On Sat, Feb 14, 2026 at 5:46 PM Steve Litt via dovecot <dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
Hi all,
Some time has gone by, so I'm hoping there's some good documentation for somebody needing syntax help on building a 2.4.x Dovecot.
I've seen https://doc.dovecot.org/2.4.0/installation/upgrade/2.3-to-2.4.html , but it's not useful to me because I don't know *where* all those various pieces go. Which things go in what curly braces? It doesn't say.
https://doc.dovecot.org/2.4.2/core/config/quick.html looks like an excellent starting place. Do you agree?
What other *simple* documentation do you recommend? Because I am not and never was a Dovecot expert, I'll need something that does a considerable amount of teaching: A sort of Dovecot 4.2 For Dummies type thing.
Thanks,
SteveT
Steve Litt
If you've never run Dovecot before, then you perhaps have run other POP3/IMAP4 servers, no? And all you need to do is:
- Decide how you store the emails - Maildir or mbox. Tell Dovecot that using the relevant config params
- You want to run IMAP4/ POP3 daemons - tell dovecot to start the ones you want via the relevant config params
- User database - is it a flat file, PAM, or RDBM? - tell Dovecot that via userdb and passdb directives.
Since https://doc.dovecot.org/2.4.2/core/config/quick.html has already told you that, go ahead and use it. If you get stuck, look at the log files and ask questions here. Alternatively, many people have written HOWTOs for Dovecot 2.4 that you can read and implement. Last but not least, you can get someone to set up Dovecot for you.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :-) [How to ask smart questions: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html]
On Sat, Feb 14, 2026 at 5:46PM Steve Litt via dovecot <[1]dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
Hi all,
Some time has gone by, so I'm hoping there's some good documentation
for somebody needing syntax help on building a 2.4.x Dovecot.
I've seen
[2]https://doc.dovecot.org/2.4.0/installation/upgrade/2.3-to-2.4.html ,
but it's not useful to me because I don't know *where* all those
various pieces go. Which things go in what curly braces? It doesn't say.
[3]https://doc.dovecot.org/2.4.2/core/config/quick.html looks like an
excellent starting place. Do you agree?
What other *simple* documentation do you recommend? Because I am not
and never was a Dovecot expert, I'll need something that does a
considerable amount of teaching: A sort of Dovecot 4.2 For Dummies type
thing.
Thanks,
SteveT
Steve LittIf you've never run Dovecot before, then you perhaps have run other POP3/IMAP4 servers, no? And all you need to do is:
- Decide how you store the emails - Maildir or mbox. Tell Dovecot that using the relevant config params
- You want to run IMAP4/ POP3 daemons - tell dovecot to start the ones you want via the relevant config params
User database - is it a flat file, PAM, or RDBM? - tell Dovecot that via userdb and passdb directives. Since [4]https://doc.dovecot.org/2.4.2/core/config/quick.html has already told you that, go ahead and use it. If you get stuck, look at the log files and ask questions here. Alternatively, many people have written HOWTOs for Dovecot 2.4 that you can read and implement. Last but not least, you can get someone to set up Dovecot for you.
Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' -\_(Tu)_/- :-) [How to ask smart questions: [5]http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html]
References
Visible links