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Setup localhost mailserver to catch all outgoing mail using Postfix & Courier

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Wed, 03/09/2011 - 14:35
admin

Almost all PHP applications and webs are sending e-mails (passwords to new users, system events, cron job confirmations etc.). As a developer you need to read them, and identically as for Windows development workstation, there is no good way to let them actually send and deliver. You need catch them all, despite if recipient's e-mail address exists or you just fabricated this one for testing purpose.
As we don't need complex e-mail server, let use (relatively) easy to setup Postfix.

Install Postfix & Courier

  • Use Yast to install Postfix

Unfortunatelly Postfix doesn't support IMAP or POP3 protocols which are used by majority of e-mail clients, so is worth to install Courier too:

  • Install Courier using Yast

(If you are planning use Evolution e-mail client, you can skip Courier installation as it can use Postfix's Maildir-style mailboxes.)

  • Still in the Yast go to System Services (Runlevel) and start postfix, courier-pop and courier-imap

Now create user account, which will get all the mails:

sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash ubermail
sudo passwd ubermail

Before next steps check Postfix's status:

sudo postfix status

Optionally you can test all functions together:

  1. Send email to ubermail
telnet localhost 25
ehlo localhost
mail from: root@localhost
rcpt to: ubermail@localhost
data
Subject: Testmail
 
Test,
I wonder if that works?
.
quit
  1. Then login as ubermail and check mail:
su - ubermail
mail

Setup Postfix & Courier

There are 2 tasks to do: catch all emails sent by local Apache and redirect them all to one e-mail account. Therefore we need edit 2 different files. First is main Postfix config in file /etc/postfix/main.cf. Edit/Add:

virtual_alias_maps = regexp:/etc/postfix/virtual
virtual_alias_domains =
myhostname = your hostname (type hostname in console and use result here)
mydomain = localhost
inet_interfaces = all
relayhost =
mydestination = localhost, $myhostname, $myhostname.$mydomain
myorigin = $myhostname
home_mailbox = Maildir/
mailbox_command =
inet_interfaces = all
inet_protocols = all

The second is /etc/postfix/virtual: add at the end (substitute “hostname” by real hostname of your computer as in previous file):

/.*/ ubermail@hostname.localhost

Now is needed just rebuilding of the map file:

sudo postmap /etc/postfix/virtual

And restart Postfix:

sudo /etc/rc.d/postfix restart

Testing

Create php file with content:

<?php
$to = "someone@never.where";
$subject = "It works!";
$body = "What,\n\ndo you think?";
if (mail($to, $subject, $body)) {
echo("<p>Message successfully sent!</p>");
} else {
echo("<p>Message delivery failed...</p>");
}
?>

and save it to /svr/www/htdocs/mail.php On web address http://localhost/mail.php you now should see “Message successfully sent!” and user ubermail should have new e-mail!

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