Stalwart Mail Server Installation Action

A GitHub Action to install and configure Stalwart Mail Server with optional automated setup for admin password, domains, and users.

Features

• 🚀 One-step installation of Stalwart Mail Server
• 🔐 Automated configuration via REST API
• 🌐 Multi-domain support with JSON array input
• 👥 Bulk user creation from JSON configuration
• 🔒 Secure handling of passwords using GitHub Secrets
• 📦 Cross-platform support (Linux systemd/init.d, macOS)
• ✅ Production-ready service setup with auto-start

Prerequisites

• Root/sudo access (action must run as root)
• Required commands: curl, jq, tar
• Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, RHEL, etc.) or macOS
• Network access to download Stalwart binaries

Quick Start

Basic Installation (No Configuration)

name: Install Stalwart
on: [push]

jobs:
  setup:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    
    steps:
      - name: Install Stalwart Mail Server
        uses: Nodarx/action-module-install@v1
        # This installs with default settings
        # Web admin: http://localhost:8080/login
        # Default password: changeme

Full Automated Setup

name: Install and Configure Stalwart
on: [push]

jobs:
  setup:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    
    steps:
      - name: Install and Configure Stalwart
        uses: Nodarx/action-module-install@v1
        with:
          # Use GitHub Secrets for sensitive data!
          admin_password: ${{ secrets.STALWART_ADMIN_PASSWORD }}
          
          domains: |
            [
              {
                "name": "example.com",
                "description": "Primary domain"
              },
              {
                "name": "example.org",
                "description": "Secondary domain"
              }
            ]
          
          users: |
            [
              {
                "email": "admin@example.com",
                "password": "${{ secrets.ADMIN_USER_PASSWORD }}",
                "name": "System Administrator",
                "quota": 5368709120
              },
              {
                "email": "support@example.com",
                "password": "${{ secrets.SUPPORT_USER_PASSWORD }}",
                "name": "Support Team",
                "quota": 2147483648
              }
            ]

Inputs

Input	Required	Default	Description
admin_password	No	changeme	Admin password for Stalwart web interface. Use GitHub Secrets!
domains	No	""	JSON array of domains to create. See Domain Schema
users	No	""	JSON array of users to create. See User Schema

JSON Schemas

Domain JSON Schema

[
  {
    "name": "example.com",          // Required: domain name
    "description": "Primary domain"  // Optional: description
  }
]

Fields:

• name (string, required): Domain name (e.g., "example.com")
• description (string, optional): Human-readable description

User JSON Schema

[
  {
    "email": "user@example.com",     // Required: email address
    "password": "SecurePass123!",    // Required: user password
    "name": "Full Name",             // Optional: display name
    "quota": 1073741824              // Optional: storage quota in bytes
  }
]

Fields:

• email (string, required): User email address
• password (string, required): User password (use GitHub Secrets!)
• name (string, optional): Display name (defaults to email if not provided)
• quota (integer, optional): Storage quota in bytes (default: 1GB = 1073741824)

Common quota values:

• 1 GB = 1073741824
• 5 GB = 5368709120
• 10 GB = 10737418240
• 50 GB = 53687091200

Usage Examples

Example 1: Basic Installation Only

Install Stalwart without any configuration. You'll configure it manually via web UI.

- uses: Nodarx/action-module-install@v1

After installation, access the web admin at http://your-server:8080/login with username admin and password changeme.

Example 2: Set Admin Password Only

- uses: Nodarx/action-module-install@v1
  with:
    admin_password: ${{ secrets.STALWART_ADMIN_PASSWORD }}

Example 3: Create Domains Only

- uses: Nodarx/action-module-install@v1
  with:
    admin_password: ${{ secrets.STALWART_ADMIN_PASSWORD }}
    domains: |
      [
        {"name": "example.com", "description": "Main"},
        {"name": "example.net", "description": "Secondary"}
      ]

Example 4: Complete Setup with Multiple Users

- uses: Nodarx/action-module-install@v1
  with:
    admin_password: ${{ secrets.STALWART_ADMIN_PASSWORD }}
    
    domains: |
      [
        {"name": "mycompany.com"},
        {"name": "mycompany.net"}
      ]
    
    users: |
      [
        {
          "email": "ceo@mycompany.com",
          "password": "${{ secrets.CEO_PASSWORD }}",
          "name": "CEO",
          "quota": 10737418240
        },
        {
          "email": "team@mycompany.com",
          "password": "${{ secrets.TEAM_PASSWORD }}",
          "name": "Team Mailbox",
          "quota": 5368709120
        },
        {
          "email": "noreply@mycompany.com",
          "password": "${{ secrets.NOREPLY_PASSWORD }}",
          "name": "No Reply",
          "quota": 1073741824
        }
      ]

Example 5: Using JSON from Files

Store your configuration in separate files:

- name: Checkout repository
  uses: actions/checkout@v4

- name: Install Stalwart
  uses: Nodarx/action-module-install@v1
  with:
    admin_password: ${{ secrets.STALWART_ADMIN_PASSWORD }}
    domains: ${{ readFile('.github/stalwart/domains.json') }}
    users: ${{ readFile('.github/stalwart/users.json') }}

Security Best Practices

🔒 Always Use GitHub Secrets

NEVER hardcode passwords in your workflow files!

# ❌ WRONG - Password visible in repository
- uses: Nodarx/action-module-install@v1
  with:
    admin_password: "MyPassword123"

# ✅ CORRECT - Password stored in GitHub Secrets
- uses: Nodarx/action-module-install@v1
  with:
    admin_password: ${{ secrets.STALWART_ADMIN_PASSWORD }}

Setting Up GitHub Secrets

1. Go to your repository → Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions
2. Click New repository secret
3. Add your secrets:
   • STALWART_ADMIN_PASSWORD
   • USER1_PASSWORD
   • USER2_PASSWORD
   • etc.

Password Requirements

• Use strong, unique passwords (16+ characters)
• Include uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols
• Never reuse passwords across services
• Rotate passwords regularly

Additional Security Tips

• Restrict Stalwart web admin to localhost or VPN
• Configure firewall rules (ports 25, 465, 587, 993, 8080)
• Enable TLS/SSL for all email protocols
• Regularly update Stalwart to latest version
• Monitor logs for suspicious activity
• Use fail2ban or similar intrusion prevention

How It Works

1. Prerequisites Check: Validates root access and required commands (curl, jq, tar)
2. Installation: Downloads and installs Stalwart Mail Server binary
3. Service Setup: Creates system user and service (systemd/init.d/launchd)
4. API Wait: Waits for Stalwart API to become available (up to 60 seconds)
5. Authentication: Authenticates with default password (changeme)
6. Password Update: Changes admin password if provided
7. Domain Creation: Creates domains via REST API
8. User Creation: Creates users with passwords and quotas via REST API

Troubleshooting

Action Fails: "Required command 'jq' not found"

Install jq before running the action:

- name: Install dependencies
  run: |
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install -y jq curl

- name: Install Stalwart
  uses: Nodarx/action-module-install@v1

Action Fails: "This action must run as root"

Use sudo in your workflow:

- name: Install Stalwart
  run: sudo -E env "PATH=$PATH" ...

Or use a container that runs as root:

jobs:
  setup:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    container:
      image: ubuntu:latest
      options: --user root

Stalwart API Timeout

If the API doesn't become available in 60 seconds:

• Check system resources (CPU, memory)
• Review Stalwart logs: journalctl -u stalwart -n 50
• Verify port 8080 is not already in use: netstat -tuln | grep 8080

Domain/User Creation Fails

• Verify JSON syntax is valid (use a JSON validator)
• Check Stalwart logs for detailed errors
• Ensure domains are created before users
• Verify email addresses match created domains

"Failed to authenticate" Error

• Installation might already be configured
• Try accessing web UI manually: http://localhost:8080/login
• Check if admin password was previously changed
• Review configuration script logs

Advanced Configuration

Custom Installation Path

The installation path is fixed at /opt/stalwart to match Stalwart defaults. If you need a different path, fork this action and modify STALWART_INSTALL_PATH.

Running in Docker

jobs:
  setup:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    container:
      image: ubuntu:22.04
      options: --privileged
    
    steps:
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: |
          apt-get update
          apt-get install -y curl jq sudo systemd
      
      - name: Install Stalwart
        uses: Nodarx/action-module-install@v1
        with:
          admin_password: ${{ secrets.STALWART_ADMIN_PASSWORD }}

Post-Installation Configuration

After installation, Stalwart's web admin is available at http://localhost:8080/login. You can:

• Configure SMTP, IMAP, POP3 settings
• Set up SSL/TLS certificates
• Configure spam filters and antivirus
• Manage additional domains and users
• View logs and statistics

Service Management

Check Service Status

# Systemd (most Linux distributions)
sudo systemctl status stalwart

# Init.d (older systems)
sudo service stalwart status

# macOS
sudo launchctl list | grep stalwart

Restart Service

# Systemd
sudo systemctl restart stalwart

# Init.d
sudo service stalwart restart

# macOS
sudo launchctl stop system/stalwart.mail
sudo launchctl start system/stalwart.mail

View Logs

# Systemd
sudo journalctl -u stalwart -f

# Traditional logs
sudo tail -f /opt/stalwart/logs/*.log

Uninstallation

To remove Stalwart:

# Stop service
sudo systemctl stop stalwart
sudo systemctl disable stalwart

# Remove service file
sudo rm /etc/systemd/system/stalwart.service
sudo systemctl daemon-reload

# Remove installation directory
sudo rm -rf /opt/stalwart

# Remove system user (optional)
sudo userdel stalwart

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request

License

This action is licensed under the AGPL-3.0 License. See LICENSE for details.

Stalwart Mail Server is developed by Stalwart Labs and is licensed under AGPL-3.0-only OR LicenseRef-SEL.

Support

• Stalwart Documentation: https://stalw.art/docs
• Issue Tracker: https://github.com/Nodarx/action-module-install/issues
• Stalwart Community: https://github.com/stalwartlabs/stalwart/discussions

Acknowledgments

• Based on the official Stalwart installation script
• Thanks to the Stalwart Labs team for creating an excellent mail server

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Note: This is an unofficial GitHub Action and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Stalwart Labs.