Installation Guide

Get SoloMail Pro running in minutes

Requirements

Windows 10 or Windows 11 (64-bit)
Nothing else — Python, PostgreSQL, and Redis are all bundled in the installer
2 GB free disk space, 1 GB RAM minimum
An internet connection during installation (to activate your license)

Purchase a License

Go to the Purchase page, enter your email address, and choose a plan. After payment your license key will be shown on screen and emailed to you. It looks like:

SOLO-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

Keep this key — you'll need to paste it into the installer in the next steps.

Download the Installer

Download the Windows installer from the Downloads page. You'll get a single .exe file:

SoloMail_Setup_1.x.x.exe

If Windows SmartScreen warns about an unknown publisher, click More info → Run anyway.

Run the Installer

Double-click the .exe. The installer goes straight to the license key page — no extra wizard steps:

1. On the License Key page, paste your SOLO-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX key and click Next
2. Click Install — the wizard copies all files and runs the setup script automatically
3. The setup script initialises the database and activates your license over the internet — this takes about 30–60 seconds

Requires internet — the installer contacts the license server to activate your key. Make sure you're online during this step.

Launch SoloMail

The installer launches SoloMail automatically when it finishes. On future startups, use the desktop or Start menu shortcut.

SoloMail runs as a system tray app — look for the envelope icon in your taskbar (bottom-right). A green envelope means it's running, grey means stopped.

• A loading page opens in your browser while services start up
• Once ready, it redirects automatically to http://localhost:8000
• Create your admin account on the registration page — your license is already activated

Tray Icon Menu (right-click)

Open SoloMail — opens the app in your browser
Start / Stop — start or stop all services
Open Logs Folder — opens C:\SoloMail\logs\
Quit — stops services and closes the tray app

Managing Your Installation

Start SoloMail

Double-click the SoloMail shortcut  — tray icon appears and starts automatically

Stop SoloMail

Right-click tray icon → Stop — or Quit to close the tray app too

View logs

Right-click tray icon → Open Logs Folder

Files: uvicorn.log, scheduler.log, postgresql.log, tray.log

Edit configuration

C:\SoloMail\app\.env

After saving: right-click tray icon → Stop, then Start.

Update to a new version

Download the latest installer and run it  — upgrades in-place, preserves your data

SoloMail does not auto-start on Windows boot

Launch SoloMail manually using the desktop or Start menu shortcut. To auto-start on login, press Win + R, type shell:startup, and copy the SoloMail shortcut into that folder. The tray icon will appear automatically when you log in and start all services.

Requirements

A Linux server (Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+) or Windows with Docker Desktop
Docker Engine and Docker Compose installed
1 GB RAM minimum, 2 GB recommended

Purchase a License

Go to the Purchase page, enter your email address, and choose a plan. After payment your license key will be shown on screen and emailed to you. It looks like:

SOLO-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

Keep this key — you'll enter it in SoloMail after installation.

Download and Extract

Download the Docker package from the Downloads page, then extract it:

unzip SoloMail-Pro-v*.zip
cd SoloMail-Pro-v*

You should see: docker-compose.yml, .env.template, and README.md

Configure Environment

Copy the template and set a secure database password:

cp .env.template .env
nano .env

At minimum, change these values in .env:

# Set a strong password for the database
DB_PASSWORD=your-secure-password-here

# Generate a secret key (run this command and paste the output):
# openssl rand -hex 32
SECRET_KEY=paste-generated-key-here

Start SoloMail

Docker will automatically download the SoloMail image and start all services:

docker compose up -d

This starts 4 containers: PostgreSQL, Redis, the SoloMail web app, and the background scheduler. First run may take a minute while Docker downloads the images.

Check everything is running:

docker compose ps

All 4 services should show "Up" or "running". If any show "restarting", check logs with docker compose logs web

Open SoloMail

Open your browser and go to:

http://your-server-ip:8000

If running locally, use http://localhost:8000. Create your account on the registration page.

Activate Your License

a. In SoloMail, go to Settings → License
b. Paste your SOLO-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX license key into the field and click Activate
c. SoloMail connects to the license server and activates instantly. You're ready to go.

Managing Your Installation

View logs

docker compose logs -f web

Stop SoloMail

docker compose down

Update to latest version

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Backup your database

docker compose exec web python backup_tools/backup_database_python.py

Auto-start on reboot

Docker containers use restart: unless-stopped, so they will automatically restart when your server reboots, as long as the Docker service is running. To ensure Docker starts on boot:

sudo systemctl enable docker

Troubleshooting

Can't access SoloMail in my browser

• Windows: Check the tray icon — a grey envelope means SoloMail is stopped. Right-click → Start, then open http://localhost:8000
• Docker: Make sure you're using the correct IP address of your server. Check your firewall allows port 8000: sudo ufw allow 8000
• If using a VM (VirtualBox, etc.), configure port forwarding: Host port 8000 → Guest port 8000
• Verify Docker services are running: docker compose ps

Windows installer failed during license activation

• Make sure you have an active internet connection during installation
• Double-check the license key — it should look like SOLO-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
• If the key was already used on another machine, you need to transfer it first — contact support@solomailpro.com
• Check the setup log for details: C:\SoloMail\logs\first_run_setup.log

Database connection error

• Docker: Check that the DB_PASSWORD in your .env matches. If in doubt, run docker compose down -v && docker compose up -d to reset (this deletes data)
• Windows: Check C:\SoloMail\logs\first_run_setup.log for errors during setup

Services not starting after reboot

• Windows: SoloMail must be started manually using the shortcut. To auto-start on login, add the shortcut to shell:startup
• Docker: Ensure Docker starts on boot: sudo systemctl enable docker

License activation failed in the app

• The license key should look like SOLO-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX — copy it exactly from your purchase email
• Your server needs internet access to activate the license
• If the key is already bound to another machine, contact support@solomailpro.com to request a transfer

Need help? Contact us at support@solomailpro.com