ERROR(8) ERROR(8)
NAME
error - Postfix error/retry mail delivery agent
SYNOPSIS
error [generic Postfix daemon options]
DESCRIPTION
The Postfix error(8) delivery agent processes delivery
requests from the queue manager. Each request specifies a
queue file, a sender address, the reason for non-delivery
(specified as the next-hop destination), and recipient
information. The reason may be prefixed with an RFC
3463-compatible detail code; if none is specified a
default 4.0.0 or 5.0.0 code is used instead. This program
expects to be run from the master(8) process manager.
Depending on the service name in master.cf, error or
retry, the server bounces or defers all recipients in the
delivery request using the "next-hop" information as the
reason for non-delivery. The retry service name is sup-
ported as of Postfix 2.4.
Delivery status reports are sent to the bounce(8),
defer(8) or trace(8) daemon as appropriate.
SECURITY
The error(8) mailer is not security-sensitive. It does not
talk to the network, and can be run chrooted at fixed low
privilege.
STANDARDS
RFC 3463 (Enhanced Status Codes)
DIAGNOSTICS
Problems and transactions are logged to syslogd(8).
Depending on the setting of the notify_classes parameter,
the postmaster is notified of bounces and of other trou-
ble.
CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS
Changes to main.cf are picked up automatically as error(8)
processes run for only a limited amount of time. Use the
command "postfix reload" to speed up a change.
The text below provides only a parameter summary. See
postconf(5) for more details including examples.
2bounce_notice_recipient (postmaster)
The recipient of undeliverable mail that cannot be
returned to the sender.
bounce_notice_recipient (postmaster)
The recipient of postmaster notifications with the
message headers of mail that Postfix did not
deliver and of SMTP conversation transcripts of
mail that Postfix did not receive.
config_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
The default location of the Postfix main.cf and
master.cf configuration files.
daemon_timeout (18000s)
How much time a Postfix daemon process may take to
handle a request before it is terminated by a
built-in watchdog timer.
delay_logging_resolution_limit (2)
The maximal number of digits after the decimal
point when logging sub-second delay values.
double_bounce_sender (double-bounce)
The sender address of postmaster notifications that
are generated by the mail system.
ipc_timeout (3600s)
The time limit for sending or receiving information
over an internal communication channel.
max_idle (100s)
The maximum amount of time that an idle Postfix
daemon process waits for an incoming connection
before terminating voluntarily.
max_use (100)
The maximal number of incoming connections that a
Postfix daemon process will service before termi-
nating voluntarily.
notify_classes (resource, software)
The list of error classes that are reported to the
postmaster.
process_id (read-only)
The process ID of a Postfix command or daemon
process.
process_name (read-only)
The process name of a Postfix command or daemon
process.
queue_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
The location of the Postfix top-level queue direc-
tory.
syslog_facility (mail)
The syslog facility of Postfix logging.
syslog_name (see 'postconf -d' output)
The mail system name that is prepended to the
process name in syslog records, so that "smtpd"
becomes, for example, "postfix/smtpd".
SEE ALSO
qmgr(8), queue manager
bounce(8), delivery status reports
discard(8), Postfix discard delivery agent
postconf(5), configuration parameters
master(5), generic daemon options
master(8), process manager
syslogd(8), system logging
LICENSE
The Secure Mailer license must be distributed with this
software.
AUTHOR(S)
Wietse Venema
IBM T.J. Watson Research
P.O. Box 704
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA
ERROR(8)