{ "mode": "man", "parameter": "post", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/post/8/json", "generated": "2026-05-30T07:07:34Z", "synopsis": "/usr/lib/mh/post [-help] [-version] [-alias aliasfile] [-filter filterfile] [-nofilter]\n[-format | -noformat] [-mime | -nomime] [-msgid | -nomsgid] [-messageid localname | ran‐\ndom] [-verbose | -noverbose] [-watch | -nowatch] [-width columns] [-mts smtp | send‐\nmail/smtp | sendmail/pipe] [-sendmail program] [-server servername] [-port portname/num‐\nber] [-sasl] [-nosasl] [-saslmech mechanism] [-user username] [-tls] [-initialtls]\n[-notls] file", "sections": { "NAME": { "content": "post - deliver an nmh message\n", "subsections": [] }, "SYNOPSIS": { "content": "/usr/lib/mh/post [-help] [-version] [-alias aliasfile] [-filter filterfile] [-nofilter]\n[-format | -noformat] [-mime | -nomime] [-msgid | -nomsgid] [-messageid localname | ran‐\ndom] [-verbose | -noverbose] [-watch | -nowatch] [-width columns] [-mts smtp | send‐\nmail/smtp | sendmail/pipe] [-sendmail program] [-server servername] [-port portname/num‐\nber] [-sasl] [-nosasl] [-saslmech mechanism] [-user username] [-tls] [-initialtls]\n[-notls] file\n", "subsections": [] }, "DESCRIPTION": { "content": "post is the default program called by send to deliver the message in file to local and remote\nusers. In fact, most of the features attributed to send in its manual page are performed by\npost, with send acting as a relatively simple preprocessor. Thus, it is post which parses\nthe various header fields, appends a “Date:” line, and interacts with the mail transport sys‐\ntem. post will not normally be called directly by the user, but can be replaced by the user\nwith a postproc profile component that will have file as its final argument. See mh-pro‐\nfile(5) for more information on postproc.\n\npost searches the “To:”, “cc:”, “Bcc:”, “Fcc:”, and “Resent-xxx:” header lines of the speci‐\nfied message for destination addresses, checks these addresses for validity, and formats them\nso as to conform to ARPAnet Internet Message Format protocol, unless the -noformat flag is\nset. This will normally cause “@local-site” to be appended to each local destination ad‐\ndress, as well as any local return addresses. The -width columns switch can be used to indi‐\ncate the preferred length of the header components that contain addresses.\n\nIf a “Bcc:” field is encountered, its addresses will be used for delivery, and the “Bcc:”\nfield will be removed from the message sent to sighted recipients. The blind recipients will\nreceive an entirely new message with a minimal set of headers. The body of this new message\nwill contain a copy of the message sent to the sighted recipients, either marked up with the\nindicator text \"Blind-Carbon-Copy\" or encapsulated as a MIME digest.\n\nIf -filter filterfile is specified, then this copy is filtered (re-formatted) by mhl prior to\nbeing sent to the blind recipients. Alternately, if the -mime switch is given, then post\nwill use the MIME rules for encapsulation.\n\nIf a “Dcc:” field is encountered and the sendmail/pipe mail transport method is not in use,\nits addresses will be used for delivery, and the “Dcc:” field will be removed from the mes‐\nsage. The blind recipients will receive exactly the same message as the sighted recipients.\n*WARNING* Recipients listed in the “Dcc:” field receive no explicit indication that they have\nreceived a “blind copy”. This can cause blind recipients to inadvertently reply to all of\nthe sighted recipients of the original message, revealing that they received a blind copy.\nOn the other hand, since a normal reply to a message sent via a “Bcc:” field will generate a\nreply only to the sender of the original message, it takes extra effort in most mailers to\nreply to the included message, and so would usually only be done deliberately, rather than by\naccident.\n\npost rejects all messages that contain a “Dcc:” field if the sendmail/pipe mail transport\nmethod is used.\n\nThe -alias aliasfile switch can be used to specify a file that post should read aliases from.\nMore than one file can be specified, with each being preceded by -alias. In any event, the\nprimary alias file is read first.\n\nThe -msgid switch indicates that a “Message-ID:” or “Resent-Message-ID:” field should be\nadded to the header.\n\nThe -messageid switch selects the style used for the part appearing after the @ in “Mes‐\nsage-ID:”, “Resent-Message-ID:”, and “Content-ID:” header fields. The two acceptable options\nare localname (which is the default), and random. With localname, the local hostname is\nused. With random, a random sequence of characters is used instead. Note that the -msgid\nswitch must be enabled for this switch to have any effect.\n\nThe -verbose switch indicates that the user should be informed of each step of the post‐\ning/filing process.\n\nThe -watch switch indicates that the user would like to watch the transport system's handling\nof the message (e.g., local and “fast” delivery).\n\nUnder normal circumstances, post uses the “From:” line in the message draft as the identity\nof the originating mailbox. A “From:” line is required in all message drafts. By default\nthe message composition utilities such as comp, repl and mhmail will automatically place a\n“From:” line in the message draft. There are two ways to override this behavior, however.\nNote that they apply equally to “Resent-From:” lines in messages sent with dist.\n\nThe first way is to supply a “Sender:” line. The value of this field will be used as the\noriginating mailbox identity when submitting the message to the mail transport system. If\nmultiple addresses are given in the “From:” line, a “Sender:” line is required. If an “Enve‐\nlope-From:” line is supplied when multiple addresses are given in the “From:” line, a\n“Sender:” header will be generated using the value of the “Envelope-From:” line, if the “En‐\nvelope-From:” line is not blank.\n\nThe second way is to supply a “Envelope-From:” line. The value of this field will be used as\nthe originating mailbox identity when submitting the message to the mail transport system.\nThis will override both the value of the “From:” line and a “Sender:” line (if one is sup‐\nplied). The “Envelope-From:” line is allowed to have a blank value; if the value is blank,\nthen the mail transport system will be instructed to not send any bounces in response to the\nmessage. Not all mail transport systems support this feature.\n\nThe mail transport system default is defined in /etc/nmh/mts.conf but can be overridden here\nwith the -mts switch.\n\nIf nmh is using sendmail/pipe, as its mail transport system, the -sendmail switch can be used\nto override the default sendmail program.\n\nIf nmh is using the SMTP MTA, the -server and -port switches can be used to override the de‐\nfault mail server and port. The default server is set with servers in /etc/nmh/mts.conf, and\nthe default port is submission, 587.\n\nIf nmh has been compiled with SASL support, the -sasl and -nosasl switches will enable and\ndisable the use of SASL authentication with the SMTP MTA. Depending on the SASL mechanism\nused, this may require an additional password prompt from the user (but the netrc file can be\nused to store this password, as described in mh-profile(5). The -saslmech switch can be used\nto select a particular SASL mechanism, and the -user switch can be used to select an autho‐\nrization userid to provide to SASL, other than the default. The credentials profile entry in\nmh-profile(5) describes the ways to supply a username and password.\n\nIf SASL authentication is successful, nmh will attempt to negotiate a security layer for ses‐\nsion encryption. Encrypted data is labelled with `(sasl-encrypted)' and `(sasl-decrypted)'\nwhen viewing the SMTP transaction with the -snoop switch. Base64-encoded data is wrapped\nwith `b64<>'. (Beware that the SMTP transaction may contain authentication information ei‐\nther in plaintext or easily decoded base64.)\n\nIf nmh has been compiled with TLS support, the -tls and -initialtls switches will require the\nnegotiation of TLS when connecting to the SMTP MTA. The -tls switch will negotiate TLS as\npart of the normal SMTP protocol using the STARTTLS command. The -initialtls will negotiate\nTLS immediately after the connection has taken place, before any SMTP commands are sent or\nreceived. Encrypted data is labelled with `(tls-encrypted)' and `(tls-decrypted)' when view‐\ning the SMTP transaction with the -snoop switch. Base64-encoded data is wrapped with\n`b64<>'. (Beware that the SMTP transaction may contain authentication information either in\nplaintext or easily decoded base64.) The -notls switch will disable all attempts to negoti‐\nate TLS.\n\nIf port 465 is specified and none of the TLS switches were enabled, -initialtls will be im‐\nplied if TLS support was compiled in. Though port 465 for SMTPS (SMTP over SSL) was deregis‐\ntered by IANA in 1998, it is still used for that service.\n\npost filters out header lines with names beginning with “Nmh-” (case insensitive) from the\nmessage draft. Those lines are reserved for internal nmh use.\n", "subsections": [] }, "FILES": { "content": "/etc/nmh/mts.conf nmh mts configuration file\n/etc/nmh/MailAliases global nmh alias file\n/usr/bin/mh/refile Program to process Fcc:s\n/usr/lib/mh/mhl Program to process Bcc:s\n", "subsections": [] }, "PROFILE COMPONENTS": { "content": "post does not consult the user's .mhprofile\n", "subsections": [] }, "SEE ALSO": { "content": "mhmail(1), send(1), mh-mail(5), mh-alias(5), mh-profile(5), mh-tailor(5)\n\nStandard for the Format of ARPA Internet Text Messages (RFC 822)\n", "subsections": [] }, "DEFAULTS": { "content": "`-alias' defaults to /etc/nmh/MailAliases\n`-format'\n`-nomime'\n`-nomsgid'\n`-messageid localname'\n`-noverbose'\n`-nowatch'\n`-width 72'\n`-nofilter'\n", "subsections": [] }, "CONTEXT": { "content": "None\n", "subsections": [] }, "BUGS": { "content": "“Reply-To:” fields are allowed to have groups in them according to the RFC 822 specification,\nbut post won't let you use them.\n\n\n\nnmh-1.7.1 2016-10-17 POST(8mh)", "subsections": [] } }, "summary": "post - deliver an nmh message", "flags": [], "examples": [], "see_also": [ { "name": "mhmail", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mhmail/1/json" }, { "name": "send", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/send/1/json" }, { "name": "mh-mail", "section": "5", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mh-mail/5/json" }, { "name": "mh-alias", "section": "5", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mh-alias/5/json" }, { "name": "mh-profile", "section": "5", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mh-profile/5/json" }, { "name": "mh-tailor", "section": "5", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mh-tailor/5/json" } ] }