Introducing Our Self-Hosted Email Stack

Foreword

In today's digital landscape, email remains the backbone of our online identity and communication. Yet, as privacy concerns grow, many users face a difficult choice: convenience at the cost of privacy, or privacy at the cost of convenience. At Forward Email, we've always believed you shouldn't have to choose between the two.

Today, we're excited to announce a significant milestone in our journey: the launch of our self-hosted email solution. This feature represents our deepest commitment to open-source principles, privacy-focused design, and user empowerment. With our self-hosted option, we're putting the full power and control of your email communication directly in your hands.

This blog post explores the philosophy behind our self-hosted solution, its technical implementation, and why it matters for users who prioritize both privacy and ownership in their digital communications.

Why Self-Hosted Email Matters

Our self-hosted email solution is clearest expression of our belief that true privacy means control, and control starts with open source. For users who demand full ownership over their digital communications, self-hosting is no longer a fringe idea — it's an essential right. We're proud to stand behind that belief with a fully open, verifiable platform you can run on your own terms.

The Problem with Traditional Email Services

Traditional email services present several fundamental challenges for privacy-conscious users:

1. Trust Requirements: You must trust the provider not to access, analyze, or share your data
2. Centralized Control: Your access can be revoked at any time for any reason
3. Surveillance Vulnerability: Centralized services are prime targets for surveillance
4. Limited Transparency: Most services use proprietary, closed-source software
5. Vendor Lock-in: Migrating away from these services can be difficult or impossible

Even "privacy-focused" email providers often fall short by only open-sourcing their frontend applications while keeping their backend systems proprietary and closed. This creates a significant trust gap—you're asked to believe their privacy promises without the ability to verify them.

The Self-Hosted Alternative

Self-hosting your email provides a fundamentally different approach:

1. Complete Control: You own and control the entire email infrastructure
2. Verifiable Privacy: The entire system is transparent and auditable
3. No Trust Required: You don't need to trust a third party with your communications
4. Customization Freedom: Adapt the system to your specific needs
5. Resilience: Your service continues regardless of any company's decisions

As one user put it: "Self-hosting my email is the digital equivalent of growing my own food—it takes more work, but I know exactly what's in it."

Our Self-Hosted Implementation: Technical Overview

Our self-hosted email solution is built on the same privacy-first principles that guide all our products. Let's explore the technical implementation that makes this possible.

Docker-Based Architecture for Simplicity and Portability

We've packaged our entire email infrastructure using Docker, making it easy to deploy on virtually any Linux-based system. This containerized approach provides several key benefits:

1. Simplified Deployment: A single command sets up the entire infrastructure
2. Consistent Environment: Eliminates "works on my machine" problems
3. Isolated Components: Each service runs in its own container for security
4. Easy Updates: Simple commands to update the entire stack
5. Minimal Dependencies: Only requires Docker and Docker Compose

The architecture includes containers for:

• Web interface for administration
• SMTP server for outbound email
• IMAP/POP3 servers for email retrieval
• CalDAV server for calendars
• Database for configuration storage
• Redis for caching and performance
• SQLite for secure, encrypted mailbox storage

Bash Script Installation: Accessibility Meets Security

We've designed the installation process to be as simple as possible while maintaining security best practices:

bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/forwardemail/forwardemail.net/master/self-hosting/setup.sh)

This single command:

1. Verifies system requirements
2. Guides you through configuration
3. Sets up DNS records
4. Configures TLS certificates
5. Deploys the Docker containers
6. Performs initial security hardening

For those concerned about piping scripts to bash (as you should be!), we encourage reviewing the script before execution. It's fully open-source and available for inspection.

Quantum-Safe Encryption for Future-Proof Privacy

Like our hosted service, our self-hosted solution implements quantum-resistant encryption using ChaCha20-Poly1305 as the cipher for SQLite databases. This approach protects your email data not just against current threats, but also against future quantum computing attacks.

Each mailbox is stored in its own encrypted SQLite database file, providing complete isolation between users—a significant security advantage over traditional shared database approaches.

Automated Maintenance and Updates

We've built comprehensive maintenance utilities directly into the self-hosted solution:

1. Automatic Backups: Scheduled backups of all critical data
2. Certificate Renewal: Automated Let's Encrypt certificate management
3. System Updates: Simple command to update to the latest version
4. Health Monitoring: Built-in checks to ensure system integrity

These utilities are accessible through a simple interactive menu:

# script prompt

1. Initial setup
2. Setup Backups
3. Setup Auto Upgrades
4. Renew certificates
5. Restore from Backup
6. Help
7. Exit

The Open-Source Commitment

Our self-hosted email solution, like all our products, is 100% open-source—both frontend and backend. This means:

1. Complete Transparency: Every line of code that processes your emails is available for public scrutiny
2. Community Contributions: Anyone can contribute improvements or fix issues
3. Security Through Openness: Vulnerabilities can be identified and fixed by a global community
4. No Vendor Lock-in: You're never dependent on our company's existence

The entire codebase is available on GitHub at https://github.com/forwardemail/forwardemail.net.

Self-Hosted vs. Managed: Making the Right Choice

While we're proud to offer a self-hosted option, we recognize it's not the right choice for everyone. Self-hosting email comes with real responsibilities and challenges:

The Reality of Self-Hosting Email

Technical Considerations

• Server Management: You'll need to maintain a VPS or dedicated server
• DNS Configuration: Proper DNS setup is critical for deliverability
• Security Updates: Staying current with security patches is essential
• Spam Management: You'll need to handle spam filtering
• Backup Strategy: Implementing reliable backups is your responsibility

Time Investment

• Initial Setup: Time to setup, verify and read the documentation
• Ongoing Maintenance: Occasional updates and monitoring
• Troubleshooting: Occasional time for resolving issues

Financial Considerations

• Server Costs: $5-$20/month for a basic VPS
• Domain Registration: $10-$20/year
• Time Value: Your time investment has real value

When to Choose Our Managed Service

For many users, our managed service remains the best option:

1. Convenience: We handle all maintenance, updates, and monitoring
2. Reliability: Benefit from our established infrastructure and expertise
3. Support: Get help when issues arise
4. Deliverability: Leverage our established IP reputation
5. Cost-Effectiveness: When you factor in time costs, our service is often more economical

Both options provide the same privacy benefits and open-source transparency—the difference is simply who manages the infrastructure.

Getting Started with Self-Hosted Forward Email

Ready to take control of your email infrastructure? Here's how to get started:

System Requirements

• Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or newer (recommended)
• 1GB RAM minimum (2GB+ recommended)
• 20GB storage recommended
• A domain name you control
• Public IP address with port 25 support
• Ability to set reverse PTR
• IPv4 and IPv6 support

Installation Steps

1. Run the Installation Script:

   bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/forwardemail/forwardemail.net/master/self-hosting/setup.sh)
   

2. Follow the Interactive Prompts:

   • Enter your domain name
   • Configure administrator credentials
   • Set up DNS records as instructed
   • Choose your preferred configuration options

3. Verify Installation: Once installation completes, you can verify everything is working by:

   • Checking container status: docker ps
   • Sending a test email
   • Logging into the web interface

The Future of Self-Hosted Email

Our self-hosted solution is just the beginning. We're committed to continually improving this offering with:

1. Enhanced Administration Tools: More powerful web-based management
2. Additional Authentication Options: Including hardware security key support
3. Advanced Monitoring: Better insights into system health and performance
4. Multi-Server Deployment: Options for high-availability configurations
5. Community-Driven Improvements: Incorporating contributions from users

Conclusion: Email Freedom for Everyone

The launch of our self-hosted email solution represents a significant milestone in our mission to provide privacy-focused, transparent email services. Whether you choose our managed service or self-hosted option, you benefit from our unwavering commitment to open-source principles and privacy-first design.

Email is too important to be controlled by closed, proprietary systems that prioritize data collection over user privacy. With Forward Email's self-hosted solution, we're proud to offer a genuine alternative—one that puts you in complete control of your digital communications.

We believe that privacy isn't just a feature; it's a fundamental right. And with our self-hosted email option, we're making that right more accessible than ever before.

Ready to take control of your email? Get started today or explore our GitHub repository to learn more.

References

[1] Forward Email GitHub Repository: https://github.com/forwardemail/forwardemail.net

[2] Self-Hosted Documentation: https://forwardemail.net/en/self-hosted

[3] Email Privacy Technical Implementation: https://forwardemail.net/en/blog/docs/email-privacy-protection-technical-implementation

[4] Why Open-Source Email Matters: https://forwardemail.net/en/blog/docs/why-open-source-email-security-privacy