Self-host docker-mailserver

updated Jul 2026deployed by usprices checked · Jul 2026Install verified on Ubuntu 26.04 · Jul 2026 · how we test

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A production-ready, config-driven mail server in a single container — Postfix, Dovecot, and a choice of Amavis/SpamAssassin or Rspamd antispam, with no database and no web UI, configured entirely from plain files. A lightweight, MIT-licensed self-hosted alternative to Google Workspace email. As with any self-hosted mail, expect to manage deliverability (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and reverse DNS) so your mail reaches inboxes.

Key facts

CategoryMail Server

LicenseMIT

StackShell

Min RAM512 MB

Official imageyes

Measured idle RAM94 MB

Difficulty

Sourcegithub.com/docker-mailserver/docker-mailserver

Websitedocker-mailserver.github.io/docker-mailserver

Our recommendation

Pick docker-mailserver when you want a mail server you administer from a shell, not a browser: one MIT-licensed container of Postfix, Dovecot, Rspamd, Amavis, SpamAssassin, ClamAV, OpenDKIM/OpenDMARC and Fail2ban, configured entirely through `mailserver.env` and the bundled `setup` script — "only configuration files, no SQL database". It has the smallest RAM floor in this hub and is the easiest to version-control, and it is the least forgiving if you expected a web UI: there isn't one.

Follow the docker-mailserver deploy guide →

What you need

Any VPS with at least 512 MB of RAM
A domain you control — most self-hosted setups need HTTPS in front of them
About the better part of a day

Where to host itaffiliate disclosure

Hetzner Cloudrun it on

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DigitalOceanalso works on

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Install

Run these commands on your server:

# docker-mailserver — single container, no web UI; config from plain files
DMS_URL="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/docker-mailserver/docker-mailserver/master"
wget "${DMS_URL}/compose.yaml" && wget "${DMS_URL}/mailserver.env"
# Replace the hostname: mail.example.com line in compose.yaml with your
# own FQDN first — it ships as a placeholder and becomes your SMTP banner.
docker compose up -d && docker exec -ti mailserver setup email add user@example.com

deploy guideHow to Deploy docker-mailserver on a VPS vps picksBest VPS for self-hostingbenchmarked quarterly · re-priced monthly

What you take on

docker-mailserver ships with almost everything off; the defaults in `mailserver.env` decide what you actually get:

non-negotiableTLS is off out of the box — SSL_TYPE= empty means SSL disabled. The usage docs say "You definitely want to setup TLS"; set SSL_TYPE=letsencrypt (or manual/custom) before any client connects.

non-negotiableClamAV, Rspamd, SpamAssassin and Fail2ban all default to 0; Amavis and OpenDKIM default to 1. Turn on what you need deliberately, and remember that enabling ClamAV changes the memory picture — our 512 MB floor is our estimate for the defaults, not for a ClamAV-enabled stack.

non-negotiableThe compose file ships with hostname: mail.example.com as a placeholder; replace it with your real FQDN before first start, because it becomes the server's identity. The docs also require a static IP, a PTR record you can set, and MX and A records before mail flows.

non-negotiableThere are no accounts until you create one: docker exec -ti mailserver setup email add user@example.com. Every later change — aliases, DKIM keys, quotas — goes through the same setup script or the config directory, not a UI.