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, incom-ing, incoming,
ing, 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 -dSpecify
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. 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 maxi-mal_queue_lifetime maximal_queue_lifetime
mal_queue_lifetime or bounce_queue_lifetime setting. It becomes subject to expiration after it
is released from "hold".
-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.
-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 commandline
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 informa-tion. information.
tion.
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. 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.
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.
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 parame-ters. parameters.
ters.
-v Enable verbose logging for debugging purposes. Multiple -v options make the software increas-ingly increasingly
ingly 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 (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)
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