How to Install WildDuck on Elementary OS

WildDuck is a self-hosted email server that runs on multiple platforms, including Linux. In this tutorial, we will explain how to install WildDuck on the latest version of Elementary OS.

Prerequisites

Before we can begin with the installation, make sure that the following prerequisites are satisfied:

  • A server running Elementary OS
  • An SSH client to connect to your server (e.g. PuTTY)

Step 1: Install Node.js

WildDuck is built on top of Node.js, so you need to install Node.js before moving forward with the installation of WildDuck. Follow these steps to install Node.js:

  1. Open a terminal window by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T.
  2. Update your package list by typing sudo apt update.
  3. Install Node.js and npm by typing sudo apt install nodejs.

Once Node.js is installed, verify that it is installed correctly by typing node -v. You should see the version number of Node.js printed on the screen.

Step 2: Install WildDuck

Follow these steps to install WildDuck:

  1. Open a terminal window by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T.
  2. Download the latest version of WildDuck by typing wget https://github.com/wildducktheories/wildduck/releases/download/v3.3.0/wildduck-v3.3.0-linux-x64.tar.gz.
  3. Extract the downloaded file by typing tar -xvf wildduck-v3.3.0-linux-x64.tar.gz.
  4. Rename the extracted directory by typing mv wildduck-v3.3.0-linux-x64 wildduck.
  5. Change the directory to the WildDuck directory by typing cd wildduck.
  6. Install the required dependencies by typing npm install.

Step 3: Configure WildDuck

Before starting WildDuck, you need to configure it by following these steps:

  1. Copy the example configuration file by typing cp config/config.example.js config/config.js.
  2. Edit config.js by using any editor of your choice. For example, you can use the Nano editor by typing nano config/config.js.
  3. In the configuration file, set smtp.enabled to true if you want your WildDuck email server to handle SMTP traffic. If you want to use a different port than the default port, set smtp.port to your desired port number. Make sure that the port is allowed through your firewall.
  4. Set smtp.hostname to your server's hostname or IP address.
  5. Set smtp.auth.enabled to true if you want to require authentication before sending emails.
  6. Save the changes by pressing Ctrl+X, then Y, and finally Enter.

Step 4: Start WildDuck

Follow these steps to start WildDuck:

  1. In the terminal window, change the directory to the WildDuck directory by typing cd wildduck.
  2. Start WildDuck by typing npm start.

WildDuck should now be running. To verify that it is running correctly, open a web browser and navigate to http://localhost:8080. You should see the WildDuck dashboard.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we explained how to install WildDuck on the latest version of Elementary OS. You should now have your own self-hosted email server up and running.