DOKK / manpages / debian 11 / courier-base / testmxlookup.1.en
TESTMXLOOKUP(1) Double Precision, Inc. TESTMXLOOKUP(1)

testmxlookup - Look up mail servers for a domain

testmxlookup [@ip-address | --dnssec | --udpsize n | --sts | --sts-override=mode | --sts-purge] {domain}

testmxlookup {--sts-expire | --sts-cache-disable | --sts-cache-enable | --sts-cache-enable=size}

testmxlookup reports the names and IP addresses of mail servers that receive mail for the domain, as well as the domain's published STS policy. This is useful in diagnosing mail delivery problems.

testmxlookup sends a DNS MX query for the specified domain, followed by A/AAAA queries, if needed. testmxlookup lists the hostname and the IP address of every mail server, and its MX priority. The domain's strict transport security (STS) policy status, if one is published, precedes the mail server list.

The error message “Hard error” indicates that the domain does not exist, or does not have any mail servers. The error message "Soft error" indicates a temporary error condition (usually a network failure of some sorts, or the local DNS server is down).

“STS: testing” or “STS: enforcing” preceding the list of mail servers indicates that the domain publishes an STS policy. “ERROR: STS Policy verification failed” appearing after an individual mail server indicates that the mail server's name does not meet the domain's STS policy.

“STS: testing” or “STS: enforcing” by itself, with no further messages, indicates that all listed mail servers comply with the listed STS policy. If you are attempting to install your own STS policy this is a simple means of checking its validity.

@ip-address

Specify the DNS server's IP address, where to send the DNS query to, overriding the default DNS server addresses read from /etc/resolv.conf.

“ip-address” must be a literal, numeric, IP address.

--dnssec

Enable the DNSSEC extension. If the DNS server has DNSSEC enabled, and the specified domain's DNS records are signed, the list of IP addresses is suffixed by “(DNSSEC)”, indicating a signed response.

This is a diagnostic option. Older DNS servers may respond with an error, to a DNSSEC query.

--udpsize n

Specify that n is the largest UDP packet size that the DNS server may send. This option is only valid together with “--dnssec”. If “--dnssec” always returns an error, try “--udpsize 512” (the default setting is 1280 bytes, which is adequate for Ethernet, but other kinds of networks may impose lower limits).

--sts

Do not issue an MX query, and display the domain's raw STS policy file.

--sts-cache-disable

Turn off STS lookups, checking, and verification. STS is enabled by default, but requires that a global systemwide list of SSL certificate authorities is available, and that TLS_TRUSTCERTS is specified in /etc/courier/courierd. STS can be disabled, if needed.

--sts-cache-enable

Reenable STS lookups, checking, and verification, and set the size of the internal cache to its default value. Specify “=size” to enable and set a non-default cache size, a positive value indicating the approximate number of most recent domains whose STS policies get cached internally.

--sts-override=policy

Override the domain's STS enforcement mode. policy is one of: “none”, “testing”, or “enforce”, and overrides the cached domain STS policy setting.


Note
This is a diagnostic or a testing tool. Courier may eventually purge the cached policy setting, or the domain can update its policy, replacing the overridden setting.

--sts-purge

Remove the domain's cached STS policy, and retrieve and cache the domain's policy, again.

--sts-expire

Execute Courier's STS policy expiration process. Nothing happens unless /var/lib/courier/sts's size exceeds the configured cache size setting. The oldest cached policy files get removed to bring the cache size down to its maximum size.

Courier automatically downloads and caches domains' STS policy files by default, in an internal cache with a default size of 1000 domains.


Note

The cache size setting is approximate. Courier purges stale cache entries periodically, and the size of the cache can temporarily exceed its set size, by as much as a factor of two. /var/lib/courier/sts must be owned by courier:courier, and uses one file per mail domain. The maximum cache size depends on the capabilities of the underlying filesystem.

testmxlookup must be executed with sufficient privileges to access the cache directory (by root, or by courier). Without sufficient privileges testmxlookup still attempts to use the cache directory even without write permissions on it, as long as it's accessible, and attempts to download the STS policy for a domain that's not already cached; but, of course, won't be able to save the downloaded policy in the cache directory.

courier(8)[1], RFC 1035[2], RFC 8461[3].

Sam Varshavchik

Author

1.
courier(8)
http://www.courier-mta.org/courier.html
2.
RFC 1035
https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1035.txt
3.
RFC 8461
https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc8461.txt
10/28/2020 Courier Mail Server