modoboa-installer

An installer which deploy a complete mail server based on Modoboa.

Warning

This tool is still in beta stage, it has been tested on:

• Debian 10 and upper
• Ubuntu Bionic Beaver (18.04) and upper

Warning

/tmp partition must be mounted without the noexec option.

Note

The server (physical or virtual) running Modoboa needs at least 2GB of RAM in order to compile the required dependencies during the installation process. Passwords should not contain any special characters as they may cause the installation to fail. It's important to set a FQDN before, otherwise the installation will break.

Usage:

$ git clone https://github.com/modoboa/modoboa-installer
$ cd modoboa-installer
$ sudo python3 run.py <your domain>

If python3 is not installed on your system, please install it.

A configuration file will be automatically generated the first time you run the installer, please don't copy the installer.cfg.template file manually.

The following components are installed by the installer:

• Database server (PostgreSQL or MySQL)
• Nginx and uWSGI
• Postfix
• Dovecot
• Amavis (with SpamAssassin and ClamAV)
• automx (autoconfiguration service)
• OpenDKIM
• Radicale (CalDAV and CardDAV server)

If you want to customize configuration before running the installer, run the following command:

$ ./run.py --stop-after-configfile-check <your domain>

An interactive mode is also available:

$ ./run.py --interactive <your domain>

Make your modifications and run the installer as usual.

By default, the latest Modoboa version is installed but you can select a previous one using the --version option:

$ sudo ./run.py --version=X.X.X <your domain>

Note

Version selection is available only for Modoboa >= 1.8.1.

You can also install beta releases using the --beta flag:

$ sudo ./run.py --beta <your domain>

If you want more information about the installation process, add the --debug option to your command line.

Upgrade mode

An experimental upgrade mode is available.

Note

You must keep the original configuration file, ie the one used for the installation. Otherwise, you won't be able to use this mode.

You can activate it as follows:

$ sudo ./run.py --upgrade <your domain>

It will automatically install latest versions of modoboa and its plugins.

Backup mode

An experimental backup mode is available.

Warning

You must keep the original configuration file, i.e. the one used for the installation. Otherwise, you will need to recreate it manually with the right information!

You can start the process as follows:

$ sudo ./run.py --backup <your domain>

Then follow the step on the console.

There is also a non-interactive mode:

$ sudo ./run.py --silent-backup <your domain>

You can also add a path, else it will be saved in ./modoboa_backup/Backup_M_Y_d_H_M:

$ sudo ./run.py --silent-backup --backup-path "/My_Backup_Path" <your domain>

if you want to disable mail backup:

$ sudo ./run.py --backup --no-mail <your domain>

This can be useful for larger instance

1. Silent mode

Command:

$ sudo ./run.py --silent-backup <your domain>

This mode will run silently. When executed, it will create /modoboa_backup/ and each time you execute it, it will create a new backup directory with current date and time.

You can supply a custom path if needed:

$ sudo ./run.py --silent-backup --backup-path /path/of/backup/directory <your domain>

If you want to disable emails backup, disable dovecot in the configuration file (set enabled to False).

This can be useful for larger instance.

Restore mode

An experimental restore mode is available.

You can start the process as follows:

$ sudo ./run.py --restore /path/to/backup/directory/ <your domain>

Then wait for the process to finish.

Change the generated hostname

By default, the installer will setup your email server using the following hostname: mail.<your domain>. If you want a different value, generate the configuration file like this:

$ ./run.py --stop-after-configfile-check <your domain>

Then edit installer.cfg and look for the following section:

[general]
hostname = mail.%(domain)s

Replace mail by the value you want to use and save your modifications.

Finally, run the installer without the --stop-after-configfile-check option.

Certificate

Self-signed

It is the default type of certificate the installer will generate, it is however not recommended for production use.

Letsencrypt

Warning

Please note that by using this option, you agree to the ToS of letsencrypt and that your IP will be logged (see ToS). Please also note this option requires the hostname you're using to be valid (ie. it can be resolved with a DNS query) and to match the server you're installing Modoboa on.

If you want to generate a valid certificate using Let's Encrypt, edit the installer.cfg file and modify the following settings:

[certificate]
generate = true
type = letsencrypt
tls_cert_file_path =
tls_key_file_path =

[letsencrypt]
email = admin@example.com

Change the email setting to a valid value since it will be used for account recovery.

Manual

Warning

It is not possible to configure manual certs interactively, so you'll have to do it in 2 steps. Please run run.py with --stop-after-configfile-check first, configure your file as desired and apply the configuration as written bellow. Then run run.py again but without --stop-after-configfile-check or --interactive.

If you want to use already generated certs, simply edit the installer.cfg file and modify the following settings:

[certificate]
generate = true
type = manual
tls_cert_file_path = *path to tls fullchain file*
tls_key_file_path = *path to tls key file*