How to Set Up Email on Server (Postfix)

Prerequisites

Before setting up Postfix, make sure you have:

• SSH access to your VPS
• Root or sudo privileges
• A registered domain (for full email hosting)

Step 1: Install Postfix

Connect to your VPS:

ssh hxroot@YOUR_SERVER_IP -p 22

sudo apt update
sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt install -y postfix mailutils

When prompted, select:

• Internet Site
• System mail name: your domain or server hostname

Step 2: Configure Postfix for Send-Only (No Incoming)

sudo nano /etc/postfix/main.cf

Ensure these settings:

inet_interfaces = localhost
inet_protocols = ipv4
mydestination = $myhostname, localhost.$mydomain, localhost
relayhost =

Restart Postfix:

sudo systemctl restart postfix

Step 3: Test Email Sending

echo "Test email" | mail -s "Postfix Test" your-email@example.com

Step 4: Configure to Use External SMTP Relay (Optional)

To avoid spam filters, relay through a service like SendGrid, AWS SES, or Mailgun.

sudo nano /etc/postfix/main.cf

Add:

relayhost = [smtp.sendgrid.net]:587
smtp_sasl_auth_enable = yes
smtp_sasl_password_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/sasl_passwd
smtp_sasl_security_options = noanonymous
smtp_tls_security_level = encrypt

Create credentials file:

echo "[smtp.sendgrid.net]:587 apikey:YOUR_API_KEY" | sudo tee /etc/postfix/sasl_passwd
sudo chmod 600 /etc/postfix/sasl_passwd
sudo postmap /etc/postfix/sasl_passwd

Restart Postfix:

sudo systemctl restart postfix

Step 5: Set Up Email Forwarding for Root

sudo nano /etc/aliases

Add line:

root: your-email@example.com

Apply:

sudo newaliases

Step 6: Check Mail Log

sudo tail -f /var/log/mail.log