● Start · Before you install
Requirements
what your server and mailbox need.
Mail Desk runs inside Perfex CRM on your own hosting. It needs no Composer, no Node.js and no shell access, and it ships no third-party PHP libraries.
01Server
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Perfex CRM | Version 3.x, licensed and installed. Perfex CRM is sold separately and is not part of this item. |
| PHP | 8.1 to 8.5 |
PHP extension openssl required | Encrypted connections to the mail server (TLS 1.2 or newer) and encryption of the saved mailbox passwords (AES-256-GCM). |
PHP extension mbstring required | Reading subjects, names and text in every character set. |
PHP extension dom recommended | Enabled in almost every PHP build. Used to clean HTML e-mail before it is shown. Without it, HTML e-mail is shown as plain text. |
PHP extension iconv optional | A second converter for unusual character sets, used when mbstring does not know one. |
PHP extension curl only for AI | Needed only when you switch on the optional AI features. |
PHP extension imap not needed | Mail Desk has its own IMAP and SMTP client. The imap extension can be missing. |
| Database | Perfex's own MySQL or MariaDB database. Mail Desk adds its own tables with your Perfex table prefix and does not change Perfex's tables. |
| Cron | The Perfex cron job must run. New mail is read only when it runs (or when someone clicks Sync now). |
| Writable folder | uploads/mail_desk/ in your Perfex folder, for the encryption key file and the stored attachments. |
| Disk space | Attachments are stored on disk. Plan for the attachment volume of the mail you import; you can limit it (Settings). |
To see which PHP extensions are enabled, use your hosting control panel (for example the PHP version or PHP extensions page in cPanel) or ask your host.
02Network: outgoing connections
Your Perfex server connects out to your mail server. Your host must allow outgoing connections on the ports your mailbox uses:
| Purpose | Usual ports |
|---|---|
| Reading mail (IMAP) | 993 (SSL/TLS) or 143 (STARTTLS) |
| Sending mail (SMTP) | 465 (SSL/TLS) or 587 (STARTTLS) |
| AI provider (optional) | 443 (HTTPS) |
Some shared hosts block outgoing SMTP to other servers. If the connection test times out on the SMTP side only, see Ports blocked by the host.
03Mailbox
- IMAP and SMTP access with a user name and a password or an app password.
- Gmail and Google Workspace: 2-Step Verification and an app password (Gmail).
- Microsoft 365, Outlook.com, Hotmail and Live mailboxes need OAuth and are not supported in version 1.0.
04Staff
Staff use Mail Desk in the Perfex admin area in their normal browser. Nothing is installed on their computers.