---
name: "prayer-session"
section: "8"
platform: "linux"
package: "prayer"
version: "1.3.5-dfsg1-8"
release: "Debian 11 (Bullseye)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/prayer-session"
---

# prayer-session(8)

Prayer user session backend daemon

## NAME

**prayer-session** – Prayer user session backend daemon

## SYNOPSIS

**prayer-session** \[**--config-file** *file*\] \[\[**--config-option** *name*=*value*\] *...*\] \[**--foreground**\]

## DESCRIPTION

**prayer-session** is the backend process in the Prayer Webmail system. A fresh **prayer-session** backend is forked off whenever a user logs in.

This process contains all of the permanent state associated with that login session including one or more connections to a IMAP server and possibly connections to accountd servers. prayer-session communicates with the user using HTML over HTTP connections via the  [prayer(8)](/prayer/8.md) proxy. Each login has a session ID that the front end processes use to find the correct backend.

Backend server processes move into a dormant state after a certain period of inactivity, shutting down IMAP and accountd connections which can be easily resuscitated when the session wakes up. After a long period of inactivity, typically several hours the session process shuts down.

**prayer-session** accepts the following command-line options:

- **--config-file** *file*

  Reads configuration from  *file* instead of the default */etc/prayer/prayer.cf*.

- **--config-option** *name*=*value*

  Sets (overrides) the configuration option *name* to  *value*. Any number of options can be specified in this manner.

- **--foreground**

  Debug mode. Run a single process in the foreground.

## ENVIRONMENT

- PRAYER\_CONFIG\_FILE

  Can be set to specify the configuration file to use. The **--config-file** option takes precedence over this variable.

- PRAYER\_HOSTNAME

  Local hostname. Overrides the **hostname** setting in the configuration file as well as on the command line.

## FILES

- */usr/local/prayer/etc/prayer.cf*

  Default configuration file.

- /usr/local/prayer/templates/

  Location of standard templates. The templates are compiled into **prayer-session** for performance reasons, so the template files are actually not used, but they are available for customization.

## SEE ALSO

[prayer(8)](/prayer/8.md), [prayer.cf(5)](/prayer.cf/5.md)

## AUTHORS

This manual page was put together by Magnus Holmgren \<holmgren@debian.org\> using documentation written by David Carter \<dpc22@cam.ac.uk\>.