I am running a local mail server using cloudflared tunnels and brevo for sending
postfix/sendmail/dovecot/ingress setup
I am really happy with the setup. (So far)
Show HN: Posthorn, self-hosted mail gateway
21–30 of 68 posts
Re: Show HN: Posthorn, self-hosted mail gateway
#22I really want to try this, but I'm afraid my DNS will be blacklisted if I do. Can someone guide me and others, if this is the case? E-Mail is the most complex of everything I know in sysadmin/DNS/Server stuff. My current provider since almost two decades without any issues, except speed and storage limitations is all-inkl.com, but I really just use it for email and nothing else, therefore most likely overpriced at ~6…
A VPS will not be cheaper - but you may get more for your money (more storage, unlimited accounts).
For something simple try https://mailinabox.email/
> would love to switch to some VPS/root or anything where I can SSH and install, compile my own services, but something where security is high and support is 24/7 available.
Those sound like expensive requirements to me. You want managed self hosted email? Some else providing support will be expensive.
Re: Show HN: Posthorn, self-hosted mail gateway
#23The title is inaccurate. Its a self-hosted transactional email gateway, not self hosted email
Re: Show HN: Posthorn, self-hosted mail gateway
#24Nice project, nice initial subset of options. At work I'm using Apprise ( https://appriseit.com/ ) to deliver notifications. Are you planning to add more services or to limit Posthorn to emails?
Haven't used Apprise, but it looks interesting! My current plans are for Posthorn to stay focused on email. There's enough work here that I think it justifies a dedicated tool. I have some v2 roadmap ideas for things like multiple outputs per endpoint so that a contact form submission can fire both an email and a webhook in the same call to support things like form -> email + slack or script triggers an email + pager…
We've chosen Apprise just for the big number of services supported, actually at the moment we only use email and telegram as notification output channels.
Apprise does not accept SMTP protocol as input, so you're bound exclusively to API, binary exec or third party integrations.
I think Posthorn could fill a gap if it will integrate the possibility to send a webhook (alongside/instead of email).
Re: Show HN: Posthorn, self-hosted mail gateway
#25Confusing title, "self-hosted mail" and "self-hosted email gateway" are two quite different things :-/
Fair. I was trying to convey self hosted benefits without the downside of hosting your own MTA. I was also really in my head on the niche and assumed everyone else would get it from the snappy title. Not my intent to mislead.
Re: Show HN: Posthorn, self-hosted mail gateway
#26> Nobody wants to run a mail server in 2026. We do, and thats why we use Postal [1]. The more SaaS applications that self-host email the better. It forces the big guys, ie Microsoft, to improve their blocklists and not lazily block entire ranges. Yes its work contacting them occasionally, but it keeps the internet open. The alternative is an internet where they control it all. 1. https://docs.postalserver.io/
Fair. Don't disagree with anything you're saying here. I should probably tighten up that line. What I really meant to say is that the average self-hoster who just wants to enable a few services to send email doesn't want to run a mail server. Different audiences, different (and both correct) answers. I set out to solve some pretty specific problems of my own but I'm genuinely curious how others have tackled these thi…
> the average self-hoster who just wants to enable a few services to send email doesn't want to run a mail server
Maybe I'm confused, maybe the label "self-hoster" is broader than the definition in my mind, but that's exactly what self-hosters want to do, that's why we call ourselves self-hosters, we want to host the stuff we use ourselves :)
If I just wanted to "enable a few services" I'd use AWS or whatever the modern alternatives are.
Re: Show HN: Posthorn, self-hosted mail gateway
#27I am running a local mail server using cloudflared tunnels and brevo for sending postfix/sendmail/dovecot/ingress setup I am really happy with the setup. (So far)
Nice. Sounds like a neat way to get the best of all worlds. Self hosted email without exposing your IP, leverage a third party with an existing trusted send reputation but still maintain full ownership of the stack.
How much effort has it been to keep it running? Glad that it works for you!
Re: Show HN: Posthorn, self-hosted mail gateway
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fair. Don't disagree with anything you're saying here. I should probably tighten up that line. What I really meant to say is that the average self-hoster who just wants to enable a few services to send email doesn't want to run a mail server. Different audiences, different (and both correct) answers. I set out to solve some pretty specific problems of my own but I'm genuinely curious how others have tackled these thi…
> the average self-hoster who just wants to enable a few services to send email doesn't want to run a mail server Maybe I'm confused, maybe the label "self-hoster" is broader than the definition in my mind, but that's exactly what self-hosters want to do, that's why we call ourselves self-hosters, we want to host the stuff we use ourselves :) If I just wanted to "enable a few services" I'd use AWS or whatever the mod…
> If I just wanted to enable a few services I'd use AWS or whatever
But then you'd be using AWS for those services too.
I think there's a meaningful gap between folks who are willing and able to self host their own applications but have decided that running their own MTA is a separate and much harder commitment. Different line, but still self-hosting in any reasonable read of the term. I've been on both sides of that line at one point, I'm trying to avoid going back. :)
Re: Show HN: Posthorn, self-hosted mail gateway
#29I really want to try this, but I'm afraid my DNS will be blacklisted if I do. Can someone guide me and others, if this is the case? E-Mail is the most complex of everything I know in sysadmin/DNS/Server stuff. My current provider since almost two decades without any issues, except speed and storage limitations is all-inkl.com, but I really just use it for email and nothing else, therefore most likely overpriced at ~6…
> therefore most likely overpriced at ~6€/month
> something where security is high and support is 24/7 available
You are not going to get great 24/7 support inside anything like €6/month (though many may promise it!), so that service may not be as overpriced as you think.
Another thing to consider is that many VPS providers have “dirty” IP ranges so you will have trouble with getting your mail delivered. A common solution to this is to use a mail delivery service (like mailgun, mxroute, and many others) so your mail comes from a managed “clean” source and has less chance of summarily being declared spam just from the source address alone (these services also reduce the need to think about spf/dkim/etc and keep an eye out on changes that may happen in that realm). Essentially by self-hosting a service like this, you are taking back the admin of managing all that so you have to ask yourself if it is worth saving a few € per month, and consider what you might lose if something goes wrong and all your mail starts bouncing.
> switch to some VPS/root or anything where I can SSH and install, compile my own services
Be wary of most really inexpensive options here. In most cases you will experience performance degradation (at random times, or just almost always) and other issues due to noisy neighbours on oversold infrastructure.
> I really want to try this, but I'm afraid my DNS will be blacklisted if I do.
The best (but unfortunately time-consuming) way to get comfortable with this is probably to register a sacrificial domain and set it all up for that domain on hosts not associated with your domains that normally send mail. Play with it, break it, fix it, break it again, etc., until you feel confident you aren't going to screw yourself by trusting your own admin of all this on a domain that actually matters.
Re: Show HN: Posthorn, self-hosted mail gateway
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
> the average self-hoster who just wants to enable a few services to send email doesn't want to run a mail server Maybe I'm confused, maybe the label "self-hoster" is broader than the definition in my mind, but that's exactly what self-hosters want to do, that's why we call ourselves self-hosters, we want to host the stuff we use ourselves :) If I just wanted to "enable a few services" I'd use AWS or whatever the mod…
> If I just wanted to enable a few services I'd use AWS or whatever But then you'd be using AWS for those services too. I think there's a meaningful gap between folks who are willing and able to self host their own applications but have decided that running their own MTA is a separate and much harder commitment. Different line, but still self-hosting in any reasonable read of the term. I've been on both sides of that…
> But then you'd be using AWS for those services too.
Yes, so obviously as a self-hoster, that's a no-go. Hence not wanting "to enable a few services", it'd go directly counter to the initial objectives.
But yeah, I hear and agree that there is a spectrum here, self-hosting some parts while relying on others can be a good balance, especially if you have other requirements to consider, like time or resource investments, it's not a black & white decision you should make without careful considerations.