path: root/src/sendmail.0

SENDMAIL(8)               BSD System Manager's Manual              SENDMAIL(8)

NNAAMMEE
     sseennddmmaaiill - an electronic mail transport agent

SSYYNNOOPPSSIISS
     sseennddmmaaiill [_f_l_a_g_s] [_a_d_d_r_e_s_s _._._.]
     nneewwaalliiaasseess
     mmaaiillqq [--vv]

DDEESSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONN
     SSeennddmmaaiill sends a message to one or more _r_e_c_i_p_i_e_n_t_s, routing the message
     over whatever networks are necessary.  SSeennddmmaaiill does internetwork for-
     warding as necessary to deliver the message to the correct place.

     SSeennddmmaaiill is not intended as a user interface routine; other programs pro-
     vide user-friendly front ends; sseennddmmaaiill is used only to deliver pre-for-
     matted messages.

     With no flags, sseennddmmaaiill reads its standard input up to an end-of-file or
     a line consisting only of a single dot and sends a copy of the message
     found there to all of the addresses listed.  It determines the network(s)
     to use based on the syntax and contents of the addresses.

     Local addresses are looked up in a file and aliased appropriately.
     Aliasing can be prevented by preceding the address with a backslash.
     Normally the sender is not included in any alias expansions, e.g., if
     `john' sends to `group', and `group' includes `john' in the expansion,
     then the letter will not be delivered to `john'.

   PPaarraammeetteerrss

     --BB_t_y_p_e      Set the body type to _t_y_p_e. Current legal values 7BIT or
                 8BITMIME.

     --bbaa         Go into ARPANET mode.  All input lines must end with a CR-LF,
                 and all messages will be generated with a CR-LF at the end.
                 Also, the ``From:'' and ``Sender:'' fields are examined for
                 the name of the sender.

     --bbdd         Run as a daemon.  This requires Berkeley IPC. SSeennddmmaaiill will
                 fork and run in background listening on socket 25 for incom-
                 ing SMTP connections.  This is normally run from _/_e_t_c_/_r_c.

     --bbDD         Same as --bbdd except runs in foreground.

     --bbhh         Print the persistent host status database.

     --bbHH         Purge the persistent host status database.

     --bbii         Initialize the alias database.

     --bbmm         Deliver mail in the usual way (default).

     --bbpp         Print a listing of the queue.

     --bbss         Use the SMTP protocol as described in RFC821 on standard in-
                 put and output.  This flag implies all the operations of the
                 --bbaa flag that are compatible with SMTP.

     --bbtt         Run in address test mode.  This mode reads addresses and
                 shows the steps in parsing; it is used for debugging configu-
                 ration tables.

     --bbvv         Verify names only - do not try to collect or deliver a mes-
                 sage.  Verify mode is normally used for validating users or
                 mailing lists.

     --CC_f_i_l_e      Use alternate configuration file.  SSeennddmmaaiill refuses to run as
                 root if an alternate configuration file is specified.

     --dd_X         Set debugging value to _X.

     --FF_f_u_l_l_n_a_m_e  Set the full name of the sender.

     --ff_n_a_m_e      Sets the name of the ``from'' person (i.e., the sender of the
                 mail).  --ff can only be used by ``trusted'' users (normally
                 _r_o_o_t, _d_a_e_m_o_n, and _n_e_t_w_o_r_k) or if the person you are trying to
                 become is the same as the person you are.

     --hh_N         Set the hop count to _N. The hop count is incremented every
                 time the mail is processed.  When it reaches a limit, the
                 mail is returned with an error message, the victim of an
                 aliasing loop.  If not specified, ``Received:'' lines in the
                 message are counted.

     --ii          Ignore dots alone on lines by themselves in incoming mes-
                 sages.  This should be set if you are reading data from a
                 file.

     --NN _d_s_n      Set delivery status notification conditions to _d_s_n_, which can
                 be `never' for no notifications or a comma separated list of
                 the values `failure' to be notified if delivery failed,
                 `delay' to be notified if delivery is delayed, and `success'
                 to be notified when the message is successfully delivered.

     --nn          Don't do aliasing.

     --OO _o_p_t_i_o_n=_v_a_l_u_e
                 Set option _o_p_t_i_o_n to the specified _v_a_l_u_e. This form uses long
                 names.  See below for more details.

     --oo_x _v_a_l_u_e   Set option _x to the specified _v_a_l_u_e. This form uses single
                 character names only.  The short names are not described in
                 this manual page; see the _S_e_n_d_m_a_i_l _I_n_s_t_a_l_l_a_t_i_o_n _a_n_d _O_p_e_r_a_t_i_o_n
                 _G_u_i_d_e for details.

     --pp_p_r_o_t_o_c_o_l  Set the name of the protocol used to receive the message.
                 This can be a simple protocol name such as ``UUCP'' or a pro-
                 tocol and hostname, such as ``UUCP:ucbvax''.

     --qq[_t_i_m_e]    Processed saved messages in the queue at given intervals.  If
                 _t_i_m_e is omitted, process the queue once.  Time is given as a
                 tagged number, with `s' being seconds, `m' being minutes, `h'
                 being hours, `d' being days, and `w' being weeks.  For exam-
                 ple, `-q1h30m' or `-q90m' would both set the timeout to one
                 hour thirty minutes.  If _t_i_m_e is specified, sseennddmmaaiill will run
                 in background.  This option can be used safely with --bbdd.

     --qqII_s_u_b_s_t_r   Limit processed jobs to those containing _s_u_b_s_t_r as a sub-
                 string of the queue id.

     --qqRR_s_u_b_s_t_r   Limit processed jobs to those containing _s_u_b_s_t_r as a sub-
                 string of one of the recipients.

     --qqSS_s_u_b_s_t_r   Limit processed jobs to those containing _s_u_b_s_t_r as a sub-
                 string of the sender.

     --RR _r_e_t_u_r_n   Set the amount of the message to be returned if the message
                 bounces.  The _r_e_t_u_r_n parameter can be `full' to return the

                 entire message or `hdrs' to return only the headers.

     --rr_n_a_m_e      An alternate and obsolete form of the --ff flag.

     --tt          Read message for recipients.  To:, Cc:, and Bcc: lines will
                 be scanned for recipient addresses.  The Bcc: line will be
                 deleted before transmission.

     --UU          Initial (user) submission.  This should _a_l_w_a_y_s be set when
                 called from a user agent such as MMaaiill or eexxmmhh and _n_e_v_e_r be
                 set when called by a network delivery agent such as rrmmaaiill.

     --VV _e_n_v_i_d    Set the original envelope id.  This is propagated across SMTP
                 to servers that support DSNs and is returned in DSN-compliant
                 error messages.

     --vv          Go into verbose mode.  Alias expansions will be announced,
                 etc.

     --XX _l_o_g_f_i_l_e  Log all traffic in and out of mailers in the indicated log
                 file.  This should only be used as a last resort for debug-
                 ging mailer bugs.  It will log a lot of data very quickly.

     ----          Stop processing command flags and use the rest of the argu-
                 ments as addresses.

   OOppttiioonnss
     There are also a number of processing options that may be set.  Normally
     these will only be used by a system administrator.  Options may be set
     either on the command line using the --oo flag (for short names), the --OO
     flag (for long names), or in the configuration file.  This is a partial
     list limited to those options that are likely to be useful on the command
     line and only shows the long names; for a complete list (and details),
     consult the _S_e_n_d_m_a_i_l _I_n_s_t_a_l_l_a_t_i_o_n _a_n_d _O_p_e_r_a_t_i_o_n _G_u_i_d_e. The options are:

     AliasFile=_f_i_l_e
                 Use alternate alias file.

     HoldExpensive
                 On mailers that are considered ``expensive'' to connect to,
                 don't initiate immediate connection.  This requires queueing.

     CheckpointInterval=_N
                 Checkpoint the queue file after every _N successful deliveries
                 (default 10).  This avoids excessive duplicate deliveries
                 when sending to long mailing lists interrupted by system
                 crashes.

     DeliveryMode=_x
                 Set the delivery mode to _x. Delivery modes are `i' for inter-
                 active (synchronous) delivery, `b' for background (asyn-
                 chronous) delivery, `q' for queue only - i.e., actual deliv-
                 ery is done the next time the queue is run, and `d' for de-
                 ferred - the same as `q' except that database lookups (no-
                 tably DNS and NIS lookups) are avoided.

     ErrorMode=_x
                 Set error processing to mode _x. Valid modes are `m' to mail
                 back the error message, `w' to ``write'' back the error mes-
                 sage (or mail it back if the sender is not logged in), `p' to
                 print the errors on the terminal (default), `q' to throw away
                 error messages (only exit status is returned), and `e' to do
                 special processing for the BerkNet.  If the text of the mes-
                 sage is not mailed back by modes `m' or `w' and if the sender
                 is local to this machine, a copy of the message is appended

                 to the file _d_e_a_d_._l_e_t_t_e_r in the sender's home directory.

     SaveFromLine
                 Save UNIX-style From lines at the front of messages.

     MaxHopCount= _N
                 The maximum number of times a message is allowed to ``hop''
                 before we decide it is in a loop.

     IgnoreDots  Do not take dots on a line by themselves as a message termi-
                 nator.

     SendMimeErrors
                 Send error messages in MIME format.  If not set, the DSN (De-
                 livery Status Notification) SMTP extension is disabled.

     ConnectionCacheTimeout=_t_i_m_e_o_u_t
                 Set connection cache timeout.

     ConnectionCacheSize=_N
                 Set connection cache size.

     LogLevel=_n  The log level.

     MeToo       Send to ``me'' (the sender) also if I am in an alias expan-
                 sion.

     CheckAliases
                 Validate the right hand side of aliases during a newalias-
                 es(1) command.

     OldStyleHeaders
                 If set, this message may have old style headers.  If not set,
                 this message is guaranteed to have new style headers (i.e.,
                 commas instead of spaces between addresses).  If set, an
                 adaptive algorithm is used that will correctly determine the
                 header format in most cases.

     QueueDirectory=_q_u_e_u_e_d_i_r
                 Select the directory in which to queue messages.

     StatusFile=_f_i_l_e
                 Save statistics in the named file.

     Timeout.queuereturn=_t_i_m_e
                 Set the timeout on undelivered messages in the queue to the
                 specified time.  After delivery has failed (e.g., because of
                 a host being down) for this amount of time, failed messages
                 will be returned to the sender.  The default is five days.

     UserDatabaseSpec=_u_s_e_r_d_a_t_a_b_a_s_e
                 If set, a user database is consulted to get forwarding infor-
                 mation.  You can consider this an adjunct to the aliasing
                 mechanism, except that the database is intended to be dis-
                 tributed; aliases are local to a particular host.  This may
                 not be available if your sendmail does not have the USERDB
                 option compiled in.

     ForkEachJob
                 Fork each job during queue runs.  May be convenient on memo-
                 ry-poor machines.

     SevenBitInput
                 Strip incoming messages to seven bits.

     EightBitMode=_m_o_d_e
                 Set the handling of eight bit input to seven bit destinations
                 to _m_o_d_e: m (mimefy) will convert to seven-bit MIME format, p
                 (pass) will pass it as eight bits (but violates protocols),
                 and s (strict) will bounce the message.

     MinQueueAge=_t_i_m_e_o_u_t
                 Sets how long a job must ferment in the queue between at-
                 tempts to send it.

     DefaultCharSet=_c_h_a_r_s_e_t
                 Sets the default character set used to label 8-bit data that
                 is not otherwise labelled.

     DialDelay=_s_l_e_e_p_t_i_m_e
                 If opening a connection fails, sleep for _s_l_e_e_p_t_i_m_e seconds
                 and try again.  Useful on dial-on-demand sites.

     NoRecipientAction=_a_c_t_i_o_n
                 Set the behaviour when there are no recipient headers (To:,
                 Cc: or Bcc:) in the message to _a_c_t_i_o_n: none leaves the mes-
                 sage unchanged, add-to adds a To: header with the envelope
                 recipients, add-apparently-to adds an Apparently-To: header
                 with the envelope recipients, add-bcc adds an empty Bcc:
                 header, and add-to-undisclosed adds a header reading `To:
                 undisclosed-recipients:;'.

     MaxDaemonChildren=_N
                 Sets the maximum number of children that an incoming SMTP
                 daemon will allow to spawn at any time to _N.

     ConnectionRateThrottle=_N
                 Sets the maximum number of connections per second to the SMTP
                 port to _N.

     In aliases, the first character of a name may be a vertical bar to cause
     interpretation of the rest of the name as a command to pipe the mail to.
     It may be necessary to quote the name to keep sseennddmmaaiill from suppressing
     the blanks from between arguments.  For example, a common alias is:

           msgs: "|/usr/bin/msgs -s"

     Aliases may also have the syntax ``:include:_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e'' to ask sendmail to
     read the named file for a list of recipients.  For example, an alias such
     as:

           poets: ":include:/usr/local/lib/poets.list"

     would read _/_u_s_r_/_l_o_c_a_l_/_l_i_b_/_p_o_e_t_s_._l_i_s_t for the list of addresses making up
     the group.

     SSeennddmmaaiill returns an exit status describing what it did.  The codes are
     defined in <_s_y_s_e_x_i_t_s_._h>:
           EX_OK           Successful completion on all addresses.
           EX_NOUSER       User name not recognized.
           EX_UNAVAILABLE  Catchall meaning necessary resources were not
                           available.
           EX_SYNTAX       Syntax error in address.
           EX_SOFTWARE     Internal software error, including bad arguments.
           EX_OSERR        Temporary operating system error, such as ``cannot
                           fork''.
           EX_NOHOST       Host name not recognized.
           EX_TEMPFAIL     Message could not be sent immediately, but was
                           queued.

     If invoked as nneewwaalliiaasseess, sseennddmmaaiill will rebuild the alias database.  If
     invoked as mmaaiillqq, sseennddmmaaiill will print the contents of the mail queue.

FFIILLEESS
     Except for the file _/_e_t_c_/_s_e_n_d_m_a_i_l_._c_f itself and the daemon process ID
     file, the following pathnames are all specified in _/_e_t_c_/_s_e_n_d_m_a_i_l_._c_f_.
     Thus, these values are only approximations.

     /etc/aliases          raw data for alias names
     /etc/aliases.db       data base of alias names
     /etc/sendmail.cf      configuration file
     /etc/sendmail.hf      help file
     /var/log/sendmail.st  collected statistics
     /var/spool/mqueue/*   temp files

SSEEEE AALLSSOO
     binmail(1),  mail(1),  rmail(1),  syslog(3),  aliases(5),  mailaddr(7),
     rc(8);

     DARPA Internet Request For Comments _R_F_C_8_1_9, _R_F_C_8_2_1, _R_F_C_8_2_2.

     _S_e_n_d_m_a_i_l _- _A_n _I_n_t_e_r_n_e_t_w_o_r_k _M_a_i_l _R_o_u_t_e_r, No. 9, SMM.

     _S_e_n_d_m_a_i_l _I_n_s_t_a_l_l_a_t_i_o_n _a_n_d _O_p_e_r_a_t_i_o_n _G_u_i_d_e, No. 8, SMM.

HHIISSTTOORRYY
     The sseennddmmaaiill command appeared in 4.2BSD.

4th Berkeley Distribution       August 2, 1998                               6