master.8.html revision 1.1
1 1.1 tron <!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" 2 1.1 tron "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> 3 1.1 tron <html> <head> 4 1.1 tron <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> 5 1.1 tron <title> Postfix manual - master(8) </title> 6 1.1 tron </head> <body> <pre> 7 1.1 tron MASTER(8) MASTER(8) 8 1.1 tron 9 1.1 tron <b>NAME</b> 10 1.1 tron master - Postfix master process 11 1.1 tron 12 1.1 tron <b>SYNOPSIS</b> 13 1.1 tron <b>master</b> [<b>-Ddtv</b>] [<b>-c</b> <i>config</i><b>_</b><i>dir</i>] [<b>-e</b> <i>exit</i><b>_</b><i>time</i>] 14 1.1 tron 15 1.1 tron <b>DESCRIPTION</b> 16 1.1 tron The <a href="master.8.html"><b>master</b>(8)</a> daemon is the resident process that runs 17 1.1 tron Postfix daemons on demand: daemons to send or receive mes- 18 1.1 tron sages via the network, daemons to deliver mail locally, 19 1.1 tron etc. These daemons are created on demand up to a config- 20 1.1 tron urable maximum number per service. 21 1.1 tron 22 1.1 tron Postfix daemons terminate voluntarily, either after being 23 1.1 tron idle for a configurable amount of time, or after having 24 1.1 tron serviced a configurable number of requests. Exceptions to 25 1.1 tron this rule are the resident queue manager, address verifi- 26 1.1 tron cation server, and the TLS session cache and pseudo-random 27 1.1 tron number server. 28 1.1 tron 29 1.1 tron The behavior of the <a href="master.8.html"><b>master</b>(8)</a> daemon is controlled by the 30 1.1 tron <a href="master.5.html"><b>master.cf</b></a> configuration file, as described in <a href="master.5.html"><b>master</b>(5)</a>. 31 1.1 tron 32 1.1 tron Options: 33 1.1 tron 34 1.1 tron <b>-c</b> <i>config</i><b>_</b><i>dir</i> 35 1.1 tron Read the <a href="postconf.5.html"><b>main.cf</b></a> and <a href="master.5.html"><b>master.cf</b></a> configuration files 36 1.1 tron in the named directory instead of the default con- 37 1.1 tron figuration directory. This also overrides the con- 38 1.1 tron figuration files for other Postfix daemon pro- 39 1.1 tron cesses. 40 1.1 tron 41 1.1 tron <b>-D</b> After initialization, run a debugger on the master 42 1.1 tron process. The debugging command is specified with 43 1.1 tron the <b><a href="postconf.5.html#debugger_command">debugger_command</a></b> in the <a href="postconf.5.html"><b>main.cf</b></a> global configu- 44 1.1 tron ration file. 45 1.1 tron 46 1.1 tron <b>-d</b> Do not redirect stdin, stdout or stderr to 47 1.1 tron /dev/null, and do not discard the controlling ter- 48 1.1 tron minal. This must be used for debugging only. 49 1.1 tron 50 1.1 tron <b>-e</b> <i>exit</i><b>_</b><i>time</i> 51 1.1 tron Terminate the master process after <i>exit</i><b>_</b><i>time</i> sec- 52 1.1 tron onds. Child processes terminate at their conve- 53 1.1 tron nience. 54 1.1 tron 55 1.1 tron <b>-t</b> Test mode. Return a zero exit status when the <b>mas-</b> 56 1.1 tron <b>ter.pid</b> lock file does not exist or when that file 57 1.1 tron is not locked. This is evidence that the <a href="master.8.html"><b>master</b>(8)</a> 58 1.1 tron daemon is not running. 59 1.1 tron 60 1.1 tron <b>-v</b> Enable verbose logging for debugging purposes. This 61 1.1 tron option is passed on to child processes. Multiple <b>-v</b> 62 1.1 tron options make the software increasingly verbose. 63 1.1 tron 64 1.1 tron Signals: 65 1.1 tron 66 1.1 tron <b>SIGHUP</b> Upon receipt of a <b>HUP</b> signal (e.g., after "<b>postfix</b> 67 1.1 tron <b>reload</b>"), the master process re-reads its configu- 68 1.1 tron ration files. If a service has been removed from 69 1.1 tron the <a href="master.5.html"><b>master.cf</b></a> file, its running processes are ter- 70 1.1 tron minated immediately. Otherwise, running processes 71 1.1 tron are allowed to terminate as soon as is convenient, 72 1.1 tron so that changes in configuration settings affect 73 1.1 tron only new service requests. 74 1.1 tron 75 1.1 tron <b>SIGTERM</b> 76 1.1 tron Upon receipt of a <b>TERM</b> signal (e.g., after "<b>postfix</b> 77 1.1 tron <b>abort</b>"), the master process passes the signal on to 78 1.1 tron its child processes and terminates. This is useful 79 1.1 tron for an emergency shutdown. Normally one would ter- 80 1.1 tron minate only the master ("<b>postfix stop</b>") and allow 81 1.1 tron running processes to finish what they are doing. 82 1.1 tron 83 1.1 tron <b>DIAGNOSTICS</b> 84 1.1 tron Problems are reported to <b>syslogd</b>(8). 85 1.1 tron 86 1.1 tron <b>ENVIRONMENT</b> 87 1.1 tron <b>MAIL_DEBUG</b> 88 1.1 tron After initialization, start a debugger as specified 89 1.1 tron with the <b><a href="postconf.5.html#debugger_command">debugger_command</a></b> configuration parameter 90 1.1 tron in the <a href="postconf.5.html"><b>main.cf</b></a> configuration file. 91 1.1 tron 92 1.1 tron <b>MAIL_CONFIG</b> 93 1.1 tron Directory with Postfix configuration files. 94 1.1 tron 95 1.1 tron <b>CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS</b> 96 1.1 tron Unlike most Postfix daemon processes, the <a href="master.8.html"><b>master</b>(8)</a> server 97 1.1 tron does not automatically pick up changes to <a href="postconf.5.html"><b>main.cf</b></a>. Changes 98 1.1 tron to <a href="master.5.html"><b>master.cf</b></a> are never picked up automatically. Use the 99 1.1 tron "<b>postfix reload</b>" command after a configuration change. 100 1.1 tron 101 1.1 tron <b>RESOURCE AND RATE CONTROLS</b> 102 1.1 tron <b><a href="postconf.5.html#default_process_limit">default_process_limit</a> (100)</b> 103 1.1 tron The default maximal number of Postfix child pro- 104 1.1 tron cesses that provide a given service. 105 1.1 tron 106 1.1 tron <b><a href="postconf.5.html#max_idle">max_idle</a> (100s)</b> 107 1.1 tron The maximum amount of time that an idle Postfix 108 1.1 tron daemon process waits for an incoming connection 109 1.1 tron before terminating voluntarily. 110 1.1 tron 111 1.1 tron <b><a href="postconf.5.html#max_use">max_use</a> (100)</b> 112 1.1 tron The maximal number of incoming connections that a 113 1.1 tron Postfix daemon process will service before termi- 114 1.1 tron nating voluntarily. 115 1.1 tron 116 1.1 tron <b><a href="postconf.5.html#service_throttle_time">service_throttle_time</a> (60s)</b> 117 1.1 tron How long the Postfix <a href="master.8.html"><b>master</b>(8)</a> waits before forking 118 1.1 tron a server that appears to be malfunctioning. 119 1.1 tron 120 1.1 tron Available in Postfix version 2.6 and later: 121 1.1 tron 122 1.1 tron <b><a href="postconf.5.html#master_service_disable">master_service_disable</a> (empty)</b> 123 1.1 tron Selectively disable <a href="master.8.html"><b>master</b>(8)</a> listener ports by 124 1.1 tron service type or by service name and type. 125 1.1 tron 126 1.1 tron <b>MISCELLANEOUS CONTROLS</b> 127 1.1 tron <b><a href="postconf.5.html#config_directory">config_directory</a> (see 'postconf -d' output)</b> 128 1.1 tron The default location of the Postfix <a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a> and 129 1.1 tron <a href="master.5.html">master.cf</a> configuration files. 130 1.1 tron 131 1.1 tron <b><a href="postconf.5.html#daemon_directory">daemon_directory</a> (see 'postconf -d' output)</b> 132 1.1 tron The directory with Postfix support programs and 133 1.1 tron daemon programs. 134 1.1 tron 135 1.1 tron <b><a href="postconf.5.html#debugger_command">debugger_command</a> (empty)</b> 136 1.1 tron The external command to execute when a Postfix dae- 137 1.1 tron mon program is invoked with the -D option. 138 1.1 tron 139 1.1 tron <b><a href="postconf.5.html#inet_interfaces">inet_interfaces</a> (all)</b> 140 1.1 tron The network interface addresses that this mail sys- 141 1.1 tron tem receives mail on. 142 1.1 tron 143 1.1 tron <b><a href="postconf.5.html#inet_protocols">inet_protocols</a> (ipv4)</b> 144 1.1 tron The Internet protocols Postfix will attempt to use 145 1.1 tron when making or accepting connections. 146 1.1 tron 147 1.1 tron <b><a href="postconf.5.html#import_environment">import_environment</a> (see 'postconf -d' output)</b> 148 1.1 tron The list of environment parameters that a Postfix 149 1.1 tron process will import from a non-Postfix parent 150 1.1 tron process. 151 1.1 tron 152 1.1 tron <b><a href="postconf.5.html#mail_owner">mail_owner</a> (postfix)</b> 153 1.1 tron The UNIX system account that owns the Postfix queue 154 1.1 tron and most Postfix daemon processes. 155 1.1 tron 156 1.1 tron <b><a href="postconf.5.html#process_id">process_id</a> (read-only)</b> 157 1.1 tron The process ID of a Postfix command or daemon 158 1.1 tron process. 159 1.1 tron 160 1.1 tron <b><a href="postconf.5.html#process_name">process_name</a> (read-only)</b> 161 1.1 tron The process name of a Postfix command or daemon 162 1.1 tron process. 163 1.1 tron 164 1.1 tron <b><a href="postconf.5.html#queue_directory">queue_directory</a> (see 'postconf -d' output)</b> 165 1.1 tron The location of the Postfix top-level queue direc- 166 1.1 tron tory. 167 1.1 tron 168 1.1 tron <b><a href="postconf.5.html#syslog_facility">syslog_facility</a> (mail)</b> 169 1.1 tron The syslog facility of Postfix logging. 170 1.1 tron 171 1.1 tron <b><a href="postconf.5.html#syslog_name">syslog_name</a> (see 'postconf -d' output)</b> 172 1.1 tron The mail system name that is prepended to the 173 1.1 tron process name in syslog records, so that "smtpd" 174 1.1 tron becomes, for example, "postfix/smtpd". 175 1.1 tron 176 1.1 tron <b>FILES</b> 177 1.1 tron To expand the directory names below into their actual val- 178 1.1 tron ues, use the command "<b>postconf <a href="postconf.5.html#config_directory">config_directory</a></b>" etc. 179 1.1 tron 180 1.1 tron $<a href="postconf.5.html#config_directory">config_directory</a>/<a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a>, global configuration file. 181 1.1 tron $<a href="postconf.5.html#config_directory">config_directory</a>/<a href="master.5.html">master.cf</a>, master server configuration file. 182 1.1 tron $<a href="postconf.5.html#queue_directory">queue_directory</a>/pid/master.pid, master lock file. 183 1.1 tron $<a href="postconf.5.html#data_directory">data_directory</a>/master.lock, master lock file. 184 1.1 tron 185 1.1 tron <b>SEE ALSO</b> 186 1.1 tron <a href="qmgr.8.html">qmgr(8)</a>, queue manager 187 1.1 tron <a href="verify.8.html">verify(8)</a>, address verification 188 1.1 tron <a href="master.5.html">master(5)</a>, <a href="master.5.html">master.cf</a> configuration file syntax 189 1.1 tron <a href="postconf.5.html">postconf(5)</a>, <a href="postconf.5.html">main.cf</a> configuration parameter syntax 190 1.1 tron syslogd(8), system logging 191 1.1 tron 192 1.1 tron <b>LICENSE</b> 193 1.1 tron The Secure Mailer license must be distributed with this 194 1.1 tron software. 195 1.1 tron 196 1.1 tron <b>AUTHOR(S)</b> 197 1.1 tron Wietse Venema 198 1.1 tron IBM T.J. Watson Research 199 1.1 tron P.O. Box 704 200 1.1 tron Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA 201 1.1 tron 202 1.1 tron MASTER(8) 203 1.1 tron </pre> </body> </html> 204
Indexes created Fri Jun 26 00:24:39 UTC 2026