How to Install ViMbAdmin on macOS

ViMbAdmin is a web-based management interface for Mailboxes, Virtual Domains and Alias management for Dovecot and Postfix based mail servers that simplifies domain/user management. In this tutorial, we will learn how to install ViMbAdmin on macOS.

Prerequisites

  • A server with macOS installed
  • A working Mail Server such as Dovecot or Postfix
  • A web browser
  • A user account with the administrative privileges on the server

Step 1: Install Required Dependencies

Before we proceed to install ViMbAdmin, we need to ensure that we have installed all the required dependencies. For this, we need to run the following commands:

brew install php
brew install php-intl
brew install mysql-server

Step 2: Download ViMbAdmin

You can download ViMbAdmin from the official website by using the following command:

git clone https://github.com/opensolutions/ViMbAdmin.git /var/www/ViMbAdmin

Step 3: Create ViMbAdmin Configuration File

We need to copy the sample configuration file and edit it with actual production configuration settings.

cd /var/www/ViMbAdmin
cp config/conf.php.sample config/conf.php

Step 4: Configure ViMbAdmin

We need to edit the config file to add our database connection settings. Open the config/conf.php file in your favorite text editor and search for the following lines:

'password' => '',
'database' => 'vimbadmin',

Replace the MySQL/MariaDB password with the one you set for the root user.

Step 5: Create ViMbAdmin Database

Now, we need to create a database and a user for ViMbAdmin. You can do that by running the following commands:

mysql -u root -p

# Enter MySQL root password

create database vimbadmin;
create user 'vimbadmin'@'localhost' identified by 'password';
grant all privileges on vimbadmin.* to 'vimbadmin'@'localhost';
exit;

Step 6: Set Permissions

We need to ensure that the www-data user has permission to write to the logs directory. You can do that by running the following command:

chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/ViMbAdmin/logs

Step 7: Access ViMbAdmin Web Interface

Now, we are ready to access the ViMbAdmin web interface by using the following URL:

http://localhost/ViMbAdmin/public/

You should see the ViMbAdmin login screen. Use the default username admin and password admin to log in.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have learned how to install ViMbAdmin on macOS. With ViMbAdmin, managing mailboxes and virtual domains has become easier than ever. You can now manage your mail server from a simple and intuitive web interface.