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(1) command.

       The postfix(1) command controls the operation of the Postfix mail  sys-
       tem:  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 actual work.

       However,  when  support  for  multiple Postfix instances is configured,
       postfix(1) executes the command specified with the multi_instance_wrap-
       per 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 cre-
              ate 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  fore-
              ground,  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, see MAILLOG_README  for
              logging  to  stdout.  Postfix  logs  to syslog by default, which
              requires a) running a syslogd process inside the  container,  or
              b) mounting the container host's /dev/log socket inside the con-
              tainer (example: "docker run -v /dev/log:/dev/log ..."), and  c)
              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  con-
              figuration  change,  do  not  use the start and stop commands 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  (zero
              exit status) or stopped (non-zero exit status).

       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  con-
              figuration  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 Post-
              fix  2.0  and   earlier,   use   "$config_directory/post-install
              set-permissions".

       logrotate
              Rotate  the logfile specified with $maillog_file, by appending a
              time-stamp  suffix  that  is  formatted  according   to   $mail-
              log_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  certifi-
              cates.  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 con-
              figuration parameters.

              This feature is available in Postfix 2.1 and later.  With  Post-
              fix   2.0   and   earlier,  use  "$config_directory/post-install
              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 directory.  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 Postfix  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 environ-
       ment variables with the same names:

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

       compatibility_level (0)
              A safety net that causes Postfix to run with  backwards-compati-
              ble  default  settings  after an upgrade to a newer Postfix ver-
              sion.

       meta_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The location of non-executable files that are shared among  mul-
              tiple  Postfix instances, such as postfix-files, dynamicmaps.cf,
              and the multi-instance template  files  main.cf.proto  and  mas-
              ter.cf.proto.

       shlib_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The  location  of Postfix dynamically-linked libraries (libpost-
              fix-*.so), and the default location of Postfix database  plugins
              (postfix-*.so)  that  have  a  relative  pathname  in the dynam-
              icmaps.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  variables  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 "prefix/smtpd".

       Available in Postfix version 2.6 and later:

       multi_instance_directories (empty)
              An  optional  list of non-default Postfix configuration directo-
              ries; these directories belong to additional  Postfix  instances
              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 post-
              fix(1)  command  invokes  when  the   multi_instance_directories
              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 rotat-
              ing 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 $con-
       fig_directory. Some files are now in $daemon_directory or  $meta_direc-
       tory  so  that they can be shared among multiple instances that run the
       same Postfix version.

       Use the command "postconf config_directory" or "postconf  daemon_direc-
       tory" 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-script, administrative commands
       $daemon_directory/post-install, post-installation configuration
       $meta_directory/dynamicmaps.cf, plug-in database clients
       $meta_directory/postfix-files, file/directory permissions

SEE ALSO
       Commands:
       postalias(1), create/update/query alias database
       postcat(1), examine Postfix queue file
       postconf(1), Postfix configuration utility
       postdrop(1), Postfix mail posting 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 allow/denylist 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
       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)