System Requirements

This page covers the minimum hardware, software, and network requirements for running the SpamFoo Client on your mail server.

Hardware Requirements

Resource Minimum Recommended
CPU 2 cores, x64 architecture 4+ cores, x64 architecture
Memory 512 MB available 2 GB available
Disk Space 2 GB free 5 GB free
GPU Not required. All ML inference is CPU-only.
Architecture: SpamFoo requires x64 (AMD64) processors. ARM and ARM64 architectures are not supported at this time.

Disk space usage grows over time based on classification volume. The database stores raw classification records and aggregated statistics. Personalization data and corrections are stored in their own directories. Log files roll daily or at 50 MB, and the 30 most recent files are kept.

Supported Operating Systems

Platform Supported Versions
Windows Server 2016 R2, 2019, 2022, 2025+
Windows Desktop 10, 11+
Ubuntu 22.04+ (LTS version)
Debian 11+
RHEL 8+
CentOS Stream 9+
AlmaLinux 8.10+
Rocky Linux 8.1+
Docker Linux x64 containers (see Docker Requirements)

Software Prerequisites

None at this time. All requirements are included inside of SpamFoo.

Network Requirements

Ports

SpamFoo listens on port 16253 (HTTP) by default. This port is used for the local classification API and the built-in admin dashboard.

Firewall: Port 16253 should remain firewalled and not exposed to the public internet. If you need remote access to the admin dashboard or API, use a reverse proxy (such as Nginx or Caddy) with TLS termination and access controls in front of it.

The bind address defaults to localhost. This can be overridden with the SPAMFOO_BIND_ADDRESS environment variable if your mail server integration requires binding to a different interface.

Outbound Connectivity

SpamFoo requires outbound HTTPS (port 443) access to SpamFoo's cloud services for:

  • License validation and activation
  • ML model downloads and update checks
  • Reputation feed updates

If outbound access is unavailable, SpamFoo operates in local-only mode using its existing models and local data (if available). The existing licensed functionality will continue to function, but models will not update and reputation enrichment will be unavailable.

Docker Requirements

For containerized deployments, SpamFoo provides a Linux x64 Docker image based on mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:10.0. The .NET runtime, ML models, and admin frontend are all included in the image.

Note: Docker support is in development and this content is subject to change.
Requirement Details
Docker Engine 20.10+ (or Docker Desktop)
Exposed Port 16253

Persistent data (SQLite database, logs, personalization data) should be stored on a mounted volume so it survives container restarts. See the Installation Guide for Docker-specific setup instructions.

Mail Server Compatibility

SpamFoo integrates with your mail server through one of several methods. No changes to the mail server's minimum requirements are needed beyond the SpamFoo requirements listed above.

Mail Server Integration Method Details
SmarterMail Native integration Setup guide
Custom CLI, API, or folder watcher Integration overview

Next Steps

Once you have confirmed your environment meets these requirements, proceed to the Installation Guide.