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+---
+title: "Setting up an email server in 2020 with OpenSMTPD and Dovecot"
+date: 2020-04-27
+layout: "blog"
+toc: true
+---
+
+So, you want to set up your own email server? In that case, welcome.
+
+There are many reasons to run a custom email server,
+ranging from privacy concerns about providers like Google,
+to just wanting to do it for fun and/or learning.
+Since you're here, I assume you've already found a reason.
+
+Beware: this is a messy topic, and the available documentation
+is even messier, so it could take a while before you get it to work properly.
+I've compiled this guide according to my experiences
+in an attempt to make this dark art more accessible,
+but your mileage may vary considerably. I hope you find it useful.
+
+This guide is aimed at people who are comfortable with
+the Linux/*BSD command line.
+
+When you're done (if you get that far), take a look at the sequels
+"[Setting up an email server in 2020 with OpenSMTPD and Dovecot: extras](/blog/2020/email-server-extras/)"
+and "[Revisiting my email server in 2022](/blog/2022/email-server-revisited/)"
+for ideas on how to extend your setup.
+
+Last updated on 2022-09-12.
+
+
+
+## Preparation
+
+Setting up email is relatively complex compared to e.g. a static website,
+because you need to configure not one, but *two* server programs,
+*and* you need to shoehorn modern security features into email's Stone-Age design.
+I'll start by explaining the general structure of a mail server setup.
+
+
+
+### How email works
+
+The programs involved in the exchange of emails are called [agents](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_agent_(infrastructure)).
+Officially, there are 5 different types of agent: MUA, MSA, MTA, MDA and MRA.
+But fortunately, it's reasonable to treat the MRA and MSA
+as being part of the MUA and MTA, respectively.
+
+The *Mail User Agent* (MUA) is simply the client on your device at home
+that you use to send and receive emails, and this guide assumes
+you already have a favourite program for this, e.g. [Thunderbird](https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/).
+Nowadays it's fashionable to use a web interface for emails,
+but that's also beyond the scope of this guide.
+
+The *Mail Delivery Agent* (MDA) is a program that watches over
+the server's copy of your mailbox: it manages your inbox,
+remembers which messages you have or haven't read,
+keeps a copy of your drafts, etc.
+When you open your mailbox, your MUA will connect to
+your server's MDA using the [IMAP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Message_Access_Protocol) protocol
+(or [POP3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_Office_Protocol), but that one's [obsolete](https://pop2imap.com/)).
+
+The *Mail Transfer Agent* (MTA) is responsible for
+making messages arrive at the right destination.
+When you send an email, your MUA will pass it on to your server's MTA,
+which will in turn pass it on to the recipient's mail server.
+Likewise, when someone sends *you* an email from another server,
+the MTA will receive it and hand it over to the MDA so you can read it later.
+In both cases the MTA speaks the [SMTP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_Mail_Transfer_Protocol) protocol.
+
+In this guide our MDA will be [Dovecot](https://dovecot.org/),
+which is a very popular choice for that role.
+As for the MTA, there exist several options,
+the most popular being [Postfix](http://www.postfix.org/) and [Exim](https://exim.org/).
+However, this guide uses the newer, lesser-known [OpenSMTPD](https://opensmtpd.org/),
+which in my experience is *much* easier to set up:
+Postfix and Exim have complex configurations and
+are geared towards large-scale email providers,
+whereas OpenSMTPD is more beginner-friendly.
+
+
+
+### Security
+
+The base email system is horribly insecure on its own,
+so we still need to duct-tape on some security features.
+In this context, "security" has two meanings:
+spam protecion and privacy protection (encryption).
+
+Spam protection also means two things here:
+defending yourself against spammers, and
+preventing that *your* emails get flagged as spam.
+The former is optional, but the latter is not:
+big providers such as Google and Microsoft
+use infamously strict spam filters,
+and if they decide that your server is a spammer,
+there's almost nothing you can do about it.
+Spam protection techniques will be discussed
+in more detail over the course of this guide.
+
+Privacy protection is important in the 21st century:
+you don't want a random router in the Internet to read all your emails,
+which may contain sensitive information such as
+private conversations and account password reset links.
+You should therefore try to make sure that emails are
+transported over an encrypted channel.
+To do this, you have two options for encryption:
+*mandatory* and *opportunistic* encryption.
+
+Mandatory encryption is only practical for client-server
+communication (not server-server), and is provided by IMAPS and SMTPS,
+which wrap the IMAP and SMTP protocols in [TLS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_Layer_Security),
+in the same way that [HTTPS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTPS) does for [HTTP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertext_Transfer_Protocol).
+
+For server-server communication, the only option is
+opportunistic encryption in the form of [STARTTLS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STARTTLS),
+where communication is only encrypted if both parties agree
+after a short unencrypted discussion.
+That last part is vulnerable to [MitM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-in-the-middle_attack) attacks,
+where anyone along the path of the email servers' discussion
+can alter the exchange to block the use of encryption,
+which sometimes actually [happens](https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/11/starttls-downgrade-attacks) in practice.
+
+The only way to make sure that STARTTLS is used in that case
+is to refuse any exchange unless the servers agree to use encryption.
+Unfortunately, that's a risky approach that I can't recommend,
+because not all servers support encryption (unbelievable, right?).
+For example, I've received airline booking confirmations,
+full of personal details, and made with billion-dollar companies,
+sent across the Internet without any protection.
+
+This guide includes intructions to enable encryption,
+but assumes that you already have a TLS certificate for that.
+If not, find a guide to get one from [Let's Encrypt](https://letsencrypt.org/) (it's free!),
+and remember that you'll need to renew it every few months.
+Using a self-signed certificate *may* work, but I don't recommend it.
+
+In the rest of this guide I'll assume that
+you have a public full-chain TLS certificate at `/etc/ssl/certs/example.com.pem`,
+and a private encryption key at `/etc/ssl/private/example.com.pem`.
+
+
+
+### Server
+
+Obviously, you'll need a server to run the MTA and MDA on.
+You can host your own at home, but the more reliable option is
+to rent one in a data center ([VPS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_server)).
+This guide was written with a Linux server in mind,
+but in theory it should also work on the BSDs
+([OpenBSD](https://www.openbsd.org/), [FreeBSD](https://www.freebsd.org/),
+[NetBSD](https://www.netbsd.org/), etc.) with minimal adaptation.
+
+The server must be online 24/7, you must have root SSH access,
+it must have a static IP address, and TCP network port 25 must be open.
+Especially check that last one: you may need to explicitly ask
+your home ISP or the server provider to enable port 25,
+because they often close it to prevent spam.
+You can usually do this from their web interface.
+
+You also must have a domain name, which I'll call `example.com`.
+This will be necessary for basically everything:
+DNS records, TLS certificate, MTA network configuration, etc.
+If you don't have one yet, you can choose between many registrars
+to rent one from. Personally I use and can recommend [Gandi](https://www.gandi.net/).
+
+Note that it's a **bad** idea to use a domain like `foo.bar.com`,
+where you control the `foo` part but *not* the `bar` part:
+in that case, a spammer in control of `qux.bar.com`
+could negatively affect *your* reputation
+in the eyes of other email providers.
+
+Lastly, when setting up an email server, you also have the choice
+between using to *system* users or *virtual* users.
+With system users, if an email arrives for `john@example.com`,
+then the MTA and MDA will expect that there exists
+a `john` Unix user on the server to deliver it to.
+With virtual users, you have much more flexibility, so that's what we'll use.
+All email will be managed under a single Unix user/group called `vmail`.
+Create it as follows:
+```sh
+# GNU CoreUtils:
+$ groupadd vmail
+$ useradd -g vmail vmail
+# BusyBox:
+$ addgroup vmail
+$ adduser -D -G vmail vmail
+# *BSD:
+$ no clue, but it should be similar
+```
+
+
+## DNS records
+
+Now we must set up all the necessary DNS records, which
+is usually possible from the domain registrar's web interface.
+It may take a while for your changes to propagate over the Internet,
+so I recommend doing this section now and the rest tomorrow.
+
+Firstly, you should already have an A and/or AAAA record
+to associate your domain `example.com` with the server's IP address.
+For email it is **essential** that you also have [reverse DNS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_DNS_lookup)
+set up correctly. If you're renting your server remotely,
+you can often do this from the provider's configuration tool,
+otherwise, you should create a PTR-type DNS record,
+although that's beyond the scope of this guide.
+
+Once you're done, I recommend testing your DNS records
+using the [MX Lookup](https://mxtoolbox.com/MXLookup.aspx) online tool.
+
+
+
+### MX
+
+To inform the rest of the Internet that your server is an email server,
+create an MX (Mail eXchanger) DNS record for your domain.
+Note the dot at the end of the domain name:
+```sh
+example.com. MX 42 example.com.
+```
+When a message is sent to an email address ending in `@example.com`,
+the sender will query DNS for any MX records for `example.com`.
+There it will find a domain name (in this case `example.com` again),
+for which it will look up the IP address using an A/AAAA record.
+The domain name in the record must **not** have an associated CNAME record;
+it must be directly translatable to an IP address.
+
+You may have multiple MX records, containing different domain names,
+each with a preference number (`42` in the example above).
+The sender will try MX records with *lower* numbers first,
+and if that server is unavailable, it will try a higher number.
+If you have multiple mail servers (which is a good idea),
+you can thus declare those as follows:
+```sh
+example.com. MX 13 mx1.example.com.
+example.com. MX 42 mx2.example.com.
+```
+Here, a server sending an email to your domain `example.com`
+will try to send it to the IP address of `mx1.example.com` first,
+and if that fails, it will move on to `mx2.example.com`.
+If both `mx1` and `mx2` have the same number, then the sender
+will randomly choose one, which is useful for load balancing,
+although that's probably overkill for a private server.
+
+
+
+### SPF
+
+The [Sender Policy Framework](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sender_Policy_Framework) (SPF),
+is a feature which helps prevent spammers from impersonating
+your server in an attempt to get around blacklists.
+This security feature is **required** nowadays:
+if you don't use it, you'll probably get flagged as spam.
+
+SPF works by specifying which IP addresses are authorized
+to send emails from your domain name.
+You must publish this information in a
+TXT-type DNS record (**not** SPF-type, which also exists!) with the following contents:
+```sh
+example.com. TXT "v=spf1 mx -all"
+```
+Everything after the version `v=spf1` is a list of *verification mechanisms*
+for a spam filter to try out in the given order.
+The `-all` at the end says to reject your email
+if all of the previous mechanisms fail.
+See the [SPF spec](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7208) for details.
+
+I recommend only using the `mx` mechanism, which tells the verifier
+to look at the A/AAAA addresses of the domains in your MX records.
+This allows you to add, remove, or change your servers
+without needing to update this record.
+
+
+
+### DKIM
+
+Then we have [DomainKeys Identified Mail](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DomainKeys_Identified_Mail) (DKIM),
+which is a more comprehensive form of anti-impersonation,
+and, like SPF, is practically **mandatory** in the modern era.
+
+It adds a cryptographic signature to all emails from your server,
+which the receiver's spam filter will verify using the email's contents,
+and a public key that you need to publish in a DNS record.
+Again, you should implement *both* SPF and DKIM, despite their overlap.
+
+To set up DKIM, create an RSA keypair, using the `openssl` utility:
+```sh
+$ openssl genrsa -out /path/to/dkim/private.key 2048
+$ openssl rsa -in /path/to/dkim/private.key -out /path/to/dkim/public.key
+```
+The minimum size is 1024 bits, but I recommend 2048 bits.
+Bigger is better, but because DNS is involved you can't stretch it
+to 4096 bits without causing discomfort to [some](https://serverfault.com/questions/747185/dkim-can-i-use-a-rsa-key-larger-than-2048bit-i-e-4096) servers.
+And I think it goes without saying that you should keep the private key private.
+
+Importantly, the DKIM DNS record **cannot** be
+attached directly to your domain `example.com`;
+instead, it should belong to a subdomain of the form
+`<selector>._domainkey.example.com`,
+where `<selector>` is an alphanumeric string you can choose (e.g. today's date),
+just remember your choice for later when configuring the DKIM signer.
+And if you change your key, keep the old record around
+for a while so old emails can still be verified.
+
+Your DKIM policy must be published in a TXT record
+as follows, where `<pubkey>` is the public RSA key `MI...AB`
+stored in `/path/to/dkim/public.key`, with the newlines removed:
+```sh
+<selector>._domainkey.example.com. TXT "v=DKIM1; t=s; h=sha256; p=<pubkey>"
+```
+Here, `v=DKIM1` is the version and must be the first tag.
+The flag `t=s` enables strict mode, as recommended by the [DKIM spec](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6376),
+meaning that emails sent from subdomains immediately fail verification.
+The optional tag `h=sha256` blocks the use of the old SHA1 algorithm.
+
+
+
+### DMARC
+
+Lastly, we have [Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMARC) (DMARC),
+which is *technically* optional, but *highly* recommended,
+because it will make you look more legitimate in the eyes of Google and Microsoft.
+It can modify the behaviour of SPF and DKIM,
+and also provides advice about what a receiver should do
+if one of your emails fails verification.
+
+To enable it, create yet another TXT record, which,
+similarly to DKIM, **must** belong to the subdomain `_dmarc.example.com`,
+and give it the following contents,
+where `<admin>` is an email address of your choosing,
+which may or may not belong to your domain:
+```sh
+_dmarc.example.com. TXT "v=DMARC1; p=reject; sp=reject; pct=100; aspf=s; adkim=s; fo=1; ruf=mailto:<admin>"
+```
+The version tag `v=DMARC1` must come first,
+followed by `p=` and `sp=`, which control what to do to unverified messages
+coming from the main domain and subdomains, respectively.
+Here, `reject` means that delivery should be refused,
+`none` asks to let it through anyway, and `quarantine` tells
+the filter to take a closer look or to put it in a spam folder.
+The percentage `pct=100` says how many of your emails to apply the policy to.
+Next, `aspf=s` and `adkim=s` enable strict mode for SPF and DKIM,
+which blocks subdomains from passing.
+Finally, `fo=1` asks for a forensic report if verification fails,
+and `ruf=` gives an address to send it to.
+If in doubt, see the [DMARC spec](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7489).
+
+
+
+## MDA: Dovecot
+
+[Dovecot](https://www.dovecot.org/) is a very popular IMAP server,
+focused on being lightweight, simple, and secure,
+and has extensive and up-to-date documentation.
+It's very flexible and scalable, and keeps up well
+with the lastest security best-practices.
+
+If you installed Dovecot via a package manager,
+you'll probably have lots of configuration files
+in the `/etc/dovecot` directory.
+I want you to delete all of them. Yes, `rm -rf` that crap.
+Dovecot is simple to configure, and doesn't care where
+you put its settings, so having all that chaos in `/etc/dovecot`
+just makes things unnecessarily confusing.
+
+
+
+### Network
+
+Create a new configuration file `/etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf`,
+and start by filling in the details of your TLS certificate,
+making clear that unencrypted connections are unacceptable:
+```sh
+ssl = required
+ssl_cert = </etc/ssl/certs/example.com.pem
+ssl_key = </etc/ssl/private/example.com.key
+
+ssl_min_protocol = TLSv1.2
+ssl_prefer_server_ciphers = yes
+
+disable_plaintext_auth = yes
+```
+The final `disable_plaintext_auth` option tells Dovecot
+to reject any passwords that were sent unencrypted.
+This means it must be [hashed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptographic_hash_function)
+or sent over an encrypted connection, or both.
+
+Next, tell Dovecot which protocols to use
+and where to expect them as follows:
+```sh
+protocols = lmtp imap
+
+service lmtp {
+ unix_listener lmtp {
+ user = vmail
+ group = vmail
+ }
+}
+
+service imap-login {
+ inet_listener imap {
+ port = 143
+ }
+ inet_listener imaps {
+ port = 993
+ }
+}
+```
+LMTP is the Local Mail Transport Protocol, which is basically SMTP
+but for exchanges within a single server or over a trusted network.
+When an email is received, Dovecot will start a child process
+under the `vmail` user/group to deliver the message to its recipient.
+
+Since we set `ssl = required` earlier, clients will only get their mail
+if the STARTTLS handshake was successful during the IMAP exchange,
+or if they connect via IMAPS to force the use of encryption.
+You can therefore optionally remove one of the two
+`inet_listener`s according to your preferences.
+
+
+
+### Users
+
+Next, we need to inform Dovecot which email addresses it should handle,
+and what to do with their messages. Create a file `/etc/dovecot/users` for this,
+which describes a user on each line in a similar format as `/etc/passwd`:
+```sh
+user:password:uid:gid::homedir
+```
+In this guide, we're using the `vmail` user for all accounts,
+so leave the `uid`, `gid`, and `homedir` fields blank.
+We'll be storing all emails in `vmail`'s home directory.
+The `user` field should be the email address excluding the `@example.com`
+(in fact, you *can* include it, but this guides assumes a small-scale
+server managing only one domain, so we exclude it).
+Create the password hash to put in the `password` field as follows:
+```sh
+# If your server is fast and has lots of RAM:
+$ doveadm pw -s ARGON2ID-CRYPT
+# If you're using a potato:
+$ doveadm pw -s SHA512-CRYPT
+```
+After you've entered your password, simply copy-paste the entire
+hash string outputted by the program into the `password` field.
+
+Now, Dovecot needs a file describing user accounts on two separate occasions:
+* To check whether a client logging into the IMAP server
+ is valid and has given the right password.
+ This is handled by the `passdb` block(s) in the configuration.
+* To know which email addresses the server is responsible for.
+ This is given by the `userdb` block(s) in the configuration.
+
+These functions aren't necessarily fulfilled by the same `users` file:
+you can map multiple email addresses to one acccount,
+or multiple accounts to one email address.
+For simplicity, though, we'll use the `users` file for both:
+```sh
+passdb {
+ driver = passwd-file
+ args = scheme=ARGON2ID-CRYPT username_format=%n /etc/dovecot/users
+ #args = scheme=SHA512-CRYPT username_format=%n /etc/dovecot/users
+}
+
+userdb {
+ driver = passwd-file
+ args = username_format=%n /etc/dovecot/users
+ override_fields = uid=vmail gid=vmail home=/home/vmail/%n
+}
+```
+The `driver` option sets the kind of table Dovecot should expect.
+We tell it to use a file in the `passwd`-like format described above,
+but other possibilities include e.g. an SQL database.
+The options available in `args` depend on the chosen `driver`.
+
+In the `passdb` block, the hashing algorithm is given by `scheme`,
+while `username_format=%n` says that the `users` file
+only contains `name` out of `name@example.com`.
+
+In the `userdb` block, we force the use of `vmail:vmail`
+for all accounts, and tell Dovecot to put their data in `/home/vmail/%n`,
+where `%n` means the address up until the `@`, so
+e.g. mail to `name@example.com` is stored in `/home/vmail/name`.
+
+Now that Dovecot knows where to store messages,
+we just need to specify in what format to store them:
+```sh
+mail_location = maildir:~/Maildir
+```
+The two standard mailbox formats to choose from are `maildir` and `mbox`.
+I highly recommend `maildir`; it's more modern than the ancient `mbox` format.
+That `~/Maildir` says which subfolder to use.
+Ensure that `/home/vmail` is owned by `vmail:vmail`,
+so that Dovecot has write access.
+
+
+
+## MTA: OpenSMTPD
+
+[OpenSMTPD](https://opensmtpd.org/) is an MTA by the [OpenBSD](https://www.openbsd.org/) project,
+who are known for their focus on security and minimalism.
+Compared to other MTAs it's a joy to set up, thanks to
+its intuitive configuration syntax and to-the-point manual.
+This guide is for OpenSMTPD version 6.4 or newer:
+older versions used a substantially different syntax.
+
+If you have any problems with OpenSMTPD,
+take a look at the maintainer's [blog](https://poolp.org/),
+which contains a lot of useful information,
+and was a big help when writing this guide.
+
+
+
+### Users
+
+To begin, delete the contents of the `/etc/smtpd/aliases` file,
+if it exists, which maps recipient addresses to system users.
+In our case, we're using `vmail` for everyone,
+and we'll let Dovecot manage the details by simply writing:
+```sh
+@ vmail
+```
+Then create a new file `/etc/smtpd/passwds`
+and fill it in according to the following format,
+where `<user>` could be anything you want,
+not necessarily the same account name as in Dovecot:
+```sh
+<user> <hash>
+```
+Generate the password hash with this command for each user.
+Again, the password doesn't need to be the same as in Dovecot,
+but for your own convenience it's probably best if it is:
+```sh
+$ smtpctl encrypt '<password>'
+```
+Then, like with Dovecot, just delete the contents of
+the main config file `/etc/smtpd/smtpd.conf`,
+and start by putting in the following:
+```sh
+table aliases "/etc/smtpd/aliases"
+table passwds "/etc/smtpd/passwds"
+```
+
+
+### Network
+
+Write your domain name on a single line in `/etc/smtpd/mailname`.
+This is the name that OpenSMTPD will use to introduce itself
+to other servers, and it's important that this matches
+the reverse DNS domain name of the server's IP:
+```sh
+example.com
+# Or mx1.example.com or whatever
+```
+Then continue in `/etc/smtpd/smtpd.conf` by importing your TLS certificate:
+```sh
+pki "example.com" cert "/etc/ssl/certs/example.com.pem"
+pki "example.com" key "/etc/ssl/private/example.com.key"
+```
+And tell OpenSMTPD which keys to use for the [Sender Rewriting Scheme](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sender_Rewriting_Scheme),
+which prevents forwarded emails from breaking SPF and looking like spam:
+```sh
+srs key "<secret1>"
+srs key backup "<secret2>" # optional, read below
+```
+It's recommended to change the key every year or so,
+but in that case you need to ensure that emails from the last month
+can still be verified using the old one, so if you change it,
+simply move it to the backup slot for a month.
+
+It's very important that the secrets can't be guessed,
+otherwise *anyone* can send mail through your server,
+so I recommend generating these keys randomly as follows:
+```sh
+$ head -c 30 /dev/urandom | base64
+```
+Next, define the spam filters as follows.
+For the last line to work, you'll need to [download](https://github.com/poolpOrg/filter-rspamd)
+and build the `filter-rspamd` adapter binary for yourself,
+created by OpenSMTPD's official maintainer.
+We'll set up the Rspamd service in the next section,
+which will be responsible for spam filtering and DKIM signing:
+```sh
+filter "rdns" phase connect match !rdns disconnect "550 DNS error"
+filter "fcrdns" phase connect match !fcrdns disconnect "550 DNS error"
+filter "rspamd" proc-exec "/etc/smtpd/filter-rspamd"
+```
+I cannot overstate the importance of the first two lines:
+these will block hundreds of spam attempts, and have,
+at least for me, never blocked anything legitimate so far.
+
+The only thing left to do here is to tell OpenSMTPD which ports to listen on
+and what to do with the incoming traffic.
+This comes in two parts: first, we listen on port 25 for incoming
+messages for your domain coming from other email servers:
+```sh
+# Inbound
+listen on eth0 port 25 tls pki "example.com" filter { "rdns", "fcrdns", "rspamd" }
+action "RECV" lmtp "/var/run/dovecot/lmtp" rcpt-to virtual <aliases>
+match from any for domain "example.com" action "RECV"
+```
+Line 1 says to listen on `port 25` of interface `eth0`,
+providing *optional* `tls` using the certificate for `example.com`,
+and passing everything through the three filters definer earlier.
+Making TLS mandatory is a **bad** idea here, because not all servers can use TLS.
+
+Line 2 defines an action called `RECV`,
+which relays an email to Dovecot's LMTP socket,
+with the `rcpt-to` and `virtual` making sure
+that Dovecot will actually accept the message.
+
+Line 3 then simply says that any incoming mail
+for your domain should have the action `RECV` applied to it,
+unless the spam filters rejected it.
+
+Secondly, we listen on port 465 (SMTPS)
+and/or port 587 (STARTTLS) for messages getting sent
+from your email client to the rest of the world,
+so we require user authentication:
+```sh
+# Outbound
+listen on eth0 port 465 smtps pki "example.com" auth <passwds> filter "rspamd"
+listen on eth0 port 587 tls-require pki "example.com" auth <passwds> filter "rspamd"
+action "SEND" relay srs
+match from any auth for any action "SEND"
+```
+The only difference between lines 1 and 2 is the port and the protocol.
+Both demand a mandatory TLS connection, and that users authenticate
+themselves according to the password file created earlier.
+The `filter` at the end is for DKIM signing of outgoing mail.
+
+Lines 3 and 4 are only triggered after successful `auth`entication,
+and, unsurprisingly, `relay` the email to its destination.
+The `srs` at the end enables using the SRS settings from earlier.
+
+OpenSMTPD is the only program in this setup that needs to handle
+untrusted connections, when other MTAs send you messages.
+Since, like most server software, it may have [vulnerabilities](https://opensmtpd.org/security.html),
+it is **very** important that you keep it as up-to-date as possible.
+
+
+
+## Spam filter: Rspamd
+
+[Rspamd](https://www.rspamd.com/) is a modern spam filtering solution,
+with many features that you could spend hours tweaking.
+In this guide, however, we'll keep it short,
+because we're only really interested in its ability add
+our server's DKIM signature to outgoing messages.
+
+Besides, according to my limited experience,
+for small-scale servers spam filtering isn't essential,
+as long as you tell OpenSMTPD to check reverse DNS as described above.
+However, there are some much more experienced people who disagree with me.
+
+Basically, for our purposes, don't touch any of Rspamd's default
+configuration except for creating/editing the file
+`/etc/rspamd/local.d/dkim_signing.conf` with the following contents,
+where `<selector>` is the DKIM selector you chose in the DNS record:
+```sh
+allow_username_mismatch = true;
+
+domain {
+ example.com {
+ path = "/path/to/dkim/private.key";
+ selector = "<selector>";
+ }
+}
+```
+Make sure that the DKIM `private.key` file is
+readable (and *only* readable) by `rspamd:rspamd`.
+Allowing username mismatches is necessary,
+because OpenSMTPD will only tell Rspamd about `username`
+while the DKIM signer actually expects `username@example.com`.
+
+And... that's it! Of course, don't forget to start all the necessary daemons.
+
+
+
+## Testing
+
+Everything is set up now, so it's time to test. Fingers crossed!
+
+As mentioned earlier, you can check the validity
+of your DNS using the [MX Lookup](https://mxtoolbox.com/MXLookup.aspx) tool.
+You can use the same website to test OpenSMTPD
+with the [SMTP Diagnostics](https://mxtoolbox.com/diagnostic.aspx) tool.
+
+All decent email clients include an option to set the server for an email account.
+This guide doesn't include instructions for that,
+because it will vary a lot from client to client.
+If asked for your login type, choose plain/normal/unencrypted passwords.
+Don't worry, the client-server connection is TLS-encrypted,
+so nobody will be able to steal it.
+
+Next, to verify that you can send and receive messages,
+and that your SPF/DKIM/DMARC is working,
+the following websites will be useful:
+
+* [~~Is my email working?~~](http://ismyemailworking.com/)
+ UPDATE: no longer available.
+* [DKIM validator](https://dkimvalidator.com/):
+ by sending an email, checks that SPF and DKIM are set up correctly.
+* [Email deliverability tool](https://mxtoolbox.com/deliverability):
+ tests basically everything.
+ As of writing, there's a bug that causes DKIM signatures to fail verification
+ even if you did it right; just ignore that.
+* [Learn and test DMARC](https://www.learndmarc.com/):
+ checks SPF, DKIM and DMARC in detail.
+
+If everything is good so far, congratulations!
+
+Now comes the big scary final test:
+sending an email to one of the "big guys", like Google, Yahoo or Microsoft.
+Their spam filters are very strict, so if you get through, great!
+Try to write your test message so that it doesn't look like spam,
+otherwise there's no point to this exercise.
+
+If something failed, then you have some investigating to do.
+Either one of the daemons is misconfigured, or there's a problem
+with your domain name and/or DNS records.
+Do some research, and you'll get there, don't give up.
+
+But if everything works, congratulations!
+You're now the proud administrator of a private email server.
+Have fun with it, and don't forget to update your
+TLS certificate and DKIM and SRS keys.
+
+PS: and please don't spam; you'll ruin it for everyone else.
+