Deploy snappymail-template

SnappyMail on Railway

Fast, modern webmail for your existing mail server — deployed in one click.

SnappyMail is a webmail client, not a mail server: it connects to the IMAP/SMTP mail you already have (Gmail, Outlook, your own mail host) and gives it a fast, modern web interface. No other services are required beyond your mail provider.

What you get

• One service: the official djmaze/snappymail image (built by the app author) pinned to v2.38.2 — nginx on port 8888 behind Railway's TLS edge
• One volume on /var/lib/snappymail — all app data, domain settings and users persist across restarts and redeploys
• Zero-credential admin bootstrap: Railway generates the admin password per deployment into the SNAPPYMAIL_ADMIN_PASSWORD variable and the entrypoint pre-seeds it into the app before first boot — no file-digging, no random passwords lost in logs
• Zero deploy-form prompts: everything is provisioned and generated automatically

After deploying

1. Open your Railway project → Variables → copy the value of SNAPPYMAIL_ADMIN_PASSWORD.
2. Open your Railway domain at /?admin — log in as user admin with that password.
3. (Recommended) Change the admin password in the admin panel. The seed only applies while the password is unset, so your change survives reboots.
4. Configure your mail domain (required before anyone can log in):
   • In the admin panel open the Domains tab.
   • Edit the default domain or click Add domain for your mail host.
   • IMAP: host (e.g. imap.gmail.com), port 993, security SSL; users log in with their full email address.
   • SMTP: host (e.g. smtp.gmail.com), port 465 security SSL (or port 587 security STARTTLS), enable use auth.
   • Sieve (optional, supported): host + port 4190.
   • Save, then log in at / with a real mailbox account.
5. Optional: further domain/provider options (filters, attachment limits, branding) are all in the admin panel.

Admin password details

• The password lives in the SNAPPYMAIL_ADMIN_PASSWORD variable; a bcrypt hash is written to /var/lib/snappymail/_data_/_default_/configs/application.ini on first boot.
• To reset later: change it in the admin panel (Settings → Security), or delete the volume to start over.
• The file admin_password.txt (same folder) only exists while the initial password is unchanged; the app removes it once you set your own.

Scope & notes

• Client, not server: bring your own IMAP/SMTP. No POP3 support (removed upstream); Sieve is supported.
• Timezone inside the container is UTC.
• Image pinned to v2.38.2 for reproducible deploys (the official image build dates to 2024-10; check upstream for newer releases).
• Cost: roughly $3–5/month (512 MB service + 1 GB volume).

Deploy and Host

Deploy SnappyMail to Railway with one click. The template provisions a single webmail service built from the pinned official SnappyMail image, attaches a persistent volume at /var/lib/snappymail, and generates a public domain on port 8888. The admin password is generated per deployment (variable SNAPPYMAIL_ADMIN_PASSWORD) and seeded into the app on first boot, so the admin panel at /?admin is usable immediately with the password from the Variables tab.

About Hosting

Hosting SnappyMail yourself means your mail credentials and messages pass through your own infrastructure instead of a third-party webmail host. The template runs one service (nginx + PHP-FPM under supervisord, ~512 MB RAM is plenty) with one volume for config, contacts, filters and cache. SnappyMail is a client: it stores settings and session data locally but fetches mail live over IMAP and sends over SMTP, so storage needs stay small (1 GB volume is comfortable).

Why Deploy

• The official image's worst quirk — the admin password being generated into a file inside the data volume — is solved: the password is a Railway variable you can read and rotate, seeded before first boot.
• Volume ownership and the stock PHP-FPM pool configuration are fixed for Railway's runtime, so first boot succeeds without manual chown or config surgery.
• One pinned image version, one volume, one generated variable — no database service, no deploy-form prompts, nothing else to wire up.

Common Use Cases

• Self-hosted webmail front-end for a personal or family mail server (Mailcow, Mail-in-a-Box, Dovecot/Postfix, Zimbra).
• A fast web UI for provider mailboxes that support IMAP/SMTP (Gmail app passwords, Outlook, Fastmail, Migadu, Purelymail).
• A lightweight replacement for Roundcube with modern UI, Sieve filter editing and GPG support.

Dependencies for

SnappyMail has no runtime dependencies inside Railway — no database, no cache, no workers. The only external dependency is the mail server you point it at.

Deployment Dependencies

• An IMAP/SMTP mail server reachable from the internet (your own, or a provider's). Configure it in the admin panel → Domains (IMAP imap.example.com:993 SSL, SMTP smtp.example.com:465 SSL or 587 STARTTLS with auth).
• Outbound internet access from the service for IMAP/SMTP/Sieve connections (Railway allows this by default).