<html> <head> <title>Postfix Anatomy - Command-line Utilities</title> </head> <body> <h1><a href="big-picture.html"><img src="small-picture.gif" width="115" height="45"></a> Postfix Anatomy - Command-line Utilities</h1> <hr> <a href="index.html">Up one level</a> | <a href="receiving.html">Receiving Mail</a> | <a href="delivering.html">Delivering Mail</a> | <a href="backstage.html">Behind the Scenes</a> | Command-line Utilities <p> Enough daemon talk. The anatomy lesson ends with an introduction to command-line utilities for day-to-day use of the Postfix mail system. Besides the <a href="sendmail.1.html">sendmail</a>, <a href="sendmail.1.html">mailq</a>, and <a href="sendmail.1.html">newaliases</a> commands that were already introduced, the Postfix system comes with it own collection of utilities. For consistency, these are all named post<i>something</i>. <ul> <li>The <a href="postfix.1.html">postfix</a> command controls the operation of the mail system. It is the interface for starting and stopping the mail system, and for some other administrative operations. This command is reserved to the super-user. <p> <li>The <a href="postalias.1.html">postalias</a> command maintains Postfix <a href="aliases.5.html">alias</a> databases. This is the program behind the <a href="newaliases.1.html">newaliases</a> command. <p> <li>The <a href="postcat.1.html">postcat</a> command displays the contents of Postfix queue files. This is a limited, preliminary utility. This program is likely to be superseded by something more powerful that can also edit Postfix queue files. <p> <li>The <a href="postconf.1.html">postconf</a> command displays Postfix <b>main.cf</b> parameters: actual values, default values, or parameters that have non-default settings. This is a limited, preliminary utility. This program is likely to be superseded by something more powerful that can not only list but also edit the <b>main.cf</b> file. <p> <li>The <a href="postdrop.1.html">postdrop</a> command is the mail posting utility that is run by the <a href="sendmail.1.html">sendmail</a> command in order to deposit mail into the <b>maildrop</b> queue directory. <p> <li>The <a href="postkick.1.html">postkick</a> command makes some internal communication channels available for use in, for example, shell scripts. <p> <li>The <a href="postlock.1.html">postlock</a> command provides Postfix-compatible mailbox locking for use in, for example, shell scripts. <p> <li>The <a href="postlog.1.html">postlog</a> command provides Postfix-compatible logging for shell scripts. <p> <li>The <a href="postmap.1.html">postmap</a> command maintains Postfix lookup tables such as <a href="canonical.5.html">canonical</a>, <a href="virtual.5.html">virtual</a> and others. It is a cousin of the UNIX <b>makemap</b> command. <p> <li>The <a href="postqueue.1.html">postqueue</a> command is the utility that is run by the <a href="sendmail.1.html">sendmail</a> command in order to flush or list the mail queue. <p> <li>The <a href="postsuper.1.html">postsuper</a> command maintains the Postfix queue. It removes old temporary files, and moves queue files into the right directory after a change in the hashing depth of queue directories. This command is run at mail system startup time. </ul> <hr> <a href="index.html">Up one level</a> | <a href="receiving.html">Receiving Mail</a> | <a href="delivering.html">Delivering Mail</a> | <a href="backstage.html">Behind the Scenes</a> | Command-line Utilities </body> </html>