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)