Overview: listmonk is a standalone, self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager designed for developers and businesses seeking full control over their email campaigns without relying on third-party services. Built as a single binary in Go and backed by PostgreSQL, it eliminates the complexity of managing multiple services while delivering enterprise-grade features like real-time analytics, campaign tracking, and SMTP integration. It’s ideal for teams that need privacy, customization, and performance in their email marketing infrastructure.
Unlike cloud-based solutions, listmonk runs entirely on your infrastructure, ensuring data sovereignty and compliance with regulations like GDPR. Its modern web dashboard provides an intuitive interface for managing subscribers, crafting campaigns, and monitoring deliverability—all accessible via a single binary deployment. With support for both Docker and direct binaries, it’s deployable in minutes on any system with PostgreSQL.
What You Get
- Single-binary deployment - listmonk is distributed as a single Go binary, eliminating dependency hell and simplifying installation on any Linux, macOS, or Windows system.
- Built-in PostgreSQL support - Uses PostgreSQL as its data store for scalability and reliability, with automated DB setup via
--install or --upgrade commands.
- Modern web dashboard - Features a responsive, real-time UI for managing subscribers, viewing analytics (open rates, click-throughs), and scheduling campaigns without external tools.
- SMTP integration - Configurable SMTP settings to send emails via any provider (e.g., SendGrid, Mailgun, or your own SMTP server) with TLS and authentication support.
- Subscriber management - Import/export subscribers via CSV, tag users, manage subscription status (confirmed/unsubscribed), and handle bounce and complaint tracking.
- Campaign scheduling & analytics - Schedule newsletters for future delivery and track detailed metrics including opens, clicks, device usage, and geographic distribution.
- Docker-ready deployment - Official Docker image with a pre-configured docker-compose.yml for quick setup with PostgreSQL and Redis dependencies.
Common Use Cases
- Building a privacy-focused email newsletter for SaaS users - A B2B company wants to send product updates without exposing subscriber data to Mailchimp or SendGrid; listmonk lets them host all email infrastructure internally with full audit control.
- Managing transactional and promotional emails at scale - An e-commerce platform needs to send both order confirmations (transactional) and weekly promotions; listmonk handles both via configurable templates and SMTP pools.
- Problem → Solution flow: Avoiding vendor lock-in with email platforms - Teams tired of rising costs and data restrictions from commercial ESPs switch to listmonk to retain full ownership of subscriber lists and email logs.
- Team workflow for devops-led marketing - DevOps teams deploy listmonk alongside their infrastructure using Docker Compose, allowing marketers to manage campaigns via UI without requiring engineering support for email delivery.
Under The Hood
Listmonk is a self-hosted email newsletter and mailing list manager that combines a robust Go backend with a Vue.js-powered frontend, designed for ease of deployment and extensibility. It offers a modular architecture with strong separation between business logic, data handling, and presentation layers.
Architecture
Listmonk follows a layered monolithic architecture with clear module boundaries for campaigns, subscribers, and lists.
- The backend uses a command-line interface with modular handlers to manage features like authentication, templates, and media
- The frontend is structured as a Vue.js application with distinct components for UI elements and API integration
- Business logic is separated from data access and presentation, enabling plugin-based extensibility
- The email builder module functions independently and can be embedded into other systems
Tech Stack
The project leverages modern web technologies to deliver a scalable and maintainable solution.
- Built with Go for backend services and Vue.js with TypeScript for the frontend interface
- Integrates Bulma CSS, Codemirror, and Tinymce to support rich UI and content editing
- Employs Vite for frontend builds, Cypress for E2E testing, and ESLint/TypeScript for code quality
- Includes comprehensive unit and integration tests across both frontend and backend modules
Code Quality
Code quality in Listmonk shows a mixed state with structured components and some inconsistencies.
- Linting and type safety are implemented, but test coverage remains limited in key areas
- Error handling is present but not uniformly applied across the codebase
- There are signs of technical debt in both frontend and backend modules
- Code organization is generally consistent, though some duplication exists
What Makes It Unique
Listmonk stands out through its developer-centric design and modular approach to email management.
- Features a standalone, embeddable email template builder with real-time preview and drag-and-drop capabilities
- Offers strong internationalization support with dynamic translation loading and locale switching
- Provides a clean API structure and extensive documentation to aid customization and integration
- Emphasizes self-hosting and developer control with minimal external dependencies