If you have deployed a Nextcloud server, you probably discovered that it can be expanded beyond simply cloud storage. In fact, there is an entire app store available for Nextcloud, and you can install a number of apps and services that go a long way to extend your cloud server. One such app is RainLoop Webmail.

With the addition of this impressive app, you can roll your pre-existing Webmail from your domain into the Nextcloud framework, so users only have to log in to Nextcloud, click to open the RainLoop app, log in to their Webmail account, and manage their email from within Nextcloud.

If you’re looking for an all-in-one cloud location, RainLoop will be a great addition. Let’s install RainLoop and get it connected to your domain.

SEE: Power checklist: Managing and troubleshooting cloud storage (Tech Pro Research)

How to install the RainLoop app

In order to install RainLoop Webmail, you need to have access to an administrator account for your Nextcloud server. Once you do, log in to Nextcloud and follow these steps.

  1. Click the Apps drop-down in the upper left corner.
  2. Click the + button.
  3. Click Social & Communication in the left pane.
  4. Locate RainLoop and click the Enable button.
  5. Allow the installation to complete.

How to configure RainLoop

Now that the app is installed, it’s ready to be configured.

Click the Apps drop-down and click Email–this will present you with a login window. RainLoop will be configured with the admin credentials admin/12345. Enter admin for the user and 12345 for the password and hit the Enter key on your keyboard.

You will be logged in and immediately prompted to change the administrator password–change that password, and now you’re ready to configure RainLoop to include your domain. At this point you can also configure branding, enable contacts, security, Google integration, and more.

The first thing you’ll want to do is add your domain for Webmail integration. To do this, follow these steps.

  1. Click Domains (from the left navigation).
  2. Click Add Domain.
  3. In the resulting window, configure your domain (Figure A).
  4. After you complete the configuration, click Add.

Figure A

When adding a domain, it is important that you add the correct information for the Name. If the domain you are adding is domain.com, you must enter domain.com as the name–entering a nickname for the domain here will result in a login failure. Also, some domains do not allow the usage of short login (username vs. username@domain). If your domain requires a full email address for login, do not enable the Use Short Login option.

After you add the domain, your users can log in to their email accounts via RainLoop in Nextcloud.

How to activate Gmail two-step authentication in RainLoop

The Gmail domain is included with RainLoop. If a user has two-step authentication enabled on their Gmail account (which they should), users must log in to their accounts using a Google-generated app password. Once a user logs in with that method, they will be prompted to activate their two-step authentication (Figure B).

Figure B

After clicking Activate, you will be prompted to scan a QR code into the Google Authenticator app and two-step authentication will be added.

Note that users will create a separate, RainLoop-specific two-step authentication instance for their Gmail account in the Google Authenticator. Also note that generated app password will be the password used for RainLoop and not their regular Gmail password.

How to log in to RainLoop

To log in to RainLoop, a user must follow these steps.

  1. Log in to their Nextcloud account.
  2. Click the Apps drop-down and select Email.
  3. When prompted, enter the necessary credentials to log in to their webmail account (Figure C).

Figure C

At this point, your users can enjoy integrated webmail within Nextcloud. You can add as many domains as necessary (and even include Google integration), so add all your company email domains to make this one-stop-shop even more powerful.

An ever-expanding platform

As Nextcloud continues to expand into a seriously impressive ecosystem, you’ll find more options to help entice you to deploy this cloud platform. With the addition of the RainLoop Webmail app, your users can enjoy working within a single system for even more of their work.