Webmail clients like Roundcube and SquirrelMail provide easy access to email accounts through a web browser. Integrating such clients into the ISPconfig 3 control panel allows users to efficiently manage their emails without the need for external email clients. In this article, we will focus on the installation and configuration process of the Roundcube webmail client, which is popular for its user-friendly interface and rich features.

Prerequisites

Before starting the installation, ensure that you have a fully functional installation of ISPConfig 3 and that the server meets all the system requirements for the chosen webmail client.

Roundcube Installation

1. System Update Begin by updating your system to ensure all components are up to date. In the terminal, run:

   apt update && apt upgrade -y
   

2. Dependency Installation Roundcube requires the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) stack. If not already installed, install it. Additionally, install the necessary PHP extensions for Roundcube:

   apt install apache2 mysql-server php php-mysql libapache2-mod-php php-xml php-mbstring php-intl unzip -y
   ​

3. Download Roundcube Download the latest version of Roundcube from the official website. Here's an example for downloading version 1.4.11:

   wget https://github.com/roundcube/roundcubemail/releases/download/1.4.11/roundcubemail-1.4.11-complete.tar.gz
   ​

   Extract the downloaded archive and move the extracted files to the Apache webroot directory:

   tar xvf roundcubemail-*.tar.gz
   mv roundcubemail-1.4.11 /var/www/HTML/roundcube
   

4. Database Configuration Create a database and user for Roundcube:

   mysql -u root -p
   CREATE DATABASE roundcube;
   GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON roundcube.* TO 'roundcube'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'strongPassword';
   FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
   EXIT;
   ​

   Then, run the script to initialize the database:

   mysql -u roundcube -p roundcube < /var/www/html/roundcube/SQL/mysql.initial.sql
   

5. Roundcube Configuration Navigate to the /var/www/html/roundcube/ directory and copy the sample configuration file:

   cd /var/www/html/roundcube/
   cp config/config.inc.php.sample config/config.inc.php
   ​

   Edit config.inc.php and set the database connection and other required parameters.

6. Apache Configuration Create a configuration file for Apache to make Roundcube accessible via the web:

   nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/roundcube.conf
   ​

   Insert the configuration with a virtual host for Roundcube. Don't forget to enable the new configuration and restart Apache:

   a2ensite roundcube.conf
   systemctl restart apache2
   

After completing the above steps, Roundcube should be accessible from a web browser. Simply open http://<your_IP_or_domain>/roundcube. Now, you can perform the initial login and start configuring your webmail client according to your needs.

Extensions and Security

Remember to regularly update Roundcube and its dependencies to keep your system secure. Additionally, you can extend the functionality of Roundcube using plugins available on the Roundcube official website.

By installing and configuring the Roundcube webmail client in ISPConfig 3, you'll gain a robust and user-friendly solution for managing emails directly from your web browser.