1POSTQUEUE(1) General Commands Manual POSTQUEUE(1)
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6 postqueue - Postfix queue control
7
9 To flush the mail queue:
10 postqueue [-v] [-c config_dir] -f
12 postqueue [-v] [-c config_dir] -i queue_id
14 postqueue [-v] [-c config_dir] -s site
16 To list the mail queue:
18 postqueue [-v] [-c config_dir] -j
20 postqueue [-v] [-c config_dir] -p
22
24 The postqueue(1) command implements the Postfix user interface for
25 queue management. It implements operations that are traditionally
26 available via the sendmail(1) command. See the postsuper(1) command
27 for queue operations that require super-user privileges such as delet‐
28 ing a message from the queue or changing the status of a message.
29 The following options are recognized:
31 -c config_dir
33 The main.cf configuration file is in the named directory instead
34 of the default configuration directory. See also the MAIL_CONFIG
35 environment setting below.
36 -f Flush the queue: attempt to deliver all queued mail.
38 This option implements the traditional "sendmail -q" command, by
40 contacting the Postfix qmgr(8) daemon.
41 Warning: flushing undeliverable mail frequently will result in
43 poor delivery performance of all other mail.
44 -i queue_id
46 Schedule immediate delivery of deferred mail with the specified
47 queue ID.
48 This option implements the traditional sendmail -qI command, by
50 contacting the flush(8) server.
51 This feature is available with Postfix version 2.4 and later.
53 -j Produce a queue listing in JSON LINES format, based on output
55 from the showq(8) daemon. See "JSON OBJECT FORMAT" below for de‐
56 tails.
57 This feature is available in Postfix 3.1 and later.
59 -p Produce a traditional sendmail-style queue listing. This option
61 implements the traditional mailq command, by contacting the
62 Postfix showq(8) daemon.
63 Each queue entry shows the queue file ID, message size, arrival
65 time, sender, and the recipients that still need to be deliv‐
66 ered. If mail could not be delivered upon the last attempt, the
67 reason for failure is shown. The queue ID string is followed by
68 an optional status character:
69 * The message is in the active queue, i.e. the message is
71 selected for delivery.
72 ! The message is in the hold queue, i.e. no further deliv‐
74 ery attempt will be made until the mail is taken off
75 hold.
76 # The message is forced to expire. See the postsuper(1) op‐
78 tions -e or -f.
79 This feature is available in Postfix 3.5 and later.
81 -s site
83 Schedule immediate delivery of all mail that is queued for the
84 named site. A numerical site must be specified as a valid RFC
85 5321 address literal enclosed in [], just like in email ad‐
86 dresses. The site must be eligible for the "fast flush" ser‐
87 vice. See flush(8) for more information about the "fast flush"
88 service.
89 This option implements the traditional "sendmail -qRsite" com‐
91 mand, by contacting the Postfix flush(8) daemon.
92 -v Enable verbose logging for debugging purposes. Multiple -v op‐
94 tions make the software increasingly verbose. As of Postfix 2.3,
95 this option is available for the super-user only.
96
98 Each JSON object represents one queue file; it is emitted as a single
99 text line followed by a newline character.
100 Object members have string values unless indicated otherwise. Programs
102 should ignore object members that are not listed here; the list of mem‐
103 bers is expected to grow over time.
104 queue_name
106 The name of the queue where the message was found. Note that
107 the contents of the mail queue may change while it is being
108 listed; some messages may appear more than once, and some mes‐
109 sages may be missed.
110 queue_id
112 The queue file name. The queue_id may be reused within a Postfix
113 instance unless "enable_long_queue_ids = true" and time is mono‐
114 tonic. Even then, the queue_id is not expected to be unique be‐
115 tween different Postfix instances. Management tools that re‐
116 quire a unique name should combine the queue_id with the myhost‐
117 name setting of the Postfix instance.
118 arrival_time
120 The number of seconds since the start of the UNIX epoch.
121 message_size
123 The number of bytes in the message header and body. This number
124 does not include message envelope information. It is approxi‐
125 mately equal to the number of bytes that would be transmitted
126 via SMTP including the <CR><LF> line endings.
127 forced_expire
129 The message is forced to expire (true or false). See the post‐
130 super(1) options -e or -f.
131 This feature is available in Postfix 3.5 and later.
133 sender The envelope sender address.
135 recipients
137 An array containing zero or more objects with members:
138 address
140 One recipient address.
141 delay_reason
143 If present, the reason for delayed delivery. Delayed re‐
144 cipients may have no delay reason, for example, while de‐
145 livery is in progress, or after the system was stopped
146 before it could record the reason.
147
149 This program is designed to run with set-group ID privileges, so that
150 it can connect to Postfix daemon processes.
151
153 RFC 7159 (JSON notation)
154
156 Problems are logged to syslogd(8) or postlogd(8), and to the standard
157 error stream.
158
160 MAIL_CONFIG
161 Directory with the main.cf file. In order to avoid exploitation
162 of set-group ID privileges, a non-standard directory is allowed
163 only if:
164 • The name is listed in the standard main.cf file with the
166 alternate_config_directories configuration parameter.
167 • The command is invoked by the super-user.
169
171 The following main.cf parameters are especially relevant to this pro‐
172 gram. The text below provides only a parameter summary. See post‐
173 conf(5) for more details including examples.
174 alternate_config_directories (empty)
176 A list of non-default Postfix configuration directories that may
177 be specified with "-c config_directory" on the command line (in
178 the case of sendmail(1), with the "-C" option), or via the
179 MAIL_CONFIG environment parameter.
180 config_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
182 The default location of the Postfix main.cf and master.cf con‐
183 figuration files.
184 command_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
186 The location of all postfix administrative commands.
187 fast_flush_domains ($relay_domains)
189 Optional list of destinations that are eligible for per-destina‐
190 tion logfiles with mail that is queued to those destinations.
191 import_environment (see 'postconf -d' output)
193 The list of environment variables that a privileged Postfix
194 process will import from a non-Postfix parent process, or
195 name=value environment overrides.
196 queue_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
198 The location of the Postfix top-level queue directory.
199 syslog_facility (mail)
201 The syslog facility of Postfix logging.
202 syslog_name (see 'postconf -d' output)
204 A prefix that is prepended to the process name in syslog
205 records, so that, for example, "smtpd" becomes "prefix/smtpd".
206 trigger_timeout (10s)
208 The time limit for sending a trigger to a Postfix daemon (for
209 example, the pickup(8) or qmgr(8) daemon).
210 Available in Postfix version 2.2 and later:
212 authorized_flush_users (static:anyone)
214 List of users who are authorized to flush the queue.
215 authorized_mailq_users (static:anyone)
217 List of users who are authorized to view the queue.
218
220 /var/spool/postfix, mail queue
221
223 qmgr(8), queue manager
224 showq(8), list mail queue
225 flush(8), fast flush service
226 sendmail(1), Sendmail-compatible user interface
227 postsuper(1), privileged queue operations
228 postlogd(8), Postfix logging
229 syslogd(8), system logging
230
232 Use "postconf readme_directory" or "postconf html_directory" to locate
233 this information.
234 ETRN_README, Postfix ETRN howto
235
237 The Secure Mailer license must be distributed with this software.
238
240 The postqueue command was introduced with Postfix version 1.1.
241
243 Wietse Venema
244 IBM T.J. Watson Research
245 P.O. Box 704
246 Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA
247 Wietse Venema
249 Google, Inc.
250 111 8th Avenue
251 New York, NY 10011, USA
252 POSTQUEUE(1)