# 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](http://www.postfix.org/) listens on ports 25 (smtp) and 587 (submission) and 465 (submissions). [Dovecot](https://www.dovecot.org/) listens on ports 143 (imap) and 993 (imaps). [nginx](https://www.nginx.com/) listens on port 443 (https). [acmetool](https://hlandau.github.io/acmetool/) listens on port 80 (http). Delta Chat apps will, however, discover all ports and configurations automatically by reading the [autoconfig XML file](https://web.archive.org/web/20210624004729/https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Thunderbird/Autoconfiguration) from the chatmail service.