postfix(1) - NetBSD Manual Pages

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 command.

       The postfix command controls the operation of the Postfix mail  system:
       start  or  stop the master daemon, do a health check, and other mainte-
       nance.

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

       The following commands are implemented:

       check  Validate  the  Postfix mail system configuration. 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. Running pro-
              cesses are allowed to terminate at their earliest convenience.

              Note:  in  order to refresh the Postfix mail system after a con-
              figuration 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.

       reload Re-read  configuration  files.  Running  processes  terminate at
              their earliest convenience.

       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 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.

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

       command_directory
              Directory with Postfix administrative commands.

       daemon_directory
              Directory with Postfix daemon programs.

       config_directory
              Directory  with Postfix configuration files and with administra-
              tive shell scripts.

       queue_directory
              The directory with Postfix queue files, with local inter-process
              communication  endpoints,  and with files needed for daemon pro-
              grams that run in the optional chrooted environment.

       mail_owner
              The owner of Postfix queue files and of most Postfix  processes.

       setgid_group
              The group for mail submission and queue management commands.

       sendmail_path
              The full pathname for the Postfix sendmail command.

       newaliases_path
              The full pathname for the Postfix newaliases command.

       mailq_path
              The full pathname for the Postfix mailq command.

       manpage_directory
              The directory for the Postfix on-line manual pages.

       sample_directory
              The directory for the Postfix sample configuration files.

       readme_directory
              The directory for the Postfix README files.

Other configuration parameters
       import_environment
              List  of  names  of  environment parameters that can be imported
              from non-Postfix processes.


FILES

       $config_directory/postfix-script, administrative commands
       $config_directory/main.cf, configuration parameters
       $config_directory/master.cf, Postfix daemon processes


SEE ALSO

       postconf(1) Postfix configuration management
       postsuper(1) Postfix housekeeping
       sendmail(1) Sendmail-compatible interface
       postmap(1) Postfix lookup table management
       master(8) Postfix master daemon
       The respective manual pages for the daemon processes specified  in  the
       master.cf  file, and the manual pages referenced by those manual pages.


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)