How to Use Roundcube Webmail in DirectAdmin

Roundcube is the most popular open-source webmail client used on DirectAdmin hosting. It gives you a clean, browser-based interface to read, compose, and organize your emails without needing to set up an email client like Outlook or Thunderbird. Whether you are traveling, working from a different computer, or simply want a quick way to check your business email, Roundcube is always accessible from any device with a browser.

What Is Roundcube?

Roundcube is a free, open-source webmail application that runs on your hosting server and connects to your email account using IMAP. It provides a modern, responsive interface for managing emails — reading incoming messages, composing replies, organizing messages into folders, managing contacts in an address book, and setting up automatic email signatures.

Roundcube is installed by default on DirectAdmin hosting accounts at AsiaGB, so there is nothing to install or configure before your first use.

Accessing Roundcube Webmail

There are two ways to open Roundcube:

1. Via your domain — Open your browser and go to yourdomain.com/webmail. Replace yourdomain.com with your actual domain name. You will be taken to a webmail login selection page where you can choose Roundcube.
2. Via DirectAdmin — Log in to DirectAdmin, go to Extra Features, and click Webmail. You will be linked directly to the webmail interface for your account.

Log in with your full email address (e.g., [email protected]) and your email account password. This is the same password you set when creating the email account in DirectAdmin.

Roundcube Interface Overview

After logging in, the Roundcube interface is divided into three main panels:

• Left panel — Shows your folder list (Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Trash, Junk, and any custom folders you create).
• Middle panel — Displays the list of emails in the selected folder, sorted by date.
• Right panel — Shows the full content of the selected email.

The top toolbar contains buttons for composing a new email, replying, forwarding, deleting, and marking messages.

Reading and Sending Email

To read an email, click on it in the message list. The email content will appear in the right panel. To compose a new email, click the Compose button (pencil icon) in the toolbar. Fill in the To, Subject, and message body fields, then click Send.

Roundcube supports rich text formatting — you can switch between plain text and HTML composition mode using the toolbar in the compose window. HTML mode allows you to use bold, italic, bullet lists, and inline images in your emails.

Creating Folders

Organizing your emails into folders helps keep your inbox manageable. To create a new folder in Roundcube, right-click on any existing folder in the left panel and select Create subfolder, or go to Settings → Folders → Create New Folder. Name your folder (e.g., "Invoices" or "Clients") and click Save. You can then drag and drop emails into the new folder or set up filter rules to move incoming emails automatically.

Managing the Address Book

Roundcube includes a built-in address book (Contacts) where you can store frequently emailed contacts. To add a contact, go to the Contacts section (person icon), click Create new contact, and fill in the name and email address. Once saved, you can quickly find contacts when composing new emails by typing in the To field — Roundcube will auto-suggest matching contacts from your address book.

Setting Up an Email Signature

A professional email signature makes a good impression in business communications. To add a signature in Roundcube, go to Settings → Identities. Click on your email address identity and find the Signature field at the bottom of the form. Type your signature content (you can use HTML for formatting) and click Save. Your signature will automatically be appended to every new email you compose from Roundcube.

Using Filters

Roundcube supports server-side email filtering through Sieve scripts. Go to Settings → Filters to create rules that automatically sort, delete, or forward incoming emails based on criteria like sender address, subject keywords, or message size. Filters run on the server, so they apply even when Roundcube is not open.

Configuring Multiple Identities in Roundcube

If you manage more than one email address or want to send emails under different display names (for example, using your personal name for internal emails and a company identity for customer communications), Roundcube's Identity feature handles this elegantly. Each identity can have its own display name, reply-to address, organization, and signature.

To add or edit an identity, go to Settings → Identities. Click on your existing identity to edit it, or click the + button to create a new one. Fill in the Display Name, Email, Organization, and Reply-to fields. Scroll down to the Signature box and type your signature text. Roundcube supports HTML signatures, so you can include formatted text, links, or an image reference. Click Save when done.

When composing a new email, you can choose which identity to use from the "From" dropdown in the compose window. This allows you to switch between your business and personal identities without logging out or using a separate account.

Troubleshooting Common Roundcube Issues

Most problems with Roundcube are easy to resolve. Here are the most frequently encountered issues and their solutions:

• Page not loading or very slow — Clear your browser cache and cookies (Ctrl+Shift+Del on Windows, Cmd+Shift+Del on Mac), then reload. If the issue persists, try a different browser or open Roundcube in an incognito/private window to rule out browser extension conflicts.
• Session expired error — This happens when you leave Roundcube idle for an extended period. Simply log in again to resume your session. The session timeout is a security measure to protect your email if you forget to log out.
• Cannot receive new emails — Check your hosting disk quota in DirectAdmin → User Statistics. When disk space is full, the mail server cannot write new messages to disk. Delete old emails (especially large attachments in Sent and Trash folders), then empty the Trash.
• Inbox loads very slowly — An inbox with thousands of messages can take a long time to load. Move old messages to archive folders or delete messages you no longer need. Roundcube loads faster when individual folders contain fewer messages.
• Cannot send email — SMTP error — Verify that your email account password has not expired. Also check that your hosting server's outbound SMTP port (587 or 465) is not blocked. If the problem persists, open a support ticket with AsiaGB for server-side diagnosis.

Regular maintenance — deleting old emails, emptying Trash and Junk folders monthly, and keeping your Inbox organized — will keep Roundcube running smoothly and prevent storage issues from affecting your email service.