1SENDMAIL(1) General Commands Manual SENDMAIL(1)
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6 sendmail - Postfix to Sendmail compatibility interface
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9 sendmail [option ...] [recipient ...]
10 mailq
12 sendmail -bp
13 newaliases
15 sendmail -I
16
18 The Postfix sendmail(1) command implements the Postfix to Sendmail com‐
19 patibility interface. For the sake of compatibility with existing
20 applications, some Sendmail command-line options are recognized but
21 silently ignored.
22 By default, Postfix sendmail(1) reads a message from standard input
24 until EOF or until it reads a line with only a . character, and
25 arranges for delivery. Postfix sendmail(1) relies on the postdrop(1)
26 command to create a queue file in the maildrop directory.
27 Specific command aliases are provided for other common modes of opera‐
29 tion:
30 mailq List the mail queue. Each entry shows the queue file ID, message
32 size, arrival time, sender, and the recipients that still need
33 to be delivered. If mail could not be delivered upon the last
34 attempt, the reason for failure is shown. The queue ID string is
35 followed by an optional status character:
36 * The message is in the active queue, i.e. the message is
38 selected for delivery.
39 ! The message is in the hold queue, i.e. no further deliv‐
41 ery attempt will be made until the mail is taken off
42 hold.
43 This mode of operation is implemented by executing the
45 postqueue(1) command.
46 newaliases
48 Initialize the alias database. If no input file is specified
49 (with the -oA option, see below), the program processes the
50 file(s) specified with the alias_database configuration parame‐
51 ter. If no alias database type is specified, the program uses
52 the type specified with the default_database_type configuration
53 parameter. This mode of operation is implemented by running the
54 postalias(1) command.
55 Note: it may take a minute or so before an alias database update
57 becomes visible. Use the "postfix reload" command to eliminate
58 this delay.
59 These and other features can be selected by specifying the appropriate
61 combination of command-line options. Some features are controlled by
62 parameters in the main.cf configuration file.
63 The following options are recognized:
65 -Am (ignored)
67 -Ac (ignored)
69 Postfix sendmail uses the same configuration file regardless of
70 whether or not a message is an initial submission.
71 -B body_type
73 The message body MIME type: 7BIT or 8BITMIME.
74 -bd Go into daemon mode. This mode of operation is implemented by
76 executing the "postfix start" command.
77 -bh (ignored)
79 -bH (ignored)
81 Postfix has no persistent host status database.
82 -bi Initialize alias database. See the newaliases command above.
84 -bl Go into daemon mode. To accept only local connections as with
86 Sendmail´s -bl option, specify "inet_interfaces = loopback" in
87 the Postfix main.cf configuration file.
88 -bm Read mail from standard input and arrange for delivery. This is
90 the default mode of operation.
91 -bp List the mail queue. See the mailq command above.
93 -bs Stand-alone SMTP server mode. Read SMTP commands from standard
95 input, and write responses to standard output. In stand-alone
96 SMTP server mode, mail relaying and other access controls are
97 disabled by default. To enable them, run the process as the
98 mail_owner user.
99 This mode of operation is implemented by running the smtpd(8)
101 daemon.
102 -bv Do not collect or deliver a message. Instead, send an email
104 report after verifying each recipient address. This is useful
105 for testing address rewriting and routing configurations.
106 This feature is available in Postfix version 2.1 and later.
108 -C config_file
110 -C config_dir
112 The path name of the Postfix main.cf file, or of its parent
113 directory. This information is ignored with Postfix versions
114 before 2.3.
115 With Postfix version 3.2 and later, a non-default directory must
117 be authorized in the default main.cf file, through the alter‐
118 nate_config_directories or multi_instance_directories parame‐
119 ters.
120 With all Postfix versions, you can specify a directory pathname
122 with the MAIL_CONFIG environment variable to override the loca‐
123 tion of configuration files.
124 -F full_name
126 Set the sender full name. This overrides the NAME environment
127 variable, and is used only with messages that have no From: mes‐
128 sage header.
129 -f sender
131 Set the envelope sender address. This is the address where
132 delivery problems are sent to. With Postfix versions before 2.1,
133 the Errors-To: message header overrides the error return
134 address.
135 -G Gateway (relay) submission, as opposed to initial user submis‐
137 sion. Either do not rewrite addresses at all, or update incom‐
138 plete addresses with the domain information specified with
139 remote_header_rewrite_domain.
140 This option is ignored before Postfix version 2.3.
142 -h hop_count (ignored)
144 Hop count limit. Use the hopcount_limit configuration parameter
145 instead.
146 -I Initialize alias database. See the newaliases command above.
148 -i When reading a message from standard input, don´t treat a line
150 with only a . character as the end of input.
151 -L label (ignored)
153 The logging label. Use the syslog_name configuration parameter
154 instead.
155 -m (ignored)
157 Backwards compatibility.
158 -N dsn (default: 'delay, failure')
160 Delivery status notification control. Specify either a
161 comma-separated list with one or more of failure (send notifica‐
162 tion when delivery fails), delay (send notification when deliv‐
163 ery is delayed), or success (send notification when the message
164 is delivered); or specify never (don't send any notifications at
165 all).
166 This feature is available in Postfix 2.3 and later.
168 -n (ignored)
170 Backwards compatibility.
171 -oAalias_database
173 Non-default alias database. Specify pathname or type:pathname.
174 See postalias(1) for details.
175 -O option=value (ignored)
177 Set the named option to value. Use the equivalent configuration
178 parameter in main.cf instead.
179 -o7 (ignored)
181 -o8 (ignored)
183 To send 8-bit or binary content, use an appropriate MIME encap‐
184 sulation and specify the appropriate -B command-line option.
185 -oi When reading a message from standard input, don´t treat a line
187 with only a . character as the end of input.
188 -om (ignored)
190 The sender is never eliminated from alias etc. expansions.
191 -o x value (ignored)
193 Set option x to value. Use the equivalent configuration parame‐
194 ter in main.cf instead.
195 -r sender
197 Set the envelope sender address. This is the address where
198 delivery problems are sent to. With Postfix versions before 2.1,
199 the Errors-To: message header overrides the error return
200 address.
201 -R return
203 Delivery status notification control. Specify "hdrs" to return
204 only the header when a message bounces, "full" to return a full
205 copy (the default behavior).
206 The -R option specifies an upper bound; Postfix will return only
208 the header, when a full copy would exceed the bounce_size_limit
209 setting.
210 This option is ignored before Postfix version 2.10.
212 -q Attempt to deliver all queued mail. This is implemented by exe‐
214 cuting the postqueue(1) command.
215 Warning: flushing undeliverable mail frequently will result in
217 poor delivery performance of all other mail.
218 -qinterval (ignored)
220 The interval between queue runs. Use the queue_run_delay config‐
221 uration parameter instead.
222 -qIqueueid
224 Schedule immediate delivery of mail with the specified queue ID.
225 This option is implemented by executing the postqueue(1) com‐
226 mand, and is available with Postfix version 2.4 and later.
227 -qRsite
229 Schedule immediate delivery of all mail that is queued for the
230 named site. This option accepts only site names that are eligi‐
231 ble for the "fast flush" service, and is implemented by execut‐
232 ing the postqueue(1) command. See flush(8) for more information
233 about the "fast flush" service.
234 -qSsite
236 This command is not implemented. Use the slower "sendmail -q"
237 command instead.
238 -t Extract recipients from message headers. These are added to any
240 recipients specified on the command line.
241 With Postfix versions prior to 2.1, this option requires that no
243 recipient addresses are specified on the command line.
244 -U (ignored)
246 Initial user submission.
247 -V envid
249 Specify the envelope ID for notification by servers that support
250 DSN.
251 This feature is available in Postfix 2.3 and later.
253 -XV (Postfix 2.2 and earlier: -V)
255 Variable Envelope Return Path. Given an envelope sender address
256 of the form owner-listname@origin, each recipient user@domain
257 receives mail with a personalized envelope sender address.
258 By default, the personalized envelope sender address is
260 owner-listname+user=domain@origin. The default + and = charac‐
261 ters are configurable with the default_verp_delimiters configu‐
262 ration parameter.
263 -XVxy (Postfix 2.2 and earlier: -Vxy)
265 As -XV, but uses x and y as the VERP delimiter characters,
266 instead of the characters specified with the default_verp_delim‐
267 iters configuration parameter.
268 -v Send an email report of the first delivery attempt (Postfix ver‐
270 sions 2.1 and later). Mail delivery always happens in the back‐
271 ground. When multiple -v options are given, enable verbose log‐
272 ging for debugging purposes.
273 -X log_file (ignored)
275 Log mailer traffic. Use the debug_peer_list and debug_peer_level
276 configuration parameters instead.
277
279 By design, this program is not set-user (or group) id. However, it must
280 handle data from untrusted, possibly remote, users. Thus, the usual
281 precautions need to be taken against malicious inputs.
282
284 Problems are logged to syslogd(8) or postlogd(8), and to the standard
285 error stream.
286
288 MAIL_CONFIG
289 Directory with Postfix configuration files.
290 MAIL_VERBOSE (value does not matter)
292 Enable verbose logging for debugging purposes.
293 MAIL_DEBUG (value does not matter)
295 Enable debugging with an external command, as specified with the
296 debugger_command configuration parameter.
297 NAME The sender full name. This is used only with messages that have
299 no From: message header. See also the -F option above.
300
302 The following main.cf parameters are especially relevant to this pro‐
303 gram. The text below provides only a parameter summary. See post‐
304 conf(5) for more details including examples.
305
307 Available with Postfix 2.9 and later:
308 sendmail_fix_line_endings (always)
310 Controls how the Postfix sendmail command converts email message
311 line endings from <CR><LF> into UNIX format (<LF>).
312
314 The DEBUG_README file gives examples of how to troubleshoot a Postfix
315 system.
316 debugger_command (empty)
318 The external command to execute when a Postfix daemon program is
319 invoked with the -D option.
320 debug_peer_level (2)
322 The increment in verbose logging level when a remote client or
323 server matches a pattern in the debug_peer_list parameter.
324 debug_peer_list (empty)
326 Optional list of remote client or server hostname or network
327 address patterns that cause the verbose logging level to
328 increase by the amount specified in $debug_peer_level.
329
331 Available in Postfix version 2.2 and later:
332 authorized_flush_users (static:anyone)
334 List of users who are authorized to flush the queue.
335 authorized_mailq_users (static:anyone)
337 List of users who are authorized to view the queue.
338 authorized_submit_users (static:anyone)
340 List of users who are authorized to submit mail with the send‐
341 mail(1) command (and with the privileged postdrop(1) helper com‐
342 mand).
343
345 bounce_size_limit (50000)
346 The maximal amount of original message text that is sent in a
347 non-delivery notification.
348 fork_attempts (5)
350 The maximal number of attempts to fork() a child process.
351 fork_delay (1s)
353 The delay between attempts to fork() a child process.
354 hopcount_limit (50)
356 The maximal number of Received: message headers that is allowed
357 in the primary message headers.
358 queue_run_delay (300s)
360 The time between deferred queue scans by the queue manager;
361 prior to Postfix 2.4 the default value was 1000s.
362
364 The ETRN_README file describes configuration and operation details for
365 the Postfix "fast flush" service.
366 fast_flush_domains ($relay_domains)
368 Optional list of destinations that are eligible for per-destina‐
369 tion logfiles with mail that is queued to those destinations.
370
372 The VERP_README file describes configuration and operation details of
373 Postfix support for variable envelope return path addresses.
374 default_verp_delimiters (+=)
376 The two default VERP delimiter characters.
377 verp_delimiter_filter (-=+)
379 The characters Postfix accepts as VERP delimiter characters on
380 the Postfix sendmail(1) command line and in SMTP commands.
381
383 alias_database (see 'postconf -d' output)
384 The alias databases for local(8) delivery that are updated with
385 "newaliases" or with "sendmail -bi".
386 command_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
388 The location of all postfix administrative commands.
389 config_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
391 The default location of the Postfix main.cf and master.cf con‐
392 figuration files.
393 daemon_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
395 The directory with Postfix support programs and daemon programs.
396 default_database_type (see 'postconf -d' output)
398 The default database type for use in newaliases(1), postalias(1)
399 and postmap(1) commands.
400 delay_warning_time (0h)
402 The time after which the sender receives a copy of the message
403 headers of mail that is still queued.
404 import_environment (see 'postconf -d' output)
406 The list of environment parameters that a privileged Postfix
407 process will import from a non-Postfix parent process, or
408 name=value environment overrides.
409 mail_owner (postfix)
411 The UNIX system account that owns the Postfix queue and most
412 Postfix daemon processes.
413 queue_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
415 The location of the Postfix top-level queue directory.
416 remote_header_rewrite_domain (empty)
418 Don't rewrite message headers from remote clients at all when
419 this parameter is empty; otherwise, rewrite message headers and
420 append the specified domain name to incomplete addresses.
421 syslog_facility (mail)
423 The syslog facility of Postfix logging.
424 syslog_name (see 'postconf -d' output)
426 A prefix that is prepended to the process name in syslog
427 records, so that, for example, "smtpd" becomes "prefix/smtpd".
428 Postfix 3.2 and later:
430 alternate_config_directories (empty)
432 A list of non-default Postfix configuration directories that may
433 be specified with "-c config_directory" on the command line (in
434 the case of sendmail(1), with the "-C" option), or via the
435 MAIL_CONFIG environment parameter.
436 multi_instance_directories (empty)
438 An optional list of non-default Postfix configuration directo‐
439 ries; these directories belong to additional Postfix instances
440 that share the Postfix executable files and documentation with
441 the default Postfix instance, and that are started, stopped,
442 etc., together with the default Postfix instance.
443
445 /var/spool/postfix, mail queue
446 /etc/postfix, configuration files
447
449 pickup(8), mail pickup daemon
450 qmgr(8), queue manager
451 smtpd(8), SMTP server
452 flush(8), fast flush service
453 postsuper(1), queue maintenance
454 postalias(1), create/update/query alias database
455 postdrop(1), mail posting utility
456 postfix(1), mail system control
457 postqueue(1), mail queue control
458 postlogd(8), Postfix logging
459 syslogd(8), system logging
460
462 Use "postconf readme_directory" or "postconf html_directory" to locate
463 this information.
464 DEBUG_README, Postfix debugging howto
465 ETRN_README, Postfix ETRN howto
466 VERP_README, Postfix VERP howto
467
469 The Secure Mailer license must be distributed with this software.
470
472 Wietse Venema
473 IBM T.J. Watson Research
474 P.O. Box 704
475 Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA
476 Wietse Venema
478 Google, Inc.
479 111 8th Avenue
480 New York, NY 10011, USA
481 SENDMAIL(1)