sendmail, 4th Edition

Quarantine Command-Line Switches

The command line can be used to quarantine and dequarantine envelopes. V8.13 has added one new command-line switch and modified another. We will show the use of the modified switch first, and then the new one.

The -qQ command-line switch

Normally, the queue is processed by invoking a -q command-line switch (Periodically with -q on page 427). This switch causes all the normally scheduled (nonquarantined) envelopes to be processed. By combining that switch with a Q argument, you tell sendmail to process quarantined messages instead.

Note that it is not possible to operate on both normal and quarantined envelopes at the same time. That is, listing -q and then -qQ will not process both; it will process only quarantined messages.

Unless limited with other -q letters, the -qQ switch will process all the quarantined envelopes currently in the queue. To further limit the envelopes to be processed, specify any of these additional switches in the same command line:

-qIident            ← match any queue ID that contains ident (§11.8.2.3 on page
431)
-q!Iident            ← match any queue ID that does not contain ident (§11.8.2.4
on page 432)
-qRrecip            ← match any recipient address that contains recip (§11.8.2.3
on page 431)
-q!Rrecip            ← match any recipient address that does not contain recip (§
11.8.2.4 on page 432)
-qSfrom            ← match any sender address that contains from (§11.8.2.3 on pa
ge 431)
-q!Sfrom            ← match any sender address that does not contain from (§11.8.
2.4 on page 432)
-qG