How to Install Mailpit on Ubuntu 24.04

Mailpit is a lightweight and fast email testing tool that provides an SMTP server for catching emails and a simple web interface for viewing them. The following steps describe how to install and configure Mailpit on Ubuntu 24.04.

Step 1 – Update the System

Update the package index to ensure the system is up to date:

sudo apt update

Step 2 – Install Required Packages

Install the necessary dependencies used to fetch and run the Mailpit installer:

sudo apt install -y curl bash

These packages provide the utilities required to download and execute the official Mailpit installation script.

Step 3 – Create a Dedicated Mailpit User

Create a system user to run Mailpit securely:

sudo useradd -r -s /usr/sbin/nologin -M mailpit

Running Mailpit under a non-root account enhances overall system security.

Step 4 – Download and Install Mailpit

Download and install the Mailpit binary using the official installation script:

sudo bash -c 'INSTALL_PATH=/usr/local/bin bash -c "$(curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/axllent/mailpit/develop/install.sh)"'

This command retrieves the latest Mailpit release from GitHub and installs it in /usr/local/bin.

Step 5 – Set Permissions

Ensure that the Mailpit binary has correct ownership and permissions:

sudo chown root:root /usr/local/bin/mailpit
sudo chmod 755 /usr/local/bin/mailpit

Proper permissions ensure that the service runs securely and is accessible system-wide.

Step 6 – Create a Systemd Service

Create a systemd unit file to manage the Mailpit service. Save the following configuration to /etc/systemd/system/mailpit.service:

[Unit]
Description=Mailpit Service
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=mailpit
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/mailpit --smtp 0.0.0.0:1025 --listen 0.0.0.0:8025
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5s

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Step 7 – Enable and Start the Service

Reload systemd and start the Mailpit service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now mailpit

Verify that the service is running correctly:

sudo systemctl status mailpit

A status of active (running) indicates successful installation.

Step 8 – Access the Mailpit Interface

Once active, Mailpit provides both SMTP and web interfaces:

• Web UI: http://<server_ip>:8025

• SMTP Port: 1025

When running locally, use:

http://localhost:8025