Zero

An Open-Source Gmail Alternative for the Future of Email

What is Zero?

Zero is an open-source AI email solution that gives users the power to self-host their own email app while also integrating external services like Gmail and other email providers. Our goal is to modernize and improve emails through AI agents to truly modernize emails.

Why Zero?

Most email services today are either closed-source, data-hungry, or too complex to self-host. 0.email is different:

• ✅ Open-Source – No hidden agendas, fully transparent.
• 🦾 AI Driven - Enhance your emails with Agents & LLMs.
• 🔒 Data Privacy First – Your emails, your data. No tracking, no selling, no middlemen.
• ⚙️ Self-Hosting Freedom – Run your own email app with ease.
• 📬 Unified Inbox – Connect multiple email providers like Gmail, Outlook, and more.
• 🎨 Customizable UI & Features – Tailor your email experience the way you want it.
• 🚀 Developer-Friendly – Built with extensibility and integrations in mind.

Tech Stack

Zero is built with modern and reliable technologies:

• Frontend: Next.js, React, TypeScript, TailwindCSS, Shadcn UI
• Backend: Node.js, Drizzle ORM
• Database: PostgreSQL
• Authentication: Better Auth, Google OAuth

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Required Versions:

• Node.js >= 18.0.0
• pnpm >= 8.0.0
• Docker >= 20.10.0

Before running the application, you'll need to set up several services and environment variables:

For more in-depth information on environment variables, please refer to the Environment Variables section.

1. Setup Local Services with Dev Container and Docker

   • Make sure you have Docker, NodeJS, and pnpm installed.

   • Open codebase as a container in VSCode or your favorite VSCode fork.

   • Run the following commands in order to populate your dependencies and setup docker

     pnpm install
     pnpm docker:up
     

   • Run the following commands to clean up after yourself

     pnpm docker:down
     rm -rf node_modules
     rm pnpm-lock.yaml
     

   • Run the following commands if you are unable to start any of the services

     rm -rf node_modules
     rm pnpm-lock.yaml
     

2. Better Auth Setup

   • Open the .env file and change the BETTER_AUTH_SECRET to a random string. (Use openssl rand -hex 32 to generate a 32 character string)

     BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=your_secret_key

3. Google OAuth Setup

   • Go to Google Cloud Console

   • Create a new project

   • Add the following APIs in your Google Cloud Project: People API, Gmail API

     • Use the links above and click 'Enable' or
     • Go to 'APIs and Services' > 'Enable APIs and Services' > Search for 'Google People API' and click 'Enable'
     • Go to 'APIs and Services' > 'Enable APIs and Services' > Search for 'Gmail API' and click 'Enable'

   • Enable the Google OAuth2 API

   • Create OAuth 2.0 credentials (Web application type)

   • Add authorized redirect URIs:

     • Development:
       • http://localhost:3000/api/auth/callback/google
       • http://localhost:3000/api/v1/mail/auth/google/callback
     • Production:
       • https://your-production-url/api/auth/callback/google
       • https://your-production-url/api/v1/mail/auth/google/callback

   • Add to .env:

     GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
     GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret
     GOOGLE_REDIRECT_URI=http://localhost:3000/api/v1/mail/auth/google/callback

   • Add yourself as a test user:

     • Go to Audience
     • Under 'Test users' click 'Add Users'
     • Add your email and click 'Save'

Warning

The GOOGLE_REDIRECT_URI must match exactly what you configure in the Google Cloud Console, including the protocol (http/https), domain, and path - these are provided above.

4. GitHub OAuth Setup

   • Go to GitHub Developer Setting

   • Create a new OAuth App

   • Add authorized redirect URIs:

     • Development:
       • http://localhost:3000/api/auth/callback/github
     • Production:
       • https://your-production-url/api/auth/callback/github

   • Add to .env:

     GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
     GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret

Environment Variables

Copy .env.example located in the apps/mail folder to .env in the same folder and configure the following variables:

# Auth
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=     # Required: Secret key for authentication

# Google OAuth (Optional)
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=       # Required for Gmail integration
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=   # Required for Gmail integration
GOOGLE_REDIRECT_URI=    # Required for Gmail integration

# Database
DATABASE_URL=           # Required: PostgreSQL connection string for backend connection

To be able to run pnpm db:push and push the schemas to the database you also have to add a .env file to the packages/db folder (so packages/db/.env) with the following content:

DATABASE_URL=          # Required: PostgreSQL connection string for migrations

For local development a connection string example is provided in the .env.example file located in the same folder as the database.

Note: The DATABASE_URL connection string in the apps/mail/.env has to be the same as the one in packages/db/.env

Update the PostgreSQL database accordingly

Drizzle will apply the schema migrations set in .env

pnpm db:push

• Use pnpm db:studio to view and manage your data

Running Locally

Run the development server:

cd apps/mail
pnpm dev

Open http://localhost:3000 with your browser to see the result.

Contribute

Please refer to the contributing guide.

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