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 command.

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

           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 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.
                  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 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.

           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.

           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  command  exports  the  following  environment
           variables before executing the postfix-script file:

           MAIL_CONFIG
                  This is set when the -c command-line option is pre-
                  sent.

           MAIL_VERBOSE
                  This is set when the -v command-line option is pre-
                  sent.

           MAIL_DEBUG
                  This is set when the -D command-line option is pre-
                  sent.

    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  pro-
                  cess.

           syslog_facility (mail)
                  The syslog facility of Postfix logging.

           syslog_name (postfix)
                  The  mail system name that is prepended to the pro-
                  cess  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
           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
           sendmail(1), Sendmail compatibility interface

           Postfix configuration:
           postconf(5), Postfix configuration parameters

           Table-driven mechanisms:
           access(5), Postfix SMTP access control table
           aliases(5), Postfix alias database
           header_checks(5), body_checks(5), content inspection
           canonical(5), Postfix address rewriting
           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
           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
           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
           showq(8), list Postfix mail queue
           smtp(8), Postfix SMTP client
           smtpd(8), Postfix SMTP server
           spawn(8), run non-Postfix server
           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)