Glossary

The words the inbuxa docs use, each in a sentence or two, with a link to where it's explained in full.

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The pieces

inbuxa server: The mail server. It carries the mail and holds the data. Nothing else runs on its machine unless you put it there. 1. The mail server
Console (inbuxa Admin): The program administrators use to set up and run the server. A separate web app, never served by the mail server itself. The console and the webmail
Webmail (inbuxa Webmail): Where people read their mail. Its Administration pages cover the everyday admin jobs, such as adding an account. Getting started
Front ends: The console and the webmail together: the two web programs in front of the server. Where each service goes
Installer: The inbuxa command that installs, joins, upgrades and removes the other pieces. Quick start
inbuxa Relay: A small program on a public machine that takes mail in for your server and sends its mail out, so your server never opens a mail port to the internet. Not the same as a relay service. inbuxa Relay
Relay service: A company such as Amazon SES or Mailgun that delivers your outgoing mail for you. Sending mail
Edge server: A second, small inbuxa server on a public machine that passes mail to and from your own. An edge server in front

Bootstrap mode: How a new server starts when it has no configuration: on port 8080 only, waiting for the console to set it up. What bootstrap mode is
First boot: The console's guided setup of a server in bootstrap mode: its name, its first domain, certificates and administrator. A server moved from Stalwart skips it. Complete first boot
Recovery mode: A way to start the server with none of its own listeners and an administrator of its own, to undo a setting that locked you out. Getting back in
Server environment: Settings given to the server when it starts rather than kept in its configuration, such as where the console and the webmail are. The server's environment

Account: A person, or a mailbox such as a shared one, that can hold mail. Accounts
Group: Several accounts with one address and one mailbox, which every member can open. Shared mailbox or group?
Shared mailbox: A role address such as support@ that belongs to no one, opened by the people you assign. Shared mailboxes
Tenant: A separate organization on the same server, with its own people, domains, limits and administrator. Tenants
Role: A named set of permissions given to accounts. Roles
Directory: Where the server checks who people are: its own accounts, or LDAP, Active Directory, SQL or OpenID Connect, chosen per domain. Directories and SCIM
SCIM: A standard that lets an identity provider create and remove accounts on the server by itself. SCIM
App password: A separate password for one mail app or device, which can be cancelled on its own. Your password and app passwords
Masked address: A disposable address that delivers to your account without revealing the real one. Masked addresses

MX record: The DNS record that says which server takes a domain's mail.
SPF, DKIM and DMARC: Three DNS records that let other servers check your mail really came from you. Without them, it lands in spam. DNS records
PTR record (reverse DNS): The name an IP address looks up to. Set with your hosting provider, and it should name your mail server.
MTA-STS and DANE: Two ways to tell other servers to send to yours only over checked TLS. DNS, DKIM and certificates
CAA record: A DNS record that says which certificate authorities may issue for a domain. Off by default on new domains. CAA records
ACME: How the server gets and renews certificates by itself, from Let's Encrypt or another provider. ACME providers
JMAP: The protocol the console and the webmail use to talk to the server. Mail apps mostly use IMAP instead. Protocols
Sieve: The language mail filters and out-of-office replies are written in. ManageSieve is the protocol that lets mail apps edit them. Filters and out-of-office
Queue: Outgoing mail waiting to be delivered, with each recipient's last error. Following a message

Undelete: Deleted mail, events, contacts and accounts are kept for a while and can be brought back. Undelete
Legal hold: Keeps everything in chosen accounts from being destroyed, by anyone, until it's released. Legal holds
Locked account: An account that keeps receiving mail but can't be signed in to, opened by the people you choose. Locked accounts
Journaling: A copy of mail as it passes, kept where nobody can change it. Journaling
Audit log: A lasting record of what administrators changed and whose mail they opened. Audit log
Tracing store: Where the server keeps the delivery history of each message, for Management › Emails › History. Monitoring

Node: One machine running the server, as part of a cluster. Clustering
Coordinator: What the nodes of a cluster use to tell each other about changes as they happen, such as NATS or Redis. What a cluster needs
Data store and blob store: Where the server keeps its records, and where it keeps the mail and attachments themselves. One machine keeps both on its own disk; a cluster needs ones every node can reach. What a cluster needs

Series: A version named for the year and month it ships, such as 27.1. Breaking changes only arrive in a new series. Versions and upgrades
Release candidate: A test build of a series before it ships, such as 27.1-rc.10. Never latest, and opt-in. Release candidates
The 2026 line: The dated releases from before the first series, such as 2026.10.29.1. Versions and upgrades