doveadm
The doveadm
command is a powerful administrative utility provided by Dovecot for managing and querying various aspects of the Dovecot mail server. It helps with tasks like managing mailboxes, inspecting user data, and performing administrative operations.
Overview of doveadm
doveadm
Purpose:
doveadm
is used for performing administrative tasks on the Dovecot mail server. This includes querying mailbox status, managing mailboxes, testing authentication, and more.Usage:
doveadm
provides a range of subcommands to interact with different aspects of the Dovecot service.
Common doveadm
Subcommands
doveadm
SubcommandsHere’s an overview of some commonly used doveadm
subcommands:
doveadm auth test
Purpose: Test authentication mechanisms for a specific user.
Usage:
Example:
Description: Tests whether the user can authenticate with the current configuration.
doveadm auth status
Purpose: Display the status of the authentication service.
Usage:
doveadm auth stats
Purpose: Show statistics related to authentication.
Usage:
doveadm mailbox status
Purpose: Display status information for mailboxes.
Usage:
Example:
doveadm mailbox list
Purpose: List all mailboxes for a specific user.
Usage:
Example:
doveadm sync
Purpose: Synchronize mailboxes between different servers.
Usage:
Example:
doveadm expunge
Purpose: Expunge (delete) messages from mailboxes.
Usage:
Example:
doveadm flush
Purpose: Flush mailbox cache or index files.
Usage:
doveadm auth test
Purpose: Test authentication for a user.
Usage:
doveadm backup
Purpose: Perform backup operations on mailboxes.
Usage:
Example Commands and Their Outputs
Testing Authentication:
Output: Displays whether the authentication was successful or if there were errors.
Listing Mailboxes:
Output: Lists all mailboxes associated with the specified user.
Expunging Messages:
Output: Removes messages older than 30 days from the specified user's mailboxes.
Conclusion
The doveadm
command is a versatile tool for managing and querying Dovecot’s mail services. It provides administrators with various functionalities to ensure the proper operation and maintenance of mailboxes and user data. Mastery of doveadm
commands can significantly enhance the management of a Dovecot mail server and simplify administrative tasks.
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