Why “sendmail aliases not working?” Let’s discuss the details here. At Bobcares, we assist our customers with several queries on a daily basis as part of our Server Management Services. As part of our Server Support Services, we assist our customers with several queries daily.

Overview

1. “Sendmail Aliases not Working”: More About
2. Causes & Fixes

“Sendmail Aliases not Working”: More About

The Sendmail server is not successfully mapping email aliases to their specified destinations when the error “sendmail aliases not working” occurs. For the purpose of delivering and routing email, sendmail is an MTA.

Causes & Fixes

1. Aliases File Not Updated

Fix: : After editing /etc/aliases, we must update the aliases database (DB). Run sudo newaliases.

2. Incorrect Aliases Syntax

Fix: Make sure entries in /etc/aliases are correct.

Syntax: alias: actual_email_address

3. Permissions Issues

Fix: Check that /etc/aliases and its DB have correct rights.

sudo chmod 644 /etc/aliases
sudo chmod 644 /etc/aliases.db
sudo chown root:root /etc/aliases
sudo chown root:root /etc/aliases.db

4. Sendmail Config

Fix: Ensure Sendmail uses the correct path to the aliases file. Check for:

O AliasFile=/etc/aliases

5. Sendmail Service Not Restarted

Fix: Restart Sendmail after updating aliases.

sudo systemctl restart sendmail

6. Check for Errors in Logs

Fix: Look for alias-related errors in logs.

tail -f /var/log/maillog

7. Alias Expansion Loops

Fix: Avoid loops in alias definitions, like a pointing to b and b back to a.

8. DNS and MX Records

Fix: Ensure DNS and MX records are correctly set up to avoid delivery issues.

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Conclusion

By following these steps from our Techs, we can easily troubleshoot and resolve common issues with Sendmail aliases.