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How to set-up Postfix

• Audience: Advanced E-Mail set-up
• Requires: MacPorts >= 1.6, mail/postfix, shells/zsh-devel

Introduction

This How-to is part of the Fetchmail -> Postfix -> Dovecot advanced e-Mail set-up.

​Postfix is a ​mail transfer agent which can distribute your in and outbound mail. The set-up described here will distribute inbound mail to a ​Dovecot ​IMAP server and outbound mail to an ​internet service provider.

Distribution of E-Mail directly to the end receiver is one of the joys of the internet which has been destroyed by ​SPAM.

Installation

First set-up a mail storage where postfix will store your mail. See Dovecot for a possible set-up. Without a proper mail storage you might have difficulty accessing your mail later.

Z-Shell

Install Z-Shell if you are planning to use the attached command files:

sudo port install zsh-devel

Postfix

Install postfix with:

port install postfix +tls +ldap

or - alternatively - use the postfix which comes pre installed with Max OSX.

Configuration

Most of the postfix configuration is done in the main.cf​ file which you find either in /opt/local/etc/postfix (macports) or /etc/postfix (OSX).

Step 1: setup main.cf

set hostname and domain

Search for my_computer and my_domain in main.cf and replace them with the domain name and computer name of your computer. You can find them out with the hostname command.

The following lines need attention:

myhostname = my_computer.local
mydomain = my_domain.com
mydestination = localhost,localhost.my_domain.com,my_computer,my_computer.local,my_computer.my_domain.com
masquerade_domains = my_domain.com

Note: if you don't use an domain name apart from .local then you can remove the duplicate.

set relayhost

Your outbound mail needs to go to a relayhost as most of us can't send e-mail directly any more. My relayhost is smtp.my_domain.com this does not need to be for you.

The following lines need attention:

relayhost = [smtp.my_domain.com]

/usr <-> /opt/local

Depending on which version of postfix (osx vs. macports) you use you have to change all lines containing /usr to /opt/local. The MacPorts installation automatically changes these in main.cf to /opt/local.

/private <-> /opt/local

Depending on which version of postfix (osx vs. macports) you use you have to change all lines containing /private to /opt/local. The MacPorts installation automatically changes these in main.cf to /opt/local.

verify your changes

postcom -f will list the differences between the original (main.cf.default) and the current main.cf file.

Step 2: setup relay passwords

TODO

Step 3: starting the daemon

Restart_Postfix.command​

Step 4: testing the deamon

The attached Test_Postfix.command​ will send a test e-mail to your self - provided you replaced my_name and my_computer with your own name and computer name.

Optional Parts

TODO: What else can be done?

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