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:
doveadm auth test <username>
Example:
doveadm auth test user@example.com
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 status
doveadm auth stats
Purpose: Show statistics related to authentication.
Usage:
doveadm auth stats
doveadm mailbox status
Purpose: Display status information for mailboxes.
Usage:
doveadm mailbox status -u <user>
Example:
doveadm mailbox status -u user@example.com
doveadm mailbox list
Purpose: List all mailboxes for a specific user.
Usage:
doveadm mailbox list -u <user>
Example:
doveadm mailbox list -u user@example.com
doveadm sync
Purpose: Synchronize mailboxes between different servers.
Usage:
doveadm sync -u <user>
Example:
doveadm sync -u user@example.com
doveadm expunge
Purpose: Expunge (delete) messages from mailboxes.
Usage:
doveadm expunge -u <user> <criteria>
Example:
doveadm expunge -u user@example.com before 30d
doveadm flush
Purpose: Flush mailbox cache or index files.
Usage:
doveadm flush -u <user>
doveadm auth test
Purpose: Test authentication for a user.
Usage:
doveadm auth test user@example.com
doveadm backup
Purpose: Perform backup operations on mailboxes.
Usage:
doveadm backup -u <user>
Example Commands and Their Outputs
Testing Authentication:
doveadm auth test user@example.com
Output: Displays whether the authentication was successful or if there were errors.
Listing Mailboxes:
doveadm mailbox list -u user@example.com
Output: Lists all mailboxes associated with the specified user.
Expunging Messages:
doveadm expunge -u user@example.com before 30d
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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