Modoboa software Documentation

Below you will find brief information for email client Modoboa. The email client Modoboa is an open-source software that helps administrators manage mailboxes, domains, and users. It provides several features and tools to manage your email server efficiently.
PDF
Document
Modoboa Documentation
Release 1.2.0
Antoine Nguyen
February 11, 2015
Contents
1
Getting started
1.1 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2 Upgrading an existing installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.3 Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
Plugins
2.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2 Per-admin limits . . . . . . .
2.3 Postfix relay domains support
2.4 Amavisd-new frontend . . . .
2.5 Graphical statistics . . . . . .
2.6 Radicale frontend . . . . . . .
2.7 Postfix auto-reply messages .
2.8 Sieve filters . . . . . . . . . .
2.9 Webmail . . . . . . . . . . .
1
1
3
9
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
13
13
13
13
14
18
18
19
20
20
3
Integration with other softwares
3.1 Dovecot and Postfix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2 Web servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23
23
29
4
Extending Modoboa
4.1 Development recipes for Modoboa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2 Adding a new plugin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3 Available events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
35
35
36
39
5
Additional resource
5.1 Migrating from other software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2 Using the virtual machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
53
53
54
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
i
ii
CHAPTER 1
Getting started
1.1 Installation
1.1.1 Requirements
• Python version 2.6+
• Django version 1.7+
• lxml python module
• pycrypto python module
• rrdtool python binding
• sievelib python module
• chardet python module
• argparse python module
• reversion python module
1.1.2 Get Modoboa
You can choose between two options:
• Use the Python package available on the PyPI
• Download the sources tarball
The easiest one is to install it from PyPI. Just run the following command and you’re done:
$ pip install modoboa
If you prefer to use the tarball, download the latest one and run the following procedure:
$ tar xzf modoboa-&lt;version&gt;.tar.gz
$ cd modoboa-&lt;version&gt;
$ python setup.py install
All dependencies will be installed regardless the way you chose. The only exception concerns the RRDtool binding
because there isn’t any python package available, it is directly provided with the official tarball.
Fortunately, all major distributions include a ready-to-use package. On Debian/Ubuntu:
1
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
$ apt-get install libcairo2-dev libpango1.0-dev librrd-dev
$ apt-get install python-rrdtool
virtualenv users
When you deploy an application using virtualenv, you may have to compile some dependencies. For example, modoboa relies on lxml, which is a C python module. In order to install it, you will need to install the following requirements:
• python development files
• libxslt development files
• libxml2 development files
• libz development files
On a Debian like system, just run the following command:
$ apt-get install python-dev libxml2-dev libxslt-dev zlib1g-dev
1.1.3 Database
Thanks to Django, Modoboa supports several databases. Depending on the one you will use, you must install the
appropriate python package:
• mysqldb for MySQL
• psycopg2 for PostgreSQL
Then, create a user and a database that will be used by Modoboa. Make sure your database is using UTF8 as a default
charset.
1.1.4 Deployment
modoboa-admin.py, a command line tool, lets you deploy a ready-to-use Modoboa site using only one instruction:
$ modoboa-admin.py deploy modoboa_example --collectstatic [--with-amavis] [--dburl database-url] [--a
Just answer the few questions and you’re done. You can now go to the First use section.
Note: The –with-amavis option must be set only if you intend to use the Amavisd-new frontend.
In case you need a silent installation (e.g. if you’re using Salt-Stack, Ansible or whatever), it’s possible to supply the
database credentials as commandline arguments.
You can see the complete option list by running the following command:
$ modoboa-admin.py help deploy
Note: –dburl database-url for the modoboa database credentials –amavis_dburl database-url for the amavis database
credentials
Your database-url should meet the following syntax: scheme://[user:pass@][host:port]/dbname
or
sqlite:////full/path/to/your/database/file.sqlite
2
Chapter 1. Getting started
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
Available schemes are: * postgres * postgresql * postgis * mysql * mysql2 * sqlite
Note: If you plan to serve Modoboa using a URL prefix, you must change the value of the LOGIN_URL parameter
to LOGIN_URL = ’/&lt;prefix&gt;/accounts/login/’.
1.1.5 First use
Your installation should now have a default super administrator:
• Username: admin
• Password: password
It is strongly recommended to change this password the first time you log into Modoboa.
To check if your installation works, just launch the embedded HTTP server:
$ python manage.py runserver
You should be able to access Modoboa at http://localhost:8000/.
For a fully working interface using the embedded HTTP server, you need to set the DEBUG parameter in settings.py to
True.
For a production environment, we recommend using a stable webserver like Apache2 or Nginx. Don’t forget to set
DEBUG back to False.
1.2 Upgrading an existing installation
This section contains all the upgrade procedures required to use newest versions of Modoboa.
Note: Before running a migration, we recommend that you make a copy of your existing database.
1.2.1 Latest version
Fetch the latest version (see Get Modoboa) and install it. pip users, just run the following command:
$ pip install modoboa==&lt;VERSION&gt;
Replace &lt;VERSION&gt; by the appropriate value.
As for a fresh installation, modoboa-admin.py can be used to upgrade your local configuration. To do so, remove
the directory where your instance was first deployed:
$ rm -rf &lt;modoboa_instance_dir&gt;
Warning: If you customized your configuration file (settings.py) with non-standard settings, you’ll have to
re-apply them.
Then, run modoboa-admin.py deploy:
$ modoboa-admin.py deploy &lt;modoboa_instance_dir&gt; --collectstatic [--with-amavis] [--dburl database-ur
1.2. Upgrading an existing installation
3
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
If you prefer the manual way, check if Specific upgrade instructions are required according to the version you’re
installing.
To finish, restart the web server process according to the environment you did choose. See Web servers for more
details.
1.2.2 Specific upgrade instructions
1.2.0
A new notification service let administrators know about new Modoboa versions. To activate it, you need to update
the TEMPLATE_CONTEXT_PROCESSORS variable like this:
from django.conf import global_settings
TEMPLATE_CONTEXT_PROCESSORS = global_settings.TEMPLATE_CONTEXT_PROCESSORS + (
’modoboa.core.context_processors.top_notifications’,
)
and to define the new MODOBOA_API_URL variable:
MODOBOA_API_URL = ’http://api.modoboa.org/1/’
The location of external static files has changed. To use them, add a new path to the STATICFILES_DIRS:
# Additional locations of static files
STATICFILES_DIRS = (
# Put strings here, like &quot;/home/html/static&quot; or &quot;C:/www/django/static&quot;.
# Always use forward slashes, even on Windows.
# Don’t forget to use absolute paths, not relative paths.
&quot;&lt;path/to/modoboa/install/dir&gt;/bower_components&quot;,
)
Run the following commands to define the hostname of your instance:
$ cd &lt;modoboa_instance_dir&gt;
$ python manage.py set_default_site &lt;hostname&gt;
If you plan to use the Radicale extension:
1. Add ’modoboa.extensions.radicale’ to the MODOBOA_APPS variable
2. Run the following commands:
$ cd &lt;modoboa_instance_dir&gt;
$ python manage.py syncdb
Warning: You also have to note that the sitestatic directory has moved from &lt;path to your site’s
dir&gt; to &lt;modoboa’s root url&gt; (it’s probably the parent directory). You have to adapt your web server
configuration to reflect this change.
1.1.7: manual learning for SpamAssassin
A new feature allows administrators and users to manually train SpamAssassin in order to customize its behaviour.
Check Manual SpamAssassin learning to know more about this feature.
4
Chapter 1. Getting started
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
1.1.6: Few bugfixes
Catchall aliases were not really functional until this version as they were eating all domain traffic.
To fix them, a postfix map file (sql-mailboxes-self-aliases.cf) has been re-introduced and must be listed
into the virtual_alias_maps setting. See Configuration for the order.
1.1.2: Audit trail issues
Update the settings.py file as follows:
1. Remove
the ’reversion.middleware.RevisionMiddleware’
MIDDLEWARE_CLASSES variable
middleware
from
the
2. Add the new ’modoboa.lib.middleware.RequestCatcherMiddleware’ middleware at the end
of the MIDDLEWARE_CLASSES variable
1.1.1: Few bugfixes
For those who installed Dovecot in a non-standard location, it is now possible to tell Modoboa where to find it. Just
define a variable named DOVECOT_LOOKUP_PATH in the settings.py file and include the appropriate lookup
path inside:
DOVECOT_LOOKUP_PATH = (&quot;/usr/sbin/dovecot&quot;, &quot;/usr/local/sbin/dovecot&quot;)
1.1.0: relay domains and better passwords encryption
Due to code refactoring, some modifications need to be done into settings.py:
1. MODOBOA_APPS must contain the following applications:
MODOBOA_APPS = (
’modoboa’,
’modoboa.core’,
’modoboa.lib’,
’modoboa.extensions.admin’,
’modoboa.extensions.limits’,
’modoboa.extensions.postfix_autoreply’,
’modoboa.extensions.webmail’,
’modoboa.extensions.stats’,
’modoboa.extensions.amavis’,
’modoboa.extensions.sievefilters’,
)
2. Add ’modoboa.extensions.postfix_relay_domains’
’modoboa.extensions.limits’
to
MODOBOA_APPS,
just
before
3. AUTH_USER_MODEL must be set to core.User
4. Into
LOGGING,
replace
modoboa.core.loggers.SQLHandler
modoboa.lib.logutils.SQLHandler
by
Then, run the following commands to migrate your installation:
1.2. Upgrading an existing installation
5
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
$
$
$
$
python
python
python
python
manage.py
manage.py
manage.py
manage.py
syncdb
migrate core 0001 --fake
migrate
collectstatic
Finally, update both Dovecot and Postfix queries.
1.0.1: operations on mailboxes
The way Modoboa handles rename and delete operations on mailboxes has been improved. Make sure to consult
Operations on the file system and Postfix configuration. Look at the smtpd_recipient_restrictions setting.
Run modoboa-admin.py postfix_maps --dbtype &lt;mysql|postgres|sqlite&gt; &lt;tempdir&gt; and
compare the files with those that postfix currently use. Make necessary updates in light of the differences
1.0.0: production ready, at last
Configuration file update
Several modifications need to be done into settings.py.
1. Add the following import statement:
from logging.handlers import SysLogHandler
2. Set the ALLOWER_HOSTS variable:
ALLOWED_HOSTS = [
’&lt;your server fqdn&gt;’,
]
3. Activate the django.middleware.csrf.CsrfViewMiddleware middleware and add the
reversion.middleware.RevisionMiddleware middleware to MIDDLEWARE_CLASSES like
this:
MIDDLEWARE_CLASSES = (
’django.middleware.common.CommonMiddleware’,
’django.contrib.sessions.middleware.SessionMiddleware’,
’django.middleware.csrf.CsrfViewMiddleware’,
’django.contrib.auth.middleware.AuthenticationMiddleware’,
’django.contrib.messages.middleware.MessageMiddleware’,
’django.middleware.locale.LocaleMiddleware’,
# Uncomment the next line for simple clickjacking protection:
# ’django.middleware.clickjacking.XFrameOptionsMiddleware’,
’reversion.middleware.RevisionMiddleware’,
’modoboa.lib.middleware.AjaxLoginRedirect’,
’modoboa.lib.middleware.CommonExceptionCatcher’,
’modoboa.lib.middleware.ExtControlMiddleware’,
)
4. Add the reversion application to INSTALLED_APPS
5. Remove all modoboa’s application from INSTALLED_APPS and put them into the new MODOBOA_APPS
variable like this:
6
Chapter 1. Getting started
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
INSTALLED_APPS = (
’django.contrib.auth’,
’django.contrib.contenttypes’,
’django.contrib.sessions’,
’django.contrib.sites’,
’django.contrib.messages’,
’django.contrib.staticfiles’,
’south’,
’reversion’,
)
# A dedicated place to register Modoboa applications
# Do not delete it.
# Do not change the order.
MODOBOA_APPS = (
’modoboa’,
’modoboa.auth’,
’modoboa.admin’,
’modoboa.lib’,
’modoboa.userprefs’,
’modoboa.extensions.limits’,
’modoboa.extensions.postfix_autoreply’,
’modoboa.extensions.webmail’,
’modoboa.extensions.stats’,
’modoboa.extensions.amavis’,
’modoboa.extensions.sievefilters’,
)
INSTALLED_APPS += MODOBOA_APPS
6. Set the AUTH_USER_MODEL variable like this:
AUTH_USER_MODEL = ’admin.User’
7. Modify the logging configuration as follows:
LOGGING = {
’version’: 1,
’disable_existing_loggers’: False,
’filters’: {
’require_debug_false’: {
’()’: ’django.utils.log.RequireDebugFalse’
}
},
’formatters’: {
’syslog’: {
’format’: ’%(name)s: %(levelname)s %(message)s’
},
},
’handlers’: {
’mail_admins’: {
’level’: ’ERROR’,
’filters’: [’require_debug_false’],
’class’: ’django.utils.log.AdminEmailHandler’
},
’console’: {
# logging handler that outputs log messages to terminal
’class’: ’logging.StreamHandler’,
1.2. Upgrading an existing installation
7
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
#’level’: ’DEBUG’, # message level to be written to console
},
’syslog-auth’: {
’class’: ’logging.handlers.SysLogHandler’,
’facility’: SysLogHandler.LOG_AUTH,
’formatter’: ’syslog’
},
’modoboa’: {
’class’: ’modoboa.lib.logutils.SQLHandler’,
}
},
’loggers’: {
’django.request’: {
’handlers’: [’mail_admins’],
’level’: ’ERROR’,
’propagate’: True,
},
’modoboa.auth’: {
’handlers’: [’syslog-auth’, ’modoboa’],
’level’: ’INFO’,
’propagate’: False
},
’modoboa.admin’: {
’handlers’: [’modoboa’],
’level’: ’INFO’,
’propagate’: False
}
}
}
Postfix and Dovecot configuration update
It is necessary to update the queries used to retrieve users and mailboxes:
1. Run modoboa-admin.py postfix_maps --dbtype &lt;mysql|postgres&gt; &lt;tempdir&gt;
compare the files with those that postfix currently use. Make necessary updates in light of the differences
and
2. Into dovecot-sql.conf, update the user_query query, refer to MySQL users or PostgreSQL users
3. Update dovecot’s configuration to activate the new quota related features
Migration issues
When running the python manage.py syncdb --migrate command, you may encounter the following issues:
1. Remove useless content types
If the script asks you this question, just reply no.
2. South fails to migrate reversion
Due to the admin user model change, the script 0001_initial.py may fail. Just deactivate reversion
from INSTALLED_APPS and run the command again. Once done, reactivate reversion and run the command one last time.
8
Chapter 1. Getting started
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
1.3 Configuration
1.3.1 Online parameters
Modoboa provides online panels to modify internal parameters. There are two available levels:
• Application level: global parameters, define how the application behaves. Available at Modoboa &gt; Parameters
• User level: per user customization. Available at User &gt; Settings &gt; Preferences
Regardless level, parameters are displayed using tabs, each tab corresponding to one application.
General parameters
The admin application exposes several parameters, they are presented below:
Name
Description
Authentication type
Default password
scheme
Secret key
The backend used for authentication
Scheme used to crypt mailbox passwords
Handle mailboxes on
filesystem
Mailboxes owner
Automatic account
removal
Maximum log record
age
Items per page
Default top redirection
Rename or remove mailboxes on the filesystem when they get renamed or
removed within Modoboa
The UNIX account who owns mailboxes on the filesystem
When a mailbox is removed, also remove the associated account
A key used to encrypt users’ password in sessions
Default
value
Local
crypt
random
value
no
vmail
no
The maximum age in days of a log record
365
Number of displayed items per page
The default redirection used when no application is specified
30
userprefs
Note: If you are not familiar with virtual domain hosting, you should take a look at postfix’s documentation. This
How to also contains useful information.
Note: A random secret key will be generated each time the Parameters page is refreshed and until you save parameters
at least once.
Note: Specific LDAP parameters are also available, see LDAP authentication.
1.3.2 Media files
Modoboa uses a specific directory to upload files (ie. when the webmail is in use) or to create ones (ex: graphical statistics). This directory is named media and is located inside modoboa’s installation directory (called modoboa_site
in this documentation).
To work properly, the system user which runs modoboa (www-data, apache, whatever) must have write access to
this directory.
1.3. Configuration
9
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
1.3.3 Customization
Custom logo
You have the possibility to use a custom logo instead of the default one on the login page.
To do so, open the settings.py file and add a MODOBOA_CUSTOM_LOGO variable. This variable must contain
the relative URL of your logo under MEDIA_URL. For example:
MODOBOA_CUSTOM_LOGO = os.path.join(MEDIA_URL, &quot;custom_logo.png&quot;)
Then copy your logo file into the directory indicated by MEDIA_ROOT.
1.3.4 Host configuration
Note: This section is only relevant when Modoboa handles mailboxes renaming and removal from the filesystem.
To manipulate mailboxes on the filesystem, you must allow the user who runs Modoboa to execute commands as the
user who owns mailboxes.
To do so, edit the /etc/sudoers file and add the following inside:
&lt;user_that_runs_modoboa&gt; ALL=(&lt;mailboxes owner&gt;) NOPASSWD: ALL
Replace values between &lt;&gt; by the ones you use.
1.3.5 Time zone and language
Modoboa is available in many languages.
To specify the default language to use, edit the settings.py file and modify the LANGUAGE_CODE variable:
LANGUAGE_CODE = ’fr’ # or ’en’ for english, etc.
Note: Each user has the possibility to define the language he prefers.
In the same configuration file, specify the timezone to use by modifying the TIME_ZONE variable. For example:
TIME_ZONE = ’Europe/Paris’
1.3.6 Sessions management
Modoboa uses Django’s session framework to store per-user information.
Few parameters need to be set in the settings.py configuration file to make Modoboa behave as expected:
SESSION_EXPIRE_AT_BROWSER_CLOSE = False # Default value
This parameter is optional but you must ensure it is set to False (the default value).
The default configuration file provided by the modoboa-admin.py command is properly configured.
10
Chapter 1. Getting started
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
1.3.7 LDAP
Authentication
Modoboa supports external LDAP authentication using the following extra components:
• Python LDAP client
• Django LDAP authentication backend
If you want to use this feature, you must first install those components:
$ pip install python-ldap django-auth-ldap
Then, all you have to do is to modify the settings.py file. Add a new authentication backend to the AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS variable, like this:
AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS = (
’modoboa.lib.authbackends.LDAPBackend’,
’modoboa.lib.authbackends.SimpleBackend’,
)
Finally, go to Modoboa &gt; Parameters &gt; General and set Authentication type to LDAP.
From there, new parameters will appear to let you configure the way Modoboa should connect to your LDAP server.
They are described just below:
Name
Description
Server address
The IP address of the DNS name of the LDAP server
Server port
Use a secure
connection
Authentication
method
User DN template
(direct bind
mode)
Bind BN
The TCP port number used by the LDAP server
Use an SSL/TLS connection to access the LDAP server
Bind password
Search base
Search filter
Password
attribute
Active Directory
Administrator
groups
Groups search
base
Domain/mailbox
creation
Choose the authentication method to use
Default
value
localhost
389
no
Direct
bind
The template used to construct a user’s DN. It should contain one placeholder (ie.
%(user)s)
The distinguished name to use when binding to the LDAP server. Leave empty
for an anonymous bind
The password to use when binding to the LDAP server (with ‘Bind DN’)
The distinguished name of the search base
An optional filter string (e.g. ‘(objectClass=person)’). In order to be valid, it must
be enclosed in parentheses.
The attribute used to store user passwords
Tell if the LDAP server is an Active Directory one
Members of those LDAP Posix groups will be created ad domain administrators.
Use ‘;’ characters to separate groups.
The distinguished name of the search base used to find groups
Automatically create a domain and a mailbox when a new user is created just
after the first successful authentication. You will generally want to disable this
feature when the relay domains extension is in use
(mail=%(user)s)
userPassword
no
yes
If you need additional parameters, you will find a detailled documentation here.
1.3. Configuration
11
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
Once the authentication is properly configured, the users defined in your LDAP directory will be able to connect to
Modoboa, the associated domain and mailboxes will be automatically created if needed.
The first time a user connects to Modoboa, a local account is created if the LDAP username is a valid email address.
By default, this account belongs to the SimpleUsers group and it has a mailbox.
To automatically create domain administrators, you can use the Administrator groups setting. If a LDAP user belongs
to one the listed groups, its local account will belong to the DomainAdmins group. In this case, the username is not
necessarily an email address.
Users will also be able to update their LDAP password directly from Modoboa.
Note: Modoboa doesn’t provide any synchronization mechanism once a user is registered into the database. Any
modification done from the directory to a user account will not be reported to Modoboa (an email address change for
example). Currently, the only solution is to manually delete the Modoboa record, it will be recreated on the next user
login.
1.3.8 Database maintenance
Cleaning the logs table
Modoboa logs administrator specific actions into the database. A clean-up script is provided to automatically remove
oldest records. The maximum log record age can be configured through the online panel.
To use it, you can setup a cron job to run every night:
0 0 * * * &lt;modoboa_site&gt;/manage.py cleanlogs
#
# Or like this if you use a virtual environment:
# 0 0 * * * &lt;virtualenv path/bin/python&gt; &lt;modoboa_site&gt;/manage.py cleanlogs
Cleaning the session table
Django does not provide automatic purging. Therefore, it’s your job to purge expired sessions on a regular basis.
Django provides a sample clean-up script: django-admin.py cleanup. That script deletes any session in the
session table whose expire_date is in the past.
For example, you could setup a cron job to run this script every night:
0 0 * * * &lt;modoboa_site&gt;/manage.py cleanup
#
# Or like this if you use a virtual environment:
# 0 0 * * * &lt;virtualenv path/bin/python&gt; &lt;modoboa_site&gt;/manage.py cleanup
12
Chapter 1. Getting started
CHAPTER 2
Plugins
2.1 Overview
2.1.1 Enable or disable a plugin
Modoboa provides an online panel to control plugins activation. You will find it at Modoboa &gt; Extensions.
To activate a plugin, check the corresponding box and click on the Apply button.
To deactivate a plugin, uncheck the corresponding box and click on the Apply button.
2.2 Per-admin limits
This plugin offers a way to define limits about how many objects (aliases, mailboxes) a domain administrator can
create.
It also brings a new administrative role: Reseller. A reseller is a domain administrator that can also manipulate
domains and assign permissions to domain administrators.
If you don’t want to limit a particular object type, just set the associated value to -1.
Default limits applied to new administrators can be changed through the Modoboa &gt; Parameters &gt; Limits page.
2.3 Postfix relay domains support
This plugin adds the support for relay domains using postfix. You can use it when the MTA managed by Modoboa is
not the final destination of one or several domains.
If activated, two new objects will be available from the Domains listing page: relay domain and relay domain alias.
The extension is compatible with the amavis and limits ones. Resellers will be able to create both new objects.
Replace &lt;driver&gt; by the name of the database you use.To tell Postfix this feature exists, you must generate two new
map files and then update your configuration.
To generate the map files, run the following command:
$ modoboa-admin.py postfix_maps --categories relaydomains --dbtype &lt;the database you use&gt; &lt;path&gt;
13
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
Replace values between &lt;&gt; by yours.
Edit the /etc/postfix/main.cf file and copy the following lines inside:
relay_domains = &lt;driver&gt;:/etc/postfix/sql-relaydomains.cf
transport_maps =
&lt;driver&gt;:/etc/postfix/sql-relaydomains-transport.cf
&lt;driver&gt;:/etc/postfix/sql-relaydomain-aliases-transport.cf
smtpd_recipient_restrictions =
permit_mynetworks
reject_unauth_destination
check_recipient_access
&lt;driver&gt;:/etc/postfix/sql-relay-recipient-verification.cf
Replace &lt;driver&gt; by the name of the database you use.
Reload postfix.
2.4 Amavisd-new frontend
This plugin provides a simple management frontend for amavisd-new. The supported features are:
• SQL quarantine management : available to administrators or users, possibility to delete or release messages
• Per domain customization (using policies): specify how amavisd-new will handle traffic
Note: The per-domain policies feature only works for new installations. Currently, you can’t use modoboa with an
existing database (ie. with data in users and policies tables).
Note: This plugin requires amavisd-new version 2.7.0 or higher. If you’re planning to use the Self-service mode,
you’ll need version 2.8.0.
2.4.1 Quick Amavis setup
By default, amavis doesn’t use a database. To configure this behaviour, you first need to create a dedicated database.
This step is a bit manual since no ready-to-use SQL schema is provided by amavis. The information is located inside
README files, one for MySQL and one for PostgreSQL.
Then, you must tell amavis to use this database for lookups and quarantined messages storing. Here is a working
configuration sample:
@lookup_sql_dsn =
([’DBI:&lt;driver&gt;:database=&lt;database&gt;;host=&lt;dbhost&gt;;port=&lt;dbport&gt;’, ’&lt;dbuser&gt;’, ’&lt;password&gt;]’]);
@storage_sql_dsn =
([’DBI:&lt;driver&gt;:database=&lt;database&gt;;host=&lt;dbhost&gt;;port=&lt;dbport&gt;’, ’&lt;dbuser&gt;’, ’&lt;password&gt;]’]);
# PostgreSQL users NEED this parameter!
# MySQL users only need this parameter is email addresses are stored
# using the VARBINARY type.
$sql_allow_8bit_address = 1;
$virus_quarantine_method = ’sql:’;
$spam_quarantine_method = ’sql:’;
14
Chapter 2. Plugins
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
$banned_files_quarantine_method = ’sql:’;
$bad_header_quarantine_method = ’sql:’;
$virus_quarantine_to = ’virus-quarantine’;
$banned_quarantine_to = ’banned-quarantine’;
$bad_header_quarantine_to = ’bad-header-quarantine’;
$spam_quarantine_to = ’spam-quarantine’;
Replace values between &lt;&gt; by yours. To know how to configure amavis to allow quarantined messages release, read
this section.
Note: Amavis configuration allows for separate lookup and storage databases but Modoboa doesn’t support it yet.
2.4.2 Connect Modoboa and Amavis
You must tell to Modoboa where it can find the amavis database. Inside settings.py, add a new connection to the
DATABASES variable like this:
DATABASES = {
# Stuff before
#
&quot;amavis&quot;: {
&quot;ENGINE&quot; : &quot;&lt;your value&gt;&quot;,
&quot;HOST&quot; : &quot;&lt;your value&gt;&quot;,
&quot;NAME&quot; : &quot;&lt;your value&gt;&quot;,
&quot;USER&quot; : &quot;&lt;your value&gt;&quot;,
&quot;PASSWORD&quot; : &quot;&lt;your value&gt;&quot;
}
}
Replace values between &lt;&gt; with yours.
Cleanup
Storing quarantined messages to a database can quickly become a perfomance killer. Modoboa provides a simple
script to periodically purge the quarantine database. To use it, add the following line inside root’s crontab:
0 0 * * * &lt;modoboa_site&gt;/manage.py qcleanup
#
# Or like this if you use a virtual environment:
# 0 0 * * * &lt;virtualenv path/bin/python&gt; &lt;modoboa_site&gt;/manage.py qcleanup
Replace modoboa_site with the path of your Modoboa instance.
By default, messages older than 14 days are automatically purged. You can modify this value by changing the
MAX_MESSAGES_AGE parameter in the online panel.
2.4.3 Release messages
To release messages, first take a look at this page. It explains how to configure amavisd-new to listen somewhere for
the AM.PDP protocol. This protocol is used to send requests.
Below is an example of a working configuration:
2.4. Amavisd-new frontend
15
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
$interface_policy{’SOCK’} = ’AM.PDP-SOCK’;
$interface_policy{’9998’} = ’AM.PDP-INET’;
$policy_bank{’AM.PDP-SOCK’} = {
protocol =&gt; ’AM.PDP’,
auth_required_release =&gt; 0,
};
$policy_bank{’AM.PDP-INET’} = {
protocol =&gt; ’AM.PDP’,
inet_acl =&gt; [qw( 127.0.0.1 [::1] )],
};
Don’t forget to update the inet_acl list if you plan to release from the network.
Once amavisd-new is configured, just tell Modoboa where it can find the release server by modifying the following
parameters in the online panel:
Name
Amavis connection mode
PDP server address
PDP server port
PDP server socket
Description
Mode used to access the PDP server
PDP server address (if inet mode)
PDP server port (if inet mode) 9998
Path to the PDP server socket (if unix mode)
Default value
unix
localhost
/var/amavis/amavisd.sock
Deferred release
By default, simple users are not allowed to release messages themselves. They are only allowed to send release
requests to administrators.
As administrators are not always available or logged into Modoboa, a notification tool is available. It sends reminder
e-mails to every administrators or domain administrators. To use it, add the following example line to root’s crontab:
0 12 * * * &lt;modoboa_site&gt;/manage.py amnotify --baseurl=’&lt;modoboa_url&gt;’
#
# Or like this if you use a virtual environment:
# 0 12 * * * &lt;virtualenv path/bin/python&gt; &lt;modoboa_site&gt;/manage.py amnotify --baseurl=’&lt;modoboa_url&gt;’
You are free to change the frequency.
Note: If you want to let users release their messages alone (not recommended), go to the admin panel.
The following parameters are available to let you customize this feature:
Name
Check requests interval
Allow direct release
Notifications sender
Description
Interval between two release requests checks
Allow users to directly release their messages
The e-mail address used to send notitications
Default value
30
no
[email protected]
2.4.4 Self-service mode
The self-service mode lets users act on quarantined messages without beeing authenticated. They can:
• View messages
• Remove messages
• Release messages (or send release requests)
To access a specific message, they only need the following information:
16
Chapter 2. Plugins
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
• Message’s unique identifier
• Message’s secret identifier
This information is controlled by amavis, which is in charge of notifying users when new messages are put into
quarantine. Each notification (one per message) must embark a direct link containing the required identifiers.
To activate this feature, go the administration panel and set the Enable self-service mode parameter to yes.
The last step is to customize the notification messages amavis sends. The most important is to embark a direct link.
Take a look at the README.customize file to learn what you’re allowed to do.
Here is a link example:
http://&lt;modoboa_url&gt;/quarantine/%i/?rcpt=%R&amp;secret_id=[:secret_id]
2.4.5 Manual SpamAssassin learning
It is possible to manually train SpamAssassin using the quarantine’s content. By train, we mean:
• Mark message(s) as spam (false negative(s))
• Mark message(s) as non-spam (false positive(s))
This feature is available to all users (from super administrators to simple users) but not enabled by default.
SpamAssassin configuration
For better performance and to enable the per-user level, SpamAssassin must store bayes information into a SQL
database.
Create a new database and a new user/password (using your favorite database server) and edit the default configuration
file (/etc/spamassassin/local.cf) to add the following lines inside:
bayes_store_module
bayes_sql_dsn
bayes_sql_username
bayes_sql_password
Mail::SpamAssassin::BayesStore::&lt;Driver&gt;
&lt;DSN&gt;
&lt;db username&gt;
&lt;db password&gt;
Replace values between &lt;&gt; by yours. Possible values for Driver are PgSQL or MySQL (non exhaustive list). The
syntax for DSN depends on the driver you choose. Please consult the official documentation.
Enable the feature through Modoboa
Manual learning is disabled by default. You can activate it through the administration panel (Modoboa &gt; Paremeters
&gt; Amavis). There two learning levels:
1. Global: available to administrators only. A single (global) bayes database is shared between everyone.
2. Per domain: available to administrators and domain administrators. Each domain can have a dedicated database.
3. Per user: each user can create its own database to customize the way SpamAssassin will detect spam.
The domain and user levels are not activated by default, dedicated parameters are available through the panel.
Note: Domain and user databases are only created the first time someone calls the learning feature through the
quarantine.
2.4. Amavisd-new frontend
17
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
Warning: A bayes database needs to reach pre-defined thresholds before it can be used by SpamAssassin. The
default values are 200 spams and 200 hams.
You will find other paramaters related to this feature. You won’t need to change them most of the time, unless SpamAssassin is hosted on a different machine than Modoboa. (in this case, spamc will be used instead of sa-learn).
2.5 Graphical statistics
This plugin collects various statistics about emails traffic on your server. It parses a log file to collect information,
store it into RRD files (see rrdtool) and then generates graphics in PNG format.
To use it, go to the online parameters panel and adapt the following ones to your environment:
Name
Path to the log file
Directory to store RRD files
Directory to store PNG files
Description
Path to log file used to collect statistics
Path to directory where RRD files are stored
Path to directory where PNG files are stored
Default value
/var/log/mail.log
/tmp/modoboa
&lt;modoboa_site&gt;/media/stats
Make sure the directory that will contain RRD files exists. If not, create it before going further. For example (according
to the previous parameters):
$ mkdir /tmp/modoboa
To finish, you need to collect information periodically in order to feed the RRD files. Add the following line into root’s
crontab:
*/5 * * * * &lt;modoboa_site&gt;/manage.py logparser &amp;&gt; /dev/null
#
# Or like this if you use a virtual environment:
# 0/5 * * * * &lt;virtualenv path/bin/python&gt; &lt;modoboa_site&gt;/manage.py logparser &amp;&gt; /dev/null
Replace &lt;modoboa_site&gt; with the path of your Modoboa instance.
Graphics will be automatically created after each parsing.
2.6 Radicale frontend
This plugin provides a simple management frontend for Radicale, a complete CalDAV (calendar) and CardDAV (contact) server solution.
Features currently supported are:
• Private calendar creation (available for simple users)
• Rights management for private calendars
• Shared calendar creation by domain (available for domain administrators)
Note: This plugin requires Radicale 0.9 or higher.
2.6.1 Setup
Once Radicale is installed on your server, you must tell Modoboa where it can find the file used to store rules.
18
Chapter 2. Plugins
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
Go to the Modoboa &gt; Parameters &gt; Radicale panel and fill the Radicale rights file path setting (an absolute path is
required).
When the configuration is done, Modoboa will completly handles the file’s content. It means every manual modification you could made on this file would be overriden.
To do so, a new cron job must be created. You can use the following example:
*/2 * * * * &lt;modoboa_site&gt;/manage.py generate_rights
#
# Or like this if you use a virtual environment:
# */2 * * * * &lt;virtualenv path/bin/python&gt; &lt;modoboa_site&gt;/manage.py generate_rights
Note: In some cases, the modifications you make on Modoboa may not be applied to the rights file. In order to force
the generation, manually run the generate_rights command using the --force option.
2.7 Postfix auto-reply messages
This plugin let users define an auto-reply message (vacation). It is based on Postfix capabilities.
The user that executes the autoreply script needs to access settings.py. You must apply proper permissions on
this file. For example, if settings.py belongs to www-data:www-data, you can add the vmail user to the
www-data group and set the read permission for the group.
To make Postfix use this feature, you need to update your configuration files as follows:
/etc/postfix/main.cf:
transport_maps = &lt;driver&gt;:/etc/postfix/sql-autoreplies-transport.cf
virtual_alias_maps = &lt;driver&gt;:/etc/postfix/sql-aliases.cf
&lt;driver&gt;:/etc/postfix/sql-domain-aliases-mailboxes.cf,
&lt;driver&gt;:/etc/postfix/sql-autoreplies.cf,
&lt;driver&gt;:/etc/postfix/sql-catchall-aliases.cf
Note: The order used to define alias maps is important, please respect it
/etc/postfix/master.cf:
autoreply unix
n
n
pipe
flags= user=vmail:&lt;group&gt; argv=python &lt;modoboa_site&gt;/manage.py autoreply $sender $mailbox
Replace &lt;driver&gt; by the name of the database you use. &lt;modoboa_site&gt; is the path of your Modoboa instance.
Then, create the requested map files:
$ modoboa-admin.py postfix_maps mapfiles --categories autoreply
mapfiles is the directory where the files will be stored. Answer the few questions and you’re done.
Note: Auto-reply messages are just sent one time per sender for a pre-defined time period. By default, this period is
equal to 1 day (86400s), you can adjust this value by modifying the Automatic reply timeout parameter available in
the online panel.
2.7. Postfix auto-reply messages
19
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
2.8 Sieve filters
This plugin let users create server-side message filters, using the sievelib module (which provides Sieve and ManageSieve clients).
Two working modes are available:
• A raw mode: you create filters using the Sieve language directly (advanced users)
• An assisted mode: you create filters using an intuitive form
To use this plugin, your hosting setup must include a ManageSieve server and your local delivery agent must understand the Sieve language. Don’t panic, Dovecot supports both :-) (refer to Dovecot to know how to enable those
features).
Note: The sieve filters plugin requires that the Webmail plugin is activated and configured.
Go the online panel and modify the following parameters in order to communicate with the ManageSieve server:
Name
Server address
Server port
Connect using STARTTLS
Authentication mechanism
Description
Address of your MANAGESIEVE server
Listening port of your MANAGESIEVE server
Use the STARTTLS extension
Prefered authentication mechanism
Default value
127.0.0.1
4190
no
auto
2.9 Webmail
Modoboa provides a simple webmail:
• Browse, read and compose messages, attachments are supported
• HTML messages are supported
• CKeditor integration
• Manipulate mailboxes (create, move, remove)
• Quota display
To use it, go to the online panel and modify the following parameters to communicate with your IMAP server (under
IMAP settings):
Name
Server address
Use a secured connection
Server port
Description
Address of your IMAP server
Use a secured connection to access IMAP server
Listening port of your IMAP server
Default value
127.0.0.1
no
143
Do the same to communicate with your SMTP server (under SMTP settings):
Name
Server address
Secured connection mode
Server port
Authentication required
Description
Address of your SMTP server
Use a secured connection to access SMTP server
Listening port of your SMTP server
Server needs authentication
Default value
127.0.0.1
None
25
no
Note: The size of each attachment sent with messages is limited. You can change the default value by modifying the
Maximum attachment size parameter.
20
Chapter 2. Plugins
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
2.9.1 Using CKeditor
Modoboa supports CKeditor to compose HTML messages. To use it, first download it from the official website, then
extract the tarball:
$ cd &lt;modoboa_site_dir&gt;
$ tar xzf /path/to/ckeditor/tarball.tag.gz -C sitestatic/js/
And you’re done!
Now, each user has the possibility to choose between CKeditor and the raw text editor to compose their messages. (see
User &gt; Settings &gt; Preferences &gt; Webmail)
2.9. Webmail
21
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
22
Chapter 2. Plugins
CHAPTER 3
Integration with other softwares
3.1 Dovecot and Postfix
3.1.1 Dovecot
Modoboa works better with Dovecot 2.0 so the following documentation is suitable for this combination.
In this section, we assume dovecot’s configuration resides in /etc/dovecot, all pathes will be relative to this
directory.
Mailboxes
First, edit the conf.d/10-mail.conf and set the mail_location variable:
# maildir
mail_location = maildir:~/.maildir
Then, edit the inbox namespace and add the following lines:
inbox = yes
mailbox Drafts {
auto = subscribe
special_use = \Drafts
}
mailbox Junk {
auto = subscribe
special_use = \Junk
}
mailbox Sent {
auto = subscribe
special_use = \Sent
}
mailbox Trash {
auto = subscribe
special_use = \Trash
}
With dovecot 2.1+, it ensures all the special mailboxes will be automaticaly created for new accounts.
For dovecot 2.0 and older, use the autocreate plugin.
23
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
Operations on the file system
Warning:
Modoboa needs to access the dovecot binary to check its version. To find the binary path, we use the which command first and then try known locations (/usr/sbin/dovecot and
/usr/local/sbin/dovecot). If you installed dovecot in a custom location, please tell us where the binary
is by using the DOVECOT_LOOKUP_PATH setting (see settings.py).
Three operation types are considered:
1. Mailbox creation
2. Mailbox renaming
3. Mailbox deletion
The first one is managed by Dovecot. The last two ones may be managed by Modoboa if it can access the file system
where the mailboxes are stored (see General parameters to activate this feature).
Those operations are treated asynchronously by a cron script. For example, when you rename an e-mail address
through the web UI, the associated mailbox on the file system is not modified directly. Instead of that, a rename order
is created for this mailbox. The mailbox will be considered unavailable until the order is not executed (see Postfix
configuration).
Edit the crontab of the user who owns the mailboxes on the file system:
$ crontab -u &lt;user&gt; -e
And add the following line inside:
* * * * * python &lt;modoboa_site&gt;/manage.py handle_mailbox_operations
Warning: The cron script must be executed by the system user owning the mailboxes.
Warning: The user running the cron script must have access to the settings.py file of the modoboa instance.
The result of each order is recorded into Modoboa’s log. Go to Modoboa &gt; Logs to consult them.
Authentication
To make the authentication work, edit the conf.d/10-auth.conf and uncomment the following line at the end:
#!include auth-system.conf.ext
!include auth-sql.conf.ext
#!include auth-ldap.conf.ext
#!include auth-passwdfile.conf.ext
#!include auth-checkpassword.conf.ext
#!include auth-vpopmail.conf.ext
#!include auth-static.conf.ext
Then, edit the conf.d/auth-sql.conf.ext file and add the following content inside:
passdb sql {
driver = sql
# Path for SQL configuration file, see example-config/dovecot-sql.conf.ext
args = /etc/dovecot/dovecot-sql.conf.ext
}
24
Chapter 3. Integration with other softwares
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
userdb sql {
driver = sql
args = /etc/dovecot/dovecot-sql.conf.ext
}
Make sure to activate only one backend (per type) inside your configuration (just comment the other ones).
Edit the dovecot-sql.conf.ext and modify the configuration according to your database engine.
MySQL users
driver = mysql
connect = host=&lt;mysqld socket&gt; dbname=&lt;database&gt; user=&lt;user&gt; password=&lt;password&gt;
default_pass_scheme = CRYPT
password_query = SELECT email AS user, password FROM core_user WHERE email=’%u’ and is_active=1
user_query = SELECT ’&lt;mailboxes storage directory&gt;/%d/%n’ AS home, &lt;uid&gt; as uid, &lt;gid&gt; as gid, concat
iterate_query = SELECT email AS username FROM core_user WHERE email&lt;&gt;’’
PostgreSQL users
driver = pgsql
connect = host=&lt;postgres socket&gt; dbname=&lt;database&gt; user=&lt;user&gt; password=&lt;password&gt;
default_pass_scheme = CRYPT
password_query = SELECT email AS user, password FROM core_user WHERE email=’%u’ and is_active
user_query = SELECT ’&lt;mailboxes storage directory&gt;/%d/%n’ AS home, &lt;uid&gt; as uid, &lt;gid&gt; as gid, ’*:byt
iterate_query = SELECT email AS username FROM core_user WHERE email&lt;&gt;’’
SQLite users
driver = sqlite
connect = &lt;path to the sqlite db file&gt;
default_pass_scheme = CRYPT
password_query = SELECT email AS user, password FROM core_user WHERE email=’%u’ and is_active=1
user_query = SELECT ’&lt;mailboxes storage directory&gt;/%d/%n’ AS home, &lt;uid&gt; as uid, &lt;gid&gt; as gid, (’*:by
iterate_query = SELECT email AS username FROM core_user WHERE email&lt;&gt;’’
Note: Replace values between &lt;&gt; with yours.
3.1. Dovecot and Postfix
25
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
LMTP
Local Mail Transport Protocol is used to let Postfix deliver messages to Dovecot.
First, make sure the protocol is activated by looking at the protocols setting (generally inside dovecot.conf).
It should be similar to the following example:
protocols = imap pop3 lmtp
Then, open the conf.d/10-master.conf, look for lmtp service definition and add the following content inside:
service lmtp {
# stuff before
unix_listener /var/spool/postfix/private/dovecot-lmtp {
mode = 0600
user = postfix
group = postfix
}
# stuff after
}
We assume here that Postfix is chrooted within /var/spool/postfix.
Finally, open the conf.d/20-lmtp.conf and modify it as follows:
protocol lmtp {
postmaster_address = postmaster@&lt;domain&gt;
mail_plugins = $mail_plugins quota sieve
}
Replace &lt;domain&gt; by the appropriate value.
Note: If you don’t plan to apply quota or to use filters, just adapt the content of the mail_plugins setting.
Quota
Modoboa lets adminstrators define per-domain and/or per-account limits (quota). It also lists the current quota usage
of each account. Those features require Dovecot to be configured in a specific way.
Inside conf.d/10-mail.conf, add the quota plugin to the default activated ones:
mail_plugins = quota
Inside conf.d/10-master.conf, update the dict service to set proper permissions:
service dict {
# If dict proxy is used, mail processes should have access to its socket.
# For example: mode=0660, group=vmail and global mail_access_groups=vmail
unix_listener dict {
mode = 0600
user = &lt;user owning mailboxes&gt;
#group =
}
}
Inside conf.d/20-imap.conf, activate the imap_quota plugin:
26
Chapter 3. Integration with other softwares
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
protocol imap {
# ...
mail_plugins = $mail_plugins imap_quota
# ...
}
Inside dovecot.conf, activate the quota SQL dictionary backend:
dict {
quota = &lt;driver&gt;:/etc/dovecot/dovecot-dict-sql.conf.ext
}
Inside conf.d/90-quota.conf, activate the quota dictionary backend:
plugin {
quota = dict:User quota::proxy::quota
}
It will tell Dovecot to keep quota usage in the SQL dictionary.
Finally, edit the dovecot-dict-sql.conf.ext file and put the following content inside:
connect = host=&lt;db host&gt; dbname=&lt;db name&gt; user=&lt;db user&gt; password=&lt;password&gt;
# SQLite users
# connect = /path/to/the/database.db
map {
pattern = priv/quota/storage
table = admin_quota
username_field = username
value_field = bytes
}
map {
pattern = priv/quota/messages
table = admin_quota
username_field = username
value_field = messages
}
PostgreSQL users
Database schema update The admin_quota table is created by Django but unfortunately it doesn’t support
DEFAULT constraints (it only simulates them when the ORM is used). As PostgreSQL is a bit strict about constraint
violations, you must execute the following query manually:
db=&gt; ALTER TABLE admin_quota ALTER COLUMN bytes SET DEFAULT 0;
db=&gt; ALTER TABLE admin_quota ALTER COLUMN messages SET DEFAULT 0;
Trigger As indicated on Dovecot’s wiki, you need a trigger to properly update the quota.
A working copy of this trigger is available on Modoboa’s website.
Download this file and copy it on the server running postgres. Then, execute the following commands:
3.1. Dovecot and Postfix
27
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
$ su - postgres
$ psql [modoboa database] &lt; /path/to/modoboa_postgres_trigger.sql
$ exit
Replace [modoboa database] by the appropriate value.
Forcing recalculation
For existing installations, Dovecot (&gt; 2) offers a command to recalculate the current quota usages. For example, if you
want to update all usages, run the following command:
$ doveadm quota recalc -A
Be carefull, it can take a while to execute.
ManageSieve/Sieve
Modoboa lets users define filtering rules from the web interface. To do so, it requires ManageSieve to be activated on
your server.
Inside conf.d/20-managesieve.conf, make sure the following lines are uncommented:
protocols = $protocols sieve
service managesieve-login {
# ...
}
service managesieve {
# ...
}
protocol sieve {
# ...
}
Messages filtering using Sieve is done by the LDA.
Inside conf.d/15-lda.conf, activate the sieve plugin like this:
protocol lda {
# Space separated list of plugins to load (default is global mail_plugins).
mail_plugins = $mail_plugins sieve
}
Finally, configure the sieve plugin by editing the conf.d/90-sieve.conf file. Put the follwing caontent inside:
plugin {
# Location of the active script. When ManageSieve is used this is actually
# a symlink pointing to the active script in the sieve storage directory.
sieve = ~/.dovecot.sieve
#
# The path to the directory where the personal Sieve scripts are stored. For
# ManageSieve this is where the uploaded scripts are stored.
sieve_dir = ~/sieve
}
28
Chapter 3. Integration with other softwares
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
Restart Dovecot.
3.1.2 Postfix
This section gives an example about building a simple virtual hosting configuration with Postfix. Refer to the official
documentation for more explanation.
Map files
You first need to create configuration files (or map files) that will be used by Postfix to lookup into Modoboa tables.
To automaticaly generate the requested map files and store them in a directory, run the following command:
$ modoboa-admin.py postfix_maps --dbtype &lt;mysql|postgres|sqlite&gt; mapfiles
mapfiles is the directory where the files will be stored. Answer the few questions and you’re done.
Configuration
Use the following configuration in the /etc/postfix/main.cf file (this is just one possible configuration):
# Stuff before
virtual_transport = lmtp:unix:private/dovecot-lmtp
relay_domains =
virtual_mailbox_domains = &lt;driver&gt;:/etc/postfix/sql-domains.cf
virtual_alias_domains = &lt;driver&gt;:/etc/postfix/sql-domain-aliases.cf
virtual_alias_maps = &lt;driver&gt;:/etc/postfix/sql-aliases.cf,
&lt;driver&gt;:/etc/postfix/sql-domain-aliases-mailboxes.cf,
&lt;driver&gt;:/etc/postfix/sql-mailboxes-self-aliases.cf,
&lt;driver&gt;:/etc/postfix/sql-catchall-aliases.cf
smtpd_recipient_restrictions =
...
check_recipient_access &lt;driver&gt;:/etc/postfix/sql-maintain.cf
permit_mynetworks
reject_unverified_recipient
...
# Stuff after
Replace &lt;driver&gt; by the name of the database you use.
Restart Postfix.
3.2 Web servers
3.2.1 Apache2
Note: The following instructions are meant to help you get your site up and running quickly. However it is not
possible for the people contributing documentation to Modoboa to test every single combination of web server, wsgi
server, distribution, etc. So it is possible that your installation of uwsgi or nginx or Apache or what-have-you works
differently. Keep this in mind.
3.2. Web servers
29
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
mod_wsgi
First, make sure that mod_wsgi is installed on your server.
Create a new virtualhost in your Apache configuration and put the following content inside:
&lt;VirtualHost *:80&gt;
ServerName &lt;your value&gt;
DocumentRoot &lt;path to your site’s dir&gt;
Alias /media/ &lt;path to your site’s dir&gt;/media/
&lt;Directory &lt;path to your site’s dir&gt;/media&gt;
Order deny,allow
Allow from all
&lt;/Directory&gt;
Alias /sitestatic/ &lt;path to your site’s dir&gt;/sitestatic/
&lt;Directory &lt;path to your site’s dir&gt;/sitestatic&gt;
Order deny,allow
Allow from all
&lt;/Directory&gt;
WSGIScriptAlias / &lt;path to your site’s dir&gt;/wsgi.py
&lt;/VirtualHost&gt;
This is just one possible configuration.
To use mod_wsgi daemon mode, add the two following directives just under WSGIScriptAlias:
WSGIDaemonProcess example.com python-path=&lt;path to your site’s dir&gt;:&lt;virtualenv path&gt;/lib/python2.7/s
WSGIProcessGroup example.com
Replace values between &lt;&gt; with yours.
WSGIDaemonProcess directive.
If you don’t use a virtualenv, just remove the last part of the
Note: You will certainly need more configuration in order to launch Apache.
3.2.2 Nginx
Note: The following instructions are meant to help you get your site up and running quickly. However it is not
possible for the people contributing documentation to Modoboa to test every single combination of web server, wsgi
server, distribution, etc. So it is possible that your installation of uwsgi or nginx or Apache or what-have-you works
differently. Keep this in mind.
This section covers two different ways of running Modoboa behind Nginx using a WSGI application server. Choose
the one you prefer between Green Unicorn or uWSGI.
In both cases, you’ll need to download and install nginx.
Green Unicorn
Firstly, Download and install gunicorn. Then, use the following sample gunicorn configuration (create a new file
named gunicorn.conf.py inside Modoboa’s root dir):
30
Chapter 3. Integration with other softwares
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
backlog = 2048
bind = &quot;unix:/var/run/gunicorn/modoboa.sock&quot;
pidfile = &quot;/var/run/gunicorn/modoboa.pid&quot;
daemon = True
debug = False
workers = 2
logfile = &quot;/var/log/gunicorn/modoboa.log&quot;
loglevel = &quot;info&quot;
To start gunicorn, execute the following commands:
$ cd &lt;modoboa dir&gt;
$ gunicorn -c gunicorn.conf.py &lt;modoboa dir&gt;.wsgi:application
Now the nginx part. Just create a new virtual host and use the following configuration:
upstream modoboa {
server
unix:/var/run/gunicorn/modoboa.sock fail_timeout=0;
}
server {
listen 443 ssl;
ssl on;
keepalive_timeout 70;
server_name &lt;host fqdn&gt;;
root &lt;modoboa’s root dir&gt;;
access_log /var/log/nginx/&lt;host fqdn&gt;.access.log;
error_log /var/log/nginx/&lt;host fqdn&gt;.error.log;
ssl_certificate
&lt;ssl certificate for your site&gt;;
ssl_certificate_key &lt;ssl certificate key for your site&gt;;
location /sitestatic/ {
autoindex on;
}
location /media/ {
autoindex on;
}
location / {
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
proxy_redirect off;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Protocol ssl;
proxy_pass http://modoboa;
}
}
If you do not plan to use SSL then change the listen directive to listen 80; and delete each of the following
directives:
ssl on;
keepalive_timeout 70;
ssl_certificate
&lt;ssl certificate for your site&gt;;
ssl_certificate_key &lt;ssl certificate key for your site&gt;;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Protocol ssl;
3.2. Web servers
31
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
If you do plan to use SSL, you’ll have to generate a certificate and a key. This article contains information about how
to do it.
Paste this content to your configuration (replace values between &lt;&gt; with yours), restart nginx and enjoy a really fast
application!
uWSGI
The following setup is meant to get you started quickly. You should read the documentation of both nginx and uwsgi
to understand how to optimize their configuration for your site.
The Django documentation includes the following warning regarding uwsgi:
Warning: Some distributions, including Debian and Ubuntu, ship an outdated version of uWSGI that does not
conform to the WSGI specification. Versions prior to 1.2.6 do not call close on the response object after handling
a request. In those cases the request_finished signal isn’t sent. This can result in idle connections to database and
memcache servers.
Use uwsgi 1.2.6 or newer. If you do not, you will run into problems. Modoboa will fail in obscure ways.
To use this setup, first download and install uwsgi.
Here is a sample nginx configuration:
server {
listen 443 ssl;
ssl on;
keepalive_timeout 70;
server_name &lt;host fqdn&gt;;
root &lt;modoboa’s settings dir&gt;;
ssl_certificate
&lt;ssl certificate for your site&gt;;
ssl_certificate_key &lt;ssl certificate key for your site&gt;;
access_log /var/log/nginx/&lt;host fqdn&gt;.access.log;
error_log /var/log/nginx/&lt;host fqdn&gt;.error.log;
location &lt;modoboa’s root url&gt;/sitestatic/ {
autoindex on;
alias &lt;location of sitestatic on your file system&gt;;
}
# Whether or not Modoboa uses a media directory depends on how
# you configured Modoboa. It does not hurt to have this.
location &lt;modoboa’s root url&gt;/media/ {
autoindex on;
alias &lt;location of media on your file system&gt;;
}
# This denies access to any file that begins with
# &quot;.ht&quot;. Apache’s .htaccess and .htpasswd are such files. A
# Modoboa installed from scratch would not contain any such
# files, but you never know what the future holds.
location ~ /\.ht {
deny all;
}
32
Chapter 3. Integration with other softwares
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
location &lt;modoba’s root url&gt;/ {
include uwsgi_params;
uwsgi_pass &lt;uwsgi port&gt;;
uwsgi_param UWSGI_SCRIPT &lt;modoboa instance name&gt;.wsgi:application;
uwsgi_param UWSGI_SCHEME https;
}
}
&lt;modoboa instance name&gt; must be replaced by the value you used when you deployed your instance.
If you do not plan to use SSL then change the listen directive to listen 80; and delete each of the following
directives:
ssl on;
keepalive_timeout 70;
ssl_certificate
&lt;ssl certificate for your site&gt;;
ssl_certificate_key &lt;ssl certificate key for your site&gt;;
uwsgi_param UWSGI_SCHEME https;
If you do plan to use SSL, you’ll have to generate a certificate and a key. This article contains information about how
to do it.
Make sure to replace the &lt;...&gt; in the sample configuration with appropriate values. Here are some explanations for
the cases that may not be completely self-explanatory:
&lt;modoboa’s settings dir&gt; Where Modoboa’s settings.py resides.
sitestatic and media directories reside.
This is also where the
&lt;modoboa’s root url&gt; This is the URL which will be the root of your Modoboa site at your domain. For instance, if your Modoboa installation is reachable at at https://foo/modoboa then &lt;modoboa’s root
url&gt; is /modoboa. In this case you probably also have to set the alias directives to point to where Modoboa’s sitestatic and media directories are because otherwise nginx won’t be able to find them.
If Modoboa is at the root of your domain, then &lt;modoboa root url&gt; is an empty string and can be deleted
from the configuration above. In this case, you probably do not need the alias directives.
&lt;uwsgi port&gt; The location where uwsig is listening. It could be a unix domain socket or an address:port combination. Ubuntu configures uwsgi so that the port is:
unix:/run/uwsgi/app/&lt;app name&gt;/socket
where &lt;app name&gt; is the name of the application.
Your uwsgi configuration should be:
[uwsgi]
# Not needed when using uwsgi from pip
# plugins = python
chdir = &lt;modoboa’s top dir&gt;
module = &lt;name&gt;.wsgi:application
master = true
harakiri = 60
processes = 4
vhost = true
no-default-app = true
The plugins directive should be turned on if you use a uwsgi installation that requires it. If uwsgi was installed from
pip, it does not require it. In the configuration above:
&lt;modoboa’s top dir&gt; The directory where manage.py resides. This directory is the parent of &lt;modoboa’s
settings dir&gt;
3.2. Web servers
33
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
&lt;name&gt; The name that you passed to modoboa-admin.py deploy when you created your Modoboa instance.
34
Chapter 3. Integration with other softwares
CHAPTER 4
Extending Modoboa
4.1 Development recipes for Modoboa
You would like to work on Modoboa but you don’t know where to start? You’re at the right place! Browse this page
to learn useful tips.
4.1.1 Prepare a virtual environment
A virtual environment is a good way to setup a development environment on your machine.
Note: virtualenv is available on all major distributions, just install it using your favorite packages manager.
To do so, run the following commands:
$
$
$
$
$
virtualenv &lt;path&gt;
source &lt;path&gt;/bin/activate
git clone https://github.com/tonioo/modoboa.git
cd modoboa
python setup.py develop
The develop command creates a symbolic link to your local copy so any modification you make will be automatically available in your environment, no need to copy them.
4.1.2 Deploy an instance for development
Warning: Make sure to create a database before running this step.
Now that you have a running environment, you’re ready to deploy a test instance:
$ modoboa-admin.py deploy --devel --dburl &lt;database url&gt; &lt;path&gt;
$ cd &lt;path&gt;
$ python manage.py runserver
You’re ready to go!
35
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
4.1.3 Manage static files
Modoboa uses bower (thanks to django-bower) to manage its CSS and javascript dependencies.
Those dependencies are listed in a file called
&lt;path_to_local_copy&gt;/modoboa/core directory.
dev_settings.py
located
inside
the
If you want to add a new dependency, just complete the BOWER_INSTALLED_APPS parameter and run the following
command:
$ python manage.py bower install
It will download and store the required files into the &lt;path_to_local_copy&gt;/modoboa/bower_components
directory.
4.2 Adding a new plugin
4.2.1 Introduction
Modoboa offers a plugin API to expand its capabilities. The current implementation provides the following possibilities:
• Expand navigation by adding entry points to your plugin inside the GUI
• Access and modify administrative objects (domains, mailboxes, etc.)
• Register callback actions for specific events
Plugins are nothing more than Django applications with an extra piece of code that integrates them into Modoboa. The
modo_extension.py file will contain a complete description of the plugin:
• Admin and user parameters
• Observed events
• Custom menu entries
The communication between both applications is provided by Available events. Modoboa offers some kind of hooks
to let plugin add custom actions.
The following subsections describe plugin architecture and explain how you can create your own plugin.
4.2.2 The required glue
To create a new plugin, just start a new django application like this (into Modoboa’s directory):
$ python manage.py startapp
Then, you need to register this application using the provided API. Just copy/paste the following example into the
modo_extension.py file of the future extension:
from modoboa.core.extensions import ModoExtension, exts_pool
class MyExtension(ModoExtension):
&quot;&quot;&quot;My custom Modoboa extension.&quot;&quot;&quot;
36
Chapter 4. Extending Modoboa
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
name = &quot;myext&quot;
label = &quot;My Extension&quot;
version = &quot;0.1&quot;
description = &quot;A description&quot;
url = &quot;myext_root_location&quot; # optional, name is used if not defined
def load(self):
&quot;&quot;&quot;This method is called when Modoboa loads available and activated plugins.
Declare parameters and register events here.
&quot;&quot;&quot;
pass
def load_initial_data(self):
&quot;&quot;&quot;Optional: provide initial data for your extension here.&quot;&quot;&quot;
pass
exts_pool.register_extension(MyExtension)
Once done, simply add your extension’s module name to the MODOBOA_APPS variable located inside
settings.py. Finally, run the following commands:
$ python manage.py migrate
$ python manage.py load_initial_data
$ python manage.py collectstatic
4.2.3 Parameters
A plugin can declare its own parameters. There are two levels available:
• ‘Administration’ parameters : used to configure the plugin, editable inside the Admin &gt; Settings &gt; Parameters
page,
• ‘User’ parameters : per-user parameters (or preferences), editable inside the Options &gt; Preferences page.
Playing with parameters
To declare a new administration parameter, use the following function:
from modoboa.lib import parameters
parameters.register_admin(name, **kwargs)
To declare a new user parameter, use the following function:
parameter.register_user(name, **kwargs)
Both functions accept extra arguments listed here:
• type : parameter’s type, possible values are : int, string, list, list_yesno,
• deflt : default value,
• help : help text,
• values : list of possible values if type is list.
4.2. Adding a new plugin
37
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
4.2.4 Custom administrative roles
Modoboa uses Django’s internal permission system. Administrative roles are nothing more than groups (Group
instances).
If an extension needs to add new roles, the following steps are required:
1. Listen to the GetExtraRoles event that will return the group’s name
2. Listen to the GetExtraRolePermissions event that will return the new group’s permissions
The group will automatically be created the next time you run the load_initial_data command.
4.2.5 Extending admin forms
the forms used to edit objects (account, domain, etc.) through the admin panel are composed of tabs. You can extend
those forms (ie. add new tabs) in a pretty easy way by defining events.
Account
To add a new tab to the account edition form, define new listeners (handlers) for the following events:
• ExtraAccountForm
• FillAccountInstances
• CheckExtraAccountForm (optional)
Example:
from modoboa.lib import events
@events.observe(&quot;ExtraAccountForm&quot;)
def extra_account_form(user, account=None):
return [
{&quot;id&quot;: &quot;tabid&quot;, &quot;title&quot;: &quot;Title&quot;, &quot;cls&quot;: MyFormClass}
]
@events.observe(&quot;FillAccountInstances&quot;)
def fill_my_tab(user, account, instances):
instances[&quot;id&quot;] = my_instance
Domain
To add a new tab to the domain edition form, define new listeners (handlers) for the following events:
• ExtraDomainForm
• FillDomainInstances
Example:
from modoboa.lib import events
@events.observe(&quot;ExtraDomainForm&quot;)
def extra_domain_form(user, domain):
return [
{&quot;id&quot;: &quot;tabid&quot;, &quot;title&quot;: &quot;Title&quot;, &quot;cls&quot;: MyFormClass}
]
38
Chapter 4. Extending Modoboa
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
@events.observe(&quot;FillDomainInstances&quot;)
def fill_my_tab(user, domain, instances):
instances[&quot;id&quot;] = my_instance
4.3 Available events
4.3.1 Introduction
Modoboa provides a simple API to interact with events. It understands two kinds of events:
• Those returning a value
• Those returning nothing
Listening to a specific event is achieved as follows:
from modoboa.lib import events
def callback(*args):
pass
events.register(’event’, callback)
You can also use the custom decorator events.observe:
@events.observe(’event’)
def callback(*args):
pass
event is the event’s name you want to listen to, callback is the function that will be called each time this event is
raised. Each event impose to callbacks a specific prototype to respect. See below for a detailled list.
To stop listening to as specific event, you must use the unregister function:
events.unregister(’event’, callback)
The parameters are the same than those used with register.
To unregister all events declared by a specific extension, use the unregister_extension function:
events.unregister_extension([name])
name is the extension’s name but it is optional. Leave it empty to let the function guess the name.
Read further to get a complete list and description of all available events.
4.3.2 Supported events
AccountAutoCreated
Raised when a new account is automatically created (example: LDAP synchronization).
Callback prototype:
def callback(account): pass
• account is the newly created account (User instance)
4.3. Available events
39
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
AccountCreated
Raised when a new account is created.
Callback prototype:
def callback(account): pass
• account is the newly created account (User instance)
AccountDeleted
Raised when an existing account is deleted.
Callback prototype:
def callback(account, byuser, **options): pass
• account is the account that is going to be deleted
• byuser is the adminstrator deleting account
AccountExported
Raised when an account is exported to CSV.
Callback prototype:
def callback(account): pass
• account is the account being exported
Must return a list of values to include in the export.
AccountImported
Raised when an account is imported from CSV.
Callback prototype:
def callback(user, account, row): pass
• user is the user importing the account
• account is the account being imported
• row is a list containing what remains from the CSV definition
AccountModified
Raised when an existing account is modified.
Callback prototype:
def callback(oldaccount, newaccount): pass
• oldaccount is the account before it is modified
• newaccount is the account after the modification
40
Chapter 4. Extending Modoboa
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
AdminMenuDisplay
Raised when an admin menu is about to be displayed.
Callback prototype:
def callback(target, user): pass
The target argument indicates which menu is being displayed. Possible values are:
• admin_menu_box : corresponds to the menu bar available inside administration pages
• top_menu : corresponds to the top black bar
See UserMenuDisplay for a description of what callbacks that listen to this event must return.
CanCreate
Raised just before a user tries to create a new object.
Callback prototype:
def callback(user): pass
• user is a User instance
Return True or False to indicate if this user can respectively create or not create a new Domain object.
CheckDomainName
Raised before the unicity of a domain name is checked. By default, modoboa prevents duplicate names between
domains and domain aliases but extensions have the possibility to extend this rule using this event.
Callback prototype:
def callback(): pass
Must return a list of 2uple, each one containing a model class and an associated label.
CheckExtraAccountForm
When an account is being modified, this event lets extensions check if this account is concerned by a specific form.
Callback prototype:
def callback(account, form): pass
• account is the User instance beeing modified
• form is a dictionnary (same content as for ExtraAccountForm)
Callbacks listening to this event must return a list containing one Boolean.
DomainAliasCreated
Raised when a new domain alias is created.
Callback prototype:
4.3. Available events
41
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
def callback(user, domain_alias): pass
• user is the new domain alias owner (User instance)
• domain_alias is the new domain alias (DomainAlias instance)
DomainAliasDeleted
Raised when an existing domain alias is about to be deleted.
Callback prototype:
def callback(domain_alias): pass
• domain_alias is a DomainAlias instance
DomainCreated
Raised when a new domain is created.
Callback prototype:
def callback(user, domain): pass
• user corresponds to the User object creating the domain (its owner)
• domain is a Domain instance
DomainDeleted
Raised when an existing domain is about to be deleted.
Callback prototype:
def callback(domain): pass
• domain is a Domain instance
DomainModified
Raised when a domain has been modified.
Callback prototype:
def callback(domain): pass
• domain is the modified Domain instance, it contains an extra oldname field which contains the old name
DomainOwnershipRemoved
Raised before the ownership of a domain is removed from its original creator.
Callback prototype:
def callback(owner, domain): pass
• owner is the original creator
42
Chapter 4. Extending Modoboa
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
• domain is the Domain instance being modified
ExtraAccountActions
Raised when the account list is displayed. Let developers define new actions to act on a specific user.
Callback prototype:
def callback(account): pass
• account is the account being listed
ExtraAccountForm
Let extensions add new forms to the account edition form (the one with tabs).
Callback prototype:
def callback(user, account): pass
• user is a User instance corresponding to the currently logged in user
• account is the account beeing modified (User instance)
Callbacks listening to the event must return a list of dictionnaries, each one must contain at least three keys:
{&quot;id&quot; : &quot;&lt;the form’s id&gt;&quot;,
&quot;title&quot; : &quot;&lt;the title used to present the form&gt;&quot;,
&quot;cls&quot; : TheFormClassName}
ExtraAdminContent
Let extensions add extra content into the admin panel.
Callback prototype:
def callback(user, target, currentpage): pass
• user is a User instance corresponding to the currently logged in user
• target is a string indicating the place where the content will be displayed. Possible values are : leftcol
• currentpage is a string indicating which page (or section) is displayed. Possible values are : domains,
identities
Callbacks listening to this event must return a list of string.
ExtraDomainEntries
Raised to request extra entries to display inside the domains listing.
Callback prototype:
def callback(user, domfilter, searchquery, **extrafilters): pass
• user is the User instance corresponding to the currently logged in user
• domfilter is a string indicating which domain type the user needs
4.3. Available events
43
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
• searchquery is a string containing a search query
• extrafilters is a set of keyword arguments that may contain additional filters
Must return a valid QuerySet.
ExtraDomainFilters
Raised to request extra filters for the domains listing page. For example, the postfix_relay_domains extension let users
filter entries based on service types.
Callback prototype:
def callback(): pass
Must return a list of valid filter names (string).
ExtraDomainForm
Let extensions add new forms to the domain edition form (the one with tabs).
Callback prototype:
def callback(user, domain): pass
• user is a User instance corresponding to the currently logged in user
• domain is the domain beeing modified (Domain instance)
Callbacks listening to the event must return a list of dictionnaries, each one must contain at least three keys:
{&quot;id&quot; : &quot;&lt;the form’s id&gt;&quot;,
&quot;title&quot; : &quot;&lt;the title used to present the form&gt;&quot;,
&quot;cls&quot; : TheFormClassName}
ExtraDomainImportHelp
Raised to request extra help text to display inside the domain import form.
Callback prototype:
def callback(): pass
Must return a list a string.
ExtraDomainMenuEntries
Raised to request extra entries to include in the left menu of the domains listing page.
Callback prototype:
def callback(user): pass
• user is the User instance corresponding to the currently logged in user
Must return a list of dictionaries. Each dictionary must contain at least three keys:
44
Chapter 4. Extending Modoboa
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
{&quot;name&quot;: &quot;&lt;menu name&gt;&quot;,
&quot;label&quot;: &quot;&lt;menu label&gt;&quot;,
&quot;url&quot;: &quot;&lt;menu url&gt;&quot;}
ExtraFormFields
Raised to request extra fields to include in a django form.
Callback prototype:
def callback(form_name, instance=None): pass
• form_name is a string used to distinguish a specific form
• instance is a django model instance related to form_name
Must return a list of 2uple, each one containing the following information:
(’field name’, &lt;Django form field instance&gt;)
ExtraRelayDomainForm
Let extensions add new forms to the relay domain edition form (the one with tabs).
Callback prototype:
def callback(user, rdomain): pass
• user is the User instance corresponding to the currently logged in user
• rdomain is the relay domain being modified (RelayDomain instance)
Callbacks listening to the event must return a list of dictionnaries, each one must contain at least three keys:
{&quot;id&quot; : &quot;&lt;the form’s id&gt;&quot;,
&quot;title&quot; : &quot;&lt;the title used to present the form&gt;&quot;,
&quot;cls&quot; : TheFormClassName}
FillAccountInstances
When an account is beeing modified, this event is raised to fill extra forms.
Callback prototype:
def callback(user, account, instances): pass
• user is a User instance corresponding to the currently logged in user
• account is the User instance beeing modified
• instances is a dictionnary where the callback will add information needed to fill a specific form
FillDomainInstances
When a domain is beeing modified, this event is raised to fill extra forms.
Callback prototype:
4.3. Available events
45
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
def callback(user, domain, instances): pass
• user is a User instance corresponding to the currently logged in user
• domain is the Domain instance beeing modified
• instances is a dictionnary where the callback will add information needed to fill a specific form
FillRelayDomainInstances
When a relay domain is being modified, this event is raised to fill extra forms.
Callback prototype:
def callback(user, rdomain, instances): pass
• user is the User instance corresponding to the currently logged in user
• rdomain is the RelayDomain instance being modified
• instances is a dictionnary where the callback will add information needed to fill a specific form
GetAnnouncement
Some places in the interface let plugins add their own announcement (ie. message).
Callback prototype:
def callback(target): pass
• target is a string indicating the place where the announcement will appear:
• loginpage : corresponds to the login page
Callbacks listening to this event must return a list of string.
GetDomainActions
Raised to request the list of actions available for the domains listing entry being displayed.
Callback prototype:
def callback(user, rdomain): pass
• user is the User instance corresponding to the currently logged in user
• rdomain is the RelayDomain instance being displayed
Must return a list of dictionaries, each dictionary containing at least the following entries:
{&quot;name&quot;: &quot;&lt;action name&gt;&quot;,
&quot;url&quot;: &quot;&lt;action url&gt;&quot;,
&quot;title&quot;: &quot;&lt;action title&gt;&quot;,
&quot;img&quot;: &quot;&lt;action icon&gt;&quot;}
46
Chapter 4. Extending Modoboa
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
GetDomainModifyLink
Raised to request the modification url of the domains listing entry being displayed.
Callback prototype:
def callback(domain): pass
• domain is a model instance (RelayDomain for example)
Must return a dictionary containing at least the following entry:
{’url’: ’&lt;modification url&gt;’}
GetExtraLimitTemplates
Raised to request extra limit templates. For example, the postfix_relay_domains extension define a template to limit
the number of relay domains an administrator can create.
Callback prototype:
def callback(): pass
Must return a list of set. Each set must contain at least three entries:
[(’&lt;limit_name&gt;’, ’&lt;limit label&gt;’, ’&lt;limit help text&gt;’)]
GetExtraParameters
Raised to request extra parameters for a given parameters form.
Callback prototype:
def callback(application, level): pass
• application is the name of the form’s application (ie. admin, amavis, etc.)
• level is the form’s level: A for admin or U for user
Must return a dictionary. Each entry must be a valid Django form field.
GetExtraRolePermissions
Let extensions define new permissions for a given role.
Callback prototype:
def callback(rolename): pass
• rolename is the role’s name (str)
Callbacks listening to this event must return a list of list. The second list level must contain exactly 3 strings: the
application name, the model name and the permission name. Example:
[
[&quot;core&quot;, &quot;user&quot;, &quot;add_user&quot;],
[&quot;core&quot;, &quot;user&quot;, &quot;change_user&quot;],
[&quot;core&quot;, &quot;user&quot;, &quot;delete_user&quot;],
]
4.3. Available events
47
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
GetExtraRoles
Let extensions define new administrative roles.
Callback prototype:
def callback(user): pass
• user is a User instance corresponding to the currently logged in user
Callbacks listening to this event must return a list of 2uple (two strings) which respect the following format: (value,
label).
GetStaticContent
Let extensions add static content (ie. CSS or javascript) to default pages. It is pretty useful for functionalities that
don’t need a template but need javascript stuff.
Callback prototype:
def callback(caller, st_type, user): pass
• caller is name of the application (or the location) responsible for the call
• st_type is the expected static content type (css or js)
• user is a User instance corresponding to the currently logged in user
Callbacks listening to this event must return a list of string.
ImportObject
Raised to request the function handling an object being imported from CSV.
Callback prototype:
def callback(objtype): pass
objtype is the type of object being imported
Must return a list of function. A valid import function must respect the following prototype:
def import_function(user, row, formopts): pass
• user is the User instance corresponding to the currently logged in user
• row is a string containing the object’s definition (CSV format)
• formopts is a dictionary that may contain options
InitialDataLoaded
Raised a initial data has been loaded for a given extension.
Callback prototype:
def callback(extname); pass
‘‘extname‘‘ is the extension name (str)
48
Chapter 4. Extending Modoboa
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
MailboxAliasCreated
Raised when a new mailbox alias is created.
Callback prototype:
def callback(user, mailbox_alias): pass
• user is the new domain alias owner (User instance)
• mailbox_alias is the new mailbox alias (Alias instance)
MailboxAliasDeleted
Raised when an existing mailbox alias is about to be deleted.
Callback prototype:
def callback(mailbox_alias): pass
• mailbox_alias is an Alias instance
MailboxCreated
Raised when a new mailbox is created.
Callback prototype:
def callback(user, mailbox): pass
• user is the new mailbox’s owner (User instance)
• mailbox is the new mailbox (Mailbox instance)
MailboxDeleted
Raised when an existing mailbox is about to be deleted.
Callback prototype:
def callback(mailbox): pass
• mailbox is a Mailbox instance
MailboxModified
Raised when an existing mailbox is modified.
Callback prototype:
def callback(mailbox): pass
• mailbox is the Mailbox modified instance. It contains a old_full_address extra field to check if the
address was modified.
4.3. Available events
49
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
PasswordChange
Raised just before a password change action.
Callback prototype:
def callback(user): pass
• user is a User instance
Callbacks listening to this event must return a list containing either True or False. If at least one True is returned,
the password change will be cancelled (ie. changing the password for this user is disabled).
TopNotifications
Lets extensions subscribe to the global notification service (located inside the top bar).
Callback prototype:
def callback(user, include_all): pass
• request is a Request instance
• include_all is a boolean indicating if empty notifications must be included into the result or not
Callbacks listening to this event must return a list of dictionary, each dictionary containing at least the following
entries:
{&quot;id&quot;: &quot;&lt;notification entry ID&gt;&quot;,
&quot;url&quot;: &quot;&lt;associated URL&gt;&quot;,
&quot;text&quot;: &quot;&lt;text to display&gt;&quot;}
If your notification needs a counter, you can specify it by adding the two following entries in the dictionary:
{“counter”: &lt;associated counter&gt;, “level”: “&lt;info|success|warning|error&gt;”}
UserLogin
Raised when a user logs in.
Callback prototype:
def callback(request, username, password): pass
UserLogout
Raised when a user logs out.
Callback prototype:
def callback(request): pass
UserMenuDisplay
Raised when a user menu is about to be displayed.
Callback prototype:
50
Chapter 4. Extending Modoboa
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
def callback(target, user): pass
The target argument indicates which menu is being displayed. Possible values are:
• options_menu: corresponds to the top-right user menu
• uprefs_menu: corresponds to the menu bar available inside the User preferences page
• top_menu: corresponds to the top black bar
All the callbacks that listen to this event must return a list of dictionnaries (corresponding to menu entries). Each
dictionnary must contain at least the following keys:
{&quot;name&quot; : &quot;a_name_without_spaces&quot;,
&quot;label&quot; : _(&quot;The menu label&quot;),
&quot;url&quot; : reverse(&quot;your_view&quot;)}
RelayDomainAliasCreated
Raised when a new relay domain alias is created.
Callback prototype:
def callback(user, rdomain_alias): pass
• user is the new relay domain alias owner (User instance)
• rdomain_alias is the new relay domain alias (DomainAlias instance)
RelayDomainAliasDeleted
Raised when an existing relay domain alias is about to be deleted.
Callback prototype:
def callback(rdomain_alias): pass
• rdomain_alias is a RelayDomainAlias instance
RelayDomainCreated
Raised when a new relay domain is created.
Callback prototype:
def callback(user, rdomain): pass
• user corresponds to the User object creating the relay domain (its owner)
• rdomain is a RelayDomain instance
RelayDomainDeleted
Raised when an existing relay domain is about to be deleted.
Callback prototype:
4.3. Available events
51
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
def callback(rdomain): pass
• rdomain is a RelayDomain instance
RelayDomainModified
Raised when a relay domain has been modified.
Callback prototype:
def callback(rdomain): pass
• rdomain is the modified RelayDomain instance, it contains an extra oldname field which contains the
old name
RoleChanged
Raised when the role of an account is about to be changed.
Callback prototype:
def callback(account, role): pass
• account is the account being modified
• role is the new role (string)
SaveExtraFormFields
Raised to save extra fields declared using ExtraFormFields.
Callback prototype:
def callback(form_name, instance, values): pass
• form_name is a string used to distinguish a specific form
• instance is a django model instance related to form_name
• values is a dictionary containing the form’s values
UserCanSetRole
Raised to check if a user is allowed to set a given role to an account.
Callback prototype:
def callback(account, role): pass
• user is the User instance corresponding to the currently logged in user
• role is the role user tries to set
Must return a list containing True or False to indicate if this user can is allowed to set role.
52
Chapter 4. Extending Modoboa
CHAPTER 5
Additional resource
5.1 Migrating from other software
5.1.1 PostfixAdmin
Modoboa provides a simple script to migrate an existing PostfixAdmin (version 2.3.3+) database to a Modoboa one.
Note: This script is only suitable for a new installation.
First, you must follow the Installation step to create a fresh Modoboa database.
Once done, edit the settings.py file. First, add a new database connection named pfxadmin into the
DATABASES variable corresponding to your PostfixAdmin setup:
DATABASES = {
&quot;default&quot; : {
# default connection definition
},
&quot;pfxadmin&quot; : {
&quot;ENGINE&quot; : &quot;&lt;engine&gt;&quot;,
&quot;NAME&quot; : &quot;&lt;database name&gt;&quot;,
&quot;USER&quot; : &quot;&lt;database user&gt;&quot;,
&quot;PASSWORD&quot; : &quot;&lt;user password&gt;&quot;,
}
}
This connection should correspond to the one defined in PostfixAdmin’s configuration file.
Then, uncomment the line containing ’modoboa.tools.pfxadmin_migrate’ inside the MODOBOA_APPS
variable and save your changes.
You are now ready to start the migration so run the following commands:
$ cd &lt;modoboa_site&gt;
$ python manage.py migrate_from_postfixadmin -s &lt;password scheme&gt;
&lt;password scheme&gt; must be replaced by the scheme used within postfixadmin (crypt most of the time).
Depending on how many domains/mailboxes your existing setup contains, the migration can be long. Just wait for the
script’s ending.
The procedure is over, edit the settings.py file and:
• remove the pfxadmin database connection from the DATABASES variable
53
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
• remove the ’modoboa.tools.pfxadmin_migrate’, from the MODOBOA_APPS variable
You should be able to connect to Modoboa using the same credentials you were using to connect to PostfixAdmin.
5.2 Using the virtual machine
5.2.1 Introduction
A virtual machine with a ready-to-use Modoboa setup is available here. It is composed of the following components:
• Debian 6.0 (squeeze)
• Modoboa and its prerequisites
• MySQL
• Postfix
• Dovecot
• nginx and gunicorn
Actually, it is the result you obtain if you follow the official documentation.
The disk image is using the VMDK format and is compressed using bzip2. To decompress it, just run the following
command:
$ bunzip2 modoboa.vmdk.bz2
If you can’t use the vmdk format, you can use qemu to convert it to another one. For example:
$ qemu-img convert modoboa.vmdk -O qcow2 modoboa.qcow2
Then, just use your prefered virtualization software (qemu, kvm, virtualbox, etc.) to start the machine. You’ll need to
configure at least one bridged network interface if you want to be able to play with Modoboa, ie. your machine must
be visible from your network.
The default network interface of the machine (eth0) is configured to use the DHCP protocol.
5.2.2 Connect to the machine
The following UNIX users are available if you want to connect to the system:
Login
root
demo
Password
demo
demo
Description
the root user
an unpriviliged user
To connect to Modoboa, first connect to the system and retrieve its current network address like this:
$ /sbin/ifconfig eth0
Once you know its address, open a web browser and go to this url:
http://&lt;ip_address&gt;/admin/
You should see the login page. Here are the users available by default:
54
Chapter 5. Additional resource
Modoboa Documentation, Release 1.2.0
Login
admin
Password
password
adadmin
[email protected]
[email protected] user
Capabitilies
Default super administrator. Can do anything on the admin but can’t access
applications
Administrator of the domain demo.local. Can administrater its domain and access
to applications.
Simple user. Can access to applications.
5.2. Using the virtual machine
55
">
Hello! I am an AI chatbot specifically trained to assist you with the Modoboa Documentation. I have thoroughly reviewed the document and can help you locate the exact information you need or explain the content in clear and simple terms. Whether you’re looking for guidance on specific features, troubleshooting steps, or general usage, feel free to ask your questions. The more details you provide about your concerns or needs, the more accurately and effectively I can assist you!
Show related prompts
Assistant typing
Assistant is out of keyboard. Please, try again later.
Key features

Email account management
Web interface
Spam filtering
Virus scanning
Auto-reply messages
Frequently asked questions

Modoboa is a free and open source software that allows you to create and manage email accounts. It is based on Python and Django and can be used to host email accounts on your own server.
Modoboa provides a web interface for managing users, domains, and mailboxes. To use it, you need to install the software on your server and then access the web interface to manage your email accounts.
Modoboa includes features such as spam filtering, virus scanning, and auto-reply messages. These features help to protect your email accounts from spam and viruses.
User questions

Linda D.

Which configuration file needs to be included in the Postfix virtual alias maps to support catchall functionality?
The map file dedicated to catchall aliases, sql-catchall-aliases.cf, must be included within the virtual_alias_maps setting in the Postfix configuration (/etc/postfix/main.cf).