POSTFIX 1

### NAME

postfix - Postfix control program

### SYNOPSIS

postfix [-Dv] [-c config_dir] command

### DESCRIPTION

This command is reserved for the superuser. To submit mail, use the Postfix sendmail(1) command.

The postfix(1) command controls the operation of the Postfix mail system: start or stop the master(8) daemon, do a health check, and other maintenance.

The postfix(1) command sets up a standardized environment and runs the postfix-script shell script to do the actual work.

The following commands are implemented:

check Warn about bad directory/file ownership or permissions,
  and create missing directories.
start Start the Postfix mail system. This also runs the configuration
  check described above.
stop Stop the Postfix mail system in an orderly fashion. If
  possible, running processes are allowed to terminate at their earliest convenience.
  Note: in order to refresh the Postfix mail system after a configuration change, do not use the start and stop commands in succession. Use the reload command instead.
abort Stop the Postfix mail system abruptly. Running processes are
  signaled to stop immediately.
flush Force delivery: attempt to deliver every message in the deferred
  mail queue. Normally, attempts to deliver delayed mail happen at regular intervals, the interval doubling after each failed attempt.
  Warning: flushing undeliverable mail frequently will result in poor delivery performance of all other mail.
reload Re-read configuration files. Running processes terminate at their
  earliest convenience.
status Indicate if the Postfix mail system is currently running.
set-permissions [name=value ...] Set the ownership and permissions of Postfix related files and
  directories, as specified in the postfix-files file.
  Specify name=value to override and update specific main.cf configuration parameters. Use this, for example, to change the mail_owner or setgid_group setting for an already installed Postfix system.
  This feature is available in Postfix 2.1 and later. With Postfix 2.0 and earlier, use "/etc/postfix/post-install set-permissions".
upgrade-configuration [name=value ...] Update the main.cf and master.cf files with information
  that Postfix needs in order to run: add or update services, and add or update configuration parameter settings.
  Specify name=value to override and update specific main.cf configuration parameters.
  This feature is available in Postfix 2.1 and later. With Postfix 2.0 and earlier, use "/etc/postfix/post-install upgrade-configuration".

The following options are implemented:

-c config_dir Read the main.cf and master.cf configuration files in
  the named directory instead of the default configuration directory. Use this to distinguish between multiple Postfix instances on the same host.
-D (with postfix start only) Run each Postfix daemon under control of a debugger as specified
  via the debugger_command configuration parameter.
-v Enable verbose logging for debugging purposes. Multiple -v
  options make the software increasingly verbose.

### ENVIRONMENT

The postfix(1) command exports the following environment variables before executing the postfix-script file:

MAIL_CONFIG This is set when the -c command-line option is present.
MAIL_VERBOSE This is set when the -v command-line option is present.
MAIL_DEBUG This is set when the -D command-line option is present.

### CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS

The following main.cf configuration parameters are exported as environment variables with the same names:

command_directory (see 'postconf -d' output) The location of all postfix administrative commands.
daemon_directory (see 'postconf -d' output) The directory with Postfix support programs and daemon programs.
config_directory (see 'postconf -d' output) The default location of the Postfix main.cf and master.cf
  configuration files.
queue_directory (see 'postconf -d' output) The location of the Postfix top-level queue directory.
mail_owner (postfix) The UNIX system account that owns the Postfix queue and most Postfix
  daemon processes.
setgid_group (postdrop) The group ownership of set-gid Postfix commands and of group-writable
  Postfix directories.
sendmail_path (see 'postconf -d' output) A Sendmail compatibility feature that specifies the location of
  the Postfix sendmail(1) command.
newaliases_path (see 'postconf -d' output) Sendmail compatibility feature that specifies the location of the
  newaliases(1) command.
mailq_path (see 'postconf -d' output) Sendmail compatibility feature that specifies where the Postfix
  mailq(1) command is installed.
html_directory (see 'postconf -d' output) The location of Postfix HTML files that describe how to build,
  configure or operate a specific Postfix subsystem or feature.
manpage_directory (see 'postconf -d' output) Where the Postfix manual pages are installed.
readme_directory (see 'postconf -d' output) The location of Postfix README files that describe how to build,
  configure or operate a specific Postfix subsystem or feature.

Available in Postfix version 2.5 and later:

data_directory (see 'postconf -d' output) The directory with Postfix-writable data files (for example:
  caches, pseudo-random numbers).

Other configuration parameters:

config_directory (see 'postconf -d' output) The default location of the Postfix main.cf and master.cf
  configuration files.
import_environment (see 'postconf -d' output) The list of environment parameters that a Postfix process will
  import from a non-Postfix parent process.
syslog_facility (mail) The syslog facility of Postfix logging.
syslog_name (postfix) The mail system name that is prepended to the process name in syslog
  records, so that "smtpd" becomes, for example, "postfix/smtpd".

### FILES

    /etc/postfix/main.cf, Postfix configuration parameters
    /etc/postfix/master.cf, Postfix daemon processes
    /etc/postfix/postfix-files, file/directory permissions
    /etc/postfix/postfix-script, administrative commands
    /etc/postfix/post-install, post-installation configuration

### SEE ALSO

    Commands:
    postalias(1), create/update/query alias database
    postcat(1), examine Postfix queue file
    postconf(1), Postfix configuration utility
    postfix(1), Postfix control program
    postkick(1), trigger Postfix daemon
    postlock(1), Postfix-compatible locking
    postlog(1), Postfix-compatible logging
    postmap(1), Postfix lookup table manager
    postqueue(1), Postfix mail queue control
    postsuper(1), Postfix housekeeping
    mailq(1), Sendmail compatibility interface
    newaliases(1), Sendmail compatibility interface
    sendmail(1), Sendmail compatibility interface

Postfix configuration: bounce(5), Postfix bounce message templates master(5), Postfix master.cf file syntax postconf(5), Postfix main.cf file syntax

Table-driven mechanisms: access(5), Postfix SMTP access control table aliases(5), Postfix alias database canonical(5), Postfix input address rewriting generic(5), Postfix output address rewriting header_checks(5), body_checks(5), Postfix content inspection relocated(5), Users that have moved transport(5), Postfix routing table virtual(5), Postfix virtual aliasing

Table lookup mechanisms: cidr_table(5), Associate CIDR pattern with value ldap_table(5), Postfix LDAP client mysql_table(5), Postfix MYSQL client nisplus_table(5), Postfix NIS+ client pcre_table(5), Associate PCRE pattern with value pgsql_table(5), Postfix PostgreSQL client regexp_table(5), Associate POSIX regexp pattern with value tcp_table(5), Postfix client-server table lookup

Daemon processes: anvil(8), Postfix connection/rate limiting bounce(8), defer(8), trace(8), Delivery status reports cleanup(8), canonicalize and enqueue message discard(8), Postfix discard delivery agent error(8), Postfix error delivery agent flush(8), Postfix fast ETRN service local(8), Postfix local delivery agent master(8), Postfix master daemon oqmgr(8), old Postfix queue manager pickup(8), Postfix local mail pickup pipe(8), deliver mail to non-Postfix command proxymap(8), Postfix lookup table proxy server qmgr(8), Postfix queue manager qmqpd(8), Postfix QMQP server scache(8), Postfix connection cache manager showq(8), list Postfix mail queue smtp(8), lmtp(8), Postfix SMTP+LMTP client smtpd(8), Postfix SMTP server spawn(8), run non-Postfix server tlsmgr(8), Postfix TLS cache and randomness manager trivial-rewrite(8), Postfix address rewriting verify(8), Postfix address verification virtual(8), Postfix virtual delivery agent

Other: syslogd(8), system logging

### README FILES

Use "postconf readme_directory" or "postconf html_directory" to locate this information.

    OVERVIEW, overview of Postfix commands and processes
    BASIC_CONFIGURATION_README, Postfix basic configuration
    ADDRESS_REWRITING_README, Postfix address rewriting
    SMTPD_ACCESS_README, SMTP relay/access control
    CONTENT_INSPECTION_README, Postfix content inspection
    QSHAPE_README, Postfix queue analysis

### LICENSE

The Secure Mailer license must be distributed with this software.

### AUTHOR(S)

    Wietse Venema
    IBM T.J. Watson Research
    P.O. Box 704
    Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA

TLS support by: Lutz Jaenicke Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus, Germany

Victor Duchovni Morgan Stanley

SASL support originally by: Till Franke SuSE Rhein/Main AG 65760 Eschborn, Germany

LMTP support originally by: Philip A. Prindeville Mirapoint, Inc. USA.

Amos Gouaux University of Texas at Dallas P.O. Box 830688, MC34 Richardson, TX 75083, USA

IPv6 support originally by: Mark Huizer, Eindhoven University, The Netherlands Jun-ichiro 'itojun' Hagino, KAME project, Japan The Linux PLD project Dean Strik, Eindhoven University, The Netherlands