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man : msmtp
File: msmtp.info, Node: Top, Next: Introduction, Up: (dir)
msmtp
*****
This manual was last updated June 17, 2006 for version 1.4.6 of msmtp.
Copyright (C) 2005, 2006 Martin Lambers
This program, including this manual, is free software; you can
redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU
General Public License as published by the Free Software
Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option)
any later version.
This program, including this manual, is distributed in the hope
that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the
implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA
02111-1307 USA
* Menu:
* Introduction:: Basic concepts.
* Configuration files:: Configuration file commands.
* Invocation:: Command line options.
* SMTP features:: Explanation of various SMTP features.
* Sendmail mode:: How to send mail.
* Server information mode:: How to obtain information about
an SMTP server.
* Remote Message Queue Starting mode:: How to send RMQS requests.
* Examples:: Usage examples.
* Development:: About the development process.
File: msmtp.info, Node: Introduction, Next: Configuration files, Prev: Top, Up: Top
1 Introduction
**************
msmtp is an SMTP client.
In its default mode of operation, it reads a mail from standard
input and sends it to a predefined SMTP server that takes care of
proper delivery. Command line options and exit codes are compatible to
sendmail.
Supported SMTP features include:
* Authentication methods PLAIN, LOGIN, CRAM-MD5 and EXTERNAL (and
GSSAPI, DIGEST-MD5 and NTLM when compiled with GNU SASL support)
* TLS encrypted connections with the OpenSSL or GnuTLS libraries
(including server certificate verification and the possibility to
send a client certificate)
* Support for Internationalized Domain Names (IDN)
* DSN (Delivery Status Notification) support
* PIPELINING support for increased transmission speed
* RMQS (Remote Message Queue Starting) support (ETRN keyword)
The best way to start is probably to have a look at the Examples
section. *Note Examples::.
In addition to sendmail mode, there are two other modes of operation:
* Server information mode. In this mode, msmtp prints as much
information as it can get about a given SMTP server (supported
features, maximum mail size, ...).
* Remote Message Queue Starting mode. In this mode, msmtp sends a
Remote Message Queue Starting request for a host, domain, or queue
to a given SMTP server.
Normally, a system wide configuration file and/or a user
configuration file contain information about which SMTP server to use
and how to use it, but almost all settings can also be configured on
the command line.
The information about SMTP servers is organized in accounts. Each
account describes one SMTP server: host name, authentication settings,
TLS settings, and so on. Each configuration file can define multiple
accounts.
File: msmtp.info, Node: Configuration files, Next: Invocation, Prev: Introduction, Up: Top
2 Configuration files
*********************
msmtp supports a system wide configuration file and a user
configuration file. Both are optional and need not exist.
If it exists and is readable, a system wide configuration file
`SYSCONFDIR/msmtprc' will be loaded, where `SYSCONFDIR' depends on your
platform. The default is `/usr/local/etc'. Use `--version' to find out
which directory your version uses.
If it exists and is readable, a user configuration file will be
loaded (`~/.msmtprc' by default). Accounts defined in the user
configuration file override accounts from the system configuration
file. The user configuration file must have no more permissions than
user read/write. Configuration data from either file can be changed by
command line options.
A configuration file is a simple text file. Empty lines and comment
lines (whose first non-blank character is '#') are ignored. Every other
line must contain a command and may contain an argument to that command.
The argument may be enclosed in double quotes (").
If the first character of a filename is the tilde (~), this tilde
will be replaced by `$HOME'. If a command accepts the argument `on',
it also accepts an empty argument and treats that as if it was `on'.
Commands form groups. Each group starts with the `account' command
and defines the settings for one SMTP server.
*Note Examples::.
2.1 General commands
====================
`defaults'
Set defaults. The following configuration commands will set
default values for all following account definitions in the
current configuration file.
`account NAME [: ACCOUNT[,...]]'
Start a new account definition with the given name. The current
default values are filled in (see *Note defaults::).
If a colon and a list of previously defined accounts is given
after the account name, the new account, with the filled in
default values, will inherit all settings from the accounts in the
list.
`host HOSTNAME'
The SMTP server to send the mail to. The argument may be a host
name or a network address. Every account definition must contain
this command.
`port NUMBER'
The port that the SMTP server listens on. The default port will
be acquired from your operating system's service database: for
SMTP, the service is "smtp" (default port 25), unless TLS without
STARTTLS is used, in which case it is "ssmtp" (465). For LMTP, it
is "lmtp".
`timeout (off|SECONDS)'
Set or unset a network timeout, in seconds. The argument `off'
means that no timeout will be set, which means that the operating
system default will be used. For compatibility with older
versions, `connect_timeout' is accepted as an alias for this
command.
`protocol (smtp|lmtp)'
Set the protocol to use. Currently only SMTP and LMTP are
supported. SMTP is the default. See *Note port:: for default ports.
`domain ARGUMENT'
This command sets the argument of the SMTP EHLO (or LMTP LHLO)
command. The default is `localhost', which is stupid but should
always work. Possible choices are the domain part of your mail
address (`provider.example' for `joeATprovider.example') or the
fully qualified domain name of your host (if available).
2.2 Authentication commands
===========================
*Note Authentication::.
`auth [(on|off|METHOD)]'
This command enables or disables SMTP authentication and
optionally chooses an authentication method to use. It should not
be necessary to choose a method; with the argument `on', msmtp
will choose the best one available. Accepted methods are `plain',
`cram-md5', `digest-md5', `gssapi', `external', `login', and
`ntlm'. *Note Authentication::.
`user [USERNAME]'
Set your user name for SMTP authentication. An empty argument
unsets the user name. Authentication must be activated with the
`auth' command.
`password [SECRET]'
Set your password for SMTP authentication. An empty argument
unsets the password. Authentication must be activated with the
`auth' command. If no password is set but one is needed during
authentication, msmtp will try to find it in `~/.netrc', and if
that fails, will prompt you for it. *Note Authentication::.
`ntlmdomain [NTLMDOMAIN]'
Set a domain for the `ntlm' authentication method. The default is
to use no domain (equivalent to an empty argument), but some
servers seem to require one, even if it is an arbitrary string.
2.3 TLS commands
================
*Note Transport Layer Security::.
`tls [(on|off)]'
This command enables or disables TLS/SSL encrypted connections to
the SMTP server. Not every server supports TLS, and a few that do
require the `tls_starttls off' command. It is recommended to also
use the `tls_trust_file' command. *Note Transport Layer Security::.
`tls_trust_file [FILE]'
This command activates strict server certificate verification.
The given file must contain one or more certificates of trusted
Certification Authorities (CAs) in PEM format. An empty argument
disables this feature. *Note Transport Layer Security::.
`tls_key_file [FILE]'
This command (together with the `tls_cert_file') command enables
msmtp to send a client certificate to the SMTP server if requested.
The file must contain the private key of a certificate in PEM
format. An empty argument disables this feature. *Note Transport
Layer Security::.
`tls_cert_file [FILE]'
This command (together with the `tls_key_file' command) enables
msmtp to send a client certificate to the SMTP server if requested.
The file must contain a certificate in PEM format. An empty
argument disables this feature. *Note Transport Layer Security::.
`tls_certcheck [(on|off)]'
This command enables or disables sanity checks for the server
certificate. These checks are enabled by default, but can cause
difficulties in rare cases. *Note Transport Layer Security::.
For compatibility with older versions, `tls_nocertcheck' is
accepted as an alias for `tls_certcheck off'.
`tls_starttls [(on|off)]'
This command enables or disables the use of the STARTTLS SMTP
command to start TLS encryption. It is enabled by default. *Note
Transport Layer Security::. For compatibility with older
versions, `tls_nostarttls' is accepted as an alias for
`tls_starttls off'.
2.4 Commands specific to sendmail mode
======================================
*Note Sendmail mode::.
`auto_from [(on|off)]'
Enable or disable automatic envelope-from addresses. The default is
`off'.
When enabled, an envelope-from address of the form user@domain
will be generated. The local part will be set to `$USER' or, if
that fails, to `$LOGNAME' or, if that fails, to the login name of
the current user. The domain part can be set with the
`maildomain' command (see *Note maildomain::). If the maildomain
is empty, the envelope-from address will only consist of the user
name and not have a domain part.
When disabled, the envelope-from address must be set explicitly
with the `from' command (see *Note from::).
*Note Envelope-from address::.
`from [ADDRESS]'
Set the envelope-from address. This address will only be used when
`auto_from' is disabled. *Note Envelope-from address::.
`maildomain [DOMAIN]'
Set a domain part for the generation of an envelope-from address.
This is only used when `auto_from' is enabled. The domain may be
empty. *Note Envelope-from address::.
`dsn_notify (off|CONDITION)'
This command sets the condition(s) under which the mail system
should send DSN (Delivery Status Notification) messages. The
argument off disables explicit DSN requests, which means the mail
system decides when to send DSN messages. This is the default.
The CONDITION must be `never', to never request notification, or a
comma separated list (no spaces!) of one or more of the following:
`failure', to request notification on transmission failure,
`delay', to be notified of message delays, `success', to be
notified of successful transmission. The SMTP server must support
the DSN extension. *Note Delivery Status Notifications::.
`dsn_return (off|AMOUNT)'
This command controls how much of a mail should be returned in DSN
(Delivery Status Notification) messages. The argument off disables
explicit DSN requests, which means the mail system decides how
much of a mail it returns in DSN messages. This is the default.
The AMOUNT must be `headers', to just return the message headers,
or `full', to return the full mail. The SMTP server must support
the DSN extension. *Note Delivery Status Notifications::.
`keepbcc [(on|off)]'
This command controls whether to remove or keep the Bcc header
when sending a mail. The default is to remove it. *Note Bcc
header::.
`logfile [FILE]'
This command enables or disables logging to the specified file. An
empty argument disables this feature. The file name `-' directs
the log information to standard output. *Note Logging::.
`syslog [(on|off|FACILITY)]'
This command enables or disables syslog logging. The facility can
be one of `LOG_USER', `LOG_MAIL', `LOG_LOCAL0', ..., `LOG_LOCAL7'.
The default facility is `LOG_USER'. Syslog logging is disabled by
default. *Note Logging::.
File: msmtp.info, Node: Invocation, Next: SMTP features, Prev: Configuration files, Up: Top
3 Invocation
************
3.1 Synopsis
============
* Sendmail mode (default):
`msmtp [OPTION...] [--] RECIPIENT...'
`msmtp [OPTION...] -t [--] [RECIPIENT...]'
* Server information mode:
`msmtp [OPTION...] --serverinfo'
* Remote Message Queue Starting mode:
`msmtp [OPTION...] --rmqs=(HOST|@DOMAIN|#QUEUE)'
3.2 Options
===========
Options override configuration file settings. They are compatible with
sendmail where appropriate.
3.2.1 General options
---------------------
`--version'
Print version information. This includes information about the
library used for TLS/SSL support (if any), the library used for
authentication, the authentication mechanisms supported by this
library, and the default locations of the system and user
configuration files.
`--help'
Print help.
`-P'
`--pretend'
Print the configuration settings that would be used, but do not
take further action. An asterisk ('*') will be printed instead of
the password.
`-d'
`--debug'
Print lots of debugging information, including the whole
conversation with the SMTP server. Be careful with this option:
the (potentially dangerous) output will not be sanitized, and your
password may get printed in an easily decodable format!
3.2.2 Changing the mode of operation
------------------------------------
`-S'
`--serverinfo'
Print information about the SMTP server and exit. This includes
information about supported features (mail size limit,
authentication, TLS, DSN, ...) and about the TLS certificate (if
TLS is active). *Note Server information mode::.
`--rmqs=(HOST|@DOMAIN|#QUEUE)'
Send a Remote Message Queue Starting request for the given host,
domain, or queue to the SMTP server and exit. *Note Remote
Message Queue Starting mode::.
3.2.3 Configuration options
---------------------------
Most options in this category correspond to a configuration file
command. Please refer to *Note Configuration files:: for detailed
information.
`-C FILENAME'
`--file=FILENAME'
Use the given file instead of `~/.msmtprc' as the user
configuration file.
`-a ACCOUNT'
`--account=ACCOUNT'
Use the given account instead of the account named `default'. This
option cannot be used together with the `--host' option. *Note
Choosing an account::.
`--host=HOSTNAME'
Use this SMTP server with settings from the command line; do not
use any configuration file data. This option cannot be used
together with the `--account' option. It disables loading of
configuration files. *Note Choosing an account::.
`--port=NUMBER'
Set the port number to connect to. *Note port::.
`--timeout=(off|SECONDS)'
Set a network timeout. *Note timeout::. For compatibility with
older versions, `--connect-timeout' is accepted as an alias for
this option.
`--protocol=(smtp|lmtp)'
Set the protocol. *Note protocol::.
`--domain=[ARGUMENT]'
Set the argument of the SMTP EHLO (or LMTP LHLO) command. *Note
domain::.
`--auth[=(on|off|METHOD)]'
Enable or disable authentication and optionally choose the method.
*Note auth::.
`--user=[USERNAME]'
Set or unset the user name for authentication. *Note user::.
`--tls[=(on|off)]'
Enable or disable TLS. *Note tls::.
`--tls-trust-file=[FILE]'
Set or unset a trust file for TLS encryption. *Note
tls_trust_file::.
`--tls-key-file=[FILE]'
Set or unset a key file for TLS encryption. *Note tls_key_file::.
`--tls-cert-file=[FILE]'
Set or unset a cert file for TLS encryption. *Note tls_cert_file::.
`--tls-certcheck[=(on|off)]'
Enable or disable server certificate checks for TLS encryption.
*Note tls_certcheck::.
`--tls-starttls[=(on|off)]'
Enable or disable STARTTLS for TLS encryption. *Note
tls_starttls::.
3.2.4 Options specific to sendmail mode
---------------------------------------
`--auto-from[=(on|off)]'
Enable or disable automatic envelope-from addresses. The default
is off. *Note auto_from::.
`-f ADDRESS'
`--from=ADDRESS'
Set the envelope-from address. It is only used when `auto_from' is
off. *Note from::.
If no account was chosen yet (with `--account' or `--host'), this
option will choose the first account that has the given
envelope-from address (set with the `from' command). If no such
account is found, "default" is used. *Note Choosing an account::.
`--maildomain=[DOMAIN]'
Set the domain part for generated envelope-from addresses. It is
only used when `auto_from' is on. *Note maildomain::.
`-N (off|CONDITION)'
`--dsn-notify=(off|CONDITION)'
Set or unset DSN notification conditions. *Note dsn_notify::.
`-R (off|AMOUNT)'
`--dsn-return=(off|AMOUNT)'
Set or unset the DSN notification amount. *Note dsn_return::.
Note that `hdrs' is accepted as an alias for `headers' to be
compatible with sendmail.
`--keepbcc[=(on|off)]'
Enable or disable the preservation of the Bcc header. *Note
keepbcc::.
`-X [FILE]'
`--logfile=[FILE]'
Set or unset the log file. *Note logfile::.
`--syslog[=(on|off|FACILITY)]'
Enable or disable syslog logging. *Note syslog::.
`-t'
`--read-recipients'
Send the mail to the recipients given in the To, Cc, and Bcc
headers of the mail in addition to the recipients given on the
command line.
`--'
This marks the end of options. All following arguments will be
treated as recipient addresses, even if they start with a '-'.
The following options are accepted but ignored for sendmail
compatibility: `-BTYPE', `-bm', `-FNAME', `-G', `-hN', `-i', `-L TAG',
`-m', `-n', `-O option=VALUE', `-ox VALUE', `-v'
3.3 Choosing an account
=======================
There are three ways to choose the account to use. It depends on the
circumstances which method is the best.
1. `--account=ACCOUNT'
Use the given account. Command line settings override
configuration file settings.
2. `--host=HOSTNAME'
Use only the settings from the command line; do not use any
configuration file data.
3. `--from=ADDRESS'
Choose the first account from the system or user configuration
file that has a matching envelope-from address as specified by a
`from' command. This works only when neither `--account' nor
`--host' is used.
If none of the above options is used (or if `--from' is used
but no account has a matching `from' command), then the account
"default" is used.
3.4 Exit code
=============
The standard exit codes from `sysexits.h' are used.
3.5 Environment / Files
=======================
``SYSCONFDIR/msmtprc''
The system configuration file. Use the `--version' option to find
out what `SYSCONFDIR' is on your platform.
``~/.msmtprc''
The default user configuration file.
``~/.netrc''
The `.netrc' file contains login information. If a password is not
found in the configuration file, msmtp will search it in `.netrc'
before prompting the user for it. The syntax of `.netrc' is
described in the `netrc(5)' or `ftp(1)' manual page.
``$USER', `$LOGNAME''
These variables override the user's login name when constructing an
envelope-from address. `LOGNAME' is only used if `USER' is unset.
``$TMPDIR''
Directory to create temporary files in. If this is unset, a system
specific default directory is used.
A temporary file is only created when the `-t'/`--read-recipients'
option is used. The file is then used to buffer the headers of the
mail (but not the body, so the file won't get very large).
File: msmtp.info, Node: SMTP features, Next: Sendmail mode, Prev: Invocation, Up: Top
4 SMTP features
***************
* Menu:
* Transport Layer Security:: How to use TLS/SSL
* Authentication:: How to use authentication
* Delivery Status Notifications:: How to use DSN
File: msmtp.info, Node: Transport Layer Security, Next: Authentication, Up: SMTP features
4.1 Transport Layer Security
============================
Quoting from RFC2246, the TLS 1.0 protocol specification:
"The TLS protocol provides communications privacy over the Internet.
The protocol allows client/server applications to communicate in a way
that is designed to prevent eavesdropping, tampering, or message
forgery."
SMTP servers can use TLS in one of two modes:
* Immediately. This is SMTP tunneled through TLS, aka SSMTP. The
default port for this mode is 465 (ssmtp).
* Via the STARTTLS SMTP command. The SMTP session begins normally.
The client sends the STARTTLS command when it wishes to begin TLS
encryption. The default port for this mode is the default SMTP
port: 25 (smtp).
msmtp can switch between these modes with the `tls_starttls' command
(see *Note tls_starttls::) command or the `--tls-starttls' option (see
*Note --tls-starttls::).
When TLS is started, the server sends a certificate to identify
itself. This certificate contains information about the certificate
owner, the certificate issuer, and the activation and expiration times
of the certificate. This information can be displayed in server
information mode. *Note Server information mode::.
Some sanity checks are done with the server certificate. These
include:
* Does the certificate belong to the host name of the SMTP server?
* Is the certificate activated?
* Is the certificate still valid, or has it expired?
Sometimes one of these checks fail. msmtp will abort the connection
in this case. If the user still wants to use this SMTP server with TLS,
the sanity checks can be switched off with `tls_certcheck' or
`--tls-certcheck' (see *Note tls_certcheck::, *Note --tls-certcheck::).
Note that the SMTP server cannot be fully trusted just because the
certificate passes the sanity checks. To verify that the user can trust
the SMTP server, it is necessary to use a (list of) certificates of
Certification Authorities (CAs) that are trusted. If msmtp can verify
that the server certificate was issued by one of these CAs, then the
SMTP server is trusted. A file containing CA certificates can be set
with `tls_trust_file' or `--tls-trust-file' (see *Note
tls_trust_file::, *Note --tls-trust-file::). Using this verification
mode is highly recommended. On systems compatible to Debian GNU/Linux,
the file `/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt' from the
`ca-certificates' package can be used.
If the server requests it, the client can send a certificate, too.
This allows the server to verify the identity of the client. See the
EXTERNAL mechanism in *Note Authentication::. The
`tls_key_file'/`tls_cert_file' commands or the
`--tls-key-file'/`--tls-cert-file' options can be used to set a client
certificate. See *Note tls_key_file::/*Note --tls-key-file::, *Note
tls_cert_file::/*Note --tls-cert-file::. Note that GnuTLS will only
send a client certificate if it matches one of the CAs advertised by
the server. If you set a client certificate but it is not send to the
server, it probably was not issued by any CA that the server trusts.
File: msmtp.info, Node: Authentication, Next: Delivery Status Notifications, Prev: Transport Layer Security, Up: SMTP features
4.2 Authentication
==================
Many SMTP servers require a client to authenticate itself before it is
allowed to send mail.
Multiple authentication methods exist. Most SMTP servers support
only some of them. Some methods send authentication data in plain text
(or nearly plain text) to the server. These methods should only be used
when TLS is active to prevent others from stealing the password. *Note
Transport Layer Security::.
msmtp supports the following authentication methods:
* `PLAIN'
This authentication method needs a user name and a password. Both
are send in BASE64 encoding, which can be easily decoded to plain
text.
* `CRAM-MD5'
This authentication method needs a user name and a password. The
authentication data is not sent in plain text, which means this
method can safely be used without TLS.
* `DIGEST-MD5'
This authentication method needs a user name and a password. The
authentication data is not sent in plain text, which means this
method can safely be used without TLS.
* `GSSAPI'
This authentication method needs a user name. The Kerberos
framework takes care of secure authentication, therefore this
method can safely be used without TLS.
* `EXTERNAL'
This is a special authentication method: The actual authentication
happens outside of the SMTP protocol, typically by sending a TLS
client certificate (see *Note Transport Layer Security::).
The EXTERNAL method merely confirms that this authentication
succeeded for the given user (or, if no user name is given,
confirms that authentication succeeded). Thus it may not be
necessary for authentication to use this method, and if the server
does not support the EXTERNAL method, this does not mean that it
does not support authentication with TLS client certificates.
This authentication method is not chosen automatically; you have
to request it manually.
Note: Sendmail 8.12.11 advertises the EXTERNAL mechanism only
after a TLS client certificate has been send. It seems to ignore
the optional user name. Does anyone know more about this?
* `LOGIN'
This is a non-standard authentication method similar to (but worse
than) PLAIN. It needs a user name and a password, both of which
are send in BASE64 encoding, which can be easily decoded to plain
text.
* `NTLM'
This is an obscure non-standard authentication method. It needs a
user name and a password and in some cases a special domain
parameter (see *Note ntlmdomain::). The authentication data is
not send in plain text.
It depends on the underlying authentication library and its version
whether a particular method is supported or not. Use the `--version' to
find out which methods are supported by your version of msmtp.
Authentication data can be set with the `user' and `password'
commands or with the `--user' option. See *Note user::, *Note
password::, *Note --user::. If no password is set but one is needed
during authentication, msmtp will try to find it in `~/.netrc', and if
that fails, msmtp will prompt you for it.
The authentication method can be chosen with the `auth' command or
`--auth' option, but it is usually sufficient to just use the `on'
argument to let msmtp choose the method itself. See *Note auth::, *Note
--auth::.
If msmtp chooses the method itself, it will not choose a method that
sends plain text authentication data when TLS is not active. This means
that only CRAM-MD5, DIGEST-MD5, GSSAPI, and NTLM are available when TLS
is inactive. PLAIN and LOGIN are only available when TLS is active.
If you really want to send clear text authentication data, you have to
force msmtp to do that by setting the authentication method to PLAIN or
LOGIN when TLS is off.
File: msmtp.info, Node: Delivery Status Notifications, Prev: Authentication, Up: SMTP features
4.3 Delivery Status Notifications
=================================
In situations such as delivery failure or very long delivery delay, the
mail system often generates a message for the sender of the mail in
question, informing him about the difficulties.
Delivery Status Notification (DSN) requests, defined in RFC 3461,
try to give the sender of the mail control about how and when these DSN
messages are sent. The SMTP server must support the DSN extension.
*Note Server information mode::.
A first parameter controls when such messages should be generated:
never, on delivery failure, on delivery delay, and/or on success. This
can be set with `dsn_notify'/`--dsn-notify', see *Note
dsn_notify::/*Note --dsn-notify::.
A second parameter controls how much of the original mail should be
contained in a DSN message: only the headers, or the full mail. This
can be set with `dsn_return'/`--dsn-return', see *Note
dsn_return::/*Note --dsn-return::. Note that this parameter only
applies to DSNs that indicate delivery failure for at least one
recipient. If a DSN contains no indications of delivery failure, only
the headers of the message are returned.
File: msmtp.info, Node: Sendmail mode, Next: Server information mode, Prev: SMTP features, Up: Top
5 Sendmail mode
***************
* Menu:
* Envelope-from address:: Information about envelope-from addresses
* Logging:: Different logging methods
* Bcc header:: Bcc header handling
File: msmtp.info, Node: Envelope-from address, Next: Logging, Up: Sendmail mode
5.1 Envelope-from address
=========================
The SMTP server expects a sender mail address for each mail. This is the
envelope-from address. It is independent of the From header (because it
is part of the mail _envelope_, not of the mail itself), but in most
cases both addresses are the same.
Envelope-from addresses can be generated automatically (when
`auto_from' is enabled with the `auto_from' command or `--auto-from'
option) or set explicitly with the `from' command and `--from' option.
See *Note auto_from::, *Note from::.
When `auto_from' is enabled, an envelope-from address of the form
user@domain will be generated. The local part will be set to `$USER'
or, if that fails, to `$LOGNAME' or, if that fails, to the login name
of the current user. The domain part can be set with the `maildomain'
command and `--maildomain' option (see *Note maildomain::). If the
maildomain is empty, the envelope-from address will only consist of the
user name and not have a domain part.
File: msmtp.info, Node: Logging, Next: Bcc header, Prev: Envelope-from address, Up: Sendmail mode
5.2 Logging
===========
Logging is enabled on a per account basis. If it is enabled, msmtp will
generate one log line for each mail it tries to send via the account in
question.
The line will include the following information:
* Host name of the SMTP server: `host=hostname'
* Whether TLS was used: `tls=(on|off)'
* Whether authentication was used: `auth=(on|off)'
* The user name used for authentication (only if authentication is
used): `user=name'
* The envelope-from address: `from=address'
* The recipient addresses: `recipients=addr1,addr2,...'
* The size of the mail as transferred to the server, in bytes (only
if the delivery succeeded): `mailsize=number'
* The SMTP status code and SMTP error message (only in case of
failure and only if available): `smtpstatus=number',
`smtpmsg='message''. Multiline SMTP messages will be concatenated
into one line.
* The msmtp error message (only in case of failure and only if
available): `errormsg='message''
* The msmtp exit code (from `sysexits.h'; `EX_OK' indicates
success): `exitcode=EX_...'
If a logfile is given with the `logfile' command or `--logfile'
option, this log line will be prepended with the current date and time
and appended to the specified file. See *Note logfile::, *Note
--logfile::.
If syslog logging is enabled with the `syslog' command or `--syslog'
option, the log line is passed to the syslog service with the specified
facility. See *Note syslog::, *Note --syslog::.
File: msmtp.info, Node: Bcc header, Prev: Logging, Up: Sendmail mode
5.3 Bcc header
==============
msmtp transmits mails unaltered to the SMTP server, with one exception:
the Bcc header(s) will be removed before the transmission. This
behavior can be changed with the `keepbcc' command and `--keepbcc'
option, see *Note keepbcc::/*Note --keepbcc::.
File: msmtp.info, Node: Server information mode, Next: Remote Message Queue Starting mode, Prev: Sendmail mode, Up: Top
6 Server information mode
*************************
In server information mode, msmtp prints as much information about the
SMTP server as it can get and then exits.
The SMTP features that can be detected are:
* SIZE
The maximum message size that the SMTP server accepts.
* PIPELINING
Whether certain SMTP commands may be send in groups rather than
one by one. This can speed up mail transmission if the recipient
list is long. This feature is used automatically.
* STARTTLS
*Note Transport Layer Security::.
* AUTH
*Note Authentication::.
* DSN
*Note Delivery Status Notifications::.
* ETRN
*Note Remote Message Queue Starting mode::.
If TLS is activated for server information mode, the following
information will be printed about the SMTP server's TLS certificate (if
available):
* Owner information
* Common Name
* Organization
* Organizational unit
* Locality
* State or Province
* Country
* Issuer information
* Common Name
* Organization
* Organizational unit
* Locality
* State or Province
* Country
* General
* Activation time
* Expiration time
* SHA1 fingerprint
* MD5 fingerprint
File: msmtp.info, Node: Remote Message Queue Starting mode, Next: Examples, Prev: Server information mode, Up: Top
7 Remote Message Queue Starting mode
************************************
Remote Message Queue Starting (RMQS) is defined in RFC 1985. It is a
way for a client to request that a server start the processing of its
mail queues for messages that are waiting at the server for the client
machine. If any messages are at the server for the client, then the
server creates a new SMTP session and sends the messages at that time.
msmtp can only send the request (using the ETRN SMTP command); a
mail server on the client side should then accept the connection of the
remote SMTP server to receive the mail.
RMQS requests can be sent with the `--rmqs' option (see *Note
--rmqs::). Destinations defined in RFC 1985 are:
* HOST
Request the messages for the given host.
* @DOMAIN
Request the messages for the given domain.
* #QUEUE
Request the delivery of the messages in the given queue.
File: msmtp.info, Node: Examples, Next: Development, Prev: Remote Message Queue Starting mode, Up: Top
8 Examples
**********
* Menu:
* A system wide configuration file::
* A user configuration file::
* Using msmtp with Mutt::
* Using msmtp with mail::
File: msmtp.info, Node: A system wide configuration file, Next: A user configuration file, Up: Examples
8.1 A system wide configuration file
====================================
# A system wide configuration is optional.
# If it exists, it usually defines a default account.
# This allows msmtp to be used like /usr/sbin/sendmail.
account default
# The SMTP smarthost.
host mailhub.oursite.example
# Construct envelope-from addresses of the form "userAToursite.example".
#auto_from on
#maildomain oursite.example
# Use TLS.
#tls on
#tls_trust_file /etc/ssl/certs/ca.pem
# Syslog logging with facility LOG_MAIL instead of the default LOG_USER.
syslog LOG_MAIL
File: msmtp.info, Node: A user configuration file, Next: Using msmtp with Mutt, Prev: A system wide configuration file, Up: Examples
8.2 A user configuration file
=============================
# Set default values for all following accounts.
defaults
tls on
tls_trust_file /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt
logfile ~/.msmtp.log
# A freemail service
account freemail
host smtp.freemail.example
from joe_smithATfreemail.example
auth on
user joe.smith
password secret
# A second mail address at the same freemail service
account freemail2 : freemail
from joeyATfreemail.example
# The SMTP server of the provider.
account provider
host mail.provider.example
from smithjoeATprovider.example
auth on
user 123
password pwd
# Set a default account
account default : provider
File: msmtp.info, Node: Using msmtp with Mutt, Next: Using msmtp with mail, Prev: A user configuration file, Up: Examples
8.3 Using msmtp with Mutt
=========================
Create a configuration file for msmtp and add the following lines to
your Mutt configuration file:
set sendmail="/path/to/msmtp"
set use_from=yes
set realname="Your Name"
set from=youATexample.com
set envelope_from=yes
The `envelope_from=yes' option lets Mutt use the `-f' option of
msmtp. Therefore msmtp chooses the first account that matches the from
address youATexample.com. Alternatively, you can use the `-a' option:
set sendmail="/path/to/msmtp -a my_account"
Or set everything from the command line:
set sendmail="/path/to/msmtp --host=mailhub -f meATexample.com --tls"
*Note Choosing an account::.
If you have multiple mail accounts in your msmtp configuration file
and let Mutt use the `-f' option to choose one, you can easily switch
accounts in Mutt with the following Mutt configuration lines:
macro generic "<esc>1" ":set from=youATexample.com"
macro generic "<esc>2" ":set from=youATyour-employer.example"
macro generic "<esc>3" ":set from=youATsome-other-provider.example"
Now you can use <esc>1, <esc>2, and <esc>3 to switch accounts.
The following example uses a different approach: it maps the single
key `<tab>' in Compose context for switching between the various
account in a handy visual way. In the same Compose context, `=' is
mapped in order to show the current msmtp account. This example was
contributed by Thomas Baruchel.
# Define <tab> and = in order to switch or see the current msmtp account
# Don't forget to put the right path for msmtp binary
macro compose \Cx_ ":set sendmail"
macro compose \Cx| "\Cx_ = \"/usr/local/bin/msmtp"
macro compose \Cx& ":macro compose \\t \\Cx"
macro compose <tab> "\Cx0"
macro compose = "\Cx_\n"
# Put the account in the following lines (here three accounts)
# Don't forget to put the number of the account at the beginning
# of the line, and the number of the next account after the '&'
macro compose \Cx0 "\Cx|\"\n\Cx&1\n\Cx_\n" # default and switch to 1
macro compose \Cx1 "\Cx| -a example_account\"\n\Cx&2\n\Cx_\n" # switch to 2
macro compose \Cx2 "\Cx| -a gmail\"\n\Cx&0\n\Cx_\n" # switch to 0
# End of the accounts
File: msmtp.info, Node: Using msmtp with mail, Prev: Using msmtp with Mutt, Up: Examples
8.4 Using msmtp with mail
=========================
Define a default account, and put the following into `~/.mailrc':
set sendmail="/path/to/msmtp"
You need to define a default account, because mail does not allow
extra options to the msmtp command line.
File: msmtp.info, Node: Development, Prev: Examples, Up: Top
9 Development
*************
The homepage of msmtp is `http://msmtp.sourceforge.net/'; the
SourceForge project page is `http://sourceforge.net/projects/msmtp/'.
The mailing list `msmtp-users' can be accessed from the project page.
Please send any questions, suggestions, and bug reports either to
the mailing list or to Martin Lambers (<marlamATmarlam.de>, OpenPGP key:
`http://www.marlam.de/key.txt'). If you send a bug report, please
include the output of `msmtp --version'.
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