DBMAIL-USERS(8)   DBMAIL-USERS(8)

dbmail-users - manages the DBMail user database.

dbmail-users [MODE] [MODE OPTIONS]
dbmail-users --add-user user [options]
dbmail-users --change-user user [options]
dbmail-users --delete-user user
dbmail-users --empty-user-mailboxes user [options]
dbmail-users --list-users
dbmail-users --list-user user
dbmail-users --change-user user --password password --pw-type pwtype
dbmail-users --change-user user --add-alias address
dbmail-users --change-user user --delete-alias address
dbmail-users --forward address --add-forward address
dbmail-users --forward address --delete-forward address

The dbmail-users program enables you to manage the DBMail users. It lets you add, delete and change users as well as show information about a specific user or display a list of existing users. It also has the capability of adding/removing separate aliases.

-a, --add-user user

Add a user

-c, --change-user user

Change details for a user

-d, --delete-user user

Delete a user

-e, --empty-user-mailboxes user

Empty all mailboxes for a user

-l, --list-users

List information for all users

-l, --list-user userspec

List information for matching users

-x, --forward alias

Create an external forwarding address

--enable

enable authentication for user

--disable

disable authentication for user

-w --password

Specify user’s password on the command line.

Use with --change-user

-W, --pw-file file

Read from a file or prompt for a user’s password.+ Use with --add-user and --change-user

-p, --pw-type type

Password type may be one of the following: plaintext, crypt, md5-hash, md5-digest, crypt-raw, md5-hash-raw, md5-digest-raw, md5-base64, md5-base64-raw, whirlpool, sha512, sha256, sha1, tiger.

Use with --add-user and --change-user

-P, --pw-shadow file

Pull encrypted password from the shadow file.

Use with --add-user and --change-user

-u, --user user

New username

Use with --change-user to change the username

-g, --client cid

Assign the user to a client.

Use with --add-user and --change-user

-m, --max-quota max

Set the maximum mail quota in <bytes>B, <kbytes>K, or <mbytes>M, default in bytes If set to 0, there will be no limit.

Use with --add-user and --change-user

-s, --add-alias alias[,alias...]

Adds a list of recipient aliases. An alias is an e-mail address that is being delivered to the DBMail mailsystem and should be delivered to this user.

Use with --add-user and --change-user

-S, --delete-alias alias[,alias...]

Removes a list of recipient aliases. Use wildcards ? and * to match any single character and any number of characters, respectively.

Use with --add-user and --change-user

-t, --add-forward forward[,forward...]

Adds a list of deliver-to forwards.

Use with --forward

-T, --delete-forward forward[,forward...]

Removes a list of deliver-to forwards. Use wildcards ? and * to match any single character and any number of characters, respectively.

Use with --forward

--security-password

specify a separate security fall-back password

--security-action

select the security action value (default 0)

-f, --config configfile

Specify an alternate config file.

Use dbmail-<utility> --help to show the default location.

-q, --quiet

Quietly skip interactive prompts and helpful status messages which would otherwise be printed to stdout. Use two -q’s to silence errors which would otherwise be printed to stderr.

-v, --verbose

Operate verbosely. Some of the utilities in the DBMail suite can take two -v’s for extra verbosity. Those which don’t understand this convention won’t complain about having the extra -v and will simply operate at their normal verbosity.

-V, --version

Show the version and copyright, then exit.

-h, --help

Show a brief summary of options, then exit.

What are aliases and forwards and what is the difference between them?

Users are known to the outside world by their email address, to avoid confusion DBMail uses aliases for incoming email addresses and forwards for outgoing addresses where a user has moved to another organisation and their email is forwarded on to their new address.

DBMail users receive email using one or more alias addresses.

When a user moves to another organisation or domain, they can have their email forwarded onwards.

When creating a new user account, you should add an initial alias that delivers to the account name, or make the account in the form of a fully qualified email address. For example, the user named Baz created like this:

dbmail-users --add-user baz --pw-type crypt --password secret

After creating the account you add an alias:

dbmail-users --change-user baz --add-alias baz@example.com

You may add multiple aliases by repeatedly calling dbmail-users, or by calling it with a comma-separated list of aliases:

dbmail-users --change-user baz --add-alias baz@example.com,baz@example.org

Three catch-all modes are also supported, for domains, sub-domains, and local parts:

dbmail-users --add-user baz --add-aliass @example.com
dbmail-users --add-user baz --add-alias @.allsubs.example.com
dbmail-users --add-user baz --add-alias baz@

The first example catches email addressed to any user @example.com and delivers it to Baz’s INBOX. The second example catch email address to any user at any subdomain below .allsubs.example.com (not including allsubs.example.com itself!) The third example catches email addressed to baz@ at any domain.

There is no support for delivering to a particular mailbox other than INBOX via the aliases system. Please use a Sieve script to sort mail like this.

Incoming messages addressed to particular email addresses can be forwarded to an outside email addresses, piped out to a command (when prepended with | pipe) or piped out with an mbox-style From line to a command (when prepended with ! bang). For example:

dbmail-users --forward bar@example.com --add-alias bar@another.example.net
dbmail-users --forward bar@example.com --add-alias "|/usr/sbin/superspamtrapper"
dbmail-users --forward bar@example.com --add-alias "!cat > /var/spool/mail/bar/whatever.mbox"

Forwards can be listed using the same --list command as for users. For example, to see where the local address bar@example.com might be forwarded to, use the following:

dbmail-users --list-user bar@example.com
  forward [bar@example.com] to [bar@example.net]
  forward [bar@example.com] to [|/usr/sbin/superspamtrapper]
  forward [bar@example.com] to [!cat > /var/spool/mail/bar/whatever.mbox]

Forwards can be removed using basic glob style pattern matching. A ? question means "match zero or one of any character" and * asterisk means "match zero or more of any character." For example:

dbmail-users --forward bar@example.com --delete-forward "*"

will complete and totally remove the bar@example.com external alias and all of its forwarding addresses and commands.

For example Gollum used to work at example.com but now works at example.org so any email addressed to gollum@example.com is forwarded to gollum@example.org

dbmail-users --forward gollum@example.com --add-forward gollum@example.org

When Gollum moves to example.net you delete the old forward and add the new one

dbmail-users --forward gollum@example.com \
  --delete-forward gollum@example.org \
  --add-forward gollum@example.net

dbmail(1), dbmail.conf(5), dbmail-deliver(1), dbmail-export(8), dbmail-httpd(8), dbmail-imapd(8), dbmail-lmtpd(8), dbmail-pop3d(8), dbmail-sieved(8), dbmail-sievecmd(8), dbmail-users(8), dbmail-util(8)

For the latest announcements, please subscribe to the DBMail announce mailing list[1]

For general discussion, please subscribe to the DBMail general mailing list[2]

If you experience an issue with DBMail, please report it on the DBMail Bug Tracker[3]. It may be helpful to have a debug log available.

DBMail and its components are distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License Version 2. Copyrights are held variously by the authors listed below.

DBMail is a collaborative effort among the core developers listed below and the tremendous help of the testers, patchers and bug hunters listed in the AUTHORS and THANKS files found in the DBMail source distribution.

Alan Hicks          Persistent Objects Ltd https://p-o.co.uk
Eelco van Beek      Aaron Stone            Paul J Stevens
Roel Rozendaal      Open Source Engineer   NFG Net Facilities Group BV
Ilja Booij          Palo Alto, CA USA      http://www.nfg.nl
IC&S                                       http://www.ic-s.nl

Alan Hicks <ahicks@p-o.co.uk>

Author.

1.
DBMail announce mailing list
https://dbmail.org/wws/info/dbmail-announce/
2.
DBMail general mailing list
https://dbmail.org/wws/info/dbmail-general/
3.
DBMail Bug Tracker
https://github.com/dbmail/dbmail/issues
04/16/2025