SYNOPSIS

       postfix [-Dv] [-c config_dir] command

DESCRIPTION

       This  command  is  reserved  for the superuser. To submit mail, use the
       Postfix sendmail command.

       The postfix command controls the operation of the Postfix mail  system:
       start  or  stop the master daemon, do a health check, and other mainte-
       nance.

       The postfix command sets up a standardized  environment  and  runs  the
       postfix-script shell script to do the actual work.

       The following commands are implemented:

       check  Validate  the  Postfix mail system configuration. 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.

       stop   Stop the Postfix mail system in an orderly fashion. Running pro-
              cesses 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.

       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.

       -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.

       -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 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.

       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.

CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS

       The following main.cf configuration parameters are exported as environ-
       ment variables with the same names:

       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.

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

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

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

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

              configure or operate a specific Postfix subsystem or feature.

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

       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.

       Other configuration parameters:

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

       import_environment (see 'postconf -d' output)
              The  list  of environment parameters that a Postfix process will
              import from a non-Postfix parent process.

       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, "post-
              fix/smtpd".

FILES

       /etc/postfix/main.cf, Postfix configuration parameters
       /etc/postfix/master.cf, Postfix daemon processes
       /etc/postfix/postfix-files, file/directory permissions
       /etc/postfix/postfix-script, administrative commands
       /etc/postfix/post-install, post-installation configuration

SEE ALSO

       Commands:
       postalias(1), create/update/query alias database
       postcat(1), examine Postfix queue file
       postkick(1), trigger Postfix daemon
       postlock(1), Postfix-compatible locking
       postlog(1), Postfix-compatible logging
       postmap(1), Postfix lookup table manager
       postqueue(1), Postfix mail queue control
       postsuper(1), Postfix housekeeping
       sendmail(1), Sendmail compatibility interface

       Postfix configuration:
       postconf(5), Postfix configuration parameters

       Table-driven mechanisms:
       access(5), Postfix SMTP access control table
       aliases(5), Postfix alias database

       Daemon processes:
       anvil(8), Postfix connection/rate limiting
       bounce(8), defer(8), trace(8), Delivery status reports
       cleanup(8), canonicalize and enqueue message
       error(8), Postfix error delivery agent
       flush(8), Postfix fast ETRN service
       lmtp(8), Postfix LMTP client
       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
       proxymap(8), Postfix lookup table proxy server
       qmgr(8), Postfix queue manager
       qmqpd(8), Postfix QMQP server
       showq(8), list Postfix mail queue
       smtp(8), Postfix SMTP client
       smtpd(8), Postfix SMTP server
       spawn(8), run non-Postfix 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



                                                                    POSTFIX(1)