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1.TH EXIM 8
2.SH NAME
3exim \- a Mail Transfer Agent
4.SH SYNOPSIS
5.nf
6.B exim [options] arguments ...
7.B mailq [options] arguments ...
8.B rsmtp [options] arguments ...
9.B rmail [options] arguments ...
10.B runq [options] arguments ...
11.B newaliases [options] arguments ...
12.fi
13.
14.SH DESCRIPTION
15.rs
16.sp
17Exim is a mail transfer agent (MTA) developed at the University of Cambridge.
18It is a large program with very many facilities. For a full specification, see
19the reference manual. This man page contains only a description of the command
20line options. It has been automatically generated from the reference manual
21source, hopefully without too much mangling.
22.P
23Like other MTAs, Exim replaces Sendmail, and is normally called by user agents
24(MUAs) using the path \fI/usr/sbin/sendmail\fP when they submit messages for
25delivery (some operating systems use \fI/usr/lib/sendmail\fP). This path is
26normally set up as a symbolic link to the Exim binary. It may also be used by
27boot scripts to start the Exim daemon. Many of Exim's command line options are
28compatible with Sendmail so that it can act as a drop-in replacement.
29.
30.SH "DEFAULT ACTION"
31.rs
32.sp
33If no options are present that require a specific action (such as starting the
34daemon or a queue runner, testing an address, receiving a message in a specific
35format, or listing the queue), and there are no arguments on the command line,
36Exim outputs a brief message about itself and exits.
37.sp
38However, if there is at least one command line argument, \fB-bm\fR (accept a
39local message on the standard input, with the arguments specifying the
40recipients) is assumed. Thus, for example, if Exim is installed in
41\fI/usr/sbin\fP, you can send a message from the command line like this:
42.sp
43 /usr/sbin/exim -i <recipient-address(es)>
44 <message content, including all the header lines>
45 CTRL-D
46.sp
47The \fB-i\fP option prevents a line containing just a dot from terminating
48the message. Only an end-of-file (generated by typing CTRL-D if the input is
49from a terminal) does so.
50.
51.SH "SETTING OPTIONS BY PROGRAM NAME"
52.rs
53.sp
54If an Exim binary is called using one of the names listed in this section
55(typically via a symbolic link), certain options are assumed.
56.TP
57\fBmailq\fR
58Behave as if the option \fB\-bp\fP were present before any other options.
59The \fB\-bp\fP option requests a listing of the contents of the mail queue
60on the standard output.
61.TP
62\fBrsmtp\fR
63Behaves as if the option \fB\-bS\fP were present before any other options,
64for compatibility with Smail. The \fB\-bS\fP option is used for reading in a
65number of messages in batched SMTP format.
66.TP
67\fBrmail\fR
68Behave as if the \fB\-i\fP and \fB\-oee\fP options were present before
69any other options, for compatibility with Smail. The name \fBrmail\fR is used
70as an interface by some UUCP systems. The \fB\-i\fP option specifies that a
71dot on a line by itself does not terminate a non\-SMTP message; \fB\-oee\fP
72requests that errors detected in non\-SMTP messages be reported by emailing
73the sender.
74.TP
75\fBrunq\fR
76Behave as if the option \fB\-q\fP were present before any other options, for
77compatibility with Smail. The \fB\-q\fP option causes a single queue runner
78process to be started. It processes the queue once, then exits.
79.TP
80\fBnewaliases\fR
81Behave as if the option \fB\-bi\fP were present before any other options,
82for compatibility with Sendmail. This option is used for rebuilding Sendmail's
83alias file. Exim does not have the concept of a single alias file, but can be
84configured to run a specified command if called with the \fB\-bi\fP option.
85.
86.SH "OPTIONS"
87.rs
88.TP 10
89\fB\-\-\fP
90This is a pseudo\-option whose only purpose is to terminate the options and
91therefore to cause subsequent command line items to be treated as arguments
92rather than options, even if they begin with hyphens.
93.TP 10
94\fB\-\-help\fP
95This option causes Exim to output a few sentences stating what it is.
96The same output is generated if the Exim binary is called with no options and
97no arguments.
98.TP 10
99\fB\-\-version\fP
100This option is an alias for \fB\-bV\fP and causes version information to be
101displayed.
102.TP 10
103\fB\-Ac\fP
104\fB\-Am\fP
105These options are used by Sendmail for selecting configuration files and are
106ignored by Exim.
107.TP 10
108\fB\-B\fP<\fItype\fP>
109This is a Sendmail option for selecting 7 or 8 bit processing. Exim is 8\-bit
110clean; it ignores this option.
111.TP 10
112\fB\-bd\fP
113This option runs Exim as a daemon, awaiting incoming SMTP connections. Usually
114the \fB\-bd\fP option is combined with the \fB\-q\fP<\fItime\fP> option, to specify
115that the daemon should also initiate periodic queue runs.
116.sp
117The \fB\-bd\fP option can be used only by an admin user. If either of the \fB\-d\fP
118(debugging) or \fB\-v\fP (verifying) options are set, the daemon does not
119disconnect from the controlling terminal. When running this way, it can be
120stopped by pressing ctrl\-C.
121.sp
122By default, Exim listens for incoming connections to the standard SMTP port on
123all the host's running interfaces. However, it is possible to listen on other
124ports, on multiple ports, and only on specific interfaces.
125.sp
126When a listening daemon
127is started without the use of \fB\-oX\fP (that is, without overriding the normal
128configuration), it writes its process id to a file called exim\-daemon.pid
129in Exim's spool directory. This location can be overridden by setting
130PID_FILE_PATH in Local/Makefile. The file is written while Exim is still
131running as root.
132.sp
133When \fB\-oX\fP is used on the command line to start a listening daemon, the
134process id is not written to the normal pid file path. However, \fB\-oP\fP can be
135used to specify a path on the command line if a pid file is required.
136.sp
137The SIGHUP signal
138can be used to cause the daemon to re\-execute itself. This should be done
139whenever Exim's configuration file, or any file that is incorporated into it by
140means of the \fB.include\fP facility, is changed, and also whenever a new version
141of Exim is installed. It is not necessary to do this when other files that are
142referenced from the configuration (for example, alias files) are changed,
143because these are reread each time they are used.
144.TP 10
145\fB\-bdf\fP
146This option has the same effect as \fB\-bd\fP except that it never disconnects
147from the controlling terminal, even when no debugging is specified.
148.TP 10
149\fB\-be\fP
150Run Exim in expansion testing mode. Exim discards its root privilege, to
151prevent ordinary users from using this mode to read otherwise inaccessible
152files. If no arguments are given, Exim runs interactively, prompting for lines
153of data. Otherwise, it processes each argument in turn.
154.sp
155If Exim was built with USE_READLINE=yes in Local/Makefile, it tries
156to load the \fBlibreadline\fP library dynamically whenever the \fB\-be\fP option is
157used without command line arguments. If successful, it uses the readline()
158function, which provides extensive line\-editing facilities, for reading the
159test data. A line history is supported.
160.sp
161Long expansion expressions can be split over several lines by using backslash
162continuations. As in Exim's run time configuration, white space at the start of
163continuation lines is ignored. Each argument or data line is passed through the
164string expansion mechanism, and the result is output. Variable values from the
165configuration file (for example, \fI$qualify_domain\fP) are available, but no
166message\-specific values (such as \fI$sender_domain\fP) are set, because no message
167is being processed (but see \fB\-bem\fP and \fB\-Mset\fP).
168.sp
169\fBNote\fP: If you use this mechanism to test lookups, and you change the data
170files or databases you are using, you must exit and restart Exim before trying
171the same lookup again. Otherwise, because each Exim process caches the results
172of lookups, you will just get the same result as before.
173.TP 10
174\fB\-bem\fP <\fIfilename\fP>
175This option operates like \fB\-be\fP except that it must be followed by the name
176of a file. For example:
177.sp
178 exim \-bem /tmp/testmessage
179.sp
180The file is read as a message (as if receiving a locally\-submitted non\-SMTP
181message) before any of the test expansions are done. Thus, message\-specific
182variables such as \fI$message_size\fP and \fI$header_from:\fP are available. However,
183no \fIReceived:\fP header is added to the message. If the \fB\-t\fP option is set,
184recipients are read from the headers in the normal way, and are shown in the
185\fI$recipients\fP variable. Note that recipients cannot be given on the command
186line, because further arguments are taken as strings to expand (just like
187\fB\-be\fP).
188.TP 10
189\fB\-bF\fP <\fIfilename\fP>
190This option is the same as \fB\-bf\fP except that it assumes that the filter being
191tested is a system filter. The additional commands that are available only in
192system filters are recognized.
193.TP 10
194\fB\-bf\fP <\fIfilename\fP>
195This option runs Exim in user filter testing mode; the file is the filter file
196to be tested, and a test message must be supplied on the standard input. If
197there are no message\-dependent tests in the filter, an empty file can be
198supplied.
199.sp
200If you want to test a system filter file, use \fB\-bF\fP instead of \fB\-bf\fP. You
201can use both \fB\-bF\fP and \fB\-bf\fP on the same command, in order to test a system
202filter and a user filter in the same run. For example:
203.sp
204 exim \-bF /system/filter \-bf /user/filter </test/message
205.sp
206This is helpful when the system filter adds header lines or sets filter
207variables that are used by the user filter.
208.sp
209If the test filter file does not begin with one of the special lines
210.sp
211 # Exim filter
212 # Sieve filter
213.sp
214it is taken to be a normal .forward file, and is tested for validity under
215that interpretation.
216.sp
217The result of an Exim command that uses \fB\-bf\fP, provided no errors are
218detected, is a list of the actions that Exim would try to take if presented
219with the message for real. More details of filter testing are given in the
220separate document entitled \fIExim's interfaces to mail filtering\fP.
221.sp
222When testing a filter file,
223the envelope sender can be set by the \fB\-f\fP option,
224or by a "From " line at the start of the test message. Various parameters
225that would normally be taken from the envelope recipient address of the message
226can be set by means of additional command line options (see the next four
227options).
228.TP 10
229\fB\-bfd\fP <\fIdomain\fP>
230This sets the domain of the recipient address when a filter file is being
231tested by means of the \fB\-bf\fP option. The default is the value of
232\fI$qualify_domain\fP.
233.TP 10
234\fB\-bfl\fP <\fIlocal part\fP>
235This sets the local part of the recipient address when a filter file is being
236tested by means of the \fB\-bf\fP option. The default is the username of the
237process that calls Exim. A local part should be specified with any prefix or
238suffix stripped, because that is how it appears to the filter when a message is
239actually being delivered.
240.TP 10
241\fB\-bfp\fP <\fIprefix\fP>
242This sets the prefix of the local part of the recipient address when a filter
243file is being tested by means of the \fB\-bf\fP option. The default is an empty
244prefix.
245.TP 10
246\fB\-bfs\fP <\fIsuffix\fP>
247This sets the suffix of the local part of the recipient address when a filter
248file is being tested by means of the \fB\-bf\fP option. The default is an empty
249suffix.
250.TP 10
251\fB\-bh\fP <\fIIP address\fP>
252This option runs a fake SMTP session as if from the given IP address, using the
253standard input and output. The IP address may include a port number at the end,
254after a full stop. For example:
255.sp
256 exim \-bh 10.9.8.7.1234
257 exim \-bh fe80::a00:20ff:fe86:a061.5678
258.sp
259When an IPv6 address is given, it is converted into canonical form. In the case
260of the second example above, the value of \fI$sender_host_address\fP after
261conversion to the canonical form is
262fe80:0000:0000:0a00:20ff:fe86:a061.5678.
263.sp
264Comments as to what is going on are written to the standard error file. These
265include lines beginning with "LOG" for anything that would have been logged.
266This facility is provided for testing configuration options for incoming
267messages, to make sure they implement the required policy. For example, you can
268test your relay controls using \fB\-bh\fP.
269.sp
270\fBWarning 1\fP:
271You can test features of the configuration that rely on ident (RFC 1413)
272information by using the \fB\-oMt\fP option. However, Exim cannot actually perform
273an ident callout when testing using \fB\-bh\fP because there is no incoming SMTP
274connection.
275.sp
276\fBWarning 2\fP: Address verification callouts
277are also skipped when testing using \fB\-bh\fP. If you want these callouts to
278occur, use \fB\-bhc\fP instead.
279.sp
280Messages supplied during the testing session are discarded, and nothing is
281written to any of the real log files. There may be pauses when DNS (and other)
282lookups are taking place, and of course these may time out. The \fB\-oMi\fP option
283can be used to specify a specific IP interface and port if this is important,
284and \fB\-oMaa\fP and \fB\-oMai\fP can be used to set parameters as if the SMTP
285session were authenticated.
286.sp
287The \fIexim_checkaccess\fP utility is a "packaged" version of \fB\-bh\fP whose
288output just states whether a given recipient address from a given host is
289acceptable or not.
290.sp
291Features such as authentication and encryption, where the client input is not
292plain text, cannot easily be tested with \fB\-bh\fP. Instead, you should use a
293specialized SMTP test program such as
294\fBswaks\fP.
295.TP 10
296\fB\-bhc\fP <\fIIP address\fP>
297This option operates in the same way as \fB\-bh\fP, except that address
298verification callouts are performed if required. This includes consulting and
299updating the callout cache database.
300.TP 10
301\fB\-bi\fP
302Sendmail interprets the \fB\-bi\fP option as a request to rebuild its alias file.
303Exim does not have the concept of a single alias file, and so it cannot mimic
304this behaviour. However, calls to /usr/lib/sendmail with the \fB\-bi\fP option
305tend to appear in various scripts such as NIS make files, so the option must be
306recognized.
307.sp
308If \fB\-bi\fP is encountered, the command specified by the \fBbi_command\fP
309configuration option is run, under the uid and gid of the caller of Exim. If
310the \fB\-oA\fP option is used, its value is passed to the command as an argument.
311The command set by \fBbi_command\fP may not contain arguments. The command can
312use the \fIexim_dbmbuild\fP utility, or some other means, to rebuild alias files
313if this is required. If the \fBbi_command\fP option is not set, calling Exim with
314\fB\-bi\fP is a no\-op.
315.TP 10
316\fB\-bI:help\fP
317We shall provide various options starting \-bI: for querying Exim for
318information. The output of many of these will be intended for machine
319consumption. This one is not. The \fB\-bI:help\fP option asks Exim for a
320synopsis of supported options beginning \-bI:. Use of any of these
321options shall cause Exim to exit after producing the requested output.
322.TP 10
323\fB\-bI:dscp\fP
324This option causes Exim to emit an alphabetically sorted list of all
325recognised DSCP names.
326.TP 10
327\fB\-bI:sieve\fP
328This option causes Exim to emit an alphabetically sorted list of all supported
329Sieve protocol extensions on stdout, one per line. This is anticipated to be
330useful for ManageSieve (RFC 5804) implementations, in providing that protocol's
331SIEVE capability response line. As the precise list may depend upon
332compile\-time build options, which this option will adapt to, this is the only
333way to guarantee a correct response.
334.TP 10
335\fB\-bm\fP
336This option runs an Exim receiving process that accepts an incoming,
337locally\-generated message on the standard input. The recipients are given as the
338command arguments (except when \fB\-t\fP is also present \- see below). Each
339argument can be a comma\-separated list of RFC 2822 addresses. This is the
340default option for selecting the overall action of an Exim call; it is assumed
341if no other conflicting option is present.
342.sp
343If any addresses in the message are unqualified (have no domain), they are
344qualified by the values of the \fBqualify_domain\fP or \fBqualify_recipient\fP
345options, as appropriate. The \fB\-bnq\fP option (see below) provides a way of
346suppressing this for special cases.
347.sp
348Policy checks on the contents of local messages can be enforced by means of
349the non\-SMTP ACL.
350.sp
351The return code is zero if the message is successfully accepted. Otherwise, the
352action is controlled by the \fB\-oe\fP\fIx\fP option setting \- see below.
353.sp
354The format
355of the message must be as defined in RFC 2822, except that, for
356compatibility with Sendmail and Smail, a line in one of the forms
357.sp
358 From sender Fri Jan 5 12:55 GMT 1997
359 From sender Fri, 5 Jan 97 12:55:01
360.sp
361(with the weekday optional, and possibly with additional text after the date)
362is permitted to appear at the start of the message. There appears to be no
363authoritative specification of the format of this line. Exim recognizes it by
364matching against the regular expression defined by the \fBuucp_from_pattern\fP
365option, which can be changed if necessary.
366.sp
367The specified sender is treated as if it were given as the argument to the
368\fB\-f\fP option, but if a \fB\-f\fP option is also present, its argument is used in
369preference to the address taken from the message. The caller of Exim must be a
370trusted user for the sender of a message to be set in this way.
371.TP 10
372\fB\-bmalware\fP <\fIfilename\fP>
373This debugging option causes Exim to scan the given file,
374using the malware scanning framework. The option of \fBav_scanner\fP influences
375this option, so if \fBav_scanner\fP's value is dependent upon an expansion then
376the expansion should have defaults which apply to this invocation. ACLs are
377not invoked, so if \fBav_scanner\fP references an ACL variable then that variable
378will never be populated and \fB\-bmalware\fP will fail.
379.sp
380Exim will have changed working directory before resolving the filename, so
381using fully qualified pathnames is advisable. Exim will be running as the Exim
382user when it tries to open the file, rather than as the invoking user.
383This option requires admin privileges.
384.sp
385The \fB\-bmalware\fP option will not be extended to be more generally useful,
386there are better tools for file\-scanning. This option exists to help
387administrators verify their Exim and AV scanner configuration.
388.TP 10
389\fB\-bnq\fP
390By default, Exim automatically qualifies unqualified addresses (those
391without domains) that appear in messages that are submitted locally (that
392is, not over TCP/IP). This qualification applies both to addresses in
393envelopes, and addresses in header lines. Sender addresses are qualified using
394\fBqualify_domain\fP, and recipient addresses using \fBqualify_recipient\fP (which
395defaults to the value of \fBqualify_domain\fP).
396.sp
397Sometimes, qualification is not wanted. For example, if \fB\-bS\fP (batch SMTP) is
398being used to re\-submit messages that originally came from remote hosts after
399content scanning, you probably do not want to qualify unqualified addresses in
400header lines. (Such lines will be present only if you have not enabled a header
401syntax check in the appropriate ACL.)
402.sp
403The \fB\-bnq\fP option suppresses all qualification of unqualified addresses in
404messages that originate on the local host. When this is used, unqualified
405addresses in the envelope provoke errors (causing message rejection) and
406unqualified addresses in header lines are left alone.
407.TP 10
408\fB\-bP\fP
409If this option is given with no arguments, it causes the values of all Exim's
410main configuration options to be written to the standard output. The values
411of one or more specific options can be requested by giving their names as
412arguments, for example:
413.sp
414 exim \-bP qualify_domain hold_domains
415.sp
416However, any option setting that is preceded by the word "hide" in the
417configuration file is not shown in full, except to an admin user. For other
418users, the output is as in this example:
419.sp
420 mysql_servers = <value not displayable>
421.sp
422If \fBconfigure_file\fP is given as an argument, the name of the run time
423configuration file is output.
424If a list of configuration files was supplied, the value that is output here
425is the name of the file that was actually used.
426.sp
427If the \fB\-n\fP flag is given, then for most modes of \fB\-bP\fP operation the
428name will not be output.
429.sp
430If \fBlog_file_path\fP or \fBpid_file_path\fP are given, the names of the
431directories where log files and daemon pid files are written are output,
432respectively. If these values are unset, log files are written in a
433sub\-directory of the spool directory called \fBlog\fP, and the pid file is
434written directly into the spool directory.
435.sp
436If \fB\-bP\fP is followed by a name preceded by +, for example,
437.sp
438 exim \-bP +local_domains
439.sp
440it searches for a matching named list of any type (domain, host, address, or
441local part) and outputs what it finds.
442.sp
443If one of the words \fBrouter\fP, \fBtransport\fP, or \fBauthenticator\fP is given,
444followed by the name of an appropriate driver instance, the option settings for
445that driver are output. For example:
446.sp
447 exim \-bP transport local_delivery
448.sp
449The generic driver options are output first, followed by the driver's private
450options. A list of the names of drivers of a particular type can be obtained by
451using one of the words \fBrouter_list\fP, \fBtransport_list\fP, or
452\fBauthenticator_list\fP, and a complete list of all drivers with their option
453settings can be obtained by using \fBrouters\fP, \fBtransports\fP, or
454\fBauthenticators\fP.
455.sp
188b6fee
CE
456If \fBenvironment\fP is given as an argument, the set of environment
457variables is output, line by line. Using the \fB\-n\fP flag supresses the value of the
458variables.
459.sp
420a0d19
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460If invoked by an admin user, then \fBmacro\fP, \fBmacro_list\fP and \fBmacros\fP
461are available, similarly to the drivers. Because macros are sometimes used
462for storing passwords, this option is restricted.
463The output format is one item per line.
464.TP 10
465\fB\-bp\fP
466This option requests a listing of the contents of the mail queue on the
467standard output. If the \fB\-bp\fP option is followed by a list of message ids,
468just those messages are listed. By default, this option can be used only by an
469admin user. However, the \fBqueue_list_requires_admin\fP option can be set false
470to allow any user to see the queue.
471.sp
472Each message on the queue is displayed as in the following example:
473.sp
474 25m 2.9K 0t5C6f\-0000c8\-00 <alice@wonderland.fict.example>
475 red.king@looking\-glass.fict.example
476 <other addresses>
477.sp
478The first line contains the length of time the message has been on the queue
479(in this case 25 minutes), the size of the message (2.9K), the unique local
480identifier for the message, and the message sender, as contained in the
481envelope. For bounce messages, the sender address is empty, and appears as
482"<>". If the message was submitted locally by an untrusted user who overrode
483the default sender address, the user's login name is shown in parentheses
484before the sender address.
485.sp
486If the message is frozen (attempts to deliver it are suspended) then the text
487"*** frozen ***" is displayed at the end of this line.
488.sp
489The recipients of the message (taken from the envelope, not the headers) are
490displayed on subsequent lines. Those addresses to which the message has already
491been delivered are marked with the letter D. If an original address gets
492expanded into several addresses via an alias or forward file, the original is
493displayed with a D only when deliveries for all of its child addresses are
494complete.
495.TP 10
496\fB\-bpa\fP
497This option operates like \fB\-bp\fP, but in addition it shows delivered addresses
498that were generated from the original top level address(es) in each message by
499alias or forwarding operations. These addresses are flagged with "+D" instead
500of just "D".
501.TP 10
502\fB\-bpc\fP
503This option counts the number of messages on the queue, and writes the total
504to the standard output. It is restricted to admin users, unless
505\fBqueue_list_requires_admin\fP is set false.
506.TP 10
507\fB\-bpr\fP
508This option operates like \fB\-bp\fP, but the output is not sorted into
509chronological order of message arrival. This can speed it up when there are
510lots of messages on the queue, and is particularly useful if the output is
511going to be post\-processed in a way that doesn't need the sorting.
512.TP 10
513\fB\-bpra\fP
514This option is a combination of \fB\-bpr\fP and \fB\-bpa\fP.
515.TP 10
516\fB\-bpru\fP
517This option is a combination of \fB\-bpr\fP and \fB\-bpu\fP.
518.TP 10
519\fB\-bpu\fP
520This option operates like \fB\-bp\fP but shows only undelivered top\-level
521addresses for each message displayed. Addresses generated by aliasing or
522forwarding are not shown, unless the message was deferred after processing by a
523router with the \fBone_time\fP option set.
524.TP 10
525\fB\-brt\fP
526This option is for testing retry rules, and it must be followed by up to three
527arguments. It causes Exim to look for a retry rule that matches the values
528and to write it to the standard output. For example:
529.sp
530 exim \-brt bach.comp.mus.example
531 Retry rule: *.comp.mus.example F,2h,15m; F,4d,30m;
532.sp
533 The first
534argument, which is required, can be a complete address in the form
535\fIlocal_part@domain\fP, or it can be just a domain name. If the second argument
536contains a dot, it is interpreted as an optional second domain name; if no
537retry rule is found for the first argument, the second is tried. This ties in
538with Exim's behaviour when looking for retry rules for remote hosts \- if no
539rule is found that matches the host, one that matches the mail domain is
540sought. Finally, an argument that is the name of a specific delivery error, as
541used in setting up retry rules, can be given. For example:
542.sp
543 exim \-brt haydn.comp.mus.example quota_3d
544 Retry rule: *@haydn.comp.mus.example quota_3d F,1h,15m
545.TP 10
546\fB\-brw\fP
547This option is for testing address rewriting rules, and it must be followed by
548a single argument, consisting of either a local part without a domain, or a
549complete address with a fully qualified domain. Exim outputs how this address
550would be rewritten for each possible place it might appear.
551.TP 10
552\fB\-bS\fP
553This option is used for batched SMTP input, which is an alternative interface
554for non\-interactive local message submission. A number of messages can be
555submitted in a single run. However, despite its name, this is not really SMTP
556input. Exim reads each message's envelope from SMTP commands on the standard
557input, but generates no responses. If the caller is trusted, or
558\fBuntrusted_set_sender\fP is set, the senders in the SMTP MAIL commands are
559believed; otherwise the sender is always the caller of Exim.
560.sp
561The message itself is read from the standard input, in SMTP format (leading
562dots doubled), terminated by a line containing just a single dot. An error is
563provoked if the terminating dot is missing. A further message may then follow.
564.sp
565As for other local message submissions, the contents of incoming batch SMTP
566messages can be checked using the non\-SMTP ACL.
567Unqualified addresses are automatically qualified using \fBqualify_domain\fP and
568\fBqualify_recipient\fP, as appropriate, unless the \fB\-bnq\fP option is used.
569.sp
570Some other SMTP commands are recognized in the input. HELO and EHLO act
571as RSET; VRFY, EXPN, ETRN, and HELP act as NOOP;
572QUIT quits, ignoring the rest of the standard input.
573.sp
574If any error is encountered, reports are written to the standard output and
575error streams, and Exim gives up immediately. The return code is 0 if no error
576was detected; it is 1 if one or more messages were accepted before the error
577was detected; otherwise it is 2.
578.sp
579.TP 10
580\fB\-bs\fP
581This option causes Exim to accept one or more messages by reading SMTP commands
582on the standard input, and producing SMTP replies on the standard output. SMTP
583policy controls, as defined in ACLs are applied.
584Some user agents use this interface as a way of passing locally\-generated
585messages to the MTA.
586.sp
587In
588this usage, if the caller of Exim is trusted, or \fBuntrusted_set_sender\fP is
589set, the senders of messages are taken from the SMTP MAIL commands.
590Otherwise the content of these commands is ignored and the sender is set up as
591the calling user. Unqualified addresses are automatically qualified using
592\fBqualify_domain\fP and \fBqualify_recipient\fP, as appropriate, unless the
593\fB\-bnq\fP option is used.
594.sp
595The
596\fB\-bs\fP option is also used to run Exim from \fIinetd\fP, as an alternative to
597using a listening daemon. Exim can distinguish the two cases by checking
598whether the standard input is a TCP/IP socket. When Exim is called from
599\fIinetd\fP, the source of the mail is assumed to be remote, and the comments
600above concerning senders and qualification do not apply. In this situation,
601Exim behaves in exactly the same way as it does when receiving a message via
602the listening daemon.
603.TP 10
604\fB\-bt\fP
605This option runs Exim in address testing mode, in which each argument is taken
606as a recipient address to be tested for deliverability. The results are
607written to the standard output. If a test fails, and the caller is not an admin
608user, no details of the failure are output, because these might contain
609sensitive information such as usernames and passwords for database lookups.
610.sp
611If no arguments are given, Exim runs in an interactive manner, prompting with a
612right angle bracket for addresses to be tested.
613.sp
614Unlike the \fB\-be\fP test option, you cannot arrange for Exim to use the
615readline() function, because it is running as \fIroot\fP and there are
616security issues.
617.sp
618Each address is handled as if it were the recipient address of a message
619(compare the \fB\-bv\fP option). It is passed to the routers and the result is
620written to the standard output. However, any router that has
621\fBno_address_test\fP set is bypassed. This can make \fB\-bt\fP easier to use for
622genuine routing tests if your first router passes everything to a scanner
623program.
624.sp
625The return code is 2 if any address failed outright; it is 1 if no address
626failed outright but at least one could not be resolved for some reason. Return
627code 0 is given only when all addresses succeed.
628.sp
629\fBNote\fP: When actually delivering a message, Exim removes duplicate recipient
630addresses after routing is complete, so that only one delivery takes place.
631This does not happen when testing with \fB\-bt\fP; the full results of routing are
632always shown.
633.sp
634\fBWarning\fP: \fB\-bt\fP can only do relatively simple testing. If any of the
635routers in the configuration makes any tests on the sender address of a
636message,
637you can use the \fB\-f\fP option to set an appropriate sender when running
638\fB\-bt\fP tests. Without it, the sender is assumed to be the calling user at the
639default qualifying domain. However, if you have set up (for example) routers
640whose behaviour depends on the contents of an incoming message, you cannot test
641those conditions using \fB\-bt\fP. The \fB\-N\fP option provides a possible way of
642doing such tests.
643.TP 10
644\fB\-bV\fP
645This option causes Exim to write the current version number, compilation
646number, and compilation date of the \fIexim\fP binary to the standard output.
647It also lists the DBM library that is being used, the optional modules (such as
648specific lookup types), the drivers that are included in the binary, and the
649name of the run time configuration file that is in use.
650.sp
651As part of its operation, \fB\-bV\fP causes Exim to read and syntax check its
652configuration file. However, this is a static check only. It cannot check
653values that are to be expanded. For example, although a misspelt ACL verb is
654detected, an error in the verb's arguments is not. You cannot rely on \fB\-bV\fP
655alone to discover (for example) all the typos in the configuration; some
656realistic testing is needed. The \fB\-bh\fP and \fB\-N\fP options provide more
657dynamic testing facilities.
658.TP 10
659\fB\-bv\fP
660This option runs Exim in address verification mode, in which each argument is
661taken as a recipient address to be verified by the routers. (This does
662not involve any verification callouts). During normal operation, verification
663happens mostly as a consequence processing a \fBverify\fP condition in an ACL. If you want to test an entire ACL, possibly
664including callouts, see the \fB\-bh\fP and \fB\-bhc\fP options.
665.sp
666If verification fails, and the caller is not an admin user, no details of the
667failure are output, because these might contain sensitive information such as
668usernames and passwords for database lookups.
669.sp
670If no arguments are given, Exim runs in an interactive manner, prompting with a
671right angle bracket for addresses to be verified.
672.sp
673Unlike the \fB\-be\fP test option, you cannot arrange for Exim to use the
674readline() function, because it is running as \fIexim\fP and there are
675security issues.
676.sp
677Verification differs from address testing (the \fB\-bt\fP option) in that routers
678that have \fBno_verify\fP set are skipped, and if the address is accepted by a
679router that has \fBfail_verify\fP set, verification fails. The address is
680verified as a recipient if \fB\-bv\fP is used; to test verification for a sender
681address, \fB\-bvs\fP should be used.
682.sp
683If the \fB\-v\fP option is not set, the output consists of a single line for each
684address, stating whether it was verified or not, and giving a reason in the
685latter case. Without \fB\-v\fP, generating more than one address by redirection
686causes verification to end successfully, without considering the generated
687addresses. However, if just one address is generated, processing continues,
688and the generated address must verify successfully for the overall verification
689to succeed.
690.sp
691When \fB\-v\fP is set, more details are given of how the address has been handled,
692and in the case of address redirection, all the generated addresses are also
693considered. Verification may succeed for some and fail for others.
694.sp
695The
696return code is 2 if any address failed outright; it is 1 if no address
697failed outright but at least one could not be resolved for some reason. Return
698code 0 is given only when all addresses succeed.
699.sp
700If any of the routers in the configuration makes any tests on the sender
701address of a message, you should use the \fB\-f\fP option to set an appropriate
702sender when running \fB\-bv\fP tests. Without it, the sender is assumed to be the
703calling user at the default qualifying domain.
704.TP 10
705\fB\-bvs\fP
706This option acts like \fB\-bv\fP, but verifies the address as a sender rather
707than a recipient address. This affects any rewriting and qualification that
708might happen.
709.TP 10
710\fB\-bw\fP
711This option runs Exim as a daemon, awaiting incoming SMTP connections,
712similarly to the \fB\-bd\fP option. All port specifications on the command\-line
713and in the configuration file are ignored. Queue\-running may not be specified.
714.sp
715In this mode, Exim expects to be passed a socket as fd 0 (stdin) which is
716listening for connections. This permits the system to start up and have
717inetd (or equivalent) listen on the SMTP ports, starting an Exim daemon for
718each port only when the first connection is received.
719.sp
720If the option is given as \fB\-bw\fP<\fItime\fP> then the time is a timeout, after
721which the daemon will exit, which should cause inetd to listen once more.
722.TP 10
723\fB\-C\fP <\fIfilelist\fP>
724This option causes Exim to find the run time configuration file from the given
725list instead of from the list specified by the CONFIGURE_FILE
726compile\-time setting. Usually, the list will consist of just a single file
727name, but it can be a colon\-separated list of names. In this case, the first
728file that exists is used. Failure to open an existing file stops Exim from
729proceeding any further along the list, and an error is generated.
730.sp
188b6fee
CE
731The file names need to be absolute names.
732.sp
420a0d19
CE
733When this option is used by a caller other than root, and the list is different
734from the compiled\-in list, Exim gives up its root privilege immediately, and
735runs with the real and effective uid and gid set to those of the caller.
736However, if a TRUSTED_CONFIG_LIST file is defined in Local/Makefile, that
737file contains a list of full pathnames, one per line, for configuration files
738which are trusted. Root privilege is retained for any configuration file so
739listed, as long as the caller is the Exim user (or the user specified in the
740CONFIGURE_OWNER option, if any), and as long as the configuration file is
741not writeable by inappropriate users or groups.
742.sp
743Leaving TRUSTED_CONFIG_LIST unset precludes the possibility of testing a
744configuration using \fB\-C\fP right through message reception and delivery,
745even if the caller is root. The reception works, but by that time, Exim is
746running as the Exim user, so when it re\-executes to regain privilege for the
747delivery, the use of \fB\-C\fP causes privilege to be lost. However, root can
748test reception and delivery using two separate commands (one to put a message
749on the queue, using \fB\-odq\fP, and another to do the delivery, using \fB\-M\fP).
750.sp
751If ALT_CONFIG_PREFIX is defined in Local/Makefile, it specifies a
752prefix string with which any file named in a \fB\-C\fP command line option
753must start. In addition, the file name must not contain the sequence /../.
754However, if the value of the \fB\-C\fP option is identical to the value of
755CONFIGURE_FILE in Local/Makefile, Exim ignores \fB\-C\fP and proceeds as
756usual. There is no default setting for ALT_CONFIG_PREFIX; when it is
757unset, any file name can be used with \fB\-C\fP.
758.sp
759ALT_CONFIG_PREFIX can be used to confine alternative configuration files
760to a directory to which only root has access. This prevents someone who has
761broken into the Exim account from running a privileged Exim with an arbitrary
762configuration file.
763.sp
764The \fB\-C\fP facility is useful for ensuring that configuration files are
765syntactically correct, but cannot be used for test deliveries, unless the
766caller is privileged, or unless it is an exotic configuration that does not
767require privilege. No check is made on the owner or group of the files
768specified by this option.
769.TP 10
770\fB\-D\fP<\fImacro\fP>=<\fIvalue\fP>
771This option can be used to override macro definitions in the configuration file. However, like \fB\-C\fP, if it is used by an
772unprivileged caller, it causes Exim to give up its root privilege.
773If DISABLE_D_OPTION is defined in Local/Makefile, the use of \fB\-D\fP is
774completely disabled, and its use causes an immediate error exit.
775.sp
776If WHITELIST_D_MACROS is defined in Local/Makefile then it should be a
777colon\-separated list of macros which are considered safe and, if \fB\-D\fP only
778supplies macros from this list, and the values are acceptable, then Exim will
779not give up root privilege if the caller is root, the Exim run\-time user, or
780the CONFIGURE_OWNER, if set. This is a transition mechanism and is expected
781to be removed in the future. Acceptable values for the macros satisfy the
782regexp: ^[A\-Za\-z0\-9_/.\-]*$
783.sp
784The entire option (including equals sign if present) must all be within one
785command line item. \fB\-D\fP can be used to set the value of a macro to the empty
786string, in which case the equals sign is optional. These two commands are
787synonymous:
788.sp
789 exim \-DABC ...
790 exim \-DABC= ...
791.sp
792To include spaces in a macro definition item, quotes must be used. If you use
793quotes, spaces are permitted around the macro name and the equals sign. For
794example:
795.sp
796 exim '\-D ABC = something' ...
797.sp
798\fB\-D\fP may be repeated up to 10 times on a command line.
799.TP 10
800\fB\-d\fP<\fIdebug options\fP>
801This option causes debugging information to be written to the standard
802error stream. It is restricted to admin users because debugging output may show
803database queries that contain password information. Also, the details of users'
804filter files should be protected. If a non\-admin user uses \fB\-d\fP, Exim
805writes an error message to the standard error stream and exits with a non\-zero
806return code.
807.sp
808When \fB\-d\fP is used, \fB\-v\fP is assumed. If \fB\-d\fP is given on its own, a lot of
809standard debugging data is output. This can be reduced, or increased to include
810some more rarely needed information, by directly following \fB\-d\fP with a string
811made up of names preceded by plus or minus characters. These add or remove sets
812of debugging data, respectively. For example, \fB\-d+filter\fP adds filter
813debugging, whereas \fB\-d\-all+filter\fP selects only filter debugging. Note that
814no spaces are allowed in the debug setting. The available debugging categories
815are:
816.sp
817 acl ACL interpretation
818 auth authenticators
819 deliver general delivery logic
820 dns DNS lookups (see also resolver)
821 dnsbl DNS black list (aka RBL) code
822 exec arguments for execv() calls
823 expand detailed debugging for string expansions
824 filter filter handling
825 hints_lookup hints data lookups
826 host_lookup all types of name\-to\-IP address handling
827 ident ident lookup
828 interface lists of local interfaces
829 lists matching things in lists
830 load system load checks
831 local_scan can be used by local_scan()
832 lookup general lookup code and all lookups
833 memory memory handling
834 pid add pid to debug output lines
835 process_info setting info for the process log
836 queue_run queue runs
837 receive general message reception logic
838 resolver turn on the DNS resolver's debugging output
839 retry retry handling
840 rewrite address rewriting
841 route address routing
842 timestamp add timestamp to debug output lines
843 tls TLS logic
844 transport transports
845 uid changes of uid/gid and looking up uid/gid
846 verify address verification logic
847 all almost all of the above (see below), and also \fB\-v\fP
848.sp
849The all option excludes memory when used as +all, but includes it
850for \-all. The reason for this is that +all is something that people
851tend to use when generating debug output for Exim maintainers. If +memory
852is included, an awful lot of output that is very rarely of interest is
853generated, so it now has to be explicitly requested. However, \-all does
854turn everything off.
855.sp
856The resolver option produces output only if the DNS resolver was compiled
857with DEBUG enabled. This is not the case in some operating systems. Also,
858unfortunately, debugging output from the DNS resolver is written to stdout
859rather than stderr.
860.sp
861The default (\fB\-d\fP with no argument) omits expand, filter,
862interface, load, memory, pid, resolver, and timestamp.
863However, the pid selector is forced when debugging is turned on for a
864daemon, which then passes it on to any re\-executed Exims. Exim also
865automatically adds the pid to debug lines when several remote deliveries are
866run in parallel.
867.sp
868The timestamp selector causes the current time to be inserted at the start
869of all debug output lines. This can be useful when trying to track down delays
870in processing.
871.sp
872If the \fBdebug_print\fP option is set in any driver, it produces output whenever
873any debugging is selected, or if \fB\-v\fP is used.
874.TP 10
875\fB\-dd\fP<\fIdebug options\fP>
876This option behaves exactly like \fB\-d\fP except when used on a command that
877starts a daemon process. In that case, debugging is turned off for the
878subprocesses that the daemon creates. Thus, it is useful for monitoring the
879behaviour of the daemon without creating as much output as full debugging does.
880.TP 10
881\fB\-dropcr\fP
882This is an obsolete option that is now a no\-op. It used to affect the way Exim
883handled CR and LF characters in incoming messages.
884.TP 10
885\fB\-E\fP
886This option specifies that an incoming message is a locally\-generated delivery
887failure report. It is used internally by Exim when handling delivery failures
888and is not intended for external use. Its only effect is to stop Exim
889generating certain messages to the postmaster, as otherwise message cascades
890could occur in some situations. As part of the same option, a message id may
891follow the characters \fB\-E\fP. If it does, the log entry for the receipt of the
892new message contains the id, following "R=", as a cross\-reference.
893.TP 10
894\fB\-e\fP\fIx\fP
895There are a number of Sendmail options starting with \fB\-oe\fP which seem to be
896called by various programs without the leading \fBo\fP in the option. For
897example, the \fBvacation\fP program uses \fB\-eq\fP. Exim treats all options of the
898form \fB\-e\fP\fIx\fP as synonymous with the corresponding \fB\-oe\fP\fIx\fP options.
899.TP 10
900\fB\-F\fP <\fIstring\fP>
901This option sets the sender's full name for use when a locally\-generated
902message is being accepted. In the absence of this option, the user's \fIgecos\fP
903entry from the password data is used. As users are generally permitted to alter
904their \fIgecos\fP entries, no security considerations are involved. White space
905between \fB\-F\fP and the <\fIstring\fP> is optional.
906.TP 10
907\fB\-f\fP <\fIaddress\fP>
908This option sets the address of the envelope sender of a locally\-generated
909message (also known as the return path). The option can normally be used only
910by a trusted user, but \fBuntrusted_set_sender\fP can be set to allow untrusted
911users to use it.
912.sp
913Processes running as root or the Exim user are always trusted. Other
914trusted users are defined by the \fBtrusted_users\fP or \fBtrusted_groups\fP
915options. In the absence of \fB\-f\fP, or if the caller is not trusted, the sender
916of a local message is set to the caller's login name at the default qualify
917domain.
918.sp
919There is one exception to the restriction on the use of \fB\-f\fP: an empty sender
920can be specified by any user, trusted or not, to create a message that can
921never provoke a bounce. An empty sender can be specified either as an empty
922string, or as a pair of angle brackets with nothing between them, as in these
923examples of shell commands:
924.sp
925 exim \-f '<>' user@domain
926 exim \-f "" user@domain
927.sp
928In addition, the use of \fB\-f\fP is not restricted when testing a filter file
929with \fB\-bf\fP or when testing or verifying addresses using the \fB\-bt\fP or
930\fB\-bv\fP options.
931.sp
932Allowing untrusted users to change the sender address does not of itself make
933it possible to send anonymous mail. Exim still checks that the \fIFrom:\fP header
934refers to the local user, and if it does not, it adds a \fISender:\fP header,
935though this can be overridden by setting \fBno_local_from_check\fP.
936.sp
937White
938space between \fB\-f\fP and the <\fIaddress\fP> is optional (that is, they can be
939given as two arguments or one combined argument). The sender of a
940locally\-generated message can also be set (when permitted) by an initial
941"From " line in the message \- see the description of \fB\-bm\fP above \- but
942if \fB\-f\fP is also present, it overrides "From ".
943.TP 10
944\fB\-G\fP
945This option is equivalent to an ACL applying:
946.sp
947 control = suppress_local_fixups
948.sp
949for every message received. Note that Sendmail will complain about such
950bad formatting, where Exim silently just does not fix it up. This may change
951in future.
952.sp
953As this affects audit information, the caller must be a trusted user to use
954this option.
955.TP 10
956\fB\-h\fP <\fInumber\fP>
957This option is accepted for compatibility with Sendmail, but has no effect. (In
958Sendmail it overrides the "hop count" obtained by counting \fIReceived:\fP
959headers.)
960.TP 10
961\fB\-i\fP
962This option, which has the same effect as \fB\-oi\fP, specifies that a dot on a
963line by itself should not terminate an incoming, non\-SMTP message. I can find
964no documentation for this option in Solaris 2.4 Sendmail, but the \fImailx\fP
965command in Solaris 2.4 uses it. See also \fB\-ti\fP.
966.TP 10
967\fB\-L\fP <\fItag\fP>
968This option is equivalent to setting \fBsyslog_processname\fP in the config
969file and setting \fBlog_file_path\fP to syslog.
970Its use is restricted to administrators. The configuration file has to be
971read and parsed, to determine access rights, before this is set and takes
972effect, so early configuration file errors will not honour this flag.
973.sp
974The tag should not be longer than 32 characters.
975.TP 10
976\fB\-M\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
977This option requests Exim to run a delivery attempt on each message in turn. If
978any of the messages are frozen, they are automatically thawed before the
979delivery attempt. The settings of \fBqueue_domains\fP, \fBqueue_smtp_domains\fP,
980and \fBhold_domains\fP are ignored.
981.sp
982Retry
983hints for any of the addresses are overridden \- Exim tries to deliver even if
984the normal retry time has not yet been reached. This option requires the caller
985to be an admin user. However, there is an option called \fBprod_requires_admin\fP
986which can be set false to relax this restriction (and also the same requirement
987for the \fB\-q\fP, \fB\-R\fP, and \fB\-S\fP options).
988.sp
989The deliveries happen synchronously, that is, the original Exim process does
990not terminate until all the delivery attempts have finished. No output is
991produced unless there is a serious error. If you want to see what is happening,
992use the \fB\-v\fP option as well, or inspect Exim's main log.
993.TP 10
994\fB\-Mar\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fIaddress\fP> <\fIaddress\fP> ...
995This option requests Exim to add the addresses to the list of recipients of the
996message ("ar" for "add recipients"). The first argument must be a message
997id, and the remaining ones must be email addresses. However, if the message is
998active (in the middle of a delivery attempt), it is not altered. This option
999can be used only by an admin user.
1000.TP 10
1001\fB\-MC\fP <\fItransport\fP> <\fIhostname\fP> <\fIsequence number\fP> <\fImessage id\fP>
1002This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1003by Exim to invoke another instance of itself to deliver a waiting message using
1004an existing SMTP connection, which is passed as the standard input. This must be the final option, and the caller
1005must be root or the Exim user in order to use it.
1006.TP 10
1007\fB\-MCA\fP
1008This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1009by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option. It signifies that the
1010connection to the remote host has been authenticated.
1011.TP 10
1012\fB\-MCP\fP
1013This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1014by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option. It signifies that the server to
1015which Exim is connected supports pipelining.
1016.TP 10
1017\fB\-MCQ\fP <\fIprocess id\fP> <\fIpipe fd\fP>
1018This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1019by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option when the original delivery was
1020started by a queue runner. It passes on the process id of the queue runner,
1021together with the file descriptor number of an open pipe. Closure of the pipe
1022signals the final completion of the sequence of processes that are passing
1023messages through the same SMTP connection.
1024.TP 10
1025\fB\-MCS\fP
1026This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1027by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option, and passes on the fact that the
1028SMTP SIZE option should be used on messages delivered down the existing
1029connection.
1030.TP 10
1031\fB\-MCT\fP
1032This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1033by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option, and passes on the fact that the
1034host to which Exim is connected supports TLS encryption.
1035.TP 10
1036\fB\-Mc\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
1037This option requests Exim to run a delivery attempt on each message in turn,
1038but unlike the \fB\-M\fP option, it does check for retry hints, and respects any
1039that are found. This option is not very useful to external callers. It is
1040provided mainly for internal use by Exim when it needs to re\-invoke itself in
1041order to regain root privilege for a delivery.
1042However, \fB\-Mc\fP can be useful when testing, in order to run a delivery that
1043respects retry times and other options such as \fBhold_domains\fP that are
1044overridden when \fB\-M\fP is used. Such a delivery does not count as a queue run.
1045If you want to run a specific delivery as if in a queue run, you should use
1046\fB\-q\fP with a message id argument. A distinction between queue run deliveries
1047and other deliveries is made in one or two places.
1048.TP 10
1049\fB\-Mes\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fIaddress\fP>
1050This option requests Exim to change the sender address in the message to the
1051given address, which must be a fully qualified address or "<>" ("es" for
1052"edit sender"). There must be exactly two arguments. The first argument must
1053be a message id, and the second one an email address. However, if the message
1054is active (in the middle of a delivery attempt), its status is not altered.
1055This option can be used only by an admin user.
1056.TP 10
1057\fB\-Mf\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
1058This option requests Exim to mark each listed message as "frozen". This
1059prevents any delivery attempts taking place until the message is "thawed",
1060either manually or as a result of the \fBauto_thaw\fP configuration option.
1061However, if any of the messages are active (in the middle of a delivery
1062attempt), their status is not altered. This option can be used only by an admin
1063user.
1064.TP 10
1065\fB\-Mg\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
1066This option requests Exim to give up trying to deliver the listed messages,
1067including any that are frozen. However, if any of the messages are active,
1068their status is not altered. For non\-bounce messages, a delivery error message
1069is sent to the sender, containing the text "cancelled by administrator".
1070Bounce messages are just discarded. This option can be used only by an admin
1071user.
1072.TP 10
1073\fB\-Mmad\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
1074This option requests Exim to mark all the recipient addresses in the messages
1075as already delivered ("mad" for "mark all delivered"). However, if any
1076message is active (in the middle of a delivery attempt), its status is not
1077altered. This option can be used only by an admin user.
1078.TP 10
1079\fB\-Mmd\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fIaddress\fP> <\fIaddress\fP> ...
1080This option requests Exim to mark the given addresses as already delivered
1081("md" for "mark delivered"). The first argument must be a message id, and
1082the remaining ones must be email addresses. These are matched to recipient
1083addresses in the message in a case\-sensitive manner. If the message is active
1084(in the middle of a delivery attempt), its status is not altered. This option
1085can be used only by an admin user.
1086.TP 10
1087\fB\-Mrm\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
1088This option requests Exim to remove the given messages from the queue. No
1089bounce messages are sent; each message is simply forgotten. However, if any of
1090the messages are active, their status is not altered. This option can be used
1091only by an admin user or by the user who originally caused the message to be
1092placed on the queue.
1093.TP 10
1094\fB\-Mset\fP <\fImessage id\fP>
1095This option is useful only in conjunction with \fB\-be\fP (that is, when testing
1096string expansions). Exim loads the given message from its spool before doing
1097the test expansions, thus setting message\-specific variables such as
1098\fI$message_size\fP and the header variables. The \fI$recipients\fP variable is made
1099available. This feature is provided to make it easier to test expansions that
1100make use of these variables. However, this option can be used only by an admin
1101user. See also \fB\-bem\fP.
1102.TP 10
1103\fB\-Mt\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
1104This option requests Exim to "thaw" any of the listed messages that are
1105"frozen", so that delivery attempts can resume. However, if any of the
1106messages are active, their status is not altered. This option can be used only
1107by an admin user.
1108.TP 10
1109\fB\-Mvb\fP <\fImessage id\fP>
1110This option causes the contents of the message body (\-D) spool file to be
1111written to the standard output. This option can be used only by an admin user.
1112.TP 10
1113\fB\-Mvc\fP <\fImessage id\fP>
1114This option causes a copy of the complete message (header lines plus body) to
1115be written to the standard output in RFC 2822 format. This option can be used
1116only by an admin user.
1117.TP 10
1118\fB\-Mvh\fP <\fImessage id\fP>
1119This option causes the contents of the message headers (\-H) spool file to be
1120written to the standard output. This option can be used only by an admin user.
1121.TP 10
1122\fB\-Mvl\fP <\fImessage id\fP>
1123This option causes the contents of the message log spool file to be written to
1124the standard output. This option can be used only by an admin user.
1125.TP 10
1126\fB\-m\fP
1127This is apparently a synonym for \fB\-om\fP that is accepted by Sendmail, so Exim
1128treats it that way too.
1129.TP 10
1130\fB\-N\fP
1131This is a debugging option that inhibits delivery of a message at the transport
1132level. It implies \fB\-v\fP. Exim goes through many of the motions of delivery \-
1133it just doesn't actually transport the message, but instead behaves as if it
1134had successfully done so. However, it does not make any updates to the retry
1135database, and the log entries for deliveries are flagged with "*>" rather
1136than "=>".
1137.sp
1138Because \fB\-N\fP discards any message to which it applies, only root or the Exim
1139user are allowed to use it with \fB\-bd\fP, \fB\-q\fP, \fB\-R\fP or \fB\-M\fP. In other
1140words, an ordinary user can use it only when supplying an incoming message to
1141which it will apply. Although transportation never fails when \fB\-N\fP is set, an
1142address may be deferred because of a configuration problem on a transport, or a
1143routing problem. Once \fB\-N\fP has been used for a delivery attempt, it sticks to
1144the message, and applies to any subsequent delivery attempts that may happen
1145for that message.
1146.TP 10
1147\fB\-n\fP
1148This option is interpreted by Sendmail to mean "no aliasing".
1149For normal modes of operation, it is ignored by Exim.
1150When combined with \fB\-bP\fP it suppresses the name of an option from being output.
1151.TP 10
1152\fB\-O\fP <\fIdata\fP>
1153This option is interpreted by Sendmail to mean set option. It is ignored by
1154Exim.
1155.TP 10
1156\fB\-oA\fP <\fIfile name\fP>
1157This option is used by Sendmail in conjunction with \fB\-bi\fP to specify an
1158alternative alias file name. Exim handles \fB\-bi\fP differently; see the
1159description above.
1160.TP 10
1161\fB\-oB\fP <\fIn\fP>
1162This is a debugging option which limits the maximum number of messages that can
1163be delivered down one SMTP connection, overriding the value set in any smtp
1164transport. If <\fIn\fP> is omitted, the limit is set to 1.
1165.TP 10
1166\fB\-odb\fP
1167This option applies to all modes in which Exim accepts incoming messages,
1168including the listening daemon. It requests "background" delivery of such
1169messages, which means that the accepting process automatically starts a
1170delivery process for each message received, but does not wait for the delivery
1171processes to finish.
1172.sp
1173When all the messages have been received, the reception process exits,
1174leaving the delivery processes to finish in their own time. The standard output
1175and error streams are closed at the start of each delivery process.
1176This is the default action if none of the \fB\-od\fP options are present.
1177.sp
1178If one of the queueing options in the configuration file
1179(\fBqueue_only\fP or \fBqueue_only_file\fP, for example) is in effect, \fB\-odb\fP
1180overrides it if \fBqueue_only_override\fP is set true, which is the default
1181setting. If \fBqueue_only_override\fP is set false, \fB\-odb\fP has no effect.
1182.TP 10
1183\fB\-odf\fP
1184This option requests "foreground" (synchronous) delivery when Exim has
1185accepted a locally\-generated message. (For the daemon it is exactly the same as
1186\fB\-odb\fP.) A delivery process is automatically started to deliver the message,
1187and Exim waits for it to complete before proceeding.
1188.sp
1189The original Exim reception process does not finish until the delivery
1190process for the final message has ended. The standard error stream is left open
1191during deliveries.
1192.sp
1193However, like \fB\-odb\fP, this option has no effect if \fBqueue_only_override\fP is
1194false and one of the queueing options in the configuration file is in effect.
1195.sp
1196If there is a temporary delivery error during foreground delivery, the
1197message is left on the queue for later delivery, and the original reception
1198process exits.
1199.TP 10
1200\fB\-odi\fP
1201This option is synonymous with \fB\-odf\fP. It is provided for compatibility with
1202Sendmail.
1203.TP 10
1204\fB\-odq\fP
1205This option applies to all modes in which Exim accepts incoming messages,
1206including the listening daemon. It specifies that the accepting process should
1207not automatically start a delivery process for each message received. Messages
1208are placed on the queue, and remain there until a subsequent queue runner
1209process encounters them. There are several configuration options (such as
1210\fBqueue_only\fP) that can be used to queue incoming messages under certain
1211conditions. This option overrides all of them and also \fB\-odqs\fP. It always
1212forces queueing.
1213.TP 10
1214\fB\-odqs\fP
1215This option is a hybrid between \fB\-odb\fP/\fB\-odi\fP and \fB\-odq\fP.
1216However, like \fB\-odb\fP and \fB\-odi\fP, this option has no effect if
1217\fBqueue_only_override\fP is false and one of the queueing options in the
1218configuration file is in effect.
1219.sp
1220When \fB\-odqs\fP does operate, a delivery process is started for each incoming
1221message, in the background by default, but in the foreground if \fB\-odi\fP is
1222also present. The recipient addresses are routed, and local deliveries are done
1223in the normal way. However, if any SMTP deliveries are required, they are not
1224done at this time, so the message remains on the queue until a subsequent queue
1225runner process encounters it. Because routing was done, Exim knows which
1226messages are waiting for which hosts, and so a number of messages for the same
1227host can be sent in a single SMTP connection. The \fBqueue_smtp_domains\fP
1228configuration option has the same effect for specific domains. See also the
1229\fB\-qq\fP option.
1230.TP 10
1231\fB\-oee\fP
1232If an error is detected while a non\-SMTP message is being received (for
1233example, a malformed address), the error is reported to the sender in a mail
1234message.
1235.sp
1236Provided
1237this error message is successfully sent, the Exim receiving process
1238exits with a return code of zero. If not, the return code is 2 if the problem
1239is that the original message has no recipients, or 1 for any other error.
1240This is the default \fB\-oe\fP\fIx\fP option if Exim is called as \fIrmail\fP.
1241.TP 10
1242\fB\-oem\fP
1243This is the same as \fB\-oee\fP, except that Exim always exits with a non\-zero
1244return code, whether or not the error message was successfully sent.
1245This is the default \fB\-oe\fP\fIx\fP option, unless Exim is called as \fIrmail\fP.
1246.TP 10
1247\fB\-oep\fP
1248If an error is detected while a non\-SMTP message is being received, the
1249error is reported by writing a message to the standard error file (stderr).
1250The return code is 1 for all errors.
1251.TP 10
1252\fB\-oeq\fP
1253This option is supported for compatibility with Sendmail, but has the same
1254effect as \fB\-oep\fP.
1255.TP 10
1256\fB\-oew\fP
1257This option is supported for compatibility with Sendmail, but has the same
1258effect as \fB\-oem\fP.
1259.TP 10
1260\fB\-oi\fP
1261This option, which has the same effect as \fB\-i\fP, specifies that a dot on a
1262line by itself should not terminate an incoming, non\-SMTP message. Otherwise, a
1263single dot does terminate, though Exim does no special processing for other
1264lines that start with a dot. This option is set by default if Exim is called as
1265\fIrmail\fP. See also \fB\-ti\fP.
1266.TP 10
1267\fB\-oitrue\fP
1268This option is treated as synonymous with \fB\-oi\fP.
1269.TP 10
1270\fB\-oMa\fP <\fIhost address\fP>
1271A number of options starting with \fB\-oM\fP can be used to set values associated
1272with remote hosts on locally\-submitted messages (that is, messages not received
1273over TCP/IP). These options can be used by any caller in conjunction with the
1274\fB\-bh\fP, \fB\-be\fP, \fB\-bf\fP, \fB\-bF\fP, \fB\-bt\fP, or \fB\-bv\fP testing options. In
1275other circumstances, they are ignored unless the caller is trusted.
1276.sp
1277The \fB\-oMa\fP option sets the sender host address. This may include a port
1278number at the end, after a full stop (period). For example:
1279.sp
1280 exim \-bs \-oMa 10.9.8.7.1234
1281.sp
1282An alternative syntax is to enclose the IP address in square brackets,
1283followed by a colon and the port number:
1284.sp
1285 exim \-bs \-oMa [10.9.8.7]:1234
1286.sp
1287The IP address is placed in the \fI$sender_host_address\fP variable, and the
1288port, if present, in \fI$sender_host_port\fP. If both \fB\-oMa\fP and \fB\-bh\fP
1289are present on the command line, the sender host IP address is taken from
1290whichever one is last.
1291.TP 10
1292\fB\-oMaa\fP <\fIname\fP>
1293See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMaa\fP
1294option sets the value of \fI$sender_host_authenticated\fP (the authenticator
1295name).
1296This option can be used with \fB\-bh\fP and \fB\-bs\fP to set up an
1297authenticated SMTP session without actually using the SMTP AUTH command.
1298.TP 10
1299\fB\-oMai\fP <\fIstring\fP>
1300See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMai\fP
1301option sets the value of \fI$authenticated_id\fP (the id that was authenticated).
1302This overrides the default value (the caller's login id, except with \fB\-bh\fP,
1303where there is no default) for messages from local sources.
1304.TP 10
1305\fB\-oMas\fP <\fIaddress\fP>
1306See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMas\fP
1307option sets the authenticated sender value in \fI$authenticated_sender\fP. It
1308overrides the sender address that is created from the caller's login id for
1309messages from local sources, except when \fB\-bh\fP is used, when there is no
1310default. For both \fB\-bh\fP and \fB\-bs\fP, an authenticated sender that is
1311specified on a MAIL command overrides this value.
1312.TP 10
1313\fB\-oMi\fP <\fIinterface address\fP>
1314See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMi\fP
1315option sets the IP interface address value. A port number may be included,
1316using the same syntax as for \fB\-oMa\fP. The interface address is placed in
1317\fI$received_ip_address\fP and the port number, if present, in \fI$received_port\fP.
1318.TP 10
1319\fB\-oMm\fP <\fImessage reference\fP>
1320See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMm\fP
1321option sets the message reference, e.g. message\-id, and is logged during
1322delivery. This is useful when some kind of audit trail is required to tie
1323messages together. The format of the message reference is checked and will
1324abort if the format is invalid. The option will only be accepted if exim is
1325running in trusted mode, not as any regular user.
1326.sp
1327The best example of a message reference is when Exim sends a bounce message.
1328The message reference is the message\-id of the original message for which Exim
1329is sending the bounce.
1330.TP 10
1331\fB\-oMr\fP <\fIprotocol name\fP>
1332See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMr\fP
1333option sets the received protocol value that is stored in
1334\fI$received_protocol\fP. However, it does not apply (and is ignored) when \fB\-bh\fP
1335or \fB\-bs\fP is used. For \fB\-bh\fP, the protocol is forced to one of the standard
1336SMTP protocol names. For \fB\-bs\fP, the protocol is always "local\-" followed by
1337one of those same names. For \fB\-bS\fP (batched SMTP) however, the protocol can
1338be set by \fB\-oMr\fP.
1339.TP 10
1340\fB\-oMs\fP <\fIhost name\fP>
1341See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMs\fP
1342option sets the sender host name in \fI$sender_host_name\fP. When this option is
1343present, Exim does not attempt to look up a host name from an IP address; it
1344uses the name it is given.
1345.TP 10
1346\fB\-oMt\fP <\fIident string\fP>
1347See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMt\fP
1348option sets the sender ident value in \fI$sender_ident\fP. The default setting for
1349local callers is the login id of the calling process, except when \fB\-bh\fP is
1350used, when there is no default.
1351.TP 10
1352\fB\-om\fP
1353In Sendmail, this option means "me too", indicating that the sender of a
1354message should receive a copy of the message if the sender appears in an alias
1355expansion. Exim always does this, so the option does nothing.
1356.TP 10
1357\fB\-oo\fP
1358This option is ignored. In Sendmail it specifies "old style headers",
1359whatever that means.
1360.TP 10
1361\fB\-oP\fP <\fIpath\fP>
1362This option is useful only in conjunction with \fB\-bd\fP or \fB\-q\fP with a time
1363value. The option specifies the file to which the process id of the daemon is
1364written. When \fB\-oX\fP is used with \fB\-bd\fP, or when \fB\-q\fP with a time is used
1365without \fB\-bd\fP, this is the only way of causing Exim to write a pid file,
1366because in those cases, the normal pid file is not used.
1367.TP 10
1368\fB\-or\fP <\fItime\fP>
1369This option sets a timeout value for incoming non\-SMTP messages. If it is not
1370set, Exim will wait forever for the standard input. The value can also be set
1371by the \fBreceive_timeout\fP option.
1372.TP 10
1373\fB\-os\fP <\fItime\fP>
1374This option sets a timeout value for incoming SMTP messages. The timeout
1375applies to each SMTP command and block of data. The value can also be set by
1376the \fBsmtp_receive_timeout\fP option; it defaults to 5 minutes.
1377.TP 10
1378\fB\-ov\fP
1379This option has exactly the same effect as \fB\-v\fP.
1380.TP 10
1381\fB\-oX\fP <\fInumber or string\fP>
1382This option is relevant only when the \fB\-bd\fP (start listening daemon) option
1383is also given. It controls which ports and interfaces the daemon uses. When \fB\-oX\fP is used to start a daemon, no pid
1384file is written unless \fB\-oP\fP is also present to specify a pid file name.
1385.TP 10
1386\fB\-pd\fP
1387This option applies when an embedded Perl interpreter is linked with Exim. It overrides the setting of the \fBperl_at_start\fP
1388option, forcing the starting of the interpreter to be delayed until it is
1389needed.
1390.TP 10
1391\fB\-ps\fP
1392This option applies when an embedded Perl interpreter is linked with Exim. It overrides the setting of the \fBperl_at_start\fP
1393option, forcing the starting of the interpreter to occur as soon as Exim is
1394started.
1395.TP 10
1396\fB\-p\fP<\fIrval\fP>:<\fIsval\fP>
1397For compatibility with Sendmail, this option is equivalent to
1398.sp
1399 \-oMr <\fIrval\fP> \-oMs <\fIsval\fP>
1400.sp
1401It sets the incoming protocol and host name (for trusted callers). The
1402host name and its colon can be omitted when only the protocol is to be set.
1403Note the Exim already has two private options, \fB\-pd\fP and \fB\-ps\fP, that refer
1404to embedded Perl. It is therefore impossible to set a protocol value of d
1405or s using this option (but that does not seem a real limitation).
1406.TP 10
1407\fB\-q\fP
1408This option is normally restricted to admin users. However, there is a
1409configuration option called \fBprod_requires_admin\fP which can be set false to
1410relax this restriction (and also the same requirement for the \fB\-M\fP, \fB\-R\fP,
1411and \fB\-S\fP options).
1412.sp
1413The \fB\-q\fP option starts one queue runner process. This scans the queue of
1414waiting messages, and runs a delivery process for each one in turn. It waits
1415for each delivery process to finish before starting the next one. A delivery
1416process may not actually do any deliveries if the retry times for the addresses
1417have not been reached. Use \fB\-qf\fP (see below) if you want to override this.
1418.sp
1419If
1420the delivery process spawns other processes to deliver other messages down
1421passed SMTP connections, the queue runner waits for these to finish before
1422proceeding.
1423.sp
1424When all the queued messages have been considered, the original queue runner
1425process terminates. In other words, a single pass is made over the waiting
1426mail, one message at a time. Use \fB\-q\fP with a time (see below) if you want
1427this to be repeated periodically.
1428.sp
1429Exim processes the waiting messages in an unpredictable order. It isn't very
1430random, but it is likely to be different each time, which is all that matters.
1431If one particular message screws up a remote MTA, other messages to the same
1432MTA have a chance of getting through if they get tried first.
1433.sp
1434It is possible to cause the messages to be processed in lexical message id
1435order, which is essentially the order in which they arrived, by setting the
1436\fBqueue_run_in_order\fP option, but this is not recommended for normal use.
1437.TP 10
1438\fB\-q\fP<\fIqflags\fP>
1439The \fB\-q\fP option may be followed by one or more flag letters that change its
1440behaviour. They are all optional, but if more than one is present, they must
1441appear in the correct order. Each flag is described in a separate item below.
1442.TP 10
1443\fB\-qq...\fP
1444An option starting with \fB\-qq\fP requests a two\-stage queue run. In the first
1445stage, the queue is scanned as if the \fBqueue_smtp_domains\fP option matched
1446every domain. Addresses are routed, local deliveries happen, but no remote
1447transports are run.
1448.sp
1449The hints database that remembers which messages are waiting for specific hosts
1450is updated, as if delivery to those hosts had been deferred. After this is
1451complete, a second, normal queue scan happens, with routing and delivery taking
1452place as normal. Messages that are routed to the same host should mostly be
1453delivered down a single SMTP
1454connection because of the hints that were set up during the first queue scan.
1455This option may be useful for hosts that are connected to the Internet
1456intermittently.
1457.TP 10
1458\fB\-q[q]i...\fP
1459If the \fIi\fP flag is present, the queue runner runs delivery processes only for
1460those messages that haven't previously been tried. (\fIi\fP stands for "initial
1461delivery".) This can be helpful if you are putting messages on the queue using
1462\fB\-odq\fP and want a queue runner just to process the new messages.
1463.TP 10
1464\fB\-q[q][i]f...\fP
1465If one \fIf\fP flag is present, a delivery attempt is forced for each non\-frozen
1466message, whereas without \fIf\fP only those non\-frozen addresses that have passed
1467their retry times are tried.
1468.TP 10
1469\fB\-q[q][i]ff...\fP
1470If \fIff\fP is present, a delivery attempt is forced for every message, whether
1471frozen or not.
1472.TP 10
1473\fB\-q[q][i][f[f]]l\fP
1474The \fIl\fP (the letter "ell") flag specifies that only local deliveries are to
1475be done. If a message requires any remote deliveries, it remains on the queue
1476for later delivery.
1477.TP 10
1478\fB\-q\fP<\fIqflags\fP> <\fIstart id\fP> <\fIend id\fP>
1479When scanning the queue, Exim can be made to skip over messages whose ids are
1480lexically less than a given value by following the \fB\-q\fP option with a
1481starting message id. For example:
1482.sp
1483 exim \-q 0t5C6f\-0000c8\-00
1484.sp
1485Messages that arrived earlier than 0t5C6f\-0000c8\-00 are not inspected. If a
1486second message id is given, messages whose ids are lexically greater than it
1487are also skipped. If the same id is given twice, for example,
1488.sp
1489 exim \-q 0t5C6f\-0000c8\-00 0t5C6f\-0000c8\-00
1490.sp
1491just one delivery process is started, for that message. This differs from
1492\fB\-M\fP in that retry data is respected, and it also differs from \fB\-Mc\fP in
1493that it counts as a delivery from a queue run. Note that the selection
1494mechanism does not affect the order in which the messages are scanned. There
1495are also other ways of selecting specific sets of messages for delivery in a
1496queue run \- see \fB\-R\fP and \fB\-S\fP.
1497.TP 10
1498\fB\-q\fP<\fIqflags\fP><\fItime\fP>
1499When a time value is present, the \fB\-q\fP option causes Exim to run as a daemon,
1500starting a queue runner process at intervals specified by the given time value. This form of the
1501\fB\-q\fP option is commonly combined with the \fB\-bd\fP option, in which case a
1502single daemon process handles both functions. A common way of starting up a
1503combined daemon at system boot time is to use a command such as
1504.sp
1505 /usr/exim/bin/exim \-bd \-q30m
1506.sp
1507Such a daemon listens for incoming SMTP calls, and also starts a queue runner
1508process every 30 minutes.
1509.sp
1510When a daemon is started by \fB\-q\fP with a time value, but without \fB\-bd\fP, no
1511pid file is written unless one is explicitly requested by the \fB\-oP\fP option.
1512.TP 10
1513\fB\-qR\fP<\fIrsflags\fP> <\fIstring\fP>
1514This option is synonymous with \fB\-R\fP. It is provided for Sendmail
1515compatibility.
1516.TP 10
1517\fB\-qS\fP<\fIrsflags\fP> <\fIstring\fP>
1518This option is synonymous with \fB\-S\fP.
1519.TP 10
1520\fB\-R\fP<\fIrsflags\fP> <\fIstring\fP>
1521The <\fIrsflags\fP> may be empty, in which case the white space before the string
1522is optional, unless the string is \fIf\fP, \fIff\fP, \fIr\fP, \fIrf\fP, or \fIrff\fP,
1523which are the possible values for <\fIrsflags\fP>. White space is required if
1524<\fIrsflags\fP> is not empty.
1525.sp
1526This option is similar to \fB\-q\fP with no time value, that is, it causes Exim to
1527perform a single queue run, except that, when scanning the messages on the
1528queue, Exim processes only those that have at least one undelivered recipient
1529address containing the given string, which is checked in a case\-independent
1530way. If the <\fIrsflags\fP> start with \fIr\fP, <\fIstring\fP> is interpreted as a
1531regular expression; otherwise it is a literal string.
1532.sp
1533If you want to do periodic queue runs for messages with specific recipients,
1534you can combine \fB\-R\fP with \fB\-q\fP and a time value. For example:
1535.sp
1536 exim \-q25m \-R @special.domain.example
1537.sp
1538This example does a queue run for messages with recipients in the given domain
1539every 25 minutes. Any additional flags that are specified with \fB\-q\fP are
1540applied to each queue run.
1541.sp
1542Once a message is selected for delivery by this mechanism, all its addresses
1543are processed. For the first selected message, Exim overrides any retry
1544information and forces a delivery attempt for each undelivered address. This
1545means that if delivery of any address in the first message is successful, any
1546existing retry information is deleted, and so delivery attempts for that
1547address in subsequently selected messages (which are processed without forcing)
1548will run. However, if delivery of any address does not succeed, the retry
1549information is updated, and in subsequently selected messages, the failing
1550address will be skipped.
1551.sp
1552If the <\fIrsflags\fP> contain \fIf\fP or \fIff\fP, the delivery forcing applies to
1553all selected messages, not just the first; frozen messages are included when
1554\fIff\fP is present.
1555.sp
1556The \fB\-R\fP option makes it straightforward to initiate delivery of all messages
1557to a given domain after a host has been down for some time. When the SMTP
1558command ETRN is accepted by its ACL, its default
1559effect is to run Exim with the \fB\-R\fP option, but it can be configured to run
1560an arbitrary command instead.
1561.TP 10
1562\fB\-r\fP
1563This is a documented (for Sendmail) obsolete alternative name for \fB\-f\fP.
1564.TP 10
1565\fB\-S\fP<\fIrsflags\fP> <\fIstring\fP>
1566This option acts like \fB\-R\fP except that it checks the string against each
1567message's sender instead of against the recipients. If \fB\-R\fP is also set, both
1568conditions must be met for a message to be selected. If either of the options
1569has \fIf\fP or \fIff\fP in its flags, the associated action is taken.
1570.TP 10
1571\fB\-Tqt\fP <\fItimes\fP>
1572This is an option that is exclusively for use by the Exim testing suite. It is not
1573recognized when Exim is run normally. It allows for the setting up of explicit
1574"queue times" so that various warning/retry features can be tested.
1575.TP 10
1576\fB\-t\fP
1577When Exim is receiving a locally\-generated, non\-SMTP message on its standard
1578input, the \fB\-t\fP option causes the recipients of the message to be obtained
1579from the \fITo:\fP, \fICc:\fP, and \fIBcc:\fP header lines in the message instead of
1580from the command arguments. The addresses are extracted before any rewriting
1581takes place and the \fIBcc:\fP header line, if present, is then removed.
1582.sp
1583If the command has any arguments, they specify addresses to which the message
1584is \fInot\fP to be delivered. That is, the argument addresses are removed from
1585the recipients list obtained from the headers. This is compatible with Smail 3
1586and in accordance with the documented behaviour of several versions of
1587Sendmail, as described in man pages on a number of operating systems (e.g.
1588Solaris 8, IRIX 6.5, HP\-UX 11). However, some versions of Sendmail \fIadd\fP
1589argument addresses to those obtained from the headers, and the O'Reilly
1590Sendmail book documents it that way. Exim can be made to add argument addresses
1591instead of subtracting them by setting the option
1592\fBextract_addresses_remove_arguments\fP false.
1593.sp
1594If there are any \fBResent\-\fP header lines in the message, Exim extracts
1595recipients from all \fIResent\-To:\fP, \fIResent\-Cc:\fP, and \fIResent\-Bcc:\fP header
1596lines instead of from \fITo:\fP, \fICc:\fP, and \fIBcc:\fP. This is for compatibility
1597with Sendmail and other MTAs. (Prior to release 4.20, Exim gave an error if
1598\fB\-t\fP was used in conjunction with \fBResent\-\fP header lines.)
1599.sp
1600RFC 2822 talks about different sets of \fBResent\-\fP header lines (for when a
1601message is resent several times). The RFC also specifies that they should be
1602added at the front of the message, and separated by \fIReceived:\fP lines. It is
1603not at all clear how \fB\-t\fP should operate in the present of multiple sets,
1604nor indeed exactly what constitutes a "set".
1605In practice, it seems that MUAs do not follow the RFC. The \fBResent\-\fP lines
1606are often added at the end of the header, and if a message is resent more than
1607once, it is common for the original set of \fBResent\-\fP headers to be renamed as
1608\fBX\-Resent\-\fP when a new set is added. This removes any possible ambiguity.
1609.TP 10
1610\fB\-ti\fP
1611This option is exactly equivalent to \fB\-t\fP \fB\-i\fP. It is provided for
1612compatibility with Sendmail.
1613.TP 10
1614\fB\-tls\-on\-connect\fP
1615This option is available when Exim is compiled with TLS support. It forces all
1616incoming SMTP connections to behave as if the incoming port is listed in the
1617\fBtls_on_connect_ports\fP option.
1618.TP 10
1619\fB\-U\fP
1620Sendmail uses this option for "initial message submission", and its
1621documentation states that in future releases, it may complain about
1622syntactically invalid messages rather than fixing them when this flag is not
1623set. Exim ignores this option.
1624.TP 10
1625\fB\-v\fP
1626This option causes Exim to write information to the standard error stream,
1627describing what it is doing. In particular, it shows the log lines for
1628receiving and delivering a message, and if an SMTP connection is made, the SMTP
1629dialogue is shown. Some of the log lines shown may not actually be written to
1630the log if the setting of \fBlog_selector\fP discards them. Any relevant
1631selectors are shown with each log line. If none are shown, the logging is
1632unconditional.
1633.TP 10
1634\fB\-x\fP
1635AIX uses \fB\-x\fP for a private purpose ("mail from a local mail program has
1636National Language Support extended characters in the body of the mail item").
1637It sets \fB\-x\fP when calling the MTA from its \fBmail\fP command. Exim ignores
1638this option.
1639.TP 10
1640\fB\-X\fP <\fIlogfile\fP>
1641This option is interpreted by Sendmail to cause debug information to be sent
1642to the named file. It is ignored by Exim.
1643.sp
1644.
1645.SH "SEE ALSO"
1646.rs
1647.sp
1648The full Exim specification, the Exim book, and the Exim wiki.