. Update the Copyright year (only) when changing content.
. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
-.set previousversion "4.87"
+.set previousversion "4.88"
.include ./local_params
.set ACL "access control lists (ACLs)"
.section "Exim documentation" "SECID1"
. Keep this example change bar when updating the documentation!
-.new
.cindex "documentation"
This edition of the Exim specification applies to version &version() of Exim.
Substantive changes from the &previousversion; edition are marked in some
renditions of the document; this paragraph is so marked if the rendition is
capable of showing a change indicator.
-.wen
This document is very much a reference manual; it is not a tutorial. The reader
is expected to have some familiarity with the SMTP mail transfer protocol and
.row &_filter.txt_& "specification of the filter language"
.row &_Exim3.upgrade_& "upgrade notes from release 2 to release 3"
.row &_Exim4.upgrade_& "upgrade notes from release 3 to release 4"
+.row &_openssl.txt_& "installing a current OpenSSL release"
.endtable
The main specification and the specification of the filtering language are also
by Exim in conjunction with the &%-MC%& option. It signifies that the
remote host supports the ESMTP &_DSN_& extension.
-.new
.vitem &%-MCG%&
.oindex "&%-MCG%&"
This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
by Exim in conjunction with the &%-MC%& option. It signifies that an
alternate queue is used, named by the following option.
-.wen
.vitem &%-MCP%&
.oindex "&%-MCP%&"
and &%-S%& options).
.cindex "queue runner" "description of operation"
-.new
If other commandline options do not specify an action,
-.wen
the &%-q%& option starts one queue runner process. This scans the queue of
waiting messages, and runs a delivery process for each one in turn. It waits
for each delivery process to finish before starting the next one. A delivery
be done. If a message requires any remote deliveries, it remains on the queue
for later delivery.
-.new
.vitem &%-q[q][i][f[f]][l][G<name>[/<time>]]]%&
.oindex "&%-qG%&"
.cindex queue named
For a periodic queue run (see below)
append to the name a slash and a time value.
-If other commandline options speicify an action, a &'-qG<name>'& option
+If other commandline options specify an action, a &'-qG<name>'& option
will specify a queue to operate on.
For example:
.code
mailq -qGquarantime
exim -qGoffpeak -Rf @special.domain.example
.endd
-.wen
.vitem &%-q%&<&'qflags'&>&~<&'start&~id'&>&~<&'end&~id'&>
When scanning the queue, Exim can be made to skip over messages whose ids are
.endd
on a line by itself. Double quotes round the file name are optional. If you use
the first form, a configuration error occurs if the file does not exist; the
-second form does nothing for non-existent files. In all cases, an absolute file
+second form does nothing for non-existent files.
+.new
+The first form allows a relative name. It is resolved relative to
+the directory of the including file. For the second form an absolute file
name is required.
+.wen
Includes may be nested to any depth, but remember that Exim reads its
configuration file often, so it is a good idea to keep them to a minimum.
section &<<SECTnamedlists>>&.
-.new
.section "Builtin macros" "SECTbuiltinmacros"
Exim defines some macros depending on facilities available, which may
differ due to build-time definitions and from one release to another.
The following classes of macros are defined:
.display
-&` _HAVE_ `& build-time defines
-&` _DRVR_AUTH_ `& authenticator drivers
-&` _DRVR_RTR_ `& router drivers
-&` _DRVR_TPT_ `& transport drivers
-&` _OPT_ `& configuration option support
+&` _HAVE_* `& build-time defines
+&` _DRIVER_ROUTER_* `& router drivers
+&` _DRIVER_TRANSPORT_* `& transport drivers
+&` _DRIVER_AUTHENTICATOR_* `& authenticator drivers
+&` _OPT_MAIN_* `& main config options
+&` _OPT_ROUTERS_* `& generic router options
+&` _OPT_TRANSPORTS_* `& generic transport options
+&` _OPT_AUTHENTICATORS_* `& generic authenticator options
+&` _OPT_ROUTER_*_* `& private router options
+&` _OPT_TRANSPORT_*_* `& private transport options
+&` _OPT_AUTHENTICATOR_*_* `& private authenticator options
.endd
Use an &"exim -bP macros"& command to get the list of macros.
-.wen
.section "Conditional skips in the configuration file" "SECID46"
If an integer value is followed by the letter K, it is multiplied by 1024; if
it is followed by the letter M, it is multiplied by 1024x1024;
-.new
if by the letter G, 1024x1024x1024.
-.wen
When the values
of integer option settings are output, values which are an exact multiple of
1024 or 1024x1024 are sometimes, but not always, printed using the letters K
uses the PCRE regular expression library; this provides regular expression
matching that is compatible with Perl 5. The syntax and semantics of
regular expressions is discussed in
-.new
online Perl manpages, in
-.wen
many Perl reference books, and also in
Jeffrey Friedl's &'Mastering Regular Expressions'&, which is published by
O'Reilly (see &url(http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/regex2/)).
.cindex "expansion" "of lists"
Each list is expanded as a single string before it is used.
-.new
&'Exception: the router headers_remove option, where list-item
splitting is done before string-expansion.'&
-.wen
The result of
expansion must be a list, possibly containing empty items, which is split up
filter. Header lines that are added to a particular copy of a message by a
router or transport are not accessible.
-For incoming SMTP messages, no header lines are visible in ACLs that are obeyed
-before the DATA ACL, because the header structure is not set up until the
-message is received. Header lines that are added in a RCPT ACL (for example)
+For incoming SMTP messages, no header lines are visible in
+.new
+ACLs that are obeyed before the data phase completes,
+.wen
+because the header structure is not set up until the message is received.
+They are visible in DKIM, PRDR and DATA ACLs.
+Header lines that are added in a RCPT ACL (for example)
are saved until the message's incoming header lines are available, at which
-point they are added. When a DATA ACL is running, however, header lines added
-by earlier ACLs are visible.
+point they are added.
+.new
+When any of the above ACLs ar
+.wen
+running, however, header lines added by earlier ACLs are visible.
Upper case and lower case letters are synonymous in header names. If the
following character is white space, the terminating colon may be omitted, but
user@example.com
.endd
-.new
.vitem &*${base32:*&<&'digits'&>&*}*&
.cindex "&%base32%& expansion item"
.cindex "expansion" "conversion to base 32"
.cindex "expansion" "conversion to base 32"
The string must consist entirely of base-32 digits.
The number is converted to decimal and output as a string.
-.wen
.vitem &*${base62:*&<&'digits'&>&*}*&
.cindex "&%base62%& expansion item"
significant bit set (so-called &"8-bit characters"&) count as printing or not
is controlled by the &%print_topbitchars%& option.
-.new
.vitem &*${escape8bit:*&<&'string'&>&*}*&
.cindex "expansion" "escaping 8-bit characters"
.cindex "&%escape8bit%& expansion item"
If the string contains and characters with the most significant bit set,
they are converted to escape sequences starting with a backslash.
Backslashes and DEL characters are also converted.
-.wen
.vitem &*${eval:*&<&'string'&>&*}*&&~and&~&*${eval10:*&<&'string'&>&*}*&
.cindex certificate fingerprint
.cindex "expansion" "SHA-256 hashing"
.cindex "&%sha256%& expansion item"
-.new
The &%sha256%& operator computes the SHA-256 hash value of the string
and returns
it as a 64-digit hexadecimal number, in which any letters are in upper case.
-.wen
If the string is a single variable of type certificate,
returns the SHA-256 hash fingerprint of the certificate.
-.new
.vitem &*${sha3:*&<&'string'&>&*}*& &&&
&*${sha3_<n>:*&<&'string'&>&*}*&
.cindex "SHA3 hash"
The &%sha3%& expansion item is only supported if Exim has been
compiled with GnuTLS 3.5.0 or later.
-.wen
.vitem &*${stat:*&<&'string'&>&*}*&
qualified host name. See also &$smtp_active_hostname$&.
-.new
.vitem &$proxy_external_address$& &&&
&$proxy_external_port$& &&&
&$proxy_local_address$& &&&
These variables are only available when built with Proxy Protocol
or Socks5 support
For details see chapter &<<SECTproxyInbound>>&.
-.wen
.vitem &$prdr_requested$&
.cindex "PRDR" "variable for"
The value set for the &%qualify_recipient%& option in the configuration file,
or if not set, the value of &$qualify_domain$&.
-.new
.vitem &$queue_name$&
.vindex &$queue_name$&
.cindex "named queues"
.cindex queues named
The name of the spool queue in use; empty for the default queue.
-.wen
.vitem &$rcpt_count$&
.vindex "&$rcpt_count$&"
There is also a command line option &%-pd%& (for delay) which suppresses the
initial startup, even if &%perl_at_start%& is set.
-.new
.ilist
.oindex "&%perl_taintmode%&"
.cindex "Perl" "taintmode"
taint mode of the Perl interpreter. You are encouraged to set this
option to a true value. To avoid breaking existing installations, it
defaults to false.
-.wen
.section "Calling Perl subroutines" "SECID86"
See section &<<CALLaddparcall>>& for details of how this value is used.
-.new
.option check_log_inodes main integer 100
-.wen
See &%check_spool_space%& below.
-.new
.option check_log_space main integer 10M
-.wen
See &%check_spool_space%& below.
.oindex "&%check_rfc2047_length%&"
set false, Exim recognizes encoded words of any length.
-.new
.option check_spool_inodes main integer 100
-.wen
See &%check_spool_space%& below.
-.new
.option check_spool_space main integer 10M
-.wen
.cindex "checking disk space"
.cindex "disk space, checking"
.cindex "spool directory" "checking space"
failure a message is written to stderr and Exim exits with a non-zero code, as
it obviously cannot send an error message of any kind.
-.new
There is a slight performance penalty for these checks.
Versions of Exim preceding 4.88 had these disabled by default;
high-rate intallations confident they will never run out of resources
may wish to deliberately disable them.
-.wen
-.new
.option chunking_advertise_hosts main "host list&!!" *
.cindex CHUNKING advertisement
.cindex "RFC 3030" "CHUNKING"
The CHUNKING extension (RFC3030) will be advertised in the EHLO message to
these hosts.
Hosts may use the BDAT command as an alternate to DATA.
-.wen
.option daemon_smtp_ports main string &`smtp`&
.cindex "port" "for daemon"
.option event_action main string&!! unset
.cindex events
This option declares a string to be expanded for Exim's events mechanism.
-For details see &<<CHAPevents>>&.
+For details see chapter &<<CHAPevents>>&.
.option exim_group main string "compile-time configured"
.option hosts_proxy main "host list&!!" unset
.cindex proxy "proxy protocol"
This option enables use of Proxy Protocol proxies for incoming
-connections. For details see &<<SECTproxyInbound>>&.
+connections. For details see section &<<SECTproxyInbound>>&.
.option hosts_treat_as_local main "domain list&!!" unset
of SSL-on-connect.
In the event of failure to negotiate TLS, the action taken is controlled
by &%ldap_require_cert%&.
+.new
+This option is ignored for &`ldapi`& connections.
+.wen
.option ldap_version main integer unset
run. If you do not want queue runs to occur, omit the &%-q%&&'xx'& setting on
the daemon's command line.
-.new
.cindex queues named
.cindex "named queues"
To set limits for different named queues use
an expansion depending on the &$queue_name$& variable.
-.wen
.option queue_smtp_domains main "domain list&!!" unset
.cindex "queueing incoming messages"
Server Name Indication extension, then this option and others documented in
&<<SECTtlssni>>& will be re-expanded.
-.new
If this option is unset or empty a fresh self-signed certificate will be
generated for every connection.
-.wen
.option tls_crl main string&!! unset
.cindex "TLS" "server certificate revocation list"
The value of this option is expanded and indicates the source of DH parameters
to be used by Exim.
-.new
&*Note: The Exim Maintainers strongly recommend using a filename with site-generated
local DH parameters*&, which has been supported across all versions of Exim. The
other specific constants available are a fallback so that even when
"unconfigured", Exim can offer Perfect Forward Secrecy in older ciphersuites in TLS.
-.wen
If &%tls_dhparam%& is a filename starting with a &`/`&,
then it names a file from which DH
does not exist, Exim will attempt to create it.
See section &<<SECTgnutlsparam>>& for further details.
-.new
If Exim is using OpenSSL and this option is empty or unset, then Exim will load
a default DH prime; the default is Exim-specific but lacks verifiable provenance.
At this point, all of the "ike" values should be considered obsolete;
they're still in Exim to avoid breaking unusual configurations, but are
candidates for removal the next time we have backwards-incompatible changes.
-.wen
The TLS protocol does not negotiate an acceptable size for this; clients tend
to hard-drop connections if what is offered by the server is unacceptable,
acceptable bound from 1024 to 2048.
-.option tls_eccurve main string&!! prime256v1
+.option tls_eccurve main string&!! &`auto`&
.cindex TLS "EC cryptography"
-If built with a recent-enough version of OpenSSL,
-this option selects a EC curve for use by Exim.
+This option selects a EC curve for use by Exim.
-Curve names of the form &'prime256v1'& are accepted.
-For even more-recent library versions, names of the form &'P-512'&
-are also accepted, plus the special value &'auto'&
-which tells the library to choose.
+After expansion it must contain a valid EC curve parameter, such as
+&`prime256v1`&, &`secp384r1`&, or &`P-512`&. Consult your OpenSSL manual
+for valid selections.
-If the option is set to an empty string, no EC curves will be enabled.
+For OpenSSL versions before (and not including) 1.0.2, the string
+&`auto`& selects &`prime256v1`&. For more recent OpenSSL versions
+&`auto`& tells the library to choose.
+
+If the option expands to an empty string, no EC curves will be enabled.
.option tls_ocsp_file main string&!! unset
.option event_action transports string&!! unset
.cindex events
This option declares a string to be expanded for Exim's events mechanism.
-For details see &<<CHAPevents>>&.
+For details see chapter &<<CHAPevents>>&.
.option group transports string&!! "Exim group"
&`\n`& to &`\r\n`& in &%message_suffix%&.
-.option path pipe string "see below"
-This option specifies the string that is set up in the PATH environment
-variable of the subprocess. The default is:
-.code
-/bin:/usr/bin
-.endd
+.option path pipe string&!! "/bin:/usr/bin"
+.new
+This option is expanded and
+.wen
+specifies the string that is set up in the PATH environment
+variable of the subprocess.
If the &%command%& option does not yield an absolute path name, the command is
sought in the PATH directories, in the usual way. &*Warning*&: This does not
apply to a command specified as a transport filter.
.option dkim_canon smtp string&!! unset
.option dkim_strict smtp string&!! unset
.option dkim_sign_headers smtp string&!! unset
-DKIM signing options. For details see &<<SECDKIMSIGN>>&.
+DKIM signing options. For details see section &<<SECDKIMSIGN>>&.
.option delay_after_cutoff smtp boolean true
unauthenticated. See also &%hosts_require_auth%&, and chapter
&<<CHAPSMTPAUTH>>& for details of authentication.
-.new
.option hosts_try_chunking smtp "host list&!!" *
.cindex CHUNKING "enabling, in client"
.cindex BDAT "SMTP command"
This option provides a list of servers to which, provided they announce
CHUNKING support, Exim will attempt to use BDAT commands rather than DATA.
BDAT will not be used in conjuction with a transport filter.
-.wen
-.new
.option hosts_try_fastopen smtp "host list!!" unset
-.option "fast open, TCP" "enabling, in client"
-.option "TCP Fast Open" "enabling, in client"
-.option "RFC 7413" "TCP Fast Open"
+.cindex "fast open, TCP" "enabling, in client"
+.cindex "TCP Fast Open" "enabling, in client"
+.cindex "RFC 7413" "TCP Fast Open"
This option provides a list of servers to which, provided
the facility is supported by this system, Exim will attempt to
perform a TCP Fast Open.
On (at least some) current Linux distributions the facility must be enabled
in the kernel by the sysadmin before the support is usable.
-.wen
.option hosts_try_prdr smtp "host list&!!" *
.cindex "PRDR" "enabling, optional in client"
.option socks_proxy smtp string&!! unset
.cindex proxy SOCKS
This option enables use of SOCKS proxies for connections made by the
-transport. For details see &<<SECTproxySOCKS>>&.
+transport. For details see section &<<SECTproxySOCKS>>&.
.option tls_certificate smtp string&!! unset
.endd
This accepts a client certificate that is verifiable against any
of your configured trust-anchors
-which usually means the full set of public CAs)
+(which usually means the full set of public CAs)
and which has a SAN with a good account name.
Note that the client cert is on the wire in-clear, including the SAN,
whereas a plaintext SMTP AUTH done inside TLS is not.
To enable TLS operations on a server, the &%tls_advertise_hosts%& option
must be set to match some hosts. The default is * which matches all hosts.
-.new
If this is all you do, TLS encryption will be enabled but not authentication -
meaning that the peer has no assurance it is actually you he is talking to.
You gain protection from a passive sniffer listening on the wire but not
from someone able to intercept the communication.
-.wen
Further protection requires some further configuration at the server end.
attacks in the string (&`../`& or SQL), and ensuring that a valid filename
can always be referenced; it is important to remember that &$tls_in_sni$& is
arbitrary unverified data provided prior to authentication.
-.new
Further, the initial cerificate is loaded before SNI is arrived, so
an expansion for &%tls_certificate%& must have a default which is used
when &$tls_in_sni$& is empty.
-.wen
The Exim developers are proceeding cautiously and so far no other TLS options
are re-expanded.
the ACL specified by &%acl_smtp_data%&, which is the second ACL that is
associated with the DATA command.
-.new
.cindex CHUNKING "BDAT command"
.cindex BDAT "SMTP command"
.cindex "RFC 3030" CHUNKING
. XXX why not? It should be possible, for the first BDAT.
The &%acl_smtp_data%& is run after the last BDAT command and all of
the data specified is received.
-.wen
For both of these ACLs, it is not possible to reject individual recipients. An
error response rejects the entire message. Unfortunately, it is known that some
effect.
-.new
.vitem &*queue*&&~=&~<&'text'&>
This modifier specifies the use of a named queue for spool files
for the message.
of traffic, or for quarantine of messages.
Separate queue-runner processes will be needed for named queues.
If the text after expansion is empty, the default queue is used.
-.wen
.vitem &*remove_header*&&~=&~<&'text'&>
the delivery log lines are tagged with ">>" rather than "=>" and appear
before the acceptance "<=" line.
-.new
If there is a temporary error the item is queued for later delivery in the
usual fashion.
This behaviour can be adjusted by appending the option &*defer=*&<&'value'&>
&"pass"& copies an SMTP defer response from the target back to the initiator
and does not queue the message.
Note that this is independent of any receipient verify conditions in the ACL.
-.wen
Delivery in this mode avoids the generation of a bounce mail to a
(possibly faked)
may access any variables already defined. The logging may be adjusted with
the &'opts'& option, which takes the same values as the &`-d`& command-line
option.
-.new
Logging may be stopped, and the file removed, with the &'kill'& option.
-.wen
Some examples (which depend on variables that don't exist in all
contexts):
.code
.vitem &*control&~=&~utf8_downconvert*&
This control enables conversion of UTF-8 in message addresses
to a-label form.
-For details see &<<SECTi18nMTA>>&.
+For details see section &<<SECTi18nMTA>>&.
.endlist vlist
A multiline text table, containing the full SpamAssassin report for the
message. Useful for inclusion in headers or reject messages.
This variable is only usable in a DATA-time ACL.
-.new
Beware that SpamAssassin may return non-ASCII characters, especially
when running in country-specific locales, which are not legal
unencoded in headers.
-.wen
.vitem &$spam_action$&
For SpamAssassin either 'reject' or 'no action' depending on the
MANDATORY:
The domain you want to sign with. The result of this expanded
option is put into the &%$dkim_domain%& expansion variable.
+If it is empty after expansion, DKIM signing is not done.
.option dkim_selector smtp string&!! unset
MANDATORY:
.vitem &%$dkim_copiedheaders%&
A transcript of headers and their values which are included in the signature
(copied from the 'z=' tag of the signature).
-.new
Note that RFC6376 requires that verification fail if the From: header is
not included in the signature. Exim does not enforce this; sites wishing
strict enforcement should code the check explicitly.
-.wen
.vitem &%$dkim_bodylength%&
The number of signed body bytes. If zero ("0"), the body is unsigned. If no
dkim_status = none
.endd
-.new
Note that the above does not check for a total lack of DKIM signing;
for that check for empty &$h_DKIM-Signature:$& in the data ACL.
-.wen
.vitem &%dkim_status%&
ACL condition that checks a colon-separated list of possible DKIM verification
in Local/Makefile.
It was built on specifications from:
-http://haproxy.1wt.eu/download/1.5/doc/proxy-protocol.txt
+(&url(http://haproxy.1wt.eu/download/1.5/doc/proxy-protocol.txt)).
That URL was revised in May 2014 to version 2 spec:
-http://git.1wt.eu/web?p=haproxy.git;a=commitdiff;h=afb768340c9d7e50d8e
+(&url(http://git.1wt.eu/web?p=haproxy.git;a=commitdiff;h=afb768340c9d7e50d8e)).
The purpose of this facility is so that an application load balancer,
such as HAProxy, can sit in front of several Exim servers
main configuration option to a hostlist; connections from these
hosts will use Proxy Protocol.
-.new
The following expansion variables are usable
(&"internal"& and &"external"& here refer to the interfaces
of the proxy):
.endd
If &$proxy_session$& is set but &$proxy_external_address$& is empty
there was a protocol error.
-.wen
Since the real connections are all coming from the proxy, and the
per host connection tracking is done before Proxy Protocol is
.cindex events
The events mechanism in Exim can be used to intercept processing at a number
-of points. It was originally invented to giave a way to do customised logging
+of points. It was originally invented to give a way to do customised logging
actions (for example, to a database) but can also be used to modify some
processing actions.
The :defer events populate one extra variable: &$event_defer_errno$&.
For complex operations an ACL expansion can be used in &%event_action%&
-however due to the multiple contextx that Exim operates in during
+however due to the multiple contexts that Exim operates in during
the course of its processing:
.ilist
variables set in transport events will not be visible outside that
projects / exim.git / blobdiff