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Bichon

Bichon is an open-source email archiving system that synchronizes emails from IMAP servers, indexes them for full-text search, and provides a REST API for…

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Bichon is an open-source email archiving system that synchronizes emails from IMAP servers, indexes them for full-text search, and provides a REST API for programmatic access. Unlike email clients, Bichon is designed for archiving and searching rather than sending/receiving emails. It runs as a standalone server application that continuously synchronizes configured email accounts and maintains a searchable local archive. Built in Rust, it requires no external dependencies and provides fast, efficient email archiving, management, and search through a built-in WebUI. Default credentials: Username: admin Password: admin@bichon

Platform availability

Available on 3 of 6 install platforms

Also on Docker Hub and GitHub

Health score

79/100 Good

Maintained
100last commit 8 days ago
Popular
661,969 GitHub stars
Easy to install
553 install platforms, install notes, Docker image
Light to run
No data

Based on 3 of 4 factors.

How is this calculated?

A 0-100 score computed nightly from four factors: maintained (40%: recent commits and steady activity), popular (25%: GitHub stars, log scale), easy to install (20%: platforms, install notes, setup guides, Docker image) and light to run (15%: minimum RAM, ARM support). Factors without data are left out and the rest are rescaled.

Availability: platform listings confirmed today, links checked 4 days ago

GitHub stars
1,969
Open issues
39
Last commit
2026-09-27
Latest release
2.0.3
License
AGPL-3.0
Activity
steady

Checked 7 days ago - source: GitHub (rustmailer/bichon)

Resources & Compatibility

ARM (e.g. Raspberry Pi) is supported.

Checked 7 days ago - source: Docker Hub image tags and published docs

First-install notes

  • Set a strong encryption password Before running Bichon’s Docker container, replace the placeholder BICHON_ENCRYPT_PASSWORD (the secret that protects Bichon’s encrypted data) with a strong password. If you skip this, Bichon may not start correctly and your data may not be protected as expected. source
  • Save your mail data safely Create a bichon-data folder and connect it to the container’s /data folder, then make sure it is writable by the container user (--user 1000:1000). If permissions don’t match, Bichon may fail to save mail files or settings after you restart it. source
  • Use port 15630 and change login Open port 15630 (the address Bichon listens on) so your browser can reach http://localhost:15630, then log in with admin / admin@bichon and change it right away. Without an open port you can’t reach the web page, and the default login is easy for attackers to guess. source

Fetched 7 days ago - each note links to its source

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Checked 4 days ago - source: AlternativeTo

Common questions

What environment variable must be set before running Bichon in Docker?

Set BICHON_ENCRYPT_PASSWORD to a strong password because it protects Bichon's encrypted data. If it is skipped, Bichon may not start correctly and your data may not be protected as expected.

Which port and default login should be handled when exposing Bichon?

Open port 15630 so the web page can be reached from a browser. Log in with admin and admin@bichon, then change the login immediately.

What IMAP authentication methods does Bichon support?

Bichon can sync IMAP accounts using password or OAuth2. It stores emails locally as deduplicated compressed EML files.

What ongoing self-hosting maintenance is expected?

Self-hosting Bichon requires ongoing maintenance, including OS updates, monitoring, backups, and occasional troubleshooting.

Answers sourced from appselfhost.com, github.com, mariushosting.com

Community

Collected 6 days ago - public community threads