How to Deploy Mailman Suite on Debian VPS for Automated Mailing List Management

This article provides a detailed step-by-step guide demonstrating how to deploy Mailman Suite on Debian VPS for automated mailing list management. Mailman Suite includes Mailman Core, Postorius (web UI), HyperKitty (archiver), and the Mailman Web UI integration.

What is Mailman Suite?

Mailman Suite is the full-featured version of GNU Mailman, an open-source software package for managing electronic mail discussion and e-newsletter lists.

Core Components of Mailman Suite:

1. Mailman Core
   The backend engine that handles:
   • Subscription management
   • Message delivery
   • Archiving
   • Moderation
   • Bounce processing
2. Postorius
   A modern web-based user interface for list administrators and moderators to manage lists via a browser.
3. HyperKitty
   A web-based archiver that displays mailing list archives in a user-friendly, searchable format.
4. Mailman Client
   A Python library used to interact programmatically with Mailman Core’s REST API.

What It’s For:

Mailman Suite is used to run mailing lists, especially for:

• Online communities
• Academic or research groups
• Non-profits and open-source projects
• Internal team communications

It supports features like:

• Moderation and privacy controls
• Role-based permissions
• Archiving and searching list discussions
• REST API for integration

Why Use Mailman Suite (Instead of Mailman 2.x):

• Mailman Suite is Mailman 3.x – a modernized, modular, and web-enabled redesign.
• It replaces the aging Mailman 2.x, which lacked a proper web UI and had monolithic architecture.

In short: Mailman Suite = modern mailing list management with full web UI and API support.

✅ System Requirements

• Debian 11 or Debian 12 VPS (fresh installation)
• Python 3.9+
• PostgreSQL or MySQL/MariaDB
• Mail transfer agent (Exim, Postfix, etc.)
• Root or sudo access
• Fully-qualified Domain Name
• Access to edit DNS zone records

How to Deploy Mailman Suite on Debian VPS for Automated Mailing List Management

To deploy Mailman Suite on Debian VPS for automated mailing list management, simply follow the steps below:

1. 📦 Update System and Install Dependencies

   Login as root via SSH and run the following commands to bring your freshly installed Debian VPS up-to-date:

   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y sudo apt install python3 python3-venv python3-pip git build-essential \ libffi-dev libssl-dev libxml2-dev libxslt1-dev \ zlib1g-dev libjpeg-dev libpq-dev \ postgresql postgresql-contrib \ nginx supervisor curl

2. 🐍 Create a Mailman User and Directory

   sudo adduser --disabled-password --gecos "" mailman sudo mkdir -p /opt/mailman sudo chown mailman:mailman /opt/mailman

3. 📥 Install Mailman Suite via Mailman-Bundler

   Switch to the mailman user:

   sudo -i -u mailman cd /opt/mailman git clone https://gitlab.com/mailman/mailman-bundler.git cd mailman-bundler python3 -m venv venv source venv/bin/activate pip install -U pip setuptools pip install -r requirements.txt

   Build Mailman Suite:

   ./bin/mailman-bundler install

4. 🛠️ Configure Database (PostgreSQL)

   Back as root:

   sudo -u postgres psql

   Inside psql shell:

   CREATE USER mailman WITH PASSWORD 'your_strong_password'; CREATE DATABASE mailmandb OWNER mailman; \q

   Back as mailman user, edit the config:

   nano /opt/mailman/mailman-bundler/mailman-suite-production.py

   Add:

   DATABASES = { 'default': { 'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql_psycopg2', 'NAME': 'mailmandb', 'USER': 'mailman', 'PASSWORD': 'your_strong_password', 'HOST': 'localhost', 'PORT': '', } }

5. 🔧 Configure Mailman Core

   nano /opt/mailman/var/etc/mailman.cfg

   Set values like:

   [database] class: mailman.database.postgresql.PostgreSQLDatabase url: postgres://mailman:your_strong_password@localhost/mailmandb [webservice] hostname: 127.0.0.1 port: 8001

6. 🌐 Configure Postorius and HyperKitty

   Still as mailman user:

   cd /opt/mailman/mailman-bundler source venv/bin/activate python manage.py migrate python manage.py createsuperuser python manage.py collectstatic

7. 👁️ Configure uWSGI and Supervisor

   Create Supervisor config /etc/supervisor/conf.d/mailman.conf:

   [program:mailman-core] command=/opt/mailman/mailman-bundler/venv/bin/mailman start --foreground directory=/opt/mailman user=mailman autostart=true autorestart=true [program:mailman-web] command=/opt/mailman/mailman-bundler/venv/bin/uwsgi --http :8000 --module mailman_web.wsgi directory=/opt/mailman/mailman-bundler user=mailman autostart=true autorestart=true

   Then reload and start services:

   sudo supervisorctl reread sudo supervisorctl update

8. 🌍 Configure Nginx Reverse Proxy

   sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/mailman

   Example config:

   server { listen 80; server_name mail.example.com; location / { proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000; proxy_set_header Host $host; proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for; } }

   Enable and reload:

   sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/mailman /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/ sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx

9. 📬 Configure Your MTA (e.g., Postfix)

   Ensure mailman.cfg has smtp settings for localhost, then configure Postfix to pipe list mail to Mailman.

   Example /etc/postfix/main.cf additions:

   alias_maps = hash:/etc/aliases alias_database = hash:/etc/aliases

   Create /etc/aliases entries for lists (later).

10. 🧪 Test Setup

    • Visit http://mail.example.com to access the Mailman UI
    • Log in with the superuser created earlier
    • Create a new list and test mail flow
    • Run this to verify Mailman:

    sudo -u mailman /opt/mailman/mailman-bundler/venv/bin/mailman info
    

11. 🔒 Enable HTTPS

    Use Let’s Encrypt:

    sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx sudo certbot --nginx -d mail.example.com

📌 Notes

• Replace mail.example.com with your domain
• Secure PostgreSQL (e.g., pg_hba.conf changes)
• Use fail2ban and firewall for hardening

Here’s how to set up email piping for Mailman 3 and configure the necessary DNS records to ensure proper mail delivery and list functionality.

📬 PART 1: Email Piping Configuration (Postfix + Mailman 3)

1. Enable LMTP in mailman.cfg

   Mailman 3 communicates with the MTA via LMTP.

   Edit /opt/mailman/var/etc/mailman.cfg:

   [runner.lmtp] type: LMTP socket_path: /opt/mailman/var/lmtp.sock

   Ensure Mailman is restarted to apply this:

   sudo supervisorctl restart mailman-core

2. Configure Postfix to Use LMTP Socket

   Edit /etc/postfix/main.cf and add:

   transport_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/transport local_recipient_maps =

   Then create /etc/postfix/transport:

   lists.example.com mailman:

   Replace lists.example.com with your list domain.

   Generate the transport DB:

   sudo postmap /etc/postfix/transport

3. Add Mailman Transport to master.cf

   Edit /etc/postfix/master.cf and append:

   mailman unix - n n - - lmtp -o lmtp_destination_recipient_limit=1 -o lmtp_sasl_auth_enable=no -o lmtp_tls_security_level=none -o lmtp_lhlo_name=localhost -o lmtp_connect_timeout=30s -o lmtp_cache_connection=no -o lmtp_bind_address=127.0.0.1 -o lmtp_host_lookup=no -o lmtp_destination_concurrency_limit=1 -o lmtp_destination_recipient_limit=1 -o lmtp_lmtp_socket=/opt/mailman/var/lmtp.sock

   Restart Postfix:

   sudo systemctl restart postfix

4. Create Aliases (Optional, if not using LMTP + transport)

   If using traditional alias piping (instead of LMTP), add to /etc/aliases:

   testlist: "|/opt/mailman/mailman-bundler/venv/bin/mailman inject testlist@example.com"

   Then:

   sudo newaliases

   But LMTP + transport maps is preferred for Mailman 3.

🌐 PART 2: DNS Configuration for Mailman Lists

To send and receive mail reliably, update DNS as follows:

1. MX Record

   lists.example.com. IN MX 10 mail.lists.example.com.

   Point to your mail server (could be the same VPS or external).

2. SPF Record (TXT)

   lists.example.com. IN TXT "v=spf1 ip4:123.123.123.123 ~all"

   Replace 123.123.123.123 with your VPS IP. Include any other sending services (e.g., include:mailgun.org).

3. DKIM

   • Install OpenDKIM
   • Generate keys for mail._domainkey.lists.example.com
   • Add public key in DNS:

   mail._domainkey.lists.example.com. IN TXT "v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIGfMA0GCSq..."
   

4. DMARC Record (Optional but Recommended)

   _dmarc.lists.example.com. IN TXT "v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@lists.example.com"

5. A and AAAA Records

   lists.example.com. IN A 123.123.123.123 lists.example.com. IN AAAA 2606:abcd:1234::1 (if available)

6. PTR Record (Reverse DNS)

   Follow this guide to update PTR/rDNS for VPS hosted with Rad Web Hosting: How to Update rDNS For Cloud VPS and Dedicated Servers

   123.123.123.123 => lists.example.com

✅ Final Testing

• Test receiving list emails: send to listname@lists.example.com
• Check logs:
• /var/log/mail.log (Postfix)
• /opt/mailman/var/logs/
• Use tools like MXToolbox to verify SPF, DKIM, DMARC

Conclusion

You now know how to deploy Mailman Suite on Debian VPS.