OpenSMTPD
Secure SMTP server implementation from the OpenBSD project.
Little to no recent activity. Treat as unmaintained until proven otherwise.
Commit activity more than 4% of tracked projects; popularity more than 26%. How this is calculated.
Commits, last 11 months
| Stars | 586 |
|---|---|
| Latest release | 7.9.0p0 · 13 Sept 2026 |
| Repo updated | 14 Sept 2026 |
| Licence | ISC |
| Built with | C, deb |
Is OpenSMTPD actively maintained?
OpenSMTPD logged 4 commits over the last 11 months, but none in the most recent quarter. Development has paused rather than stopped outright — worth watching before a production deployment.
The most recent tagged release, 7.9.0p0, shipped within the last month — a current, installable version exists today.
Of the 9 projects we track in Communication - Email - Mail Transfer Agents, OpenSMTPD ranks #2 by health score — in the top quarter of its category.
What OpenSMTPD actually does
OpenSMTPD is a secure mail transfer agent developed by the OpenBSD project. It handles the routing, sending, and receiving of emails across SMTP networks. As a standard mail server implementation, it facilitates communication infrastructure for self-hosted environments.
Best fit: It is a suitable choice if you require a minimalist, security-focused mail transfer agent developed with OpenBSD's rigorous standards. It fits well into traditional Unix-like server setups.
Worth knowing: Configuration can be notoriously complex and documentation is often sparse compared to more mainstream alternatives like Postfix. Low development activity means you may need to rely heavily on community patches or internal expertise for troubleshooting.
Deployment notes
Being a native C binary typically packaged for Debian-based systems, it usually integrates directly into the host operating system without heavy dependencies. You will need to provision persistent storage for mail queues and configure system certificates for TLS handling.
Links
OpenSMTPD as a replacement for
Alternatives to OpenSMTPD
Projects in the same categories, ordered by health score.
Fast, highly extensible, and event driven SMTP server.
A small MTA for home and office use. Works on Linux and FreeBSD.
SMTP (email) server with a focus on simplicity, security, and ease of operation.
Fast, scalable, enterprise mail/groupware server providing ESMTP, IMAP, POP3, webmail, mailing list, basic web-based calendaring and scheduling services.
A small and easy to configure SMTP and POP3 server for Windows and Linux.
Message transfer agent (MTA) developed at the University of Cambridge.