--- name: "qmail-newaliases" section: "1" platform: "linux" package: "fastforward" version: "1:0.51-10" release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/qmail-newaliases" --- # qmail-newaliases(1) create a forwarding database from /etc/aliases ## NAME newaliases - create a forwarding database from /etc/aliases ## SYNOPSIS **newaliases** ## DESCRIPTION **newaliases** reads a table of sendmail-style forwarding instructions from **/etc/aliases** and converts them into a forwarding database in **/etc/aliases.cdb**. The forwarding database can be used by **fastforward**. For safety, **newaliases** writes the forwarding database to **/etc/aliases.tmp** and then moves **/etc/aliases.tmp** to **/etc/aliases.cdb**. If there is a problem creating **/etc/aliases.tmp**, **newaliases** complains and leaves **/etc/aliases.cdb** alone. Deliveries can continue using **/etc/aliases.cdb** in the meantime. **newaliases** always creates **/etc/aliases.cdb** world-readable. **newaliases** makes no attempt to protect against simultaneous updates of **/etc/aliases.cdb**. ## INSTRUCTION FORMAT **newaliases** imitates sendmail's handling of **/etc/aliases**. For example, ``` root: alice, bill ``` says that mail for **root** should be forwarded to **alice** and **bill**. **COMPATIBILITY WARNING:** **newaliases** does not support file deliveries. You can use the file delivery mechanism described in **[dot-qmail(5)](/dot-qmail/5.md)** instead. ## SIMPLE ALIASES The simplest type of forwarding instruction is a line of the form ``` alias: recip ``` Any message sent to *alias* will be forwarded to the recipient address *recip*. Addresses are compared to *alias* without regard to case. Forwarding instructions are cumulative. If *recip* is itself an alias, messages to *alias* will be forwarded the same way as messages to *recip*. For example, with the following instructions, messages to **postmaster@heaven.af.mil** or **root@heaven.af.mil** will be delivered to Bob: ``` postmaster@heaven.af.mil: bob@heaven.af.mil ``` ``` root@heaven.af.mil: postmaster@heaven.af.mil ``` **COMPATIBILITY WARNING:** With sendmail, entries in **/etc/aliases** can override usernames. With **qmail**, if you install **fastforward** in **~alias/.qmail-default**, it will not see addresses that are controlled by other users. See [**qmail-getpw**(8)](/qmail-getpw/8.md). To change this, see [**qmail-users**(5)](/qmail-users/5.md). **COMPATIBILITY WARNING:** Various versions of sendmail do various strange things with circular alias definitions. See [**setforward**(1)](/setforward/1.md) for details on **fastforward**'s behavior. **COMPATIBILITY WARNING:** If there are several forwarding instructions for a single *alias*, sendmail will complain; **fastforward** will silently use the first instruction. ## WILDCARDS *alias* can have the form *user@host.dom* for one user at one host, *@host.dom* for all users at one host, or *user* for one user at all hosts. **COMPATIBILITY WARNING:** sendmail supports only *user*; it does not support per-host aliases. It accepts *user@host.dom* if *host.dom* is a local host, but it then treats it the same way as *user*, applying to all local hosts and virtual domains. ## ADDRESS FORMATS Addresses in **/etc/aliases** are parsed the same way as addresses in RFC 822 message headers. Parenthesized comments and bracketed addresses are permitted: ``` root: bob (Bob, the postmaster) joe: Joe Shmoe ``` Addresses with special characters must be quoted: ``` fred: "spaced out mailbox"@heaven.af.mil ``` Address groups are not permitted, since colons have a different use in **/etc/aliases**. Any recipient address without a fully qualified domain name is fed through the **defaulthost**, **defaultdomain**, and **plusdomain** mechanisms described in [**qmail-header**(5)](/qmail-header/5.md). **COMPATIBILITY WARNING:** sendmail's handling of quotes and backslashes violates RFC 821 and RFC 822, and is not supported by **newaliases**. The **qmail-local** delivery mechanism lets each user manage several addresses, so there is no need for a special syntax to get around forwarding. ## MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS An instruction may list more than one recipient address: ``` alias: recip1, recip2, recip3 ``` Any message sent to *alias* will be forwarded to all of the addresses. A forwarding instruction may be split across several lines. Each line past the first must either (1) begin with space or tab or (2) be empty: ``` hostmaster: ``` ``` fred, ``` ``` joe ``` **COMPATIBILITY WARNING:** sendmail requires the colon to be on the first line of a multi-line forwarding instruction. **newaliases** doesn't care whether the colon is present at all. **COMPATIBILITY WARNING:** sendmail does not permit blank lines in the middle of continuations. This has the undesirable effect that a blank line behaves differently from a line containing a single space. ## COMMENTS Any line in **/etc/aliases** that begins with # is ignored: ``` # this is a comment ``` A comment may be split across several lines. Each line past the first must either (1) begin with space or tab or (2) be empty. **COMPATIBILITY WARNING:** sendmail does not permit continuations of comment lines. ## PROGRAMS If a recipient address does not contain a domain name, and begins with a vertical bar, **newaliases** takes the rest of the address as a program to run: ``` weather: "|weather-server" ``` **fastforward** will run **weather-server** when a message arrives for **weather**. **COMPATIBILITY WARNING:** Internet addresses can legitimately start with a slash or vertical bar. **newaliases** treats anything with an unquoted @ as an address. sendmail appears to have various problems coping with these addresses, and with commands that contain @ signs. **COMPATIBILITY WARNING:** **newaliases** does not allow a vertical bar before double quotes. ## INCLUDE FILES A recipient address of the form **:include:*file*** means \`\`every address listed in *file*.'' (Actually **fastforward** reads *file**.bin***; see [**newinclude**(1)](/newinclude/1.md) for further details.) Note that *file* is read by **fastforward**, not **newaliases**, so the system administrator does not have to run **newaliases** every time *file* changes. *file* must be world-readable and accessible to **fastforward**. **COMPATIBILITY WARNING:** If an **:include:** file is unreadable or nonexistent, sendmail skips it; **fastforward** defers delivery of the message. **COMPATIBILITY WARNING:** sendmail does not permit spaces inside the literal text **:include:**. **newaliases** does. **COMPATIBILITY WARNING:** Versions of sendmail before V8 did not strip quotes from **:include:** filenames. ## ALIAS OWNERS If there is an alias for **owner-*list***, any message forwarded through *list* will have its envelope sender set to **owner-*list***, so that bounces go back to **owner-*list***. **COMPATIBILITY WARNING:** When an alias includes the same recipient both inside and outside a mailing list, **fastforward** sends the message twice, once with each envelope sender. sendmail sends the message only once; its choice of envelope sender for that recipient depends on the phase of the moon. ## SEE ALSO [fastforward(1)](/fastforward/1.md), [setforward(1)](/setforward/1.md), [newinclude(1)](/newinclude/1.md), [printforward(1)](/printforward/1.md), [dot-qmail(5)](/dot-qmail/5.md)