3

I'm using Ubuntu 12.04 with postfix configured as satellite system that relays outgoing mail to Gmail. For sake of example, my registered domain is example.com I want root cronjobs' error output to be mailed to my real david@example.com inbox. I have this relay working correctly.

But these root cronjobs are set by default to email to root@example.com which isn't a real email address. I have in my /etc/aliases:

root: david@example.com

example.com isn't listed in postfix's main.cf's mydestination so postfix doesn't think this mail is local. It bypasses processing via /etc/aliases and tries to send to root@example.com.

A workaround is adding MAILTO=david at the top of each cron file. But there are many. Another workaround is to setup root@example.com as a real inbox that forwards to david@example.com. Is there a better way? I.e. is there a way to relay emails that have local domains but still process their addressee with /etc/aliases?

David Xia
  • 1,055
  • 1
  • 8
  • 9

3 Answers3

6

I guess you could use a virtual alias.

If example.com is your domain on postfix:

in /etc/postfix/main.cf

virtual_alias_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/virtual

in /etc/postfix/virtual

root@example.com    dave

after editing

postmap hash:/etc/postfix/virtual

It should be working.

If I understood your question correctly, emails to root@example.com will now go to local user dave.

kos
  • 35,535
  • 13
  • 101
  • 151
Henrique Fernandes
  • 97
  • 2
2

Another solution is to use the recipient_canonical_maps configuration parameter of postfix. Compared to the virtual_alias_maps, the advantage is that myorigin neither needs to be in mydestination nor in virtual_mailbox_maps (which virtual_alias_domains defaults to). Thus, this postfix instance does not become the final destination for myorigin.

Add this to your main.cf:

recipient_canonical_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/recipient_canonical

Then create a file named /etc/postfix/recipient_canonical and enter something like this:

root@example.com david@example.com

Finally hash it.

# postmap /etc/postfix/recipient_canonical
apheetuquiec
  • 21
  • 1
1

if david is also a local account, then you could have the alias line be local-only, and then set up the david account to do the forwarding. /etc/aliases would be:

root: david

You could then use other postfix rules or a .forward file on the david account to get the mail to gmail.

ImaginaryRobots
  • 9,058
  • 4
  • 34
  • 38