use those as your server names.

  As of this writing, testing the SMTP server will fail (I still don't
  have Postfix working correctly). This means actually sending email will
  not work.

  Then navigate to [localhost:8080](http://localhost:8080) and start using
  RainLoop! You should be able to login with whatever you set in the
  `ADMIN_EMAIL` and `ADMIN_PASS` environment variables.

  ### jprjr/mailadmin
  Once the application has been restarted/rebuilt after placing your ssh public key
  into `/home/core/jprjr-webmail/private/ssh/authorized_keys`, run:

  `ssh -p 10022 mailadmin@localhost`

  You'll have a shell where you can run a `mailadmin` command for listing
  users, adding new users, deleting users, and so on. Just typing `mailadmin`
  will show you how to use it.

  ### jprjr/ubuntu-dovecot and jprjr/ubuntu-postfix

  These work like any other mail server - configuring a mail client like
  Thunderbird, Geary, etc is beyond the scope of this document.
images:
- name: mysql
  source: mysql:latest
  category: DB
  type: Default
  environment:
  - variable: MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD
    value: mysqlr00t
  volumes:
  - host_path: "/home/core/jprjr-webmail/lib/mysql"
    container_path: "/var/lib/mysql"
- name: jprjr_ubuntu-dovecot
  source: jprjr/ubuntu-dovecot:14.04
  category: Mail
  type: Default
  expose:
  - '10026'
  - '12345'
  ports:
  - host_port: '143'
    container_port: '143'
    proto: TCP
  - host_port: '993'
    container_port: '993'
    proto: TCP
  links:
  - service: mysql
    alias: mysql
  environment:
  - variable: MYSQL_USER
    value: root
  - variable: MYSQL_PASS
    value: mysqlr00t
  - variable: DOVECOT_SQL_USER
    value: dovecot
  - variable: DOVECOT_SQL_PASS
    value: dovecotr00t
  - variable: ADMIN_EMAIL
    value: postmaster@nowhere.local
  volumes:
  - host_path: "/home/core/jprjr-webmail/srv/mail"
    container_path: "/srv/mail"
  - host_path: "/home/core/jprjr-webmail/etc/dovecot"
    container_path: "/etc/dovecot"
  - host_path: "/home/core/jprjr-webmail/private"
    container_path: "/private"
- name: jprjr_ubuntu-spamassassin
  source: jprjr/ubuntu-spamassassin:14.04
  category: Mail
  type: Default
  expose:
  - '10025'
  links:
  - service: jprjr_ubuntu-dovecot
    alias: dovecot
  volumes:
  - host_path: "/home/core/jprjr-webmail/lib/spamassasin"
    container_path: "/var/lib/spamassassin"
- name: jprjr_ubuntu-postfix
  source: jprjr/ubuntu-postfix:14.04
  category: Mail
  type: Default
  ports:
  - host_port: '25'
    container_port: '25'
    proto: TCP
  - host_port: '587'
    container_port: '587'
    proto: TCP
  links:
  - service: mysql
    alias: mysql
  - service: jprjr_ubuntu-dovecot
    alias: dovecot
  - service: jprjr_ubuntu-spamassassin
    alias: spamassassin
  environment:
  - variable: DOVECOT_SQL_USER
    value: dovecot
  - variable: DOVECOT_SQL_PASS
    value: dovecotr00t
  - variable: ADMIN_EMAIL
    value: postmaster@nowhere.local
  volumes:
  - host_path: "/home/core/jprjr-webmail/private"
    container_path: "/private"
  - host_path: "/home/core/jprjr-webmail/etc/postfix"
    container_path: "/etc/postfix"
- name: jprjr_rainloop
  source: jprjr/rainloop:latest
  category: Web
  type: Default
  ports:
  - host_port: '8080'
    container_port: '80'
    proto: TCP
  links:
  - service: jprjr_ubuntu-dovecot
    alias: imap
  - service: jprjr_ubuntu-postfix
    alias: smtp
  environment:
  - variable: NGINX
    value: '1'
  volumes:
  - host_path: "/home/core/jprjr-webmail/lib/rainloop"
    container_path: "/var/lib/rainloop/data"
- name: jprjr_mailadmin
  source: jprjr/mailadmin:latest
  category: SSH
  type: Default
  ports:
  - host_port: '10022'
    container_port: '22'
    proto: TCP
  links:
  - service: mysql
    alias: mysql
  environment:
  - variable: DOVECOT_SQL_USER
    value: dovecot
  - variable: DOVECOT_SQL_PASS
    value: dovecotr00t
  volumes:
  - host_path: "/home/core/jprjr-webmail/etc/ssh"
    container_path: "/etc/ssh"
  - host_path: "/home/core/jprjr-webmail/private"
    container_path: "/private"