--- title: Install software packages lastUpdated: 2025-08-14 slug: ispmail-trixie/install-the-software-packages sidebar: order: 130 --- import { Aside } from "@astrojs/starlight/components"; Let's install the necessary Debian packages. Run this command as root on your server as _root_: ```sh apt update DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive \ apt -y install postfix-mysql dovecot-mysql \ dovecot-imapd dovecot-lmtpd dovecot-managesieved \ apache2 python3-certbot-apache libapache2-mod-php \ php-intl php-mbstring php-xml unzip certbot \ roundcube-mysql roundcube roundcube-plugins swaks ufw mutt \ unattended-upgrades mariadb-server ``` While the server is downloading and installing the packages, let me give you a quick explanation of each package: - **postfix** / **postfix-mysql** \ Postfix is the MTA (mail transport agent) that speaks SMTP to send and receive emails. This package installs Postfix with support for MariaDB databases. - **dovecot** \ Dovecot manages the emsrc/content/docs/ispmail-trixie/140-install-packages.mdx emails using IMAP. - **-lmtpd** \ LMTP (Local Mail Transfer Protocol) provides the glue between Postfix and Dovecot. - **-managesieved** \ Lets you configure automatic processing rules on the server. Like out-of-office emails or filtering incoming emails to folders. - **-mysql** \ Makes Dovecot able to query MariaDB databases. - **apache** \ Web server. Needed for webmail. - **php-\*** \ PHP is the programming language that Roundcube (the webmail software) is written in. - **mariadb-server** \ Database server that helps us store control data in a MariaDB database on the mail server. - **roundcube** / **roundcube-mysql** \ Webmail software that lets you access your emails in any web browser. Roundcube speaks to Dovecot to fetch emails. And to Postfix to send emails. - **swaks** \ The SWiss Army Knife of Smtp. Helpful command-line tool to send test emails to a mail server. - **certbot** \ Gets a free TLS certificate from [_Let's Encrypt_](https://letsencrypt.org/) for encrypting network communication. - **ufw** \ Universal FireWall. A simple tool to manage firewall rules to limit access to your server. TODO: omit? - **rspamd** \ It reliably detects spam. Also handles adding DKIM signature to outgoing email to prevent spoofing your domains. TODO: later/optional - **mutt** \ A console-based program that can speak IMAP and also read Maildirs directly. Very helpful for testing the functionality of your mail server. Think of it as a text-based Thunderbird. - **unattended-upgrades** \ Installs security updates automatically.