POSTSUPER(1) POSTSUPER(1)
NAME
postsuper - Postfix superintendent
SYNOPSIS
postsuper [-psv] [-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 exam-
ple, 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. 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 mes-
sage 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 maxi-
mal_queue_lifetime or bounce_queue_lifetime set-
ting. It becomes subject to expiration after it is
released from "hold".
-H queue_id
Release mail that was put "on hold". Move one mes-
sage 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.
-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 mes-
sages, 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.
o 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 informa-
tion.
o The message is subjected again to mail
address rewriting and substitution. This is
useful when rewriting rules or virtual map-
pings have changed.
The address rewriting context (local or
remote) is the same as when the message was
received.
o The message is subjected to the same con-
tent_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. 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.
-s Structure check and structure repair. This should
be done once before Postfix startup.
o 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 media.
o Move queue files that are in the wrong place
in the file system hierarchy and remove sub-
directories 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.
-v Enable verbose logging for debugging purposes. Mul-
tiple -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 num-
ber 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 exam-
ples.
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 direc-
tories 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 direc-
tory.
syslog_facility (mail)
The syslog facility of Postfix logging.
syslog_name (postfix)
The mail system name that is prepended to the
process name in syslog records, so that "smtpd"
becomes, for example, "postfix/smtpd".
SEE ALSO
sendmail(1), Sendmail-compatible user interface
postqueue(1), unprivileged queue operations
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
POSTSUPER(1)