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FORAY: Nov 17, 2023 - Hetzner
Set up email server at Hetzner and host my own emails
  • what I want to do:
    • move my PHP Shared-Hosting-Server website to Hetzner
    • but the email address I've used for decades is also at that domain
      • I need to host that as well with an IMAP email server or whatever
    • the main thing is that it works
      • since this email is connected to numerous accounts where I need to receive access codes, etc.
  • asking around, got this advice
    • >>> before you begin, make backup of emails
      • OfflineIMAP
        • downloads your email mailbox(es) as local Maildirs
        • will synchronize both sides via IMAP
        • so this software is used to synchronize email accounts
          • which can be also used to make a backup of them
        • should run on most platforms supported by Python
          • this repository is for python2 only
          • we do not support Windows
      • fetchmail
        • like offlineimap, fetchmail is used to pull emails from a remote mail server and deliver them to a local mailbox or forward them to another email address
          • so this is in effect a backup
        • fetchmail supports IMAP, POP3, ETRN, ODMR, and others
          • OfflineIMAP supports only IMAP
        • fetchmail doesn't emphasize two-way synchronization as its primary function
          • OfflineIMAP emphasized two-way synchronization
          • for a backup this shouldn't be necessary anyway
        • fetchmail is more for simple fetching, backing up
          • OfflineIMAP for keeping mail accounts synchronous
        • if you want to periodically download emails from your email server and store them locally for backup purposes, fetchmail can be a suitable choice
    • install an IMAP server
      • DoveCot
        • works with IMAP and POP3
        • allows users to access their email messages on a server
        • popular for its ability to keep messages on the server and synchronize them across multiple devices
        • supports encryption protocols such as SSL/TLS
        • supports mbox and maildir mailbox formats
        • includes support for Sieve, a scripting language that allows users to define mail filtering rules on the server
        • can be installed with git clone
        • uses Linux accounts
        • you can set up an SSL certificate with Let's Encrypt
        • then you can syrnchronize your IMAP account with imapsync
          • open-source command-line tool designed for synchronizing mailboxes between two IMAP servers
      • MailCow
      • Yunohost
        • easily manage a server for your friends, association or enterprise
        • user-friendly interface for managing various services and applications on a server, allowing individuals and small organizations to host their own websites, email services, file storage, and more
        • takes care of Mailserver, Firewall, Domain and connection to apps
        • outside PM2/Nginx it's not recommended
      • host IMAP-Server as Docker container
  • questions
    • why use imapsync with DoveCot, why not e.g. fetchmail?
    • Mailcow supports Debian 8, I have Debian 11, so I can't use it?
    • Yunohost is an operating system?