1POSTFIX(1) General Commands Manual POSTFIX(1)
2
6 postfix - Postfix control program
7
9 postfix [-Dv] [-c config_dir] command
10
12 This command is reserved for the superuser. To submit mail, use the
13 Postfix sendmail(1) command.
14 The postfix(1) command controls the operation of the Postfix mail sys‐
16 tem: start or stop the master(8) daemon, do a health check, and other
17 maintenance.
18 The postfix(1) command sets up a standardized environment and runs the
20 postfix-script shell script to do the actual work.
21 The following commands are implemented:
23 check Warn about bad directory/file ownership or permissions, and cre‐
25 ate missing directories.
26 start Start the Postfix mail system. This also runs the configuration
28 check described above.
29 stop Stop the Postfix mail system in an orderly fashion. If possible,
31 running processes are allowed to terminate at their earliest
32 convenience.
33 Note: in order to refresh the Postfix mail system after a con‐
35 figuration change, do not use the start and stop commands in
36 succession. Use the reload command instead.
37 abort Stop the Postfix mail system abruptly. Running processes are
39 signaled to stop immediately.
40 flush Force delivery: attempt to deliver every message in the deferred
42 mail queue. Normally, attempts to deliver delayed mail happen at
43 regular intervals, the interval doubling after each failed
44 attempt.
45 Warning: flushing undeliverable mail frequently will result in
47 poor delivery performance of all other mail.
48 reload Re-read configuration files. Running processes terminate at
50 their earliest convenience.
51 set-permissions [name=value ...]
53 Set the ownership and permissions of Postfix related files and
54 directories, as specified in the postfix-files file.
55 Specify name=value to override and update specific main.cf con‐
57 figuration parameters. Use this, for example, to change the
58 mail_owner or setgid_group setting for an already installed
59 Postfix system.
60 This feature is available in Postfix 2.1 and later. With Post‐
62 fix 2.0 and earlier, use "/etc/postfix/post-install set-permis‐
63 sions".
64 upgrade-configuration [name=value ...]
66 Update the main.cf and master.cf files with information that
67 Postfix needs in order to run: add or update services, and add
68 or update configuration parameter settings.
69 Specify name=value to override and update specific main.cf con‐
71 figuration parameters.
72 This feature is available in Postfix 2.1 and later. With Post‐
74 fix 2.0 and earlier, use "/etc/postfix/post-install upgrade-con‐
75 figuration".
76 The following options are implemented:
78 -c config_dir
80 Read the main.cf and master.cf configuration files in the named
81 directory instead of the default configuration directory. Use
82 this to distinguish between multiple Postfix instances on the
83 same host.
84 -D (with postfix start only)
86 Run each Postfix daemon under control of a debugger as specified
87 via the debugger_command configuration parameter.
88 -v Enable verbose logging for debugging purposes. Multiple -v
90 options make the software increasingly verbose.
91
93 The postfix(1) command exports the following environment variables
94 before executing the postfix-script file:
95 MAIL_CONFIG
97 This is set when the -c command-line option is present.
98 MAIL_VERBOSE
100 This is set when the -v command-line option is present.
101 MAIL_DEBUG
103 This is set when the -D command-line option is present.
104
106 The following main.cf configuration parameters are exported as environ‐
107 ment variables with the same names:
108 command_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
110 The location of all postfix administrative commands.
111 daemon_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
113 The directory with Postfix support programs and daemon programs.
114 config_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
116 The default location of the Postfix main.cf and master.cf con‐
117 figuration files.
118 queue_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
120 The location of the Postfix top-level queue directory.
121 mail_owner (postfix)
123 The UNIX system account that owns the Postfix queue and most
124 Postfix daemon processes.
125 setgid_group (postdrop)
127 The group ownership of set-gid Postfix commands and of group-
128 writable Postfix directories.
129 sendmail_path (see 'postconf -d' output)
131 A Sendmail compatibility feature that specifies the location of
132 the Postfix sendmail(1) command.
133 newaliases_path (see 'postconf -d' output)
135 Sendmail compatibility feature that specifies the location of
136 the newaliases(1) command.
137 mailq_path (see 'postconf -d' output)
139 Sendmail compatibility feature that specifies where the Postfix
140 mailq(1) command is installed.
141 html_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
143 The location of Postfix HTML files that describe how to build,
144 configure or operate a specific Postfix subsystem or feature.
145 manpage_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
147 Where the Postfix manual pages are installed.
148 readme_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
150 The location of Postfix README files that describe how to build,
151 configure or operate a specific Postfix subsystem or feature.
152 Other configuration parameters:
154 config_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
156 The default location of the Postfix main.cf and master.cf con‐
157 figuration files.
158 import_environment (see 'postconf -d' output)
160 The list of environment parameters that a Postfix process will
161 import from a non-Postfix parent process.
162 syslog_facility (mail)
164 The syslog facility of Postfix logging.
165 syslog_name (postfix)
167 The mail system name that is prepended to the process name in
168 syslog records, so that "smtpd" becomes, for example, "post‐
169 fix/smtpd".
170
172 /etc/postfix/main.cf, Postfix configuration parameters
173 /etc/postfix/master.cf, Postfix daemon processes
174 /etc/postfix/postfix-files, file/directory permissions
175 /etc/postfix/postfix-script, administrative commands
176 /etc/postfix/post-install, post-installation configuration
177
179 Commands:
180 postalias(1), create/update/query alias database
181 postcat(1), examine Postfix queue file
182 postconf(1), Postfix configuration utility
183 postfix(1), Postfix control program
184 postkick(1), trigger Postfix daemon
185 postlock(1), Postfix-compatible locking
186 postlog(1), Postfix-compatible logging
187 postmap(1), Postfix lookup table manager
188 postqueue(1), Postfix mail queue control
189 postsuper(1), Postfix housekeeping
190 mailq(1), Sendmail compatibility interface
191 newaliases(1), Sendmail compatibility interface
192 sendmail(1), Sendmail compatibility interface
193 Postfix configuration:
195 bounce(5), Postfix bounce message templates
196 master(5), Postfix master.cf file syntax
197 postconf(5), Postfix main.cf file syntax
198 Table-driven mechanisms:
200 access(5), Postfix SMTP access control table
201 aliases(5), Postfix alias database
202 canonical(5), Postfix input address rewriting
203 generic(5), Postfix output address rewriting
204 header_checks(5), body_checks(5), Postfix content inspection
205 relocated(5), Users that have moved
206 transport(5), Postfix routing table
207 virtual(5), Postfix virtual aliasing
208 Table lookup mechanisms:
210 cidr_table(5), Associate CIDR pattern with value
211 ldap_table(5), Postfix LDAP client
212 mysql_table(5), Postfix MYSQL client
213 nisplus_table(5), Postfix NIS+ client
214 pcre_table(5), Associate PCRE pattern with value
215 pgsql_table(5), Postfix PostgreSQL client
216 regexp_table(5), Associate POSIX regexp pattern with value
217 tcp_table(5), Postfix client-server table lookup
218 Daemon processes:
220 anvil(8), Postfix connection/rate limiting
221 bounce(8), defer(8), trace(8), Delivery status reports
222 cleanup(8), canonicalize and enqueue message
223 discard(8), Postfix discard delivery agent
224 error(8), Postfix error delivery agent
225 flush(8), Postfix fast ETRN service
226 local(8), Postfix local delivery agent
227 master(8), Postfix master daemon
228 oqmgr(8), old Postfix queue manager
229 pickup(8), Postfix local mail pickup
230 pipe(8), deliver mail to non-Postfix command
231 proxymap(8), Postfix lookup table proxy server
232 qmgr(8), Postfix queue manager
233 qmqpd(8), Postfix QMQP server
234 scache(8), Postfix connection cache manager
235 showq(8), list Postfix mail queue
236 smtp(8), lmtp(8), Postfix SMTP+LMTP client
237 smtpd(8), Postfix SMTP server
238 spawn(8), run non-Postfix server
239 tlsmgr(8), Postfix TLS cache and randomness manager
240 trivial-rewrite(8), Postfix address rewriting
241 verify(8), Postfix address verification
242 virtual(8), Postfix virtual delivery agent
243 Other:
245 syslogd(8), system logging
246
248 Use "postconf readme_directory" or "postconf html_directory" to locate
249 this information.
250 OVERVIEW, overview of Postfix commands and processes
251 BASIC_CONFIGURATION_README, Postfix basic configuration
252 ADDRESS_REWRITING_README, Postfix address rewriting
253 SMTPD_ACCESS_README, SMTP relay/access control
254 CONTENT_INSPECTION_README, Postfix content inspection
255 QSHAPE_README, Postfix queue analysis
256
258 The Secure Mailer license must be distributed with this software.
259
261 Wietse Venema
262 IBM T.J. Watson Research
263 P.O. Box 704
264 Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA
265 TLS support by:
267 Lutz Jaenicke
268 Brandenburg University of Technology
269 Cottbus, Germany
270 Victor Duchovni
272 Morgan Stanley
273 SASL support originally by:
275 Till Franke
276 SuSE Rhein/Main AG
277 65760 Eschborn, Germany
278 LMTP support originally by:
280 Philip A. Prindeville
281 Mirapoint, Inc.
282 USA.
283 Amos Gouaux
285 University of Texas at Dallas
286 P.O. Box 830688, MC34
287 Richardson, TX 75083, USA
288 IPv6 support originally by:
290 Mark Huizer, Eindhoven University, The Netherlands
291 Jun-ichiro 'itojun' Hagino, KAME project, Japan
292 The Linux PLD project
293 Dean Strik, Eindhoven University, The Netherlands
294 POSTFIX(1)