SelfHostHub

Self-hosted Communication - Email - Mail Transfer Agents

SelfHostHub lists 9 open-source Mail Transfer Agents projects you can host on your own server. The most-starred on GitHub are Haraka (5,617 stars), OpenSMTPD (586 stars) and DragonFly (266 stars). 0 of them document a Docker install.

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Haraka

5.6k

Fast, highly extensible, and event driven SMTP server.

Communication - Email - Mail Transfer AgentsMIT

OpenSMTPD

586

Secure SMTP server implementation from the OpenBSD project.

Communication - Email - Mail Transfer AgentsISC

DragonFly

266

A small MTA for home and office use. Works on Linux and FreeBSD.

Communication - Email - Mail Transfer AgentsBSD-3-Clause

chasquid

SMTP (email) server with a focus on simplicity, security, and ease of operation.

Communication - Email - Mail Transfer AgentsApache-2.0

Courier MTA

Fast, scalable, enterprise mail/groupware server providing ESMTP, IMAP, POP3, webmail, mailing list, basic web-based calendaring and scheduling services.

Communication - Email - Mail Transfer AgentsGPL-3.0

EmailRelay

A small and easy to configure SMTP and POP3 server for Windows and Linux.

Communication - Email - Mail Transfer AgentsGPL-3.0

Exim

Message transfer agent (MTA) developed at the University of Cambridge.

Communication - Email - Mail Transfer AgentsGPL-3.0

Postfix

Fast, easy to administer, and secure Sendmail replacement.

Communication - Email - Mail Transfer AgentsIPL-1.0

Sendmail

Message transfer agent (MTA).

Communication - Email - Mail Transfer AgentsSendmail

How to choose self-hosted Mail Transfer Agents software

  1. Check project health. Stars show popularity, not maintenance. Open the source repository and look at recent commits and releases.
  2. Match the licence to your use. 3 use a GPL-family licence (copyleft, including AGPL) and 4 use a permissive licence such as MIT, Apache-2.0 or BSD. AGPL matters if you modify the software and offer it to others over a network.
  3. Pick a stack you can run. The most common platforms here are C (6), deb (5), Nodejs (1) and Go (1). Docker is usually the easiest path for a home server or VPS.
  4. Try before you migrate. Run a throwaway container first, and confirm it can import your existing data before switching.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most popular self-hosted Mail Transfer Agents software?

By GitHub stars, the top projects in this category are Haraka (5,617 stars), OpenSMTPD (586 stars) and DragonFly (266 stars).

How many open-source Mail Transfer Agents tools are listed?

9 projects are currently listed in the Mail Transfer Agents category on SelfHostHub.

Which licences do self-hosted Mail Transfer Agents projects use?

The most common licences in this category are GPL-3.0 (3), MIT (1) and ISC (1).

Can I run these Mail Transfer Agents tools with Docker?

0 of the 9 projects list Docker as a supported platform. Check each project's documentation for the exact install steps.