Provided by: dovecot-sieve_2.2.9-1ubuntu2.6_amd64 
NAME
sieve-test - Pigeonhole's Sieve script tester
SYNOPSIS
sieve-test [options] script-file mail-file
DESCRIPTION
The sieve-test command is part of the Pigeonhole Project (pigeonhole(7)), which adds Sieve (RFC 5228)
support to the Dovecot secure IMAP and POP3 server (dovecot(1)).
Using the sieve-test command, the execution of Sieve scripts can be tested. This evaluates the script for
the provided message, yielding a set of Sieve actions. Unless the -e option is specified, it does not
actually execute these actions, meaning that it does not store or forward the message anywere. In stead,
it prints a detailed list of what actions would normally take place. Note that, even when -e is
specified, no messages are ever transmitted to remote SMTP recipients. The outgoing messages are always
printed to stdout in stead.
This is a very useful tool to debug the execution of Sieve scripts. It can be used to verify newly
installed scripts for the intended behaviour and it can provide more detailed information about script
execution problems that are reported by the Sieve plugin, for example by tracing the execution and
evaluation of commands and tests respectively.
OPTIONS
-a orig-recipient-address
The original envelope recipient address. This is what Sieve's envelope test will compare to when
the "to" envelope part is requested. Some tests and actions will also use this as the script
owner's e-mail address. If this option is omitted, the recipient address is retrieved from the
"Envelope-To:", or "To:" message headers. If none of these headers is present either, the
recipient address defaults to recipient@example.com.
-c config-file
Alternative Dovecot configuration file path.
-C Force compilation. By default, the compiled binary is stored on disk. When this binary is found
during the next execution of sieve-test and its modification time is more recent than the script
file, it is used and the script is not compiled again. This option forces the script to be
compiled, thus ignoring any present binary. Refer to sievec(1) for more information about Sieve
compilation.
-D Enable Sieve debugging.
-d dump-file
Causes a dump of the generated code to be written to the specified file. This is identical to the
dump produced by sieve-dump(1). Using '-' as filename causes the dump to be written to stdout.
-e Enables true execution of the set of actions that results from running the script. In combination
with the -l parameter, the actual delivery of messages can be tested. Note that this will not
transmit any messages to remote SMTP recipients. Such actions only print the outgoing message to
stdout.
-f envelope-sender
The envelope sender address (return path). This is what Sieve's envelope test will compare to when
the "from" envelope part is requested. Also, this is where response messages are 'sent' to. If
this option is omitted, the sender address is retrieved from the "Return-Path:", "Sender:" or
"From:" message headers. If none of these headers is present either, the sender envelope address
defaults to sender@example.com.
-l mail-location
The location of the user's mail store. The syntax of this option's mail-location parameter is
identical to what is used for the mail_location setting in the Dovecot config file. This parameter
is typically used in combination with -e to test the actual delivery of messages. If -l is omitted
when -e is specified, mail store actions like fileinto and keep are skipped.
-m default-mailbox
The mailbox where the keep action stores the message. This is "INBOX" by default.
-r recipient-address
The final envelope recipient address. Some tests and actions will use this as the script owner's
e-mail address. For example, this is what is used by the vacation action to check whether a reply
is appropriate. If the -r option is omitted, the orignal envelope recipient address will be used
in stead (see -a option for more info).
-s script-file
Specify additional scripts to be executed before the main script. Multiple -s arguments are
allowed and the specified scripts are executed sequentially in the order specified at the command
line.
-t trace-file
Enables runtime trace debugging. Trace debugging provides detailed insight in the operations
performed by the Sieve script. Refer to the runtime trace debugging section below. The trace
information is written to the specified file. Using '-' as filename causes the trace data to be
written to stdout.
-T trace-option
Configures runtime trace debugging, which is enabled with the -t option. Refer to the runtime
trace debugging section below.
-x extensions
Set the available extensions. The parameter is a space-separated list of the active extensions. By
prepending the extension identifiers with + or -, extensions can be included or excluded relative
to the configured set of active extensions. If no extensions have a + or - prefix, only those
extensions that are explicitly listed will be enabled. Unknown extensions are ignored and a
warning is produced.
For example -x "+imapflags -enotify" will enable the deprecated imapflags extension and disable
the enotify extension. The rest of the active extensions depends on the sieve_extensions and
sieve_global_extensions settings. By default, i.e. when sieve_extensions and
sieve_global_extensions remain unconfigured, all supported extensions are available, except for
deprecated extensions or those that are still under development.
ARGUMENTS
script-file
Specifies the script to (compile and) execute.
Note that this tool looks for a pre-compiled binary file with a .svbin extension and with basename
and path identical to the specified script. Use the -C option to disable this behavior by forcing
the script to be compiled into a new binary.
mail-file
Specifies the file containing the e-mail message to test with.
USAGE
RUNTIME TRACE DEBUGGING
Using the -t option, the sieve-test tool can be configured to print detailed trace information on the
Sieve script execution to a file or standard output. For example, the encountered commands, the performed
tests and the matched values can be printed.
The runtime trace can be configured using the -T option, which can be specified multiple times. It can be
used as follows:
-Tlevel=...
Set the detail level of the trace debugging. One of the following values can be supplied:
actions (default)
Only print executed action commands, like keep, fileinto, reject and redirect.
commands
Print any executed command, excluding test commands.
tests
Print all executed commands and performed tests.
matching
Print all executed commands, performed tests and the values matched in those tests.
-Tdebug
Print debug messages as well. This is usually only useful for developers and is likely to produce messy
output.
-Taddresses
Print byte code addresses for the current trace output. Normally, only the current Sieve source code
position (line number) is printed. The byte code addresses are equal to those listed in a binary dump
produced using the -d option or by the sieve-dump(1) command.
DEBUG SIEVE EXTENSION
To improve script debugging, this Sieve implementation supports a custom Sieve language extension called
'vnd.dovecot.debug'. It adds the debug_log command that allows logging debug messages.
Example:
require "vnd.dovecot.debug";
if header :contains "subject" "hello" {
debug_log "Subject header contains hello!";
}
Tools such as sieve-test, sievec and sieve-dump have support for the vnd.dovecot.debug extension enabled
by default and it is not necessary to enable nor possible to disable the availability of the debug
extension with the -x option. The logged messages are written to stdout in this case.
In contrast, for the actual Sieve plugin for the Dovecot LDA (dovecot-lda(1)) the vnd.dovecot.debug
extension needs to be enabled explicitly using the sieve_extensions setting. The messages are then logged
to the user's private script log file. If used in a global script, the messages are logged through the
default Dovecot logging facility.
EXIT STATUS
sieve-test will exit with one of the following values:
0 Execution was successful. (EX_OK, EXIT_SUCCESS)
1 Operation failed. This is returned for almost all failures. (EXIT_FAILURE)
64 Invalid parameter given. (EX_USAGE)
FILES
/etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf
Dovecot's main configuration file.
/etc/dovecot/conf.d/90-sieve.conf
Sieve interpreter settings (included from Dovecot's main configuration file)
REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs, including doveconf -n output, to the Dovecot Mailing List <dovecot@dovecot.org>.
Information about reporting Dovecot and Pigeonhole bugs is available at:
http://dovecot.org/bugreport.html
SEE ALSO
dovecot(1), dovecot-lda(1), sieve-dump(1), sieve-filter(1), sievec(1), pigeonhole(7)