Invoking maildrop

Question: What are the steps to invoke maildrop within the context of Red Hat Linux? To invoke maildrop within the context of Red Hat Linux, you can follow these steps:

1. Install maildrop: Use the Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) to install the maildrop package on your system. This can typically be done using the command sudo yum install maildrop.
2. Configure maildrop: Create a configuration file for maildrop, which typically resides in the /etc/maildroprc directory. You can use this file to specify the actions that maildrop should take for incoming email messages, such as delivering them to specific mailboxes or folders.
3. Set up mail filtering: Use mail filtering rules to determine which messages should be processed by maildrop. This can be done using the .forward file in each user's home directory, or by using a system-wide filtering mechanism like Procmail.
4. Test maildrop: Send a test email to your system to ensure that maildrop is working as expected. You can check the mail logs to see if the message was successfully delivered to the appropriate mailbox or folder.

Overall, invoking maildrop within the context of Red Hat Linux involves installing the package, configuring maildrop, setting up filtering rules, and testing the system to ensure that everything is working correctly. With these steps, you can use maildrop to efficiently manage incoming email messages on your Red Hat Linux system.

By default, Red Hat's sendmail configuration automatically invokes procmail through the Linux standard MDA sendmail. If you reconfigure sendmail not to deliver through procmail, a system user will need to invoke procmail manually.

If a .forward file exists in a user's home directory, the Linux email system will send mail to the address listed in that file. sendmail can send mail to programs for processing, so you can list the procmail program in your .forward file to invoke it.
To do so, create your .forward file by typing echo "| exec /usr/bin/procmail" > $HOME/.forward. This command creates the file and puts the following into it:

| /usr/bin/procmail