How to Install vSMTP on Elementary OS Latest

vSMTP is a lightweight and open source Mail Transfer Agent that helps in delivering emails from one server to another. In this tutorial, we'll discuss how to install vSMTP on Elementary OS Latest.

Prerequisites

Before going through the installation process, ensure that you have the following prerequisites:

  • A VPS or dedicated server running on Elementary OS Latest.
  • A sudo user with administrative privileges.

Step 1: Update system packages

First of all, it's essential to update the system packages using the following command:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -y

Step 2: Install build-essential package

Next, we need to install the build-essential package, which includes the necessary tools to compile and build software from source in Linux.

Run the below command to install build-essential:

sudo apt-get install build-essential -y

Step 3: Download the vSMTP source code

Now we need to download the vSMTP source code from the official website. To download the vSMTP package, follow the below steps:

  1. Visit https://viridit.com/vsmtp-mail-transfer-agent/
  2. Click on the "Download Latest" button.
  3. Copy the download link.
  4. Download the package using wget with the following command:
sudo wget <vSMTP-package-url>

Step 4: Extract the vSMTP Package

Next, we need to extract the downloaded vSMTP package. Use the following command to extract the package:

sudo tar -xf vsmtp-*.tar.gz

After extraction, we need to navigate to the vSMTP package directory:

cd vsmtp-*

Step 5: Compile and Install vSMTP

Now we are ready to compile and install the vSMTP package.

Run the following commands:

sudo ./configure 
sudo make && sudo make install

Step 6: Configure and Start vSMTP

After installation, we need to configure and start the vSMTP service. vSMTP configuration files are located at /usr/local/etc/vsmtp.

To configure the vSMTP:

  • Edit the vsmtp.in configuration file by using the following command:
sudo nano /usr/local/etc/vsmtp/vsmtp.in
  • To save the changes, press CTRL+X, then press Y, and finally press Enter.

To start the vSMTP service:

  • Use the below command to start the vSMTP service:
sudo vsmtp-start

To check the status of vSMTP:

  • Run the following command to check the vSMTP service status:
sudo vsmtp-ctl status

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed vSMTP on your Elementary OS Latest. Now, you can send and receive emails using vSMTP.