Bichon Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

Deploy Bichon hosting and keep a private, searchable archive of your email on your own domain. xCloud runs the pinned Bichon 2.1.1 image as a single container, replaces upstream's published default admin password with a generated one, mounts a persistent volume and publishes the web interface and REST API over HTTPS in minutes.

Deploy your Bichon

No terminal
No technical skills needed
No lock-in, cancel anytime

What is Bichon?

Bichon is a self-hosted email archiver. It downloads mail from IMAP mailboxes and imports MBOX, PST and EML files, then indexes everything into a full-text searchable archive with a web interface and a REST API.

It is built for preservation and search: it does not send or reply to email. This template deploys version 2.1.1 as a single container with embedded storage.

From Sign-Up to a Live Email Archive In Just 3 Easy Steps

A self-hosted archive normally means pulling the image, replacing the default admin password, mounting storage, setting up a domain and a certificate before the first message is indexed. This is the same result without assembling any of it.

Step 01
Sign Up
Create your xCloud account and pick Bichon from the OneClick catalog. Choose your domain and target server — there are no extra fields to fill in.
Step 02
We Deploy It For You
One click. We bring up the official Bichon image, pinned by immutable digest, as a single container with embedded storage, mount the bichon_data volume, generate the Admin Password and Encryption Password, and publish it over HTTPS on your domain.
Step 03
Sign In And Add Mail
Save the Admin Password and Encryption Password from the protected installation credentials, open your HTTPS Bichon URL and sign in as admin. Add an IMAP account or import an MBOX, PST or EML file, then create individual users for colleagues.

Everything Bichon Does, On Your Own Server

Bichon runs in full here: an email archive with a web interface and REST API on your own domain, with its data on a volume you own.

IMAP Mailbox Sync
Connect IMAP accounts and let Bichon download their mail into a long-term archive you control.
MBOX, PST And EML Import
Upload existing MBOX, PST or EML files through the web interface and add them to the same archive.
Full-Text Search
Search across every archived account from one place instead of opening each mailbox separately.
Web UI And REST API
Use the embedded web interface, or reach archived mail programmatically through the REST API and its documentation pages.
Individual Users
Create separate users for colleagues instead of sharing the admin login, which matters for mailbox contents.
One Container, Embedded Storage
No database or search sidecar to manage: messages, the search index, users and settings live on one persistent volume.

Everything You Need To Run Your Email Archive 24/7

Managed hosting for Bichon, so the parts that keep it online are not your problem.

Bichon 2.1.1 deployed instantly
Official image pinned by digest
Generated admin password
Kept behind xCloud nginx
Free SSL certificate
Server backups and snapshots
Server security updates included
30+ server locations
Unused balance refunded

What You Can Do With Bichon

Keep a long-term archive of mailboxes
Sync IMAP accounts into one archive so old mail stays searchable even after it is gone from the live mailbox.
Search across several accounts at once
Run one full-text search over every archived account instead of switching between mailboxes.
Bring in existing exports
Import MBOX, PST and EML files through the web interface and keep them next to your synced mail.
Read archived mail from your own tools
Use the REST API and its documentation pages to reach archived messages programmatically.

Bichon Screenshots

Bichon search results across archived mail

Bichon message view of an archived email

Bichon vs Alternatives

Desktop mail clients such as Thunderbird: A desktop client keeps local copies of mail on one computer; Bichon keeps the archive on a server behind a web interface, with separate users.
Hosted email-archiving services: A hosted service stores your mail with its vendor; Bichon on xCloud stores it on a server you control, on a volume you can back up yourself.
Raw MBOX or PST export files: Export files preserve mail but cannot be searched across accounts on their own; Bichon imports them into one full-text searchable archive.

Simple Pricing. Everything Included.

Dedicated Cloud VPS sizes, pre-configured for Bichon hosting. Pick the one that fits, and resize any time.

Cloud VPS 6 GB

Cloud VPS 16 GB

More headroom if Bichon sits alongside other apps on the same server.

$59.99per month

16 GB RAM
6 vCPU cores
200 GB NVMe SSD
30 TB
Unlimited

Get started

Every size is a dedicated Cloud VPS we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Billed monthly with no lock-in — delete the server and the unused balance comes back to your account. Bichon itself is licensed by its maintainers under AGPL-3.0.

Docker hosting

Already Have a Server? Bring Your Own

Connect any VPS — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Hetzner or bare metal — and deploy Bichon on it through the same panel, for a per-server management fee instead of a Cloud VPS rental.

Free

Start your journey without cost.

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1 server
10 sites

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The same platform, discounted at 6–10 servers.

$4per server / month

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Unlimited sites
All features included
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Agency

The same platform, discounted at 11+ servers.

$3per server / month

11+ servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

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Priced per connected server, so your rate adjusts automatically as you add or remove servers. You pay your own provider for the server itself.

Self-managed hosting

Ready To Run Your Own Email Archive?

Bichon on xCloud runs on a dedicated Cloud VPS that we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Deploy faster. Own the server. Stay in control.

Fast Provisioning
Deploy faster using an xCloud Managed Server built with optimized stacks and high-speed SSDs.
Enterprise-grade security
Protect your infrastructure with a free SSL certificate and more advanced security features at no additional cost.
Intuitive Control Panel
From Server creation to application deployment, everything can be managed from our intuitive control panel.

Hear what people are saying about us

See why agencies, developers, startups, and growing businesses choose xCloud to power their projects.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

How do I sign in?

Use the username admin and the generated Admin Password from the installation credentials. The installer replaces upstream's published default password, so the default no longer works.

What runs alongside Bichon?

Nothing. It is one container with embedded storage, so there is no separate database or search service to manage.

Can Bichon send or reply to email?

No. Bichon downloads and indexes mail for search and preservation; it does not send or reply to email.

Should I share the admin login with colleagues?

No. Mailbox contents are sensitive, so create individual users inside Bichon instead.

What is the Encryption Password for?

It protects the IMAP and OAuth credentials Bichon stores. Do not change it after the first start: stored mailbox credentials become unreadable and every account has to be added again. Keep a copy with your backups.

How large a file can I import?

Browser uploads are allowed up to about 1100 MB, but a single request above roughly 100 MB can be rejected when the domain is behind the Cloudflare proxy, and a single EML file is limited to 100 MB.

Are the API documentation pages private?

No. They are reachable without signing in and list routes only, no data. The API itself returns 401 without a token, and browser access to it is restricted to the site's own origin.

What should I back up?

The bichon_data volume, which holds the message store, search index, user accounts and encrypted mailbox credentials, plus a copy of the Encryption Password. Stop the container before copying the volume and keep off-server copies.

Backups in xCloud

What survives a restart?

Everything on the bichon_data volume: archived messages, the search index, users and settings survive an xCloud Restart.

Does xCloud automatically back up or update Bichon?

No. The template pins Bichon 2.1.1 by immutable digest; new installations use the pinned release, existing sites are not automatically upgraded. Back up first, read the upstream release notes, then bump the readable tag and digest together on your own schedule. Server-level backups and snapshots are available on every Cloud VPS.

What are the server requirements, and why does this page sell 6 GB?

The template's baseline asks for 1 CPU core, 512 MB of RAM and 10 GB of disk; measured idle use in QA was about 61 MiB. This page sells the 6 GB tier as the entry rung, with real headroom above that baseline.

Is xCloud officially partnered with Bichon?

No. No official partnership or endorsement between xCloud and the Bichon project has been verified. This is a deployment and server-management option for the open-source Bichon project.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. There is no lock-in — cancel any time. Hosting is billed monthly and charged for what you actually use, so when you delete the server the unused balance is refunded to your account, less up to 10% in payment-processing fees.