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Install haraka with Homebrew

Fast, highly extensible, and event driven SMTP server. Version 3.3.2 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-22.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install haraka

local Homebrew formula metadata

overview

Package summary

Fast, highly extensible, and event driven SMTP server

Commands and aliases

  • haraka
  • haraka_grep

history

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.

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

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.

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew bottle metadata was recorded.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

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

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix
/path/to/haraka/config/host_list/path/to/haraka/config/plugins/path/to/haraka/config/smtp_forward.ini

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
harakaexecutableindexed executableDiscovered from the local executable index.
haraka_grepexecutableindexed executableDiscovered from the local executable index.

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-08-03
manager version3.3.2
manager updated2026-07-22
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
  • okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:haraka
Version3.3.2
Package managerHomebrew
Homepagehttps://haraka.github.io/
Last updated2026-07-22T06:20:49Z
Pulseupdated
Bottlenot recorded
Servicenone declared

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Used sources

  • Geiger risk classifier
  • cross-ecosystem install command graph
  • curated configuration and credential file locations
  • curated package history
  • pkg.so package database
  • pkgdb category and tag curation