# Install haraka with Homebrew Fast, highly extensible, and event driven SMTP server. Version 3.3.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-14. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:haraka ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install haraka ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:haraka - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 3.3.1 - **Source summary:** Fast, highly extensible, and event driven SMTP server - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** MIT - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-14T00:04:33Z - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T18:08:21+00:00 ## Executables - haraka (cli) - haraka_grep (cli) - haraka (alias) - haraka_grep (alias) ## Dependencies - node ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on all ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 3.3.1 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-14 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://haraka.github.io/ - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## Project history and usage Haraka is a Node.js SMTP server and mail transfer agent with an asynchronous plugin architecture. Its niche is not mail storage; it is a programmable SMTP edge, relay, filter, or submission service that can sit beside systems such as IMAP stores, qmail-like stores, Postfix, or application backends. ### Project history The official README credits Haraka to Matt Sergeant and notes later maintenance by Matt Simerson and the Haraka community. The repository history begins in March 2011, fitting the early Node.js era when evented JavaScript servers were being applied to network daemons. Haraka's design took the SMTP conversation and exposed it as hook points such as connection, HELO, MAIL, RCPT, DATA, queue, and post-DATA stages. That made the project attractive to administrators who wanted custom filtering and routing logic without patching a traditional MTA. ### Adoption history Haraka's homepage says it has been used heavily in high-traffic sites, and the README describes it as handling thousands of concurrent connections and thousands of messages per second. Adoption appears concentrated among mail operators and application teams that need programmable SMTP behavior. Its package-manager footprint is thinner than HAProxy or HarfBuzz in the supplied facts, with Homebrew as the listed package manager, which matches its niche role as a Node.js-based mail server rather than a universal system dependency. ### How it is used Typical use is installing the `haraka` command, creating a service directory with `haraka -i`, editing files under `config/`, enabling plugins in `config/plugins`, and running the daemon with `haraka -c`. Common plugin-driven roles include inbound filtering, DKIM signing, authentication, DNSBL or reputation checks, SpamAssassin or rspamd integration, queueing, forwarding, rate limiting, and SMTP submission. ### Why package nerds care Haraka is interesting to package users because it treats SMTP policy as JavaScript plugins. Packaging has to bridge Node.js runtime expectations, executable scripts, global installation patterns, and service-directory configuration generated outside the package prefix. The package is also a reminder that not all MTAs are monolithic C daemons: for some deployments, a lightweight evented SMTP front end plus plugins is the smaller operational unit. ### Timeline - 2011-03-10: Haraka repository history begins with the first commit. - 2011-03-12: Early commits show the first working SMTP implementation taking shape. - 2011-04-05: The v0.2 tag appears in the official git tag history. - 2020s: README and homepage describe Haraka as a high-performance, plugin-oriented Node.js SMTP server maintained by the community. ### Related projects - Related mail infrastructure includes Node.js, Qpsmtpd, SpamAssassin, rspamd, DKIM plugins, DNSBL services, Postfix, qmail, Dovecot, and other MTAs or mailbox stores that Haraka can complement. - Haraka's plugin model makes the ecosystem of Haraka plugins as important as the core daemon. ### Sources - - - ## Security Notes No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for haraka. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL. ## Configuration and credential file locations These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval. ## Configuration files - Unix: /path/to/haraka/config/host_list, /path/to/haraka/config/plugins, /path/to/haraka/config/smtp_forward.ini ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** haraka - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Language runtime packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/language-runtime-packages/) - Matched language runtime, compiler, or interpreter metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [node](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/node/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [mailutils](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mailutils/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, mail-server, networking. - [msmtp](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/msmtp/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, networking, smtp. - [sendemail](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/sendemail/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, networking, smtp. - [swaks](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/swaks/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, networking, smtp. - [checkdmarc](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/checkdmarc/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, networking. - [exim](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/exim/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, mail-server, networking, smtp. - [fetchmail](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/fetchmail/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, networking. - [getmail6](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/getmail6/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, networking. - [haraka-plugin-spf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/npm/haraka-plugin-spf/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, email, haraka, networking. - [mox](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mox/) - Local metadata places this package in an adjacent workflow. Shared terms: cli, mail, mail-server, networking, server. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/haraka.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/haraka.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - cross-ecosystem install command graph