Index for Section 1

Alphabetical listing for V

Bottom of page

VACATION(1)
NAME
  vacation - E-mail auto-responder

SYNOPSIS
  vacation [-a alias] [-C cffile] [-d] [-f database] [-i] [-I] [-l] [-m
  message] [-r interval] [-s address] [-t time] [-U] [-x] [-z] login

DESCRIPTION
  Vacation returns a message, ~/.vacation.msg by default, to the sender
  informing them that you are currently not reading your mail.	The message
  is only sent to each sender once per reply interval (see -r below).  The
  intended use is in a .forward file.  For example, your .forward file might
  have:

       \eric, "|/usr/bin/vacation -a allman eric"

  which would send messages to you (assuming your login name was eric) and
  reply to any messages for ``eric'' or ``allman''.

  Available options:

  -a alias
       Handle messages for alias in the same manner as those received for the
       user's login name.

  -C cfpath
       Specify pathname of the sendmail configuration file.  This option is
       ignored if -U is specified.  This option defaults to the standard
       sendmail configuration file, located at /etc/mail/sendmail.cf on most
       systems.

  -d   Send error/debug messages to stderr instead of syslog.  Otherwise,
       fatal errors, such as calling vacation with incorrect arguments, or
       with non-existent logins, are logged in the system log file, using
       syslog(8).  This should only be used on the command line, not in your
       .forward file.

  -f filename
       Use filename as name of the database instead of ~/.vacation.db or
       ~/.vacation.{dir,pag}.  Unless the filename starts with / it is
       relative to ~.

  -i   Initialize the vacation database files.	It should be used before you
       modify your .forward file.  This should only be used on the command
       line, not in your .forward file.

  -I   Same as -i (for backwards compatibility).  This should only be used on
       the command line, not in your .forward file.

  -l   List the content of the vacation database file including the address
       and the associated time of the last auto-response to that address.
       This should only be used on the command line, not in your .forward
       file.

  -m filename
       Use filename as name of the file containing the message to send
       instead of ~/.vacation.msg.  Unless the filename starts with / it is
       relative to ~.

  -r interval
       Set the reply interval to interval days.	 The default is one week.  An
       interval of ``0'' or ``infinite'' (actually, any non-numeric
       character) will never send more than one reply.	The -r option should
       only be used when the vacation database is initialized (see -i above).

  -s address
       Use address instead of the incoming message sender address on the From
       line as the recipient for the vacation message.

  -t time
       Ignored, available only for compatibility with Sun's vacation program.

  -U   Do not attempt to lookup login in the password file.  The -f and -m
       options must be used to specify the database and message file since
       there is no home directory for the default settings for these options.

  -x   Reads an exclusion list from stdin (one address per line).  Mails
       coming from an address in this exclusion list won't get a reply by
       vacation.  It is possible to exclude complete domains by specifying
       ``@domain'' as element of the exclusion list.  This should only be
       used on the command line, not in your .forward file.

  -z   Set the sender of the vacation message to ``<>'' instead of the user.
       This probably violates the RFCs since vacation messages are not
       required by a standards-track RFC to have a null reverse-path.

  Vacation reads the first line from the standard input for a UNIX ``From''
  line to determine the sender.	 Sendmail(8) includes this ``From'' line
  automatically.

  No message will be sent unless login (or an alias supplied using the -a
  option) is part of either the ``To:'' or ``Cc:'' headers of the mail.	 No
  messages from ``???-REQUEST'', ``???-RELAY'', ``???-OWNER'', ``OWNER-???'',
  ``Postmaster'', ``UUCP'', ``MAILER'', or ``MAILER-DAEMON'' will be replied
  to (where these strings are case insensitive) nor is a notification sent if
  a ``Precedence: bulk'' or ``Precedence: junk'' line is included in the mail
  headers.  The people who have sent you messages are maintained as a db(3)
  or dbm(3) database in the file .vacation.db or .vacation.{dir,pag} in your
  home directory.

  Vacation expects a file .vacation.msg, in your home directory, containing a
  message to be sent back to each sender.  It should be an entire message
  (including headers).	For example, it might contain:

       From: eric@CS.Berkeley.EDU (Eric Allman)
       Subject: I am on vacation
       Delivered-By-The-Graces-Of: The Vacation program
       Precedence: bulk

       I am on vacation until July 22.	If you have something urgent,
       please contact Keith Bostic <bostic@CS.Berkeley.EDU>.
       --eric

FILES
  ~/.vacation.db    default database file for db(3)

  ~/.vacation.{dir,pag}
		    default database file for dbm(3)

  ~/.vacation.msg   default message to send

SEE ALSO
  sendmail(8), syslog(8)

HISTORY
  The vacation command appeared in 4.3BSD.

Index for Section 1

Alphabetical listing for V

Top of page