NAME
postsuper - Postfix superintendent
SYNOPSIS
postsuper [
-psSv] [
-c config_dir] [
-d
queue_id]
[
-h queue_id] [
-H queue_id]
[
-r queue_id] [
directory ...]
DESCRIPTION
The
postsuper(1) command does maintenance jobs on the Postfix queue. Use
of the command is restricted to the superuser. See the
postqueue(1)
command for unprivileged queue operations such as listing or flushing the mail
queue.
By default,
postsuper(1) performs the operations requested with the
-s and
-p command-line options on all Postfix queue directories
- this includes the
incoming,
active and
deferred
directories with mail files and the
bounce,
defer,
trace
and
flush directories with log files.
Options:
- -c config_dir
- The main.cf configuration file is in the named
directory instead of the default configuration directory. See also the
MAIL_CONFIG environment setting below.
- -d queue_id
- Delete one message with the named queue ID from the named
mail queue(s) (default: hold, incoming, active and
deferred).
If a queue_id of - is specified, the program reads queue IDs
from standard input. For example, to delete all mail with exactly one
recipient user@example.com:
mailq | tail +2 | grep -v '^ *(' | awk ´BEGIN { RS = "" }
# $7=sender, $8=recipient1, $9=recipient2
{ if ($8 == "user@example.com" && $9 == "")
print $1 }
´ | tr -d '*!' | postsuper -d -
Specify " -d ALL" to remove all messages; for example,
specify " -d ALL deferred" to delete all mail in the
deferred queue. As a safety measure, the word ALL must be
specified in upper case.
Warning: Postfix queue IDs are reused (always with Postfix <= 2.8; and
with Postfix >= 2.9 when enable_long_queue_ids=no). There is a very
small possibility that postsuper deletes the wrong message file when it is
executed while the Postfix mail system is delivering mail.
The scenario is as follows:
- 1)
- The Postfix queue manager deletes the message that
postsuper(1) is asked to delete, because Postfix is finished with
the message (it is delivered, or it is returned to the sender).
- 2)
- New mail arrives, and the new message is given the same
queue ID as the message that postsuper(1) is supposed to delete.
The probability for reusing a deleted queue ID is about 1 in 2**15 (the
number of different microsecond values that the system clock can
distinguish within a second).
- 3)
- postsuper(1) deletes the new message, instead of the
old message that it should have deleted.
- -h queue_id
- Put mail "on hold" so that no attempt is made to
deliver it. Move one message with the named queue ID from the named mail
queue(s) (default: incoming, active and deferred) to
the hold queue.
If a queue_id of - is specified, the program reads queue IDs
from standard input.
Specify " -h ALL" to hold all messages; for example,
specify " -h ALL deferred" to hold all mail in the
deferred queue. As a safety measure, the word ALL must be
specified in upper case.
Note: while mail is "on hold" it will not expire when its time in
the queue exceeds the maximal_queue_lifetime or
bounce_queue_lifetime setting. It becomes subject to expiration
after it is released from "hold".
This feature is available in Postfix 2.0 and later.
- -H queue_id
- Release mail that was put "on hold". Move one
message with the named queue ID from the named mail queue(s) (default:
hold) to the deferred queue.
If a queue_id of - is specified, the program reads queue IDs
from standard input.
Note: specify " postsuper -r" to release mail that was kept
on hold for a significant fraction of $maximal_queue_lifetime or
$bounce_queue_lifetime, or longer.
Specify " -H ALL" to release all mail that is "on
hold". As a safety measure, the word ALL must be specified in
upper case.
This feature is available in Postfix 2.0 and later.
- -p
- Purge old temporary files that are left over after system
or software crashes.
- -r queue_id
- Requeue the message with the named queue ID from the named
mail queue(s) (default: hold, incoming, active and
deferred). To requeue multiple messages, specify multiple -r
command-line options.
Alternatively, if a queue_id of - is specified, the program
reads queue IDs from standard input.
Specify " -r ALL" to requeue all messages. As a safety
measure, the word ALL must be specified in upper case.
A requeued message is moved to the maildrop queue, from where it is
copied by the pickup(8) and cleanup(8) daemons to a new
queue file. In many respects its handling differs from that of a new local
submission.
- •
- The message is not subjected to the smtpd_milters or
non_smtpd_milters settings. When mail has passed through an external
content filter, this would produce incorrect results with Milter
applications that depend on original SMTP connection state
information.
- •
- The message is subjected again to mail address rewriting
and substitution. This is useful when rewriting rules or virtual mappings
have changed.
The address rewriting context (local or remote) is the same as when the
message was received.
- •
- The message is subjected to the same content_filter
settings (if any) as used for new local mail submissions. This is useful
when content_filter settings have changed.
- Warning: Postfix queue IDs are reused (always with Postfix
<= 2.8; and with Postfix >= 2.9 when enable_long_queue_ids=no).
There is a very small possibility that postsuper(1) requeues the
wrong message file when it is executed while the Postfix mail system is
running, but no harm should be done.
This feature is available in Postfix 1.1 and later.
- -s
- Structure check and structure repair. This should be done
once before Postfix startup.
- •
- Rename files whose name does not match the message file
inode number. This operation is necessary after restoring a mail queue
from a different machine or from backup, when queue files were created
with Postfix <= 2.8 or with "enable_long_queue_ids =
no".
- •
- Move queue files that are in the wrong place in the file
system hierarchy and remove subdirectories that are no longer needed. File
position rearrangements are necessary after a change in the
hash_queue_names and/or hash_queue_depth configuration
parameters.
- •
- Rename queue files created with "enable_long_queue_ids
= yes" to short names, for migration to Postfix <= 2.8. The
procedure is as follows:
# postfix stop
# postconf enable_long_queue_ids=no
# postsuper
Run postsuper(1) repeatedly until it stops reporting file name
changes.
- -S
- A redundant version of -s that requires that long
file names also match the message file inode number. This option exists
for testing purposes, and is available with Postfix 2.9 and later.
- -v
- Enable verbose logging for debugging purposes. Multiple
-v options make the software increasingly verbose.
DIAGNOSTICS
Problems are reported to the standard error stream and to
syslogd(8).
postsuper(1) reports the number of messages deleted with
-d, the
number of messages requeued with
-r, and the number of messages whose
queue file name was fixed with
-s. The report is written to the
standard error stream and to
syslogd(8).
ENVIRONMENT
- MAIL_CONFIG
- Directory with the main.cf file.
BUGS
Mail that is not sanitized by Postfix (i.e. mail in the
maildrop queue)
cannot be placed "on hold".
CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS
The following
main.cf parameters are especially relevant to this program.
The text below provides only a parameter summary. See
postconf(5) for
more details including examples.
- config_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
- The default location of the Postfix main.cf and master.cf
configuration files.
- hash_queue_depth (1)
- The number of subdirectory levels for queue directories
listed with the hash_queue_names parameter.
- hash_queue_names (deferred, defer)
- The names of queue directories that are split across
multiple subdirectory levels.
- queue_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
- The location of the Postfix top-level queue directory.
- syslog_facility (mail)
- The syslog facility of Postfix logging.
- syslog_name (see 'postconf -d' output)
- The mail system name that is prepended to the process name
in syslog records, so that "smtpd" becomes, for example,
"postfix/smtpd".
Available in Postfix version 2.9 and later:
- enable_long_queue_ids (no)
- Enable long, non-repeating, queue IDs (queue file
names).
SEE ALSO
sendmail(1), Sendmail-compatible user interface
postqueue(1), unprivileged queue operations
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
Wietse Venema
Google, Inc.
111 8th Avenue
New York, NY 10011, USA