Quickstart — Documentation

1

Install MXGuard

Run the installer on an Ubuntu/Debian server with Docker support - it deploys qmail, nginx, MySQL, Redis, and the admin panel automatically. No internet access? Use the offline package instead, or have our engineers install it for you.

curl -fsSL mxguard.net/gate/install.sh | sudo bash

Installation options →

2

Open the admin panel

Once the install finishes, open http://<server-ip> in a browser and finish the setup wizard. Under Domains → Add domain, enter the address of your real mail server — clean mail will be delivered there.

The target server address is the hostname of your Exchange, Postfix, Dovecot, or cloud provider (for example, mail.company.com or company-com.mail.protection.outlook.com).

3

Point your domain's MX record at MXGuard

In your domain's DNS zone, replace the current MX record(s) so mail is delivered to your MXGuard server instead of directly to your mail server:

MXyour-mxguard-server.example.com

The change takes effect within 1–24 hours depending on TTL. While DNS propagates, mail will keep arriving via the old path.

4

Restrict inbound SMTP on your mail server

Configure your real mail server's firewall to accept inbound SMTP (port 25) only from your MXGuard server's IP address — this way spammers can't bypass the filter by connecting directly.

✓

Done

MXGuard is now accepting mail for your domain. Check the Quarantine section — held messages will already be showing up there. The Statistics section shows traffic in real time.

→ Set up SPF and DMARC → Working with quarantine → Create processing rules