Postfix manual - postsuper(1)

    POSTSUPER(1)                                                      POSTSUPER(1)

    NAME
           postsuper - Postfix superintendent

    SYNOPSIS
           postsuper [-psSv] [-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).

                  To delete multiple files, specify the -d option multiple  times,
                  or  specify  a  queue_id  of  -  to read queue IDs from standard
                  input. For example, to delete all mail with exactly one  recipi-
                  ent user@example.com:

                  mailq | tail -n +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 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 (always  with  Postfix  <=
                  2.8;  and  with  Postfix  >= 2.9 when enable_long_queue_ids=no).
                  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  post-
                         super(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.

                  To hold multiple files, specify the -h option multiple times, or
                  specify a queue_id of - to read 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    maximal_queue_lifetime    or
                  bounce_queue_lifetime  setting. It becomes subject to expiration
                  after it is released from "hold".

                  This feature is available in Postfix 2.0 and later.

           -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.

                  To release multiple files, specify the -H option multiple times,
                  or  specify  a  queue_id  of  -  to read 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.

                  This feature is available in Postfix 2.0 and later.

           -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 files, specify the -r option multiple times,
                  or specify a queue_id of -  to  read  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 information.

                  o      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.

                  o      The message is subjected to the same content_filter  set-
                         tings  (if  any)  as used for new local mail submissions.
                         This is useful when content_filter settings have changed.

                  Warning:  Postfix  queue  IDs are reused (always with Postfix <=
                  2.8; and with Postfix  >=  2.9  when  enable_long_queue_ids=no).
                  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.

                  This feature is available in Postfix 1.1 and later.

           -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,
                         when queue files were created with Postfix <= 2.8 or with
                         "enable_long_queue_ids = no".

                  o      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  neces-
                         sary  after  a  change  in  the  hash_queue_names  and/or
                         hash_queue_depth configuration parameters.

                  o      Rename queue files created with "enable_long_queue_ids  =
                         yes"  to  short  names,  for migration to Postfix <= 2.8.
                         The procedure is as follows:

                         # postfix stop
                         # postconf enable_long_queue_ids=no
                         # postsuper

                         Run postsuper(1) repeatedly until it stops reporting file
                         name changes.

           -S     A  redundant  version  of  -s that requires that long file names
                  also match the message file inode number. This option exists for
                  testing purposes, and is available with Postfix 2.9 and later.

           -v     Enable  verbose  logging  for  debugging  purposes.  Multiple -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 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  pro-
           gram.   The  text  below  provides  only a parameter summary. See post-
           conf(5) for more details including examples.

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

           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.

           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 (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 2.9 and later:

           enable_long_queue_ids (no)
                  Enable long, non-repeating, queue IDs (queue file names).

    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

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

                                                                      POSTSUPER(1)