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Email — User Guide

Electric Monk email is powered by Stalwart Mail Server with authentication through Authentik. Your email address is you@electricmonk.io.

Features

Quick Settings Reference

Setting Value
Server mail.electricmonk.io
Username Your full email address (e.g. you@electricmonk.io)
Password Your Authentik password
IMAP Port 993 (SSL/TLS)
SMTP Port 465 (SSL/TLS)

CRITICAL: Use your full email address as the username. Do not use your bare Authentik username (e.g. just chris). All mail clients — Thunderbird, Outlook, iPhone, Android, etc. — require the full email address. The same rule applies to Bulwark webmail.

Setting Up Email on iPhone / iPad

  1. Open Settings → Mail → Accounts → Add Account
  2. Tap Other → Add Mail Account
  3. Fill in:
    • Name: Your display name
    • Email: you@electricmonk.io
    • Password: Your Authentik password
    • Description: Electric Monk (or whatever you like)
  4. Tap Next — iOS may try to auto-detect settings. If it fails:
  5. Select IMAP (not POP)
  6. Under Incoming Mail Server:
    • Host Name: mail.electricmonk.io
    • User Name: Your full email address (e.g. you@electricmonk.io)
    • Password: Your Authentik password
  7. Under Outgoing Mail Server:
    • Host Name: mail.electricmonk.io
    • User Name: Your full email address
    • Password: Your Authentik password
  8. Tap Next — iOS will verify the settings
  9. Toggle on Mail (and optionally Notes), then tap Save

Verifying SSL/TLS on iOS

After setup, go to Settings → Mail → Accounts → your account → Account → Advanced:

Setting Up Email on macOS Mail

  1. Open Mail → Settings → Accounts → click +
  2. Select Other Mail Account → Continue
  3. Enter your name, email (you@electricmonk.io), and Authentik password
  4. macOS may auto-detect settings. If prompted for manual config:
    • Account Type: IMAP
    • Incoming: mail.electricmonk.io port 993 SSL
    • Outgoing: mail.electricmonk.io port 465 SSL

Setting Up Email on Thunderbird

  1. Add Account → enter name, email, password
  2. Thunderbird will try autoconfig — settings should be detected automatically
  3. If manual config is needed, enter the settings from the Quick Reference above
  4. Authentication method: Normal password

Setting Up Email on Android

  1. Open your mail app (Gmail, K-9 Mail, FairEmail, etc.)
  2. Add Account → Other / IMAP
  3. Enter you@electricmonk.io and your Authentik password
  4. Incoming: mail.electricmonk.io, port 993, security SSL/TLS
  5. Outgoing: mail.electricmonk.io, port 465, security SSL/TLS

Using the Webmail

Two web interfaces are available — both use your regular Authentik password, but they log in differently:

Logging In to Bulwark Webmail

  1. Go to https://webmail.electricmonk.io
  2. Click Sign in — a login form appears on the Bulwark page (you are not redirected to the Authentik login page)
  3. Username: your full email address — you@electricmonk.io, not just you
  4. Password: your regular Authentik/SSO password — the same one you use for every other Electric Monk service
  5. Submit, and you'll be returned to your inbox

The username must be the full email address. A bare username will not log you in. Any of your aliases will also work as the login address.

Bulwark uses the same password as Authentik. There is no separate webmail password. If your SSO password changes, use the new one here.

Logging In to Stalwart Web UI

  1. Go to https://mail.electricmonk.io/account/
  2. Username: your full email address
  3. Password: your regular Authentik/SSO password
  4. Submit to access your account settings (Sieve filters, app passwords, etc.)

The Bulwark webmail supports Sieve filter management and password changes through Stalwart.

App Passwords

If a client or automation tool doesn't support your Authentik password directly (e.g., some older SMTP relay scripts), app-specific passwords can be created. Contact an administrator to generate one using the manage-app-passwords.sh script.

How Authentication Works

Your email credentials are your Authentik credentials — the same username and password you use for all Electric Monk services. Stalwart authenticates against Authentik's LDAP directory in real time:

  1. You enter your username/email and password in your mail client
  2. Stalwart searches the Authentik LDAP directory for your account
  3. Stalwart verifies your password by binding to LDAP as you
  4. If successful, you're authenticated — no separate email password needed

This means if you change your Authentik password, your email password changes too.

Webmail takes the same path with one extra hop: Bulwark hands you off to Stalwart's single sign-on, and Stalwart checks your password against Authentik. There is no separate webmail account.

How Encryption Works (TLS)

All connections to mail.electricmonk.io are encrypted:

Your device (TLS) ──→ Traefik (terminates TLS) ──→ Stalwart (internal network)

The TLS certificate is a wildcard cert for *.electricmonk.io managed by Let's Encrypt. You should never see certificate warnings.

Note: Do not use port 587 with STARTTLS — it is not exposed externally. Always use port 465 with implicit SSL/TLS.

Troubleshooting

"Authentication failed"

"Cannot connect to server"

Emails not sending

Email Aliases

FAQ — Common Login Problems

What username do I use to log in?

Always use your full email address (e.g. you@electricmonk.io). Do not use your bare Authentik username (e.g. just chris). This applies to:

Any of your email aliases will work as the login address.

What password do I use?

Your Authentik/SSO password — the same one you use for every other Electric Monk service. There is no separate email or webmail password. If your SSO password changes, use the new one for email too.

Does Bulwark webmail use the Authentik login page?

No. When you click "Sign in" on Bulwark, the login form appears directly on the Bulwark page — you are not redirected to the Authentik portal. You still use your Authentik password, but the login happens within Bulwark via OAuth.

I entered my Authentik username and it won't accept it

That's the most common issue. The server needs your full email address, not just your username. Enter you@electricmonk.io as the username.

I can log in to Authentik but not to email

  1. Make sure you're using your full email address as the username (not just your username)
  2. Verify your Authentik password works at auth.electricmonk.io
  3. Check that your account is active in Authentik