wildduck
Scalable, horizontally distributed IMAP/POP3 mail server with no single point of failure
Overview
WildDuck is a scalable, SPOF-free IMAP and POP3 mail server built on Node.js, MongoDB, and Redis. It is designed to run as a distributed cluster where multiple server nodes share state through MongoDB, allowing horizontal scaling and high availability. The project includes an HTTP API for account management and integrates with Haraka or Nodemailer for SMTP handling.
Where it falls short of Gmail / Google Workspace
- No built-in web admin UI; management is done through a JSON HTTP API only
- SMTP is a separate component (Haraka/ZoneMTA) requiring additional setup
- MongoDB dependency adds operational overhead compared to simpler SQL-backed servers
- Documentation assumes strong Node.js and MongoDB expertise
We list the gaps honestly so you can decide if the trade-off is worth owning your data.
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