Deploying Listmonk Email Newsletter Platform

Managing listmonk effectively is a crucial skill for any system administrator. This tutorial provides step-by-step instructions for newsletter configuration, along with best practices for production environments.

Prerequisites

• A VPS running Ubuntu 22.04 or later (2GB+ RAM recommended)
• Docker and Docker Compose installed
• Root or sudo access to the server
• Basic familiarity with the Linux command line
• A reverse proxy configured (Nginx or Traefik)

Docker Compose Setup

When scaling this setup, consider vertical scaling (adding more RAM/CPU) first, as it's simpler to implement. Horizontal scaling adds complexity but may be necessary for high-traffic applications.

# docker-compose.yml
version: '3.8'
services:
  listmonk:
    image: listmonk/listmonk:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    volumes:
      - listmonk_data:/data
      - listmonk_config:/config
    environment:
      - TZ=UTC
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
    depends_on:
      - db

  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_DB=listmonk
      - POSTGRES_USER=listmonk
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=changeme

volumes:
  listmonk_data:
  listmonk_config:
  db_data:

These commands should be run as root or with sudo privileges. If you're using a non-root user, prefix each command with sudo.

• Enable firewall and allow only necessary ports
• Keep all software components up to date
• Use SSH keys instead of password authentication

Initial Configuration

When scaling this setup, consider vertical scaling (adding more RAM/CPU) first, as it's simpler to implement. Horizontal scaling adds complexity but may be necessary for high-traffic applications.

# Reverse proxy configuration
server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name listmonk.example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/listmonk.example.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/listmonk.example.com/privkey.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_buffering off;
        client_max_body_size 0;
    }
}

Note that file paths may vary depending on your Linux distribution. The examples here are for Debian/Ubuntu; adjust paths accordingly for RHEL/CentOS-based systems.

Performance Considerations

When scaling this setup, consider vertical scaling (adding more RAM/CPU) first, as it's simpler to implement. Horizontal scaling adds complexity but may be necessary for high-traffic applications.

• Start with the minimum required resources
• Scale vertically before scaling horizontally
• Implement caching at every appropriate layer
• Profile before optimizing - measure first

Conclusion

This guide covered the essential steps for working with listmonk on a VPS environment. For more advanced configurations, refer to the official documentation. Don't hesitate to reach out to our support team if you need help with your specific setup.