Ubuntu Manpage: postsuper - Postfix superintendent

Provided by: postfix_3.1.0-3ubuntu0.4_amd64

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).

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

                                                                                     POSTSUPER(1)