info > mysql_table(5)

📖 NAME

mysql_table - Postfix MySQL client configuration

🚀 Quick Reference

Use Case Command Description
Lookup address in MySQL alias table postmap -q "user@domain" mysql:/etc/postfix/mysql-aliases.cf Query a MySQL map for a specific address.
Test query from stdin postmap -q - mysql:/etc/postfix/mysql-aliases.cf < inputfile Bulk lookup addresses from a file.
Define MySQL source in main.cf alias_maps = mysql:/etc/postfix/mysql-aliases.cf Configure Postfix to use a MySQL alias map.
Use stored procedure for lookup query = CALL lookup('%s') Call a stored procedure instead of a SELECT query.
Limit result set size expansion_limit = 1 Ensure lookups return at most one value.

📝 SYNOPSIS

postmap -q "string" mysql:/etc/postfix/filename

postmap -q - mysql:/etc/postfix/filename <inputfile

📚 DESCRIPTION

The Postfix mail system uses optional tables for address rewriting or mail routing. These tables are usually in dbm or db format.

Alternatively, lookup tables can be specified as MySQL databases. In order to use MySQL lookups, define a MySQL source as a lookup table in main.cf, for example:

alias_maps = mysql:/etc/mysql-aliases.cf

The file /etc/postfix/mysql-aliases.cf has the same format as the Postfix main.cf file, and can specify the parameters described below.

📋 LIST MEMBERSHIP

When using SQL to store lists such as $mynetworks, $mydestination, $relay_domains, $local_recipient_maps, etc., it is important to understand that the table must store each list member as a separate key. The table lookup verifies the existence of the key. See "Postfix lists versus tables" in the DATABASE_README document for a discussion.

🚫 Do NOT create tables that return the full list of domains in $mydestination or $relay_domains etc., or IP addresses in $mynetworks.

✅ DO create tables with each matching item as a key and with an arbitrary value. With SQL databases it is not uncommon to return the key itself or a constant value.

⚙️ MYSQL PARAMETERS

🌐 hosts

The hosts that Postfix will try to connect to and query from. Specify unix: for UNIX domain sockets, inet: for TCP connections (default). Example:

hosts = host1.some.domain host2.some.domain:port
hosts = unix:/file/name

The hosts are tried in random order, with all connections over UNIX domain sockets being tried before those over TCP. The connections are automatically closed after being idle for about 1 minute, and are re-opened as necessary. Postfix versions 2.0 and earlier do not randomize the host order.

⚠️ NOTE: if you specify localhost as a hostname (even if you prefix it with inet:), MySQL will connect to the default UNIX domain socket. In order to instruct MySQL to connect to localhost over TCP you have to specify

hosts = 127.0.0.1

👤 user, password

The user name and password to log into the mysql server. Example:

user = someone
password = some_password

🗄️ dbname

The database name on the servers. Example:

dbname = customer_database

🔍 query

The SQL query template used to search the database, where %s is a substitute for the address Postfix is trying to resolve, e.g.

query = SELECT replacement FROM aliases WHERE mailbox = '%s'

By default, every query must return a result set (instead of storing its results in a table); with require_result_set = no (Postfix 3.2 and later), the absence of a result set is treated as "not found".

This parameter supports the following '%' expansions:

The domain parameter described below limits the input keys to addresses in matching domains. When the domain parameter is non-empty, SQL queries for unqualified addresses or addresses in non-matching domains are suppressed and return no results.

This parameter is available with Postfix 2.2. In prior releases the SQL query was built from the separate parameters: select_field, table, where_field and additional_conditions. The mapping from the old parameters to the equivalent query is:

SELECT [select_field]
FROM [table]
WHERE [where_field] = '%s'
      [additional_conditions]

The '%s' in the WHERE clause expands to the escaped search string. With Postfix 2.2 these legacy parameters are used if the query parameter is not specified.

⚠️ NOTE: DO NOT put quotes around the query parameter.

📄 result_format (default: %s)

Format template applied to result attributes. Most commonly used to append (or prepend) text to the result. This parameter supports the following '%' expansions:

For example, using result_format = smtp:[%s] allows one to use a mailHost attribute as the basis of a transport(5) table. After applying the result format, multiple values are concatenated as comma separated strings. The expansion_limit parameter explained below allows one to restrict the number of values in the result, which is especially useful for maps that must return at most one value.

The default value %s specifies that each result value should be used as is.

This parameter is available with Postfix 2.2 and later.

⚠️ NOTE: DO NOT put quotes around the result format!

🌍 domain (default: no domain list)

This is a list of domain names, paths to files, or dictionaries. When specified, only fully qualified search keys with a non-empty localpart and a matching domain are eligible for lookup: 'user' lookups, bare domain lookups and "@domain" lookups are not performed. This can significantly reduce the query load on the MySQL server.

domain = postfix.org, hash:/etc/postfix/searchdomains

It is best not to use SQL to store the domains eligible for SQL lookups.

This parameter is available with Postfix 2.2 and later.

⚠️ NOTE: DO NOT define this parameter for local(8) aliases, because the input keys are always unqualified.

🔢 expansion_limit (default: 0)

A limit on the total number of result elements returned (as a comma separated list) by a lookup against the map. A setting of zero disables the limit. Lookups fail with a temporary error if the limit is exceeded. Setting the limit to 1 ensures that lookups do not return multiple values.

📁 option_file

Read options from the given file instead of the default my.cnf location. This reads options from the [client] option group, optionally followed by options from the group given with option_group.

This parameter is available with Postfix 2.11 and later.

⚙️ option_group (default: Postfix >=3.2: client, <= 3.1: empty)

Read options from the given group of the mysql options file, after reading options from the [client] group.

Postfix 3.2 and later read [client] option group settings by default. To disable this specify no option_file and specify option_group = (i.e. an empty value).

Postfix 3.1 and earlier don't read [client] option group settings unless a non-empty option_file or option_group value are specified. To enable this, specify, for example, option_group = client.

This parameter is available with Postfix 2.11 and later.

✅ require_result_set (default: yes)

If "yes", require that every query returns a result set. If "no", treat the absence of a result set as "not found".

This parameter is available with Postfix 3.2 and later.

🔒 tls_cert_file

File containing client's X509 certificate.

This parameter is available with Postfix 2.11 and later.

🔑 tls_key_file

File containing the private key corresponding to tls_cert_file.

This parameter is available with Postfix 2.11 and later.

🏛️ tls_CAfile

File containing certificates for all of the X509 Certification Authorities the client will recognize. Takes precedence over tls_CApath.

This parameter is available with Postfix 2.11 and later.

📂 tls_CApath

Directory containing X509 Certification Authority certificates in separate individual files.

This parameter is available with Postfix 2.11 and later.

✅ tls_verify_cert (default: no)

Verify that the server's name matches the common name in the certificate.

This parameter is available with Postfix 2.11 and later.

🔧 USING MYSQL STORED PROCEDURES

Postfix 3.2 and later support calling a stored procedure instead of using a SELECT statement in the query, e.g.

query = CALL lookup('%s')

The previously described '%' expansions can be used in the parameter(s) to the stored procedure.

By default, every stored procedure call must return a result set, i.e. every code path must execute a SELECT statement that returns a result set (instead of storing its results in a table). With require_result_set = no, the absence of a result set is treated as "not found".

A stored procedure must not return multiple result sets. That is, there must be no code path that executes multiple SELECT statements that return a result (instead of storing their results in a table).

The following is an example of a stored procedure returning a single result set:

CREATE [DEFINER=`user`@`host`] PROCEDURE
`lookup`(IN `param` VARCHAR(255))
    READS SQL DATA
    SQL SECURITY INVOKER
    BEGIN
        select goto from alias where address=param;
    END

🗑️ OBSOLETE MAIN.CF PARAMETERS

For compatibility with other Postfix lookup tables, MySQL parameters can also be defined in main.cf. In order to do that, specify as MySQL source a name that doesn't begin with a slash or a dot. The MySQL parameters will then be accessible as the name you've given the source in its definition, an underscore, and the name of the parameter. For example, if the map is specified as mysql:mysqlname, the parameter hosts would be defined in main.cf as mysqlname_hosts.

⚠️ Note: with this form, the passwords for the MySQL sources are written in main.cf, which is normally world-readable. Support for this form will be removed in a future Postfix version.

🕰️ OBSOLETE QUERY INTERFACE

This section describes an interface that is deprecated as of Postfix 2.2. It is replaced by the more general query interface described above. If the query parameter is defined, the legacy parameters described here are ignored. Please migrate to the new interface as the legacy interface may be removed in a future release.

The following parameters can be used to fill in a SELECT template statement of the form:

SELECT [select_field]
FROM [table]
WHERE [where_field] = '%s'
      [additional_conditions]

The specifier %s is replaced by the search string, and is escaped so if it contains single quotes or other odd characters, it will not cause a parse error, or worse, a security problem.

🔍 select_field

The SQL "select" parameter. Example:

select_field = forw_addr

🗄️ table

The SQL "select .. from" table name. Example:

table = mxaliases

🔍 where_field

The SQL "select .. where" parameter. Example:

where_field = alias

➕ additional_conditions

Additional conditions to the SQL query. Example:

additional_conditions = AND status = 'paid'

📎 SEE ALSO

📄 README FILES

Use "postconf readme_directory" or "postconf html_directory" to locate this information.

📜 LICENSE

The Secure Mailer license must be distributed with this software.

📜 HISTORY

MySQL support was introduced with Postfix version 1.0.

✍️ AUTHOR(S)

Original implementation by:
Scott Cotton, Joshua Marcus
IC Group, Inc.

Further enhancements by:
Liviu Daia
Institute of Mathematics of the Romanian Academy
P.O. BOX 1-764
RO-014700 Bucharest, ROMANIA

Stored-procedure support by John Fawcett.

Wietse Venema
Google, Inc.
111 8th Avenue
New York, NY 10011, USA

mysql_table(5)
📖 NAME 🚀 Quick Reference 📝 SYNOPSIS 📚 DESCRIPTION 📋 LIST MEMBERSHIP ⚙️ MYSQL PARAMETERS
🌐 hosts 👤 user, password 🗄️ dbname 🔍 query 📄 result_format (default: %s) 🌍 domain (default: no domain list) 🔢 expansion_limit (default: 0) 📁 option_file ⚙️ option_group (default: Postfix >=3.2: client, <= 3.1: empty) ✅ require_result_set (default: yes) 🔒 tls_cert_file 🔑 tls_key_file 🏛️ tls_CAfile 📂 tls_CApath ✅ tls_verify_cert (default: no)
🔧 USING MYSQL STORED PROCEDURES 🗑️ OBSOLETE MAIN.CF PARAMETERS 🕰️ OBSOLETE QUERY INTERFACE
🔍 select_field 🗄️ table 🔍 where_field ➕ additional_conditions
📎 SEE ALSO 📄 README FILES 📜 LICENSE 📜 HISTORY ✍️ AUTHOR(S)

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