Ask HN: How to send dkim/spf compliant email from Debian?

I don't need to create a full blown email implementation.

I don't need to receive emails from anybody.

I just want to be able to to send emails from no-reply@mydomain.com for password resets, email address verifications, things like that.

And I would like to at least make an attempt to have the emails I send pass through a basic spam filter. So I assume at the very least I need to setup DKIM and SPF records.

Is it as simple as following https://wiki.debian.org/Postfix and https://wiki.debian.org/opendkim ?

(That is the route I am taking right now, will report back here what I find out in a few hours!)

6 comments

[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 26.7 ms ] thread

pbourke 4y ago ↗

I’m a big fan of hosting stuff myself, but I will nope out of email at the first chance I get. I would just use AWS Simple Email Service, Mailgun, Sendgrid, etc.

monkeydata 4y ago ↗

amavis

All email is perl.

johnnyApplePRNG 4y ago ↗

Andddddddd I want to rip my fucking hair out by the root!

Going to try again tomorrow :S

high_byte 4y ago ↗

you would need to setup dns records either way.

I used dkimpy, pretty simple: https://russell.ballestrini.net/quickstart-to-dkim-sign-emai...

hardwaresofton 4y ago ↗

Use https://maddy.email, it's fantastic and will spit out DKIM for you. The rest (DMARC, SPF) you'll have to set up yourself but it's mostly setting up DNS records.

Is there a reason why you're not choosing an email provider? there are very cheap ones out there. What you're trying to do is normally called "transactional" email normally and there are a lot of providers who specialize in that.

toast0 4y ago ↗

SPF is relatively easy (as long as you've got a static IP). DKIM isn't terrible, but it is frustrating. IIRC, you need to setup a milter in postfix and give that a key that you also need to put into DNS. After that, test it a bunch.

Then be sure to set a DMARC DNS record that advises recipients to require DKIM. Downside is your mail will bounce when you mess up DKIM, upside is you'll get somewhat clear feedback.