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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
456If invoked by an admin user, then \fBmacro\fP, \fBmacro_list\fP and \fBmacros\fP
457are available, similarly to the drivers. Because macros are sometimes used
458for storing passwords, this option is restricted.
459The output format is one item per line.
460.TP 10
461\fB\-bp\fP
462This option requests a listing of the contents of the mail queue on the
463standard output. If the \fB\-bp\fP option is followed by a list of message ids,
464just those messages are listed. By default, this option can be used only by an
465admin user. However, the \fBqueue_list_requires_admin\fP option can be set false
466to allow any user to see the queue.
467.sp
468Each message on the queue is displayed as in the following example:
469.sp
470 25m 2.9K 0t5C6f\-0000c8\-00 <alice@wonderland.fict.example>
471 red.king@looking\-glass.fict.example
472 <other addresses>
473.sp
474The first line contains the length of time the message has been on the queue
475(in this case 25 minutes), the size of the message (2.9K), the unique local
476identifier for the message, and the message sender, as contained in the
477envelope. For bounce messages, the sender address is empty, and appears as
478"<>". If the message was submitted locally by an untrusted user who overrode
479the default sender address, the user's login name is shown in parentheses
480before the sender address.
481.sp
482If the message is frozen (attempts to deliver it are suspended) then the text
483"*** frozen ***" is displayed at the end of this line.
484.sp
485The recipients of the message (taken from the envelope, not the headers) are
486displayed on subsequent lines. Those addresses to which the message has already
487been delivered are marked with the letter D. If an original address gets
488expanded into several addresses via an alias or forward file, the original is
489displayed with a D only when deliveries for all of its child addresses are
490complete.
491.TP 10
492\fB\-bpa\fP
493This option operates like \fB\-bp\fP, but in addition it shows delivered addresses
494that were generated from the original top level address(es) in each message by
495alias or forwarding operations. These addresses are flagged with "+D" instead
496of just "D".
497.TP 10
498\fB\-bpc\fP
499This option counts the number of messages on the queue, and writes the total
500to the standard output. It is restricted to admin users, unless
501\fBqueue_list_requires_admin\fP is set false.
502.TP 10
503\fB\-bpr\fP
504This option operates like \fB\-bp\fP, but the output is not sorted into
505chronological order of message arrival. This can speed it up when there are
506lots of messages on the queue, and is particularly useful if the output is
507going to be post\-processed in a way that doesn't need the sorting.
508.TP 10
509\fB\-bpra\fP
510This option is a combination of \fB\-bpr\fP and \fB\-bpa\fP.
511.TP 10
512\fB\-bpru\fP
513This option is a combination of \fB\-bpr\fP and \fB\-bpu\fP.
514.TP 10
515\fB\-bpu\fP
516This option operates like \fB\-bp\fP but shows only undelivered top\-level
517addresses for each message displayed. Addresses generated by aliasing or
518forwarding are not shown, unless the message was deferred after processing by a
519router with the \fBone_time\fP option set.
520.TP 10
521\fB\-brt\fP
522This option is for testing retry rules, and it must be followed by up to three
523arguments. It causes Exim to look for a retry rule that matches the values
524and to write it to the standard output. For example:
525.sp
526 exim \-brt bach.comp.mus.example
527 Retry rule: *.comp.mus.example F,2h,15m; F,4d,30m;
528.sp
529 The first
530argument, which is required, can be a complete address in the form
531\fIlocal_part@domain\fP, or it can be just a domain name. If the second argument
532contains a dot, it is interpreted as an optional second domain name; if no
533retry rule is found for the first argument, the second is tried. This ties in
534with Exim's behaviour when looking for retry rules for remote hosts \- if no
535rule is found that matches the host, one that matches the mail domain is
536sought. Finally, an argument that is the name of a specific delivery error, as
537used in setting up retry rules, can be given. For example:
538.sp
539 exim \-brt haydn.comp.mus.example quota_3d
540 Retry rule: *@haydn.comp.mus.example quota_3d F,1h,15m
541.TP 10
542\fB\-brw\fP
543This option is for testing address rewriting rules, and it must be followed by
544a single argument, consisting of either a local part without a domain, or a
545complete address with a fully qualified domain. Exim outputs how this address
546would be rewritten for each possible place it might appear.
547.TP 10
548\fB\-bS\fP
549This option is used for batched SMTP input, which is an alternative interface
550for non\-interactive local message submission. A number of messages can be
551submitted in a single run. However, despite its name, this is not really SMTP
552input. Exim reads each message's envelope from SMTP commands on the standard
553input, but generates no responses. If the caller is trusted, or
554\fBuntrusted_set_sender\fP is set, the senders in the SMTP MAIL commands are
555believed; otherwise the sender is always the caller of Exim.
556.sp
557The message itself is read from the standard input, in SMTP format (leading
558dots doubled), terminated by a line containing just a single dot. An error is
559provoked if the terminating dot is missing. A further message may then follow.
560.sp
561As for other local message submissions, the contents of incoming batch SMTP
562messages can be checked using the non\-SMTP ACL.
563Unqualified addresses are automatically qualified using \fBqualify_domain\fP and
564\fBqualify_recipient\fP, as appropriate, unless the \fB\-bnq\fP option is used.
565.sp
566Some other SMTP commands are recognized in the input. HELO and EHLO act
567as RSET; VRFY, EXPN, ETRN, and HELP act as NOOP;
568QUIT quits, ignoring the rest of the standard input.
569.sp
570If any error is encountered, reports are written to the standard output and
571error streams, and Exim gives up immediately. The return code is 0 if no error
572was detected; it is 1 if one or more messages were accepted before the error
573was detected; otherwise it is 2.
574.sp
575.TP 10
576\fB\-bs\fP
577This option causes Exim to accept one or more messages by reading SMTP commands
578on the standard input, and producing SMTP replies on the standard output. SMTP
579policy controls, as defined in ACLs are applied.
580Some user agents use this interface as a way of passing locally\-generated
581messages to the MTA.
582.sp
583In
584this usage, if the caller of Exim is trusted, or \fBuntrusted_set_sender\fP is
585set, the senders of messages are taken from the SMTP MAIL commands.
586Otherwise the content of these commands is ignored and the sender is set up as
587the calling user. Unqualified addresses are automatically qualified using
588\fBqualify_domain\fP and \fBqualify_recipient\fP, as appropriate, unless the
589\fB\-bnq\fP option is used.
590.sp
591The
592\fB\-bs\fP option is also used to run Exim from \fIinetd\fP, as an alternative to
593using a listening daemon. Exim can distinguish the two cases by checking
594whether the standard input is a TCP/IP socket. When Exim is called from
595\fIinetd\fP, the source of the mail is assumed to be remote, and the comments
596above concerning senders and qualification do not apply. In this situation,
597Exim behaves in exactly the same way as it does when receiving a message via
598the listening daemon.
599.TP 10
600\fB\-bt\fP
601This option runs Exim in address testing mode, in which each argument is taken
602as a recipient address to be tested for deliverability. The results are
603written to the standard output. If a test fails, and the caller is not an admin
604user, no details of the failure are output, because these might contain
605sensitive information such as usernames and passwords for database lookups.
606.sp
607If no arguments are given, Exim runs in an interactive manner, prompting with a
608right angle bracket for addresses to be tested.
609.sp
610Unlike the \fB\-be\fP test option, you cannot arrange for Exim to use the
611readline() function, because it is running as \fIroot\fP and there are
612security issues.
613.sp
614Each address is handled as if it were the recipient address of a message
615(compare the \fB\-bv\fP option). It is passed to the routers and the result is
616written to the standard output. However, any router that has
617\fBno_address_test\fP set is bypassed. This can make \fB\-bt\fP easier to use for
618genuine routing tests if your first router passes everything to a scanner
619program.
620.sp
621The return code is 2 if any address failed outright; it is 1 if no address
622failed outright but at least one could not be resolved for some reason. Return
623code 0 is given only when all addresses succeed.
624.sp
625\fBNote\fP: When actually delivering a message, Exim removes duplicate recipient
626addresses after routing is complete, so that only one delivery takes place.
627This does not happen when testing with \fB\-bt\fP; the full results of routing are
628always shown.
629.sp
630\fBWarning\fP: \fB\-bt\fP can only do relatively simple testing. If any of the
631routers in the configuration makes any tests on the sender address of a
632message,
633you can use the \fB\-f\fP option to set an appropriate sender when running
634\fB\-bt\fP tests. Without it, the sender is assumed to be the calling user at the
635default qualifying domain. However, if you have set up (for example) routers
636whose behaviour depends on the contents of an incoming message, you cannot test
637those conditions using \fB\-bt\fP. The \fB\-N\fP option provides a possible way of
638doing such tests.
639.TP 10
640\fB\-bV\fP
641This option causes Exim to write the current version number, compilation
642number, and compilation date of the \fIexim\fP binary to the standard output.
643It also lists the DBM library that is being used, the optional modules (such as
644specific lookup types), the drivers that are included in the binary, and the
645name of the run time configuration file that is in use.
646.sp
647As part of its operation, \fB\-bV\fP causes Exim to read and syntax check its
648configuration file. However, this is a static check only. It cannot check
649values that are to be expanded. For example, although a misspelt ACL verb is
650detected, an error in the verb's arguments is not. You cannot rely on \fB\-bV\fP
651alone to discover (for example) all the typos in the configuration; some
652realistic testing is needed. The \fB\-bh\fP and \fB\-N\fP options provide more
653dynamic testing facilities.
654.TP 10
655\fB\-bv\fP
656This option runs Exim in address verification mode, in which each argument is
657taken as a recipient address to be verified by the routers. (This does
658not involve any verification callouts). During normal operation, verification
659happens mostly as a consequence processing a \fBverify\fP condition in an ACL. If you want to test an entire ACL, possibly
660including callouts, see the \fB\-bh\fP and \fB\-bhc\fP options.
661.sp
662If verification fails, and the caller is not an admin user, no details of the
663failure are output, because these might contain sensitive information such as
664usernames and passwords for database lookups.
665.sp
666If no arguments are given, Exim runs in an interactive manner, prompting with a
667right angle bracket for addresses to be verified.
668.sp
669Unlike the \fB\-be\fP test option, you cannot arrange for Exim to use the
670readline() function, because it is running as \fIexim\fP and there are
671security issues.
672.sp
673Verification differs from address testing (the \fB\-bt\fP option) in that routers
674that have \fBno_verify\fP set are skipped, and if the address is accepted by a
675router that has \fBfail_verify\fP set, verification fails. The address is
676verified as a recipient if \fB\-bv\fP is used; to test verification for a sender
677address, \fB\-bvs\fP should be used.
678.sp
679If the \fB\-v\fP option is not set, the output consists of a single line for each
680address, stating whether it was verified or not, and giving a reason in the
681latter case. Without \fB\-v\fP, generating more than one address by redirection
682causes verification to end successfully, without considering the generated
683addresses. However, if just one address is generated, processing continues,
684and the generated address must verify successfully for the overall verification
685to succeed.
686.sp
687When \fB\-v\fP is set, more details are given of how the address has been handled,
688and in the case of address redirection, all the generated addresses are also
689considered. Verification may succeed for some and fail for others.
690.sp
691The
692return code is 2 if any address failed outright; it is 1 if no address
693failed outright but at least one could not be resolved for some reason. Return
694code 0 is given only when all addresses succeed.
695.sp
696If any of the routers in the configuration makes any tests on the sender
697address of a message, you should use the \fB\-f\fP option to set an appropriate
698sender when running \fB\-bv\fP tests. Without it, the sender is assumed to be the
699calling user at the default qualifying domain.
700.TP 10
701\fB\-bvs\fP
702This option acts like \fB\-bv\fP, but verifies the address as a sender rather
703than a recipient address. This affects any rewriting and qualification that
704might happen.
705.TP 10
706\fB\-bw\fP
707This option runs Exim as a daemon, awaiting incoming SMTP connections,
708similarly to the \fB\-bd\fP option. All port specifications on the command\-line
709and in the configuration file are ignored. Queue\-running may not be specified.
710.sp
711In this mode, Exim expects to be passed a socket as fd 0 (stdin) which is
712listening for connections. This permits the system to start up and have
713inetd (or equivalent) listen on the SMTP ports, starting an Exim daemon for
714each port only when the first connection is received.
715.sp
716If the option is given as \fB\-bw\fP<\fItime\fP> then the time is a timeout, after
717which the daemon will exit, which should cause inetd to listen once more.
718.TP 10
719\fB\-C\fP <\fIfilelist\fP>
720This option causes Exim to find the run time configuration file from the given
721list instead of from the list specified by the CONFIGURE_FILE
722compile\-time setting. Usually, the list will consist of just a single file
723name, but it can be a colon\-separated list of names. In this case, the first
724file that exists is used. Failure to open an existing file stops Exim from
725proceeding any further along the list, and an error is generated.
726.sp
727When this option is used by a caller other than root, and the list is different
728from the compiled\-in list, Exim gives up its root privilege immediately, and
729runs with the real and effective uid and gid set to those of the caller.
730However, if a TRUSTED_CONFIG_LIST file is defined in Local/Makefile, that
731file contains a list of full pathnames, one per line, for configuration files
732which are trusted. Root privilege is retained for any configuration file so
733listed, as long as the caller is the Exim user (or the user specified in the
734CONFIGURE_OWNER option, if any), and as long as the configuration file is
735not writeable by inappropriate users or groups.
736.sp
737Leaving TRUSTED_CONFIG_LIST unset precludes the possibility of testing a
738configuration using \fB\-C\fP right through message reception and delivery,
739even if the caller is root. The reception works, but by that time, Exim is
740running as the Exim user, so when it re\-executes to regain privilege for the
741delivery, the use of \fB\-C\fP causes privilege to be lost. However, root can
742test reception and delivery using two separate commands (one to put a message
743on the queue, using \fB\-odq\fP, and another to do the delivery, using \fB\-M\fP).
744.sp
745If ALT_CONFIG_PREFIX is defined in Local/Makefile, it specifies a
746prefix string with which any file named in a \fB\-C\fP command line option
747must start. In addition, the file name must not contain the sequence /../.
748However, if the value of the \fB\-C\fP option is identical to the value of
749CONFIGURE_FILE in Local/Makefile, Exim ignores \fB\-C\fP and proceeds as
750usual. There is no default setting for ALT_CONFIG_PREFIX; when it is
751unset, any file name can be used with \fB\-C\fP.
752.sp
753ALT_CONFIG_PREFIX can be used to confine alternative configuration files
754to a directory to which only root has access. This prevents someone who has
755broken into the Exim account from running a privileged Exim with an arbitrary
756configuration file.
757.sp
758The \fB\-C\fP facility is useful for ensuring that configuration files are
759syntactically correct, but cannot be used for test deliveries, unless the
760caller is privileged, or unless it is an exotic configuration that does not
761require privilege. No check is made on the owner or group of the files
762specified by this option.
763.TP 10
764\fB\-D\fP<\fImacro\fP>=<\fIvalue\fP>
765This option can be used to override macro definitions in the configuration file. However, like \fB\-C\fP, if it is used by an
766unprivileged caller, it causes Exim to give up its root privilege.
767If DISABLE_D_OPTION is defined in Local/Makefile, the use of \fB\-D\fP is
768completely disabled, and its use causes an immediate error exit.
769.sp
770If WHITELIST_D_MACROS is defined in Local/Makefile then it should be a
771colon\-separated list of macros which are considered safe and, if \fB\-D\fP only
772supplies macros from this list, and the values are acceptable, then Exim will
773not give up root privilege if the caller is root, the Exim run\-time user, or
774the CONFIGURE_OWNER, if set. This is a transition mechanism and is expected
775to be removed in the future. Acceptable values for the macros satisfy the
776regexp: ^[A\-Za\-z0\-9_/.\-]*$
777.sp
778The entire option (including equals sign if present) must all be within one
779command line item. \fB\-D\fP can be used to set the value of a macro to the empty
780string, in which case the equals sign is optional. These two commands are
781synonymous:
782.sp
783 exim \-DABC ...
784 exim \-DABC= ...
785.sp
786To include spaces in a macro definition item, quotes must be used. If you use
787quotes, spaces are permitted around the macro name and the equals sign. For
788example:
789.sp
790 exim '\-D ABC = something' ...
791.sp
792\fB\-D\fP may be repeated up to 10 times on a command line.
793.TP 10
794\fB\-d\fP<\fIdebug options\fP>
795This option causes debugging information to be written to the standard
796error stream. It is restricted to admin users because debugging output may show
797database queries that contain password information. Also, the details of users'
798filter files should be protected. If a non\-admin user uses \fB\-d\fP, Exim
799writes an error message to the standard error stream and exits with a non\-zero
800return code.
801.sp
802When \fB\-d\fP is used, \fB\-v\fP is assumed. If \fB\-d\fP is given on its own, a lot of
803standard debugging data is output. This can be reduced, or increased to include
804some more rarely needed information, by directly following \fB\-d\fP with a string
805made up of names preceded by plus or minus characters. These add or remove sets
806of debugging data, respectively. For example, \fB\-d+filter\fP adds filter
807debugging, whereas \fB\-d\-all+filter\fP selects only filter debugging. Note that
808no spaces are allowed in the debug setting. The available debugging categories
809are:
810.sp
811 acl ACL interpretation
812 auth authenticators
813 deliver general delivery logic
814 dns DNS lookups (see also resolver)
815 dnsbl DNS black list (aka RBL) code
816 exec arguments for execv() calls
817 expand detailed debugging for string expansions
818 filter filter handling
819 hints_lookup hints data lookups
820 host_lookup all types of name\-to\-IP address handling
821 ident ident lookup
822 interface lists of local interfaces
823 lists matching things in lists
824 load system load checks
825 local_scan can be used by local_scan()
826 lookup general lookup code and all lookups
827 memory memory handling
828 pid add pid to debug output lines
829 process_info setting info for the process log
830 queue_run queue runs
831 receive general message reception logic
832 resolver turn on the DNS resolver's debugging output
833 retry retry handling
834 rewrite address rewriting
835 route address routing
836 timestamp add timestamp to debug output lines
837 tls TLS logic
838 transport transports
839 uid changes of uid/gid and looking up uid/gid
840 verify address verification logic
841 all almost all of the above (see below), and also \fB\-v\fP
842.sp
843The all option excludes memory when used as +all, but includes it
844for \-all. The reason for this is that +all is something that people
845tend to use when generating debug output for Exim maintainers. If +memory
846is included, an awful lot of output that is very rarely of interest is
847generated, so it now has to be explicitly requested. However, \-all does
848turn everything off.
849.sp
850The resolver option produces output only if the DNS resolver was compiled
851with DEBUG enabled. This is not the case in some operating systems. Also,
852unfortunately, debugging output from the DNS resolver is written to stdout
853rather than stderr.
854.sp
855The default (\fB\-d\fP with no argument) omits expand, filter,
856interface, load, memory, pid, resolver, and timestamp.
857However, the pid selector is forced when debugging is turned on for a
858daemon, which then passes it on to any re\-executed Exims. Exim also
859automatically adds the pid to debug lines when several remote deliveries are
860run in parallel.
861.sp
862The timestamp selector causes the current time to be inserted at the start
863of all debug output lines. This can be useful when trying to track down delays
864in processing.
865.sp
866If the \fBdebug_print\fP option is set in any driver, it produces output whenever
867any debugging is selected, or if \fB\-v\fP is used.
868.TP 10
869\fB\-dd\fP<\fIdebug options\fP>
870This option behaves exactly like \fB\-d\fP except when used on a command that
871starts a daemon process. In that case, debugging is turned off for the
872subprocesses that the daemon creates. Thus, it is useful for monitoring the
873behaviour of the daemon without creating as much output as full debugging does.
874.TP 10
875\fB\-dropcr\fP
876This is an obsolete option that is now a no\-op. It used to affect the way Exim
877handled CR and LF characters in incoming messages.
878.TP 10
879\fB\-E\fP
880This option specifies that an incoming message is a locally\-generated delivery
881failure report. It is used internally by Exim when handling delivery failures
882and is not intended for external use. Its only effect is to stop Exim
883generating certain messages to the postmaster, as otherwise message cascades
884could occur in some situations. As part of the same option, a message id may
885follow the characters \fB\-E\fP. If it does, the log entry for the receipt of the
886new message contains the id, following "R=", as a cross\-reference.
887.TP 10
888\fB\-e\fP\fIx\fP
889There are a number of Sendmail options starting with \fB\-oe\fP which seem to be
890called by various programs without the leading \fBo\fP in the option. For
891example, the \fBvacation\fP program uses \fB\-eq\fP. Exim treats all options of the
892form \fB\-e\fP\fIx\fP as synonymous with the corresponding \fB\-oe\fP\fIx\fP options.
893.TP 10
894\fB\-F\fP <\fIstring\fP>
895This option sets the sender's full name for use when a locally\-generated
896message is being accepted. In the absence of this option, the user's \fIgecos\fP
897entry from the password data is used. As users are generally permitted to alter
898their \fIgecos\fP entries, no security considerations are involved. White space
899between \fB\-F\fP and the <\fIstring\fP> is optional.
900.TP 10
901\fB\-f\fP <\fIaddress\fP>
902This option sets the address of the envelope sender of a locally\-generated
903message (also known as the return path). The option can normally be used only
904by a trusted user, but \fBuntrusted_set_sender\fP can be set to allow untrusted
905users to use it.
906.sp
907Processes running as root or the Exim user are always trusted. Other
908trusted users are defined by the \fBtrusted_users\fP or \fBtrusted_groups\fP
909options. In the absence of \fB\-f\fP, or if the caller is not trusted, the sender
910of a local message is set to the caller's login name at the default qualify
911domain.
912.sp
913There is one exception to the restriction on the use of \fB\-f\fP: an empty sender
914can be specified by any user, trusted or not, to create a message that can
915never provoke a bounce. An empty sender can be specified either as an empty
916string, or as a pair of angle brackets with nothing between them, as in these
917examples of shell commands:
918.sp
919 exim \-f '<>' user@domain
920 exim \-f "" user@domain
921.sp
922In addition, the use of \fB\-f\fP is not restricted when testing a filter file
923with \fB\-bf\fP or when testing or verifying addresses using the \fB\-bt\fP or
924\fB\-bv\fP options.
925.sp
926Allowing untrusted users to change the sender address does not of itself make
927it possible to send anonymous mail. Exim still checks that the \fIFrom:\fP header
928refers to the local user, and if it does not, it adds a \fISender:\fP header,
929though this can be overridden by setting \fBno_local_from_check\fP.
930.sp
931White
932space between \fB\-f\fP and the <\fIaddress\fP> is optional (that is, they can be
933given as two arguments or one combined argument). The sender of a
934locally\-generated message can also be set (when permitted) by an initial
935"From " line in the message \- see the description of \fB\-bm\fP above \- but
936if \fB\-f\fP is also present, it overrides "From ".
937.TP 10
938\fB\-G\fP
939This option is equivalent to an ACL applying:
940.sp
941 control = suppress_local_fixups
942.sp
943for every message received. Note that Sendmail will complain about such
944bad formatting, where Exim silently just does not fix it up. This may change
945in future.
946.sp
947As this affects audit information, the caller must be a trusted user to use
948this option.
949.TP 10
950\fB\-h\fP <\fInumber\fP>
951This option is accepted for compatibility with Sendmail, but has no effect. (In
952Sendmail it overrides the "hop count" obtained by counting \fIReceived:\fP
953headers.)
954.TP 10
955\fB\-i\fP
956This option, which has the same effect as \fB\-oi\fP, specifies that a dot on a
957line by itself should not terminate an incoming, non\-SMTP message. I can find
958no documentation for this option in Solaris 2.4 Sendmail, but the \fImailx\fP
959command in Solaris 2.4 uses it. See also \fB\-ti\fP.
960.TP 10
961\fB\-L\fP <\fItag\fP>
962This option is equivalent to setting \fBsyslog_processname\fP in the config
963file and setting \fBlog_file_path\fP to syslog.
964Its use is restricted to administrators. The configuration file has to be
965read and parsed, to determine access rights, before this is set and takes
966effect, so early configuration file errors will not honour this flag.
967.sp
968The tag should not be longer than 32 characters.
969.TP 10
970\fB\-M\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
971This option requests Exim to run a delivery attempt on each message in turn. If
972any of the messages are frozen, they are automatically thawed before the
973delivery attempt. The settings of \fBqueue_domains\fP, \fBqueue_smtp_domains\fP,
974and \fBhold_domains\fP are ignored.
975.sp
976Retry
977hints for any of the addresses are overridden \- Exim tries to deliver even if
978the normal retry time has not yet been reached. This option requires the caller
979to be an admin user. However, there is an option called \fBprod_requires_admin\fP
980which can be set false to relax this restriction (and also the same requirement
981for the \fB\-q\fP, \fB\-R\fP, and \fB\-S\fP options).
982.sp
983The deliveries happen synchronously, that is, the original Exim process does
984not terminate until all the delivery attempts have finished. No output is
985produced unless there is a serious error. If you want to see what is happening,
986use the \fB\-v\fP option as well, or inspect Exim's main log.
987.TP 10
988\fB\-Mar\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fIaddress\fP> <\fIaddress\fP> ...
989This option requests Exim to add the addresses to the list of recipients of the
990message ("ar" for "add recipients"). The first argument must be a message
991id, and the remaining ones must be email addresses. However, if the message is
992active (in the middle of a delivery attempt), it is not altered. This option
993can be used only by an admin user.
994.TP 10
995\fB\-MC\fP <\fItransport\fP> <\fIhostname\fP> <\fIsequence number\fP> <\fImessage id\fP>
996This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
997by Exim to invoke another instance of itself to deliver a waiting message using
998an existing SMTP connection, which is passed as the standard input. This must be the final option, and the caller
999must be root or the Exim user in order to use it.
1000.TP 10
1001\fB\-MCA\fP
1002This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1003by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option. It signifies that the
1004connection to the remote host has been authenticated.
1005.TP 10
1006\fB\-MCP\fP
1007This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1008by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option. It signifies that the server to
1009which Exim is connected supports pipelining.
1010.TP 10
1011\fB\-MCQ\fP <\fIprocess id\fP> <\fIpipe fd\fP>
1012This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1013by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option when the original delivery was
1014started by a queue runner. It passes on the process id of the queue runner,
1015together with the file descriptor number of an open pipe. Closure of the pipe
1016signals the final completion of the sequence of processes that are passing
1017messages through the same SMTP connection.
1018.TP 10
1019\fB\-MCS\fP
1020This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1021by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option, and passes on the fact that the
1022SMTP SIZE option should be used on messages delivered down the existing
1023connection.
1024.TP 10
1025\fB\-MCT\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
1028host to which Exim is connected supports TLS encryption.
1029.TP 10
1030\fB\-Mc\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
1031This option requests Exim to run a delivery attempt on each message in turn,
1032but unlike the \fB\-M\fP option, it does check for retry hints, and respects any
1033that are found. This option is not very useful to external callers. It is
1034provided mainly for internal use by Exim when it needs to re\-invoke itself in
1035order to regain root privilege for a delivery.
1036However, \fB\-Mc\fP can be useful when testing, in order to run a delivery that
1037respects retry times and other options such as \fBhold_domains\fP that are
1038overridden when \fB\-M\fP is used. Such a delivery does not count as a queue run.
1039If you want to run a specific delivery as if in a queue run, you should use
1040\fB\-q\fP with a message id argument. A distinction between queue run deliveries
1041and other deliveries is made in one or two places.
1042.TP 10
1043\fB\-Mes\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fIaddress\fP>
1044This option requests Exim to change the sender address in the message to the
1045given address, which must be a fully qualified address or "<>" ("es" for
1046"edit sender"). There must be exactly two arguments. The first argument must
1047be a message id, and the second one an email address. However, if the message
1048is active (in the middle of a delivery attempt), its status is not altered.
1049This option can be used only by an admin user.
1050.TP 10
1051\fB\-Mf\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
1052This option requests Exim to mark each listed message as "frozen". This
1053prevents any delivery attempts taking place until the message is "thawed",
1054either manually or as a result of the \fBauto_thaw\fP configuration option.
1055However, if any of the messages are active (in the middle of a delivery
1056attempt), their status is not altered. This option can be used only by an admin
1057user.
1058.TP 10
1059\fB\-Mg\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
1060This option requests Exim to give up trying to deliver the listed messages,
1061including any that are frozen. However, if any of the messages are active,
1062their status is not altered. For non\-bounce messages, a delivery error message
1063is sent to the sender, containing the text "cancelled by administrator".
1064Bounce messages are just discarded. This option can be used only by an admin
1065user.
1066.TP 10
1067\fB\-Mmad\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
1068This option requests Exim to mark all the recipient addresses in the messages
1069as already delivered ("mad" for "mark all delivered"). However, if any
1070message is active (in the middle of a delivery attempt), its status is not
1071altered. This option can be used only by an admin user.
1072.TP 10
1073\fB\-Mmd\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fIaddress\fP> <\fIaddress\fP> ...
1074This option requests Exim to mark the given addresses as already delivered
1075("md" for "mark delivered"). The first argument must be a message id, and
1076the remaining ones must be email addresses. These are matched to recipient
1077addresses in the message in a case\-sensitive manner. If the message is active
1078(in the middle of a delivery attempt), its status is not altered. This option
1079can be used only by an admin user.
1080.TP 10
1081\fB\-Mrm\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
1082This option requests Exim to remove the given messages from the queue. No
1083bounce messages are sent; each message is simply forgotten. However, if any of
1084the messages are active, their status is not altered. This option can be used
1085only by an admin user or by the user who originally caused the message to be
1086placed on the queue.
1087.TP 10
1088\fB\-Mset\fP <\fImessage id\fP>
1089This option is useful only in conjunction with \fB\-be\fP (that is, when testing
1090string expansions). Exim loads the given message from its spool before doing
1091the test expansions, thus setting message\-specific variables such as
1092\fI$message_size\fP and the header variables. The \fI$recipients\fP variable is made
1093available. This feature is provided to make it easier to test expansions that
1094make use of these variables. However, this option can be used only by an admin
1095user. See also \fB\-bem\fP.
1096.TP 10
1097\fB\-Mt\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
1098This option requests Exim to "thaw" any of the listed messages that are
1099"frozen", so that delivery attempts can resume. However, if any of the
1100messages are active, their status is not altered. This option can be used only
1101by an admin user.
1102.TP 10
1103\fB\-Mvb\fP <\fImessage id\fP>
1104This option causes the contents of the message body (\-D) spool file to be
1105written to the standard output. This option can be used only by an admin user.
1106.TP 10
1107\fB\-Mvc\fP <\fImessage id\fP>
1108This option causes a copy of the complete message (header lines plus body) to
1109be written to the standard output in RFC 2822 format. This option can be used
1110only by an admin user.
1111.TP 10
1112\fB\-Mvh\fP <\fImessage id\fP>
1113This option causes the contents of the message headers (\-H) spool file to be
1114written to the standard output. This option can be used only by an admin user.
1115.TP 10
1116\fB\-Mvl\fP <\fImessage id\fP>
1117This option causes the contents of the message log spool file to be written to
1118the standard output. This option can be used only by an admin user.
1119.TP 10
1120\fB\-m\fP
1121This is apparently a synonym for \fB\-om\fP that is accepted by Sendmail, so Exim
1122treats it that way too.
1123.TP 10
1124\fB\-N\fP
1125This is a debugging option that inhibits delivery of a message at the transport
1126level. It implies \fB\-v\fP. Exim goes through many of the motions of delivery \-
1127it just doesn't actually transport the message, but instead behaves as if it
1128had successfully done so. However, it does not make any updates to the retry
1129database, and the log entries for deliveries are flagged with "*>" rather
1130than "=>".
1131.sp
1132Because \fB\-N\fP discards any message to which it applies, only root or the Exim
1133user are allowed to use it with \fB\-bd\fP, \fB\-q\fP, \fB\-R\fP or \fB\-M\fP. In other
1134words, an ordinary user can use it only when supplying an incoming message to
1135which it will apply. Although transportation never fails when \fB\-N\fP is set, an
1136address may be deferred because of a configuration problem on a transport, or a
1137routing problem. Once \fB\-N\fP has been used for a delivery attempt, it sticks to
1138the message, and applies to any subsequent delivery attempts that may happen
1139for that message.
1140.TP 10
1141\fB\-n\fP
1142This option is interpreted by Sendmail to mean "no aliasing".
1143For normal modes of operation, it is ignored by Exim.
1144When combined with \fB\-bP\fP it suppresses the name of an option from being output.
1145.TP 10
1146\fB\-O\fP <\fIdata\fP>
1147This option is interpreted by Sendmail to mean set option. It is ignored by
1148Exim.
1149.TP 10
1150\fB\-oA\fP <\fIfile name\fP>
1151This option is used by Sendmail in conjunction with \fB\-bi\fP to specify an
1152alternative alias file name. Exim handles \fB\-bi\fP differently; see the
1153description above.
1154.TP 10
1155\fB\-oB\fP <\fIn\fP>
1156This is a debugging option which limits the maximum number of messages that can
1157be delivered down one SMTP connection, overriding the value set in any smtp
1158transport. If <\fIn\fP> is omitted, the limit is set to 1.
1159.TP 10
1160\fB\-odb\fP
1161This option applies to all modes in which Exim accepts incoming messages,
1162including the listening daemon. It requests "background" delivery of such
1163messages, which means that the accepting process automatically starts a
1164delivery process for each message received, but does not wait for the delivery
1165processes to finish.
1166.sp
1167When all the messages have been received, the reception process exits,
1168leaving the delivery processes to finish in their own time. The standard output
1169and error streams are closed at the start of each delivery process.
1170This is the default action if none of the \fB\-od\fP options are present.
1171.sp
1172If one of the queueing options in the configuration file
1173(\fBqueue_only\fP or \fBqueue_only_file\fP, for example) is in effect, \fB\-odb\fP
1174overrides it if \fBqueue_only_override\fP is set true, which is the default
1175setting. If \fBqueue_only_override\fP is set false, \fB\-odb\fP has no effect.
1176.TP 10
1177\fB\-odf\fP
1178This option requests "foreground" (synchronous) delivery when Exim has
1179accepted a locally\-generated message. (For the daemon it is exactly the same as
1180\fB\-odb\fP.) A delivery process is automatically started to deliver the message,
1181and Exim waits for it to complete before proceeding.
1182.sp
1183The original Exim reception process does not finish until the delivery
1184process for the final message has ended. The standard error stream is left open
1185during deliveries.
1186.sp
1187However, like \fB\-odb\fP, this option has no effect if \fBqueue_only_override\fP is
1188false and one of the queueing options in the configuration file is in effect.
1189.sp
1190If there is a temporary delivery error during foreground delivery, the
1191message is left on the queue for later delivery, and the original reception
1192process exits.
1193.TP 10
1194\fB\-odi\fP
1195This option is synonymous with \fB\-odf\fP. It is provided for compatibility with
1196Sendmail.
1197.TP 10
1198\fB\-odq\fP
1199This option applies to all modes in which Exim accepts incoming messages,
1200including the listening daemon. It specifies that the accepting process should
1201not automatically start a delivery process for each message received. Messages
1202are placed on the queue, and remain there until a subsequent queue runner
1203process encounters them. There are several configuration options (such as
1204\fBqueue_only\fP) that can be used to queue incoming messages under certain
1205conditions. This option overrides all of them and also \fB\-odqs\fP. It always
1206forces queueing.
1207.TP 10
1208\fB\-odqs\fP
1209This option is a hybrid between \fB\-odb\fP/\fB\-odi\fP and \fB\-odq\fP.
1210However, like \fB\-odb\fP and \fB\-odi\fP, this option has no effect if
1211\fBqueue_only_override\fP is false and one of the queueing options in the
1212configuration file is in effect.
1213.sp
1214When \fB\-odqs\fP does operate, a delivery process is started for each incoming
1215message, in the background by default, but in the foreground if \fB\-odi\fP is
1216also present. The recipient addresses are routed, and local deliveries are done
1217in the normal way. However, if any SMTP deliveries are required, they are not
1218done at this time, so the message remains on the queue until a subsequent queue
1219runner process encounters it. Because routing was done, Exim knows which
1220messages are waiting for which hosts, and so a number of messages for the same
1221host can be sent in a single SMTP connection. The \fBqueue_smtp_domains\fP
1222configuration option has the same effect for specific domains. See also the
1223\fB\-qq\fP option.
1224.TP 10
1225\fB\-oee\fP
1226If an error is detected while a non\-SMTP message is being received (for
1227example, a malformed address), the error is reported to the sender in a mail
1228message.
1229.sp
1230Provided
1231this error message is successfully sent, the Exim receiving process
1232exits with a return code of zero. If not, the return code is 2 if the problem
1233is that the original message has no recipients, or 1 for any other error.
1234This is the default \fB\-oe\fP\fIx\fP option if Exim is called as \fIrmail\fP.
1235.TP 10
1236\fB\-oem\fP
1237This is the same as \fB\-oee\fP, except that Exim always exits with a non\-zero
1238return code, whether or not the error message was successfully sent.
1239This is the default \fB\-oe\fP\fIx\fP option, unless Exim is called as \fIrmail\fP.
1240.TP 10
1241\fB\-oep\fP
1242If an error is detected while a non\-SMTP message is being received, the
1243error is reported by writing a message to the standard error file (stderr).
1244The return code is 1 for all errors.
1245.TP 10
1246\fB\-oeq\fP
1247This option is supported for compatibility with Sendmail, but has the same
1248effect as \fB\-oep\fP.
1249.TP 10
1250\fB\-oew\fP
1251This option is supported for compatibility with Sendmail, but has the same
1252effect as \fB\-oem\fP.
1253.TP 10
1254\fB\-oi\fP
1255This option, which has the same effect as \fB\-i\fP, specifies that a dot on a
1256line by itself should not terminate an incoming, non\-SMTP message. Otherwise, a
1257single dot does terminate, though Exim does no special processing for other
1258lines that start with a dot. This option is set by default if Exim is called as
1259\fIrmail\fP. See also \fB\-ti\fP.
1260.TP 10
1261\fB\-oitrue\fP
1262This option is treated as synonymous with \fB\-oi\fP.
1263.TP 10
1264\fB\-oMa\fP <\fIhost address\fP>
1265A number of options starting with \fB\-oM\fP can be used to set values associated
1266with remote hosts on locally\-submitted messages (that is, messages not received
1267over TCP/IP). These options can be used by any caller in conjunction with the
1268\fB\-bh\fP, \fB\-be\fP, \fB\-bf\fP, \fB\-bF\fP, \fB\-bt\fP, or \fB\-bv\fP testing options. In
1269other circumstances, they are ignored unless the caller is trusted.
1270.sp
1271The \fB\-oMa\fP option sets the sender host address. This may include a port
1272number at the end, after a full stop (period). For example:
1273.sp
1274 exim \-bs \-oMa 10.9.8.7.1234
1275.sp
1276An alternative syntax is to enclose the IP address in square brackets,
1277followed by a colon and the port number:
1278.sp
1279 exim \-bs \-oMa [10.9.8.7]:1234
1280.sp
1281The IP address is placed in the \fI$sender_host_address\fP variable, and the
1282port, if present, in \fI$sender_host_port\fP. If both \fB\-oMa\fP and \fB\-bh\fP
1283are present on the command line, the sender host IP address is taken from
1284whichever one is last.
1285.TP 10
1286\fB\-oMaa\fP <\fIname\fP>
1287See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMaa\fP
1288option sets the value of \fI$sender_host_authenticated\fP (the authenticator
1289name).
1290This option can be used with \fB\-bh\fP and \fB\-bs\fP to set up an
1291authenticated SMTP session without actually using the SMTP AUTH command.
1292.TP 10
1293\fB\-oMai\fP <\fIstring\fP>
1294See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMai\fP
1295option sets the value of \fI$authenticated_id\fP (the id that was authenticated).
1296This overrides the default value (the caller's login id, except with \fB\-bh\fP,
1297where there is no default) for messages from local sources.
1298.TP 10
1299\fB\-oMas\fP <\fIaddress\fP>
1300See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMas\fP
1301option sets the authenticated sender value in \fI$authenticated_sender\fP. It
1302overrides the sender address that is created from the caller's login id for
1303messages from local sources, except when \fB\-bh\fP is used, when there is no
1304default. For both \fB\-bh\fP and \fB\-bs\fP, an authenticated sender that is
1305specified on a MAIL command overrides this value.
1306.TP 10
1307\fB\-oMi\fP <\fIinterface address\fP>
1308See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMi\fP
1309option sets the IP interface address value. A port number may be included,
1310using the same syntax as for \fB\-oMa\fP. The interface address is placed in
1311\fI$received_ip_address\fP and the port number, if present, in \fI$received_port\fP.
1312.TP 10
1313\fB\-oMm\fP <\fImessage reference\fP>
1314See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMm\fP
1315option sets the message reference, e.g. message\-id, and is logged during
1316delivery. This is useful when some kind of audit trail is required to tie
1317messages together. The format of the message reference is checked and will
1318abort if the format is invalid. The option will only be accepted if exim is
1319running in trusted mode, not as any regular user.
1320.sp
1321The best example of a message reference is when Exim sends a bounce message.
1322The message reference is the message\-id of the original message for which Exim
1323is sending the bounce.
1324.TP 10
1325\fB\-oMr\fP <\fIprotocol name\fP>
1326See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMr\fP
1327option sets the received protocol value that is stored in
1328\fI$received_protocol\fP. However, it does not apply (and is ignored) when \fB\-bh\fP
1329or \fB\-bs\fP is used. For \fB\-bh\fP, the protocol is forced to one of the standard
1330SMTP protocol names. For \fB\-bs\fP, the protocol is always "local\-" followed by
1331one of those same names. For \fB\-bS\fP (batched SMTP) however, the protocol can
1332be set by \fB\-oMr\fP.
1333.TP 10
1334\fB\-oMs\fP <\fIhost name\fP>
1335See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMs\fP
1336option sets the sender host name in \fI$sender_host_name\fP. When this option is
1337present, Exim does not attempt to look up a host name from an IP address; it
1338uses the name it is given.
1339.TP 10
1340\fB\-oMt\fP <\fIident string\fP>
1341See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMt\fP
1342option sets the sender ident value in \fI$sender_ident\fP. The default setting for
1343local callers is the login id of the calling process, except when \fB\-bh\fP is
1344used, when there is no default.
1345.TP 10
1346\fB\-om\fP
1347In Sendmail, this option means "me too", indicating that the sender of a
1348message should receive a copy of the message if the sender appears in an alias
1349expansion. Exim always does this, so the option does nothing.
1350.TP 10
1351\fB\-oo\fP
1352This option is ignored. In Sendmail it specifies "old style headers",
1353whatever that means.
1354.TP 10
1355\fB\-oP\fP <\fIpath\fP>
1356This option is useful only in conjunction with \fB\-bd\fP or \fB\-q\fP with a time
1357value. The option specifies the file to which the process id of the daemon is
1358written. When \fB\-oX\fP is used with \fB\-bd\fP, or when \fB\-q\fP with a time is used
1359without \fB\-bd\fP, this is the only way of causing Exim to write a pid file,
1360because in those cases, the normal pid file is not used.
1361.TP 10
1362\fB\-or\fP <\fItime\fP>
1363This option sets a timeout value for incoming non\-SMTP messages. If it is not
1364set, Exim will wait forever for the standard input. The value can also be set
1365by the \fBreceive_timeout\fP option.
1366.TP 10
1367\fB\-os\fP <\fItime\fP>
1368This option sets a timeout value for incoming SMTP messages. The timeout
1369applies to each SMTP command and block of data. The value can also be set by
1370the \fBsmtp_receive_timeout\fP option; it defaults to 5 minutes.
1371.TP 10
1372\fB\-ov\fP
1373This option has exactly the same effect as \fB\-v\fP.
1374.TP 10
1375\fB\-oX\fP <\fInumber or string\fP>
1376This option is relevant only when the \fB\-bd\fP (start listening daemon) option
1377is also given. It controls which ports and interfaces the daemon uses. When \fB\-oX\fP is used to start a daemon, no pid
1378file is written unless \fB\-oP\fP is also present to specify a pid file name.
1379.TP 10
1380\fB\-pd\fP
1381This option applies when an embedded Perl interpreter is linked with Exim. It overrides the setting of the \fBperl_at_start\fP
1382option, forcing the starting of the interpreter to be delayed until it is
1383needed.
1384.TP 10
1385\fB\-ps\fP
1386This option applies when an embedded Perl interpreter is linked with Exim. It overrides the setting of the \fBperl_at_start\fP
1387option, forcing the starting of the interpreter to occur as soon as Exim is
1388started.
1389.TP 10
1390\fB\-p\fP<\fIrval\fP>:<\fIsval\fP>
1391For compatibility with Sendmail, this option is equivalent to
1392.sp
1393 \-oMr <\fIrval\fP> \-oMs <\fIsval\fP>
1394.sp
1395It sets the incoming protocol and host name (for trusted callers). The
1396host name and its colon can be omitted when only the protocol is to be set.
1397Note the Exim already has two private options, \fB\-pd\fP and \fB\-ps\fP, that refer
1398to embedded Perl. It is therefore impossible to set a protocol value of d
1399or s using this option (but that does not seem a real limitation).
1400.TP 10
1401\fB\-q\fP
1402This option is normally restricted to admin users. However, there is a
1403configuration option called \fBprod_requires_admin\fP which can be set false to
1404relax this restriction (and also the same requirement for the \fB\-M\fP, \fB\-R\fP,
1405and \fB\-S\fP options).
1406.sp
1407The \fB\-q\fP option starts one queue runner process. This scans the queue of
1408waiting messages, and runs a delivery process for each one in turn. It waits
1409for each delivery process to finish before starting the next one. A delivery
1410process may not actually do any deliveries if the retry times for the addresses
1411have not been reached. Use \fB\-qf\fP (see below) if you want to override this.
1412.sp
1413If
1414the delivery process spawns other processes to deliver other messages down
1415passed SMTP connections, the queue runner waits for these to finish before
1416proceeding.
1417.sp
1418When all the queued messages have been considered, the original queue runner
1419process terminates. In other words, a single pass is made over the waiting
1420mail, one message at a time. Use \fB\-q\fP with a time (see below) if you want
1421this to be repeated periodically.
1422.sp
1423Exim processes the waiting messages in an unpredictable order. It isn't very
1424random, but it is likely to be different each time, which is all that matters.
1425If one particular message screws up a remote MTA, other messages to the same
1426MTA have a chance of getting through if they get tried first.
1427.sp
1428It is possible to cause the messages to be processed in lexical message id
1429order, which is essentially the order in which they arrived, by setting the
1430\fBqueue_run_in_order\fP option, but this is not recommended for normal use.
1431.TP 10
1432\fB\-q\fP<\fIqflags\fP>
1433The \fB\-q\fP option may be followed by one or more flag letters that change its
1434behaviour. They are all optional, but if more than one is present, they must
1435appear in the correct order. Each flag is described in a separate item below.
1436.TP 10
1437\fB\-qq...\fP
1438An option starting with \fB\-qq\fP requests a two\-stage queue run. In the first
1439stage, the queue is scanned as if the \fBqueue_smtp_domains\fP option matched
1440every domain. Addresses are routed, local deliveries happen, but no remote
1441transports are run.
1442.sp
1443The hints database that remembers which messages are waiting for specific hosts
1444is updated, as if delivery to those hosts had been deferred. After this is
1445complete, a second, normal queue scan happens, with routing and delivery taking
1446place as normal. Messages that are routed to the same host should mostly be
1447delivered down a single SMTP
1448connection because of the hints that were set up during the first queue scan.
1449This option may be useful for hosts that are connected to the Internet
1450intermittently.
1451.TP 10
1452\fB\-q[q]i...\fP
1453If the \fIi\fP flag is present, the queue runner runs delivery processes only for
1454those messages that haven't previously been tried. (\fIi\fP stands for "initial
1455delivery".) This can be helpful if you are putting messages on the queue using
1456\fB\-odq\fP and want a queue runner just to process the new messages.
1457.TP 10
1458\fB\-q[q][i]f...\fP
1459If one \fIf\fP flag is present, a delivery attempt is forced for each non\-frozen
1460message, whereas without \fIf\fP only those non\-frozen addresses that have passed
1461their retry times are tried.
1462.TP 10
1463\fB\-q[q][i]ff...\fP
1464If \fIff\fP is present, a delivery attempt is forced for every message, whether
1465frozen or not.
1466.TP 10
1467\fB\-q[q][i][f[f]]l\fP
1468The \fIl\fP (the letter "ell") flag specifies that only local deliveries are to
1469be done. If a message requires any remote deliveries, it remains on the queue
1470for later delivery.
1471.TP 10
1472\fB\-q\fP<\fIqflags\fP> <\fIstart id\fP> <\fIend id\fP>
1473When scanning the queue, Exim can be made to skip over messages whose ids are
1474lexically less than a given value by following the \fB\-q\fP option with a
1475starting message id. For example:
1476.sp
1477 exim \-q 0t5C6f\-0000c8\-00
1478.sp
1479Messages that arrived earlier than 0t5C6f\-0000c8\-00 are not inspected. If a
1480second message id is given, messages whose ids are lexically greater than it
1481are also skipped. If the same id is given twice, for example,
1482.sp
1483 exim \-q 0t5C6f\-0000c8\-00 0t5C6f\-0000c8\-00
1484.sp
1485just one delivery process is started, for that message. This differs from
1486\fB\-M\fP in that retry data is respected, and it also differs from \fB\-Mc\fP in
1487that it counts as a delivery from a queue run. Note that the selection
1488mechanism does not affect the order in which the messages are scanned. There
1489are also other ways of selecting specific sets of messages for delivery in a
1490queue run \- see \fB\-R\fP and \fB\-S\fP.
1491.TP 10
1492\fB\-q\fP<\fIqflags\fP><\fItime\fP>
1493When a time value is present, the \fB\-q\fP option causes Exim to run as a daemon,
1494starting a queue runner process at intervals specified by the given time value. This form of the
1495\fB\-q\fP option is commonly combined with the \fB\-bd\fP option, in which case a
1496single daemon process handles both functions. A common way of starting up a
1497combined daemon at system boot time is to use a command such as
1498.sp
1499 /usr/exim/bin/exim \-bd \-q30m
1500.sp
1501Such a daemon listens for incoming SMTP calls, and also starts a queue runner
1502process every 30 minutes.
1503.sp
1504When a daemon is started by \fB\-q\fP with a time value, but without \fB\-bd\fP, no
1505pid file is written unless one is explicitly requested by the \fB\-oP\fP option.
1506.TP 10
1507\fB\-qR\fP<\fIrsflags\fP> <\fIstring\fP>
1508This option is synonymous with \fB\-R\fP. It is provided for Sendmail
1509compatibility.
1510.TP 10
1511\fB\-qS\fP<\fIrsflags\fP> <\fIstring\fP>
1512This option is synonymous with \fB\-S\fP.
1513.TP 10
1514\fB\-R\fP<\fIrsflags\fP> <\fIstring\fP>
1515The <\fIrsflags\fP> may be empty, in which case the white space before the string
1516is optional, unless the string is \fIf\fP, \fIff\fP, \fIr\fP, \fIrf\fP, or \fIrff\fP,
1517which are the possible values for <\fIrsflags\fP>. White space is required if
1518<\fIrsflags\fP> is not empty.
1519.sp
1520This option is similar to \fB\-q\fP with no time value, that is, it causes Exim to
1521perform a single queue run, except that, when scanning the messages on the
1522queue, Exim processes only those that have at least one undelivered recipient
1523address containing the given string, which is checked in a case\-independent
1524way. If the <\fIrsflags\fP> start with \fIr\fP, <\fIstring\fP> is interpreted as a
1525regular expression; otherwise it is a literal string.
1526.sp
1527If you want to do periodic queue runs for messages with specific recipients,
1528you can combine \fB\-R\fP with \fB\-q\fP and a time value. For example:
1529.sp
1530 exim \-q25m \-R @special.domain.example
1531.sp
1532This example does a queue run for messages with recipients in the given domain
1533every 25 minutes. Any additional flags that are specified with \fB\-q\fP are
1534applied to each queue run.
1535.sp
1536Once a message is selected for delivery by this mechanism, all its addresses
1537are processed. For the first selected message, Exim overrides any retry
1538information and forces a delivery attempt for each undelivered address. This
1539means that if delivery of any address in the first message is successful, any
1540existing retry information is deleted, and so delivery attempts for that
1541address in subsequently selected messages (which are processed without forcing)
1542will run. However, if delivery of any address does not succeed, the retry
1543information is updated, and in subsequently selected messages, the failing
1544address will be skipped.
1545.sp
1546If the <\fIrsflags\fP> contain \fIf\fP or \fIff\fP, the delivery forcing applies to
1547all selected messages, not just the first; frozen messages are included when
1548\fIff\fP is present.
1549.sp
1550The \fB\-R\fP option makes it straightforward to initiate delivery of all messages
1551to a given domain after a host has been down for some time. When the SMTP
1552command ETRN is accepted by its ACL, its default
1553effect is to run Exim with the \fB\-R\fP option, but it can be configured to run
1554an arbitrary command instead.
1555.TP 10
1556\fB\-r\fP
1557This is a documented (for Sendmail) obsolete alternative name for \fB\-f\fP.
1558.TP 10
1559\fB\-S\fP<\fIrsflags\fP> <\fIstring\fP>
1560This option acts like \fB\-R\fP except that it checks the string against each
1561message's sender instead of against the recipients. If \fB\-R\fP is also set, both
1562conditions must be met for a message to be selected. If either of the options
1563has \fIf\fP or \fIff\fP in its flags, the associated action is taken.
1564.TP 10
1565\fB\-Tqt\fP <\fItimes\fP>
1566This is an option that is exclusively for use by the Exim testing suite. It is not
1567recognized when Exim is run normally. It allows for the setting up of explicit
1568"queue times" so that various warning/retry features can be tested.
1569.TP 10
1570\fB\-t\fP
1571When Exim is receiving a locally\-generated, non\-SMTP message on its standard
1572input, the \fB\-t\fP option causes the recipients of the message to be obtained
1573from the \fITo:\fP, \fICc:\fP, and \fIBcc:\fP header lines in the message instead of
1574from the command arguments. The addresses are extracted before any rewriting
1575takes place and the \fIBcc:\fP header line, if present, is then removed.
1576.sp
1577If the command has any arguments, they specify addresses to which the message
1578is \fInot\fP to be delivered. That is, the argument addresses are removed from
1579the recipients list obtained from the headers. This is compatible with Smail 3
1580and in accordance with the documented behaviour of several versions of
1581Sendmail, as described in man pages on a number of operating systems (e.g.
1582Solaris 8, IRIX 6.5, HP\-UX 11). However, some versions of Sendmail \fIadd\fP
1583argument addresses to those obtained from the headers, and the O'Reilly
1584Sendmail book documents it that way. Exim can be made to add argument addresses
1585instead of subtracting them by setting the option
1586\fBextract_addresses_remove_arguments\fP false.
1587.sp
1588If there are any \fBResent\-\fP header lines in the message, Exim extracts
1589recipients from all \fIResent\-To:\fP, \fIResent\-Cc:\fP, and \fIResent\-Bcc:\fP header
1590lines instead of from \fITo:\fP, \fICc:\fP, and \fIBcc:\fP. This is for compatibility
1591with Sendmail and other MTAs. (Prior to release 4.20, Exim gave an error if
1592\fB\-t\fP was used in conjunction with \fBResent\-\fP header lines.)
1593.sp
1594RFC 2822 talks about different sets of \fBResent\-\fP header lines (for when a
1595message is resent several times). The RFC also specifies that they should be
1596added at the front of the message, and separated by \fIReceived:\fP lines. It is
1597not at all clear how \fB\-t\fP should operate in the present of multiple sets,
1598nor indeed exactly what constitutes a "set".
1599In practice, it seems that MUAs do not follow the RFC. The \fBResent\-\fP lines
1600are often added at the end of the header, and if a message is resent more than
1601once, it is common for the original set of \fBResent\-\fP headers to be renamed as
1602\fBX\-Resent\-\fP when a new set is added. This removes any possible ambiguity.
1603.TP 10
1604\fB\-ti\fP
1605This option is exactly equivalent to \fB\-t\fP \fB\-i\fP. It is provided for
1606compatibility with Sendmail.
1607.TP 10
1608\fB\-tls\-on\-connect\fP
1609This option is available when Exim is compiled with TLS support. It forces all
1610incoming SMTP connections to behave as if the incoming port is listed in the
1611\fBtls_on_connect_ports\fP option.
1612.TP 10
1613\fB\-U\fP
1614Sendmail uses this option for "initial message submission", and its
1615documentation states that in future releases, it may complain about
1616syntactically invalid messages rather than fixing them when this flag is not
1617set. Exim ignores this option.
1618.TP 10
1619\fB\-v\fP
1620This option causes Exim to write information to the standard error stream,
1621describing what it is doing. In particular, it shows the log lines for
1622receiving and delivering a message, and if an SMTP connection is made, the SMTP
1623dialogue is shown. Some of the log lines shown may not actually be written to
1624the log if the setting of \fBlog_selector\fP discards them. Any relevant
1625selectors are shown with each log line. If none are shown, the logging is
1626unconditional.
1627.TP 10
1628\fB\-x\fP
1629AIX uses \fB\-x\fP for a private purpose ("mail from a local mail program has
1630National Language Support extended characters in the body of the mail item").
1631It sets \fB\-x\fP when calling the MTA from its \fBmail\fP command. Exim ignores
1632this option.
1633.TP 10
1634\fB\-X\fP <\fIlogfile\fP>
1635This option is interpreted by Sendmail to cause debug information to be sent
1636to the named file. It is ignored by Exim.
1637.sp
1638.
1639.SH "SEE ALSO"
1640.rs
1641.sp
1642The full Exim specification, the Exim book, and the Exim wiki.