# Chatmail services optimized for Delta Chat apps This repository helps to setup a ready-to-use chatmail server comprised of a minimal setup of the battle-tested [postfix smtp](https://www.postfix.org) and [dovecot imap](https://www.dovecot.org) services. The setup is designed and optimized for providing chatmail accounts for use by [Delta Chat apps](https://delta.chat). Chatmail accounts are automatically created by a first login, after which the initially specified password is required for using them. ## Deploying your own chatmail server We use `chat.example.org` as the chatmail domain in the following steps. Please substitute it with your own domain. 1. Install the `cmdeploy` command in a virtualenv ``` git clone https://github.com/deltachat/chatmail cd chatmail scripts/initenv.sh ``` 2. Create chatmail configuration file `chatmail.ini`: ``` scripts/cmdeploy init chat.example.org # <-- use your domain ``` 3. Setup first DNS records for your chatmail domain, according to the hints provided by `cmdeploy init`. Verify that SSH root login works: ``` ssh root@chat.example.org # <-- use your domain ``` 4. Deploy to the remote chatmail server: ``` scripts/cmdeploy run ``` This script will also show you additional DNS records which you should configure at your DNS provider (it can take some time until they are public). ### Other helpful commands: To check the status of your remotely running chatmail service: ``` scripts/cmdeploy status ``` To check whether your DNS records are correct: ``` scripts/cmdeploy dns ``` To test whether your chatmail service is working correctly: ``` scripts/cmdeploy test ``` To measure the performance of your chatmail service: ``` scripts/cmdeploy bench ``` ## Overview of this repository This repository drives the development of chatmail services, comprised of minimal setups of - [postfix smtp server](https://www.postfix.org) - [dovecot imap server](https://www.dovecot.org) as well as custom services that are integrated with these two: - `chatmaild/src/chatmaild/doveauth.py` implements create-on-login account creation semantics and is used by Dovecot during login authentication and by Postfix which in turn uses [Dovecot SASL](https://doc.dovecot.org/configuration_manual/authentication/dict/#complete-example-for-authenticating-via-a-unix-socket) to authenticate users to send mails for them. - `chatmaild/src/chatmaild/filtermail.py` prevents unencrypted e-mail from leaving the chatmail service and is integrated into postfix's outbound mail pipelines. There is also the `cmdeploy/src/cmdeploy/cmdeploy.py` command line tool which helps with setting up and managing the chatmail service. `cmdeploy run` uses [pyinfra-based scripting](https://pyinfra.com/) in `cmdeploy/src/cmdeploy/__init__.py` to automatically install all chatmail components on a server. ### Home page and getting started for users `cmdeploy run` also creates default static Web pages and deploys them to a nginx web server with: - a default `index.html` along with a QR code that users can click to create accounts on your chatmail provider, - a default `info.html` that is linked from the home page, - a default `policy.html` that is linked from the home page. All `.html` files are generated by the according markdown `.md` file in the `www/src` directory. ### Refining the web pages ``` scripts/cmdeploy webdev ``` This starts a local live development cycle for chatmail Web pages: - uses the `www/src/page-layout.html` file for producing static HTML pages from `www/src/*.md` files - continously builds the web presence reading files from `www/src` directory and generating html files and copying assets to the `www/build` directory. - Starts a browser window automatically where you can "refresh" as needed. ## Emergency Commands to disable automatic account creation If you need to stop account creation, e.g. because some script is wildly creating accounts, login to the server with ssh and run: ``` touch /etc/chatmail-nocreate ``` While this file is present, account creation will be blocked. ### Ports Postfix listens on ports 25 (smtp) and 587 (submission) and 465 (submissions). Dovecot listens on ports 143(imap) and 993 (imaps). Delta Chat apps will, however, discover all ports and configurations automatically by reading the `autoconfig.xml` file from the chatmail service.