Mail::...Parser(3pm)

💖 Mail::SpamAssassin::Conf::Parser — parse SpamAssassin configuration 💖

okay bestie so this is the Mail::...Parser(3pm) page, from the User Contributed Perl Documentation corner of the internet, and it's literally the ✨config-parsing✨ moment of SpamAssassin. let's get into it 🫶

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🌸 NAME 🌸

Mail::SpamAssassin::Conf::Parser — parse SpamAssassin configuration. that's it, that's the job, she does one thing and she ATE 💅

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

(see Mail::SpamAssassin)

like, go read the other page, this one's shy 🙈

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

Mail::SpamAssassin is a module to identify spam using text analysis and several internet-based realtime blocklists. iconic behavior, no cap.

This class is used internally by SpamAssassin to parse its configuration files. so like, she's backstage crew, not main character — pls refer to the Mail::SpamAssassin documentation for public interfaces. iykyk 💜

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🎀 STRUCTURE OF A CONFIG BLOCK 🎀

here's the tea: this is the structure of a config-setting block. each one is a hashref which may contain these keys 👑

• setting — the name of the setting it modifies, e.g. "required_score". this also doubles as the default for 'command' (below). THIS IS REQUIRED. like, non-negotiable bestie 🚨
• command — The command string used in the config file for this setting. Optional; 'setting' will be used for the command if this is omitted. lowkey a fallback queen 💅
• aliases — An [aryref] of other aliases for the same command. optional.
• type — The type of this setting:
  • $CONF_TYPE_NOARGS: must not have any argument, like "clear_headers"
  • $CONF_TYPE_STRING: string
  • $CONF_TYPE_NUMERIC: numeric value (float or int)
  • $CONF_TYPE_BOOL: boolean (0/no or 1/yes)
  • $CONF_TYPE_TEMPLATE: template, like "report"
  • $CONF_TYPE_ADDRLIST: list of mail addresses, like "welcomelist_from"
  • $CONF_TYPE_HASH_KEY_VALUE: hash key/value pair, like "describe" or tflags
  • $CONF_TYPE_STRINGLIST list of strings, stored as an array
  • $CONF_TYPE_IPADDRLIST list of IP addresses, stored as an array of SA::NetSet
  • $CONF_TYPE_DURATION a nonnegative time interval in seconds - a numeric value (float or int), optionally suffixed by a time unit (s, m, h, d, w), seconds are implied if unit is missing

If this is set, and a 'code' block does not already exist, a 'code' block is assigned based on the type. automatic, effortless, slay ✨

In addition, the SpamAssassin test suite will validate that the settings do not 'leak' between users.

Note that $CONF_TYPE_HASH_KEY_VALUE-type settings require that the value be non-empty, otherwise they'll produce a warning message. empty value = she will simply speak up about it 💀

• code — A subroutine to deal with the setting. ONE OF code OR type IS REQUIRED. The arguments passed to the function are ($self, $key, $value, $line) — where $key is the setting (not the command), $value is the value string, and $line is the entire line.

There are two special return values that the code subroutine may return to signal that there is an error in the configuration:

• $Mail::SpamAssassin::Conf::MISSING_REQUIRED_VALUE — this setting requires that a value be set, but one was not provided. 💀
• $Mail::SpamAssassin::Conf::INVALID_VALUE — this setting requires a value from a set of 'valid' values, but the user provided an invalid one. 🙈
• $Mail::SpamAssassin::Conf::INVALID_HEADER_FIELD_NAME — this setting requires a syntactically valid header field name, but the user provided an invalid one.

Any other values — including "undef" — returned from the subroutine are considered to mean 'success' 🎉

It is good practice to set a 'type', if possible, describing how your settings are stored on the Conf object; this allows the SpamAssassin test suite to validate that the settings do not 'leak' between users. do it for the plot 🫶

• default — The default value for the setting. may be omitted if the default value is a non-scalar type, which should be set in the Conf ctor. note for path types: using "__userstate__" is recommended for defaults, as it allows Mail::SpamAssassin module users who set that configuration setting, to receive the correct values. thoughtful queen 🌸
• is_priv — Set to 1 if this setting requires 'allow_user_rules' when run from spamd. 🔒
• is_admin — Set to 1 if this setting can only be set in the system-wide config when run from spamd. (All settings can be used by local programs run directly by the user.) 👑

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and that's the whole page bestie, you're so caught up now 💅✨

signing off cutely: this was page Mail::...Parser(3pm), from perl v5.40.1, dated 2026-07-23 — perl v5.40.1 · 2026-07-23 · Mail::...Parser(3pm). go parse some config, you've got this 🎀🦋💖