TL;DR
Bichon is an open-source, Rust-built server for archiving IMAP mailboxes, offering full-text indexing, a WebUI and a REST API. It runs standalone with no external DB, supports multi-account sync, import of EML/MBOX archives, and ships with role-based access control and OpenAPI docs.
What happened
A new open-source project called Bichon was released as a lightweight email archiver written in Rust. The application continuously synchronizes mail from IMAP servers, indexes messages for full-text search, and exposes a REST API and WebUI for browsing and programmatic access. Bichon is designed as a server-side archive rather than a mail client: it does not send email but focuses on download, indexing and management of historical messages. The project emphasizes minimal external dependencies, compressed/deduplicated local storage, multi-account unified search, OAuth2 and password authentication, and features such as tags, facets and analytics. It includes import tooling for EML and MBOX files (bichonctl), multi-user role-based access control, OpenAPI documentation, and binaries or a Docker image for deployment. Documentation is still under construction according to the project wiki.
Why it matters
- Provides a dedicated server-side alternative to mail clients for long-term archival and full-text search of IMAP mailboxes.
- Built in Rust with no external database dependency, promising lower resource overhead and simple deployment.
- Multi-account and unified indexing simplify searching across multiple mailboxes and imported archives.
- Includes RBAC and OpenAPI, enabling controlled multi-user access and programmatic integration.
Key facts
- Bichon synchronizes emails from IMAP servers and performs full-text indexing for search.
- The software is implemented in Rust and runs as a standalone server with a built-in WebUI.
- Authentication supports password and OAuth2 (with automatic token refresh) and uses access-token–based auth by default from v0.2.0.
- CORS behavior changed in v0.1.4: if BICHON_CORS_ORIGINS is unset, all origins are allowed; explicit origins must be exact full-string matches and '*' is not supported.
- Supports compressed storage, deduplication, tags/facets via Tantivy, bulk cleanup, and export of EML or attachments.
- Can import existing EML and MBOX archives via the bichonctl CLI to index historical emails.
- Provides Docker images and platform-specific binary downloads for Linux, macOS and Windows.
- Ships with a built-in admin user by default (v0.2.0) — username 'admin' and password 'admin@bichon' — and documentation recommends changing the default password.
- Includes dashboard analytics and a WebUI translated into 18 languages.
- Project author built Bichon quickly using experience from a related project (rustmailer) and released it as free open-source software.
What to watch next
- Documentation is still under construction; watch the project wiki for improvements and expanded guides.
- CORS configuration behavior (changed in v0.1.4) can block browser access if origins are not configured exactly; enable debug logs to troubleshoot.
- Security posture and updates around default credentials and access-token authentication as the project matures.
Quick glossary
- IMAP: Internet Message Access Protocol, a standard protocol for accessing and retrieving email stored on a mail server.
- OAuth2: An authorization framework that allows applications to obtain limited access to user accounts on an HTTP service without sharing user passwords.
- REST API: An application programming interface that uses HTTP requests to access and manipulate data, following REST architectural principles.
- Full-text search: A search technique that indexes and searches the entire text of documents, enabling keyword and phrase queries across content.
- RBAC: Role-Based Access Control, a method for restricting system access to authorized users based on assigned roles.
Reader FAQ
Is Bichon an email client that can send mail?
No. Bichon is designed for archiving and search; it does not provide email sending capabilities.
How can I run Bichon?
You can deploy it using the provided Docker image or download platform-specific binaries; a –bichon-root-dir argument is required for binary runs.
Are there default credentials?
From v0.2.0 the project includes a built-in admin user with username 'admin' and password 'admin@bichon'; the source recommends changing this immediately.
Can I import historical mail archives?
Yes. The bichonctl CLI can import EML and MBOX files so they can be indexed and searched.
Is the documentation complete?
Not confirmed in the source.
Bichon A lightweight, high-performance Rust email archiver with WebUI Bichon is an open-source email archiving system that synchronizes emails from IMAP servers, indexes them for full-text search, and provides a…
Sources
- Bichon: A lightweight, high-performance Rust email archiver with WebUI
- I built a unified email archiving and search tool in Rust. It's …
- OwnedBytes
- Catalog – TrueNAS Apps Market
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