This guide covers how to utilise the installed postfix program so that it relays local email through google mail. I predominately use this for notifications such as logs of cron tasks that have run. This guide borrows heavily from the references listed at the end.
Configuration
Launch configuration
Edit /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.postfix.master.plist to include OnDemand key. The resulting file should look like:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Label</key>
<string>org.postfix.master</string>
<key>Program</key>
<string>/usr/libexec/postfix/master</string>
<key>ProgramArguments</key>
<array>
<string>master</string>
<string>-e</string>
<string>60</string>
</array>
<key>QueueDirectories</key>
<array>
<string>/Library/Server/Mail/Data/spool/maildrop</string>
</array>
<key>AbandonProcessGroup</key>
<true/>
<key>OnDemand</key>
<true/>
</dict>
</plist>
Postfix main configuration
Edit /etc/postfix/main.cf to include necessary configuration. Add the following to the end of the file:
relayhost = smtp.gmail.com:587
smtp_generic_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/generic
smtp_tls_loglevel=1
smtp_tls_security_level=encrypt
smtp_sasl_auth_enable=yes
smtp_sasl_password_maps=hash:/etc/postfix/sasl_passwd
smtp_sasl_security_options = noanonymous
smtp_sasl_mechanism_filter = plain
Note: the smtp_sasl_mechanism_filter option was required since Yosemite.
Postfix aliases
First, note the username of the user you wish to receive root’s email. If logged in as the user, you can check the value by running:
whoami
Edit /etc/postfix/aliases enabling root email to be aliased to your user. Change the following line:
#root: you
by uncommenting and changing you to your username, e.g.:
root: username
You need to then run newaliases to pick up the modifications:
cd /etc/postfix
sudo newaliases
Postfix local email to gmail mappings
In order to configure correctly, note the user and hostname you want to map:
whoami
hostname
Edit /etc/postfix/generic adding mappings of local email to gmail accounts, substituting username, hostname and gmailaccount as appropriate:
username@hostname gmailaccount
@hostname gmailaccount
You need to then run postmap to pick up the modifications:
cd /etc/postfix
sudo postmap generic
SMTP password
Ensure that the password file exists:
cd /etc/postfix
sudo touch sasl_passwd
Edit /etc/postfix/sasl_passwd adding the details for gmail:
smtp.gmail.com:587 gmailaccount:gmailpassword
Rebuild the postmap database file and delete the raw file containing the raw password:
sudo postmap sasl_passwd
sudo rm sasl_passwd
Forwarding using .forward
Individual users can use sendmail forwarding by creating ~/.forward containing only the email address to forward to. This will override the accounts configured above, allowing someone without sudo permissions to configure their desired email address.
Run postfix
Run the following commands to ensure postfix is running with the latest configuration:
sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.postfix.master.plist
sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.postfix.master.plist
Testing
Sending to root
Run the following command:
echo $(date) | mail -s "test" root
Sending to username
Run the following command:
echo $(date) | mail -s "test" username
Sending an external email
Run the following command:
echo $(date) | mail -s "test" user@example.com
Problems
If email is not working, the following may help.
Tailing the mail logs
You can look at and tail the mail log for details of what is happening.
tail -f /var/log/mail.log
Spool directory not found
If you get the following error:
sendmail: fatal: chdir /Library/Server/Mail/Data/spool: No such file or directory
Run the following commands to fix it:
sudo mkdir -p /Library/Server/Mail/Data/spool
sudo gzip /usr/share/man/man1/{postalias.1,postcat.1,postconf.1,postdrop.1,postfix.1,postkick.1,postlock.1,postlog.1,postmap.1,postmulti.1,postqueue.1,postsuper.1,sendmail.1}
sudo gzip /usr/share/man/man5/{access.5,aliases.5,bounce.5,canonical.5,cidr_table.5,generic.5,header_checks.5,ldap_table.5,master.5,mysql_table.5,nisplus_table.5,pcre_table.5,pgsql_table.5,postconf.5,postfix-wrapper.5,regexp_table.5,relocated.5,tcp_table.5,transport.5,virtual.5}
sudo gzip /usr/share/man/man8/{anvil.8,bounce.8,cleanup.8,discard.8,error.8,flush.8,local.8,master.8,oqmgr.8,pickup.8,pipe.8,proxymap.8,qmgr.8,qmqpd.8,scache.8,showq.8,smtp.8,smtpd.8,spawn.8,tlsmgr.8,trivial-rewrite.8,verify.8,virtual.8}
sudo /usr/sbin/postfix set-permissions
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