How to Configure Sendmail on OSX 10.2

From the Finder, use the Go menu and choose Go to Folder and type in: /etc

Click once on the hostconfig icon and use the File menu to Show Info [command-I]. Click on the lock to unlock the privileges. Change the owner to yourself with read and write privileges. Close the Info window.

Use BBEdit to open hostconfig. Look down the file until you see the line about the Mailserver. Change it to read:

 
          MAILSERVER=-YES-

Save the changes and close the hostconfig file.

With the hostconfig icon still selected, use the File menu to Show Info [command-I]. Change the owner back to System. Close the Info window.

Either reboot your computer or open the Terminal application. At the % prompt, type:

 
    sudo nohup /System/Library/StartupItems/Sendmail &

Hit return/enter. Terminal will ask for your password. Put it in and hit return/enter.

In the terminal application type:

 
    sudo cp /usr/share/sendmail/conf/cf/generic-darwin.mc /etc/mail/config.mc

From the finder, use the Go menu and Go to Folder. Type in:

 
    /etc/mail

Select the config.mc icon and change its owner to you. (Use Show Info from the Finder's File menu.)

Use BBEdit to open config.mc.

Scroll down to find the line undefine(`ALIAS_FILE'). Remove that line, and add in these 3 lines:

 
     define(`ALIAS_FILE', `/etc/mail/aliases')
     define(`confDONT_BLAME_SENDMAIL', `GroupWritableDirPathSafe')
     define(`LUSER_RELAY', `local:webb_k')

Save the file and close it.

Open BBEdit and create a new file that contains this text. [replace the 2 places where it says webb_k@xx.xxx with your own e-mail address:

########################
#  Aliases in this file will NOT be expanded in the header from
#  Mail, but WILL be visible over networks.
#       >>>>>>>>>>      The program "newaliases" must be run after
#       >> NOTE >>      this file is updated for any changes to
#       >>>>>>>>>>      show through to sendmail.
# See also RFC 2142, `MAILBOX NAMES FOR COMMON SERVICES, ROLES
# AND FUNCTIONS', May 1997
# Pretty much everything else in this file points to "root", so
# you would do well in either reading roots mailbox or forwarding
# roots email from here.

root:   webb_k@xx.xxx

# Basic system aliases -- these MUST be present
MAILER-DAEMON: postmaster
postmaster: root

# General redirections for pseudo accounts
bin:    root
daemon: root
man:    root
news:   root
nobody: root
operator: root
pop:    root
usenet: news
xten:   root

# NETWORK OPERATIONS MAILBOX NAMES
abuse:          root
noc:            root
security:       root

# SUPPORT MAILBOX NAMES FOR SPECIFIC INTERNET SERVICES
ftp:            root
ftp-bugs:       ftp
hostmaster:     root
webmaster:      root
www:            webmaster

mailman:    webb_k@xx.xx
mailman-owner:    mailman

########################

Save the file on your desktop and name it aliases

In this part you'll copy the aliases file from your desktop to /etc/mail Open the Terminal application. At the % prompt type:

 
    sudo cp

Make sure you type a space after the cp. Then drag the aliases icon from your desktop into the Terminal window. (That will put the path on the command line.) Then type a space and type:

 
    /etc/mail

 
    sudo cp /Users/webb_k/Desktop/aliases /etc/mail

x

y

z

z1

In the Terminal application, type: (I used root)

 
    cd /usr
    sudo mkdir adm
    cd adm
    sudo mkdir sm.bin
    cd sm.bin
    sudo ln -s /Applications/mailman/mail/wrapper wrapper
    sudo /System/Library/StartupItems/Sendmail/Sendmail start
    sudo m4 /usr/share/sendmail/conf/m4/cf.m4 /etc/mail/config.mc > /tmp/sendmail.cf
    sudo mv /etc/mail/sendmail.cf /etc/mail/sendmail.cf.old
    sudo mv /tmp/sendmail.cf /etc/mail/sendmail.cf
    sudo makemap hash /etc/mail/access < /etc/mail/access

WARNING: Group writable directory /

    sudo newaliases
    sudo /System/Library/StartupItems/Sendmail/Sendmail restart
    sudo niutil -create . /locations/sendmail
    sudo niutil -createprop . /locations/sendmail sendmail.cf /etc/mail/sendmail.cf

You also need to tell sendmail where to route mail, and open port 25 in your firewall.

If you get this error in your mail log: May 25 22:07:39 mabel sendmail[866]: h4Q37KoP000865: h4Q37doP000866: DSN: Data format error

If mail sent to root is disappearing, then .forward may say "/dev/null".

f you have to edit your aliases file, then you have to run newaliases again and stop/restart sendmail.

Mail may be rejected by your isp if the hostname is not valid (for example, mabel.local.). If so, edit /etc/hostconfig to change it.