RainLoop is a simple web-based mail client that allows you to access all your external mailboxes from a single web interface. Written in PHP, it is a great way to bring all your external emails like Google, Yahoo, and other SMTP inboxes onto your server.
This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to install the RainLoop webmail client on Ubuntu with Apache2 and PHP 7.2 support.
With no database required, RainLoop comes with decent performance, simple installation and upgrade, and support for IMAP and SMTP protocols (SSL, STARTTLS), sieve scripts support, and integration with Facebook, Google, Twitter, Dropbox, and many more.
For more about RainLoop, please check out its homepage. Some highlights of RainLoop:
- Modern user interface.
- Complete support of IMAP and SMTP protocols, including SSL and STARTTLS.
- Sieve scripts (Filters and vacation message).
- Minimalistic resources requirements.
- Direct access to mail server is used (mails are not stored locally on web server).
- Allows for adding multiple accounts to primary one, simultaneous access to different accounts in different browser tabs is supported. Additional identities.
When you’re ready to get RainLoop installed on Ubuntu, follow the steps below:
Install Apache2 HTTP Server
Apache2 HTTP Server is the most popular web server in use. Install it since RainLoop needs it. To install Apache2 HTTP on the Ubuntu server, run the commands below.
sudo apt update sudo apt install apache2
After installing Apache2, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots.
sudo systemctl stop apache2.service sudo systemctl start apache2.service sudo systemctl enable apache2.service
To test whether Apache2 is installed, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address. When you see that, then Apache2 is working as expected.
http://localhost
Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules
PHP 7.2 may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories. to install it; you will have to get it from third-party repositories.
Run the commands below to add the below third party repository to upgrade to PHP 7.2
sudo apt-get install software-properties-common sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php
Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2
sudo apt update
Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2 and related modules.
sudo apt install php7.2 libapache2-mod-php7.2 php7.2-common php7.2-curl php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-mysql php7.2-gd php7.2-xml php7.2-json php7.2-cli
After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open the PHP default config file for Apache2.
sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/apache2/php.ini
Then make the changes on the following lines below in the file and save. The value below is an excellent setting to apply in your environment.
file_uploads = On allow_url_fopen = On short_open_tag = On memory_limit = 256M upload_max_filesize = 100M max_execution_time = 360 date.timezone = America/Chicago
After making the change above, please save the file and close it.
After installing PHP and related modules, you must restart Apache2 to reload PHP configurations.
To restart Apache2, run the commands below
sudo systemctl restart apache2.service
To test PHP 7.2 settings with Apache2, create a phpinfo.php file in the Apache2 root directory by running the commands below
sudo nano /var/www/html/phpinfo.php
Then type the content below and save the file.
<?php phpinfo( ); ?>
Save the file. Then browse to your server hostname followed by /phpinfo.php
http://localhost/phpinfo.php
You should see the PHP default test page.
Download and Configure RainLoop
Now that Apache2 and PHP 7.2 are installed, using the steps below to download and configure the RainLoop environment on Ubuntu servers. First, use the commands below to download the latest version.
cd /tmp wget http://www.rainloop.net/repository/webmail/rainloop-community-latest.zip
After that, create the RainLoop directory and extract the download content there.
sudo mkdir /var/www/html/rainloop sudo unzip rainloop-community-latest.zip -d /var/www/html/rainloop
Next, configure the directory access permission for Apache2.
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/rainloop/
sudo find /var/www/html/rainloop/ -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
sudo find /var/www/html/rainloop/ -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
When you’re done, run the commands below to create a rain loop Apache2 configuration file.
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/rainloop.conf
Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it.
<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerAdmin admin@example.com
DocumentRoot /var/www/html/rainloop
ServerName webmail.example.com
ServerAlias www.webmail.example.com
<Directory />
Options +Indexes +FollowSymLinks +ExecCGI
AllowOverride All
Order deny,allow
Allow from all
Require all granted
</Directory>
ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
<Directory /var/www/html/rainloop/data/>
Options -Indexes
Deny from all
</Directory>
</VirtualHost>
Save the file and exit.
Next, run the commands below to enable RainLoop virtual host and restart Apache2.
sudo a2ensite rainloop.conf sudo systemctl reload apache2.service
Finally, open your web browser and browse the server name to access the back-end portal.
http://webmail.example.com/?admin
The default username and password: admin and password 12345
Log in and begin configuring RainLoop
Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured RainLoop on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04 with Apache2 and PHP 7.2.
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