    POSTSUPER(1)                                         POSTSUPER(1)

    NAME
           postsuper - Postfix superintendent

    SYNOPSIS
           postsuper [-psv] [-c config_dir] [-d queue_id] [-h
           queue_id] [-H queue_id] [-r queue_id] [directory ...]

    DESCRIPTION
           The postsuper command does maintenance jobs on the Postfix
           queue.  Use of the command is restricted to the superuser.
           See the postqueue command for  unprivileged  queue  opera-
           tions such as listing or flushing the mail queue.

           By  default,  postsuper  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).  If a queue_id of - is speci-
                  fied,  the  program  reads  queue IDs from standard
                  input. For example, to delete all mail from  or  to
                  user@example.com:

                  mailq | tail +2 | awk  'BEGIN { RS = "" } \
                      / user@example\.com$/ { print $1 } \
                  ' | tr -d '*!' | postsuper -d -

                  Specify -d ALL to remove all messages; for example,
                  specify -d ALL  deferred  to  delete  mail  in  the
                  deferred  queue.  As a safety measure, the word ALL
                  must be specified in upper case.

                  Postfix queue IDs are  reused.   There  is  a  very
                  small  possibility that postsuper deletes the wrong
                  message file when it is executed while the  Postfix
                  mail system is running.

                  The scenario is as follows:

                  1)     The  Postfix  queue manager deletes the mes-
                         sage that postsuper is supposed  to  delete,
                         because  Postfix  is  finished with the mes-
                         sage.

                  2)     New mail arrives, and  the  new  message  is
                         given  the same queue ID as the message that
                         postsuper is supposed to delete.  The proba-
                         bility  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 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.  If a
                  queue_id of - is specified, the program reads queue
                  IDs from standard input.

                  Specify  -h  ALL to hold all messages; for example,
                  specify  -h  ALL  deferred  to  hold  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 maxi-
                  mal_queue_lifetime  or  bounce_queue_lifetime  set-
                  ting.  It becomes subject to expiration after it is
                  released from "hold".

           -H queue_id
                  Release mail that was put "on hold".  Move one mes-
                  sage  with  the  named queue ID from the named mail
                  queue(s) (default: hold) to the deferred queue.  If
                  a  queue_id  of  -  is specified, the program reads
                  queue IDs from standard input.

                  Specify -H ALL to release  all  mail  that  is  "on
                  hold".   As  a safety measure, the word ALL must be
                  specified in upper case.

           -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 mes-
                  sages, specify multiple  -r  command-line  options.
                  Alternatively, if a queue_id of - is specified, the
                  program reads 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 daemon to a
                  new file whose name is guaranteed to match the  new
                  queue file inode number. The new queue file is sub-
                  jected again to mail address rewriting and  substi-
                  tution. This is useful when rewriting rules or vir-
                  tual mappings have changed.

                  Postfix queue IDs are  reused.   There  is  a  very
                  small possibility that postsuper requeues the wrong
                  message file when it is executed while the  Postfix
                  mail system is running, but no harm should be done.

           -s     Structure check and structure repair.  It is highly
                  recommended  to  perform this operation 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 media.

                  o      Move queue files that are in the wrong place
                         in the file system hierarchy and remove sub-
                         directories that are no longer needed.  File
                         position rearrangements are necessary  after
                         a  change  in  the  hash_queue_names  and/or
                         hash_queue_depth configuration parameters.

           -v     Enable verbose logging for debugging purposes. Mul-
                  tiple  -v  options  make  the software increasingly
                  verbose.

    DIAGNOSTICS
           Problems are reported to the standard error stream and  to
           syslogd.

           postsuper  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 sys-
           logd.

    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
           See the Postfix main.cf file for syntax  details  and  for
           default values.

           hash_queue_depth
                  Number of subdirectory levels for hashed queues.

           hash_queue_names
                  The  names of queues that are organized into multi-
                  ple levels of subdirectories.

           queue_directory
                  Top-level directory of the Postfix queue.  This  is
                  also the root directory of Postfix daemons that run
                  chrooted.

    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

                                                         POSTSUPER(1)