NAME 

postlock - lock mail folder and execute command

SYNOPSIS 

postlock [-c config_dir] [-l lock_style] [-v] file command...

DESCRIPTION 

The postlock(1) command locks file for exclusive access, and executes command. The locking method is compatible with the Postfix UNIX-style local delivery agent.

Options:

-c config_dir
Read the main.cf configuration file in the named directory instead of the default configuration directory.
-l lock_style
Override the locking method specified via the mailbox_delivery_lock configuration parameter (see below).
-v
Enable verbose logging for debugging purposes. Multiple -v options make the software increasingly verbose.

Arguments:

file
A mailbox file. The user should have read/write permission.
command...
The command to execute while file is locked for exclusive access. The command is executed directly, i.e. without interpretation by a shell command interpreter.

DIAGNOSTICS 

The result status is 75 (EX_TEMPFAIL) when postlock(1) could not perform the requested operation. Otherwise, the exit status is the exit status from the command.

BUGS 

With remote file systems, the ability to acquire a lock does not necessarily eliminate access conflicts. Avoid file access by processes running on different machines.

ENVIRONMENT 

MAIL_CONFIG
Directory with Postfix configuration files.
MAIL_VERBOSE
Enable verbose logging for debugging purposes.

CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS 

The following main.cf parameters are especially relevant to this program. The text below provides only a parameter summary. See (5) for more details including examples.

LOCKING CONTROLS 

deliver_lock_attempts (20)
The maximal number of attempts to acquire an exclusive lock on a mailbox file or (8) logfile.
deliver_lock_delay (1s)
The time between attempts to acquire an exclusive lock on a mailbox file or (8) logfile.
stale_lock_time (500s)
The time after which a stale exclusive mailbox lockfile is removed.
mailbox_delivery_lock (see 'postconf -d' output)
How to lock a UNIX-style (8) mailbox before attempting delivery.

RESOURCE AND RATE CONTROLS 

fork_attempts (5)
The maximal number of attempts to fork() a child process.
fork_delay (1s)
The delay between attempts to fork() a child process.

MISCELLANEOUS CONTROLS 

config_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)
The default location of the Postfix main.cf and master.cf configuration files.

SEE ALSO 


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