Deploy Bichon

Deploy and Host

Bichon is an end-to-end encrypted email storage and management server with a modern Web UI. Connect any number of IMAP email accounts and have all mail archived, searchable, and exportable — with credentials encrypted at rest by your own key. Deploy it on Railway in minutes.

About Hosting

Bichon runs as a single Docker container on port 15630. Railway provides compute, TLS at the edge, and a public URL. All persistent data lives at /data — mount a Railway Volume there so your archived mail survives restarts. No external database or S3 bucket required.

Why Deploy

• End-to-end encrypted — stored credentials (IMAP passwords, OAuth tokens) are encrypted with your own BICHON_ENCRYPT_PASSWORD key
• Zero external dependencies — single container, embedded storage. No Postgres, no Redis, no S3
• Universal email archiving — connect Gmail, Outlook, or any IMAP account and keep an independent copy of all mail
• Import & export — EML directory import, PST import, and batch export to take your data anywhere
• Multi-account — manage all your email accounts from one dashboard
• Role-based access control — system, user, token, and data permissions with custom roles
• Small footprint — ~59MB image

Common Use Cases

• Email archiving & compliance — keep a searchable, encrypted copy of business mail independent of the provider
• Mail migration — bulk-import EML/PST archives and browse them from the Web UI
• Privacy-focused mail management — self-hosted search and management with no third-party access

Dependencies for Bichon

Deployment Dependencies

Bichon is a standalone service that requires no external dependencies on Railway. It uses embedded storage inside its single container. Add a Railway Volume at /data for persistent mail archives.

Bichon — End-to-End Encrypted Email Storage

A self-hosted email archiving and management server. Connect any IMAP account and keep all mail encrypted, searchable, and exportable — your credentials protected by your own passphrase.

Features

• Encrypted at rest — credentials encrypted with your own passphrase (BICHON_ENCRYPT_PASSWORD)
• IMAP aggregation — connect multiple accounts; one dashboard for all mail
• Web UI — modern, searchable interface (Vue frontend served by the Rust backend)
• No external DB — single container with embedded storage
• Import — bulk-load EML directories and PST files
• Export — batch-export messages to EML
• SMTP ingest — receive and archive emails directly via SMTP
• RBAC — fine-grained permissions with custom roles
• OAuth-ready — configurable OAuth providers for login

Architecture

┌──────────────────────┐      ┌──────────────────┐
│   Bichon Server      │◄────►│   Email accounts │
│   (on Railway)       │ IMAP │  (any provider)  │
│   Port 15630         │      │                  │
│   /data (volume)     │      │                  │
└──────────────────────┘      └──────────────────┘

Bichon runs entirely inside a single container on Railway. The Rust server serves the Vue Web UI and talks IMAP/SMTP to your email providers directly — nothing else is needed.

Environment Variables

Volumes

Add a Railway Volume at /data to persist your mail archive across restarts.

Default Admin Credentials

⚠️ SECURITY WARNING — Bichon creates a default administrator on first boot with publicly known credentials (hardcoded in the open-source code):

Change this password immediately after your first login (Web UI → Users → admin → change password). Leaving it as-is means anyone who knows the default can take over your deployment and read your archived mail.

How to Use

1. Click the Deploy on Railway button above
2. Set a strong BICHON_ENCRYPT_PASSWORD in the deploy form — this key encrypts your stored credentials. Keep it safe; changing it later locks out stored accounts
3. Add a Railway Volume at /data for persistence
4. Once deployed, open your Railway URL and log in with admin / admin@bichon, then change the password immediately
5. Connect an email account (OAuth or IMAP password) and start archiving