# How to install own chatmail and notification proxy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Chatmail Relays\ **Tags:** server-config\ **Created:** [July 11, 2024, 8:54am UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190 "2024-07-11T08:54:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/ivan/32/1822_2.png) [@Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/u/Ivan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2024, 8:54am UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/1 "2024-07-11T08:54:41Z")
Hi there šŸ‘‹ So I was planning to upgrade my server which is currently running dovecot+postfix on Arch Linux to chatmail so that iOS devices get instant notifications. However, after reading docs, FAQs and the forum, Iā€™ve came to the conclusion that I need to deploy the chatmail server. But now I have some doubts regarding thisā€¦ 1. Can I try to install chatmail on Arch Linux or will it fail? I would check and execute the code to see what it does but Iā€™m afraid it could break my current setup šŸ˜¬ 2. If I installed it successfully, would in need to install the notification proxy too or how would I register(?) my own chatmail with the central proxy? Iā€™m not sure I completely understand how it works, TBHā€¦ In any case, I just need some hints from someone with experience to know if what Iā€™m trying to do may be doable or if it is likely doomed, not the precise steps to make it work. Also, if I get this to work, I may try to contribute a PKGBUILD to Arch Linux AUR so that other people may benefit from it. Thanks in advance šŸ˜Š ---
**Author:** ![link2xt](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/link2xt/32/1971_2.png) [@link2xt](https://support.delta.chat/u/link2xt)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2024, 9:38am UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/2 "2024-07-11T09:38:52Z")
> [@Ivan](#): > > Can I try to install chatmail on Arch Linux or will it fail? I would check and execute the code to see what it does but Iā€™m afraid it could break my current setup šŸ˜¬ Currenty chatmail setup expects Debian system as it installs packages using apt, e.g. here: [chatmail/cmdeploy/src/cmdeploy/\_\_init\_\_.py at 610637da8009f13a3f2aa5c7a0af1cb51953e1b1 Ā· deltachat/chatmail Ā· GitHub](https://github.com/deltachat/chatmail/blob/610637da8009f13a3f2aa5c7a0af1cb51953e1b1/cmdeploy/src/cmdeploy/ __init__.py#L55-L58) You can install `chatmaild` components manually without `cmdeploy` tool, but integrating this into dovecot+postfix setup manually is not documented. If you really want to do it, probably better setup a VM with Debian first to see how it works and migrate the configs from there. Instant notifications rely on the [metadata server](https://github.com/deltachat/chatmail/blob/610637da8009f13a3f2aa5c7a0af1cb51953e1b1/chatmaild/src/chatmaild/metadata.py) that is integrated into dovecot via [config options](https://github.com/deltachat/chatmail/blob/610637da8009f13a3f2aa5c7a0af1cb51953e1b1/cmdeploy/src/cmdeploy/dovecot/dovecot.conf.j2#L103-L104) and [Lua script](https://github.com/deltachat/chatmail/blob/610637da8009f13a3f2aa5c7a0af1cb51953e1b1/cmdeploy/src/cmdeploy/dovecot/push_notification.lua). > [@Ivan](#): > > If I installed it successfully, would in need to install the notification proxy too or how would I register(?) my own chatmail with the central proxy? Iā€™m not sure I completely understand how it works, TBHā€¦ There is a central notification proxy running [GitHub - deltachat/notifiers: Notify devices](https://github.com/deltachat/notifiers) on [https://notifications.delta.chat/](https://notifications.delta.chat/) There is no need to install your own and it is not really possible to do so as it requires tokens from Apple and Google linked to the Delta Chat application. You only need to install your own if you want to fork Delta Chat clients. There is no need to register your chatmail server anywhere, `chatmaild` services will talk to [notifications.delta.chat](http://notifications.delta.chat) to send notifications but this does not need any special token, in the end phone operating system obtains a device token and it is passed back to Apple/Google servers when a new message arrives. How notifications work is described in [FAQ - Delta Chat](https://delta.chat/en/help#privacy-notifications), you may also want to read the blog post [Instant Onboarding and Instant Message Delivery - Delta Chat](https://delta.chat/en/2024-05-31-instant-onboarding) ---
**Author:** ![Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/ivan/32/1822_2.png) [@Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/u/Ivan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2024, 10:30am UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/3 "2024-07-11T10:30:14Z")
Got it. Thx šŸ™‚ Thatā€™s a good starting point I think. Depending on the time I have I may try to tweak the scripts to make them work in Arch or start with a VM as you said. Maybe dockerizing it would be a good idea, thereā€™s another thread about that here ā†’ [Chatmail server docker deployment](https://support.delta.chat/t/chatmail-server-docker-deployment/2927) Iā€™ll report what I find. ---
**Author:** ![Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/ivan/32/1822_2.png) [@Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/u/Ivan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 7:21am UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/4 "2024-07-15T07:21:03Z")
Hi again šŸ‘‹ Iā€™ve managed to setup a Debian VM with version 1.0.3 of cmdeploy. Now I will investigate the config and replicate it in my Arch system. If all goes well Iā€™ll try to document what I did. Maybe it can be added to the FAQ page or something like thatā€¦ However, I have one doubt regarding DNS: which of the requested entries are really necessary and for what? I ask this because Iā€™m not sure which entries are needed for autoconfiguration of clients, which for the push service, which for the SSH keys of the web server, and so onā€¦ In my previous setup it was enough with one DNS entry. šŸ¤” The cmdeploy script have asked for all these keys at different moments of execution: ```auto mydomain A [...] mydomain MX [...] _submission._tcp.mydomain SRV [...] _submissions._tcp.mydomain SRV [...] _imap._tcp.mydomain SRV [...] _imaps._tcp.mydomain SRV [...] mydomain CAA 128 issue "letsencrypt.org; [...] mydomain TXT "v=spf1 [...] _dmarc.mydomain TXT "v=DMARC1;p=reject;adkim=s;aspf=s" _mta-sts.mydomain TXT "v=STSv1; id=202407122012" mta-sts.mydomain CNAME mydomain www.mydomain CNAME mydomain opendkim._domainkey.mydomain TXT "v=DKIM1;k=rsa; [...] _adsp._domainkey.mydomain TXT "dkim=discardable" ``` ---
**Author:** ![link2xt](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/link2xt/32/1971_2.png) [@link2xt](https://support.delta.chat/u/link2xt)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 8:07pm UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/5 "2024-07-15T20:07:57Z")
`A` is for resolution of domain name to IP address. `MX` is not really needed but it is a good practice to say that mails sent to your domain should be delivered to the host specified in MX record. This normally defaults to the same domain anyway. `SRV` records are not really needed, Delta Chat does not use them as they are not secure. `CAA` record prevents someone who gets control over your port 80 but not the keys (e.g. via a vulnerability in nginx after dropping privileges or MITM at your hoster) from issuing a new TLS certificate via Letā€™s Encrypt or other CA. It is not strictly necessary, but adds some security. SPF TXT record is for compatibility with receiving hosts that donā€™t support DKIM. It is a legacy email authentication mechanism. DMARC is basically useless, but some providers like Google care that it exists, no matter the contents. Could be ā€œv=DMARC1;p=noneā€ and they are still happy, this is what they use themselves, you can check `_dmarc.gmail.com.` and similar providers. This is just to maybe increase deliverability to such providers. MTA-STS records are to say that your host uses TLS for message delivery and other hosts should use TLS too. It actually increases security, better have it. `www` domain is just for redirect to primary domain in case someone types `www` in front of domain, not really needed. When we did not have it, we got some reports of people adding `www` to URL and thinking the server is down. `opendkim` record is a ā€œDKIM selectorā€, chatmail servers use ā€œopendkimā€ in DKIM signatures to point to this key. DNS record contains the public key that chatmail servers sign messages with. DKIM is absolutely necessary if you want your mails to be accepted by chatmail servers, it is the only authentacation mechanism chatmail cares about. `_adsp` is a historic standard [RFC 5617: DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) Author Domain Signing Practices (ADSP)](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5617), this record says that any mails from us not signed with DKIM should go to trash. Probably nobody looks into this record. Officially this standard was superseded by DMARC. This is likely never resolved by anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/ivan/32/1822_2.png) [@Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/u/Ivan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 10:38am UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/6 "2024-07-16T10:38:27Z")
First of all, thanks very much for the explanation šŸ™‚ . So, after reading it, in my case, where Iā€™m only hosting a private server for friends a family I assume Iā€™m OK with just two entries: - The A record for my domain. - The opendkim record so that delta chat clients use DKIM (which IINM is needed for push notifications at mobile phones). Iā€™m going to try with those two and the configuration I got from the script and see what happens šŸ¤ž Will come back with more newsā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/ivan/32/1822_2.png) [@Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/u/Ivan)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 4:44pm UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/7 "2024-10-30T16:44:24Z")
So Iā€™ve retaken this task and have successfully run `cmdeploy` in my debian virtual box. Now Iā€™m replicating the configuration and installation in my Arch Linux. I have `chatmail-metadata` service running and `dovecot` has been configured to pass metadata through on every new message. It seems to be running though I think Iā€™m missing some libraries and configuration because currently Iā€™m seeing this warnings in `chatmail-metadata` daemonā€™s logs: ```auto oct 30 17:37:35 mybox chatmail-metadata[69295]: WARNING:root:lookup ignored: ['shared/68a6d42f77b61f57f177000067c2ffbe/vendor/vendor.dovecot/pvt/server/vendor/deltachat/irohrelay', 'xxx@my.domain.com'] ``` Iā€™ll continue my investigation in the following days, just wanted to document what Iā€™ve been able to achieve for now. BTW, Iā€™ve installed `chatmail` like this: 1. Clone [GitHub - deltachat/chatmail: chatmail service deployment scripts and docs](https://github.com/deltachat/chatmail) in `/usr/local/lib/chatmail` 2. Run `scripts/initenv.sh` to create a Python virtual env in `/usr/local/lib/chatmail/venv` 3. Create an `/etc/systemd/system/chatmail-metadata.service` based on the contents of [chatmail/cmdeploy/src/cmdeploy/service/chatmail-metadata.service.f at 1.4.1 Ā· deltachat/chatmail Ā· GitHub](https://github.com/deltachat/chatmail/blob/1.4.1/cmdeploy/src/cmdeploy/service/chatmail-metadata.service.f) 4. Create a configuration file in `/etc/chatmail/chatmail.ini` based on the contents of [chatmail/chatmaild/src/chatmaild/ini/chatmail.ini.f at 1.4.1 Ā· deltachat/chatmail Ā· GitHub](https://github.com/deltachat/chatmail/blob/1.4.1/chatmaild/src/chatmaild/ini/chatmail.ini.f) 5. Edit the `.service` file to point the executable to `/usr/local/lib/chatmail/venv` and the configuration file path to `/etc/chatmail/chatmail.ini` ---
**Author:** ![Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/ivan/32/1822_2.png) [@Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/u/Ivan)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 3:29pm UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/8 "2024-11-04T15:29:15Z")
So apparently now I need to set an [iroh](https://github.com/n0-computer/iroh) relay and, by default, `chatmaild` will connect to it using `iroh.my.domain.com` which is a DNS name `cmdeploy` asks for and suggests to configure as a CNAME to the real host name. I will try to configure it and, possibly, use `/etc/hosts` instead of DNS since the connection will be internal. Will that be a problem? I would also like to know if I can set [iroh\_relay](https://github.com/deltachat/chatmail/blob/12217437e32af01f81eee6461f682252dd46ce55/chatmaild/src/chatmaild/ini/chatmail.ini.f#L63) configuration property to `localhost`. That would be even easier. If anyone knows the answers to my two previous doubts Iā€™d be grateful to hear them. If not, I will make the experiments to answer them in the following daysā€¦ Thx šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![link2xt](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/link2xt/32/1971_2.png) [@link2xt](https://support.delta.chat/u/link2xt)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 6:59pm UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/9 "2024-11-05T18:59:06Z")
You can completely ignore setting up iroh-relay, in this case Delta Chat will use [default iroh relays](https://docs.rs/iroh-net/0.28.1/iroh_net/relay/enum.RelayMode.html#variant.Default). I am still updating iroh-relay setup so you will not need a subdomain if you want to setup one: > > > Closes #445 Pointing to `localhost` will not work, it is the address that is sent to clients. ---
**Author:** ![Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/ivan/32/1822_2.png) [@Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/u/Ivan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 7:26am UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/10 "2024-11-06T07:26:56Z")
Got it. BTW, I forgot to say that Iā€™m testing latest stable version (1.4.1). Should I use the development branch instead? šŸ¤” Regarding the iroh\_relay I thought it was the cause of failure and of the log message, but seeing the code in more detail now I think thatā€™s not the case, so I will do more tests. Just to understand this better. When the FAQ says: > A Delta Chat app obtains a ā€œdevice tokenā€ locally and stores it on the [chatmail](https://delta.chat/chatmail) server. When does this happen? On startup? And how does DC know which metadata server to contact? Using the DNS entry? I havenā€™t setup the DNS yet so that may be the cause why this is failing the lookup since no DC client will register any token if my hypothesis is true. To finish with, I see two kind of petitions in the metadata server lookup here (priv and shared) ā†’ [chatmail/chatmaild/src/chatmaild/metadata.py at 1.4.1 Ā· deltachat/chatmail Ā· GitHub](https://github.com/deltachat/chatmail/blob/1.4.1/chatmaild/src/chatmaild/metadata.py#L48-L53), whatā€™s the difference? ---
**Author:** ![Simon](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/simon/32/287_2.png) [@Simon](https://support.delta.chat/u/Simon)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 4:40pm UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/11 "2024-11-06T16:40:38Z")
> [@Ivan](#): > > And how does DC know which metadata server to contact? it uses the IMAP METADATA extension. so it happens over the imap connection. ---
**Author:** ![link2xt](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/link2xt/32/1971_2.png) [@link2xt](https://support.delta.chat/u/link2xt)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 9:07pm UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/12 "2024-11-06T21:07:42Z")
> [@Ivan](#): > > > A Delta Chat app obtains a ā€œdevice tokenā€ locally and stores it on the [chatmail](https://delta.chat/chatmail) server. > > When does this happen? On startup? > > And how does DC know which metadata server to contact? Using the DNS entry? Device token is obtained on startup via Android APIs if you use Google Play version, in F-Droid it is disabled. Then when you connect to chatmail server this is discovered via IMAP capability string `XDELTAPUSH` and stored using IMAP METADATA extension on the server. When a new message arrives, if the token is stored, it is relayed to [notifications.delta.chat](http://notifications.delta.chat) service and it notifies the device that Delta Chat got new messages. Delta Chat then checks all accounts on the device (because [notifications.delta.chat](http://notifications.delta.chat) and Delta Chat application do not know anything about email accounts). ---
**Author:** ![link2xt](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/link2xt/32/1971_2.png) [@link2xt](https://support.delta.chat/u/link2xt)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 9:09pm UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/13 "2024-11-06T21:09:11Z")
> [@Ivan](#): > > priv and shared There is a ā€œprivateā€ IMAP metadata such as the token stored per-user and ā€œsharedā€ metadata e.g. admin email address. ---
**Author:** ![Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/ivan/32/1822_2.png) [@Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/u/Ivan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2024, 8:05am UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/14 "2024-11-07T08:05:17Z")
> [@link2xt](#): > > Device token is obtained on startup via Android APIs if you use Google Play version, in F-Droid it is disabled. This is a good reason why I didnā€™t see anything šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/ivan/32/1822_2.png) [@Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/u/Ivan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2024, 1:44pm UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/15 "2024-11-07T13:44:08Z")
> [@link2xt](#): > > You can completely ignore setting up iroh-relay, in this case Delta Chat will use [default iroh relays](https://docs.rs/iroh-net/0.28.1/iroh_net/relay/enum.RelayMode.html#variant.Default). Not really. At least not in version 1.4.1 if you donā€™t set **iroh\_relay** to anything in the config file. However, I followed the link you mentioned and set **iroh\_relay** to `euw1-1.relay.iroh.network.`, then added some traces to the chatmail server to see if lookups worked and they seem to be working fine. I havenā€™t confirmed that the push notifications are already working yet, but Iā€™m almost there I think šŸ™‚. ---
**Author:** ![link2xt](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/link2xt/32/1971_2.png) [@link2xt](https://support.delta.chat/u/link2xt)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2024, 2:43pm UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/16 "2024-11-07T14:43:49Z")
Setting iroh\_relay to empty string should work. If it doesnā€™t, itā€™s a bug. ---
**Author:** ![Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/ivan/32/1822_2.png) [@Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/u/Ivan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2024, 3:45pm UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/17 "2024-11-07T15:45:32Z")
Maybe itā€™s taking the default value from the config defaults. I simply omitted the key completely (didnā€™t set it to an empty string). Iā€™ll check if an empty string worksā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/ivan/32/1822_2.png) [@Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/u/Ivan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2024, 3:47pm UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/18 "2024-11-07T15:47:40Z")
Yep, it works. You need to set `iroh_relay` to `""`, simply omitting it in the config file doesnā€™t work. ---
**Author:** ![link2xt](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/link2xt/32/1971_2.png) [@link2xt](https://support.delta.chat/u/link2xt)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2024, 3:28am UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/19 "2024-11-08T03:28:50Z")
It is documented in the template config that default is different from setting to empty string: > Default is deploying local relay while empty string does not deploy anything and makes client use the default relay. Good that it works as documented šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/user_avatar/support.delta.chat/ivan/32/1822_2.png) [@Ivan](https://support.delta.chat/u/Ivan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2024, 3:22pm UTC](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/20 "2024-11-08T15:22:53Z")
So Iā€™ve made it work šŸŽ‰ . With iOS and (I think) Android. I say ā€œI think Androidā€ because Android is using IMAP push too so I donā€™t know if it is instant due to notifications or due to the push šŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø The funny thing is that I migrated my DNS domain from Duck DNS to ClouDNS because I thought the DKIM DNS entry [we discussed earlier in the thread](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190/6) was necessary but in the end I have not created more than the canonical address for the IMAP host. So now I wonder if the DKIM entry is really necessaryā€¦ Everything seems to be working correctlyā€¦ šŸ¤” I will recap all Iā€™ve done in the next week(s) and try to automate it for Arch Linux or at least document it somewhere so that people can setup their own chatmail-metadata server. Thanks for the quick and useful support @link2xt ā¤ [Next page](https://support.delta.chat/t/how-to-install-own-chatmail-and-notification-proxy/3190.md?page=2)