POSTQUEUE(1) General Commands Manual POSTQUEUE(1)
NAME
postqueue - Postfix queue control
SYNOPSIS
To flush the mail queue:
postqueue [-v] [-c config_dir] -f
postqueue [-v] [-c config_dir] -i queue_id
postqueue [-v] [-c config_dir] -s site
To list the mail queue:
postqueue [-v] [-c config_dir] -j
postqueue [-v] [-c config_dir] -p
DESCRIPTION
The postqueue(1) command implements the Postfix user interface for queue
management. It implements operations that are traditionally available
via the sendmail(1) command. See the postsuper(1) command for queue op-
erations that require super-user privileges such as deleting a message
from the queue or changing the status of a message.
The following options are recognized:
-c config_dir
The main.cf configuration file is in the named directory instead
of the default configuration directory. See also the MAIL_CONFIG
environment setting below.
-f Flush the queue: attempt to deliver all queued mail.
This option implements the traditional "sendmail -q" command, by
contacting the Postfix qmgr(8) daemon.
Warning: flushing undeliverable mail frequently will result in
poor delivery performance of all other mail.
-i queue_id
Schedule immediate delivery of deferred mail with the specified
queue ID.
This option implements the traditional sendmail -qI command, by
contacting the flush(8) server.
This feature is available with Postfix version 2.4 and later.
-j Produce a queue listing in JSON LINES format, based on output
from the showq(8) daemon. See "JSON OBJECT FORMAT" below for de-
tails.
This feature is available in Postfix 3.1 and later.
-p Produce a traditional sendmail-style queue listing. This option
implements the traditional mailq command, by contacting the Post-
fix showq(8) daemon.
Each queue entry shows the queue file ID, message size, arrival
time, sender, and the recipients that still need to be delivered.
If mail could not be delivered upon the last attempt, the reason
for failure is shown. The queue ID string is followed by an op-
tional status character:
* The message is in the active queue, i.e. the message is
selected for delivery.
! The message is in the hold queue, i.e. no further delivery
attempt will be made until the mail is taken off hold.
# The message is forced to expire. See the postsuper(1) op-
tions -e or -f.
This feature is available in Postfix 3.5 and later.
-s site
Schedule immediate delivery of all mail that is queued for the
named site. A numerical site must be specified as a valid RFC
5321 address literal enclosed in [], just like in email ad-
dresses. The site must be eligible for the "fast flush" service.
See flush(8) for more information about the "fast flush" service.
This option implements the traditional "sendmail -qRsite" com-
mand, by contacting the Postfix flush(8) daemon.
-v Enable verbose logging for debugging purposes. Multiple -v op-
tions make the software increasingly verbose. As of Postfix 2.3,
this option is available for the super-user only.
JSON OBJECT FORMAT
Each JSON object represents one queue file; it is emitted as a single
text line followed by a newline character.
Object members have string values unless indicated otherwise. Programs
should ignore object members that are not listed here; the list of mem-
bers is expected to grow over time.
queue_name
The name of the queue where the message was found. Note that the
contents of the mail queue may change while it is being listed;
some messages may appear more than once, and some messages may be
missed.
queue_id
The queue file name. The queue_id may be reused within a Postfix
instance unless "enable_long_queue_ids = true" and time is monot-
onic. Even then, the queue_id is not expected to be unique be-
tween different Postfix instances. Management tools that require
a unique name should combine the queue_id with the myhostname
setting of the Postfix instance.
arrival_time
The number of seconds since the start of the UNIX epoch.
message_size
The number of bytes in the message header and body. This number
does not include message envelope information. It is approxi-
mately equal to the number of bytes that would be transmitted via
SMTP including the <CR><LF> line endings.
forced_expire
The message is forced to expire (true or false). See the postsu-
per(1) options -e or -f.
This feature is available in Postfix 3.5 and later.
sender The envelope sender address.
recipients
An array containing zero or more objects with members:
address
One recipient address.
delay_reason
If present, the reason for delayed delivery. Delayed re-
cipients may have no delay reason, for example, while de-
livery is in progress, or after the system was stopped be-
fore it could record the reason.
SECURITY
This program is designed to run with set-group ID privileges, so that it
can connect to Postfix daemon processes.
STANDARDS
RFC 7159 (JSON notation)
DIAGNOSTICS
Problems are logged to syslogd(8) or postlogd(8), and to the standard
error stream.
ENVIRONMENT
MAIL_CONFIG
Directory with the main.cf file. In order to avoid exploitation
of set-group ID privileges, a non-standard directory is allowed
only if:
• The name is listed in the standard main.cf file with the
alternate_config_directories configuration parameter.
• The command is invoked by the super-user.
CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS
The following main.cf parameters are especially relevant to this pro-
gram. The text below provides only a parameter summary. See postconf(5)
for more details including examples.
alternate_config_directories (empty)
A list of non-default Postfix configuration directories that may
be specified with "-c config_directory" on the command line (in
the case of sendmail(1), with the "-C" option), or via the
MAIL_CONFIG environment parameter.
config_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
The default location of the Postfix main.cf and master.cf config-
uration files.
command_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
The location of all postfix administrative commands.
fast_flush_domains ($relay_domains)
Optional list of destinations that are eligible for per-destina-
tion logfiles with mail that is queued to those destinations.
import_environment (see 'postconf -d' output)
The list of environment variables that a privileged Postfix
process will import from a non-Postfix parent process, or
name=value environment overrides.
queue_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
The location of the Postfix top-level queue directory.
syslog_facility (mail)
The syslog facility of Postfix logging.
syslog_name (see 'postconf -d' output)
A prefix that is prepended to the process name in syslog records,
so that, for example, "smtpd" becomes "prefix/smtpd".
trigger_timeout (10s)
The time limit for sending a trigger to a Postfix daemon (for ex-
ample, the pickup(8) or qmgr(8) daemon).
Available in Postfix version 2.2 and later:
authorized_flush_users (static:anyone)
List of users who are authorized to flush the queue.
authorized_mailq_users (static:anyone)
List of users who are authorized to view the queue.
FILES
/var/spool/postfix, mail queue
SEE ALSO
qmgr(8), queue manager
showq(8), list mail queue
flush(8), fast flush service
sendmail(1), Sendmail-compatible user interface
postsuper(1), privileged queue operations
postlogd(8), Postfix logging
syslogd(8), system logging
README FILES
Use "postconf readme_directory" or "postconf html_directory" to locate
this information.
ETRN_README, Postfix ETRN howto
LICENSE
The Secure Mailer license must be distributed with this software.
HISTORY
The postqueue command was introduced with Postfix version 1.1.
AUTHOR(S)
Wietse Venema
IBM T.J. Watson Research
P.O. Box 704
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA
Wietse Venema
Google, Inc.
111 8th Avenue
New York, NY 10011, USA
POSTQUEUE(1)
Generated by dwww version 1.16 on Tue Dec 16 04:54:08 CET 2025.