SENDMAIL(1) SENDMAIL(1)
NAME
sendmail - Postfix to Sendmail compatibility interface
SYNOPSIS
sendmail [option ...] [recipient ...]
mailq
sendmail -bp
newaliases
sendmail -I
DESCRIPTION
The sendmail program implements the Postfix to Sendmail
compatibility interface. For the sake of compatibility
with existing applications, some Sendmail command-line
options are recognized but silently ignored.
By default, sendmail reads a message from standard input
and arranges for delivery. sendmail attempts to create a
queue file in the maildrop directory. If that directory is
not world-writable, the message is piped through the post-
drop(1) command, which is expected to execute with suit-
able privileges.
Specific command aliases are provided for other common
modes of operation:
mailq List the mail queue. Each entry shows the queue
file ID, message size, arrival time, sender, and
the recipients that still need to be delivered. If
mail could not be delivered upon the last attempt,
the reason for failure is shown. This mode of oper-
ation is implemented by connecting to the showq(8)
daemon.
newaliases
Initialize the alias database. If no alias database
type is specified, the program uses the type speci-
fied in the database_type configuration parameter;
if no input file is specified, the program pro-
cesses the file(s) specified with the
alias_database configuration parameter. This mode
of operation is implemented by running the postal-
ias(1) command.
Note: it may take a minute or so before an alias
database update becomes visible. Use the postfix
reload command to eliminate this delay.
These and other features can be selected by specifying the
appropriate combination of command-line options. Some fea-
tures are controlled by parameters in the main.cf configu-
ration file.
1
SENDMAIL(1) SENDMAIL(1)
The following options are recognized:
-B body_type (ignored)
The message body MIME type. Currently, Postfix
implements just-send-eight.
-C config_file (ignored :-)
The path name of the sendmail.cf file. Postfix con-
figuration files are kept in /etc/postfix.
-F full_name
Set the sender full name. This is used only with
messages that have no From: message header.
-I Initialize alias database. See the newaliases com-
mand above.
-N dsn (ignored)
Delivery status notification control. Currently,
Postfix does not implement DSN.
-R return_limit (ignored)
Limit the size of bounced mail. Use the
bounce_size_limit configuration parameter instead.
-X log_file (ignored)
Log mailer traffic. Use the debug_peer_list and
debug_peer_level configuration parameters instead.
-U (ignored)
Initial user submission.
-bd Go into daemon mode. This mode of operation is
implemented by executing the postfix start command.
-bi Initialize alias database. See the newaliases com-
mand above.
-bm Read mail from standard input and arrange for
delivery. This is the default mode of operation.
-bp List the mail queue. See the mailq command above.
-bs Stand-alone SMTP server mode. Read SMTP commands
from standard input, and write responses to stan-
dard output. This mode of operation is implemented
by running the smtpd(8) daemon.
-f sender
Set the envelope sender address. This is the
address where delivery problems are sent to, unless
the message contains an Errors-To: message header.
2
SENDMAIL(1) SENDMAIL(1)
-h hop_count (ignored)
Hop count limit. Use the hopcount_limit configura-
tion parameter instead.
-i (ignored)
Lines beginning with "." get special treatment only
with -bs.
-m (ignored)
Backwards compatibility.
-n (ignored)
Backwards compatibility.
-oAalias_database
Non-default alias database. Specify pathname or
type:pathname. See postalias(1) for details.
-o7 (ignored)
-o8 (ignored)
The message body type. Currently, Postfix imple-
ments just-send-eight.
-om (ignored)
The sender is never eliminated from alias etc.
expansions.
-o x value (ignored)
Set option x to value. Use the equivalent configu-
ration parameter in main.cf instead.
-r sender
Set the envelope sender address. This is the
address where delivery problems are sent to, unless
the message contains an Errors-To: message header.
-q Flush the mail queue. This is implemented by kick-
ing the qmgr(8) daemon.
-qinterval (ignored)
The interval between queue runs. Use the
queue_run_delay configuration parameter instead.
-t Extract recipients from message headers. This
requires that no recipients be specified on the
command line.
-v Enable verbose logging for debugging purposes. Mul-
tiple -v options make the software increasingly
verbose.
SECURITY
By design, this program is not set-user (or group) id.
3
SENDMAIL(1) SENDMAIL(1)
However, it must handle data from untrusted users or
untrusted machines. Thus, the usual precautions need to
be taken against malicious inputs.
DIAGNOSTICS
Problems are logged to syslogd(8) and to the standard
error stream.
ENVIRONMENT
MAIL_CONFIG
Directory with Postfix configuration files.
MAIL_VERBOSE
Enable verbose logging for debugging purposes.
MAIL_DEBUG
Enable debugging with an external command, as spec-
ified with the debugger_command configuration
parameter.
FILES
/var/spool/postfix, mail queue
/etc/postfix, configuration files
CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS
See the Postfix main.cf file for syntax details and for
default values. Use the postfix reload command after a
configuration change.
alias_database
Default alias database(s) for newaliases. The
default value for this parameter is system-spe-
cific.
bounce_size_limit
The amount of original message context that is sent
along with a non-delivery notification.
database_type
Default alias etc. database type. On many UNIX sys-
tems the default type is either dbm or hash.
debugger_command
Command that is executed after a Postfix daemon has
initialized.
debug_peer_level
Increment in verbose logging level when a remote
host matches a pattern in the debug_peer_list
parameter.
debug_peer_list
List of domain or network patterns. When a remote
host matches a pattern, increase the verbose
4
SENDMAIL(1) SENDMAIL(1)
logging level by the amount specified in the
debug_peer_level parameter.
fork_attempts
Number of attempts to fork() a process before giv-
ing up.
fork_delay
Delay in seconds between successive fork()
attempts.
hopcount_limit
Limit the number of Received: message headers.
mail_owner
The owner of the mail queue and of most Postfix
processes.
command_directory
Directory with Postfix support commands (default:
$program_directory).
daemon_directory
Directory with Postfix daemon programs (default:
$program_directory).
queue_directory
Top-level directory of the Postfix queue. This is
also the root directory of Postfix daemons that run
chrooted.
queue_run_delay
The time between successive scans of the deferred
queue.
SEE ALSO
pickup(8) mail pickup daemon
postalias(1) maintain alias database
postdrop(1) privileged posting agent
postfix(1) mail system control
postkick(1) kick a Postfix daemon
qmgr(8) queue manager
showq(8) list mail queue
smtpd(8) SMTP server
syslogd(8) system logging
LICENSE
The Secure Mailer license must be distributed with this
software.
AUTHOR(S)
Wietse Venema
IBM T.J. Watson Research
P.O. Box 704
5
SENDMAIL(1) SENDMAIL(1)
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA
6