Listmonk is a simple, all-in-one self-hosted newsletter and mailing list solution for Linux systems. Unlike traditional mailing list programs, it is known for its lightweight, fast and efficient. This article will guide you on how to install Listmonk using Docker on Ubuntu and teach you how to start sending newsletters.

Table of contents

• Advantages of using Listmonk
• Install Listmonk
• Configure Nginx reverse proxy
• Install the SSL certificate
• Access and configure Listmonk

Advantages of using Listmonk

One of the biggest highlights of Listmonk is that it is compatible with almost any external mail delivery service. This means you can send newsletters through hosted mailbox services such as Gmail, or your own built mail system.

In addition, Listmonk supports creating programmable email templates, allowing you to dynamically adjust content according to the context of the user receiving emails, achieving highly personalized email push.

Finally, Listmonk has built-in intuitive analytics module to help you track the performance of each newsletter. It can not only count the number of clicks per email, but also analyze the browsing of the entire mailing list in a specific time period.

Install Listmonk

Install Docker and Docker Compose

Prerequisites : This article assumes that you are running Listmonk on an always-on VPS and you already have a domain name and the A record and PTR record are correctly pointed to your server IP.

First, get the repository keys for Docker and Docker Compose:

 <code>curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg<br>sudo chmod ar /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg</code>

Create a new repository file for Docker and Docker Compose:

 <code>sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list</code>

Add the following to the file:

 <code>deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu jammy stable</code>

Update and upgrade the system:

 <code>sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade</code>

Install the Docker engine, Docker Compose and its related components:

 <code>sudo apt install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-compose-plugin docker-buildx-plugin nginx git curl</code>

Ensure that the current user has permission to access Docker:

 <code>sudo usermod -aG docker ramces</code>

Deploy Listmonk instances

Create a folder for storing Docker files in the user's home directory:

 <code>mkdir ~/listmonk && cd ~/listmonk</code>

Create a Listmonk configuration file:

 <code>nano ./config.toml</code>

Paste the following in:

 <code>[app]<br>address = "0.0.0.0:9000"<br>admin_username = "listmonk"<br>admin_password = "listmonk"<br><br>[db]<br>host = "listmonk_db"<br>port = 5432<br>user = "listmonk"<br>password = "INSERT_RANDOM_PASSWORD_HERE"<br><br>database = "listmonk"<br><br>ssl_mode = "disable"<br>max_open = 25<br>max_idle = 25<br>max_lifetime = "300s"<br><br>params = ""</code>

Tip : Random passwords can be generated through commands: cat /dev/urandom | tr -dc 'A-Za-z0-9' | fold -w 32 | head -n 1

After saving, create the docker-compose.yml file:

 <code>nano ./docker-compose.yml</code>

Paste the following configuration (adjusted according to the time zone):

 <code>---<br>version: "3.7"<br>x-app-defaults:<br> restart: unless-stopped<br> image: listmonk/listmonk:latest<br> ports:<br> - 9000:9000<br> networks:<br> - listmonk<br> environment:<br> - TZ=Asia/Manila<br>x-db-defaults:<br> image: postgres:13<br> ports:<br> - 9432:5432<br> networks:<br> - listmonk<br> environment:<br> - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=INSERT_RANDOM_PASSWORD_HERE<br> - POSTGRES_USER=listmonk<br> - POSTGRES_DB=listmonk<br> restart: unless-stopped<br> healthcheck:<br> test:<br> - CMD-SHELL<br> - pg_isready -U listmonk<br> interval: 10s<br> timeout: 5s<br> retries: 6<br>services:<br> db:<br> image: postgres:13<br> ports:<br> - 9432:5432<br> networks:<br> - listmonk<br> environment:<br> - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=INSERT_RANDOM_PASSWORD_HERE<br> - POSTGRES_USER=listmonk<br> - POSTGRES_DB=listmonk<br> restart: unless-stopped<br> healthcheck:<br> test:<br> - CMD-SHELL<br> - pg_isready -U listmonk<br> interval: 10s<br> timeout: 5s<br> retries: 6<br> container_name: listmonk_db<br> volumes:<br> - type: volume<br> source: listmonk-data<br> target: /var/lib/postgresql/data<br> app:<br> restart: unless-stopped<br> image: listmonk/listmonk:latest<br> ports:<br> - 9000:9000<br> networks:<br> - listmonk<br> environment:<br> - TZ=Asia/Manila<br> container_name: listmonk_app<br> depends_on:<br> - db<br> volumes:<br> - ./config.toml:/listmonk/config.toml<br> networks:<br> listmonk: null<br>volumes:<br> listmonk-data: null</code>

Start the Listmonk container

Run the database container first to initialize the database:

 <code>docker compose up db</code>

Open another terminal and execute the installation command:

 <code>docker compose run --rm app ./listmonk --install</code>

When prompted to clear existing data, enter "Y" and press Enter to ensure that the environment is clean.

Return to the database terminal, press Ctrl C to stop the database container.

Finally, start all services in the background mode:

 <code>docker compose up -d app db</code>

Configure Nginx reverse proxy

Although Listmonk is running, it has not been made public yet. Nginx reverse proxy needs to be configured to make it accessible.

Create a site configuration file:

 <code>sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/listmonk</code>

Add the following:

 <code>server {<br><br> server_name listmonk.myvpsserver.top;<br><br> location / {<br> proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:9000;<br> proxy_http_version 1.1;<br> proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;<br> proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";<br> proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;<br> proxy_set_header Host $host;<br> }<br>}</code>

Enable the site

The above is the detailed content of How to Create Your Own Newsletter with Listmonk - Make Tech Easier. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!