Mailcow Aliases for Safari

Yes, but Safari blocks requests to non-secure (HTTP) origins by default. You will need to tell Safari to trust your Mailcow server first. Here is how:

1. Open Safari and navigate directly to your Mailcow admin panel URL (e.g., http://mail.example.com).
2. Safari will display a security warning. Click "Visit Website" or "Show Details" and then choose to proceed.
3. If prompted, click "Visit this website" in the confirmation dialog and enter your system password if asked.
4. Once you have visited and accepted the certificate, Safari will remember this trust decision for the session.
5. Now return to any website and try creating an alias. The extension should be able to connect to your Mailcow server.

You may need to repeat this process if Safari clears its trust decisions (e.g., after a restart or clearing website data). We strongly recommend setting up HTTPS on your Mailcow instance using a free certificate from Let's Encrypt to avoid this issue entirely and to keep your API key secure in transit.

After installing the extension from the App Store:

1. Open Safari > Settings > Extensions and enable "Mailcow Aliases".
2. Click the extension's icon in the Safari toolbar, then click the gear icon to open Settings.
3. Enter your Mailcow Host URL (e.g., https://mail.example.com).
4. Enter your Mailcow API Key. You can generate one in your Mailcow admin panel under Configuration > Access > API.
5. Enter the forwarding email address where alias mail should be delivered.
6. Select your preferred alias domain from the dropdown (populated from your Mailcow server).
7. Configure your preferred alias generation style, default expiration, and other options.

There are two ways to create an alias:

From the toolbar popup: Click the Mailcow Aliases icon in your Safari toolbar. Click "New Alias" to generate one for the current site.

From a right-click menu: Right-click on any email input field on a webpage and select "Create Mailcow Alias" from the context menu. This will generate an alias and fill it into the field automatically.

The alias is only created on your Mailcow server when you click "Copy" or "Fill Field". Simply previewing an alias does not create it.

When Silent Discard is enabled for an alias, any mail sent to that alias will be silently rejected by your Mailcow server without generating a bounce notification to the sender. This is useful for aliases you create on sites you do not fully trust, as it prevents the sender from knowing whether the address exists.

You can set aliases to expire automatically after a chosen time period (1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, or 1 month). When the expiration time is reached, the extension automatically deletes the alias from your Mailcow server. The expiration timer runs through Safari's Alarms API. Note that Safari must be running for expiration timers to be processed. If Safari is closed when an alias is scheduled to expire, it will be cleaned up the next time Safari is opened.

Yes. Mailcow Aliases is a universal app that works on macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. On iOS/iPadOS, enable the extension in Settings > Apps > Safari > Extensions.

This usually means the extension cannot reach your Mailcow server. Check the following:

• Verify the Mailcow Host URL is correct in the extension settings (include https:// or http://).
• Ensure your Mailcow server is running and accessible from your current network.
• If using HTTP, make sure you have accepted the certificate in Safari first (see the HTTP/HTTPS FAQ above).
• Confirm your API key is correct and has not been revoked in Mailcow.
• If your Mailcow instance is behind a VPN, make sure you are connected.

The extension requires a Mailcow API key with read/write access to aliases. Specifically, it uses these endpoints:

• GET /api/v1/get/domain/all - to list your available domains
• GET /api/v1/get/alias/all - to list existing aliases
• POST /api/v1/add/alias - to create new aliases
• POST /api/v1/edit/alias - to toggle or modify aliases
• POST /api/v1/delete/alias - to delete aliases

We recommend creating a dedicated API key for the extension rather than reusing an admin key.

All extension data (your Mailcow URL, API key, forwarding address, preferences, and alias expiration schedules) is stored locally on your device using Safari's built-in extension storage. No data is ever sent to the developer or any third party. The only network communication is between your browser and the Mailcow server you configure. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

To remove the extension and all its locally stored data:

1. Open Safari > Settings > Extensions.
2. Select "Mailcow Aliases" and click "Uninstall".
3. This removes the extension and all of its locally stored settings.

Note that any aliases already created on your Mailcow server will remain active until you manually delete them from your Mailcow admin panel.