INSTALL GUIDES
Install it anywhere
Blue Folder Mail runs the same code off Cloudflare as on it. One container, your data in a volume you back up, sending through Resend, inbound by webhook. Pick your platform below — each guide is the short version with the exact commands.
Start here
Cloudflare is the primary, lowest-effort path — native inbound email and nothing to run. If you can, use the one-click Deploy to Cloudflare instead. These guides are for everywhere else.
What's the same everywhere: the zero-access encryption (mail is sealed to your key before it touches storage), the reader app and API, and sending via Resend. What changes off Cloudflare: inbound email becomes a webhook you point at a provider, and auth + TLS are handled by your platform or a reverse proxy instead of Cloudflare Access.
Container the canonical path
One-click PaaS no server to run
RenderBlueprint from render.yaml, 1 GB disk at /data.
Fly.ioA few CLI commands, a volume mounted at /data.
RailwayDeploy from your fork, add a volume, set the env vars.
DigitalOcean App PlatformFrom app.json, with an attached volume.
Cloud VMs full control
Ubuntu / Debian VPSBare metal with Docker, or Node + systemd.
DigitalOcean DropletDocker on a $6 Droplet, HTTPS with Caddy.
AWS — EC2 & LightsailSecurity groups, the port-25 reality, S3 for storage.
Google Compute EngineA VM that keeps your data — plus the Cloud Run caveat.
Microsoft Azure VMNetwork security group, managed disk, Caddy TLS.
Hetzner / Linode / VultrAny generic cloud VM — the same Docker flow.
Self-hosted & NAS home lab
Raspberry Pi / home serverarm64 Docker at home, reached over a Tunnel.
Synology / QNAP NASContainer Manager / Container Station, data on the NAS.
Coolify / CapRoverSelf-host PaaS — a dashboard in front of your own box.
Mac
Not sure which fits? Any always-on Linux box with Docker is the happy path — start with the Docker guide. Serverless and stateless platforms are a poor fit for self-hosted inbound mail; each guide says so honestly. The canonical facts live in DEPLOY.md.