What is Opterius Mail?
Opterius Mail is a modern, open-source webmail application built on Laravel 12, Alpine.js 3, and Tailwind CSS 4. It is the default webmail client bundled with Opterius Panel but also runs completely standalone against any standard IMAP/SMTP server. Think of it as a ground-up replacement for Roundcube — designed for the way people actually use email today.
Why Not Roundcube?
Roundcube has served the open-source hosting community for many years, but it shows its age:
- The codebase is PHP 5-era legacy code that is difficult to extend or theme.
- The default UI has not meaningfully changed in a decade and looks dated on modern screens.
- Mobile support is bolted on rather than native — the responsive layout is unreliable.
- Adding custom plugins or themes requires knowledge of Roundcube's proprietary plugin API.
- There is no built-in admin panel or user management layer.
Opterius Mail solves all of these problems with a clean Laravel application, a component-based UI, and a documented plugin architecture.
Key Features
IMAP & SMTP
Opterius Mail communicates with your mail server using standard IMAP (via webklex/php-imap v5) for reading and standard SMTP for sending. There is no proprietary protocol or vendor lock-in. It works with Dovecot, Cyrus, Exchange, Office 365, Gmail, and any other standards-compliant mail server.
Rich Compose Editor
The compose window uses TipTap 2 — a headless, extensible rich-text editor. Users get bold, italic, ordered and unordered lists, inline links, and inline image paste, all without a bloated WYSIWYG framework.
Contacts
Contacts are stored locally in the Opterius Mail database (contacts table), keyed to the logged-in user's email address. The compose To/Cc/Bcc fields offer live autocomplete against the contact list and recently used addresses.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Users can enable TOTP-based 2FA via pragmarx/google2fa-laravel. Opterius Mail works with Google Authenticator, Authy, Bitwarden, 1Password, and any standards-compliant TOTP app. The 2FA secret is stored separately from IMAP credentials — IMAP remains the primary authentication source.
Template & Theme System
The UI is fully template-driven. The active template is set with MAIL_UI_TEMPLATE=default in .env. Custom templates live in resources/views/templates/{name}/ and can override any view. Tailwind CSS makes building new themes straightforward.
Plugin System
Opterius Mail ships with a plugin API that allows third-party developers to add new sidebar sections, compose toolbar buttons, message actions, and settings pages without forking the core codebase.
Admin Panel
When MAIL_ADMIN=true is set in .env, a full admin panel is unlocked. Admins can view all accounts that have used the webmail, force-disable 2FA for locked-out users, require 2FA globally, and review sync status when running under Opterius Panel.
Two Deployment Modes
Opterius Mail ships in two modes that are configured entirely through .env:
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Standalone | Works with any IMAP/SMTP server. Admin panel is optional. No Panel integration. |
| Panel-Integrated | Installed automatically by the Opterius Panel installer. Gets MAIL_SYNC_SECRET configured so Panel's Go agent syncs mail account create/delete/password events. Supports SSO from Panel. |
You do not install a different version for each mode — the same codebase supports both. See Standalone vs Panel-Integrated Mode for a full comparison.
Where to Go Next
- Admins installing for the first time — Read System Requirements, then follow the Installation guide.
- Admins connecting to a mail server — Read Connecting to Your Mail Server.
- End users logging in for the first time — Jump to First Login.
- Understanding standalone vs Panel mode — See Standalone vs Panel-Integrated Mode.
- Setting up 2FA — See Setting Up 2FA.