Chainguard Container for gitlab-mailroom

GitLab Mailroom is a daemon that monitors IMAP and POP3 mailboxes for incoming emails and forwards them to GitLab. It enables email-based workflows such as creating issues via email, replying to issues, and Service Desk functionality.

To get more information about the image, please visit the GitLab repository.

Chainguard Containers are regularly-updated, secure-by-default container images.

Download this Container Image

For those with access, this container image is available on cgr.dev:

docker pull cgr.dev/ORGANIZATION/gitlab-mailroom:latest

Be sure to replace the ORGANIZATION placeholder with the name used for your organization's private repository within the Chainguard Registry.

Compatibility Notes

The gitlab-mailroom image is designed as a drop-in replacement for the official GitLab Mailroom container image, with the following key differences:

• Runs as a non-root user by default
• Tagged with the gitlab-mailroom gem version

This image is compatible with GitLab's Helm chart and can be configured as a direct replacement in your GitLab deployment.

Note that this image does not include bundler and gcc.

Getting Started

The gitlab-mailroom image is typically deployed as part of a GitLab installation to handle incoming email. It monitors IMAP or POP3 mailboxes and delivers received emails to GitLab for processing.

Basic Usage with Docker

To test the image directly with Docker:

docker run cgr.dev/ORGANIZATION/gitlab-mailroom:latest

The container will start the mail_room service, which expects a configuration file at /var/opt/gitlab/mail_room.yml. By default, it will parse ERB templates from /etc and then start monitoring configured mailboxes.

Using with GitLab Helm Chart

The gitlab-mailroom image integrates seamlessly with the GitLab Helm chart. Configure it in your values.yaml:

global:
  appConfig:
    incomingEmail:
      enabled: true
      address: "incoming@example.com"
      host: "imap.example.com"
      port: 993
      ssl: true
      user: "mailroom@example.com"
      password:
        secret: gitlab-mailroom-password
        key: password
      mailbox: "inbox"
      idleTimeout: 60
      inboxMethod: "imap"
      deliveryMethod: "sidekiq"

gitlab:
  mailroom:
    enabled: true
    image:
      repository: cgr.dev/ORGANIZATION/gitlab-mailroom
      tag: latest

This configuration enables:

• IMAP mailbox monitoring on imap.example.com
• Automatic email delivery to GitLab via Sidekiq
• Secure credential storage using Kubernetes secrets

Configuration

The gitlab-mailroom container is configured through environment variables and a YAML configuration file:

Environment Variables

• CONFIG_TEMPLATE_DIRECTORY: Directory containing ERB templates (default: /etc)

Configuration File

The mail_room service expects its configuration at /var/opt/gitlab/mail_room.yml. In a GitLab Helm deployment, this file is automatically generated from the global.appConfig.incomingEmail settings.

Example minimal configuration:

mailboxes:
  - email: "incoming@example.com"
    host: "imap.example.com"
    port: 993
    ssl: true
    start_tls: false
    name: "inbox"
    idle_timeout: 60
    delivery_method: sidekiq
    delivery_options:
      redis_url: "redis://redis:6379"
      namespace: "resque:gitlab"
      queue: "incoming_email"
      worker: "EmailReceiverWorker"

Volume Mounts

When running standalone, mount your configuration:

docker run -v /path/to/mail_room.yml:/var/opt/gitlab/mail_room.yml \
  cgr.dev/ORGANIZATION/gitlab-mailroom:latest

Documentation and Resources

For more information about GitLab Mailroom and email integration:

• GitLab Incoming Email Documentation
• GitLab Service Desk Documentation
• mail_room gem on RubyGems
• GitLab Mailroom Source Code

What are Chainguard Containers?

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• Minimal design, without unnecessary software bloat
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Need additional packages?

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To use Custom Assembly in the Chainguard Console: navigate to the image you'd like to customize in your Organization's list of images, and click on the Customize image button at the top of the page.

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