---
id: mailman
version: "3.3.10"
license: GPLv3
license_treatment: copyleft
maintenance: dormant
---

# mailman — Mailman -- the GNU mailing list manager

License: copyleft · Maintenance: dormant · Downloads: 331.5K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Mailman is the GNU mailing list manager—a server application for hosting email discussion lists. It handles subscription management, message moderation, archiving, and delivery to subscriber lists, with both web and command-line administration interfaces. It is designed for system administrators running POSIX servers and is distributed under GPLv3.

The package depends on 22 runtime libraries including aiosmtpd for SMTP handling, SQLAlchemy for data persistence, Falcon for the web API, and Zope components for configuration and extensibility. It runs as a daemon process and is not intended as an embedded library. The codebase has been in production use since 2008, though recent development is dormant.

Use it for:

- Host internal team discussion lists with moderation and archive access.
- Run public mailing lists for open-source projects or communities.
- Manage subscription workflows and bounce handling for large email campaigns.
- Provide web-based list administration and subscriber self-service portals.
- Archive and search historical email discussions for compliance or reference.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Mailman is a mailing list management system that handles subscription, moderation, archiving, and delivery of email to subscriber lists, with web and command-line interfaces.

Yes, if you need to self-host a mailing list server and accept GPLv3 licensing. Mailman is production-stable and supports current Python versions, but dormant maintenance (681 days) means you should verify that it meets your email standards and security requirements before deploying. Not suitable if you need active upstream support or rapid bug fixes.

## Install

pip install mailman
uv add mailman
poetry add mailman

## Installing mailman

Before you install: Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel distribution. Dormant maintenance status (681 days since last release) means no active development, though the package is marked Production/Stable and supports current Python versions (3.9–3.12).

License in practice: GPLv3 copyleft license requires that any derivative work or distribution must also be open-source under compatible terms; suitable for internal or public-facing deployments where GPL compliance is acceptable.

Quickstart:

pip install mailman

from mailman.core.mailmanctl import main
main()

Requires system-level SMTP service (aiosmtpd), database backend (SQLAlchemy), and typically runs as a daemon; not a library for embedding in other applications.

Verify before relying:

- Exact deployment requirements and system dependencies beyond Python packages.
- Whether dormant status (681 days) affects security patching or compatibility with recent email standards.
- Performance characteristics and scalability limits for large subscriber bases.

## Package facts

- License: GPLv3 (copyleft)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: dormant
- Downloads: 331.5K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

mailing list management, email list server, mailman mailing lists, list subscription and moderation, email distribution system, gnu mailman, mailing list software, email-infrastructure, self-hosted, daemon-service

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/mailman) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/mailman/)