Installing Mailcow on a Clean Ubuntu Installation

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Written by: Stanko Milosev
Category: Ubuntu
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If you want to have Nginx on same machine where Mailcow, then rather install first Nginx, like I explained here

This guide explains how to install Mailcow on a clean Ubuntu installation.

In this example the Mailcow hostname is:

mail.localmilosev.com

Replace the hostname, domain name and IP address with your own values where necessary.

1. Update Ubuntu

Update the package list:

sudo apt update

Upgrade all installed packages:

sudo apt upgrade -y

Restart Ubuntu:

sudo reboot

2. Install curl

Install curl:

sudo apt install curl -y

Verify the installation:

curl --version

3. Install Docker and Git

Install Docker, Docker Compose and Git:

sudo apt install -y docker.io docker-compose-v2 git

Restart Ubuntu (recommended):

sudo reboot

Enable Docker:

sudo systemctl enable docker

Start Docker:

sudo systemctl start docker

Verify the installation:

sudo systemctl status docker
docker --version
docker compose version

4. Download Mailcow

Go to the installation directory:

cd /opt

Clone the Mailcow repository:

sudo git clone https://github.com/mailcow/mailcow-dockerized

5. Generate the Mailcow Configuration

Open the Mailcow directory:

cd /opt/mailcow-dockerized

Run the configuration generator:

sudo ./generate_config.sh

When asked for the hostname, enter:

mail.localmilosev.com

Select the stable branch:

1

6. Download and Start Mailcow

Download all Docker images:

sudo docker compose pull

This may take several minutes.

Before starting Mailcow if you already installed Nginx, then change the port for Mailcow:

cd /opt/mailcow-dockerized
sudo nano mailcow.conf
Search with help of Ctrl+W for HTTP_PORT or HTTPS_PORT, and change it to like: 
HTTP_PORT=8080
HTTPS_PORT=8443

Start Mailcow:

sudo docker compose up -d

Wait a few minutes until all containers are initialized.

7. Check the Logs

Check the PHP-FPM container log:

sudo docker compose logs --tail=100 php-fpm-mailcow

You can also check whether all containers are running:

sudo docker compose ps

8. Recreate the Containers if Necessary

If Mailcow does not start correctly:

cd /opt/mailcow-dockerized

Stop the containers and remove the Docker volumes:

sudo docker compose down --volumes
Warning: The --volumes option removes all Mailcow Docker volumes. Only use this on a fresh installation without important data.

Delete the Docker volume that stores Mailcow's MariaDB database

docker volume rm mailcowdockerized_mysql-vol-1

Download the images again:

sudo docker compose pull

Start Mailcow:

sudo docker compose up -d

Restart Ubuntu:

sudo reboot

9. Configure the Hosts File

Edit the hosts file:

sudo nano /etc/hosts

Add the following line:

192.168.138.130 mail.localmilosev.com

Your hosts file should look similar to this:

127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.1.1 ubuntu
192.168.138.130 mail.localmilosev.com

Replace 192.168.138.130 with your server's IP address.

Save the file with Ctrl+S and exit with Ctrl+X.

10. Open the Administration Interface

Open the following URL in your browser:

https://mail.localmilosev.com/admin/

The default administrator credentials are:

Username: admin
Password: moohoo
Important: Change the default administrator password immediately.

11. Reset the Administrator Password

If necessary, reset the password:

cd /opt/mailcow-dockerized
sudo ./helper-scripts/mailcow-reset-admin.sh

12. Add Your Email Domain

Navigate to:

  • Email
  • Configuration
  • Add Domain

Add your domain:

localmilosev.com

13. Create a Mailbox

Navigate to:

  • Email
  • Configuration
  • Mailboxes
  • Add Mailbox

Create your mailbox by entering the email address, password and mailbox quota.

Installation Complete

Your Mailcow installation is now available at:

https://mail.localmilosev.com/

or

https://mail.localmilosev.com:8443/admin/dashboard

For a production installation, remember to configure:

  • DNS A records
  • MX records
  • SPF
  • DKIM
  • DMARC
  • Reverse DNS (PTR)
  • A firewall
  • Valid TLS certificates