---
title: 'Override the Default Configs | Dovecot'
---

## Add Configuration

The Dovecot default configuration can easily be extended providing a `config/dovecot.cf` file.
[Dovecot documentation](https://wiki.dovecot.org) remains the best place to find configuration options.

Your `docker-mailserver` folder should look like this example:

```txt
├── config
│   ├── dovecot.cf
│   ├── postfix-accounts.cf
│   └── postfix-virtual.cf
├── docker-compose.yml
└── README.md
```

One common option to change is the maximum number of connections per user:

```cf
mail_max_userip_connections = 100
```

Another important option is the `default_process_limit` (defaults to `100`). If high-security mode is enabled you'll need to make sure this count is higher than the maximum number of users that can be logged in simultaneously.

This limit is quickly reached if users connect to the mail server with multiple end devices.

## Override Configuration

For major configuration changes it’s best to override the dovecot configuration files. For each configuration file you want to override, add a list entry under the `volumes` key.

You will need to first obtain the configuration from the running container: `mkdir -p ./config/dovecot && docker cp mailserver:/etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-master.conf ./config/dovecot/10-master.conf`

```yaml
services:
  mail:
    volumes:
      - maildata:/var/mail
      - ./config/dovecot/10-master.conf:/etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-master.conf
```

## Debugging

To debug your dovecot configuration you can use:

- This command: `./setup.sh debug login doveconf | grep <some-keyword>`
- Or: `docker exec -it mailserver doveconf | grep <some-keyword>`

!!! note
    [`setup.sh`][github-file-setupsh] is included in the `docker-mailserver` repository. Make sure to grap the one matching your image version.

The `config/dovecot.cf` is copied internally to `/etc/dovecot/local.conf`. To check this file run:

```sh
docker exec -it mailserver cat /etc/dovecot/local.conf
```

[github-file-setupsh]: https://github.com/docker-mailserver/docker-mailserver/blob/master/setup.sh