Add Users: Get a message "File not found".

[Doni49]

I'm trying to get docker-mailserver up and running.

• After running docker compose up against the compose.yaml file, it acts like it's loading but keeps warning me that I need to create a user or it will stop. But the only way I can access the command line to create the user is to force it to stop.
• Having done that, when I run the "add user" code from the example provided on the website, I get an error message:
  /bin/bash: line 1: /mnt/docker/mailserver/config/postfix-accounts.cf: No such file or directory.
• The folder DOES exist, I even changed to that directory just to be sure. Then I CREATED the file (touch postfix-accounts.cf) with nothing in it and tried again with the same results.

While I was actively IN THAT DIRECTORY, I changed it to use ./postfix-accounts.cf instead of all the full path. That no longer threw the error but the file is still blank and when I try to start the container, I get the message about needing to create a user.

Here's my compose.yaml file:

services:
  mailserver:
    image: ghcr.io/docker-mailserver/docker-mailserver:latest
    container_name: mailserver
    # Provide the FQDN of your mail server here (Your DNS MX record should point to this value)
    hostname: mail.home.arpa
    env_file: mailserver.env
    # More information about the mail-server ports:
    # https://docker-mailserver.github.io/docker-mailserver/latest/config/security/understanding-the-p>
    ports:
      - "25:25"    # SMTP  (explicit TLS => STARTTLS, Authentication is DISABLED => use port 465/587 i>
      - "143:143"  # IMAP4 (explicit TLS => STARTTLS)
      - "465:465"  # ESMTP (implicit TLS)
      - "587:587"  # ESMTP (explicit TLS => STARTTLS)
      - "993:993"  # IMAP4 (implicit TLS)
    volumes:
      - /mnt/docker/mailserver/data/:/var/mail/
      - /mnt/docker/mailserver/state/:/var/mail-state/
      - /mnt/docker/mailserver/logs/:/var/log/mail/
      - /mnt/docker/mailserver/config/:/tmp/docker-mailserver/
      - /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
    restart: always
    stop_grace_period: 1m
    # Uncomment if using `ENABLE_FAIL2BAN=1`:
    # cap_add:
    #   - NET_ADMIN
    healthcheck:
      test: "ss --listening --tcp | grep -P 'LISTEN.+:smtp' || exit 1"
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 0

[glime-ai[bot]]

Please note that this response was created using generative AI, leveraging previously available information from the repository. This information may be helpful. However, it is our strong recommendation that you carefully consider the information before blindly applying it.

---

It seems like you are encountering a common issue where the Docker container does not have the correct permissions or cannot find the specified volume path for the postfix-accounts.cf file. Here are a few steps and checks to resolve this issue:

1. Permissions and Path Verification: Ensure that the Docker daemon has the necessary permissions to access and write to /mnt/docker/mailserver/config/. You can do this by setting the appropriate owner or permissions on the directory. For example:

   sudo chown -R 1000:1000 /mnt/docker/mailserver/config/
   sudo chmod -R 755 /mnt/docker/mailserver/config/

   Replace 1000:1000 with the user ID and group ID that your Docker container runs as, if different.

2. Volume Path in Docker Compose: Double-check the volume path in your docker-compose.yaml file. It should correctly map the host directory to the container directory. From your description, it seems correct, but ensure there are no typos or extra spaces:

   volumes:
     - /mnt/docker/mailserver/config/:/tmp/docker-mailserver/

3. Creating the User: When adding a user, ensure you are using the correct command and that the Docker container is running. You can add a user with the following command:

   docker exec -it mailserver setup email add user@example.com password

   Replace user@example.com and password with the desired email and password.

4. File Creation: If you manually create postfix-accounts.cf, ensure it's in the correct directory and the Docker container can access it. Since you've tried creating the file and it didn't work, the issue might be related to how the container is accessing the file system.

5. Check Container Logs: Look at the logs of your Docker container to see if there are any additional messages related to file access or permissions issues:

   docker logs mailserver

6. Restart the Container: After making changes, especially to permissions or configurations, restart the Docker container to ensure all settings are applied:

   docker-compose down
   docker-compose up -d

If these steps do not resolve the issue, consider checking the Docker and Docker Mailserver documentation or forums for similar issues, as it might be a more specific configuration issue related to your system setup.

This comment was generated by Glime.

[Doni49]

That was the first time a bot has actually solved a problem that I had. Color me impressed!

Instead of using the sample code I copied from the documentation to create the user, I pasted from item #3 above (changing the username and password of course).

[polarathene]

• Having done that, when I run the "add user" code from the example provided on the website, I get an error message:
  /bin/bash: line 1: /mnt/docker/mailserver/config/postfix-accounts.cf: No such file or directory.

- /mnt/docker/mailserver/config/:/tmp/docker-mailserver/

Looks like the error was from within the DMS container? The path obviously doesn't exist inside there as it's mapped to /tmp/docker-mailserver in your compose.yaml.

It's good that the AI bot was able to assist you here, but you didn't say what particular instruction helped? Presumably it was running the DMS setup email add ... command within the container? As when you manually created the postfix-accounts.cf file (presumably in the local mount location?) it was then detected, but of course empty contents would not be helpful.

I don't think you'd have any permission issues, unless it was related to your filesystem or how you ran Docker that prevented DMS from creating/modifying the file contents. Normally it's a non-issue as it runs as root on the Docker host.

---

EDIT: Oh, just saw the issue with your picture and how you created the user. Yeah sorry about that, it's an old approach before the setup email add command. I'll look into updating the docs 👍