diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'mail/exim/files/exim.8')
| -rw-r--r-- | mail/exim/files/exim.8 | 909 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 909 deletions
diff --git a/mail/exim/files/exim.8 b/mail/exim/files/exim.8 deleted file mode 100644 index a115cd7f754..00000000000 --- a/mail/exim/files/exim.8 +++ /dev/null @@ -1,909 +0,0 @@ -.TH EXIM 8 -.SH exim -exim \- Mail Transfer Agent -.SH SYNOPSIS -.B exim -.I "[options] arguments ..." -.br -.B mailq -.I "[options] arguments ..." -.br -.B rmail -.I "[options] arguments ..." -.br -.B rsmtp -.I "[options] arguments ..." -.br -.B runq -.I "[options] arguments ..." -.br -.B sendmail -.I "[options] arguments ..." -.SH "DESCRIPTION" -.B Exim -is a mail transport agent (MTA) developed at the University of -Cambridge for use on Unix systems connected to the Internet. It is -freely available under the terms of the GNU General Public Licence. In -style it is similar to Smail 3, but its facilities are more extensive, -and in particular it has some defences against mail bombs and -unsolicited junk mail, in the form of options for refusing messages -from particular hosts, networks, or senders. -.PP -Exim's command line takes the standard Unix form of a sequence of -options, each starting with a hyphen character, followed by a number -of arguments. The options are compatible with the main options of -Sendmail, and there are also some additional options, some of which -are compatible with Smail 3. Certain combinations of options do not -make sense, and provoke an error if used. The form of the arguments -depends on which options are set. -.PP -If Exim is called under the name mailq, it behaves as if the option --bp were present before any other options. This is for compatibility -with some systems that contain a command of that name in one of the -standard libraries, symbolically linked to /usr/lib/sendmail. -.PP -If Exim is called under the name rsmtp it behaves as if the option -bS -were present before any other options, for compatibility with -smail. The -bS option is used for reading in a number of messages in -batched SMTP format. -.PP -If Exim is called under the name rmail it behaves as if the option -i -were present before any other options, for compatibility with -smail. The -i option is used for reading a message that should not be -terminated by a dot on a line by itself. The name rmail is used as an -interface by some UUCP systems. -.PP -If Exim is called under the name runq it behaves as if the option -q -were present before any other options, for compatibility with -smail. The -q option causes a single queue-runner process to be -started. -.SH LIMITATIONS -For the benefit of those reading this overview to see whether Exim is -of interest to them, its limitations are listed first. -.TP -.B ANSI-C -Exim is written in ANSI C. This should not be much of a limitation -these days. However, to help with systems that lack a true ANSI C -library, Exim avoids making any use of the value returned by the -sprintf() function, which is one of the main incompatibilities. It has -its own version of strerror() for use with SunOS4 and any other system -that lacks this function, and a macro can be defined to turn memmove() -into bcopy() if necessary. -.TP -.B Filenames -Exim uses file names that are longer than 14 characters. -.TP -.B Bangpaths -Exim is intended for use as an Internet mailer, and therefore handles -addresses in RFC 822 domain format only. It cannot handle 'bang -paths', though simple two-component bang paths can be converted by a -straightforward rewriting configuration. -.TP -.B Domains required -Exim insists that every address it handles has a domain attached. For -incoming local messages, domainless addresses are automatically -qualified with a configured domain value. Configuration options -specify from which remote systems unqualified addresses are -acceptable. -.TP -.B Transports -The only external transport currently implemented is an SMTP transport -over a TCP/IP network (using sockets), suitable for machines on the -Internet. However, a pipe transport is available, and there are -facilities for writing messages to files in 'batched SMTP' format; -this can be used to send messages to some other transport -mechanism. Batched SMTP input is also catered for. -.SH FEATURES -Exim follows the same general approach of decentralized control that -Smail 3 does. There is no central process doing overall management of -mail delivery. However, unlike Smail, the independent delivery -processes share data in the form of 'hints', which makes delivery more -efficient in some cases. The hints are kept in a number of DBM -files. If any of these files are lost, the only effect is to change -the pattern of delivery attempts and retries. -.PP -Many configuration options can be given as expansion strings, and as -these can include file lookups, much of Exim's operation can be made -table-driven if desired. For example, it is possible to do local -delivery on a machine on which the users do not have accounts. -.PP -Regular expressions are available in a number of configuration -parameters. -.PP -Domain lists can include file lookups, making it possible to support a -large number of local domains. -.PP -Exim has flexible retry algorithms, applicable to mail routing as well as -to delivery. -.PP -Exim contains header and envelope rewriting facilities. -.PP -Unqualified addresses are accepted only from specified hosts or networks. -.PP -Exim can perform multiple deliveries down the same SMTP channel after -deliveries to a host have been delayed. -.PP -Exim can be configured to do local deliveries immediately but to leave -remote deliveries until the message is picked up by a queue-runner -process. This increases the likelihood of multiple messages being sent -down a single SMTP connection. -.PP -When copies of a message have to be delivered to more than one remote -host, up to a configured maximum number of remote deliveries can be -done in parallel. -.PP -Exim supports optional checking of incoming return path (sender) and -receiver addresses as they are received by SMTP. -.PP -SMTP calls from specific machines, optionally from specific idents, -can be locked out, and incoming SMTP messages from specific senders -can also be locked out. -.PP -It is possible to control which hosts may use the Exim host as a relay -for onward transmission of mail; the control can be made to depend on -the address domain. -.PP -Messages on the queue can be 'frozen' and 'thawed' by the -administrator. -.PP -The maximum size of message can be specified. Exim can handle a -number of independent local domains on the same machine; each domain -can have its own alias files, etc. These are commonly called "virtual -domains". -.PP -Exim stats a user's home directory before looking for a .forward file, -in order to detect the case of a missing NFS mount. -.PP -Exim contains an optional built-in mail filtering facility. This -enables users to set up their own mail filtering in a straightfoward -manner without the need to run an external program. There can also be -a system filter file that applies to all messages. -.PP -There is support for multiple user mailboxes controlled by prefixes or -suffixes on the user name, either via the filter mechanism or through -multiple .forward files. -.PP -Periodic warnings are automatically sent to messages' senders when -delivery is delayed - the time between warnings is configurable. -.PP -A queue run can be manually started to deliver just a particular -portion of the queue, or those messages with a recipient whose address -contains a given string. -.PP -Exim can be configured to run as root all the time, except when -performing local deliveries, which it always does in a separate -process under an appropriate uid and gid. Alternatively, it can be -configured to run as root only when needed; in particular, it need not -run as root when receiving incoming messages or when sending out -messages over SMTP. -.PP -I have tried to make the wording of delivery failure messages clearer -and simpler, for the benefit of those less-experienced people who are -now using email. -.PP -The Exim Monitor is an optional extra; it displays information about -Exim's processing in an X window, and an administrator can perform a -number of control actions from the window interface. -.SH METHOD OF OPERATION -When Exim receives a message, it writes two files in its spool -directory. The first contains the envelope information, the current -status of the message, and the headers, while the second contains the -body of the message. The status of the message includes a complete -list of recipients and a list of those that have already received the -message. The header file gets updated during the course of delivery if -necessary. -.PP -A message remains in the spool directory until it is completely -delivered to its recipients or to an error address, or until it is -deleted by an administrator or by the user who originally created -it. In cases when delivery cannot proceed - for example, when a -message can neither be delivered to its recipients nor returned to its -sender, the message is marked 'frozen' on the spool, and no more -deliveries are attempted. The administrator can thaw such messages -when the problem has been corrected, and can also freeze individual -messages by hand if necessary. -.PP -As delivery proceeds, Exim writes timestamped information about each -address to a per-message log file; this includes any delivery error -messages. This log is solely for the benefit of the administrator. All -the information Exim itself needs for delivery is kept in the header -spool file. The message log file is deleted with the spool files. If a -message is delayed for more than a configured time, a warning message -is sent to the sender. This is repeated whenever the same time elapses -again without delivery being complete. -.PP -The main delivery processing elements of Exim are called directors, -routers, and transports. Code for a number of these is provided, and -compile-time options specify which ones are actually included in the -binary. Directors handle addresses that include one of the local -domains, routers handle remote addresses, and transports do actual -deliveries. -.SH TRUSTED AND ADMIN USERS -Some Exim options are available only to "trusted users" and others are -available only to "admin users". -.PP -A trusted user is root or the Exim user (if defined) or any user -listed in the trusted_users configuration option, or any user, if the -currently set group is one of those listed in the trusted_groups -configuration option. Trusted users are permitted to use the -f option -to specify the senders of messages that are passed to Exim through the -local interface, and also to specify host names, host addresses, -protocol names, and ident values. Thus they are able to insert -messages into Exim's queue locally that have the characteristics of -messages received from a remote host. -.PP -An admin user is root or the Exim user (if defined) or any user that -is a member of the Exim group (if defined). The current group does not -have to be the Exim group. Admin users are permitted to operate on -messages in the queue, for example, to force delivery failures. It is -also necessary to be an admin user in order to see the full -information provided by the Exim monitor. -.SH OPTIONS -Exim's command options are as follows: -.TP -.B -bd -Run Exim as a daemon, awaiting incoming SMTP connections. This option -can be used only by an admin user. If either of the -d or -dm options -are set, the daemon does not disconnect from the controlling -terminal. By default, Exim listens for incoming connections on all the -host's interfaces, but it can be restricted to specific interfaces by -setting the local_interfaces option in the configuration file. The -standard SMTP port is used, but this can be varied by means of the -oX -option. Most commonly, the -bd option is combined with the -q<time> -option, to cause periodic queue runs to happen as well. - -The process id of a daemon that is both listening and starting queue -runners is written to a file called exim-daemon.pid in Exim's spool -directory, unless the -oX option is used, in which case the file -name is exim-daemon.<port-number>.pid. If a daemon is run with only -one of -bd and -q<time>, then that option is added on to the end of -the file name, allowing sites that run two separate daemons to -distinguish them. - -It is possible to change the directory in which these pid files are -written by changing the setting of PID_FILE_PATH in Local/Makefile. -Further details are given in the comments in src/EDITME. - -The SIGHUP signal can be used to cause the daemon to re-exec itself. -This should be done whenever Exim's configuration file is changed, -or a new version of Exim is installed. It is not necessary to do -this when other files (e.g. alias files) are changed. -.TP -.B -bf <filename> -Run Exim in filter testing mode; the file is the filter file to be -tested, and a test message must be supplied on the standard input. -If there are no message-dependent tests in the filter, an empty file -can be supplied. If the test file does not begin with the special -line - - # Exim filter - -then it is taken to be a normal .forward file, and is tested for -validity under that interpretation. The result of this command, -provided no errors are detected, is a list of the actions that Exim -would try to take if presented with the message for real. More -details of filter testing are given in the separate document -entitled "Exim's User interface to mail filtering". - -When testing a filter file, various parameters that would normally -be taken from the envelope recipient address of a message can be set -by means of additional command line options. These are: - - -bfd <domain> default is the qualify domain - -bfl <local_part>default is the logged in user - -bfp <local_part_prefix> default is null - -bfs <local_part_suffix> default is null - -The local part should always be set to the incoming address with any -prefix or suffix stripped, because that is how it appears when a -message is actually being delivered. -.TP -.B -bi -Sendmail interprets the -bi option as a request to rebuild its alias -file. Exim does not have the concept of a single alias file, and so -it cannot mimic this behaviour. However, calls to /usr/lib/sendmail --bi tend to appear in various scripts such as NIS make files, so the -option must be recognized. - -If -bi is encountered, the command specified by the bi_command -configuration option is run, under the uid and gid of the caller of -Exim. If the -oA option is used, its value is passed to the command -as an argument. The command set by bi_command may not contain -arguments. The command can use the exim_dbmbuild utility, or some -other means, to rebuild alias files if this is required. If the -bi_command option is not set, then calling Exim with -bi is a no-op. -.TP -.B -bm -Accept an incoming, locally-generated message on the current input, -and deliver it to the addresses given as the command arguments -(except when -t is also given - see below). Each argument can be a -comma-separated list of RFC 822 addresses. This is the default -option, and is assumed if no other conflicting option is present. -The message may or may not be delivered immediately, depending on -the setting of the -od option and the queue_only and queue_smtp -configuration options. - -The format of the message must be as defined in RFC 822, except -that, for compatibility with sendmail and smail, a line of the form - - From sender Fri Jan 5 12:55 GMT 1996 - -is permitted to appear at the start of the message. The Solaris 2 -version of the "mail" command inserts such a line, though there is -no mention of it in the sendmail man page. The sender specified in -this line is treated as if it were given as the argument to the -f -option. -.TP -.B -bp -List the contents of the mail queue on the current output. Each -message on the queue is displayed as in the following example: - - 25m 2.9K 0t5C6f-0000c8-00 <alice@wonderland.fict.book> - red.king@looking-glass.fict.book - <other addresses> - -The first line contains the amount of time the message has been on -the queue (in this case 25 minutes), the size of the message (2.9K), -the unique identifier for the message, and the message sender, as -contained in the envelope. If the message is a delivery error -message, the sender address is empty, and appears as <>. If the -message is frozen (attempts to deliver it are suspended) then the -text '*** frozen ***' is displayed at the end of this line. - -The recipients of the message (taken from the envelope, not the -headers) are displayed on subsequent lines. Those addresses to which -the message has already been delivered are marked with the letter D. -If an original address gets expanded into several addresses via an -alias or forward file, the original is displayed with a 'D' when -deliveries for all of its child addresses are completed. -.TP -.B -bP -If this option is given with no arguments, it causes the values of -all Exim's main configuration options to be written to the standard -output. The values of one or more specific options can be requested -by giving their names as arguments, for example: - - exim -bP qualify_domain local_domains - -If configure_file is given, the name of the runtime configuration -file is output. If log_file_path or pid_file_path are given, the -names of the directories where log files and daemon pid files are -written are output, respectively. If these values are unset, log -files are written in a subdirectory of the spool directory called -log, and pid files are written directly into the spool directory. - -If one of the words director, router, or transport is given, -followed by the name of an appropriate driver instance, the option -settings for that driver are output. For example: - - exim -bP transport local_delivery - -The generic driver options are output first, followed by the -driver's private options. A list of the names of drivers of a -particular type can be obtained by using one of the words -director_list, router_list, or transport_list, and a complete list -of all drivers with their option settings can be obtained by using -directors, routers, or drivers. -.TP -.B -brt -This option is for testing retry rules, and it must be followed by -up to three arguments. It causes Exim to look for a retry rule that -matches the values and to output it on the standard output. For -example: - - exim -brt bach.comp.mus - Retry rule: *.comp.mus F,2h,15m; FG,4d,30m; - -See chapter 30 for a description of Exim's retry rules. The first -argument, which is required, can be a complete address in the form -local_part@domain, or it can be just a domain name. The second -argument is an optional second domain name; if no retry rule is -found for the first argument, the second is tried. This ties in with -Exim's behaviour when looking for retry rules for remote hosts - if -no rule is found that matches the host, one that matches the mail -domain is sought. The final argument is the name of a specific -delivery error, as used in setting up retry rules, for example -'quota_3d'. -.TP -.B -brw -This option is for testing address rewriting rules, and it must be -followed by a single argument, consisting of either a local part -without a domain, or a complete address with a fully-qualified -domain. Exim outputs how this address would be rewritten for each -possible place it might appear. -.TP -.B -bS -This option is used for batched SMTP input, where messages have been -received from some external source by an alternative transport -mechanism. It causes Exim to accept one or more messages by reading -SMTP on the standard input, but to generate no responses. All errors -are reported by sending mail. If the caller is trusted, then the -senders in the MAIL FROM commands are believed; otherwise the sender -is always the caller of Exim. Unqualified senders and receivers are -not rejected (there seems little point) but instead just get -qualified. Receiver verification and administrative rejection is not -done, even if configured. HELO and EHLO act as RSET; VRFY, EXPN, ETRN, -HELP, and DEBUG act as NOOP; QUIT quits. -.TP -.B -bs -This option causes Exim to accept one or more messages by reading SMTP -commands on the standard input, and producing SMTP replies on the -standard output. Some user agents use this interface as a way of -passing locally-generated messages to the MTA. The option can also be -used to run Exim from inetd, as an alternative to using a listening -daemon, in which case the standard input is the connected socket. Exim -distinguishes between the two cases by attempting to read the IP -address of the peer connected to the standard input. If it is not a -socket, the call to getpeername() fails, and Exim assumes it is -dealing with a local message. - -If the caller of Exim is trusted, then the senders of messages are -taken from the SMTP MAIL FROM commands. Otherwise the content of these -commands is ignored and the sender is set up as the calling user. -.TP -.B -bt -Run in address testing mode, in which each argument is taken as an -address to be tested. The results are written to the standard -output. If no arguments are given, Exim runs in an interactive manner, -prompting with > for addresses to be tested. Each address is handled -as if it were the recipient address on a message and passed to the -appropriate directors or routers. -.TP -.B -bV -Write the current version number, compilation number, and compi- -lation date of the exim binary to the standard output. -.TP -.B -bv -Verify the addresses that are given as the arguments to the command, -and write the results to the standard output. Verification differs -from address testing (the -bt option) in that directors and routers -that have no_verify set are skipped, and if the address is accepted by -a director or router that has fail_verify set, verification -fails. This is the same logic that is used when verifying addresses on -incoming messages (see the sender_verify and receiver_verify options). - -If the -v (or -d) option is not set, the output consists of a single -line for each address, stating whether it was verified or not, and -giving a reason in the latter case. Otherwise, more details are given -of how the address has been handled, and in the case of aliases or -forwarding, the generated addresses are also considered. -.TP -.B -C <filename> -Read the runtime configuration from the given file instead of from -the default file specified by the CONFIGURE_FILE compile-time set- -ting. When this option is used by an unprivileged caller, Exim gives -up its root privilege immediately, and runs with the real and -effective uid and gid set to those of the caller, to avoid any -security exposure. It does not do this if the caller is root or the -exim user. The facility is useful for ensuring that configuration -files are syntactically correct, but cannot be used for test -deliveries, unless the caller is privileged, or unless it's an -exotic configuration that does not require privilege. No check is -made on the owner or group of the file specified by this option. -.TP -.B -d<number> -Sets a debug level, causing debugging information to be written to the -standard error file. Whitespace between -d and the number is -optional. If no number is given, 1 is assumed, and the higher the -number, the more output is produced. A value of zero turns debugging -output off. A value of 9 gives the maximum amount of general -information, 10 gives in addition details of the interpretation of -filter files, and 11 or higher also turns on the debugging option for -DNS lookups. -.TP -.B -df -If this option is set and STDERR_FILE was defined when Exim was built, -debugging information is written to the file defined by that variable -instead of to the standard error file. This option provides a way of -obtaining debugging information when Exim is run from inetd. -.TP -.B -dm -This option causes information about memory allocation and freeing -operations to be written to the standard error file. -.TP -.B -E -This option specifies that an incoming message is a locally-generated -delivery failure message. It is used internally by Exim when handling -delivery failures and is not intended for external use. Its only -effect is to stop Exim generating certain messages to the mailmaster, -as otherwise message cascades could occur in some situations. As part -of the same option, a message id may follow the characters -E. If it -does, the log entry for the receipt of the new message contains the -id, following 'R=', as a cross reference. -.TP -.B -ex -There are a number of sendmail options starting with -oe which seem to -be called by various programs without the leading o in the option. For -example, the vacation program uses -eq. Exim treats all options of the -form -ex as synonymous with the corresponding -oex options. -.TP -.B -F <string> -Set the sender's full name for use when a locally-generated message -is being accepted. In the absence of this option, the user's "gecos" -entry from the password file is used. As users are generally -permitted to alter their "gecos" entries, no security considerations -are involved. White space between -F and the <string> is optional. -.TP -.B -f <address> -Set the address of the sender of a locally-generated message. This -option can normally be used only by root or the Exim user or by one -of the configured trusted users. In other cases, the sender of a -local message is always set up as the user who ran the exim command, -and -f is ignored, with one exception. If the special setting -f <> -is used by an untrusted user, it does not affect the sender for the -purposes of managing the Sender: and From: headers, but it does have -the effect of causing any SMTP transmissions to be sent out with - - MAIL FROM: <> - -and local deliveries to contain - - Return-path: <> - -when configured to contain Return-path: headers. The filtering code -treats such a message as an error message, and won't generate -messages as a result of reading it. - -White space between -f and the <string> is optional. The sender of a -locally-generated message can also be set by an initial 'From' line -in the message - see the description of -bm above. -.TP -.B -h <number> -This option is accepted for compatibility with sendmail, but at -present has no effect. (In sendmail it overrides the 'hop count' -obtained by counting Received headers.) -.TP -.B -i -This option, which has the same effect as -oi, specifies that a dot -on a line by itself should not terminate an incoming, non-SMTP -message. I can find no documentation for this option in Solaris 2.4 -sendmail, but the mailx command in Solaris 2.4 uses it. -.TP -.B -M -The arguments are interpreted as a list of message ids, and Exim runs -a delivery attempt on each message in turn. Retry hints for any of the -addresses are overridden - this option forces Exim to try to deliver -even if the normal retry time has not yet been reached. If any of the -messages is frozen, it is automatically thawed before the delivery -attempt, provided that the caller is an admin user. -.TP -.B -Mar <message-id> <address> <address> ... -The first argument must be a message id, and the remaining ones must -be email addresses. Exim adds the addresses to the list of recipi- -ents of the message. However, if the message is active (in the middle -of a delivery attempt), its status is not altered. This option can be -used only by an admin user. -.TP -.B -Meb <message-id> -This runs, under /bin/sh, the command defined in the shell variable -VISUAL or, if that is not defined, EDITOR or, if that is not defined, -the command vi, on a copy of the spool file containing the body of -message (eb = Edit Body). If the editor exits normally, then the -result of editing replaces the spool file. The message is locked -during this process, so no delivery attempts can occur. Note that the -first line of the spool file is its own name; care should be taken not -to disturb this. The thinking behind providing this feature is that an -administrator who has had to mess around with the addresses to get a -message delivered might want to add some (grumbly) comment at the -start of the message text. This option can be used only by an admin -user. -.TP -.B -Mes <message-id> <address> -There must be exactly two arguments. The first argument must be a -message id, and the second one an email address. Exim changes the -sender address in the message to the given address, which must be a -fully qualified address, or '<>'. However, if the message is active -(in the middle of a delivery attempt), its status is not altered. -This option can be used only by an admin user. -.TP -.B -Mmad <message-id> -Exim marks the all recipient addresses in the message as already -delivered. However, if the message is active (in the middle of a -delivery attempt), its status is not altered. This option can be used -only by an admin user. -.TP -.B -Mmd <message-id> <address> <address> ... -The first argument must be a message id, and the remaining ones must -be email addresses. Exim marks the given addresses as already -delivered. However, if the message is active (in the middle of a -delivery attempt), its status is not altered. This option can be used -only by an admin user. -.TP -.B -MC <transport> <hostname> <sequence number> <message id> -This option is not intended for use by outside callers. It is used -internally by Exim to invoke another instance of itself to deliver a -waiting message using an existing SMTP channel, which is passed as the -standard input and output. Details are given in chapter 43. This must -be the final option, and the caller must be root or the Exim user in -order to use it. -.TP -.B -Mc -The arguments are interpreted as a list of message ids, and Exim runs -a delivery attempt on each message in turn, but unlike the -M option, -it does check for retry hints, and respects any that are found. This -option is not very useful to external callers (except for testing). It -is provided for internal use by Exim when it needs to re-invoke itself -in order to regain root privilege for a delivery (see chapter 44). -.TP -.B -Mf -The arguments are interpreted as a list of message ids, and each -message is marked 'frozen'. This prevents any delivery attempts taking -place until the message is 'thawed', either manually or as a result of -the auto_thaw configuration option. However, if any of the messages is -active (in the middle of a delivery attempt), its status is not -altered. This option can be used only by an admin user. -.TP -.B -Mg -The arguments are interpreted as a list of message ids, and Exim gives -up trying to deliver those messages. A delivery error message is sent, -containing the text 'cancelled by administrator'. However, if any of -the messages is active, its status is not altered. This option can be -used only by an admin user. -.TP -.B -Mt -The arguments are interpreted as a list of message ids, and each -message that was 'frozen' is now 'thawed', so that delivery attempts -can resume. However, if any of the messages is active, its status is -not altered. This option can be used only by an admin user. -.TP -.B -Mrm -The arguments are interpreted as a list of message ids, and each -message is completely removed from Exim's queue, and forgotten. -However, if any of the messages is active, its status is not -altered. This option can be used only by an admin user or by the user -who originally caused the message to be placed on the queue. -.TP -.B -m -This is apparently a synonym for -om that is accepted by sendmail, so -Exim treats it that way too. -.TP -.B -N -This is a debugging option that inhibits delivery of a message at the -transport level. It implies at least -d1. Exim goes through many of -the motions of delivery - it just doesn't actually transport the -message, but instead behaves as if it had successfully done so. The -log, for example, will contain entries as if the message had been -delivered. Only root or the exim user are allowed to use -N with -bd, --q, or -M. In other words, an ordinary user can use it only when -supplying an incoming message. -.TP -.B -oA <file name> -This option is used by Sendmail in conjunction with -bi to specify an -alternative alias file name. Exim handles -bi differently; see the -description above. -.TP -.B -oB <n> -This is a debugging option which limits the maximum number of SMTP -deliveries down one channel to <n>, overriding the value set in the -smtp transport. If <n> is omitted, the limit is set to 1 (no -batching). -.TP -.B -odb -This option applies to all modes in which Exim accepts incoming -messages, including the listening daemon. It requests 'background' -delivery of such messages, which means that the accepting process -automatically starts another delivery process for each message -received. Exim does not wait for such processes to complete (it can -take some time to perform SMTP deliveries). This is the default action -if none of the -od options are present. -.TP -.B -odf -This option (compatible with smail) requests 'foreground' (syn- -chronous) delivery when Exim has accepted a locally-generated mess- -age. For the daemon it is exactly the same as -odb. For a single -message received on the standard input, if the protection regime -permits it (see chapter 44), Exim converts the reception process into -a delivery process. In other cases, it creates a new delivery process, -and then waits for it to complete before proceeding. -.TP -.B -odi -This option is synonymous with -odf. It is provided for compati- -bility with sendmail. -.TP -.B -odq -This option applies to all modes in which Exim accepts incoming -messages, including the listening daemon. It specifies that the -accepting process should not automatically start a delivery attempt -for each message received. Messages are placed on the queue, and -remain there until a subsequent queue-running process encounters -them. The queue_only configuration option has the same effect. -.TP -.B -odqr -This option applies to all modes in which Exim accepts incoming -messages, including the listening daemon. It causes Exim to process -local addresses when a message is received, but not even to try -routing remote addresses. Contrast with -odqs below, which does the -routing, but not the delivery. The remote addresses will be picked up -by the next queue runner. The queue_remote configuration option has -the same effect. -.TP -.B -odqs -This option is a hybrid between -odb and -odq. A delivery process is -started for each incoming message, the addresses are all processed, -and local deliveries are done in the normal way. However, if any SMTP -deliveries are required, they are not done at this time. Such messages -remain on the queue until a subsequent queue-running process -encounters them. Because routing was done, Exim knows which messages -are waiting for which hosts, and so a number of messages for the same -host will get sent in a single SMTP connection. The queue_smtp -configuration option has the same effect. -.TP -.B -oem -If an error is detected while a non-SMTP message is being received -(e.g. a malformed address), the error is reported to the sender in a -mail message. This is the default option. After a message has been -successfully received, any subsequent delivery errors are always -reported in this way. -.TP -.B -oep -If an error is detected while a non-SMTP message is being received, -the error is reported by writing a message to the standard error file -(stderr). -.TP -.B -oeq -This option is supported for compatibility with sendmail, but has the -same effect as -oep. -.TP -.B -oew -This option is supported for compatibility with sendmail, but has the -same effect as -oem. -.TP -.B -oi -This option, which has the same effect as -i, specifies that a dot on -a line by itself should not terminate an incoming, non-SMTP message. -.TP -.B -oMa <host address> -This option sets the sender host address value, and can be used only -by a trusted caller. The value is used in log entries and can appear -in Received headers. The option is intended for use when handing to -Exim messages received by other means. -.TP -.B -oMr <protocol name> -This option sets the received protocol value, and can be used only by -a trusted caller. The value is used in log entries and can appear in -Received headers. The option is intended for use when handing to Exim -messages received by other means. -.TP -.B -oMs <host name> -This option sets the sender host name value, and can be used only by a -trusted caller. The value is used in log entries and can appear in -Received headers. The option is intended for use when handing to Exim -messages received by other means. -.TP -.B -oMt <ident string> -This option sets the sender ident value, and can be used only by a -trusted caller. The value is used in log entries and can appear in -Received headers. The option is intended for use when handing to Exim -messages received by other means. -.TP -.B -om -In sendmail, this option means 'me too', indicating that the sender of -a message should receive a copy of the message if the sender appears -in an alias expansion. Exim always does this, so the option does -nothing. -.TP -.B -or <time> -This option sets a timeout value for incoming non-SMTP messages. If it -is not set, Exim will wait forever for the standard input. The value -can also be set using the accept_timeout configuration vari- able. The -format used for specifying times is described in section 7.6. -.TP -ov -This option has exactly the same effect as -v. -.TP -.B -oX <number> -This option is relevant only when the -bd option is also given. It -specifies an alternative TCP/IP port number for the listening daemon, -and is useful for testing. When used, the process number of the daemon -is written to a file whose name is exim- daemon.<number>.pid in Exim's -spool directory. -.TP -.B -q -If the -q option is not followed by a time value, it requests a single -queue run operation. This option can be used only by an admin -user. Exim starts up a delivery process for each (inactive) message on -the queue in turn, and waits for it to finish before starting the next -one. When all the queued messages have been considered, the original -process terminates. In other words, a single pass is made over the -waiting mail. Use -q with a time (see below) if you want this to be -repeated periodically. - -Exim processes the waiting messages in an unpredictable order. It -isn't very random, but it is likely to be different each time, which -is all that matters. If one particular message screws up a remote MTA, -other messages to the same MTA have a chance of getting through if -they get tried first. - -However, it is possible to cause the messages to be processed in -lexical id order, which is essentially the order in which they -arrived, and to start this operation at a particular point by -following the -q option with a starting message id. For example: - - exim -q 0t5C6f-0000c8-00 - -This causes Exim to skip any messages whose ids are lexically less -than the given id. A second id can also be given to stop the queue run -before the end. See also the -R option. -.TP -.B -q <time> -This version of the -q option (which again can be run only by an admin -user) causes Exim to run as a daemon, starting a queue-running process -at intervals specified by the given time value (whose format is -described in section 7.6). This form of the -q option is commonly -combined with the -bd option, in which case a single daemon process -handles both functions. A common way of starting up a combined daemon -at system boot time is to use a command such as - - /opt/exim/bin/exim -bd -q30m - -Such a daemon listens for incoming SMTP calls, and also fires up a -queue-runner process every 30 minutes. The process id of such a daemon -is written to a file called exim-daemon.pid in Exim's spool directory, -unless the -oX option has been used, in which case the file is called -exim-daemon.<port-number>.pid. The location of the pid file can be -changed by defining PID_FILE_PATH in Local/Makefile. If a daemon is -started without -bd then the -q option used to start it is added to -the pid file name. -.TP -.B -qf -This option operates like -q, and may appear with or without a -following time. The difference is that a delivery attempt is forced -for each message, whereas with -q only those addresses that have -passed their retry times are tried. -.TP -.B -qfl -This option operates like -ql, and may appear with or without a -following time. The difference is that a delivery attempt is forced -for each message, whereas with -ql only those local addresses that -have passed their retry times are tried. -.TP -.B -ql -This option operates like -q, and may appear with or without a -following time. The difference is that only local addresses are -considered for delivery. Note that -ql cannot detect apparently remote -addresses that actually turn out to be local when their domains get -fully qualified. -.TP -R <string> -This option is similar to -q with no time value, except that, when -scanning the messages on the queue, Exim processes only those that -have at least one undelivered address containing the given string, -which is checked in a case-independent way. However, once a message is -selected, all its addresses are processed. For the first message -containing a matching address, Exim overrides any retry information -and forces a delivery attempt. This makes it straightforward to -initiate delivery for all messages to a given domain after a host has -been down for some time. When the SMTP command ETRN is permitted (see -the smtp_etrn options), its effect is to run Exim with the -R option. -.TP -.B -r -This is a documented (for sendmail) obsolete alternative name for -f. -.TP -.B -t -When Exim is receiving a locally-generated, non-SMTP message on the -current input, the -t option causes the recipients of the message to -be obtained from the To, Cc, and Bcc headers in the message instead of -from the command arguments. If there are any arguments, they specify -addresses to which the message is not to be delivered. That is, the -argument addresses are removed from the recipients list obtained from -the headers. If a Bcc header is present, it is removed from the -message unless there is no To or Cc header, in which case a Bcc header -with no data is created, in accordance with RFC 822. -.TP -.B -v -This option has exactly the same effect as -d1; it causes Exim to be -'verbose' and produce some output describing what it is doing on the -standard error file. In particular, if an SMTP connection is made, the -SMTP dialogue is shown. -.TP -.B -x -AIX uses -x for a private purpose ('mail from a local mail program has -National Language Support extended characters in the body of the mail -item'). It sets -x when calling the MTA from its mail command. Exim -ignores this option. -.SH "SEE ALSO" -sendmail(8), mailwrapper(8), mailer.conf(5). -.SH AUTHOR -This manual page was stitched together by Christoph Lameter, -<clameter@debian.org>, from the original documentation coming with the -sourcepackage for the Debian GNU/Linux system, and cleaned up a little -by Tim Cutts <tjrc1@scalopus.bio.cam.ac.uk>. Modifications for NetBSD -made by Andy Doran <ad@NetBSD.org>. |