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Self-host spameater

v4.1.1

Self-hosted disposable email with auto-deletion

ReleaseOpen SourceMIT
Updatedyesterday
LanguageJavaScript
Setup difficultyAdvanced
ThemeDark mode
Stars
231
CPU
0.5 CPU cores (reserved), 2 CPU cores (limit)
RAM
512 MB (reserved), 2 GB (limit)
Ports
25 (SMTP), 80 (HTTP), 443 (HTTPS)
Docker
ghcr.io/rufftruffles/spameater
Install with Docker Compose
SpamEater inbox with live self-destruct countdown, copy, and switch controlsSpamEater email view with HTML mail adapted to dark theme, remote images blockedSpamEater inbox in light theme

What is spameater?

SpamEater is a self-hosted disposable email service that lets you create temporary inboxes on your own domain for signups and testing. Every inbox and its messages are automatically purged after 24 hours with no way to recover them. Message bodies are encrypted at rest using AES-256-GCM. The web interface includes dark and light themes, a random address generator, a live self-destruct countdown, and blocks remote images by default to prevent tracking pixels. It runs on Haraka SMTP server, Express API, and SQLite storage, protected by ModSecurity WAF with OWASP Core Rule Set and fail2ban. Deployment options include Docker Compose (recommended) and a native installer for AlmaLinux/RHEL/Rocky Linux 9-10 and Ubuntu 22.04+/Debian 11+. Requires a domain with DNS records configured and ports 25, 80, 443 open. Licensed under MIT.

spameater alternatives

Should you self-host spameater?

spameater scores 48/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #65 of 106 in Email. It has 231 GitHub stars.

It shipped 6 stable releases in the past year. The latest, v4.1.1, came out on 30 August 2026. New versions land roughly every 1 days.

Setup is advanced: plan for several services and some ongoing maintenance. An official Docker image is available. It is MIT-licensed and written mostly in JavaScript.

Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is Listmonk (80/100, 24 052 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See spameater vs Listmonk side by side.

Features

  • Automatic HTTPS with Let's Encrypt
  • CSRF and HMAC delete tokens
  • Dark/light theme toggle
  • Disposable email inboxes
  • Docker and native installation
  • Email encryption at rest
  • Fail2ban intrusion prevention
  • Forwarded email support
  • HTML email rendering
  • Inline image embedding
  • Live self-destruct countdown
  • ModSecurity WAF protection
  • Random address generator
  • Rate Limiting
  • Remote image blocking

spameater README

SpamEater

Release Stars Build License Docker

SpamEater

Self-hosted disposable email. Every inbox deletes itself after 24 hours.

SpamEater runs on your own domain and server. Type a name, get an inbox, use it for signups and testing, and let it burn. No accounts, no tracking, no recovery. Email bodies are encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM.

What's new in v4

Email rendering, rebuilt

How to install spameater

Install spameater with Docker Compose

Environment variables
EMAIL_DOMAIN, WEB_DOMAIN, ADMIN_EMAIL, DELETE_TOKEN_SECRET, CSRF_SECRET, ENCRYPTION_KEY, NODE_ENV, DISABLE_SSL, AUTO_SSL

Download configuration

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rufftruffles/spameater/main/docker-compose.yml

Edit your domains (hostname, EMAIL_DOMAIN, WEB_DOMAIN)

nano docker-compose.yml

Deploy

docker compose up -d

Recommended deployment method. Requires Docker Engine 20.10+ and Docker Compose v2+ on any modern Linux distribution.

How to configure spameater

  • EMAIL_DOMAINexample.comThe email domain for receiving mail (e.g., example.com)
  • WEB_DOMAINapp.example.comThe web domain for the interface (e.g., app.example.com)
  • DELETE_TOKEN_SECRETHMAC secret for delete tokens (32+ chars, auto-generated if blank)
  • CSRF_SECRETCSRF token secret (32+ chars, auto-generated if blank)
  • ENCRYPTION_KEYAES-256-GCM encryption key for email bodies (32+ chars, auto-generated if blank)

spameater releases & version history

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