POSTFIX(1)                                            General Commands Manual                                            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(1) command.

       The  postfix(1)  command  controls the operation of the Postfix mail system: start or stop the master(8) daemon, do a health
       check, and other maintenance.

       By default, the postfix(1) command sets up a standardized environment and runs the postfix-script shell script to do the ac‐
       tual work.

       However,  when  support  for  multiple  Postfix  instances is configured, postfix(1) executes the command specified with the
       multi_instance_wrapper configuration parameter.  This command will execute the command for each applicable Postfix instance.

       The following commands are implemented:

       check  Warn about bad directory/file ownership or permissions, and create missing directories.

       start  Start the Postfix mail system. This also runs the configuration check described above.

       start-fg
              Like start, but keep the master(8) daemon running in the foreground, and enable master(8) "init" mode when running as
              PID  1.  This command requires that multi-instance support is disabled (i.e. the multi_instance_directories parameter
              value must be empty). When running Postfix inside a container, mount the container host's /dev/log socket inside  the
              container  (example: "docker run -v /dev/log:/dev/log ...")  and specify a distinct Postfix "syslog_name" prefix that
              identifies logging from the Postfix instance.

       stop   Stop the Postfix mail system in an orderly fashion. If possible, 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 com‐
              mands in succession. Use the reload command instead.

       abort  Stop the Postfix mail system abruptly. Running processes 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 terminate at their earliest convenience.

       status Indicate if the Postfix mail system is currently running.

       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.  With Postfix 2.0 and  earlier,  use  "$config_directory/post-in‐
              stall set-permissions".

       logrotate
              Rotate  the  logfile  specified  with  $maillog_file, by appending a time-stamp suffix that is formatted according to
              $maillog_file_rotate_suffix, and by compressing the file with the command  specified  with  $maillog_file_compressor.
              This will not rotate /dev/* files.

              This feature is available in Postfix 3.4 and later.

       tls subcommand
              Enable  opportunistic  TLS  in the Postfix SMTP client or server, and manage Postfix SMTP server TLS private keys and
              certificates.  See postfix-tls(1) for documentation.

              This feature is available in Postfix 3.1 and later.

       upgrade-configuration [name=value ...]
              Update the main.cf and master.cf files with information 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.  With Postfix 2.0 and earlier, use "$config_directory/post-in‐
              stall upgrade-configuration".

       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 configuration direc‐
              tory.  Use this to distinguish between multiple Postfix instances on the same host.

              With  Postfix  2.6  and later, this option forces the postfix(1) command to operate on the specified Postfix instance
              only.  This behavior is inherited by postfix(1) commands that run as a descendant of the current process.

       -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. Multiple -v options make the software increasingly verbose.

ENVIRONMENT
       The postfix(1) command exports the following environment variables before executing the postfix-script file:

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

              With Postfix 2.6 and later, this environment variable forces the postfix(1) command to operate on the specified Post‐
              fix  instance  only.   This  behavior  is  inherited  by  postfix(1) commands that run as a descendant of the current
              process.

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

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

       When the internal logging service is enabled (by setting a non-empty maillog_file parameter value)  the  postfix(1)  command
       exports settings that are used by child processes before they have processed main.cf or command-line settings.

       POSTLOG_SERVICE
              The name of the public postlog service endpoint.

       POSTLOG_HOSTNAME
              The hostname to prepend to internal logging.

CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS
       The following main.cf configuration parameters are exported as environment variables with the same names:

       config_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The default location of the Postfix main.cf and master.cf configuration files.

       command_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The location of all postfix administrative commands.

       daemon_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The directory with Postfix support programs and daemon programs.

       html_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The  location  of Postfix HTML files that describe how to build, configure or operate a specific Postfix subsystem or
              feature.

       mail_owner (postfix)
              The UNIX system account that owns the Postfix queue and most Postfix daemon processes.

       mailq_path (see 'postconf -d' output)
              Sendmail compatibility feature that specifies where the Postfix mailq(1) command is installed.

       manpage_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
              Where the Postfix manual pages are installed.

       newaliases_path (see 'postconf -d' output)
              Sendmail compatibility feature that specifies the location of the newaliases(1) command.

       queue_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The location of the Postfix top-level queue directory.

       readme_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The location of Postfix README files that describe how to build, configure or operate a specific Postfix subsystem or
              feature.

       sendmail_path (see 'postconf -d' output)
              A Sendmail compatibility feature that specifies the location of the Postfix sendmail(1) command.

       setgid_group (postdrop)
              The group ownership of set-gid Postfix commands and of group-writable Postfix directories.

       Available in Postfix version 2.5 and later:

       data_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The directory with Postfix-writable data files (for example: caches, pseudo-random numbers).

       Available in Postfix version 3.0 and later:

       meta_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The  location of non-executable files that are shared among multiple Postfix instances, such as postfix-files, dynam‐
              icmaps.cf, and the multi-instance template files main.cf.proto and master.cf.proto.

       shlib_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The location of Postfix dynamically-linked libraries (libpostfix-*.so), and the default location of Postfix  database
              plugins (postfix-*.so) that have a relative pathname in the dynamicmaps.cf file.

       Available in Postfix version 3.1 and later:

       openssl_path (openssl)
              The location of the OpenSSL command line program openssl(1).

       Other configuration parameters:

       import_environment (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The  list  of environment parameters that a privileged Postfix process will import from a non-Postfix parent process,
              or name=value environment overrides.

       syslog_facility (mail)
              The syslog facility of Postfix logging.

       syslog_name (see 'postconf -d' output)
              A prefix that is prepended to the process name in syslog  records,  so  that,  for  example,  "smtpd"  becomes  "pre‐
              fix/smtpd".

       Available in Postfix version 2.6 and later:

       multi_instance_directories (empty)
              An optional list of non-default Postfix configuration directories; these directories belong to additional Postfix in‐
              stances that share the Postfix executable files and documentation with the default Postfix  instance,  and  that  are
              started, stopped, etc., together with the default Postfix instance.

       multi_instance_wrapper (empty)
              The pathname of a multi-instance manager command that the postfix(1) command invokes when the multi_instance_directo‐
              ries parameter value is non-empty.

       multi_instance_group (empty)
              The optional instance group name of this Postfix instance.

       multi_instance_name (empty)
              The optional instance name of this Postfix instance.

       multi_instance_enable (no)
              Allow this Postfix instance to be started, stopped, etc., by a multi-instance manager.

       Available in Postfix version 3.4 and later:

       maillog_file (empty)
              The name of an optional logfile that is written by the Postfix postlogd(8) service.

       maillog_file_compressor (gzip)
              The program to run after rotating $maillog_file with "postfix logrotate".

       maillog_file_prefixes (/var, /dev/stdout)
              A list of allowed prefixes for a maillog_file value.

       maillog_file_rotate_suffix (%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)
              The format of the suffix to append to $maillog_file while rotating the file with "postfix logrotate".

       postlog_service_name (postlog)
              The name of the postlogd(8) service entry in master.cf.

FILES
       Prior to Postfix version 2.6, all of the following files were in $config_directory. Some files are now in  $daemon_directory
       so that they can be shared among multiple instances that run the same Postfix version.

       Use the command "postconf config_directory" or "postconf daemon_directory" to expand the names into their actual values.

       $config_directory/main.cf, Postfix configuration parameters
       $config_directory/master.cf, Postfix daemon processes
       $daemon_directory/postfix-files, file/directory permissions
       $daemon_directory/postfix-script, administrative commands
       $daemon_directory/post-install, post-installation configuration
       $daemon_directory/dynamicmaps.cf, plug-in database clients

SEE ALSO
       Commands:
       postalias(1), create/update/query alias database
       postcat(1), examine Postfix queue file
       postconf(1), Postfix configuration utility
       postfix(1), Postfix control program
       postfix-tls(1), Postfix TLS management
       postkick(1), trigger Postfix daemon
       postlock(1), Postfix-compatible locking
       postlog(1), Postfix-compatible logging
       postmap(1), Postfix lookup table manager
       postmulti(1), Postfix multi-instance manager
       postqueue(1), Postfix mail queue control
       postsuper(1), Postfix housekeeping
       mailq(1), Sendmail compatibility interface
       newaliases(1), Sendmail compatibility interface
       sendmail(1), Sendmail compatibility interface

       Postfix configuration:
       bounce(5), Postfix bounce message templates
       master(5), Postfix master.cf file syntax
       postconf(5), Postfix main.cf file syntax
       postfix-wrapper(5), Postfix multi-instance API

       Table-driven mechanisms:
       access(5), Postfix SMTP access control table
       aliases(5), Postfix alias database
       canonical(5), Postfix input address rewriting
       generic(5), Postfix output address rewriting
       header_checks(5), body_checks(5), Postfix content inspection
       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
       lmdb_table(5), Postfix LMDB database driver
       memcache_table(5), Postfix memcache client
       mysql_table(5), Postfix MYSQL client
       nisplus_table(5), Postfix NIS+ client
       pcre_table(5), Associate PCRE pattern with value
       pgsql_table(5), Postfix PostgreSQL client
       regexp_table(5), Associate POSIX regexp pattern with value
       socketmap_table(5), Postfix socketmap client
       sqlite_table(5), Postfix SQLite database driver
       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
       discard(8), Postfix discard delivery agent
       dnsblog(8), DNS black/whitelist logger
       error(8), Postfix error delivery agent
       flush(8), Postfix fast ETRN service
       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
       postlogd(8), Postfix internal logging service
       postscreen(8), Postfix zombie blocker
       proxymap(8), Postfix lookup table proxy server
       qmgr(8), Postfix queue manager
       qmqpd(8), Postfix QMQP server
       scache(8), Postfix connection cache manager
       showq(8), list Postfix mail queue
       smtp(8), lmtp(8), Postfix SMTP+LMTP client
       smtpd(8), Postfix SMTP server
       spawn(8), run non-Postfix server
       tlsmgr(8), Postfix TLS cache and randomness manager
       tlsproxy(8), Postfix TLS proxy 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
       Use "postconf readme_directory" or "postconf html_directory" to locate this information.
       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

       Wietse Venema
       Google, Inc.
       111 8th Avenue
       New York, NY 10011, USA

       TLS support by:
       Lutz Jaenicke
       Brandenburg University of Technology
       Cottbus, Germany

       Victor Duchovni
       Morgan Stanley

       SASL support originally by:
       Till Franke
       SuSE Rhein/Main AG
       65760 Eschborn, Germany

       LMTP support originally by:
       Philip A. Prindeville
       Mirapoint, Inc.
       USA.

       Amos Gouaux
       University of Texas at Dallas
       P.O. Box 830688, MC34
       Richardson, TX 75083, USA

       IPv6 support originally by:
       Mark Huizer, Eindhoven University, The Netherlands
       Jun-ichiro 'itojun' Hagino, KAME project, Japan
       The Linux PLD project
       Dean Strik, Eindhoven University, The Netherlands

                                                                                                                         POSTFIX(1)