Poste.io Dockerized Mail Server

Self-hosted, Git-managed mail server for your personal domain using Poste.io.

Last Updated: 1405/01/02 (2026/03/22)

Project Structure

poste-deployment
├── .env.sample
├── .gitignore
├── docker-compose.yml
└── README.md

Setup Instructions

1. Clone & Configure

Clone this repository to your server:

git clone https://git.amiirkhl.ir/interanet/poste-deployment.git /opt/mailserver
cd /opt/mailserver

Create your environment file from the sample:

cp .env.sample .env

Edit .env and ensure MAIL_HOSTNAME and TZ are correct.

2. Custom SSL Configuration

Since Let's Encrypt is disabled (HTTPS=OFF), you must provide your own SSL certificates. This project maps your existing certificates directly into the container.

1. Open your .env file.
2. Locate SSL_CERT_PATH and SSL_KEY_PATH.
3. Set their values to the absolute paths of your certificate files on the host server (e.g., /etc/ssl/amiirkhl.ir/fullchain.pem).

⚠️ CRITICAL DOCKER WARNING: The files specified in SSL_CERT_PATH and SSL_KEY_PATH must exist on your server before you run docker compose up. If Docker cannot find the files, it will mistakenly create empty directories with those names, which will crash the mail server.

3. Start the Server

Start the Docker container:

docker compose up -d

Once running, navigate to https://mail.amiirkhl.ir to access the Admin GUI and set your master admin password.

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DNS Configuration Guide

To ensure your emails do not go to the spam folder, configure the following records in your DNS management panel (Cloudflare, ArvanCloud, etc.).

⚠️ Important: Ensure any Proxy/CDN settings (like Cloudflare's orange cloud) are turned OFF (DNS Only) for these records.

Type	Name / Host	Value / Target	Priority
A	mail	<Your-Server-IP>	-
MX	@	mail.amiirkhl.ir	10
TXT	@	v=spf1 mx a:mail.amiirkhl.ir ~all	-
TXT	_dmarc	v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:admin@amiirkhl.ir	-

DKIM Setup

DKIM adds a cryptographic signature to your emails.

1. Log into the Poste.io Admin Panel (https://mail.amiirkhl.ir).
2. Navigate to Virtual domains -> Click on amiirkhl.ir.
3. Locate the DKIM key section.
4. Click "Generate new key" (if not already generated).
5. Copy the provided TXT record and add it to your DNS panel. Usually, the Name is s1._domainkey and the Value is v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=....

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Data Persistence & Backups

All user data, emails, databases, and configuration overrides are stored inside the ./data folder.

Automated Backups

This project includes a script to automate backups of your ./data directory based on your .env configuration.

1. Ensure the backup variables are set in your .env file:

   • ENABLE_BACKUPS=TRUE
   • BACKUP_CRON="0 2 * * *" (Sets the schedule, e.g., daily at 2 AM)
   • BACKUP_RETENTION_DAYS=7 (Deletes backups older than 7 days)

2. Make the setup script executable and run it:

   chmod +x setup_backup.sh
   ./setup_backup.sh
   

The script will automatically register a cron job on your host machine. Backups will be securely compressed as .tar.gz files and stored in the newly created ./backups directory. Old backups are automatically pruned based on your retention settings.

Manual Backup

If you prefer to trigger a backup manually at any time without using the script, simply run:

tar -czvf mail_backup_$(date +%F).tar.gz ./data/