diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 5782cad9..7d1c7c3e 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -59,7 +59,9 @@ data/web/inc/vars.local.inc.php
 data/web/inc/app_info.inc.php
 data/web/nextcloud*/
 data/web/rc*/
+docker-compose.yml**.bak
 docker-compose.override.yml
+!helper-scripts/docker-compose.override.yml.d/**/docker-compose.override.yml
 mailcow.conf
 mailcow.conf_backup
 rebuild-images.sh
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 40d22ce0..99b555d9 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -6,8 +6,10 @@ services:
       environment:
         - TZ=${TZ}
       volumes:
-        - ./data/hooks/unbound:/hooks:Z
-        - ./data/conf/unbound/unbound.conf:/etc/unbound/unbound.conf:ro,Z
+        - ./data/hooks/unbound:/hooks
+        - ./data/conf/unbound/unbound.conf:/etc/unbound/unbound.conf:ro
+      security_opt:
+        - label=disable
       restart: always
       tty: true
       networks:
@@ -24,7 +26,9 @@ services:
       volumes:
         - mysql-vol-1:/var/lib/mysql/
         - mysql-socket-vol-1:/var/run/mysqld/
-        - ./data/conf/mysql/:/etc/mysql/conf.d/:ro,Z
+        - ./data/conf/mysql/:/etc/mysql/conf.d/:ro
+      security_opt:
+        - label=disable
       environment:
         - TZ=${TZ}
         - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=${DBROOT}
@@ -44,6 +48,8 @@ services:
       image: redis:7-alpine
       volumes:
         - redis-vol-1:/data/
+      security_opt:
+        - label=disable
       restart: always
       ports:
         - "${REDIS_PORT:-127.0.0.1:7654}:6379"
@@ -68,8 +74,10 @@ services:
         - TZ=${TZ}
         - SKIP_CLAMD=${SKIP_CLAMD:-n}
       volumes:
-        - ./data/conf/clamav/:/etc/clamav/:Z
+        - ./data/conf/clamav/:/etc/clamav/
         - clamd-db-vol-1:/var/lib/clamav
+      security_opt:
+        - label=disable
       networks:
         mailcow-network:
           aliases:
@@ -87,15 +95,17 @@ services:
         - REDIS_SLAVEOF_IP=${REDIS_SLAVEOF_IP:-}
         - REDIS_SLAVEOF_PORT=${REDIS_SLAVEOF_PORT:-}
       volumes:
-        - ./data/hooks/rspamd:/hooks:Z
-        - ./data/conf/rspamd/custom/:/etc/rspamd/custom:z
-        - ./data/conf/rspamd/override.d/:/etc/rspamd/override.d:Z
-        - ./data/conf/rspamd/local.d/:/etc/rspamd/local.d:Z
-        - ./data/conf/rspamd/plugins.d/:/etc/rspamd/plugins.d:Z
-        - ./data/conf/rspamd/lua/:/etc/rspamd/lua/:ro,Z
-        - ./data/conf/rspamd/rspamd.conf.local:/etc/rspamd/rspamd.conf.local:Z
-        - ./data/conf/rspamd/rspamd.conf.override:/etc/rspamd/rspamd.conf.override:Z
+        - ./data/hooks/rspamd:/hooks
+        - ./data/conf/rspamd/custom/:/etc/rspamd/custom
+        - ./data/conf/rspamd/override.d/:/etc/rspamd/override.d
+        - ./data/conf/rspamd/local.d/:/etc/rspamd/local.d
+        - ./data/conf/rspamd/plugins.d/:/etc/rspamd/plugins.d
+        - ./data/conf/rspamd/lua/:/etc/rspamd/lua/:ro
+        - ./data/conf/rspamd/rspamd.conf.local:/etc/rspamd/rspamd.conf.local
+        - ./data/conf/rspamd/rspamd.conf.override:/etc/rspamd/rspamd.conf.override
         - rspamd-vol-1:/var/lib/rspamd
+      security_opt:
+        - label=disable
       restart: always
       hostname: rspamd
       dns:
@@ -111,23 +121,25 @@ services:
       depends_on:
         - redis-mailcow
       volumes:
-        - ./data/hooks/phpfpm:/hooks:Z
-        - ./data/web:/web:z
-        - ./data/conf/rspamd/dynmaps:/dynmaps:ro,z
-        - ./data/conf/rspamd/custom/:/rspamd_custom_maps:z
+        - ./data/hooks/phpfpm:/hooks
+        - ./data/web:/web
+        - ./data/conf/rspamd/dynmaps:/dynmaps:ro
+        - ./data/conf/rspamd/custom/:/rspamd_custom_maps
         - rspamd-vol-1:/var/lib/rspamd
         - mysql-socket-vol-1:/var/run/mysqld/
-        - ./data/conf/sogo/:/etc/sogo/:z
-        - ./data/conf/rspamd/meta_exporter:/meta_exporter:ro,z
-        - ./data/conf/phpfpm/sogo-sso/:/etc/sogo-sso/:z
-        - ./data/conf/phpfpm/php-fpm.d/pools.conf:/usr/local/etc/php-fpm.d/z-pools.conf:Z
-        - ./data/conf/phpfpm/php-conf.d/opcache-recommended.ini:/usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/opcache-recommended.ini:Z
-        - ./data/conf/phpfpm/php-conf.d/upload.ini:/usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/upload.ini:Z
-        - ./data/conf/phpfpm/php-conf.d/other.ini:/usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/zzz-other.ini:Z
-        - ./data/conf/dovecot/global_sieve_before:/global_sieve/before:z
-        - ./data/conf/dovecot/global_sieve_after:/global_sieve/after:z
-        - ./data/assets/templates:/tpls:z
-        - ./data/conf/nginx/:/etc/nginx/conf.d/:z
+        - ./data/conf/sogo/:/etc/sogo/
+        - ./data/conf/rspamd/meta_exporter:/meta_exporter:ro
+        - ./data/conf/phpfpm/sogo-sso/:/etc/sogo-sso/
+        - ./data/conf/phpfpm/php-fpm.d/pools.conf:/usr/local/etc/php-fpm.d/z-pools.conf
+        - ./data/conf/phpfpm/php-conf.d/opcache-recommended.ini:/usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/opcache-recommended.ini
+        - ./data/conf/phpfpm/php-conf.d/upload.ini:/usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/upload.ini
+        - ./data/conf/phpfpm/php-conf.d/other.ini:/usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/zzz-other.ini
+        - ./data/conf/dovecot/global_sieve_before:/global_sieve/before
+        - ./data/conf/dovecot/global_sieve_after:/global_sieve/after
+        - ./data/assets/templates:/tpls
+        - ./data/conf/nginx/:/etc/nginx/conf.d/
+      security_opt:
+        - label=disable
       dns:
         - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
       environment:
@@ -189,15 +201,17 @@ services:
       dns:
         - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
       volumes:
-        - ./data/hooks/sogo:/hooks:Z
-        - ./data/conf/sogo/:/etc/sogo/:z
-        - ./data/web/inc/init_db.inc.php:/init_db.inc.php:Z
-        - ./data/conf/sogo/custom-favicon.ico:/usr/lib/GNUstep/SOGo/WebServerResources/img/sogo.ico:z
-        - ./data/conf/sogo/custom-theme.js:/usr/lib/GNUstep/SOGo/WebServerResources/js/theme.js:z
-        - ./data/conf/sogo/custom-sogo.js:/usr/lib/GNUstep/SOGo/WebServerResources/js/custom-sogo.js:z
+        - ./data/hooks/sogo:/hooks
+        - ./data/conf/sogo/:/etc/sogo/
+        - ./data/web/inc/init_db.inc.php:/init_db.inc.php
+        - ./data/conf/sogo/custom-favicon.ico:/usr/lib/GNUstep/SOGo/WebServerResources/img/sogo.ico
+        - ./data/conf/sogo/custom-theme.js:/usr/lib/GNUstep/SOGo/WebServerResources/js/theme.js
+        - ./data/conf/sogo/custom-sogo.js:/usr/lib/GNUstep/SOGo/WebServerResources/js/custom-sogo.js
         - mysql-socket-vol-1:/var/run/mysqld/
         - sogo-web-vol-1:/sogo_web
         - sogo-userdata-backup-vol-1:/sogo_backup
+      security_opt:
+        - label=disable
       labels:
         ofelia.enabled: "true"
         ofelia.job-exec.sogo_sessions.schedule: "@every 1m"
@@ -224,18 +238,20 @@ services:
       cap_add:
         - NET_BIND_SERVICE
       volumes:
-        - ./data/hooks/dovecot:/hooks:Z
-        - ./data/conf/dovecot:/etc/dovecot:z
-        - ./data/assets/ssl:/etc/ssl/mail/:ro,z
-        - ./data/conf/sogo/:/etc/sogo/:z
-        - ./data/conf/phpfpm/sogo-sso/:/etc/phpfpm/:z
+        - ./data/hooks/dovecot:/hooks
+        - ./data/conf/dovecot:/etc/dovecot
+        - ./data/assets/ssl:/etc/ssl/mail/:ro
+        - ./data/conf/sogo/:/etc/sogo/
+        - ./data/conf/phpfpm/sogo-sso/:/etc/phpfpm/
         - vmail-vol-1:/var/vmail
         - vmail-index-vol-1:/var/vmail_index
         - crypt-vol-1:/mail_crypt/
-        - ./data/conf/rspamd/custom/:/etc/rspamd/custom:z
-        - ./data/assets/templates:/templates:z
+        - ./data/conf/rspamd/custom/:/etc/rspamd/custom
+        - ./data/assets/templates:/templates
         - rspamd-vol-1:/var/lib/rspamd
         - mysql-socket-vol-1:/var/run/mysqld/
+      security_opt:
+        - label=disable
       environment:
         - DOVECOT_MASTER_USER=${DOVECOT_MASTER_USER:-}
         - DOVECOT_MASTER_PASS=${DOVECOT_MASTER_PASS:-}
@@ -300,13 +316,15 @@ services:
       depends_on:
         - mysql-mailcow
       volumes:
-        - ./data/hooks/postfix:/hooks:Z
-        - ./data/conf/postfix:/opt/postfix/conf:z
-        - ./data/assets/ssl:/etc/ssl/mail/:ro,z
+        - ./data/hooks/postfix:/hooks
+        - ./data/conf/postfix:/opt/postfix/conf
+        - ./data/assets/ssl:/etc/ssl/mail/:ro
         - postfix-vol-1:/var/spool/postfix
         - crypt-vol-1:/var/lib/zeyple
         - rspamd-vol-1:/var/lib/rspamd
         - mysql-socket-vol-1:/var/run/mysqld/
+      security_opt:
+        - label=disable
       environment:
         - LOG_LINES=${LOG_LINES:-9999}
         - TZ=${TZ}
@@ -334,6 +352,8 @@ services:
     memcached-mailcow:
       image: memcached:alpine
       restart: always
+      security_opt:
+        - label=disable
       environment:
         - TZ=${TZ}
       networks:
@@ -371,12 +391,14 @@ services:
         - ALLOW_ADMIN_EMAIL_LOGIN=${ALLOW_ADMIN_EMAIL_LOGIN:-n}
         - ADDITIONAL_SERVER_NAMES=${ADDITIONAL_SERVER_NAMES:-}
       volumes:
-        - ./data/web:/web:ro,z
-        - ./data/conf/rspamd/dynmaps:/dynmaps:ro,z
-        - ./data/assets/ssl/:/etc/ssl/mail/:ro,z
-        - ./data/conf/nginx/:/etc/nginx/conf.d/:z
-        - ./data/conf/rspamd/meta_exporter:/meta_exporter:ro,z
+        - ./data/web:/web:ro
+        - ./data/conf/rspamd/dynmaps:/dynmaps:ro
+        - ./data/assets/ssl/:/etc/ssl/mail/:ro
+        - ./data/conf/nginx/:/etc/nginx/conf.d/
+        - ./data/conf/rspamd/meta_exporter:/meta_exporter:ro
         - sogo-web-vol-1:/usr/lib/GNUstep/SOGo/
+      security_opt:
+        - label=disable
       ports:
         - "${HTTPS_BIND:-}:${HTTPS_PORT:-443}:${HTTPS_PORT:-443}"
         - "${HTTP_BIND:-}:${HTTP_PORT:-80}:${HTTP_PORT:-80}"
@@ -414,10 +436,12 @@ services:
         - SNAT_TO_SOURCE=${SNAT_TO_SOURCE:-n}
         - SNAT6_TO_SOURCE=${SNAT6_TO_SOURCE:-n}
       volumes:
-        - ./data/web/.well-known/acme-challenge:/var/www/acme:z
-        - ./data/assets/ssl:/var/lib/acme/:z
-        - ./data/assets/ssl-example:/var/lib/ssl-example/:ro,Z
+        - ./data/web/.well-known/acme-challenge:/var/www/acme
+        - ./data/assets/ssl:/var/lib/acme/
+        - ./data/assets/ssl-example:/var/lib/ssl-example/:ro
         - mysql-socket-vol-1:/var/run/mysqld/
+      security_opt:
+        - label=disable
       restart: always
       networks:
         mailcow-network:
@@ -446,6 +470,8 @@ services:
       network_mode: "host"
       volumes:
         - /lib/modules:/lib/modules:ro
+      security_opt:
+        - label=disable
 
     watchdog-mailcow:
       image: mailcow/watchdog:1.97
@@ -457,7 +483,9 @@ services:
         - rspamd-vol-1:/var/lib/rspamd
         - mysql-socket-vol-1:/var/run/mysqld/
         - postfix-vol-1:/var/spool/postfix
-        - ./data/assets/ssl:/etc/ssl/mail/:ro,z
+        - ./data/assets/ssl:/etc/ssl/mail/:ro
+      security_opt:
+        - label=disable
       restart: always
       environment:
         - IPV6_NETWORK=${IPV6_NETWORK:-fd4d:6169:6c63:6f77::/64}
@@ -533,6 +561,8 @@ services:
       restart: always
       volumes:
         - solr-vol-1:/opt/solr/server/solr/dovecot-fts/data
+      security_opt:
+        - label=disable
       ports:
         - "${SOLR_PORT:-127.0.0.1:18983}:8983"
       environment:
@@ -547,6 +577,8 @@ services:
     olefy-mailcow:
       image: mailcow/olefy:1.11
       restart: always
+      security_opt:
+        - label=disable
       environment:
         - TZ=${TZ}
         - OLEFY_BINDADDRESS=0.0.0.0
diff --git a/generate_config.sh b/generate_config.sh
index 89af0f64..458c8d03 100755
--- a/generate_config.sh
+++ b/generate_config.sh
@@ -21,39 +21,70 @@ if grep --help 2>&1 | head -n 1 | grep -q -i "busybox"; then echo "BusyBox grep
 if cp --help 2>&1 | head -n 1 | grep -q -i "busybox"; then echo "BusyBox cp detected, please install coreutils, \"apk add --no-cache --upgrade coreutils\""; exit 1; fi
 if sed --help 2>&1 | head -n 1 | grep -q -i "busybox"; then echo "BusyBox sed detected, please install gnu sed, \"apk add --no-cache --upgrade sed\""; exit 1; fi
 
-for bin in openssl curl docker git awk sha1sum; do
-  if [[ -z $(which ${bin}) ]]; then echo "Cannot find ${bin}, exiting..."; exit 1; fi
+# Check which container engine is available.
+# Check for podman first, because the 'podman-docker' package might be installed providing a dummy 'docker' command.
+if command -v podman > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+    CONTAINER_ENGINE="podman"
+    echo -e "\e[32mFound Podman container engine.\e[0m"
+    echo -e "\e[31mNOTE: Support for Podman is experimental, consider this before deploying to production! \e[0m"
+
+    if [[ -n "${DOCKER_HOST}" ]] && [[ "${DOCKER_HOST}" == "unix://"* ]]; then
+        CONTAINER_SOCKET="${DOCKER_HOST/"unix://"/}"
+    else
+        CONTAINER_SOCKET="/run/user/${UID}/podman/podman.sock"
+    fi
+
+    # To patch the docker-compose file for use with podman
+    EXTRA_REQUIRED_PACKAGES="patch"
+elif command -v docker > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+    CONTAINER_ENGINE="docker"
+    echo -e "\e[32mFound Docker container engine.\e[0m"
+
+    CONTAINER_SOCKET="/var/run/docker.sock"
+    EXTRA_REQUIRED_PACKAGES=""
+else
+    echo "Cannot find container engine (Docker or Podman), exiting..."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+for bin in openssl curl git awk sha1sum ${EXTRA_REQUIRED_PACKAGES}; do
+  if [[ -z $(which ${bin}) ]]; then
+    echo "Cannot find ${bin}, exiting..."
+    exit 1
+  fi
 done
 
-if docker compose > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+MAILCOW_DOCKER_COMPOSE=${MAILCOW_DOCKER_COMPOSE:-"docker-compose"}
+
+if [[ "${CONTAINER_ENGINE}" == "docker" ]] && docker compose > /dev/null 2>&1; then
     if docker compose version --short | grep "^2." > /dev/null 2>&1; then
       COMPOSE_VERSION=native
       echo -e "\e[31mFound Docker Compose Plugin (native).\e[0m"
       echo -e "\e[31mSetting the DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION Variable to native\e[0m"
       sleep 2
-      echo -e "\e[33mNotice: You´ll have to update this Compose Version via your Package Manager manually!\e[0m"
+      echo -e "\e[33mNotice: You'll have to update this Compose Version via your Package Manager manually! \e[0m"
     else
-      echo -e "\e[31mCannot find Docker Compose with a Version Higher than 2.X.X.\e[0m" 
+      echo -e "\e[31mCannot find Docker Compose with a Version Higher than 2.X.X.\e[0m"
       echo -e "\e[31mPlease update/install it manually regarding to this doc site: https://mailcow.github.io/mailcow-dockerized-docs/i_u_m/i_u_m_install/\e[0m"
       exit 1
     fi
-elif docker-compose > /dev/null 2>&1; then
-  if ! [[ $(alias docker-compose 2> /dev/null) ]] ; then
-    if docker-compose version --short | grep "^2." > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+elif $MAILCOW_DOCKER_COMPOSE > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+  if ! [[ $(alias $MAILCOW_DOCKER_COMPOSE 2> /dev/null) ]] ; then
+    if $MAILCOW_DOCKER_COMPOSE version --short | grep "^2." > /dev/null 2>&1; then
       COMPOSE_VERSION=standalone
       echo -e "\e[31mFound Docker Compose Standalone.\e[0m"
       echo -e "\e[31mSetting the DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION Variable to standalone\e[0m"
       sleep 2
-      echo -e "\e[33mNotice: For an automatic update of docker-compose please use the update_compose.sh scripts located at the helper-scripts folder.\e[0m"
+      echo -e "\e[33mNotice: For an automatic update of ${MAILCOW_DOCKER_COMPOSE} please use the update_compose.sh scripts located at the helper-scripts folder.\e[0m"
     else
-      echo -e "\e[31mCannot find Docker Compose with a Version Higher than 2.X.X.\e[0m" 
+      echo -e "\e[31mCannot find Docker Compose with a Version Higher than 2.X.X.\e[0m"
       echo -e "\e[31mPlease update/install manually regarding to this doc site: https://mailcow.github.io/mailcow-dockerized-docs/i_u_m/i_u_m_install/\e[0m"
       exit 1
     fi
   fi
 
 else
-  echo -e "\e[31mCannot find Docker Compose.\e[0m" 
+  echo -e "\e[31mCannot find Docker Compose.\e[0m"
   echo -e "\e[31mPlease install it regarding to this doc site: https://mailcow.github.io/mailcow-dockerized-docs/i_u_m/i_u_m_install/\e[0m"
   exit 1
 fi
@@ -173,7 +204,7 @@ else
   echo -e "\033[31mCould not determine branch input..."
   echo -e "\033[31mExiting."
   exit 1
-fi  
+fi
 
 if [ ! -z "${MAILCOW_BRANCH}" ]; then
   git_branch=${MAILCOW_BRANCH}
@@ -181,6 +212,11 @@ fi
 
 [ ! -f ./data/conf/rspamd/override.d/worker-controller-password.inc ] && echo '# Placeholder' > ./data/conf/rspamd/override.d/worker-controller-password.inc
 
+if [[ "${CONTAINER_ENGINE}" == "podman" ]]; then
+    # Apply patches for usage with Podman
+    bash ./patches-for-podman.sh
+fi
+
 cat << EOF > mailcow.conf
 # ------------------------------
 # mailcow web ui configuration
@@ -196,6 +232,9 @@ MAILCOW_HOSTNAME=${MAILCOW_HOSTNAME}
 # see https://mailcow.github.io/mailcow-dockerized-docs/models/model-passwd/
 MAILCOW_PASS_SCHEME=BLF-CRYPT
 
+# The directory used to store the data of the used containers (used in case the CUSTOM_STORAGE_LOCATION override is included)
+MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR=
+
 # ------------------------------
 # SQL database configuration
 # ------------------------------
@@ -227,6 +266,43 @@ HTTP_BIND=
 HTTPS_PORT=443
 HTTPS_BIND=
 
+# ------------------------------
+# Container environment
+# ------------------------------
+
+# The container engine to use to run this project (docker or podman).
+
+MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE=${CONTAINER_ENGINE}
+
+# The location of the container socket to use for volume mounts.
+
+MAILCOW_CONTAINER_SOCKET=${CONTAINER_SOCKET}
+
+# Fixed project name
+# Please use lowercase letters only
+
+COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME=mailcowdockerized
+
+# Used Docker Compose version
+# Switch here between native (compose plugin) and standalone
+# For more information take a look at the mailcow docs regarding the configuration options.
+# Normally this should be untouched but if you decided to use either of those you can switch it manually here.
+# Please be aware that at least one of those variants should be installed on your machine or mailcow will fail.
+
+DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION=${COMPOSE_VERSION}
+
+# Additional override files (relative to the repo root) that need to be taken care of when running mailcow scripts.
+# Comma separated list without spaces!
+# Example: DOCKER_COMPOSE_EXTRA_OVERRIDES=helper-scripts/docker-compose.override.yml.d/CONTAINER_ENGINE_PODMAN/docker-compose.override.yml,helper-scripts/docker-compose.override.yml.d/CUSTOM_STORAGE_LOCATION/docker-compose.override.yml
+
+DOCKER_COMPOSE_EXTRA_OVERRIDES=
+
+# The name of the docker-compose binary to use. This option can be used in case different versions of
+# docker-compose are installed and another binary than 'docker-compose' (default) needs to be used.
+# Example: docker-compose-v2
+
+MAILCOW_DOCKER_COMPOSE=${MAILCOW_DOCKER_COMPOSE}
+
 # ------------------------------
 # Other bindings
 # ------------------------------
@@ -252,22 +328,9 @@ REDIS_PORT=127.0.0.1:7654
 
 TZ=${MAILCOW_TZ}
 
-# Fixed project name
-# Please use lowercase letters only
-
-COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME=mailcowdockerized
-
-# Used Docker Compose version
-# Switch here between native (compose plugin) and standalone
-# For more informations take a look at the mailcow docs regarding the configuration options.
-# Normally this should be untouched but if you decided to use either of those you can switch it manually here.
-# Please be aware that at least one of those variants should be installed on your maschine or mailcow will fail.
-
-DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION=${COMPOSE_VERSION}
-
 # Set this to "allow" to enable the anyone pseudo user. Disabled by default.
 # When enabled, ACL can be created, that apply to "All authenticated users"
-# This should probably only be activated on mail hosts, that are used exclusivly by one organisation.
+# This should probably only be activated on mail hosts, that are used exclusively by one organisation.
 # Otherwise a user might share data with too many other users.
 ACL_ANYONE=disallow
 
diff --git a/helper-scripts/docker-compose.override.yml.d/CONTAINER_ENGINE_PODMAN/docker-compose.override.yml b/helper-scripts/docker-compose.override.yml.d/CONTAINER_ENGINE_PODMAN/docker-compose.override.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..54fc2c74
--- /dev/null
+++ b/helper-scripts/docker-compose.override.yml.d/CONTAINER_ENGINE_PODMAN/docker-compose.override.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+version: '3.9'
+
+# Pre-requisites on the host machine
+#
+# Since the sysctl option cannot be set and podman needs additional privileges to bind
+# to ports lower than 1024, the following options need to be set:
+#   sudo sysctl net.ipv4.ip_unprivileged_port_start=25
+#   sudo sysctl net.core.somaxconn=4096
+#
+# Apparently compose extends instead of overrides (except for volumes), see
+# https://github.com/docker/compose/issues/3729
+# Because of that, the patch-docker-compose-for-podman.sh script exists to remove these options from the original
+# docker-compose.yml
+
+services:
+
+  dovecot-mailcow:
+    cap_add:
+      - SYS_CHROOT
+
+  postfix-mailcow:
+    cap_add:
+      - SYS_CHROOT
+
+  dockerapi-mailcow:
+    volumes:
+      - ${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_SOCKET}:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
+
+  ofelia-mailcow:
+    volumes:
+      - ${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_SOCKET}:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
+
+  ipv6nat-mailcow:
+    image: bash:latest
+    restart: "no"
+    entrypoint: ["echo", "ipv6nat disabled in compose.override.yml"]
+    # Because docker-compose extends instead of overrides, the volume still needs to be overwritten, even when it is not used.
+    volumes:
+      - ${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_SOCKET}:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
+
+networks:
+  mailcow-network:
+    driver: bridge
+    ipam:
+      config:
+        - subnet: ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.0/24
diff --git a/helper-scripts/docker-compose.override.yml.d/CUSTOM_STORAGE_LOCATION/docker-compose.override.yml b/helper-scripts/docker-compose.override.yml.d/CUSTOM_STORAGE_LOCATION/docker-compose.override.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b173fa80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/helper-scripts/docker-compose.override.yml.d/CUSTOM_STORAGE_LOCATION/docker-compose.override.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+version: '2.1'
+
+services:
+
+  mysql-mailcow:
+    volumes:
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/mysql:/var/lib/mysql/
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/mysql-socket:/var/run/mysqld/
+
+  redis-mailcow:
+    volumes:
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/redis:/data/
+
+  clamd-mailcow:
+    volumes:
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/clamd-db:/var/lib/clamav
+
+  rspamd-mailcow:
+    volumes:
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/rspamd:/var/lib/rspamd
+
+  php-fpm-mailcow:
+    volumes:
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/rspamd:/var/lib/rspamd
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/mysql-socket:/var/run/mysqld/
+
+  sogo-mailcow:
+    volumes:
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/mysql-socket:/var/run/mysqld/
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/sogo-web:/sogo_web
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/sogo-userdata-backup:/sogo_backup
+
+  dovecot-mailcow:
+    volumes:
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/vmail:/var/vmail
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/vmail-index:/var/vmail_index
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/crypt:/mail_crypt/
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/rspamd:/var/lib/rspamd
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/mysql-socket:/var/run/mysqld/
+
+  postfix-mailcow:
+    volumes:
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/postfix:/var/spool/postfix
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/crypt:/var/lib/zeyple
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/rspamd:/var/lib/rspamd
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/mysql-socket:/var/run/mysqld/
+
+  nginx-mailcow:
+    volumes:
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/sogo-web:/usr/lib/GNUstep/SOGo/
+
+  acme-mailcow:
+    volumes:
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/mysql-socket:/var/run/mysqld/
+
+  watchdog-mailcow:
+    volumes:
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/rspamd:/var/lib/rspamd
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/mysql-socket:/var/run/mysqld/
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/postfix:/var/spool/postfix
+
+  solr-mailcow:
+    volumes:
+      - ${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/solr:/opt/solr/server/solr/dovecot-fts/data
+
+volumes: {}
diff --git a/helper-scripts/mailcow-reset-admin.sh b/helper-scripts/mailcow-reset-admin.sh
index ee95d3e9..0b0186ec 100755
--- a/helper-scripts/mailcow-reset-admin.sh
+++ b/helper-scripts/mailcow-reset-admin.sh
@@ -7,8 +7,10 @@ if [[ -z ${DBUSER} ]] || [[ -z ${DBPASS} ]] || [[ -z ${DBNAME} ]]; then
 	exit 1
 fi
 
+_engine="${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE}"
+
 echo -n "Checking MySQL service... "
-if [[ -z $(docker ps -qf name=mysql-mailcow) ]]; then
+if [[ -z $(${_engine} ps -qf name=mysql-mailcow) ]]; then
 	echo "failed"
 	echo "MySQL (mysql-mailcow) is not up and running, exiting..."
 	exit 1
@@ -20,11 +22,11 @@ response=${response,,}    # tolower
 if [[ "$response" =~ ^(yes|y)$ ]]; then
 	echo -e "\nWorking, please wait..."
   random=$(</dev/urandom tr -dc _A-Z-a-z-0-9 | head -c${1:-16})
-  password=$(docker exec -it $(docker ps -qf name=dovecot-mailcow) doveadm pw -s SSHA256 -p ${random} | tr -d '\r')
-	docker exec -it $(docker ps -qf name=mysql-mailcow) mysql -u${DBUSER} -p${DBPASS} ${DBNAME} -e "DELETE FROM admin WHERE username='admin';"
-  docker exec -it $(docker ps -qf name=mysql-mailcow) mysql -u${DBUSER} -p${DBPASS} ${DBNAME} -e "DELETE FROM domain_admins WHERE username='admin';"
-	docker exec -it $(docker ps -qf name=mysql-mailcow) mysql -u${DBUSER} -p${DBPASS} ${DBNAME} -e "INSERT INTO admin (username, password, superadmin, active) VALUES ('admin', '${password}', 1, 1);"
-	docker exec -it $(docker ps -qf name=mysql-mailcow) mysql -u${DBUSER} -p${DBPASS} ${DBNAME} -e "DELETE FROM tfa WHERE username='admin';"
+  password=$(${_engine} exec -it $(${_engine} ps -qf name=dovecot-mailcow) doveadm pw -s SSHA256 -p ${random} | tr -d '\r')
+	${_engine} exec -it $(${_engine} ps -qf name=mysql-mailcow) mysql -u${DBUSER} -p${DBPASS} ${DBNAME} -e "DELETE FROM admin WHERE username='admin';"
+  ${_engine} exec -it $(${_engine} ps -qf name=mysql-mailcow) mysql -u${DBUSER} -p${DBPASS} ${DBNAME} -e "DELETE FROM domain_admins WHERE username='admin';"
+	${_engine} exec -it $(${_engine} ps -qf name=mysql-mailcow) mysql -u${DBUSER} -p${DBPASS} ${DBNAME} -e "INSERT INTO admin (username, password, superadmin, active) VALUES ('admin', '${password}', 1, 1);"
+	${_engine} exec -it $(${_engine} ps -qf name=mysql-mailcow) mysql -u${DBUSER} -p${DBPASS} ${DBNAME} -e "DELETE FROM tfa WHERE username='admin';"
 	echo "
 Reset credentials:
 ---
diff --git a/helper-scripts/reset-learns.sh b/helper-scripts/reset-learns.sh
index 9fd11232..989eaba8 100755
--- a/helper-scripts/reset-learns.sh
+++ b/helper-scripts/reset-learns.sh
@@ -1,30 +1,34 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
+[[ -f mailcow.conf ]] && source mailcow.conf
+[[ -f ../mailcow.conf ]] && source ../mailcow.conf
 
 read -r -p "Are you sure you want to reset learned hashes from Rspamd (fuzzy, bayes, neural)? [y/N] " response
 response=${response,,}    # tolower
 if [[ "$response" =~ ^(yes|y)$ ]]; then
+  _engine="${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE}"
+
   echo "Working, please wait..."
-  REDIS_ID=$(docker ps -qf name=redis-mailcow)
-  RSPAMD_ID=$(docker ps -qf name=rspamd-mailcow)
+  REDIS_ID=$(${_engine} ps -qf name=redis-mailcow)
+  RSPAMD_ID=$(${_engine} ps -qf name=rspamd-mailcow)
 
   if [ -z ${REDIS_ID} ] || [ -z ${RSPAMD_ID} ]; then
     echo "Cannot determine Redis or Rspamd container ID"
     exit 1
   else
     echo "Stopping Rspamd container"
-    docker stop ${RSPAMD_ID}
+    ${_engine} stop ${RSPAMD_ID}
     echo "LUA will return nil when it succeeds or print a warning/error when it fails."
     echo "Deleting all RS* keys - if any"
-    docker exec -it ${REDIS_ID} redis-cli EVAL "for _,k in ipairs(redis.call('keys', ARGV[1])) do redis.call('del', k) end" 0 'RS*'
+    ${_engine} exec -it ${REDIS_ID} redis-cli EVAL "for _,k in ipairs(redis.call('keys', ARGV[1])) do redis.call('del', k) end" 0 'RS*'
     echo "Deleting all BAYES* keys - if any"
-    docker exec -it ${REDIS_ID} redis-cli EVAL "for _,k in ipairs(redis.call('keys', ARGV[1])) do redis.call('del', k) end" 0 'BAYES*'
+    ${_engine} exec -it ${REDIS_ID} redis-cli EVAL "for _,k in ipairs(redis.call('keys', ARGV[1])) do redis.call('del', k) end" 0 'BAYES*'
     echo "Deleting all learned* keys - if any"
-    docker exec -it ${REDIS_ID} redis-cli EVAL "for _,k in ipairs(redis.call('keys', ARGV[1])) do redis.call('del', k) end" 0 'learned*'
+    ${_engine} exec -it ${REDIS_ID} redis-cli EVAL "for _,k in ipairs(redis.call('keys', ARGV[1])) do redis.call('del', k) end" 0 'learned*'
     echo "Deleting all fuzzy* keys - if any"
-    docker exec -it ${REDIS_ID} redis-cli EVAL "for _,k in ipairs(redis.call('keys', ARGV[1])) do redis.call('del', k) end" 0 'fuzzy*'
+    ${_engine} exec -it ${REDIS_ID} redis-cli EVAL "for _,k in ipairs(redis.call('keys', ARGV[1])) do redis.call('del', k) end" 0 'fuzzy*'
     echo "Deleting all tRFANN* keys - if any"
-    docker exec -it ${REDIS_ID} redis-cli EVAL "for _,k in ipairs(redis.call('keys', ARGV[1])) do redis.call('del', k) end" 0 'tRFANN*'
+    ${_engine} exec -it ${REDIS_ID} redis-cli EVAL "for _,k in ipairs(redis.call('keys', ARGV[1])) do redis.call('del', k) end" 0 'tRFANN*'
     echo "Starting Rspamd container"
-    docker start ${RSPAMD_ID}
+    ${_engine} start ${RSPAMD_ID}
   fi
 fi
diff --git a/helper-scripts/update_compose.sh b/helper-scripts/update_compose.sh
index ae2d6ab1..47cc061d 100755
--- a/helper-scripts/update_compose.sh
+++ b/helper-scripts/update_compose.sh
@@ -4,56 +4,65 @@ SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )"
 source ${SCRIPT_DIR}/../mailcow.conf
 
 if [ "${DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION}" == "standalone" ]; then
-LATEST_COMPOSE=$(curl -Ls -w %{url_effective} -o /dev/null https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest) # redirect to latest release
-LATEST_COMPOSE=${LATEST_COMPOSE##*/v} #get the latest version from the redirect, excluding the "v" prefix
-COMPOSE_VERSION=$(docker-compose version --short)
-if [[ "$LATEST_COMPOSE" != "$COMPOSE_VERSION" ]]; then
-  echo -e "\e[33mA new docker-compose Version is available: $LATEST_COMPOSE\e[0m"
-  echo -e "\e[33mYour Version is: $COMPOSE_VERSION\e[0m"
-else
-  echo -e "\e[32mYour docker-compose Version is up to date! Not updating it...\e[0m"
-  exit 0 
-fi
-read -r -p "Do you want to update your docker-compose Version? It will automatic upgrade your docker-compose installation (recommended)? [y/N] " updatecomposeresponse 
+    _compose="${MAILCOW_DOCKER_COMPOSE:-"docker-compose"}"
+
+    LATEST_COMPOSE=$(curl -Ls -w %{url_effective} -o /dev/null https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest) # redirect to latest release
+    LATEST_COMPOSE=${LATEST_COMPOSE##*/v} #get the latest version from the redirect, excluding the "v" prefix
+    COMPOSE_VERSION=$(${_compose} version --short)
+    if [[ "$LATEST_COMPOSE" != "$COMPOSE_VERSION" ]]; then
+        echo -e "\e[33mA new docker-compose Version is available: $LATEST_COMPOSE\e[0m"
+        echo -e "\e[33mYour Version of '${_compose}' is: $COMPOSE_VERSION\e[0m"
+    else
+        echo -e "\e[32mYour docker-compose Version is up to date! Not updating it...\e[0m"
+        exit 0
+    fi
+    read -r -p "Do you want to update your docker-compose Version? It will automatic upgrade your docker-compose installation (recommended)? [y/N] " updatecomposeresponse
     if [[ ! "${updatecomposeresponse}" =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])+$ ]]; then
-      echo "OK, not updating docker-compose."
-      exit 0
-    fi 
-echo -e "\e[32mFetching new docker-compose (standalone) version...\e[0m"
-echo -e "\e[32mTrying to determine GLIBC version...\e[0m"
+        echo "OK, not updating docker-compose."
+        exit 0
+    fi
+    echo -e "\e[32mFetching new docker-compose (standalone) version...\e[0m"
+    echo -e "\e[32mTrying to determine GLIBC version...\e[0m"
     if ldd --version > /dev/null; then
         GLIBC_V=$(ldd --version | grep -E '(GLIBC|GNU libc)' | rev | cut -d ' ' -f1 | rev | cut -d '.' -f2)
         if [ ! -z "${GLIBC_V}" ] && [ ${GLIBC_V} -gt 27 ]; then
-        DC_DL_SUFFIX=
+            DC_DL_SUFFIX=
         else
-        DC_DL_SUFFIX=legacy
+            DC_DL_SUFFIX=legacy
         fi
     else
         DC_DL_SUFFIX=legacy
     fi
     sleep 1
-    if [[ $(command -v pip 2>&1) && $(pip list --local 2>&1 | grep -v DEPRECATION | grep -c docker-compose) == 1 || $(command -v pip3 2>&1) && $(pip3 list --local 2>&1 | grep -v DEPRECATION | grep -c docker-compose) == 1 ]]; then
+    if [[ "${_compose}" == "docker-compose" ]] && [[ $(command -v pip 2>&1) && $(pip list --local 2>&1 | grep -v DEPRECATION | grep -c docker-compose) == 1 || $(command -v pip3 2>&1) && $(pip3 list --local 2>&1 | grep -v DEPRECATION | grep -c docker-compose) == 1 ]]; then
         echo -e "\e[33mFound a docker-compose Version installed with pip!\e[0m"
         echo -e "\e[31mPlease uninstall the pip Version of docker-compose since it doesn't support Versions higher than 1.29.2.\e[0m"
         sleep 2
         echo -e "\e[33mExiting...\e[0m"
         exit 1
         #prevent breaking a working docker-compose installed with pip
+        #when ${_compose} is set to a non-default value, don't complain, since in some cases both v1 and v2 are used
     elif [[ $(curl -sL -w "%{http_code}" https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest -o /dev/null) == "200" ]]; then
         LATEST_COMPOSE=$(curl -Ls -w %{url_effective} -o /dev/null https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest) # redirect to latest release
-        LATEST_COMPOSE=${LATEST_COMPOSE##*/} #get the latest version from the redirect, inlcuding the "v" prefix
-        COMPOSE_VERSION=$(docker-compose version --short)
+        LATEST_COMPOSE=${LATEST_COMPOSE##*/} #get the latest version from the redirect, including the "v" prefix
+        COMPOSE_VERSION=$(${_compose} version --short)
         if [[ "$LATEST_COMPOSE" != "$COMPOSE_VERSION" ]]; then
-        COMPOSE_PATH=$(command -v docker-compose)
-        if [[ -w ${COMPOSE_PATH} ]]; then
-            curl -#L https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/${LATEST_COMPOSE}/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m) > $COMPOSE_PATH
-            chmod +x $COMPOSE_PATH
-            echo -e "\e[32mYour Docker Compose (standalone) has been updated to: $LATEST_COMPOSE\e[0m"
-            exit 0
-        else
-            echo -e "\e[33mWARNING: $COMPOSE_PATH is not writable, but new version $LATEST_COMPOSE is available (installed: $COMPOSE_VERSION)\e[0m"
-            exit 1
-        fi
+            COMPOSE_PATH=$(command -v ${_compose})
+            if [[ -w ${COMPOSE_PATH} ]]; then
+                curl -#L https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/${LATEST_COMPOSE}/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m) > $COMPOSE_PATH
+                RC=$?
+                if [[ $RC -eq 0 ]]; then
+                    chmod +x $COMPOSE_PATH
+                    echo -e "\e[32mYour Docker Compose (standalone) has been updated to: $LATEST_COMPOSE\e[0m"
+                    exit 0
+                else
+                    echo -e "\e[31mError with updating $COMPOSE_PATH, please retry...\e[0m"
+                    exit 1
+                fi
+            else
+                echo -e "\e[33mWARNING: $COMPOSE_PATH is not writable, but new version $LATEST_COMPOSE is available (installed: $COMPOSE_VERSION)\e[0m"
+                exit 1
+            fi
         fi
     else
         echo -e "\e[33mCannot determine latest docker-compose version, skipping...\e[0m"
@@ -69,4 +78,4 @@ elif [ "${DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION}" == "native" ]; then
 else
     echo -e "\e[31mCan not read DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION variable from mailcow.conf! Is your mailcow up to date? Exiting...\e[0m"
     exit 1
-fi
\ No newline at end of file
+fi
diff --git a/mailcow-compose.sh b/mailcow-compose.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..c3df2b7f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mailcow-compose.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# docker-compose wrapper script for mailcow
+
+#---------------------------------------
+# functions
+#---------------------------------------
+function validate_input()
+{
+  if [[ "$#" -eq 0 ]]; then
+    echo -e "\e[31mNo arguments given. Call this script with e.g. 'up -d' or 'down'\e[0m"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  if [[ ! -f mailcow.conf ]]; then
+    echo -e "\e[31mmailcow.conf is missing! Is mailcow installed?\e[0m"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  source mailcow.conf
+}
+
+function detect_docker_compose_command()
+{
+  if ! [[ "${DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION}" == "native" ]] && ! [[ "${DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION}" == "standalone" ]]; then
+    if docker compose > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+      if docker compose version --short | grep "2." > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+        DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION=native
+        COMPOSE_COMMAND="docker compose"
+        echo -e "\e[31mFound Docker Compose Plugin (native).\e[0m"
+        echo -e "\e[31mSetting the DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION Variable to native\e[0m"
+        sleep 2
+        echo -e "\e[33mNotice: You'll have to update this Compose Version via your Package Manager manually! \e[0m"
+      else
+        echo -e "\e[31mCannot find Docker Compose with a Version Higher than 2.X.X.\e[0m"
+        echo -e "\e[31mPlease update/install it manually regarding to this doc site: https://mailcow.github.io/mailcow-dockerized-docs/i_u_m/i_u_m_install/\e[0m"
+        exit 1
+      fi
+    elif docker-compose > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+      if ! [[ $(alias docker-compose 2> /dev/null) ]] ; then
+        if docker-compose version --short | grep "^2." > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+          DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION=standalone
+          COMPOSE_COMMAND="docker-compose"
+          echo -e "\e[31mFound Docker Compose Standalone.\e[0m"
+          echo -e "\e[31mSetting the DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION Variable to standalone\e[0m"
+          sleep 2
+          echo -e "\e[33mNotice: For an automatic update of docker-compose please use the update_compose.sh scripts located at the helper-scripts folder.\e[0m"
+        else
+          echo -e "\e[31mCannot find Docker Compose with a Version Higher than 2.X.X.\e[0m"
+          echo -e "\e[31mPlease update/install regarding to this doc site: https://mailcow.github.io/mailcow-dockerized-docs/i_u_m/i_u_m_install/\e[0m"
+          exit 1
+        fi
+      fi
+
+    else
+      echo -e "\e[31mCannot find Docker Compose.\e[0m"
+      echo -e "\e[31mPlease install it regarding to this doc site: https://mailcow.github.io/mailcow-dockerized-docs/i_u_m/i_u_m_install/\e[0m"
+      exit 1
+    fi
+
+  elif [[ "${DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION}" == "native" ]]; then
+    COMPOSE_COMMAND="docker compose"
+
+  elif [[ "${DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION}" == "standalone" ]]; then
+    COMPOSE_COMMAND="${MAILCOW_DOCKER_COMPOSE:-"docker-compose"}"
+  fi
+}
+
+function ensure_storage_directories_exist()
+{
+  # In case the user specified MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR, create the required subdirectories.
+  if [[ -n "${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}" ]]; then
+    mkdir -p "${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/clamd-db"
+    mkdir -p "${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/crypt"
+    mkdir -p "${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/mysql"
+    mkdir -p "${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/mysql-socket"
+    mkdir -p "${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/postfix"
+    mkdir -p "${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/redis"
+    mkdir -p "${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/rspamd"
+    mkdir -p "${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/sogo-userdata-backup"
+    mkdir -p "${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/sogo-web"
+    mkdir -p "${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/solr"
+    mkdir -p "${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/vmail"
+    mkdir -p "${MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR}/vmail-index"
+  fi
+}
+
+function run_compose()
+{
+  if [[ -n "${DOCKER_COMPOSE_EXTRA_OVERRIDES}" ]]; then
+    IFS=',' read -r -a overrides <<< "${DOCKER_COMPOSE_EXTRA_OVERRIDES}"
+    COMPOSE_ARGUMENTS="-f docker-compose.yml "
+    for override in "${overrides[@]}"; do
+        COMPOSE_ARGUMENTS+="-f ${override} "
+    done
+  else
+    COMPOSE_ARGUMENTS=""
+  fi
+
+  echo -e "\e[32mExecuting: ${COMPOSE_COMMAND} ${COMPOSE_ARGUMENTS} $@ \e[0m"
+  ${COMPOSE_COMMAND} ${COMPOSE_ARGUMENTS} $@
+}
+
+#---------------------------------------
+# main
+#---------------------------------------
+validate_input $@
+detect_docker_compose_command
+ensure_storage_directories_exist
+run_compose $@
diff --git a/patch-docker-compose-for-podman.patch b/patch-docker-compose-for-podman.patch
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..670ef774
--- /dev/null
+++ b/patch-docker-compose-for-podman.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+--- docker-compose-original.yml	2023-01-09 13:46:07.792778709 +0100
++++ docker-compose.yml	2023-01-09 13:45:20.828836564 +0100
+@@ -55,8 +55,8 @@
+         - "${REDIS_PORT:-127.0.0.1:7654}:6379"
+       environment:
+         - TZ=${TZ}
+-      sysctls:
+-        - net.core.somaxconn=4096
++#      sysctls:
++#        - net.core.somaxconn=4096
+       networks:
+         mailcow-network:
+           ipv4_address: ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.249
+@@ -68,8 +68,8 @@
+       restart: always
+       depends_on:
+         - unbound-mailcow
+-      dns:
+-        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
++#      dns:
++#        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
+       environment:
+         - TZ=${TZ}
+         - SKIP_CLAMD=${SKIP_CLAMD:-n}
+@@ -108,8 +108,8 @@
+         - label=disable
+       restart: always
+       hostname: rspamd
+-      dns:
+-        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
++#      dns:
++#        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
+       networks:
+         mailcow-network:
+           aliases:
+@@ -140,8 +140,8 @@
+         - ./data/conf/nginx/:/etc/nginx/conf.d/
+       security_opt:
+         - label=disable
+-      dns:
+-        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
++#      dns:
++#        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
+       environment:
+         - REDIS_SLAVEOF_IP=${REDIS_SLAVEOF_IP:-}
+         - REDIS_SLAVEOF_PORT=${REDIS_SLAVEOF_PORT:-}
+@@ -198,8 +198,8 @@
+         - MASTER=${MASTER:-y}
+         - REDIS_SLAVEOF_IP=${REDIS_SLAVEOF_IP:-}
+         - REDIS_SLAVEOF_PORT=${REDIS_SLAVEOF_PORT:-}
+-      dns:
+-        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
++#      dns:
++#        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
+       volumes:
+         - ./data/hooks/sogo:/hooks
+         - ./data/conf/sogo/:/etc/sogo/
+@@ -233,8 +233,8 @@
+       image: mailcow/dovecot:1.21
+       depends_on:
+         - mysql-mailcow
+-      dns:
+-        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
++#      dns:
++#        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
+       cap_add:
+         - NET_BIND_SERVICE
+       volumes:
+@@ -341,8 +341,8 @@
+         - "${SMTPS_PORT:-465}:465"
+         - "${SUBMISSION_PORT:-587}:587"
+       restart: always
+-      dns:
+-        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
++#      dns:
++#        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
+       networks:
+         mailcow-network:
+           ipv4_address: ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.253
+@@ -367,8 +367,8 @@
+         - php-fpm-mailcow
+         - redis-mailcow
+       image: nginx:mainline-alpine
+-      dns:
+-        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
++#      dns:
++#        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
+       command: /bin/sh -c "envsubst < /etc/nginx/conf.d/templates/listen_plain.template > /etc/nginx/conf.d/listen_plain.active &&
+         envsubst < /etc/nginx/conf.d/templates/listen_ssl.template > /etc/nginx/conf.d/listen_ssl.active &&
+         envsubst < /etc/nginx/conf.d/templates/sogo.template > /etc/nginx/conf.d/sogo.active &&
+@@ -412,8 +412,8 @@
+       depends_on:
+         - nginx-mailcow
+       image: mailcow/acme:1.83
+-      dns:
+-        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
++#      dns:
++#        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
+       environment:
+         - LOG_LINES=${LOG_LINES:-9999}
+         - ACME_CONTACT=${ACME_CONTACT:-}
+@@ -475,8 +475,8 @@
+
+     watchdog-mailcow:
+       image: mailcow/watchdog:1.97
+-      dns:
+-        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
++#      dns:
++#        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
+       tmpfs:
+         - /tmp
+       volumes:
+@@ -542,9 +542,9 @@
+       security_opt:
+         - label=disable
+       restart: always
+-      oom_kill_disable: true
+-      dns:
+-        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
++#      oom_kill_disable: true
++#      dns:
++#        - ${IPV4_NETWORK:-172.22.1}.254
+       environment:
+         - DBROOT=${DBROOT}
+         - TZ=${TZ}
diff --git a/patches-for-podman.sh b/patches-for-podman.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..96ff6f56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/patches-for-podman.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# This script patches the docker-compose.yml for usage with podman.
+# This is necessary because not all options (e.g. DNS) can be overwritten by docker-compose, see
+#   https://github.com/docker/compose/issues/3729
+#
+# Next to that because IPv6 does not work (yet), patch the MySQL configuration file to bind to IPv4
+
+set -e
+
+PATCH_FILE="patch-docker-compose-for-podman.patch"
+TIMESTAMP="$(date +'%Y%m%d%H%M')"
+
+# Create a backup (in case custom changes are made)
+cp docker-compose.yml docker-compose.yml.${TIMESTAMP}.bak
+
+# Detect whether the patch has been applied by trying to reverse the patch in a dry-run scenario
+if ! patch -R -s -f --dry-run docker-compose.yml < ${PATCH_FILE} > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+    patch docker-compose.yml < ${PATCH_FILE}
+else
+    echo "docker-compose.yml already patched (or custom changes prevent applying the patch)"
+fi
diff --git a/update.sh b/update.sh
index 34d17354..8a728400 100755
--- a/update.sh
+++ b/update.sh
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ prefetch_images() {
       fi
     fi
     RET_C=0
-    until docker pull ${image}; do
+    until ${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE} pull ${image}; do
       RET_C=$((RET_C + 1))
       echo -e "\e[33m\nError pulling $image, retrying...\e[0m"
       [ ${RET_C} -gt 3 ] && { echo -e "\e[31m\nToo many failed retries, exiting\e[0m"; exit 1; }
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ docker_garbage() {
     TAG=${container/*:}
     V_MAIN=${container/*.}
     V_SUB=${container/*.}
-    EXISTING_TAGS=$(docker images | grep ${REPOSITORY} | awk '{ print $2 }')
+    EXISTING_TAGS=$(${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE} images | grep ${REPOSITORY} | awk '{ print $2 }')
     for existing_tag in ${EXISTING_TAGS[@]}; do
       V_MAIN_EXISTING=${existing_tag/*.}
       V_SUB_EXISTING=${existing_tag/*.}
@@ -62,21 +62,21 @@ docker_garbage() {
   if [[ ! -z ${IMGS_TO_DELETE[*]} ]]; then
     echo "Run the following command to delete unused image tags:"
     echo
-    echo "    docker rmi ${IMGS_TO_DELETE[*]}"
+    echo "    ${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE} rmi ${IMGS_TO_DELETE[*]}"
     echo
     if [ ! $FORCE ]; then
       read -r -p "Do you want to delete old image tags right now? [y/N] " response
       if [[ "$response" =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])+$ ]]; then
-        docker rmi ${IMGS_TO_DELETE[*]}
+        ${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE} rmi ${IMGS_TO_DELETE[*]}
       else
         echo "OK, skipped."
       fi
     else
       echo "Running image removal without extra confirmation due to force mode."
-      docker rmi ${IMGS_TO_DELETE[*]}
+      ${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE} rmi ${IMGS_TO_DELETE[*]}
     fi
     echo -e "\e[32mFurther cleanup...\e[0m"
-    echo "If you want to cleanup further garbage collected by Docker, please make sure all containers are up and running before cleaning your system by executing \"docker system prune\""
+    echo "If you want to cleanup further garbage collected by ${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE}, please make sure all containers are up and running before cleaning your system by executing \"${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE} system prune\""
   fi
 }
 
@@ -139,10 +139,10 @@ migrate_docker_nat() {
     # Removing legacy container
     sed -i '/ipv6nat-mailcow:$/,/^$/d' docker-compose.yml
     if [ -s docker-compose.override.yml ]; then
-        sed -i '/ipv6nat-mailcow:$/,/^$/d' docker-compose.override.yml
-        if [[ "$(cat docker-compose.override.yml | sed '/^\s*$/d' | wc -l)" == "2" ]]; then
-            mv docker-compose.override.yml docker-compose.override.yml_backup
-        fi
+      sed -i '/ipv6nat-mailcow:$/,/^$/d' docker-compose.override.yml
+      if [[ "$(cat docker-compose.override.yml | sed '/^\s*$/d' | wc -l)" == "2" ]]; then
+          mv docker-compose.override.yml docker-compose.override.yml_backup
+      fi
     fi
     echo -e "\e[32mGreat! \e[0mNative IPv6 NAT is active.\e[0m"
   else
@@ -152,82 +152,47 @@ migrate_docker_nat() {
 }
 
 remove_obsolete_nginx_ports() {
-    # Removing obsolete docker-compose.override.yml
-    for override in docker-compose.override.yml docker-compose.override.yaml; do
-    if [ -s $override ] ; then
-        if cat $override | grep nginx-mailcow > /dev/null 2>&1; then
-          if cat $override | grep -E '(\[::])' > /dev/null 2>&1; then
-            if cat $override | grep -w 80:80 > /dev/null 2>&1 && cat $override | grep -w 443:443 > /dev/null 2>&1 ; then
-              echo -e "\e[33mBacking up ${override} to preserve custom changes...\e[0m"
-              echo -e "\e[33m!!! Manual Merge needed (if other overrides are set) !!!\e[0m"
-              sleep 3
-              cp $override ${override}_backup
-              sed -i '/nginx-mailcow:$/,/^$/d' $override
-              echo -e "\e[33mRemoved obsolete NGINX IPv6 Bind from original override File.\e[0m"
-                if [[ "$(cat $override | sed '/^\s*$/d' | wc -l)" == "2" ]]; then
-                  mv $override ${override}_empty
-                  echo -e "\e[31m${override} is empty. Renamed it to ensure mailcow is startable.\e[0m"
-                fi
+  # Removing obsolete docker-compose.override.yml
+  for override in docker-compose.override.yml docker-compose.override.yaml; do
+  if [ -s $override ] ; then
+    if cat $override | grep nginx-mailcow > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+      if cat $override | grep -E '(\[::])' > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+        if cat $override | grep -w 80:80 > /dev/null 2>&1 && cat $override | grep -w 443:443 > /dev/null 2>&1 ; then
+          echo -e "\e[33mBacking up ${override} to preserve custom changes...\e[0m"
+          echo -e "\e[33m!!! Manual Merge needed (if other overrides are set) !!!\e[0m"
+          sleep 3
+          cp $override ${override}_backup
+          sed -i '/nginx-mailcow:$/,/^$/d' $override
+          echo -e "\e[33mRemoved obsolete NGINX IPv6 Bind from original override File.\e[0m"
+            if [[ "$(cat $override | sed '/^\s*$/d' | wc -l)" == "2" ]]; then
+              mv $override ${override}_empty
+              echo -e "\e[31m${override} is empty. Renamed it to ensure mailcow is startable.\e[0m"
             fi
-          fi
         fi
-    fi
-    done        
-}
-
-detect_docker_compose_command(){
-if ! [ "${DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION}" == "native" ] && ! [ "${DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION}" == "standalone" ]; then
-  if docker compose > /dev/null 2>&1; then
-      if docker compose version --short | grep "2." > /dev/null 2>&1; then
-        DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION=native
-        COMPOSE_COMMAND="docker compose"
-        echo -e "\e[31mFound Docker Compose Plugin (native).\e[0m"
-        echo -e "\e[31mSetting the DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION Variable to native\e[0m"
-        sleep 2
-        echo -e "\e[33mNotice: You'll have to update this Compose Version via your Package Manager manually!\e[0m"
-      else
-        echo -e "\e[31mCannot find Docker Compose with a Version Higher than 2.X.X.\e[0m" 
-        echo -e "\e[31mPlease update/install it manually regarding to this doc site: https://mailcow.github.io/mailcow-dockerized-docs/i_u_m/i_u_m_install/\e[0m"
-        exit 1
-      fi
-  elif docker-compose > /dev/null 2>&1; then
-    if ! [[ $(alias docker-compose 2> /dev/null) ]] ; then
-      if docker-compose version --short | grep "^2." > /dev/null 2>&1; then
-        DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION=standalone
-        COMPOSE_COMMAND="docker-compose"
-        echo -e "\e[31mFound Docker Compose Standalone.\e[0m"
-        echo -e "\e[31mSetting the DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION Variable to standalone\e[0m"
-        sleep 2
-        echo -e "\e[33mNotice: For an automatic update of docker-compose please use the update_compose.sh scripts located at the helper-scripts folder.\e[0m"
-      else
-        echo -e "\e[31mCannot find Docker Compose with a Version Higher than 2.X.X.\e[0m" 
-        echo -e "\e[31mPlease update/install regarding to this doc site: https://mailcow.github.io/mailcow-dockerized-docs/i_u_m/i_u_m_install/\e[0m"
-        exit 1
       fi
     fi
-
-  else
-    echo -e "\e[31mCannot find Docker Compose.\e[0m" 
-    echo -e "\e[31mPlease install it regarding to this doc site: https://mailcow.github.io/mailcow-dockerized-docs/i_u_m/i_u_m_install/\e[0m"
-    exit 1
   fi
-
-elif [ "${DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION}" == "native" ]; then
-  COMPOSE_COMMAND="docker compose"
-
-elif [ "${DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION}" == "standalone" ]; then
-  COMPOSE_COMMAND="docker-compose"
-fi
+  done
 }
 
 ############## End Function Section ##############
 
-# Check permissions
-if [ "$(id -u)" -ne "0" ]; then
-  echo "You need to be root"
+# Exit on error and pipefail
+set -o pipefail
+
+if [[ ! -f mailcow.conf ]]; then
+  echo -e "\e[31mmailcow.conf is missing! Is mailcow installed?\e[0m"
   exit 1
 fi
 
+chmod 600 mailcow.conf
+source mailcow.conf
+
+# Check permissions (only when docker is wanted)
+if ([[ -z "${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE}" ]] || [[ "${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE}" == "docker" ]]) && [[ "$(id -u)" -ne "0" ]]; then
+  echo "You need to be root"
+fi
+
 SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )"
 
 # Run pre-update-hook
@@ -251,9 +216,6 @@ if [[ "$(uname -r)" =~ ^4\.4\. ]]; then
   read -p "Press any key to continue..." < /dev/tty
 fi
 
-# Exit on error and pipefail
-set -o pipefail
-
 # Setting high dc timeout
 export COMPOSE_HTTP_TIMEOUT=600
 
@@ -262,15 +224,38 @@ PATH=$PATH:/opt/bin
 
 umask 0022
 
-# Unset COMPOSE_COMMAND and DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION Variable to be on the newest state.
-unset COMPOSE_COMMAND
-unset DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION
+# Check if the container engine flag is set, otherwise set it
+if [[ -z "${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE}" ]]; then
+  if command -v podman > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+    MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE="podman"
+    echo -e "\e[32mFound Podman container engine.\e[0m"
+    echo -e "\e[31mNOTE: Support for Podman is experimental, consider this before deploying to production! \e[0m"
 
-for bin in curl docker git awk sha1sum; do
-  if [[ -z $(command -v ${bin}) ]]; then 
-  echo "Cannot find ${bin}, exiting..." 
-  exit 1;
-  fi  
+    if [[ -n "${DOCKER_HOST}" ]] && [[ "${DOCKER_HOST}" == "unix://"* ]]; then
+      CONTAINER_SOCKET="${DOCKER_HOST/"unix://"/}"
+    else
+      CONTAINER_SOCKET="/run/user/${UID}/podman/podman.sock"
+    fi
+
+    # To patch the docker-compose file for use with podman
+    EXTRA_REQUIRED_PACKAGES="patch"
+  elif command -v docker > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+    MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE="docker"
+    echo -e "\e[32mFound Docker container engine.\e[0m"
+
+    CONTAINER_SOCKET="/var/run/docker.sock"
+    EXTRA_REQUIRED_PACKAGES=""
+  else
+    echo "Cannot find container engine (Docker or Podman), exiting..."
+    exit 1
+  fi
+fi
+
+for bin in curl git awk sha1sum ${EXTRA_REQUIRED_PACKAGES}; do
+  if [[ -z $(command -v ${bin}) ]]; then
+    echo "Cannot find ${bin}, exiting..."
+    exit 1
+  fi
 done
 
 export LC_ALL=C
@@ -344,16 +329,11 @@ while (($#)); do
   shift
 done
 
-chmod 600 mailcow.conf
-source mailcow.conf
 
-detect_docker_compose_command
-
-[[ ! -f mailcow.conf ]] && { echo "mailcow.conf is missing! Is mailcow installed?"; exit 1;}
 DOTS=${MAILCOW_HOSTNAME//[^.]};
 if [ ${#DOTS} -lt 2 ]; then
   echo "MAILCOW_HOSTNAME (${MAILCOW_HOSTNAME}) is not a FQDN!"
-  echo "Please change it to a FQDN and run $COMPOSE_COMMAND down followed by $COMPOSE_COMMAND up -d"
+  echo "Please change it to a FQDN and run \"./mailcow-compose.sh down\" followed by \"./mailcow-compose.sh up -d\""
   exit 1
 fi
 
@@ -381,6 +361,10 @@ CONFIG_ARRAY=(
   "SNAT6_TO_SOURCE"
   "COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME"
   "DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION"
+  "MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE"
+  "MAILCOW_CONTAINER_SOCKET"
+  "DOCKER_COMPOSE_EXTRA_OVERRIDES"
+  "MAILCOW_DOCKER_COMPOSE"
   "SQL_PORT"
   "API_KEY"
   "API_KEY_READ_ONLY"
@@ -402,6 +386,7 @@ CONFIG_ARRAY=(
   "ACME_CONTACT"
   "WATCHDOG_VERBOSE"
   "WEBAUTHN_ONLY_TRUSTED_VENDORS"
+  "MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR"
 )
 
 sed -i --follow-symlinks '$a\' mailcow.conf
@@ -421,12 +406,44 @@ for option in ${CONFIG_ARRAY[@]}; do
       echo "Adding new option \"${option}\" to mailcow.conf"
       echo "# Used Docker Compose version" >> mailcow.conf
       echo "# Switch here between native (compose plugin) and standalone" >> mailcow.conf
-      echo "# For more informations take a look at the mailcow docs regarding the configuration options." >> mailcow.conf
+      echo "# For more information take a look at the mailcow docs regarding the configuration options." >> mailcow.conf
       echo "# Normally this should be untouched but if you decided to use either of those you can switch it manually here." >> mailcow.conf
-      echo "# Please be aware that at least one of those variants should be installed on your maschine or mailcow will fail." >> mailcow.conf
+      echo "# Please be aware that at least one of those variants should be installed on your machine or mailcow will fail." >> mailcow.conf
       echo "" >> mailcow.conf
       echo "DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION=${DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION}" >> mailcow.conf
     fi
+  elif [[ ${option} == "MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE" ]]; then
+    if ! grep -q ${option} mailcow.conf; then
+      echo "Adding new option \"${option}\" to mailcow.conf"
+      echo "# The container engine to use to run this project (docker or podman)." >> mailcow.conf
+      echo "" >> mailcow.conf
+      echo "MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE=${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE}" >> mailcow.conf
+    fi
+  elif [[ ${option} == "MAILCOW_CONTAINER_SOCKET" ]]; then
+    if ! grep -q ${option} mailcow.conf; then
+      echo "Adding new option \"${option}\" to mailcow.conf"
+      echo "# The location of the container socket to use for volume mounts.." >> mailcow.conf
+      echo "" >> mailcow.conf
+      echo "MAILCOW_CONTAINER_SOCKET=${CONTAINER_SOCKET}" >> mailcow.conf
+    fi
+  elif [[ ${option} == "DOCKER_COMPOSE_EXTRA_OVERRIDES" ]]; then
+    if ! grep -q ${option} mailcow.conf; then
+      echo "Adding new option \"${option}\" to mailcow.conf"
+      echo "# Additional override files (relative to the repo root) that need to be taken care of when running mailcow scripts." >> mailcow.conf
+      echo "# Comma separated list without spaces!" >> mailcow.conf
+      echo "# Example: DOCKER_COMPOSE_EXTRA_OVERRIDES=helper-scripts/docker-compose.override.yml.d/CONTAINER_ENGINE_PODMAN/docker-compose.override.yml,helper-scripts/docker-compose.override.yml.d/CUSTOM_STORAGE_LOCATION/docker-compose.override.yml" >> mailcow.conf
+      echo "" >> mailcow.conf
+      echo "DOCKER_COMPOSE_EXTRA_OVERRIDES=" >> mailcow.conf
+    fi
+  elif [[ ${option} == "MAILCOW_DOCKER_COMPOSE" ]]; then
+    if ! grep -q ${option} mailcow.conf; then
+      echo "Adding new option \"${option}\" to mailcow.conf"
+      echo "# The name of the docker-compose binary to use. This option can be used in case different versions of" >> mailcow.conf
+      echo "# docker-compose are installed and another binary than 'docker-compose' (default) needs to be used." >> mailcow.conf
+      echo "# Example: docker-compose-v2" >> mailcow.conf
+      echo "" >> mailcow.conf
+      echo "MAILCOW_DOCKER_COMPOSE=${MAILCOW_DOCKER_COMPOSE:-"docker-compose"}" >> mailcow.conf
+    fi
   elif [[ ${option} == "DOVEADM_PORT" ]]; then
     if ! grep -q ${option} mailcow.conf; then
       echo "Adding new option \"${option}\" to mailcow.conf"
@@ -602,6 +619,7 @@ for option in ${CONFIG_ARRAY[@]}; do
     fi
   elif [[ ${option} == "ADDITIONAL_SERVER_NAMES" ]]; then
     if ! grep -q ${option} mailcow.conf; then
+      echo "Adding new option \"${option}\" to mailcow.conf"
       echo '# Additional server names for mailcow UI' >> mailcow.conf
       echo '#' >> mailcow.conf
       echo '# Specify alternative addresses for the mailcow UI to respond to' >> mailcow.conf
@@ -613,6 +631,7 @@ for option in ${CONFIG_ARRAY[@]}; do
     fi
   elif [[ ${option} == "ACME_CONTACT" ]]; then
     if ! grep -q ${option} mailcow.conf; then
+      echo "Adding new option \"${option}\" to mailcow.conf"
       echo '# Lets Encrypt registration contact information' >> mailcow.conf
       echo '# Optional: Leave empty for none' >> mailcow.conf
       echo '# This value is only used on first order!' >> mailcow.conf
@@ -622,16 +641,24 @@ for option in ${CONFIG_ARRAY[@]}; do
   fi
   elif [[ ${option} == "WEBAUTHN_ONLY_TRUSTED_VENDORS" ]]; then
     if ! grep -q ${option} mailcow.conf; then
+      echo "Adding new option \"${option}\" to mailcow.conf"
       echo "# WebAuthn device manufacturer verification" >> mailcow.conf
       echo '# After setting WEBAUTHN_ONLY_TRUSTED_VENDORS=y only devices from trusted manufacturers are allowed' >> mailcow.conf
       echo '# root certificates can be placed for validation under mailcow-dockerized/data/web/inc/lib/WebAuthn/rootCertificates' >> mailcow.conf
       echo 'WEBAUTHN_ONLY_TRUSTED_VENDORS=n' >> mailcow.conf
     fi
-elif [[ ${option} == "WATCHDOG_VERBOSE" ]]; then
+  elif [[ ${option} == "WATCHDOG_VERBOSE" ]]; then
     if ! grep -q ${option} mailcow.conf; then
+      echo "Adding new option \"${option}\" to mailcow.conf"
       echo '# Enable watchdog verbose logging' >> mailcow.conf
       echo 'WATCHDOG_VERBOSE=n' >> mailcow.conf
-  fi
+    fi
+  elif [[ ${option} == "MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR" ]]; then
+    if ! grep -q ${option} mailcow.conf; then
+      echo "Adding new option \"${option}\" to mailcow.conf"
+      echo '# The directory used to store the data of the used containers (used in case the CUSTOM_STORAGE_LOCATION override is included)' >> mailcow.conf
+      echo 'MAILCOW_STORAGE_DIR=' >> mailcow.conf
+    fi
   elif ! grep -q ${option} mailcow.conf; then
     echo "Adding new option \"${option}\" to mailcow.conf"
     echo "${option}=n" >> mailcow.conf
@@ -639,16 +666,16 @@ elif [[ ${option} == "WATCHDOG_VERBOSE" ]]; then
 done
 
 if [[( ${SKIP_PING_CHECK} == "y")]]; then
-echo -e "\e[32mSkipping Ping Check...\e[0m"
+  echo -e "\e[32mSkipping Ping Check...\e[0m"
 
 else
-   echo -en "Checking internet connection... "
-   if ! check_online_status; then
-      echo -e "\e[31mfailed\e[0m"
-      exit 1
-   else
-      echo -e "\e[32mOK\e[0m"
-   fi
+  echo -en "Checking internet connection... "
+  if ! check_online_status; then
+    echo -e "\e[31mfailed\e[0m"
+    exit 1
+  else
+    echo -e "\e[32mOK\e[0m"
+  fi
 fi
 
 if ! [ $NEW_BRANCH ]; then
@@ -679,9 +706,9 @@ elif [ $NEW_BRANCH == "master" ] && [ $CURRENT_BRANCH != "master" ]; then
   sleep 1
   echo -e "\e[33mBefore you do: Please take a backup of all components to ensure that no Data is lost...\e[0m"
   sleep 1
-  echo -e "\e[31mWARNING: Please see on GitHub or ask in the communitys if a switch to master is stable or not.
+  echo -e "\e[31mWARNING: Please see on GitHub or ask in the communities if a switch to master is stable or not.
   In some rear cases a Update back to master can destroy your mailcow configuration in case of Database Upgrades etc.
-  Normally a upgrade back to master should be safe during each full release. 
+  Normally a upgrade back to master should be safe during each full release.
   Check GitHub for Database Changes and Update only if there similar to the full release!\e[0m"
   read -r -p "Are you sure you that want to continue upgrading to the stable (master) branch? [y/N] " response
   if [[ ! "${response}" =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])+$ ]]; then
@@ -744,7 +771,12 @@ if [ ! $FORCE ]; then
     echo "OK, exiting."
     exit 0
   fi
+fi
+
+if [[ "${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE}" == "docker" ]]; then
   migrate_docker_nat
+else
+  echo "Skipping migrating docker nat..."
 fi
 
 remove_obsolete_nginx_ports
@@ -752,16 +784,20 @@ remove_obsolete_nginx_ports
 echo -e "\e[32mValidating docker-compose stack configuration...\e[0m"
 sed -i 's/HTTPS_BIND:-:/HTTPS_BIND:-/g' docker-compose.yml
 sed -i 's/HTTP_BIND:-:/HTTP_BIND:-/g' docker-compose.yml
-if ! $COMPOSE_COMMAND config -q; then
+if ! ./mailcow-compose.sh config -q; then
   echo -e "\e[31m\nOh no, something went wrong. Please check the error message above.\e[0m"
   exit 1
 fi
 
-echo -e "\e[32mChecking for conflicting bridges...\e[0m"
-MAILCOW_BRIDGE=$($COMPOSE_COMMAND config | grep -i com.docker.network.bridge.name | cut -d':' -f2)
-while read NAT_ID; do
-  iptables -t nat -D POSTROUTING $NAT_ID
-done < <(iptables -L -vn -t nat --line-numbers | grep $IPV4_NETWORK | grep -E 'MASQUERADE.*all' | grep -v ${MAILCOW_BRIDGE} | cut -d' ' -f1)
+if [[ "${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE}" == "docker" ]]; then
+  echo -e "\e[32mChecking for conflicting bridges...\e[0m"
+  MAILCOW_BRIDGE=$(./mailcow-compose.sh config | grep -i com.docker.network.bridge.name | cut -d':' -f2)
+  while read NAT_ID; do
+    iptables -t nat -D POSTROUTING $NAT_ID
+  done < <(iptables -L -vn -t nat --line-numbers | grep $IPV4_NETWORK | grep -E 'MASQUERADE.*all' | grep -v ${MAILCOW_BRIDGE} | cut -d' ' -f1)
+else
+  echo "Skipping check for conflicting bridges..."
+fi
 
 DIFF_DIRECTORY=update_diffs
 DIFF_FILE=${DIFF_DIRECTORY}/diff_before_update_$(date +"%Y-%m-%d-%H-%M-%S")
@@ -778,12 +814,13 @@ prefetch_images
 
 echo -e "\e[32mStopping mailcow...\e[0m"
 sleep 2
-MAILCOW_CONTAINERS=($($COMPOSE_COMMAND ps -q))
-$COMPOSE_COMMAND down
+MAILCOW_CONTAINERS=($(./mailcow-compose.sh ps -q))
+./mailcow-compose.sh down
+
 echo -e "\e[32mChecking for remaining containers...\e[0m"
 sleep 2
 for container in "${MAILCOW_CONTAINERS[@]}"; do
-  docker rm -f "$container" 2> /dev/null
+  ${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE} rm -f "$container" 2> /dev/null
 done
 
 [[ -f data/conf/nginx/ZZZ-ejabberd.conf ]] && rm data/conf/nginx/ZZZ-ejabberd.conf
@@ -807,7 +844,7 @@ if [[ ${MERGE_RETURN} == 128 ]]; then
   echo -e "\e[31m\nOh no, what happened?\n=> You most likely added files to your local mailcow instance that were now added to the official mailcow repository. Please move them to another location before updating mailcow.\e[0m"
   exit 1
 elif [[ ${MERGE_RETURN} == 1 ]]; then
-  echo -e "\e[93mPotenial conflict, trying to fix...\e[0m"
+  echo -e "\e[93mPotential conflict, trying to fix...\e[0m"
   git status --porcelain | grep -E "UD|DU" | awk '{print $2}' | xargs rm -v
   git add -A
   git commit -m "After update on ${DATE}" > /dev/null
@@ -816,13 +853,18 @@ elif [[ ${MERGE_RETURN} == 1 ]]; then
 elif [[ ${MERGE_RETURN} != 0 ]]; then
   echo -e "\e[31m\nOh no, something went wrong. Please check the error message above.\e[0m"
   echo
-  echo "Run $COMPOSE_COMMAND up -d to restart your stack without updates or try again after fixing the mentioned errors."
+  echo "Run ./mailcow-compose.sh up -d to restart your stack without updates or try again after fixing the mentioned errors."
   exit 1
 fi
 
 echo -e "\e[32mFetching new images, if any...\e[0m"
 sleep 2
-$COMPOSE_COMMAND pull
+./mailcow-compose.sh pull
+
+if [[ "${MAILCOW_CONTAINER_ENGINE}" == "podman" ]]; then
+    # Apply patches for usage with Podman
+    bash ./patches-for-podman.sh
+fi
 
 # Fix missing SSL, does not overwrite existing files
 [[ ! -d data/assets/ssl ]] && mkdir -p data/assets/ssl
@@ -834,7 +876,7 @@ if grep -q 'SYSCTL_IPV6_DISABLED=1' mailcow.conf; then
   echo '!! IMPORTANT !!'
   echo
   echo 'SYSCTL_IPV6_DISABLED was removed due to complications. IPv6 can be disabled by editing "docker-compose.yml" and setting "enable_ipv6: true" to "enable_ipv6: false".'
-  echo 'This setting will only be active after a complete shutdown of mailcow by running $COMPOSE_COMMAND down followed by $COMPOSE_COMMAND up -d".'
+  echo 'This setting will only be active after a complete shutdown of mailcow by running "./mailcow-compose.sh down" followed by "./mailcow-compose.sh up -d".'
   echo
   echo '!! IMPORTANT !!'
   echo
@@ -872,8 +914,8 @@ else
   mailcow_last_git_version=""
 fi
 
-mailcow_git_commit=$(git rev-parse origin/${BRANCH})
-mailcow_git_commit_date=$(git log -1 --format=%ci @{upstream} )
+mailcow_git_commit=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
+mailcow_git_commit_date=$(git log -1 --format=%ci HEAD )
 
 if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
   echo '<?php' > data/web/inc/app_info.inc.php
@@ -906,11 +948,11 @@ fi
 sed -i 's/^DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION=$/DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION='$DOCKER_COMPOSE_VERSION'/g' mailcow.conf
 
 if [[ ${SKIP_START} == "y" ]]; then
-  echo -e "\e[33mNot starting mailcow, please run \"$COMPOSE_COMMAND up -d --remove-orphans\" to start mailcow.\e[0m"
+  echo -e "\e[33mNot starting mailcow, please run \"./mailcow-compose.sh up -d --remove-orphans\" to start mailcow.\e[0m"
 else
   echo -e "\e[32mStarting mailcow...\e[0m"
   sleep 2
-  $COMPOSE_COMMAND up -d --remove-orphans
+  ./mailcow-compose.sh up -d --remove-orphans
 fi
 
 echo -e "\e[32mCollecting garbage...\e[0m"
@@ -925,4 +967,4 @@ fi
 # echo
 # git reflog --color=always | grep "Before update on "
 # echo
-# echo "Use \"git reset --hard hash-on-the-left\" and run $COMPOSE_COMMAND up -d afterwards."
\ No newline at end of file
+# echo "Use \"git reset --hard hash-on-the-left\" and run ./mailcow-compose.sh up -d afterwards."