NEWALIASES(8)

💌 NEWALIASES(8) — bestie, your aliases are about to be seen 💌

okay so quick vibe check: this is newaliases from section 8 of the System Manager's Manual, and it is genuinely the glow-up your mail aliases have been waiting for. no cap.

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✨ NAME ✨

newaliases — rebuild mail aliases 🦋

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

newaliases [-f file]

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💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

so like, the newaliases utility makes changes to the mail aliases file visible to smtpd(8). that's the whole point, that's the assignment, and it ate. 💖

you should run it every single time the aliases(5) file is changed. every time. no skipping, no "oh I'll do it later", bestie the mail is not going to figure it out on its own. 😭

where does the alias file even live? it's defined in smtpd.conf(5), and it defaults to /etc/opensmtpd/aliases — iconic location, lowkey.

The options are as follows:

• -f file — use file as the configuration file, instead of the default /etc/opensmtpd/smtpd.conf. yeah, you get to pick your own, main character behaviour. 👑

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🔥 so what is it actually doing under the hood 🔥

it depends on what flavour of alias file you're rocking, and both paths are valid:

if you're using database (db) files, newaliases is equivalent to running makemap(8) like this:

# makemap -t aliases /etc/opensmtpd/aliases

if you're using plain text files, newaliases is equivalent to running smtpctl(8) like this:

# smtpctl update table aliases

same energy, different plumbing. it's giving "two paths, one slay". ✨

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🎀 FILES 🎀

• /etc/opensmtpd/aliases — list of local user mail aliases. the classics. 🍓
• /etc/opensmtpd/virtual — list of virtual host aliases. the plot twist. 🌈

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⭐ EXIT STATUS ⭐

the newaliases utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs. so if you get a 0, that's a win, go celebrate. if you get anything above 0, something went wrong and you should go look at it. 💀

real talk: 0 = slay, >0 = not slay. that's the whole chart.

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

smtpd.conf(5), makemap(8), smtpctl(8), smtpd(8)

go read them, they're all part of the same friend group. 🫶

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🧚 HISTORY 🧚

the newaliases command first appeared in OpenBSD 4.6, as a replacement for the equivalent command shipped with sendmail. so it's been serving looks since way back. periodt. 💜

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and that's the page, bestie!! this one came out of the System Manager's Manual, version $Mdocdate: July 20 2018 $, filed under NEWALIASES(8). run it after every alias edit, ok? mwah 💖✨