GGuuiiddeelliinneess ffoorr PPaacckkaaggee BBuuiillddeerrss

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PPuurrppoossee ooff tthhiiss ddooccuummeenntt

This document has hints and tips for those who manage their own Postfix binary
distribution for internal use, and for those who maintain Postfix binary
distributions for general use.

GGeenneerraall ddiissttrriibbuuttiioonnss:: pplleeaassee pprroovviiddee aa ssmmaallll ddeeffaauulltt mmaaiinn..ccff ffiillee

The installed main.cf file must be small. PLEASE resist the temptation to list
all parameters in the main.cf file. Postfix is supposed to be easy to
configure. Listing all parameters in main.cf defeats the purpose. It is an
invitation for hobbyists to make random changes without understanding what they
do, and gets them into endless trouble.

GGeenneerraall ddiissttrriibbuuttiioonnss:: pplleeaassee iinncclluuddee RREEAADDMMEE oorr HHTTMMLL ffiilleess

Please provide the applicable README or HTML files. They are referenced by the
Postfix manual pages and by other files. Without README or HTML files, Postfix
will be difficult if not impossible to configure.

PPoossttffiixx IInnssttaallllaattiioonn ppaarraammeetteerrss

Postfix installation is controlled by a dozen installation parameters. See the
postfix-install and post-install files for details. Most parameters have
system-dependent default settings that are configurable at compile time, as
described in the INSTALL file.

PPrreeppaarriinngg aa pprree--bbuuiilltt ppaacckkaaggee ffoorr ddiissttrriibbuuttiioonn ttoo ootthheerr ssyysstteemmss

You can build a Postfix package on a machine that does not have Postfix
installed on it. All you need is Postfix source code and a compilation
environment that is compatible with the target system.

You can build a pre-built Postfix package as an unprivileged user.

First compile Postfix. After successful compilation, execute:

     % mmaakkee ppaacckkaaggee

With Postfix versions before 2.2 you must invoke the post-install script
directly (% sshh ppoosstt--iinnssttaallll).

You will be prompted for installation parameters. Specify an install_root
directory other than /. The mail_owner and setgid_group installation parameter
settings will be recorded in the main.cf file, but they won't take effect until
the package is unpacked and installed on the destination machine.

If you want to fully automate this process, specify all the non-default
installation parameters on the command line:

     % mmaakkee nnoonn--iinntteerraaccttiivvee--ppaacckkaaggee iinnssttaallll__rroooott==//ssoommee//wwhheerree...

With Postfix versions before 2.2 you must invoke the post-install script
directly (% sshh ppoosstt--iinnssttaallll --nnoonn--iinntteerraaccttiivvee iinnssttaallll__rroooott......).

With Postfix 2.12 and later, the command "make package name=value ..." will
replace the string MAIL_VERSION in a configuration parameter value with the
Postfix release version. Do not try to specify something like $mail_version on
this command line. This produces inconsistent results with different versions
of the make(1) command.

BBeeggiinn SSeeccuurriittyy AAlleerrtt

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EEnndd SSeeccuurriittyy AAlleerrtt

Thus, to tar up the pre-built package, take the following steps:

    % cd INSTALL_ROOT
    % rm -f SOMEWHERE/outputfile
    % find . \! -type d -print | xargs tar rf SOMEWHERE/outputfile
    % gzip SOMEWHERE/outputfile

This way you will not include any directories that might cause trouble upon
extraction.

IInnssttaalllliinngg aa pprree--bbuuiilltt PPoossttffiixx ppaacckkaaggee

  * To unpack a pre-built Postfix package, execute the equivalent of:

    # umask 022
    # gzip -d <outputfile.tar.gz | (cd / ; tar xvpf -)

    The umask command is necessary for getting the correct permissions on non-
    Postfix directories that need to be created in the process.

  * Create the necessary mail_owner account and setgid_group group for
    exclusive use by Postfix.

  * Execute the postfix command to set ownership and permission of Postfix
    files and directories, and to update Postfix configuration files. If
    necessary, specify any non-default settings for mail_owner or setgid_group
    on the postfix command line:

    # postfix set-permissions upgrade-configuration \
           setgid_group=xxx mail_owner=yyy

    With Postfix versions before 2.1 you achieve the same result by invoking
    the post-install script directly.

