#21: make the stack deployable, and document how

Three things stood between this and a real deployment.

A missing JWT_SECRET fell back to a constant that is published in this
repository, so any deployment that forgot the variable would have accepted
session tokens anyone could mint, including an admin one. The auth service
now refuses to start without a secret of at least 32 characters. The test
suites set it through vitest config, because ESM hoists imports and an
assignment inside a test file runs too late.

Session cookies were issued without the Secure attribute: it is driven by
NODE_ENV, which compose never set. Behind a TLS terminator that is a
downgrade waiting to happen.

Nothing created the first mailbox. A fresh install has no domain and no
account, and every route into the console needs one - so there was no
first login. There is now a create-admin command, which also provisions
the standard folders and the four system aliases. It is a deliberate
command rather than a bootstrap on boot: creating an administrator as a
side effect of starting a container is how a deleted account quietly comes
back.

Also: the production images were shipping compiled test files, since the
build compiled everything under src. A separate build config excludes
them while lint still type-checks them.

Documentation. README.md covers what this is, how it is put together, and
what is not finished - stated plainly, because a mail server that half
works loses mail. docs/DEPLOYMENT.md is the Coolify path in the order it
has to happen, starting with the three prerequisites no code can satisfy:
outbound port 25, the PTR record, and the DNSSEC delegation.
docs/OPERATIONS.md is the runbook - health states, certificates, backups,
reading a delivery failure, DKIM rotation, and an explicit list of what is
not automated. .env.production.example replaces guessing which of the dev
defaults are safe: none of them are.

docs/ was gitignored as a place for internal notes; only docs/internal/ is
now, so these guides ship with the code.

Every command the documentation tells an operator to run was executed
against a running stack: create-admin, preflight, the health endpoint, the
published mail ports, and the Secure cookie.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

docs/DEPLOYMENT.md

@@ -0,0 +1,202 @@
+# Deploying LambdaMail on Coolify
+
+This is the order things have to happen in. Several steps depend on DNS
+propagation or on your provider, so read the whole page before starting — a
+couple of them are worth kicking off early.
+
+## Before anything else
+
+Three prerequisites are not automatable, and without them the deployment will
+come up but mail will not work. Start them now, because two involve waiting on
+somebody else.
+
+### 1. Outbound port 25
+
+Most providers block it by default — AWS, GCP, Azure, Oracle, Vultr, and
+DigitalOcean on newer accounts. Open a support ticket asking for outbound SMTP
+to be unblocked, and say what the host is for.
+
+If the answer is no, LambdaMail can still send through a relay: set `RELAY_HOST`
+and friends, and the relay is added to the published SPF record automatically.
+Receiving is unaffected either way.
+
+### 2. Reverse DNS (PTR)
+
+The PTR for your public IPv4 must resolve to `PRIMARY_MAIL_HOST`, and that name
+must resolve back to the same address. This is called FCrDNS, and Gmail and
+Outlook will refuse or spam-folder mail without it.
+
+**The PTR is set by whoever owns the IP block — your VPS provider, not
+Cloudflare.** It is usually a field in the server's control panel.
+
+```bash
+dig -x 203.0.113.10 +short        # must print mail.example.com.
+dig mail.example.com +short       # must print 203.0.113.10
+```
+
+### 3. DNSSEC — only if you want DANE
+
+Signing the zone is a prerequisite for DANE. It is enabled in the Cloudflare
+dashboard and needs a DS record published at your registrar, which is manual.
+
+Skip this for a first deployment. DANE stays off under `TLS_MODE=traefik`
+anyway, and turning it on without understanding the rollover is the single most
+effective way to make every validating MTA reject your mail permanently.
+
+### IPv6
+
+Either configure it properly — AAAA record, matching PTR, and covered by SPF —
+or leave `PUBLIC_IPV6` empty. Half-configured IPv6 is a common cause of
+rejection, and empty is a safe answer.
+
+---
+
+## Step 1 — Point DNS at the host
+
+Two records must exist before the first deploy, because Coolify's proxy needs
+them to obtain certificates:
+
+| Type | Name | Value |
+| :--- | :--- | :--- |
+| `A` | `mail` | your public IPv4, **DNS only, not proxied** |
+| `A`/`CNAME` | `mta-sts` | the same host (may be proxied) |
+
+The `mail` record must not be behind Cloudflare's proxy. SMTP is not HTTP;
+proxying it breaks the mail ports and hides your real address from the
+certificate challenge.
+
+The rest of the 13 records are created by the service once you give it a
+Cloudflare token, or you can add them by hand later.
+
+## Step 2 — Create the application in Coolify
+
+1. **New Resource → Docker Compose**, pointed at this repository.
+2. Coolify will read `docker-compose.yaml`. Leave the compose file alone; all
+   configuration is environment.
+3. Under **Environment Variables**, paste the contents of
+   `.env.production.example` and replace every value marked `CHANGE`.
+
+Generate each secret separately:
+
+```bash
+openssl rand -base64 36
+```
+
+`LAMBDAMAIL_MASTER_KEY` deserves particular care. It encrypts every DKIM
+private key, TOTP secret and provider token in the database. **Store a copy
+somewhere other than the database backup.** If you lose it, those secrets are
+unrecoverable and you will be reissuing DKIM keys and re-enrolling every user's
+two-factor.
+
+### Ports
+
+Coolify does not map mail ports for you. In the service settings, make sure the
+host publishes:
+
+```
+25, 465, 587      SMTP
+143, 993          IMAP
+110, 995          POP3
+4190              ManageSieve
+```
+
+These are already declared in `docker-compose.yaml`; what matters is that the
+VPS firewall allows them inbound.
+
+### The proxy network
+
+The compose file joins Coolify's proxy network, named `coolify` by default. If
+yours differs, set `COOLIFY_PROXY_NETWORK`.
+
+## Step 3 — Deploy and check the preflight
+
+Deploy, then run the diagnostics from the host:
+
+```bash
+docker compose run --rm --entrypoint /app/lambdamail-protocols protocols preflight
+```
+
+It reports outbound port 25, PTR and FCrDNS, whether your IP is on Spamhaus,
+SpamCop or SORBS, the Cloudflare token's scope, and whether a certificate
+exists for the mail host. Fix anything it flags before going further —
+particularly an RBL listing, which will not fix itself.
+
+## Step 4 — Create the first administrator
+
+Nothing else creates a mailbox, so without this there is no way into the
+console:
+
+```bash
+make create-admin EMAIL=you@example.com PASSWORD='a long passphrase'
+```
+
+This creates the domain if needed, the mailbox as `SUPER_ADMIN`, its standard
+folders, and the four system aliases (`postmaster@`, `abuse@`, `dmarc@`,
+`tlsrpt@`) that the published DNS records point at.
+
+Then:
+
+1. Sign in to the webmail at `https://<WEBMAIL_HOST>/user/login`.
+2. Go to **Settings** and enrol a second factor. The admin console requires
+   one and will refuse to open until it exists.
+3. Sign in to `https://<WEBMAIL_HOST>/admin/login`.
+
+## Step 5 — DNS records
+
+With a Cloudflare token set, the service reconciles the zone on start and every
+six hours after that. Watch it:
+
+```bash
+docker compose logs -f protocols | grep "DNS reconcile"
+```
+
+It is idempotent, and it never deletes records it did not create — anything
+unexpected is reported as a conflict rather than overwritten.
+
+Without a token, add the records by hand. The admin console's Domains page
+lists what is expected.
+
+## Step 6 — Verify
+
+Send mail to a Gmail address and check the headers show `spf=pass`,
+`dkim=pass`, `dmarc=pass`. Then run a round trip through
+[mail-tester.com](https://www.mail-tester.com) and read every point it deducts.
+
+A first deployment will usually be short a few points until the DNS records
+have propagated and the IP has some sending history.
+
+---
+
+## Upgrading
+
+Images are published to GHCR for `linux/amd64` and `linux/arm64` on every merge
+to `main`.
+
+```bash
+docker compose pull
+docker compose up -d
+```
+
+Migrations run automatically on start, before the services that depend on them.
+To pin a version, set `IMAGE_TAG` to a release version or a `sha-` tag rather
+than `latest`.
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+**The web UI is up but nothing can log in.** The auth service refuses to start
+without a `JWT_SECRET` of at least 32 characters. `docker compose logs auth`
+will say so.
+
+**Mail is accepted but never arrives.** Check `docker compose logs -f protocols`
+for the delivery worker. A `4.7.5` deferral means the destination published a
+TLS policy that could not be satisfied — that is deliberate; the message is
+retried rather than sent in the clear.
+
+**`/health` returns `X-LambdaMail-Health: degraded`.** The stack is running but
+a certificate needs attention: usually no certificate exists for
+`PRIMARY_MAIL_HOST` because no router was declared for it, or one is expiring
+within 24 hours. The body says which.
+
+**Everything is fine but Gmail still spam-folders you.** That is reputation, not
+configuration. A new IP has none. Send low volumes to engaged recipients first
+and watch the DMARC reports in the admin console.

docs/OPERATIONS.md

@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+# Operating LambdaMail
+
+What to watch, what the alerts mean, and how to recover. For the initial
+install see [DEPLOYMENT.md](DEPLOYMENT.md).
+
+## Health
+
+`GET /health` on the `protocols` service answers three ways, and the difference
+matters:
+
+| Response | Meaning |
+| :--- | :--- |
+| `200`, `X-LambdaMail-Health: ok` | Healthy |
+| `200`, `X-LambdaMail-Health: degraded` | Running, but something needs an operator. The body says what. |
+| `503` | A dependency is down — usually Postgres. |
+
+Degraded is deliberately not a failure: restarting cannot fix a certificate the
+proxy never issued, and a restart loop would only hide it.
+
+## Certificates
+
+Under `TLS_MODE=traefik` the mail listeners read the certificate Coolify's proxy
+manages. Two failure modes are worth understanding.
+
+**No certificate for the mail host.** The proxy only holds certificates for
+hosts it routes, so `mail.example.com` needs a router even though nothing is
+served over HTTP there. `docker-compose.yaml` declares one; if you removed it,
+the listeners fall back to a self-signed certificate and `/health` reports
+degraded.
+
+**A certificate that stopped renewing.** The watcher re-reads the store every
+60 seconds and reports:
+
+- `WARNING` when the soonest expiry is under 7 days
+- `CRITICAL` under 24 hours, or when it has already expired
+
+Watch for these in `docker compose logs protocols`. The admin console's TLS
+panel shows the same state, including when the watcher last managed to read the
+store — a timestamp that stops advancing means it has gone blind, which is the
+failure that shows up 90 days later as an expired certificate.
+
+## Backups
+
+Two things must be backed up, and **they must not live in the same place**:
+
+1. **The database.** `pg_dump` covers mailboxes, messages metadata, DKIM keys
+   (encrypted), sessions and the queue.
+2. **`LAMBDAMAIL_MASTER_KEY`.** Every DKIM private key, TOTP secret and provider
+   token in that dump is encrypted with it. A backup you cannot decrypt is not a
+   backup.
+
+Message bodies live in the `mail_storage` volume (or S3, with
+`STORAGE_DRIVER=s3`). The database references them by hash; restoring one
+without the other leaves rows pointing at blobs that are not there.
+
+```bash
+# Database
+docker compose exec -T db pg_dump -U "$POSTGRES_USER" "$POSTGRES_DB" | gzip > lambdamail-$(date +%F).sql.gz
+
+# Message bodies
+docker run --rm -v lambdamail_mail_storage:/data -v "$PWD:/backup" \
+  alpine tar czf /backup/mail-$(date +%F).tar.gz -C /data .
+```
+
+Restoring has not been rehearsed in this repository. Before relying on it,
+restore into a scratch environment and confirm a message opens — an untested
+restore is a hypothesis.
+
+## Accounts
+
+```bash
+make create-admin EMAIL=… PASSWORD='…'     # first admin, or --force for another
+make reset-password EMAIL=… PASSWORD='…'   # recovers a lockout, ends its sessions
+```
+
+An account locks itself for 15 minutes after 5 failed passwords. That is the
+lockout working, not a fault; `reset-password` clears it.
+
+If somebody loses their second factor and their recovery codes, there is no
+self-service path today. Clear the enrolment directly and have them enrol again:
+
+```sql
+DELETE FROM mfa_totp WHERE mailbox_id = (SELECT id FROM mailboxes WHERE email_address = 'them@example.com');
+```
+
+## Delivery
+
+The outbound queue lives in Postgres, so it survives a restart of anything. The
+retry ladder is 5 min, 15 min, 1 h, then 2/4/8/12 h with jitter, giving up after
+5 days with a bounce. A delay notice goes out at the fourth attempt.
+
+```sql
+-- What is stuck and why
+SELECT destination_domain, status, attempt, last_smtp_code, left(last_error, 80)
+  FROM outbound_jobs WHERE status IN ('DEFERRED','BOUNCED')
+ ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 20;
+```
+
+Reading the failures:
+
+- **`4.7.5` with a TLS message** — the destination published a DANE or MTA-STS
+  policy that could not be satisfied. The message is deferred rather than sent
+  in the clear, which is the point. If it persists, the destination's
+  certificate is broken, not yours.
+- **`5.1.1`** — no such recipient. Permanent, bounced immediately.
+- **A dial or connection error with no code** — the destination is unreachable;
+  it will retry.
+
+The admin console's Queue page shows the same data with retry and cancel.
+
+## DNS drift
+
+With a Cloudflare token, the zone is reconciled on start and every six hours.
+It is idempotent, and records it did not create are reported as conflicts
+rather than overwritten.
+
+```bash
+docker compose logs protocols | grep -E "DNS reconcile|DNS conflict"
+```
+
+`PARTIAL` or `DRIFT` in that output means the desired state and the zone
+disagree — most often because a record was edited by hand.
+
+## Spam filtering
+
+Rspamd holds its state in Redis and its thresholds in `system_config`, editable
+from the admin console. The defaults reject at 15, tag at 6 and greylist at 4.
+
+A message the filter routes to `Junk` is filed there; one over the reject
+threshold is refused during the SMTP session, so the sender is told. Nothing is
+accepted and silently discarded — a silent discard loses legitimate mail with
+nobody aware of it.
+
+## Rotating a DKIM key
+
+From the admin console, or:
+
+```bash
+curl -X POST https://<host>/api/v1/admin/dkim/rotate \
+  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -b 'lm_admin_session=…' \
+  -d '{"domain":"example.com","selector":"lmail2","algorithm":"rsa2048"}'
+```
+
+The previous key is retired with a 7-day overlap rather than deleted: mail
+already sent under it is still being verified by receivers who may take a while
+to stop resolving the old selector. **Publish the new selector's TXT record
+before the overlap ends**, or signatures start failing when the old key goes.
+
+## Rotating the master key
+
+There is no automated path today. It requires decrypting every sealed secret
+with the old key and resealing with the new one, and getting it wrong destroys
+them. Plan a maintenance window and rehearse against a copy first.
+
+## What is not automated
+
+Being explicit so nothing is assumed:
+
+- Backups are documented, not scheduled. Set up a cron job.
+- Restores are not rehearsed.
+- There is no metrics endpoint or alerting yet; the signals above are log lines
+  and the health endpoint.
+- Master key rotation is manual.
+- Log retention is whatever Docker's json-file driver is configured for
+  (10 MB × 3 per service, in `docker-compose.yaml`).