First login as domain admin in the Mailcow GUI

After your order, we’ve set up your domain on our Mailcow server — DNS records are in place, DKIM is active, the SSL certificate is running. You don’t have to worry about the server side; we handle that.

What you then get from us:

• GUI URL (typically https://mail.xaweho.de or the individual mail server address of your plan)
• Domain admin login (typically your main mail address + password)
• Domain admin permission on your domain(s)

Keep the login data safe — and change the password right after your first login.

First login

Open the GUI URL in your browser. You land on the Mailcow login screen. Enter username and password.

Right after login, you land on the overview dashboard of your domain. What you see:

• Mail statistics for the last few days (incoming / outgoing)
• Storage usage of your mailboxes
• Active mailboxes and aliases
• DKIM status of your domain (should show “active” — we set that up)

The left-hand navigation as domain admin

You see fewer menu items than a server admin (that’s us) — exactly what you need for your domain:

Configuration → E-Mail

This is where most of the day-to-day happens:

• Mailboxes — create mailboxes, set quotas, change passwords
• Domains — your domain(s); read-only here, because domain management runs server-side
• Aliases — forwards like info@yourdomain.de → firstname@yourdomain.de
• Domain aliases — if you have several domains that all go to the same mailbox
• App passwords — separate logins for mail clients (Outlook, mail app) when 2FA is active

Configuration → Black/White lists

• Blacklist: addresses or domains from which mail is never accepted
• Whitelist: addresses or domains that always count as legitimate — no matter what the spam filter says

E-Mail → Queue

Mail currently waiting to be sent or held due to temporary problems. Usually empty in normal operation — if something sits here and doesn’t clear: open a ticket, we’ll check.

E-Mail → Quarantine

Mail identified as spam and held back. You can look in here to see whether anything was blocked by mistake, and release it.

System → Profile

Your own login. This is where you change your password and can enable 2FA — which we strongly recommend.

What you should do first

Four things, in this order:

1. Change your own password

System → Profile → Password. Generated from your password manager, at least 16 characters. Nobody should ever need the initial password we sent you again.

2. Enable 2FA

In the same area, the Two-factor authentication tab → select TOTP. Scan the QR code with an app like Aegis (Android) or the iOS password manager, confirm the code. Mailcow shows you recovery codes — print them or store them in your password manager.

Once 2FA is active, the next login will additionally ask for the TOTP code.

Important: mail clients like Outlook and Apple Mail can’t do 2FA by default. That’s what app passwords are for — see App passwords for mail clients.

3. Create your first mailbox or check the main one

By default we created a main mailbox for you during provisioning. Under Configuration → Mailboxes you can see which mailboxes exist.

If you want several right away (say info@, firstname@): see Creating mailboxes.

4. Send and receive a test mail

Via SOGo webmail — you’ll find the link in the Mailcow GUI at the top right next to your profile name. SOGo is the mail web app that lets you use mail directly without a mail client.

Send a test mail to your Gmail or private account. It arrives in Gmail? Look at the mail header (Gmail: three dots → “Show original”). The important lines:

SPF: PASS
DKIM: PASS
DMARC: PASS

All three should show PASS. If so: your setup is clean, mail gets through everywhere.

If not: open a ticket, we’ll check the DNS records.

What you don’t see in the Mailcow GUI (and don’t need)

Server topics that we take care of and that you have no access to:

• DNS records of your domain (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC) — we set, maintain, document
• Server software updates and security patches
• IP reputation and blacklist monitoring
• Server-wide spam filter configuration (you only see your domain whitelist/blacklist)
• Hardware logs

If you want to know or change something in any of these areas: open a ticket, we’ll take care of it or explain what’s going on.

Frequently asked questions

I see fewer menu items in Mailcow than in some YouTube videos. Why? Because you’re a domain admin, not a server admin. The server admin view shows system settings, DNS configuration, IP management and so on — we do that internally. Your GUI is focused on domain management.

Can I create additional domain admin accounts? Yes. Configuration → Domain administrators → Add. Handy if you designate one person on your team who’s allowed to create mailboxes without getting your login.

What’s the difference to SOGo? Mailcow is the management GUI (creating mailboxes, aliases, etc.). SOGo is the webmail (reading and writing mail, calendar, contacts). Each has its own login; both use the same account data.

How can I see whether my DKIM is active? The dashboard’s DKIM status field shows “active” for your domain. Detailed check at mxtoolbox.com/dkim.aspx — enter your domain and mxtoolbox shows the DKIM public key.

What if I forget my password? Open a ticket. We reset it, you get a new initial password and change it again after logging in.

The Mailcow GUI looks different from a friend’s — why? Mailcow updates regularly, and the UI changes occasionally. We roll out updates during our maintenance window — so the UI may behave differently from the last time you saw it. Functionally, everything stays in place.

Where do I find the logs for my mail? E-Mail → Mail logs (visible only for incoming and outgoing mail of your domain). There you see timestamps, sender, recipient, size, spam score. The first place to look when mail delivery has problems.

What’s next

• Creating and editing mailboxes, setting quotas
• App passwords for mail clients
• SOGo webmail — first login and overview