


VACATION(1)                                           VACATION(1)


NAME
       vacation - return ``I am not here'' indication

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  to  the sender of a message
       telling them that you are currently not reading your mail.
       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 ``all-
       man''.

       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 con-
              figuration file, located  at  /etc/mail/sendmail.cf
              on most systems.

       -d     Send error/debug messages to stdout instead of sys-
              log.  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).

       -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.

       -I     Same as -i (for backwards compatibility).

       -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 ~.




                   $Date: 2002/03/12 18:00:45 $                 1





VACATION(1)                                           VACATION(1)


       -l     List the content  of  the  vacation  database  file
              including  the  address  and the associated time of
              the last auto-response to that address.

       -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.

       -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 spec-
              ify 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 exclu-
              sion list won't get a reply  by  vacation.   It  is
              possible  to exclude complete domains by specifying
              ``@domain'' as element of the exclusion list.

       -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.

       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 direc-
       tory, containing a message to be sent back to each sender.
       It should be an entire message (including  headers).   For
       example, it might contain:




                   $Date: 2002/03/12 18:00:45 $                 2





VACATION(1)                                           VACATION(1)


              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

       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.

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.































                   $Date: 2002/03/12 18:00:45 $                 3


