ByteSend uses a monorepo structure with separate services for the web application and SMTP server. This guide walks you through setting up both services using Docker.

• Dockerfile.web: Builds the Next.js web application with all workspace dependencies
• Dockerfile.smtp: Builds the SMTP server with workspace dependencies
• Both respect the pnpm workspace and share package layers

Before you begin, ensure that you have the following installed:

• Docker
• Docker Compose
• Node.js 20.19 or newer (for local development)

To build both images:

./docker/build.sh

This builds:

• bytesend/bytesend:latest - The ByteSend web application
• bytesend/smtp-proxy:latest - The SMTP server

Start the complete development environment with Docker:

cd docker/dev
docker-compose up -d

This starts:

• PostgreSQL database
• Redis
• ByteSend web application (port 3000)
• ByteSend SMTP server (ports 25, 465, 587, 2465, 2587)
• Local S3 (MinIO) for storage
• Local SES/SNS mock service

1. Download or copy the production compose file:

   cd docker/prod

2. Create a .env file with your configuration:

   # Database
   POSTGRES_USER=bytesend
   POSTGRES_PASSWORD=<secure-password>
   POSTGRES_DB=bytesend
   DATABASE_URL=postgresql://bytesend:<password>@postgres:5432/bytesend
   
   # Redis
   REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
   
   # NextAuth
   NEXTAUTH_URL=https://bytesend.cloud
   NEXTAUTH_SECRET=<secure-secret>
   
   # AWS/SES
   AWS_ACCESS_KEY=<your-key>
   AWS_SECRET_KEY=<your-secret>
   AWS_DEFAULT_REGION=us-east-1
   
   # GitHub OAuth
   GITHUB_ID=<your-github-id>
   GITHUB_SECRET=<your-github-secret>
   
   # SMTP Configuration
   BYTESEND_BASE_URL=http://web:3000
   SMTP_AUTH_USERNAME=bytesend

3. Start the services:

   docker-compose --env-file ./.env up -d

This starts a production-ready setup with separate web and SMTP containers.

To run just the web application:

docker pull bytesend/bytesend:latest

docker run -d \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -e NEXTAUTH_URL="https://your-domain.com" \
  -e NEXTAUTH_SECRET="your-secret" \
  -e DATABASE_URL="your-database-url" \
  -e REDIS_URL="your-redis-url" \
  -e AWS_ACCESS_KEY="your-key" \
  -e AWS_SECRET_KEY="your-secret" \
  -e AWS_DEFAULT_REGION="us-east-1" \
  -e GITHUB_ID="your-github-id" \
  -e GITHUB_SECRET="your-github-secret" \
  bytesend/bytesend:latest

To run just the SMTP server:

docker pull bytesend/smtp-proxy:latest

docker run -d \
  -p 25:25 \
  -p 465:465 \
  -p 587:587 \
  -p 2465:2465 \
  -p 2587:2587 \
  -e BYTESEND_BASE_URL="http://your-web-server:3000" \
  -e SMTP_AUTH_USERNAME="bytesend" \
  bytesend/smtp-proxy:latest

The SMTP server exposes the following ports:

Both Dockerfiles respect the pnpm monorepo structure by:

1. Using pnpm turbo prune to optimize build layers
2. Installing all workspace dependencies from packages/*
3. Building only the necessary app while maintaining symlinks to shared packages
4. Sharing a common base image layer for efficiency

SMTP server can't reach the web server:

• Ensure the BYTESEND_BASE_URL is set to the correct service name or IP
• In Docker Compose, use http://web:3000 for service-to-service communication
• For external deployments, use the full URL of your web server

Database connection issues:

• Verify DATABASE_URL is correctly set
• Ensure the database container is healthy before starting the web app
• Check the depends_on condition in compose files

You have now set up ByteSend with Docker. The web application listens on port 3000 and the SMTP server on ports 25/465/587/2465/2587. For more information, refer to the ByteSend documentation.