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Posted to users@spamassassin.apache.org by Ted Mittelstaedt <te...@ipinc.net> on 2026/04/16 07:42:39 UTC
Setup instructions for Spamassassin on Ubuntu Server 24.04.4 LTS using Sendmail
The following are the steps I used for this. Every guide I came across
to do it was wrong and useless, however this one:
https://oneuptime.com/blog/post/2026-01-15-configure-spamassassin-ubuntu/view
skipping over the beginning (which was all wrong) the info after the
section "Custom Rules" is not that terrible.
Note the Linux community almost always reaches for postfix because that
is what they know, very few of them use sendmail and often when you see
sendmail mentioned it's actually the postfix sendmail stub program not
the real sendmail.
With that out of the way:
1) Install Ubuntu Server and configure to ssh into it, static IP, add
name to /etc/hosts, ntp time sync it, set correct timezone, hostname,
forward and reverse dns records, setup backups, update, etc.
2) apt-get install sendmail
this installs version 8.18.1 of sendmail.
(8.18.2 is the latest version of sendmail)
3) run the script
sendmailconfig
4) test local delivery
# /usr/sbin/sendmail tedm
From: tedm@localhost
Subject: test
test
.
cat /var/mail/tedm
make sure mail is there
5) Add the IP address on your machines interface you want your machine
to receive mail on
cd /etc/mail
add
DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Family=inet, Name=MTA-v4, Port=smtp, Addr=86.75.30.9')dnl
to sendmail.mc
make
/etc/init.d/sendmail reload
6) Test from another host make sure your getting mail
7) apt install spamassassin
systemctl enable spamd
cd /etc/spamassassin
cp local.cf local.cf.installed
vi local.cf
make your configuration changes and save
systemctl start spamd
8) cd /etc/mail
mkdir -p /etc/mail/spamassassin
vi /etc/mail/spamassassin/spamassassin.m4
Put in:
dnl
dnl Process mail through spamassassin
dnl
define(`confMILTER_MACROS_ENVFROM', `i, {auth_type}, {auth_authen},
{auth_ssf}, {auth_author}, {mail_mailer}, {mail_host}, {mail_addr}, r,
b, v, Z')dnl
define(`confMILTER_MACROS_ENVRCPT', `{auth_type}, r, v, Z')dnl
INPUT_MAIL_FILTER(`spamassassin',
`S=local:/var/run/spamass/spamass.sock, F=, T=C:15m;S:4m;R:4m;E:10m')dnl
9) add this template to the main sendmail.mc
cd /etc/mail
cp sendmail.mc sendmail.mc.nospamassassin
vi sendmail.mc
add:
include(`/etc/mail/spamassassin/spamassassin.m4')dnl
right before MAILER_DEFINITIONS and save
10) install spamass-milter
service spamd stop
apt-get install spamass-milter
cd /etc/default
vi spamass-milter
uncomment and modify:
SOCKETOWNER="spamass-milter:spamass-milter"
save
systemctl enable spamass-milter
service spamd start
systemctl start spamass-milter
As of this writing all of the Ubuntu packages install correct
config/default files for systemctl and so on
The spamassassin package is version 4.0.2 for this version of Ubuntu:
https://packages.ubuntu.com/noble/spamassassin
The spamass-milter is version 0.4.0
https://packages.ubuntu.com/noble/spamass-milter
Note that the Ubuntu packager modified all of the prefixes.
So just downloading it and compiling the latest version will put it in
/usr/local/sbin instead of /usr/sbin and so on for all the other locations.
Ted
Re: Setup instructions for Spamassassin on Ubuntu Server 24.04.4 LTS using Sendmail
Posted by Ted Mittelstaedt <te...@ipinc.net>.
Absolutely!!! Please add it!
Also note that my documented approach is to use the prebuilt packages
exclusively.
Another approach would be to NOT do an apt-get install on spamassassin,
but do it on everything else, then manually download the latest SA
package and build it. But you would need to adjust all of the SA file
locations in the config files for sendmail and spamass-milter, you would
lose the autostarts, and you would lose support for Ubuntu from Canonical.
Ted
On 4/16/2026 5:38 AM, Bill Cole wrote:
> On 2026-04-16 at 03:42:39 UTC-0400 (Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:42:39 -0700)
> Ted Mittelstaedt <us...@spamassassin.apache.org>
> is rumored to have said:
>
>> The following are the steps I used for this. Every guide I came
>> across to do it was wrong and useless,
>
> THANKS TED!
>
> One of my pet peeves is all of those wrong and useless "guides" for SA
> and other open source tools. It has only been amplified by the scourge
> of AI, both replacing real search with synthesis and using all the
> garbage to synthesize remarkably well-polished turds.
>
> Does the ASF have your permission to add your guide to the SA wiki
> with credit?
>
>
>> https://oneuptime.com/blog/post/2026-01-15-configure-spamassassin-ubuntu/view
>>
>>
>> skipping over the beginning (which was all wrong) the info after the
>> section "Custom Rules" is not that terrible.
>>
>> Note the Linux community almost always reaches for postfix because
>> that is what they know, very few of them use sendmail and often when
>> you see sendmail mentioned it's actually the postfix sendmail stub
>> program not the real sendmail.
>>
>> With that out of the way:
>>
>> 1) Install Ubuntu Server and configure to ssh into it, static IP, add
>> name to /etc/hosts, ntp time sync it, set correct timezone, hostname,
>> forward and reverse dns records, setup backups, update, etc.
>>
>> 2) apt-get install sendmail
>>
>> this installs version 8.18.1 of sendmail.
>>
>> (8.18.2 is the latest version of sendmail)
>>
>> 3) run the script
>>
>> sendmailconfig
>>
>> 4) test local delivery
>>
>> # /usr/sbin/sendmail tedm
>> From: tedm@localhost
>> Subject: test
>>
>> test
>> .
>>
>> cat /var/mail/tedm
>> make sure mail is there
>>
>> 5) Add the IP address on your machines interface you want your
>> machine to receive mail on
>>
>> cd /etc/mail
>> add
>> DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Family=inet, Name=MTA-v4, Port=smtp,
>> Addr=86.75.30.9')dnl
>>
>> to sendmail.mc
>>
>> make
>> /etc/init.d/sendmail reload
>>
>> 6) Test from another host make sure your getting mail
>>
>> 7) apt install spamassassin
>> systemctl enable spamd
>>
>> cd /etc/spamassassin
>> cp local.cf local.cf.installed
>> vi local.cf
>>
>> make your configuration changes and save
>>
>> systemctl start spamd
>>
>> 8) cd /etc/mail
>> mkdir -p /etc/mail/spamassassin
>>
>> vi /etc/mail/spamassassin/spamassassin.m4
>>
>> Put in:
>>
>> dnl
>> dnl Process mail through spamassassin
>> dnl
>> define(`confMILTER_MACROS_ENVFROM', `i, {auth_type}, {auth_authen},
>> {auth_ssf}, {auth_author}, {mail_mailer}, {mail_host}, {mail_addr},
>> r, b, v, Z')dnl
>> define(`confMILTER_MACROS_ENVRCPT', `{auth_type}, r, v, Z')dnl
>> INPUT_MAIL_FILTER(`spamassassin',
>> `S=local:/var/run/spamass/spamass.sock, F=, T=C:15m;S:4m;R:4m;E:10m')dnl
>>
>> 9) add this template to the main sendmail.mc
>> cd /etc/mail
>> cp sendmail.mc sendmail.mc.nospamassassin
>>
>> vi sendmail.mc
>>
>> add:
>>
>> include(`/etc/mail/spamassassin/spamassassin.m4')dnl
>>
>> right before MAILER_DEFINITIONS and save
>>
>> 10) install spamass-milter
>>
>> service spamd stop
>>
>> apt-get install spamass-milter
>>
>> cd /etc/default
>>
>> vi spamass-milter
>>
>> uncomment and modify:
>> SOCKETOWNER="spamass-milter:spamass-milter"
>>
>> save
>>
>> systemctl enable spamass-milter
>>
>> service spamd start
>>
>> systemctl start spamass-milter
>>
>> As of this writing all of the Ubuntu packages install correct
>> config/default files for systemctl and so on
>>
>> The spamassassin package is version 4.0.2 for this version of Ubuntu:
>>
>> https://packages.ubuntu.com/noble/spamassassin
>>
>> The spamass-milter is version 0.4.0
>>
>> https://packages.ubuntu.com/noble/spamass-milter
>>
>> Note that the Ubuntu packager modified all of the prefixes.
>>
>> So just downloading it and compiling the latest version will put it
>> in /usr/local/sbin instead of /usr/sbin and so on for all the other
>> locations.
>>
>> Ted
>
>
Re: Setup instructions for Spamassassin on Ubuntu Server 24.04.4 LTS using Sendmail
Posted by Bill Cole <bi...@apache.org>.
On 2026-04-16 at 03:42:39 UTC-0400 (Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:42:39 -0700)
Ted Mittelstaedt <us...@spamassassin.apache.org>
is rumored to have said:
> The following are the steps I used for this. Every guide I came
> across to do it was wrong and useless,
THANKS TED!
One of my pet peeves is all of those wrong and useless "guides" for SA
and other open source tools. It has only been amplified by the scourge
of AI, both replacing real search with synthesis and using all the
garbage to synthesize remarkably well-polished turds.
Does the ASF have your permission to add your guide to the SA wiki with
credit?
> https://oneuptime.com/blog/post/2026-01-15-configure-spamassassin-ubuntu/view
>
> skipping over the beginning (which was all wrong) the info after the
> section "Custom Rules" is not that terrible.
>
> Note the Linux community almost always reaches for postfix because
> that is what they know, very few of them use sendmail and often when
> you see sendmail mentioned it's actually the postfix sendmail stub
> program not the real sendmail.
>
> With that out of the way:
>
> 1) Install Ubuntu Server and configure to ssh into it, static IP, add
> name to /etc/hosts, ntp time sync it, set correct timezone, hostname,
> forward and reverse dns records, setup backups, update, etc.
>
> 2) apt-get install sendmail
>
> this installs version 8.18.1 of sendmail.
>
> (8.18.2 is the latest version of sendmail)
>
> 3) run the script
>
> sendmailconfig
>
> 4) test local delivery
>
> # /usr/sbin/sendmail tedm
> From: tedm@localhost
> Subject: test
>
> test
> .
>
> cat /var/mail/tedm
> make sure mail is there
>
> 5) Add the IP address on your machines interface you want your machine
> to receive mail on
>
> cd /etc/mail
> add
> DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Family=inet, Name=MTA-v4, Port=smtp,
> Addr=86.75.30.9')dnl
>
> to sendmail.mc
>
> make
> /etc/init.d/sendmail reload
>
> 6) Test from another host make sure your getting mail
>
> 7) apt install spamassassin
> systemctl enable spamd
>
> cd /etc/spamassassin
> cp local.cf local.cf.installed
> vi local.cf
>
> make your configuration changes and save
>
> systemctl start spamd
>
> 8) cd /etc/mail
> mkdir -p /etc/mail/spamassassin
>
> vi /etc/mail/spamassassin/spamassassin.m4
>
> Put in:
>
> dnl
> dnl Process mail through spamassassin
> dnl
> define(`confMILTER_MACROS_ENVFROM', `i, {auth_type}, {auth_authen},
> {auth_ssf}, {auth_author}, {mail_mailer}, {mail_host}, {mail_addr}, r,
> b, v, Z')dnl
> define(`confMILTER_MACROS_ENVRCPT', `{auth_type}, r, v, Z')dnl
> INPUT_MAIL_FILTER(`spamassassin',
> `S=local:/var/run/spamass/spamass.sock, F=,
> T=C:15m;S:4m;R:4m;E:10m')dnl
>
> 9) add this template to the main sendmail.mc
> cd /etc/mail
> cp sendmail.mc sendmail.mc.nospamassassin
>
> vi sendmail.mc
>
> add:
>
> include(`/etc/mail/spamassassin/spamassassin.m4')dnl
>
> right before MAILER_DEFINITIONS and save
>
> 10) install spamass-milter
>
> service spamd stop
>
> apt-get install spamass-milter
>
> cd /etc/default
>
> vi spamass-milter
>
> uncomment and modify:
> SOCKETOWNER="spamass-milter:spamass-milter"
>
> save
>
> systemctl enable spamass-milter
>
> service spamd start
>
> systemctl start spamass-milter
>
> As of this writing all of the Ubuntu packages install correct
> config/default files for systemctl and so on
>
> The spamassassin package is version 4.0.2 for this version of Ubuntu:
>
> https://packages.ubuntu.com/noble/spamassassin
>
> The spamass-milter is version 0.4.0
>
> https://packages.ubuntu.com/noble/spamass-milter
>
> Note that the Ubuntu packager modified all of the prefixes.
>
> So just downloading it and compiling the latest version will put it in
> /usr/local/sbin instead of /usr/sbin and so on for all the other
> locations.
>
> Ted
--
Bill Cole
bill@scconsult.com or billcole@apache.org
(AKA @grumpybozo@toad.social and many *@billmail.scconsult.com
addresses)
Please keep discussion mailing list replies *on-list*
Not Currently Available For Hire
Re: Setup instructions for Spamassassin on Ubuntu Server 24.04.4 LTS using Sendmail
Posted by Ted Mittelstaedt <te...@ipinc.net>.
Oops - forgot to say must run sendmailconfig right after step 9
Ted
On 4/16/2026 12:42 AM, Ted Mittelstaedt wrote:
> The following are the steps I used for this. Every guide I came
> across to do it was wrong and useless, however this one:
>
> https://oneuptime.com/blog/post/2026-01-15-configure-spamassassin-ubuntu/view
>
>
> skipping over the beginning (which was all wrong) the info after the
> section "Custom Rules" is not that terrible.
>
> Note the Linux community almost always reaches for postfix because
> that is what they know, very few of them use sendmail and often when
> you see sendmail mentioned it's actually the postfix sendmail stub
> program not the real sendmail.
>
> With that out of the way:
>
> 1) Install Ubuntu Server and configure to ssh into it, static IP, add
> name to /etc/hosts, ntp time sync it, set correct timezone, hostname,
> forward and reverse dns records, setup backups, update, etc.
>
> 2) apt-get install sendmail
>
> this installs version 8.18.1 of sendmail.
>
> (8.18.2 is the latest version of sendmail)
>
> 3) run the script
>
> sendmailconfig
>
> 4) test local delivery
>
> # /usr/sbin/sendmail tedm
> From: tedm@localhost
> Subject: test
>
> test
> .
>
> cat /var/mail/tedm
> make sure mail is there
>
> 5) Add the IP address on your machines interface you want your machine
> to receive mail on
>
> cd /etc/mail
> add
> DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Family=inet, Name=MTA-v4, Port=smtp,
> Addr=86.75.30.9')dnl
>
> to sendmail.mc
>
> make
> /etc/init.d/sendmail reload
>
> 6) Test from another host make sure your getting mail
>
> 7) apt install spamassassin
> systemctl enable spamd
>
> cd /etc/spamassassin
> cp local.cf local.cf.installed
> vi local.cf
>
> make your configuration changes and save
>
> systemctl start spamd
>
> 8) cd /etc/mail
> mkdir -p /etc/mail/spamassassin
>
> vi /etc/mail/spamassassin/spamassassin.m4
>
> Put in:
>
> dnl
> dnl Process mail through spamassassin
> dnl
> define(`confMILTER_MACROS_ENVFROM', `i, {auth_type}, {auth_authen},
> {auth_ssf}, {auth_author}, {mail_mailer}, {mail_host}, {mail_addr}, r,
> b, v, Z')dnl
> define(`confMILTER_MACROS_ENVRCPT', `{auth_type}, r, v, Z')dnl
> INPUT_MAIL_FILTER(`spamassassin',
> `S=local:/var/run/spamass/spamass.sock, F=, T=C:15m;S:4m;R:4m;E:10m')dnl
>
> 9) add this template to the main sendmail.mc
> cd /etc/mail
> cp sendmail.mc sendmail.mc.nospamassassin
>
> vi sendmail.mc
>
> add:
>
> include(`/etc/mail/spamassassin/spamassassin.m4')dnl
>
> right before MAILER_DEFINITIONS and save
>
> 10) install spamass-milter
>
> service spamd stop
>
> apt-get install spamass-milter
>
> cd /etc/default
>
> vi spamass-milter
>
> uncomment and modify:
> SOCKETOWNER="spamass-milter:spamass-milter"
>
> save
>
> systemctl enable spamass-milter
>
> service spamd start
>
> systemctl start spamass-milter
>
> As of this writing all of the Ubuntu packages install correct
> config/default files for systemctl and so on
>
> The spamassassin package is version 4.0.2 for this version of Ubuntu:
>
> https://packages.ubuntu.com/noble/spamassassin
>
> The spamass-milter is version 0.4.0
>
> https://packages.ubuntu.com/noble/spamass-milter
>
> Note that the Ubuntu packager modified all of the prefixes.
>
> So just downloading it and compiling the latest version will put it in
> /usr/local/sbin instead of /usr/sbin and so on for all the other
> locations.
>
> Ted