docker: make compose work with cgroups (v2), conversion scripts/docs

opendkim-genkey was running unconditionally on every startup,
check if file exists and skip.

.dockerignore

@@ -1,18 +1,7 @@
+.git
 data/
 venv/
 __pycache__
 *.pyc
 *.orig
-*.ini
 .pytest_cache
-.env
-
-# Slim build context — .git/ alone can be 100s of MB
-.git
-.github/
-docs/
-tests/
-
-# Exclude markdown files but keep www/src/*.md (used by WebsiteDeployer)
-*.md
-!www/**/*.md

.github/workflows/docker-build.yaml

@@ -1,76 +0,0 @@
-name: Docker Build
-
-on:
-  pull_request:
-    paths:
-      - 'docker/**'
-      - 'docker-compose.yaml'
-      - '.dockerignore'
-      - 'chatmaild/**'
-      - 'cmdeploy/**'
-      - '.github/workflows/docker-build.yaml'
-  push:
-    branches:
-      - main
-      - j4n/docker
-    paths:
-      - 'docker/**'
-      - 'docker-compose.yaml'
-      - '.dockerignore'
-      - 'chatmaild/**'
-      - 'cmdeploy/**'
-      - '.github/workflows/docker-build.yaml'
-    tags:
-      - 'v*'
-
-env:
-  REGISTRY: ghcr.io
-  IMAGE_NAME: ${{ github.repository }}
-
-jobs:
-  build:
-    name: Build Docker image
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    permissions:
-      contents: read
-      packages: write
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-
-      - name: Set up Docker Buildx
-        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
-
-      - name: Login to GHCR
-        if: github.event_name == 'push'
-        uses: docker/login-action@v3
-        with:
-          registry: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
-          username: ${{ github.actor }}
-          password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-
-      - name: Extract metadata (tags, labels)
-        id: meta
-        uses: docker/metadata-action@v5
-        with:
-          images: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAME }}
-          tags: |
-            # Tagged releases: v1.2.3 → :1.2.3, :1.2, :latest
-            type=semver,pattern={{version}}
-            type=semver,pattern={{major}}.{{minor}}
-            # Branch pushes: j4n/docker → :j4n-docker
-            type=ref,event=branch
-            # Always: :sha-<hash>
-            type=sha
-
-      - name: Build and push
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
-        with:
-          context: .
-          file: docker/chatmail_relay.dockerfile
-          push: ${{ github.event_name == 'push' }}
-          tags: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.tags }}
-          labels: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.labels }}
-          cache-from: type=gha
-          cache-to: type=gha,mode=max
-          build-args: |
-            GIT_HASH=${{ github.sha }}

.gitignore

@@ -168,5 +168,4 @@ chatmail.zone
 # docker
 /data/
 /custom/
-docker-compose.override.yaml
 .env

chatmaild/src/chatmaild/config.py

@@ -44,10 +44,15 @@ class Config:
         )
         self.mtail_address = params.get("mtail_address")
         self.disable_ipv6 = params.get("disable_ipv6", "false").lower() == "true"
-        self.noacme = os.environ.get("CHATMAIL_NOACME", "false").lower() == "true"
         self.addr_v4 = os.environ.get("CHATMAIL_ADDR_V4", "")
         self.addr_v6 = os.environ.get("CHATMAIL_ADDR_V6", "")
         self.acme_email = params.get("acme_email", "")
+        self.change_kernel_settings = (
+            params.get("change_kernel_settings", "true").lower() == "true"
+        )
+        self.fs_inotify_max_user_instances_and_watchers = int(
+            params["fs_inotify_max_user_instances_and_watchers"]
+        )
         self.imap_rawlog = params.get("imap_rawlog", "false").lower() == "true"
         self.imap_compress = params.get("imap_compress", "false").lower() == "true"
         if "iroh_relay" not in params:

chatmaild/src/chatmaild/ini/chatmail.ini.f

@@ -69,6 +69,16 @@ disable_ipv6 = False
 # Your email adress, which will be used in acmetool to manage Let's Encrypt SSL certificates
 acme_email = 
 
+#
+# Kernel settings
+#
+
+# if you set "True", the kernel settings will be configured according to the values below
+change_kernel_settings  = True
+
+# change fs.inotify.max_user_instances and fs.inotify.max_user_watches kernel settings
+fs_inotify_max_user_instances_and_watchers = 65535
+
 # Defaults to https://iroh.{{mail_domain}} and running `iroh-relay` on the chatmail
 # service.
 # If you set it to anything else, the service will be disabled

chatmaild/src/chatmaild/tests/test_filtermail_blackbox.py

@@ -57,19 +57,10 @@ def test_one_mail(
     path = str(config._inipath)
 
     popen = make_popen(["filtermail", path, filtermail_mode])
-
-    # Wait for filtermail to start accepting connections
-    import socket
-    import time
-    for _ in range(50):  # 5 second timeout
-        try:
-            sock = socket.create_connection(("127.0.0.1", smtp_inject_port), timeout=0.1)
-            sock.close()
-            break
-        except (ConnectionRefusedError, OSError):
-            time.sleep(0.1)
-    else:
-        pytest.fail("filtermail failed to start accepting connections")
+    line = popen.stderr.readline().strip()
+    if b"loop" not in line:
+        print(line.decode("ascii"), file=sys.stderr)
+        pytest.fail("starting filtermail failed")
 
     addr = f"user1@{config.mail_domain}"
     config.get_user(addr).set_password("l1k2j3l1k2j3l")

cmdeploy/src/cmdeploy/cmdeploy.py

@@ -110,8 +110,7 @@ def run_cmd(args, out):
     cmd = f"{pyinf} --ssh-user root {ssh_host} {deploy_path} -y"
     if ssh_host in ["localhost", "@docker"]:
         if ssh_host == "@docker":
-            env["CHATMAIL_NOPORTCHECK"] = "True"
-            env["CHATMAIL_NOSYSCTL"] = "True"
+            env["CHATMAIL_DOCKER"] = "True"
         cmd = f"{pyinf} @local {deploy_path} -y"
 
     if version.parse(pyinfra.__version__) < version.parse("3"):
@@ -331,7 +330,7 @@ def add_config_option(parser):
         "--config",
         dest="inipath",
         action="store",
-        default=Path(os.environ.get("CHATMAIL_INI", "chatmail.ini")),
+        default=Path("chatmail.ini"),
         type=Path,
         help="path to the chatmail.ini file",
     )

cmdeploy/src/cmdeploy/deployers.py

@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 Chat Mail pyinfra deploy.
 """
 
-import os
 import shutil
 import subprocess
 import sys
@@ -539,12 +538,13 @@ class GithashDeployer(Deployer):
         )
 
 
-def deploy_chatmail(config_path: Path, disable_mail: bool, website_only: bool) -> None:
+def deploy_chatmail(config_path: Path, disable_mail: bool, website_only: bool, docker: bool) -> None:
     """Deploy a chat-mail instance.
 
     :param config_path: path to chatmail.ini
     :param disable_mail: whether to disable postfix & dovecot
     :param website_only: if True, only deploy the website
+    :param docker: whether it is running in a docker container
     """
     config = read_config(config_path)
     check_config(config)
@@ -570,7 +570,7 @@ def deploy_chatmail(config_path: Path, disable_mail: bool, website_only: bool) -
             Out().red(f"Deploy failed: mtail_address {config.mtail_address} is not available (VPN up?).\n")
             exit(1)
 
-    if not os.environ.get("CHATMAIL_NOPORTCHECK"):
+    if not docker:
         port_services = [
             (["master", "smtpd"], 25),
             ("unbound", 53),
@@ -610,12 +610,7 @@ def deploy_chatmail(config_path: Path, disable_mail: bool, website_only: bool) -
         UnboundDeployer(config),
         TurnDeployer(mail_domain),
         IrohDeployer(config.enable_iroh_relay),
-    ]
-
-    if not config.noacme:
-        all_deployers.append(AcmetoolDeployer(config.acme_email, tls_domains))
-
-    all_deployers += [
+        AcmetoolDeployer(config.acme_email, tls_domains),
         WebsiteDeployer(config),
         ChatmailVenvDeployer(config),
         MtastsDeployer(),

cmdeploy/src/cmdeploy/dovecot/deployer.py

@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-import os
-
 from chatmaild.config import Config
 from pyinfra import host
 from pyinfra.facts.server import Arch, Sysctl
@@ -120,7 +118,7 @@ def _configure_dovecot(config: Config, debug: bool = False) -> (bool, bool):
 
     # as per https://doc.dovecot.org/2.3/configuration_manual/os/
     # it is recommended to set the following inotify limits
-    if not os.environ.get("CHATMAIL_NOSYSCTL"):
+    if config.change_kernel_settings:
         for name in ("max_user_instances", "max_user_watches"):
             key = f"fs.inotify.{name}"
             if host.get_fact(Sysctl)[key] > 65535:

cmdeploy/src/cmdeploy/postfix/lmtp_header_cleanup

@@ -1,3 +1,2 @@
 /^DKIM-Signature:/            IGNORE
 /^Authentication-Results:/            IGNORE
-/^Received:/            IGNORE

cmdeploy/src/cmdeploy/run.py

@@ -15,8 +15,9 @@ def main():
     )
     disable_mail = bool(os.environ.get("CHATMAIL_DISABLE_MAIL"))
     website_only = bool(os.environ.get("CHATMAIL_WEBSITE_ONLY"))
+    docker = bool(os.environ.get("CHATMAIL_DOCKER"))
 
-    deploy_chatmail(config_path, disable_mail, website_only)
+    deploy_chatmail(config_path, disable_mail, website_only, docker)
 
 
 if pyinfra.is_cli:

cmdeploy/src/cmdeploy/sshexec.py

@@ -89,11 +89,6 @@ class LocalExec:
         self.verbose = verbose
         self.docker = docker
 
-    def __call__(self, call, kwargs=None, log_callback=None):
-        if kwargs is None:
-            kwargs = {}
-        return call(**kwargs)
-
     def logged(self, call, kwargs: dict):
         where = "locally"
         if self.docker:

doc/source/docker.rst

@@ -1,262 +0,0 @@
-Docker installation
-===================
-
-This section provides instructions for installing a chatmail relay
-using Docker Compose.
-
-.. note::
-
-   Docker support is experimental and not yet covered by automated tests, please report bugs.
-
-
-Known limitations
------------------
-
-- Requires cgroups v2 on the host. Operation with cgroups v1 has not been tested.
-- This preliminary image simply wraps the cmdeploy process detailed in the :doc:`getting_started` instructions in a full Debian-systemd image. 
-- Currently, the image has only been tested and built on amd64, though arm64 should theoretically work as well.
-
-
-Prerequisites
--------------
-
-- **Docker Compose v2** (``docker compose``, not ``docker-compose``) is
-  required for its ``cgroup: host`` support (`Install instructions <https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/debian/#install-using-the-repository>`_:)
-
-- **DNS records** for your domain (see step 1 below).
-
-- **Kernel parameters** — ``fs.inotify.max_user_instances`` and
-  ``fs.inotify.max_user_watches`` must be raised on the host because they
-  cannot be changed inside the container (see step 2 below).
-
-
-Preliminary setup
------------------
-
-We use ``chat.example.org`` as the chatmail domain in the following
-steps. Please substitute it with your own domain.
-
-1. Setup the initial DNS records.
-   The following is an example in the familiar BIND zone file format with
-   a TTL of 1 hour (3600 seconds).
-   Please substitute your domain and IP addresses.
-
-   ::
-
-       chat.example.org. 3600 IN A 198.51.100.5
-       chat.example.org. 3600 IN AAAA 2001:db8::5
-       www.chat.example.org. 3600 IN CNAME chat.example.org.
-       mta-sts.chat.example.org. 3600 IN CNAME chat.example.org.
-
-2. Configure kernel parameters on the host, as these can not be set from the container::
-
-       echo "fs.inotify.max_user_instances=65536" | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.d/99-inotify.conf
-       echo "fs.inotify.max_user_watches=65536" | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.d/99-inotify.conf
-       sudo sysctl --system
-
-
-Docker Compose Setup
---------------------
-
-Pre-built images are available from GitHub Container Registry. The
-``main`` branch and tagged releases are pushed automatically by CI::
-
-    docker pull ghcr.io/chatmail/relay:main      # latest main branch
-    docker pull ghcr.io/chatmail/relay:1.2.3     # tagged release
-
-
-Create service directory
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-
-Either:
-
-- Create a service directory, e.g., `/srv/chatmail-relay`::
-
-    mkdir -p /srv/chatmail-relay && cd /srv/chatmail-relay
-    wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/chatmail/relay/refs/heads/main/docker-compose.yaml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/chatmail/relay/refs/heads/main/docker-compose.override.yaml.example
-    wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/chatmail/relay/refs/heads/main/docker/env.example -O .env
-    
-
-- or clone the chatmail repo ::
-
-   git clone https://github.com/chatmail/relay
-   cd relay
-   cp example.env .env
-
-
-
-Customize and start
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-
-1. All local customizations (data paths, extra volumes, config mounts) go in
-   ``docker-compose.override.yaml``, which Compose merges automatically with
-   the base file. By default, all data is stored in docker volumes, you will
-   likely want to at least create and configure the mail storage location. Copy
-   the example to get started::
-
-       cp docker/docker-compose.override.yaml.example docker-compose.override.yaml
-       # and edit docker-compose.override.yaml
-
-
-2. Configure the ``.env`` file. Only ``MAIL_DOMAIN`` is required, the domain
-   name of the future server.
-
-   The container generates a ``chatmail.ini`` with defaults from
-   ``MAIL_DOMAIN`` on first start. To customize chatmail settings, mount
-   your own ``chatmail.ini`` instead (see `Custom chatmail.ini`_ below).
-
-3. Start the container::
-
-       docker compose up -d
-       docker compose logs -f chatmail   # view logs, Ctrl+C to exit
-
-4. After installation is complete, open ``https://chat.example.org`` in
-   your browser.
-
-
-Managing the server
--------------------
-
-Use ``docker exec`` to run cmdeploy commands inside the container::
-
-    # Show required DNS records
-    docker exec chatmail /opt/cmdeploy/bin/cmdeploy dns --ssh-host @local
-
-    # Check server status
-    docker exec chatmail /opt/cmdeploy/bin/cmdeploy status --ssh-host @local
-
-    # Run benchmarks (can also run from any machine with cmdeploy installed)
-    docker exec chatmail /opt/cmdeploy/bin/cmdeploy bench chat.example.org
-
-
-Customization
--------------
-
-Custom website
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-
-You can customize the chatmail landing page by mounting a directory with
-your own website source files.
-
-1. Create a directory with your custom website source::
-
-       mkdir -p ./custom/www/src
-       nano ./custom/www/src/index.md
-
-2. Add the volume mount in ``docker-compose.override.yaml``::
-
-       services:
-         chatmail:
-           volumes:
-             - ./custom/www:/opt/chatmail-www
-
-3. Restart the service::
-
-       docker compose down
-       docker compose up -d
-
-
-Custom chatmail.ini
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-
-There are two configuration modes:
-
-**Simple (default):** Set ``MAIL_DOMAIN`` in ``.env``. The container
-auto-generates ``chatmail.ini`` with defaults on first start. This is
-sufficient for most deployments.
-
-**Advanced:** Generate a ``chatmail.ini``, edit it, and mount it into
-the container. This gives you full control over all chatmail settings.
-
-1. Extract the generated config from a running container::
-
-       docker cp chatmail:/etc/chatmail/chatmail.ini ./chatmail.ini
-
-2. Edit ``chatmail.ini`` as needed.
-
-3. Add the volume mount in ``docker-compose.override.yaml`` ::
-
-       services:
-         chatmail:
-           volumes:
-             - ./chatmail.ini:/etc/chatmail/chatmail.ini
-
-4. Restart the container, the container skips generating a new one: ::
-
-       docker compose down && docker compose up -d
-
-
-Migrating from a bare-metal install
-------------------------------------
-
-If you have an existing bare-metal chatmail installation and want to
-switch to Docker:
-
-1. Stop all existing services::
-
-       systemctl stop postfix dovecot doveauth nginx opendkim unbound \
-         acmetool-redirector filtermail filtermail-incoming chatmail-turn \
-         iroh-relay chatmail-metadata lastlogin mtail
-       systemctl disable postfix dovecot doveauth nginx opendkim unbound \
-         acmetool-redirector filtermail filtermail-incoming chatmail-turn \
-         iroh-relay chatmail-metadata lastlogin mtail
-
-2. Copy your existing ``chatmail.ini`` and mount it into the container
-   (see `Custom chatmail.ini`_ above)::
-
-       cp /usr/local/lib/chatmaild/chatmail.ini ./chatmail.ini
-
-3. Copy persistent data into the ``./data/`` subdirectories (for example, as configured in `Customize and start`_) ::
-
-       mkdir -p data/chatmail-dkimkeys data/chatmail-acme data/chatmail
-
-       # DKIM keys
-       cp -a /etc/dkimkeys/* data/chatmail-dkimkeys/
-
-       # ACME certificates and account
-       rsync -a /var/lib/acme/ data/chatmail-acme/
-
-       # Mail data
-       rsync -a /home/ data/chatmail/
-
-   Alternatively, mount ``/home/vmail`` directly by changing the volume
-   in ``docker-compose-override.yaml``::
-
-       - /home/vmail:/home/vmail
-
-   The three ``./data/`` subdirectories cover all persistent state.
-   Everything else is regenerated by the ``configure`` and ``activate``
-   stages on container start.
-
-Building the image
-------------------
-
-Clone the repository and build the Docker image::
-
-    git clone https://github.com/chatmail/relay
-    cd relay
-    docker compose build chatmail
-
-The build bakes all binaries, Python packages, and the install stage
-into the image. After building, only ``docker-compose.yaml`` and ``.env``
-are needed to run the container.
-
-You can transfer a locally built image to your server directly (pigz is parallel `gzip` which can be used instead as well) ::
-
-    docker save chatmail-relay:latest | pigz | ssh chat.example.org 'pigz -d | docker load'
-
-
-Forcing a full reinstall
-------------------------
-
-On container start, only the ``configure`` and ``activate`` stages run by default.
-
-To force a full reinstall (e.g. after updating the source), either
-rebuild the image::
-
-    docker compose build chatmail
-    docker compose up -d
-
-Or override the stages at runtime without rebuilding::
-
-    CMDEPLOY_STAGES="install,configure,activate" docker compose up -d

doc/source/getting_started.rst

@@ -83,8 +83,9 @@ steps. Please substitute it with your own domain.
 Docker installation
 -------------------
 
-There is experimental support for running chatmail via Docker Compose.
-See :doc:`docker` for full setup instructions.
+We have experimental support for `docker compose <https://github.com/chatmail/relay/blob/docker-rebase/docs/DOCKER_INSTALLATION_EN.md>`_,
+but it is not covered by automated tests yet,
+so don't expect everything to work.
 
 Other helpful commands
 ----------------------

doc/source/index.rst

@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ Contributions and feedback welcome through the https://github.com/chatmail/relay
     :maxdepth: 5
 
     getting_started
-    docker
     proxy
     migrate
     overview

docker-compose.override.yaml.example

@@ -1,33 +0,0 @@
-# Local overrides — copy to docker-compose.override.yaml in the repo root.
-# Compose automatically merges this with docker-compose.yaml.
-#
-#   cp docker/docker-compose.override.yaml.example docker-compose.override.yaml
-#
-# Volumes listed here are APPENDED to the base file's volumes.
-# Scalar values (environment, image, etc.) are REPLACED.
-services:
-  chatmail:
-    volumes:
-      ## Data paths — bind-mount to host directories for easy access/backup.
-      ## Uncomment and adjust paths as needed. These override the named
-      ## volumes in the base docker-compose.yaml.
-      # - ./data/chatmail:/home/vmail
-      # - ./data/chatmail-dkimkeys:/etc/dkimkeys
-      # - ./data/chatmail-acme:/var/lib/acme
-
-      ## Or mount data from an existing bare-metal install.
-      ## Note: DKIM key ownership is fixed automatically on startup
-      ## (the host's opendkim UID may differ from the container's).
-      # - /home/vmail:/home/vmail
-      # - /etc/dkimkeys:/etc/dkimkeys
-      # - /var/lib/acme:/var/lib/acme
-
-      ## Mount your own chatmail.ini (skips auto-generation):
-      # - ./chatmail.ini:/etc/chatmail/chatmail.ini
-
-      ## Custom website:
-      # - ./custom/www:/opt/chatmail-www
-
-      ## Debug — mount scripts from the repo for live editing:
-      # - ./docker/files/setup_chatmail_docker.sh:/setup_chatmail_docker.sh
-      # - ./docker/files/entrypoint.sh:/entrypoint.sh

docker-compose.yaml

@@ -1,19 +1,8 @@
-# Base compose file — do not edit. Put customizations (data paths, extra
-# volumes, env overrides) in docker-compose.override.yaml instead.
-# See docker/docker-compose.override.yaml.example for a starting point.
-#
-# Security note: this container uses network_mode:host (chatmail needs many
-# ports: 25, 53, 80, 143, 443, 465, 587, 993, 3340, 8443) and cgroup:host
-# (required for systemd). Together these give the container near-host-level
-# access. This is acceptable for a dedicated mail server, but be aware that
-# the container can bind any port and see all host network traffic.
 services:
   chatmail:
     build:
       context: ./
       dockerfile: docker/chatmail_relay.dockerfile
-      args:
-        GIT_HASH: ${GIT_HASH:-unknown}
     image: chatmail-relay:latest
     restart: unless-stopped
     container_name: chatmail
@@ -31,21 +20,33 @@ services:
         max-size: "10m"
         max-file: "3"
     environment:
+      CHANGE_KERNEL_SETTINGS: "False"
       MAIL_DOMAIN: $MAIL_DOMAIN
+      ACME_EMAIL: $ACME_EMAIL
+      RECREATE_VENV: $RECREATE_VENV
+      MAX_MESSAGE_SIZE: $MAX_MESSAGE_SIZE
+      DEBUG_COMMANDS_ENABLED: $DEBUG_COMMANDS_ENABLED
+      FORCE_REINIT_INI_FILE: $FORCE_REINIT_INI_FILE
+      USE_FOREIGN_CERT_MANAGER: $USE_FOREIGN_CERT_MANAGER
+      ENABLE_CERTS_MONITORING: $ENABLE_CERTS_MONITORING
+      CERTS_MONITORING_TIMEOUT: $CERTS_MONITORING_TIMEOUT
+      IS_DEVELOPMENT_INSTANCE: $IS_DEVELOPMENT_INSTANCE
       CMDEPLOY_STAGES: ${CMDEPLOY_STAGES:-}
-      CHATMAIL_NOSYSCTL: ${CHATMAIL_NOSYSCTL:-True}
-      CHATMAIL_NOPORTCHECK: ${CHATMAIL_NOPORTCHECK:-True}
-      CHATMAIL_NOACME: ${CHATMAIL_NOACME:-}
     network_mode: "host"
     volumes:
-      ## system (required)
-      - /sys/fs/cgroup:/sys/fs/cgroup:rw
-      ## data (defaults — override in docker-compose.override.yaml)
-      - chatmail-data:/home/vmail
-      - chatmail-dkimkeys:/etc/dkimkeys
-      - chatmail-acme:/var/lib/acme
+      ## system
+      - /sys/fs/cgroup:/sys/fs/cgroup:rw # required for systemd
+      - ./:/opt/chatmail
 
-volumes:
-  chatmail-data:
-  chatmail-dkimkeys:
-  chatmail-acme:
+      ## data
+      - ./data/chatmail:/home
+      - ./data/chatmail-dkimkeys:/etc/dkimkeys
+      - ./data/chatmail-acme:/var/lib/acme
+
+      ## custom resources
+      # - ./custom/www/src/index.md:/opt/chatmail/www/src/index.md
+
+      ## debug
+      # - ./docker/files/setup_chatmail_docker.sh:/setup_chatmail_docker.sh
+      # - ./docker/files/entrypoint.sh:/entrypoint.sh
+      # - ./docker/files/update_ini.sh:/update_ini.sh

docker/build.sh

@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-# Build the chatmail Docker image with the current git hash baked in.
-# Usage: ./docker/build.sh [extra docker-compose build args...]
-#
-# .git/ is excluded from the build context (.dockerignore) so the hash
-# must be passed as a build arg from the host.
-
-export GIT_HASH=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)
-exec docker compose build "$@"

docker/chatmail_relay.dockerfile

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ RUN echo 'APT::Install-Recommends "0";' > /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/01norecommend && \
     apt-get install -y \
         ca-certificates && \
     DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive \
-    TZ=UTC \
+    TZ=Europe/London \
     apt-get install -y tzdata && \
     apt-get install -y locales && \
     sed -i -e "s/# $LANG.*/$LANG UTF-8/" /etc/locale.gen && \
@@ -37,64 +37,59 @@ RUN apt-get update && \
         libnginx-mod-stream \
         fcgiwrap \
         cron \
+    && for pkg in core imapd lmtpd; do \
+      case "$pkg" in \
+        core) sha256="43f593332e22ac7701c62d58b575d2ca409e0f64857a2803be886c22860f5587" ;; \
+        imapd) sha256="8d8dc6fc00bbb6cdb25d345844f41ce2f1c53f764b79a838eb2a03103eebfa86" ;; \
+        lmtpd) sha256="2f69ba5e35363de50962d42cccbfe4ed8495265044e244007d7ccddad77513ab" ;; \
+      esac; \
+      url="https://download.delta.chat/dovecot/dovecot-${pkg}_2.3.21%2Bdfsg1-3_amd64.deb"; \
+      file="/tmp/$(basename "$url")"; \
+      curl -fsSL "$url" -o "$file"; \
+      echo "$sha256  $file" | sha256sum -c -; \
+      apt-get install -y "$file"; \
+      rm -f "$file"; \
+    done \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
-# --- Build-time: install cmdeploy venv and run install stage ---
-# Editable install so importlib.resources reads directly from the source tree.
-# On container start only "configure,activate" stages run.
-COPY . /opt/chatmail/
 WORKDIR /opt/chatmail
 
+# --- Build-time install stage ---
+# Bake the "install" deployer stage into the image; we can't use
+# scripts/initenv.sh because /opt/chatmail is empty at build time as 
+# source arrives at runtime via volume mount., so we use a throwaway venv.
+# On container start only "configure,activate" stages run.
+COPY . /tmp/chatmail-src/
+WORKDIR /tmp/chatmail-src
+
+# Dummy config — deploy_chatmail() needs a parseable ini to instantiate deployers
 RUN printf '[params]\nmail_domain = build.local\n' > /tmp/chatmail.ini
 
-# Dummy git repo init: .git/ is excluded from the build context (.dockerignore)
-# but setuptools calls `git ls-files` when building the sdist.
-RUN git init -q && \
-    python3 -m venv /opt/cmdeploy && \
-    /opt/cmdeploy/bin/pip install --no-cache-dir \
-        -e chatmaild/ -e cmdeploy/
+# Do what initenv.sh would do without the docs
+RUN python3 -m venv /tmp/build-venv && \
+    /tmp/build-venv/bin/pip install --no-cache-dir \
+        -e chatmaild -e cmdeploy
 
 RUN CMDEPLOY_STAGES=install \
     CHATMAIL_INI=/tmp/chatmail.ini \
-    CHATMAIL_NOSYSCTL=True \
-    CHATMAIL_NOPORTCHECK=True \
-    /opt/cmdeploy/bin/pyinfra @local \
-        /opt/chatmail/cmdeploy/src/cmdeploy/run.py -y
+    CHATMAIL_DOCKER=True \
+    /tmp/build-venv/bin/pyinfra @local \
+        /tmp/chatmail-src/cmdeploy/src/cmdeploy/run.py -y
 
-RUN cp -a www/ /opt/chatmail-www/
+RUN rm -rf /tmp/chatmail-src /tmp/build-venv /tmp/chatmail.ini
 
-RUN rm -f /tmp/chatmail.ini
-
-# Record image version (used in deploy fingerprint at runtime).
-# GIT_HASH is passed as a build arg (from docker-compose or CI) so that
-# .git/ can be excluded from the build context via .dockerignore.
-ARG GIT_HASH=unknown
-RUN echo "$GIT_HASH" > /etc/chatmail-image-version && \
-    echo "$GIT_HASH" > /etc/chatmail-version
-# --- End build-time install ---
-
-ENV CHATMAIL_INI=/etc/chatmail/chatmail.ini
-ENV PATH="/opt/cmdeploy/bin:${PATH}"
-RUN ln -s /etc/chatmail/chatmail.ini /opt/chatmail/chatmail.ini
+WORKDIR /opt/chatmail
+# --- End build-time install stage ---
 
 ARG SETUP_CHATMAIL_SERVICE_PATH=/lib/systemd/system/setup_chatmail.service
 COPY ./docker/files/setup_chatmail.service "$SETUP_CHATMAIL_SERVICE_PATH"
 RUN ln -sf "$SETUP_CHATMAIL_SERVICE_PATH" "/etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/setup_chatmail.service"
 
-# Remove default nginx site config at build time (not in entrypoint)
-RUN rm -f /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
-
 COPY --chmod=555 ./docker/files/setup_chatmail_docker.sh /setup_chatmail_docker.sh
+COPY --chmod=555 ./docker/files/update_ini.sh /update_ini.sh
 COPY --chmod=555 ./docker/files/entrypoint.sh /entrypoint.sh
 
-# Certificate monitoring as a proper systemd timer (not a background process)
-COPY --chmod=555 ./docker/files/chatmail-certmon.sh /chatmail-certmon.sh
-COPY ./docker/files/chatmail-certmon.service /lib/systemd/system/chatmail-certmon.service
-COPY ./docker/files/chatmail-certmon.timer /lib/systemd/system/chatmail-certmon.timer
-RUN ln -sf /lib/systemd/system/chatmail-certmon.timer /etc/systemd/system/timers.target.wants/chatmail-certmon.timer
-
-HEALTHCHECK --interval=60s --timeout=10s --retries=3 \
-  CMD systemctl is-active dovecot postfix nginx unbound opendkim filtermail doveauth chatmail-metadata || exit 1
+VOLUME ["/sys/fs/cgroup", "/home"]
 
 STOPSIGNAL SIGRTMIN+3
 

docker/cm_ini_to_env.py

@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Convert a chatmail.ini to a Docker .env file.
+
+Usage: python docker/cm_ini_to_env.py [chatmail.ini] [.env]
+
+Reads the ini file, extracts all non-default key=value pairs,
+and writes them as UPPER_CASE env vars suitable for docker-compose.
+"""
+
+import configparser
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+# Keys that only make sense for bare-metal deploys or are handled
+# separately by the Docker setup and should not appear in .env.
+SKIP_KEYS = set()
+
+# Keys that exist in .env but have a different name than the ini key.
+# ini_key -> env_key
+RENAMES = {}
+
+
+def read_ini(path):
+    """Return dict of key=value from [params] section."""
+    cp = configparser.ConfigParser()
+    cp.read(path)
+    if not cp.has_section("params"):
+        sys.exit(f"Error: {path} has no [params] section")
+    return dict(cp.items("params"))
+
+
+def read_defaults():
+    """Return dict of default values from the ini template."""
+    template = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / "chatmaild/src/chatmaild/ini/chatmail.ini.f"
+    if not template.exists():
+        return {}
+    cp = configparser.ConfigParser()
+    cp.read(template)
+    if not cp.has_section("params"):
+        return {}
+    defaults = {}
+    for key, value in cp.items("params"):
+        # Template placeholders like {mail_domain} aren't real defaults.
+        if "{" not in value:
+            defaults[key] = value
+    return defaults
+
+
+def ini_to_env(ini_path, only_non_default=True):
+    """Yield (ENV_KEY, value) pairs from an ini file."""
+    params = read_ini(ini_path)
+    defaults = read_defaults() if only_non_default else {}
+
+    for key, value in sorted(params.items()):
+        if key in SKIP_KEYS:
+            continue
+        if only_non_default and key in defaults and value.strip() == defaults[key].strip():
+            continue
+        env_key = RENAMES.get(key, key.upper())
+        yield env_key, value.strip()
+
+
+def main():
+    ini_path = sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else "chatmail.ini"
+    env_path = sys.argv[2] if len(sys.argv) > 2 else None
+
+    if not Path(ini_path).exists():
+        sys.exit(f"Error: {ini_path} not found")
+
+    lines = []
+    for env_key, value in ini_to_env(ini_path):
+        lines.append(f'{env_key}="{value}"')
+
+    output = "\n".join(lines) + "\n"
+
+    if env_path:
+        Path(env_path).write_text(output)
+        print(f"Wrote {len(lines)} variables to {env_path}")
+    else:
+        print(output, end="")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()

docker/docker-compose-traefik.yaml

@@ -1,116 +0,0 @@
-# Traefik reverse proxy + cert manager for chatmail.
-# Use this instead of docker-compose.yaml when Traefik manages TLS certificates.
-#
-# Required .env vars:
-#   MAIL_DOMAIN=chat.example.com
-#   ACME_EMAIL=admin@example.com
-#
-# Usage:
-#   cp docker/example-traefik.env .env
-#   docker compose -f docker/docker-compose-traefik.yaml build
-#   docker compose -f docker/docker-compose-traefik.yaml up -d
-
-services:
-  chatmail:
-    build:
-      context: ../
-      dockerfile: docker/chatmail_relay.dockerfile
-    image: chatmail-relay:latest
-    restart: unless-stopped
-    container_name: chatmail
-    depends_on:
-      traefik-certs-dumper:
-        condition: service_started
-    cgroup: host
-    tty: true
-    tmpfs:
-      - /tmp
-      - /run
-      - /run/lock
-    logging:
-      driver: json-file
-      options:
-        max-size: "10m"
-        max-file: "3"
-    environment:
-      MAIL_DOMAIN: $MAIL_DOMAIN
-      CMDEPLOY_STAGES: ${CMDEPLOY_STAGES:-}
-      CHATMAIL_NOACME: "true"
-      PATH_TO_SSL: /var/lib/acme/live/${MAIL_DOMAIN}
-    ports:
-      - "25:25"
-      - "143:143"
-      - "465:465"
-      - "587:587"
-      - "993:993"
-    volumes:
-      - /sys/fs/cgroup:/sys/fs/cgroup:rw
-      - chatmail-data:/home
-      - chatmail-dkimkeys:/etc/dkimkeys
-      - traefik-certs:/var/lib/acme/live:ro
-
-    labels:
-      - traefik.enable=true
-      - traefik.http.services.chatmail.loadbalancer.server.scheme=https
-      - traefik.http.services.chatmail.loadbalancer.server.port=443
-      - traefik.http.services.chatmail.loadbalancer.serverstransport=insecure@file
-      - traefik.http.routers.chatmail.rule=Host(`${MAIL_DOMAIN}`) || Host(`mta-sts.${MAIL_DOMAIN}`) || Host(`www.${MAIL_DOMAIN}`)
-      - traefik.http.routers.chatmail.tls=true
-      - traefik.http.routers.chatmail.tls.certresolver=letsEncrypt
-
-  traefik:
-    image: traefik:v3.3
-    container_name: traefik
-    restart: unless-stopped
-    logging:
-      driver: json-file
-      options:
-        max-size: "10m"
-        max-file: "3"
-    command:
-      - "--configFile=/config.yaml"
-      - "--certificatesresolvers.letsEncrypt.acme.email=${ACME_EMAIL}"
-    network_mode: host
-    depends_on:
-      traefik-init:
-        condition: service_completed_successfully
-    volumes:
-      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
-      - ./traefik/config.yaml:/config.yaml:ro
-      - traefik-data:/data
-      - ./traefik/dynamic-configs:/dynamic/conf:ro
-
-  traefik-init:
-    image: alpine:latest
-    restart: "no"
-    entrypoint: sh -c 'touch /data/acme.json && chmod 600 /data/acme.json'
-    volumes:
-      - traefik-data:/data
-
-  traefik-certs-dumper:
-    image: ldez/traefik-certs-dumper:v2.10.0
-    restart: unless-stopped
-    logging:
-      driver: json-file
-      options:
-        max-size: "10m"
-        max-file: "3"
-    depends_on:
-      - traefik
-    entrypoint: sh -c '
-      apk add openssl
-      && while ! [ -e /data/acme.json ] || ! [ "$$(jq ".[] | .Certificates | length" /data/acme.json | jq -s "add")" != "0" ]; do
-        sleep 1
-      ; done
-      && traefik-certs-dumper file --version v3 --watch --domain-subdir=true
-        --source /data/acme.json --dest /certs --post-hook "sh /post-hook.sh"'
-    volumes:
-      - traefik-data:/data:ro
-      - traefik-certs:/certs
-      - ./traefik/post-hook.sh:/post-hook.sh:ro
-
-volumes:
-  chatmail-data:
-  chatmail-dkimkeys:
-  traefik-data:
-  traefik-certs:

docker/example-traefik.env

@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-MAIL_DOMAIN="chat.example.com"
-ACME_EMAIL="admin@example.com"
-
-# CMDEPLOY_STAGES - default: "configure,activate". Set to "install,configure,activate" to force full reinstall.
-# CMDEPLOY_STAGES="configure,activate"

docker/example.env

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+MAIL_DOMAIN="chat.example.com"
+# ACME_EMAIL=""
+# RECREATE_VENV="false"
+# MAX_MESSAGE_SIZE="50M"
+# DEBUG_COMMANDS_ENABLED="true"
+# FORCE_REINIT_INI_FILE="true"
+# USE_FOREIGN_CERT_MANAGER="True"
+# ENABLE_CERTS_MONITORING="true"
+# CERTS_MONITORING_TIMEOUT=10
+# IS_DEVELOPMENT_INSTANCE="True"
+# CMDEPLOY_STAGES - default: "configure,activate". Set to "install,configure,activate" to force full reinstall.

docker/files/chatmail-certmon.service

@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-[Unit]
-Description=Check TLS certificate changes and reload services
-After=setup_chatmail.service
-
-[Service]
-Type=oneshot
-ExecStart=/bin/bash /chatmail-certmon.sh
-PassEnvironment=MAIL_DOMAIN PATH_TO_SSL

docker/files/chatmail-certmon.sh

@@ -1,28 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-# Check if TLS certificates have changed and reload services if so.
-# Called by chatmail-certmon.timer (systemd timer, default every 60s).
-set -eo pipefail
-
-PATH_TO_SSL="${PATH_TO_SSL:-/var/lib/acme/live/${MAIL_DOMAIN}}"
-HASH_FILE="/run/chatmail-certmon.hash"
-
-if [ ! -d "$PATH_TO_SSL" ]; then
-    exit 0
-fi
-
-current_hash=$(find "$PATH_TO_SSL" -type f -exec sha1sum {} \; | sort | sha1sum | awk '{print $1}')
-previous_hash=""
-if [ -f "$HASH_FILE" ]; then
-    previous_hash=$(cat "$HASH_FILE")
-fi
-
-if [ -n "$current_hash" ] && [ "$current_hash" != "$previous_hash" ]; then
-    echo "[INFO] Certificate hash changed, reloading nginx, dovecot and postfix."
-    echo "$current_hash" > "$HASH_FILE"
-    # On first run (no previous hash), don't reload — services may not be up yet
-    if [ -n "$previous_hash" ]; then
-        systemctl reload nginx.service
-        systemctl reload dovecot.service
-        systemctl reload postfix.service
-    fi
-fi

docker/files/chatmail-certmon.timer

@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-[Unit]
-Description=Periodically check TLS certificate changes
-
-[Timer]
-OnBootSec=120
-OnUnitActiveSec=60
-
-[Install]
-WantedBy=timers.target

docker/files/entrypoint.sh

@@ -1,12 +1,11 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 set -eo pipefail
 
+unlink /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default || true
+
 SETUP_CHATMAIL_SERVICE_PATH="${SETUP_CHATMAIL_SERVICE_PATH:-/lib/systemd/system/setup_chatmail.service}"
 
-# Whitelist only the env vars needed by setup_chatmail_docker.sh.
-# Forwarding all env vars (via printenv) would leak Docker internals,
-# orchestrator secrets, and other unrelated variables into systemd.
-env_vars="MAIL_DOMAIN CMDEPLOY_STAGES CHATMAIL_INI CHATMAIL_NOSYSCTL CHATMAIL_NOPORTCHECK CHATMAIL_NOACME PATH_TO_SSL PATH"
-sed -i "s|<envs_list>|$env_vars|g" "$SETUP_CHATMAIL_SERVICE_PATH"
+env_vars=$(printenv | cut -d= -f1 | xargs)
+sed -i "s|<envs_list>|$env_vars|g" $SETUP_CHATMAIL_SERVICE_PATH
 
-exec /lib/systemd/systemd "$@"
+exec /lib/systemd/systemd $@

docker/files/setup_chatmail_docker.sh

@@ -1,54 +1,84 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
-set -euo pipefail
-export CHATMAIL_INI="${CHATMAIL_INI:-/etc/chatmail/chatmail.ini}"
-
-CMDEPLOY=/opt/cmdeploy/bin/cmdeploy
+set -eo pipefail
+export INI_FILE="${INI_FILE:-chatmail.ini}"
+export ENABLE_CERTS_MONITORING="${ENABLE_CERTS_MONITORING:-true}"
+export CERTS_MONITORING_TIMEOUT="${CERTS_MONITORING_TIMEOUT:-60}"
+export PATH_TO_SSL="${PATH_TO_SSL:-/var/lib/acme/live/${MAIL_DOMAIN}}"
+export CHANGE_KERNEL_SETTINGS=${CHANGE_KERNEL_SETTINGS:-"False"}
+export RECREATE_VENV=${RECREATE_VENV:-"false"}
 
 if [ -z "$MAIL_DOMAIN" ]; then
     echo "ERROR: Environment variable 'MAIL_DOMAIN' must be set!" >&2
     exit 1
 fi
 
+debug_commands() {
+    echo "Executing debug commands"
+    # git config --global --add safe.directory /opt/chatmail
+    # ./scripts/initenv.sh
+}
+
+calculate_hash() {
+    find "$PATH_TO_SSL" -type f -exec sha1sum {} \; | sort | sha1sum | awk '{print $1}'
+}
+
+monitor_certificates() {
+    if [ "$ENABLE_CERTS_MONITORING" != "true" ]; then
+        echo "Certs monitoring disabled."
+        exit 0
+    fi
+
+    current_hash=$(calculate_hash)
+    previous_hash=$current_hash
+
+    while true; do
+        current_hash=$(calculate_hash)
+        if [[ "$current_hash" != "$previous_hash" ]]; then
+        # TODO: add an option to restart at a specific time interval 
+            echo "[INFO] Certificate's folder hash was changed, reloading nginx, dovecot and postfix services."
+            systemctl reload nginx.service
+            systemctl reload dovecot.service
+            systemctl reload postfix.service
+            previous_hash=$current_hash
+        fi
+        sleep $CERTS_MONITORING_TIMEOUT
+    done
+}
+
 ### MAIN
 
-if [ ! -f /etc/dkimkeys/opendkim.private ]; then
-    /usr/sbin/opendkim-genkey -D /etc/dkimkeys -d "$MAIL_DOMAIN" -s opendkim
+if [ "$DEBUG_COMMANDS_ENABLED" = true ]; then
+    debug_commands
 fi
-# Fix ownership for bind-mounted keys (host opendkim UID may differ from container)
-chown -R opendkim:opendkim /etc/dkimkeys
 
-# Journald: forward to console for docker logs
-grep -q '^ForwardToConsole=yes' /etc/systemd/journald.conf \
-    || echo "ForwardToConsole=yes" >> /etc/systemd/journald.conf
+if [ "$FORCE_REINIT_INI_FILE" = true ]; then 
+    INI_CMD_ARGS=--force
+fi
+
+if [ ! -f /etc/dkimkeys/opendkim.private ]; then
+    /usr/sbin/opendkim-genkey -D /etc/dkimkeys -d $MAIL_DOMAIN -s opendkim
+fi
+chown opendkim:opendkim /etc/dkimkeys/opendkim.private
+chown opendkim:opendkim /etc/dkimkeys/opendkim.txt
+
+# TODO: Move to debug_commands after git clone is moved to dockerfile. 
+git config --global --add safe.directory /opt/chatmail
+if [ "$RECREATE_VENV" = true ]; then
+    rm -rf venv
+fi
+# Skip venv creation if it already exists
+if [ ! -x venv/bin/python ] || [ ! -x venv/bin/cmdeploy ]; then
+    ./scripts/initenv.sh
+fi
+
+./scripts/cmdeploy init --config "${INI_FILE}" $INI_CMD_ARGS $MAIL_DOMAIN || true
+bash /update_ini.sh
+
+export CMDEPLOY_STAGES="${CMDEPLOY_STAGES:-configure,activate}"
+./scripts/cmdeploy run --ssh-host @docker
+
+echo "ForwardToConsole=yes" >> /etc/systemd/journald.conf
 systemctl restart systemd-journald
 
-# Create chatmail.ini (skips if file already exists, e.g. volume-mounted)
-mkdir -p "$(dirname "$CHATMAIL_INI")"
-if [ ! -f "$CHATMAIL_INI" ]; then
-    $CMDEPLOY init --config "$CHATMAIL_INI" "$MAIL_DOMAIN"
-fi
-
-# --- Deploy fingerprint: skip cmdeploy run if nothing changed ---
-# On restart with identical image+config, systemd already brings up all
-# enabled services — the full cmdeploy run is redundant (~30s saved).
-# The install stage runs at image build time (Dockerfile), so only
-# configure+activate are needed here.
-IMAGE_VERSION_FILE="/etc/chatmail-image-version"
-FINGERPRINT_FILE="/etc/chatmail/.deploy-fingerprint"
-image_ver="none"
-[ -f "$IMAGE_VERSION_FILE" ] && image_ver=$(cat "$IMAGE_VERSION_FILE")
-config_hash=$(sha256sum "$CHATMAIL_INI" | cut -c1-16)
-current_fp="${image_ver}:${config_hash}"
-
-# CMDEPLOY_STAGES non-empty in env = operator override → always run.
-# Otherwise, if fingerprint matches the last successful deploy, skip.
-if [ -z "${CMDEPLOY_STAGES:-}" ] \
-    && [ -f "$FINGERPRINT_FILE" ] \
-    && [ "$(cat "$FINGERPRINT_FILE")" = "$current_fp" ]; then
-    echo "[INFO] No changes detected ($current_fp), skipping deploy."
-else
-    export CMDEPLOY_STAGES="${CMDEPLOY_STAGES:-configure,activate}"
-    $CMDEPLOY run --config "$CHATMAIL_INI" --ssh-host @local
-    echo "$current_fp" > "$FINGERPRINT_FILE"
-fi
+monitor_certificates &

docker/files/update_ini.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -eo pipefail
+
+INI_FILE="${INI_FILE:-chatmail.ini}"
+
+if [ ! -f "$INI_FILE" ]; then
+    echo "Error: file $INI_FILE not found." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+TMP_FILE="$(mktemp)"
+
+convert_to_bytes() {
+    local value="$1"
+    if [[ "$value" =~ ^([0-9]+)([KkMmGgTt])$ ]]; then
+        local num="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+        local unit="${BASH_REMATCH[2]}"
+        case "$unit" in
+            [Kk]) echo $((num * 1024)) ;;
+            [Mm]) echo $((num * 1024 * 1024)) ;;
+            [Gg]) echo $((num * 1024 * 1024 * 1024)) ;;
+            [Tt]) echo $((num * 1024 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024)) ;;
+        esac
+    elif [[ "$value" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+        echo "$value"
+    else
+        echo "Error: incorrect size format: $value." >&2
+        return 1
+    fi
+}
+
+process_specific_params() {
+    local key=$1
+    local value=$2
+    local destination_file=$3
+
+    if [[ "$key" == "max_message_size" ]]; then
+        converted=$(convert_to_bytes "$value") || exit 1
+        if grep -q -e "## .* = .* bytes" "$destination_file"; then 
+            sed "s|## .* = .* bytes|## $value = $converted bytes|g" "$destination_file";
+        else
+            echo "## $value = $converted bytes"  >> "$destination_file"
+        fi
+        echo "$key = $converted" >> "$destination_file"
+    else
+        echo "$key = $value" >> "$destination_file"
+    fi
+}
+
+while IFS= read -r line; do
+    if [[ "$line" =~ ^[[:space:]]*#.* || "$line" =~ ^[[:space:]]*$ ]]; then
+        echo "$line" >> "$TMP_FILE"
+        continue
+    fi
+
+    if [[ "$line" =~ ^([a-z0-9_]+)[[:space:]]*=[[:space:]]*(.*)$ ]]; then
+        key="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+        current_value="${BASH_REMATCH[2]}"
+        env_var_name=$(echo "$key" | tr 'a-z' 'A-Z')
+        env_value="${!env_var_name}"
+
+        if [[ -n "$env_value" ]]; then
+            process_specific_params "$key" "$env_value" "$TMP_FILE"
+        else
+            echo "$line" >> "$TMP_FILE"
+        fi
+    else
+        echo "$line" >> "$TMP_FILE"
+    fi
+done < "$INI_FILE"
+
+PERMS=$(stat -c %a "$INI_FILE")
+OWNER=$(stat -c %u "$INI_FILE")
+GROUP=$(stat -c %g "$INI_FILE")
+
+chmod "$PERMS" "$TMP_FILE"
+chown "$OWNER":"$GROUP" "$TMP_FILE"
+
+mv "$TMP_FILE" "$INI_FILE"

docker/traefik/config.yaml

@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-log:
-  level: INFO
-
-entryPoints:
-  web:
-    address: ":80"
-    http:
-      redirections:
-        entryPoint:
-          to: websecure
-          permanent: true
-  websecure:
-    address: ":443"
-
-providers:
-  docker:
-    endpoint: "unix:///var/run/docker.sock"
-    exposedByDefault: false
-  file:
-    directory: /dynamic/conf
-    watch: true
-
-certificatesResolvers:
-  letsEncrypt:
-    acme:
-      storage: /data/acme.json
-      caServer: "https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory"
-      tlschallenge: true
-      httpChallenge:
-        entryPoint: web

docker/traefik/dynamic-configs/insecure.yaml

@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
-http:
-  serversTransports:
-    insecure:
-      insecureSkipVerify: true

docker/traefik/post-hook.sh

@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-# Post-hook for traefik-certs-dumper: create symlinks from Traefik's
-# cert dump format to the paths chatmail expects (fullchain, privkey).
-CERTS_DIR="${CERTS_DIR:-/certs}"
-
-for dir in "$CERTS_DIR"/*/; do
-    [ -d "$dir" ] || continue
-    cd "$dir"
-    [ -f "certificate.crt" ] && ln -sf certificate.crt fullchain
-    [ -f "privatekey.key" ] && ln -sf privatekey.key privkey
-    cd - > /dev/null
-done

docs/DOCKER_INSTALLATION_EN.md

@@ -0,0 +1,185 @@
+# Known issues and limitations
+
+- Requires cgroups v2 configured in the system. Operation with cgroups v1 has not been tested.
+- Yes, of course, using systemd inside a container is a hack, and it would be better to split it into several services, but since this is an MVP, it turned out to be easier to do it this way initially than to rewrite the entire deployment system.
+- The Docker image is only suitable for amd64. If you need to run it on a different architecture, try modifying the Dockerfile (specifically the part responsible for installing dovecot).
+
+# Docker installation
+This section provides instructions for installing Chatmail using Docker Compose.
+
+**Note:** Docker Compose v2 is required (`docker compose`, not `docker-compose`) for its support of the `cgroup: host` option in `docker-compose.yaml` is only supported by Compose v2.
+[see documentation](https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/debian/#install-using-the-repository)
+```shell
+apt install docker-ce docker-compose-plugin docker.io- docker-compose-
+```
+
+## Preliminary setup
+We use `chat.example.org` as the Chatmail domain in the following steps.
+Please substitute it with your own domain.
+
+1. Setup the initial DNS records.
+   The following is an example in the familiar BIND zone file format with
+   a TTL of 1 hour (3600 seconds).
+   Please substitute your domain and IP addresses.
+
+   ```
+    chat.example.com. 3600 IN A 198.51.100.5
+    chat.example.com. 3600 IN AAAA 2001:db8::5
+    www.chat.example.com. 3600 IN CNAME chat.example.com.
+    mta-sts.chat.example.com. 3600 IN CNAME chat.example.com.
+   ```
+
+2. clone the repository on your server.
+
+   ```shell
+    git clone https://github.com/chatmail/relay
+    cd relay
+   ```
+
+## Installation
+
+1. Configure kernel parameters because they cannot be changed inside the container, specifically `fs.inotify.max_user_instances` and `fs.inotify.max_user_watches`. Run the following:
+
+```shell
+echo "fs.inotify.max_user_instances=65536" | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.d/99-inotify.conf
+echo "fs.inotify.max_user_watches=65536" | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.d/99-inotify.conf
+sudo sysctl --system
+```
+
+2. Copy `./docker/example.env` and rename it to `.env`. This file stores variables used in `docker-compose.yaml`.
+
+```shell
+cp ./docker/example.env .env
+```
+
+3. Configure environment variables in the `.env` file. These variables are used in the `docker-compose.yaml` file to pass repeated values.
+   Below is the list of variables used during deployment:
+
+- `MAIL_DOMAIN` – The domain name of the future server. (required)
+- `DEBUG_COMMANDS_ENABLED` – Run debug commands before installation. (default: `false`)
+- `FORCE_REINIT_INI_FILE` – Recreate the ini configuration file on startup. (default: `false`)
+- `USE_FOREIGN_CERT_MANAGER` – Use a third-party certificate manager. (default: `false`)
+- `RECREATE_VENV` - Recreate the virtual environment (venv). If set to `true`, the environment will be recreated when the container starts, which will increase the startup time of the service but can help avoid certain errors. (default: `false`)
+- `INI_FILE` – Path to the ini configuration file. (default: `./chatmail.ini`)
+- `PATH_TO_SSL` – Path to where the certificates are stored. (default: `/var/lib/acme/live/${MAIL_DOMAIN}`)
+- `ENABLE_CERTS_MONITORING` – Enable certificate monitoring if `USE_FOREIGN_CERT_MANAGER=true`. If certificates change, services will be automatically restarted. (default: `false`)
+- `CERTS_MONITORING_TIMEOUT` – Interval in seconds to check if certificates have changed. (default: `'60'`)
+- `CMDEPLOY_STAGES` – Deployment stages to run on container start. (default: `"configure,activate"`). Set to `"install,configure,activate"` to force a full reinstall.
+
+You can also use any variables from the [ini configuration file](https://github.com/chatmail/relay/blob/main/chatmaild/src/chatmaild/ini/chatmail.ini.f); they must be in uppercase.
+
+4. Build the Docker image:
+
+```shell
+docker compose build chatmail
+```
+
+5. Start docker compose and wait for the installation to finish:
+
+```shell
+docker compose up -d # start service
+docker compose logs -f chatmail # view container logs, press CTRL+C to exit
+```
+
+### venv creation
+The first container start takes longer because it creates the cmdeploy Python virtualenv at `/opt/chatmail/venv` (persisted on the host via volume mount). Subsequent starts reuse the existing venv. Set `RECREATE_VENV=true` in `.env` to force a rebuild if needed.
+
+6. After installation is complete, you can open `https://<your_domain_name>` in your browser.
+
+## Using custom files
+
+When using Docker, you can apply modified configuration files to make the installation more personalized. This is usually needed for the `www/src` section so that the Chatmail landing page is customized to your taste, but it can be used for any other cases as well.
+
+To replace files correctly:
+
+1. Create the `./custom` directory. It is in `.gitignore`, so it won’t cause conflicts when updating.
+
+```shell
+mkdir -p ./custom
+```
+
+2. Modify the required file. For example, `index.md`:
+
+```shell
+mkdir -p ./custom/www/src
+nano ./custom/www/src/index.md
+```
+
+3. In `docker-compose.yaml`, add the file mount in the `volumes` section:
+
+```yaml
+services:
+  chatmail:
+    volumes:
+      ...
+      ## custom resources
+      - ./custom/www/src/index.md:/opt/chatmail/www/src/index.md
+```
+
+4. Restart the service:
+
+```shell
+docker compose down
+docker compose up -d
+```
+
+## Migrating from a bare-metal install
+
+If you have an existing bare-metal Chatmail installation and want to switch to Docker:
+
+1. Stop all existing services:
+
+```shell
+systemctl stop postfix dovecot doveauth nginx opendkim unbound acmetool-redirector \
+  filtermail filtermail-incoming chatmail-turn iroh-relay chatmail-metadata \
+  lastlogin mtail
+systemctl disable postfix dovecot doveauth nginx opendkim unbound acmetool-redirector \
+  filtermail filtermail-incoming chatmail-turn iroh-relay chatmail-metadata \
+  lastlogin mtail
+```
+
+2. Convert your existing `chatmail.ini` to the Docker `.env` format:
+
+```shell
+python3 docker/cm_ini_to_env.py /usr/local/lib/chatmaild/chatmail.ini .env
+```
+
+3. Copy persistent data into the `./data/` subdirectories:
+
+```shell
+mkdir -p data/chatmail-dkimkeys data/chatmail-acme data/chatmail
+
+# DKIM keys
+cp -a /etc/dkimkeys/* data/chatmail-dkimkeys/
+
+# ACME certificates and account
+rsync -a /var/lib/acme/ data/chatmail-acme/
+
+# Mail data
+rsync -a /home/ data/chatmail/
+```
+
+Alternatively, you can mount `/home/vmail` directly by changing the volume in `docker-compose.yaml`:
+
+```yaml
+- /home/vmail:/home/vmail
+```
+
+The three `./data/` subdirectories cover all persistent state. Everything else is regenerated by the `configure` and `activate` stages on container start.
+
+## Forcing a full reinstall
+
+The Docker image bakes the install stage (binary downloads, package setup, chatmaild venv) into the image at build time. On container start, only the `configure` and `activate` stages run by default.
+
+To force a full reinstall (e.g., after updating the source), either rebuild the image:
+
+```shell
+docker compose build chatmail
+docker compose up -d
+```
+
+Or override the stages at runtime without rebuilding:
+
+```shell
+CMDEPLOY_STAGES="install,configure,activate" docker compose up -d
+```

docs/DOCKER_INSTALLATION_RU.md

@@ -0,0 +1,174 @@
+# Известные проблемы и ограничения
+- Chatmail будет переустановлен при каждом запуске контейнера (при первом - долго, при последующих быстрее). Так устроен изначальный установщик, потому что он не был заточен под docker. В конце документации [представлено](#фиксирование-версии-chatmail) возможное решение
+- Требуется настроенный в системе cgroups v2. Работа с cgroups v1 не тестировалась.
+- Да, понятно дело что systemd использовать в контейнере костыль и надо это всё разнести на несколько сервисов, но это MVP и в первом приближении оказалось сделать проще так, чем переписывать всю систему развертывания.
+- docker образ подходит только для amd64, если нужно запустить на другой архитектуре, попробуйте изменить dockerfile (конкретно ту часть что ответсвенна за установку dovecot)
+
+# Docker installation
+Здесь представлена инструкция по установке chatmail с помощью docker-compose.
+
+## Предварительная настройка
+We use `chat.example.org` as the chatmail domain in the following steps.
+Please substitute it with your own domain. 
+
+1. Настройте начальные записи DNS.Ниже приведен пример в привычном формате файла зоны BIND сTTL 1 час (3600 секунд).
+   Замените домен и IP-адреса на свои.
+
+   ```
+    chat.example.com. 3600 IN A 198.51.100.5
+    chat.example.com. 3600 IN AAAA 2001:db8::5
+    www.chat.example.com. 3600 IN CNAME chat.example.com.
+    mta-sts.chat.example.com. 3600 IN CNAME chat.example.com.
+   ```
+
+2. Склонируйте репозиторий на свой сервер.
+
+   ```shell
+    git clone https://github.com/chatmail/relay
+    cd relay
+   ```
+
+## Installation
+
+1. Настроить параметры ядра, потому что внутри контейнера их нельзя изменить, а конкретно `fs.inotify.max_user_instances` и `fs.inotify.max_user_watches`. Для этого выполнить следующее:
+```shell
+echo "fs.inotify.max_user_instances=65536" | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.d/99-inotify.conf
+echo "fs.inotify.max_user_watches=65536" | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.d/99-inotify.conf
+sudo sysctl --system
+```
+
+2. Скопировать `./docker/example.env` и переименовать в `.env`. Здесь хранятся переменные, которые используются в `docker-compose.yaml`.
+```shell
+cp ./docker/example.env .env
+```
+
+3. Настроить переменные окружения в `.env` файле. Эти переменные используются в `docker-compose.yaml` файле, чтобы передавать повторяющиеся значения.
+   Ниже перечислен список переменных учавствующих при развертывании:
+
+- `MAIL_DOMAIN` - Доменное имя будущего сервера. (required)
+- `DEBUG_COMMANDS_ENABLED` - Выполнить debug команды перед установкой. (default: `false`)
+- `FORCE_REINIT_INI_FILE` - Пересоздавать ini файл конфигурации при запуске. (default: `false`)
+- `USE_FOREIGN_CERT_MANAGER` - Использовать сторонний менеджер сертификатов. (default: `false`)
+- `RECREATE_VENV` - Пересоздать виртуальное окружение (venv). Если выставлено `true`, то окружение будет пересоздано при запуске контейнера, из-за чего включение сервиса займет больше времени, но поможет избежать ряда ошибок. (default: `false`)
+- `INI_FILE` - путь к ini файлу конфигурации. (default: `./chatmail.ini`)
+- `PATH_TO_SSL` - Путь где располагаются сертификаты. (default: `/var/lib/acme/live/${MAIL_DOMAIN}`)
+- `ENABLE_CERTS_MONITORING` - Включить мониторинг сертификатов, если `USE_FOREIGN_CERT_MANAGER=true`.  Если сертфикаты изменятся сервисы будут автоматически перезапущены. (default: `false`)
+- `CERTS_MONITORING_TIMEOUT` - Раз во сколько секунд проверять что изменились сертификаты. (default: `'60'`)
+
+Также могут быть использованы все переменные из [ini файла конфигурации](https://github.com/chatmail/relay/blob/main/chatmaild/src/chatmaild/ini/chatmail.ini.f), они обязаны быть в uppercase формате. 
+
+4. Собрать docker образ
+```shell
+docker compose build chatmail
+```
+
+5. Запустить docker compose и дождаться завершения установки
+```shell
+docker compose up -d # запуск сервиса
+docker compose logs -f chatmail # просмотр логов контейнера. Для выхода нажать CTRL+C
+```
+
+6. По окончанию установки можно открыть в браузер `https://<your_domain_name>`
+
+## Использование кастомных файлов
+При использовании docker есть возможность использовать измененые файлы конфигурации, чтобы сделать установку более персонализированной. Обычно это требуется для секции `www/src`, чтобы ознакомительная страница Chatmail была сделана на ваш вкус. Но также это можно использовать и для любых других случаев.
+
+Для того чтобы корректно выполнить подмену файлов необходимо 
+1. создать каталог `./custom`, он находится в `.gitignore`, поэтому при обновлении не вызовет конфликтов.
+```shell
+mkdir -p ./custom
+```
+
+2. Изменить нужный файл. Для примера возьмем `index.md`
+```shell
+mkdir -p ./custom/www/src
+nano ./custom/www/src/index.md
+```
+
+3. В `docker-compose.yaml` добавить монтирование файла с помощью секции `volumes`
+```yaml
+services:
+  chatmail:
+    volumes:
+      ...
+      ## custom resources
+      - ./custom/www/src/index.md:/opt/chatmail/www/src/index.md
+```
+
+4. Перезапустить сервис
+```shell
+docker compose down
+docker compose up -d
+```
+
+## Фиксирование версии Chatmail
+> [!note]
+> Это опциональные шаги, их делать требуется только если вас не устраивает что сервис устанавливается каждый раз при запуске
+
+Поскольку в текущей версии docker chatmail сервис устанавливается каждый раз запуске контейнера, чтобы этого не происходило можно зафиксировать версию контейнера после установки. Делается это следующим образом:
+
+1. Зафиксировать текущее состояние сконфигурированного контейнера
+```shell
+docker container commit chatmail configured-chatmail:$(date +'%Y-%m-%d')
+docker image ls | grep configured-chatmail
+```
+
+2. Изменить entrypoint для контейнера в `docker-compose.yaml` на
+```yaml
+services:
+  chatmail:
+    image: <image name from step 1>
+    volumes:
+      ...
+      ## custom resources
+      - ./custom/setup_chatmail_docker.sh:/setup_chatmail_docker.sh
+```
+
+3. Создать файл `./custom/setup_chatmail_docker.sh` с новым файлом конфигурации
+```shell
+mkdir -p ./custom
+cat > ./custom/setup_chatmail_docker.sh << 'EOF'
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -eo pipefail
+
+export ENABLE_CERTS_MONITORING="${ENABLE_CERTS_MONITORING:-true}"
+export CERTS_MONITORING_TIMEOUT="${CERTS_MONITORING_TIMEOUT:-60}"
+export PATH_TO_SSL="${PATH_TO_SSL:-/var/lib/acme/live/${MAIL_DOMAIN}}"
+
+calculate_hash() {
+    find "$PATH_TO_SSL" -type f -exec sha1sum {} \; | sort | sha1sum | awk '{print $1}'
+}
+
+monitor_certificates() {
+    if [ "$ENABLE_CERTS_MONITORING" != "true" ]; then
+        echo "Certs monitoring disabled."
+        exit 0
+    fi
+
+    current_hash=$(calculate_hash)
+    previous_hash=$current_hash
+
+    while true; do
+        current_hash=$(calculate_hash)
+        if [[ "$current_hash" != "$previous_hash" ]]; then
+        # TODO: add an option to restart at a specific time interval 
+            echo "[INFO] Certificate's folder hash was changed, reloading nginx, dovecot and postfix services."
+            systemctl reload nginx.service
+            systemctl reload dovecot.service
+            systemctl reload postfix.service
+            previous_hash=$current_hash
+        fi
+        sleep $CERTS_MONITORING_TIMEOUT
+    done
+}
+
+monitor_certificates &
+EOF
+```
+
+4. Перезапустить сервис
+```shell
+docker compose down
+docker compose up -d
+```

env.example

@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-MAIL_DOMAIN="chat.example.com"
-
-# CMDEPLOY_STAGES - default: "configure,activate". Set to "install,configure,activate" to force full reinstall.
-# CMDEPLOY_STAGES="configure,activate"
-
-# Skip acmetool when using an external certificate manager (e.g. Traefik, Caddy).
-# CHATMAIL_NOACME="True"