📧 Dovecot Local Setup & IMAP Testing

📌 Overview

This project demonstrates the setup and validation of a local Dovecot IMAP server on Ubuntu. It includes installation, configuration, authentication, and IMAP testing.

---

🧱 Installation

sudo apt update
sudo apt install dovecot-core dovecot-imapd

---

⚙️ Configuration

Edit the mail configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-mail.conf

Update:

mail_location = maildir:~/Maildir

---

📁 Maildir Setup

mkdir -p ~/Maildir/{cur,new,tmp}

Structure:

Maildir/
 ├── cur/   # Read messages
 ├── new/   # New messages
 └── tmp/   # Temporary storage

---

🔄 Restart Service

sudo systemctl restart dovecot

---

✅ Check Status

systemctl status dovecot

📸 Output:

---

🌐 Check Ports

sudo ss -tulpn | grep dovecot

Ports:

• 143 → IMAP
• 993 → IMAP SSL

---

🔐 Authentication Test

Credentials:

• Username: gebely
• Password: 5095

sudo doveadm auth test gebely 5095

📸 Output:

---

📡 IMAP Testing

openssl s_client -connect localhost:143 -starttls imap

Login:

a login gebely 5095

---

📬 IMAP Commands

b LIST "" "*"
c SELECT INBOX
d FETCH 1 BODY[]

📸 IMAP Session:

---

🧠 Architecture

Client → Dovecot → PAM → passwd → Maildir

---

⚙️ Configuration Summary

• Mail storage: Maildir
• Authentication: PAM
• User database: passwd
• Protocol: IMAP
• SSL enabled

---

🚨 Troubleshooting

1. Port already in use

sudo netstat -tulpn | grep 143

---

2. Network issue (VM)

• Enable VMware NAT
• Start VMware NAT Service

---

3. Authentication failure

• Check username/password
• Verify PAM configuration

---

🎯 Status

✅ Dovecot installed ✅ Maildir configured ✅ Authentication working ✅ IMAP tested successfully