Vladyslav Lysechko
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Claude Code guideReel keyword: MAIL

Your own email server with Postal, set up with Claude Code

Most email tools charge per contact or per email. With Postal, an open source mail server, you pay for the server instead. This guide shows how I set it up on my own VPS with Claude Code, without touching my other projects, and what is still left to do.

Part 1 open with your account Full program 7 modules Time About 3 hours for part 1, plus waiting for DNS
Open part 1 See the full program

By Updated

What you get

  • Postal on your VPS in Docker, isolated from your other projects
  • TLS for the admin panel and for SMTP, renewed automatically
  • An IPv4 pool, so mail does not leave from an IPv6 address without a proper reverse name
  • The exact list of DNS records and the reverse DNS you still need
  • The setup prompt from the video plus the rules that keep other projects safe

You need

  • A Linux VPS where you can set reverse DNS for the IP and outbound port 25 is open
  • A domain where you can add DNS records
  • Basic comfort with SSH and Docker
  • Claude Code on your computer with SSH access to the server

Why your own email server

  • No price per contact. You pay for the server. The list can grow without the bill growing with it.
  • Your data stays yours. The list, the logs and every bounce are on your own server.
  • As many domains as you need. Many mail servers and domains from one panel.
  • Every message is logged. Delivered, opened, bounced: you see all of it.
  • Plug it into anything. Your website, CRM or booking system, over plain SMTP or an HTTP API.

What Postal is

Postal is an open source mail delivery platform for sending and receiving email from websites and apps. It runs in Docker on a Linux server. I run it on my own VPS next to other projects, and Claude Code set it up without touching any of them.

The hard part is deliverability

Sending is the easy part. Arriving in the inbox is the work: DNS records for SPF, DKIM and the return path, a reverse DNS name for the server's IP address, and a new IP that has to be warmed up slowly. Google's sender guidelines require every sender to have valid forward and reverse DNS and SPF or DKIM.

That is where Claude did the heavy lifting on my server: TLS, the DKIM key and a dedicated IPv4 pool. And it wrote down exactly which steps are still left.

Honest status. My Postal server runs, the admin panel answers over TLS, it has its own IPv4 pool and a DKIM key. The DNS records for sending through it are not published yet, so my business email still goes through Google Workspace. This guide shows the setup and the steps that remain. It does not show delivery numbers, because I do not have them yet.

One rule: only email people who asked

In Norway, marketing email to private persons needs their consent in advance (section 15 of the Marketing Control Act). Your own server changes what you pay, not who you may write to.

Part 1 · Open with your account

Postal on your own server, step by step

What part 1 covers

  1. Write down what belongs to the project
  2. The setup prompt
  3. TLS for the panel and for SMTP
  4. Send over IPv4 when your IPv6 has no proper reverse name
  5. What is left: DNS and reverse DNS

Create your account to open part 1

Enter your email and click the activation link we send you. Part 1 opens right away, at no cost.

Full program · Paid

Own email server, full program

Part 1 gives you a working first version. The full program takes it all the way to a setup you can run every day.

  1. DNS step by stepSPF, DKIM, DMARC, return path and tracking domain, with a check for each record.
  2. Reverse DNS and reputationSetting the PTR record at your host and reading blocklists before you send.
  3. Warming up a new IPStarting small and growing volume slowly, so the first campaigns do not land in spam.
  4. Connect your systemsYour website, CRM or booking system over SMTP or the HTTP API.
  5. Bounces and unsubscribesWebhooks, suppression lists and an unsubscribe header in every marketing email.
  6. Backups and updatesThe database, the config and safe Postal upgrades.
  7. Consent and recordsHow to collect and store consent for marketing email to people in Norway.
PriceThe price is shown here before payment opens.
Get the full program

All eleven programs in one bundle · Terms of sale

Sources

  1. Postal documentationdocs.postalserver.io/
  2. Email sender guidelines, Google Workspace Admin Helpsupport.google.com/a/answer/81126
  3. Marketing Control Act, section 15 (markedsføringsloven § 15), Lovdatalovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/2009-01-09-2

Questions and answers

Is it cheaper than an email service?

You pay for the server instead of per contact or per email. Whether that is cheaper depends on your volume and on the time you spend on deliverability. For small volumes a paid service can be the better deal.

Can I move my normal mailbox to Postal?

Postal sends and receives email for websites and apps. It does not give you an inbox to read mail in, like Gmail or Outlook. That is why my business mailbox stays in Google Workspace while Postal is for sending from systems.

Why does port 25 matter?

Mail servers deliver to each other on port 25. Some VPS providers block outgoing port 25 until you ask them to open it, so check this before you start, or you can install everything and still not send a single email.

Can I send marketing email to anyone once I have my own server?

No. In Norway, marketing email to private persons needs their consent in advance, under section 15 of the Marketing Control Act. An own server changes the price, not the rules. Keep a record of when and how each person said yes.

Vladyslav Lysechko
Vladyslav Lysechko, Performance marketer, Lysechko Digital, Rånåsfoss, Nes, Norway

I have worked with ads on Google, Meta and TikTok for more than seven years and personally managed ad budgets from $1,000 a day up to $50,000 a month. For the last two years I have built websites, automations and AI assistants with AI every day. I help local businesses in Oslo and on Romerike get more calls and bookings. LinkedIn

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