mailq(1) on Solnix vs Linux and the BSDs
On Solnix, mailq is the illumos /usr/bin/mailq, which checks the solaris.mail.mailq authorization and then runs sendmail -bp with your arguments. FreeBSD documents mailq as identical to sendmail -bp. NetBSD's mailq is the Postfix compatibility command and runs postqueue(1).
The manual pages
- Solnix: mailq(1) from
pkgs.solnix.illumos-world-man· illumos.org - FreeBSD: mailq(1) 15.1-RELEASE
- NetBSD: mailq(1) 11.0
What Solnix runs
A default Solnix system runs the illumos mailq at /usr/bin/mailq. No other variants are shipped. The bundle includes no Linux mailq page, so nothing is claimed about Linux.
Differences
| Compared with | Topic | What differs |
|---|---|---|
| FreeBSD, NetBSD | authorization check | Solnix mailq checks the authorization attribute solaris.mail.mailq before running sendmail -bp, and prints an error if the check fails. It is enabled for all users by default and can be disabled in the Basic Solaris User entry of prof_attr(5). The FreeBSD and NetBSD pages describe no such check.Source: Solnix mailq(1) DESCRIPTION; FreeBSD mailq(1) DESCRIPTION; NetBSD mailq(1) (sendmail) mailq section |
| FreeBSD | relation to sendmail -bp | FreeBSD says mailq is identical to sendmail -bp. Solnix says it used to be identical, and now wraps sendmail -bp behind an authorization check.Source: FreeBSD mailq(1) DESCRIPTION; Solnix mailq(1) DESCRIPTION |
| NetBSD | MTA behind mailq | On NetBSD, the page is the Postfix sendmail(1) compatibility page. mailq lists the queue by executing postqueue(1) and is configured through main.cf. Solnix and FreeBSD mailq go through Sendmail and sendmail.cf/submit.cf. Source: NetBSD mailq(1) DESCRIPTION (mailq, -bp); Solnix mailq(1) -Ac; FreeBSD mailq(1) -Ac |
| NetBSD | -Ac | Solnix -Ac displays the client queue /var/spool/clientmqueue instead of /var/spool/mqueue. On NetBSD, -Ac is recognized but ignored, because Postfix sendmail uses the same configuration file for all submissions.Source: Solnix mailq(1) -Ac; NetBSD mailq(1) -Am/-Ac (ignored) |
| FreeBSD | -Ac config files | FreeBSD -Ac shows the submission queue named in /etc/mail/submit.cf instead of the MTA queue in /etc/mail/sendmail.cf. The FreeBSD page names no spool directories. The Solnix page names /var/spool/clientmqueue and /var/spool/mqueue.Source: FreeBSD mailq(1) -Ac; Solnix mailq(1) -Ac |
| FreeBSD | -q options for lost and quarantined items | FreeBSD documents -qL (lost items), -qQ (quarantined items) and -q[!]Q substr (match quarantine reason). The Solnix page documents none of these. Solnix instead lists -qp[time], -qf and -qG name, which describe queue processing and not display.Source: FreeBSD mailq(1) -qL, -qQ, -q[!]Q; Solnix mailq(1) -qp, -qf, -qG |
| FreeBSD, NetBSD | status characters in the listing | FreeBSD can put *, X or - after the queue ID. NetBSD (Postfix) uses *, ! or # (active, hold, forced expire). The Solnix DESCRIPTION documents no status character after the ID, only the + or blank warning indicator added by -v.Source: FreeBSD mailq(1) DESCRIPTION; NetBSD mailq(1) mailq section; Solnix mailq(1) DESCRIPTION, -v |
| FreeBSD | -v per-recipient status | FreeBSD -v also prints status messages for each recipient when available. The Solnix -v text lists the priority, the warning indicator and controlling-user lines, with no per-recipient status.Source: FreeBSD mailq(1) -v; Solnix mailq(1) -v |
| FreeBSD | sendmail.cf tuning | FreeBSD documents that MaxQueueRunSize limits the items printed per queue group, and that QueueSortOrder can suppress the * status character. The Solnix page documents neither. Source: FreeBSD mailq(1) DESCRIPTION; Solnix mailq(1) |
Standards
- POSIX: mailq is not a POSIX.1-2024 utility.
Writing portable scripts
- Use mailq without options for a plain queue listing.
-Ac,-qvariants and-vare Sendmail features, and NetBSD (Postfix) ignores-Ac. - Do not parse the queue-ID status characters. FreeBSD uses *, X and -, NetBSD uses *, ! and #, and Solnix documents none.
Every difference here is taken from the manual pages linked above: Solnix's published page, Linux (man-pages and the GNU and util-linux manuals), FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD. Each row names its source. Where a manual is silent, this page is too. Compiled 2026-10-26. Found a mistake? Mail hackers@lists.solnix.io.