Linux Mail Servers Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to mail servers on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including Postfix, Dovecot, and mail server configuration.

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Table of Contents

1. Postfix Setup
2. Dovecot Setup
3. Mail Server Configuration
4. Troubleshooting

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Postfix Setup

Install Postfix

Install Postfix:

# Arch/CachyOS
sudo pacman -S postfix

# Enable service
sudo systemctl enable --now postfix.service

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install postfix

Fedora:

sudo dnf install postfix

Configure Postfix

Edit config:

# Edit main config
sudo vim /etc/postfix/main.cf

Settings:

myhostname = mail.example.com
mydomain = example.com
myorigin = $mydomain
inet_interfaces = all
mydestination = $myhostname, localhost.$mydomain, $mydomain

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Dovecot Setup

Install Dovecot

Install Dovecot:

# Arch/CachyOS
sudo pacman -S dovecot

# Enable service
sudo systemctl enable --now dovecot.service

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install dovecot-core dovecot-imapd

Fedora:

sudo dnf install dovecot

Configure Dovecot

Edit config:

# Edit config
sudo vim /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf

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Mail Server Configuration

Test Mail Server

Test sending:

# Send test email
echo "Test" | mail -s "Test Subject" [email protected]

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Troubleshooting

Mail Not Sending

Check logs:

# Postfix logs
journalctl -u postfix

# Dovecot logs
journalctl -u dovecot

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Summary

This guide covered mail servers for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions, including Postfix and Dovecot.

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Next Steps

• Networking - Network setup
• Security Configuration - Security
• ArchWiki Postfix: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Postfix

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This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. For distribution-specific details, refer to your distribution's documentation.