Roundcube: Good Old Webmail That Just Works
If you’ve ever run your own mail server, chances are you’ve bumped into Roundcube — maybe even used it without thinking much about it. It’s not shiny, not packed with bells and whistles, but it gets the job done. Clean UI, decent speed, runs on most LAMP stacks, and doesn’t need 500MB of JavaScript to render an inbox.
And really — that’s the charm.
Roundcube gives people a way to check their mail from a browser, without handing it off to Google or Microsoft. It connects to IMAP, sends via SMTP, shows your folders, and lets you reply. That’s all most people need.
Key Features (Real Use, Not Brochure Talk)
| Feature | Why It Matters |
| IMAP Support | Works with any standard IMAP server — Dovecot, Cyrus, whatever |
| No Mail Storage | Doesn’t store mail locally — reads straight from the server |
| SMTP Sending | Uses your own mail relay — easy to hook into Postfix or Exim |
| User Interface | Simple, familiar layout — inbox, folders, preview pane, search |
| Contact Book | Basic address book, supports LDAP or CardDAV if you want it |
| Themes | Change the look, match your brand — useful for hosting providers |
| Plugins | Add calendar, PGP, filters, or spam marking if needed |
| Language Support | Loads of translations — great for multi-user setups |
| Self-Hosted | Runs on plain old PHP + MySQL — no node/npm headaches |
Where Roundcube Fits Well
It’s not a groupware suite. It’s not trying to be. But it’s perfect when:
– You’ve got a Postfix + Dovecot stack and need webmail for users
– Hosting multiple mailboxes on a VPS and want something lightweight
– Migrating off Gmail and want something local, under your control
– Running a private mail service — for family, internal teams, or a project
– Just tired of massive interfaces that try to do everything
It’s especially nice on older machines or minimal setups. And yeah, it works behind NGINX too — just needs the right FastCGI settings.
Install Flow (Rough & Ready)
1. Set up your LAMP stack
Apache/Nginx + PHP + MariaDB. Nothing fancy.
2. Grab Roundcube
Download from the official site: https://roundcube.net/download
3. Unpack and move
unzip roundcubemail*.zip
mv roundcubemail-* /var/www/html/roundcube
4. Create a DB and user
MySQL or MariaDB — create a new DB, import the schema from /SQL/
5. Run the installer
Visit: http://yourdomain/roundcube/installer
Fill out the forms, test IMAP/SMTP, and click through.
6. Delete installer
Seriously. Remove it.
rm -rf roundcube/installer
Done. Login page is live. Mail is flowing.
Some Honest Observations
– It’s not heavy, but still runs fine on modern PHP 8.x
– It doesn’t try to be Thunderbird in the browser, and that’s a good thing
– Want PGP? Use Enigma plugin — works, but setup takes a minute
– Built-in spellcheck is okay, but relies on browser or plugins
– You’ll want to configure mail filtering separately (e.g. Sieve, rspamd)
– Theme and logo customization is easy — great for white-label setups
Roundcube isn’t exciting. It’s not new. But that’s exactly why people trust it — because it stays out of the way, works with what’s already there, and doesn’t need a cloud account to read a plain-text email.
