Postfix manual - postfix(1)

    POSTFIX(1)                                                          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 Post-
           fix  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  permis-
                  sions, 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 ter-
                  minate 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 pro-
                  cesses 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 ter-
                  minate at their earliest convenience.

           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/post-
                  fix/post-install set-permissions".

           upgrade-configuration [name=value ...]
                  Update  the main.cf and master.cf files with infor-
                  mation 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/post-
                  fix/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  con-
                  figuration  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. Mul-
                  tiple -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  com-
                  mands.

           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 direc-
                  tory.

           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 Post-
                  fix 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 Post-
                  fix subsystem or feature.

           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:
           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

           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
           lmtp(8), Postfix LMTP client
           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), Postfix SMTP 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
           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

                                                                        POSTFIX(1)