Managing email aliases#

This manual is dedicated to users that are part of the aliases group. It describes actions that can be done by those users on the email aliases.

Edit receiving aliases#

Open the /etc/aliases file with your favorite CLI text editor (nano, vim, etc.). It should look something like this:

# See man 5 aliases for format.
# Use tab for alignment.
# To regenerate the db file run: newaliases
postmaster:     root
root:           nicolas
contact:        nicolas,vincent,guilhem,audrey
alert:          nicolas,vincent,guilhem
matrix-synapse: /dev/null
jellyfin:       /dev/null

Important

After you’ve saved your edits, you have to regenerate the database (/etc/aliases.db) using the following command:

newaliases

Add or remove a user from an alias#

Simply write or erase the name of the chosen user in the list that follows the alias name.

Create or delete an alias#

You can create as many aliases as you want by adding a new line to the file, following the Postfix aliases db syntax:

ALIAS:      USER1[,USER2...]

To delete an alias, simply delete or comment out (using #) the corresponding line.

Edit sending aliases#

The process is very similar from the edition of receiving aliases, but some differences exists:

The file to edit is /etc/aliases_senders.
You must NOT use : between the key and the value.
You must always specify the complete email address with @club1.fr.
The command used to regenerate the database is:
```
/usr/sbin/postmap hash:/etc/aliases_senders
```

Advanced usage#

As previously indicated, the reception aliases file /etc/aliases respects the Postfix alias syntax. In addition to redirecting emails to other addresses, it allows to send them to files or commands. In this case, attention should be paid to the permissions required to create files and execute commands. These actions are carried out with the rights of the user corresponding to the alias if it exists and otherwise, on CLUB1, with the user nobody and group mail.