NAME

       dot-forward - read a .forward file under qmail

SYNOPSIS

       in ~/.qmail: | dot-forward [ -nN ] file ...

OVERVIEW

       dot-forward  forwards  incoming messages according to sendmail-style instructions in file,
       if file exists.  Normally file is .forward.

       WARNING: If you create a .qmail file to enable dot-forward, make sure to add a second line
       specifying delivery to your normal mailbox.  For example:

          |dot-forward .forward
          ./Mailbox

       COMPATIBILITY WARNING: dot-forward does not support :include: or mbox deliveries.  You can
       use the delivery mechanism described in dot-qmail(5) instead.

OPTIONS

       -N   (Default.)  Read and forward a message.

       -n   Parse file and print the forwarding instructions in it, one per line; do  not  follow
            the  instructions.   You  can  use  this option from the command line to see how your
            .forward file will be interpreted:

               dot-forward -n .forward

FILE HANDLING

       When a message arrives, dot-forward opens file and handles  it  as  discussed  below.   It
       exits  99,  so qmail-local will ignore further instructions in .qmail.  Exception: If file
       specifies delivery directly to you, dot-forward exits 0, so qmail-local will read  further
       instructions in .qmail.

       If file does not exist, dot-forward exits 0.  You can list several files; then dot-forward
       will try each one in turn, using the first one that exists, or exiting 0 if none exist.

       COMPATIBILITY WARNING: dot-forward treats an empty file as if it did not exist.   Versions
       of sendmail before V8 would throw away the incoming message.

       COMPATIBILITY  WARNING: If dot-forward encounters a temporary error opening file, it exits
       111, so that qmail-local will try again later.  sendmail  assumes  incorrectly  that  file
       does not exist.

       COMPATIBILITY  WARNING: file must be readable by dot-forward, which is normally running as
       the user.  sendmail places different constraints on its .forward permissions, since it  is
       normally running as root.

FORWARDING

       Normally file contains an address.  dot-forward forwards the message to that address.

       The  address is parsed as if it were in an RFC 822 message header.  Parenthesized comments
       and bracketed addresses are permitted:

          bob (Bob, the postmaster) @heaven.af.mil

       Addresses with special characters must be quoted:

          "spaced out mailbox"@heaven.af.mil

       Address groups are not permitted.

       file can contain any number of lines, each line containing any number of addresses.   dot-
       forward forwards the message to each address:

          bob, fred, susan
          Joe Shmoe <shmoe@heaven.af.mil>

       An  address  without  a  fully  qualified  domain  name  is handled as described in qmail-
       header(5).  Exception: Certain addresses without domain names are  handled  specially,  as
       described below.

DIRECT DELIVERY

       If  an  address does not contain a domain name, and matches the environment variable $USER
       (without regard to case), it specifies delivery directly to you.

       If an address matches $USER@$HOST (without regard to case), it specifies delivery directly
       to you.

       COMPATIBILITY  WARNING: sendmail's handling of quotes and backslashes violates RFC 821 and
       RFC 822, and is not supported by dot-forward.  dot-forward treats \joe  the  same  way  as
       joe.   The  dot-qmail delivery mechanism lets each user manage several addresses, so there
       is no need for a special syntax to get around forwarding.

COMMANDS

       If an address does not contain a domain name, and begins with a vertical bar,  dot-forward
       takes the rest of the address as a command to run:

          bob, "|vacation bob"

       dot-forward  feeds  the  message  to  the  command,  preceded by the environment variables
       $UFLINE, $RPLINE, and $DTLINE.

       COMPATIBILITY WARNING: Internet addresses can legitimately start with a slash or  vertical
       bar.   dot-forward  treats anything with an unquoted @ as an address.  sendmail appears to
       have various problems coping with these addresses, and with commands that contain @ signs.

COMMENTS

       Any line in file that begins with # is ignored:

          # this is a comment

       COMPATIBILITY WARNING: Versions of sendmail before V8 did not allow comments  in  .forward
       files.

VERSION

       This  is  dot-forward  0.71.   The  dot-forward  home  page  is http://pobox.com/~djb/dot-
       forward.html.

SEE ALSO

       qmail-header(5), dot-qmail(5)

                                                                              dot-forward(1qmail)