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LFCS · Question #37

What is the purpose of the command mailq?

The correct answer is D. It queries the mail queue of the local MTA. The mailq command is used to display the contents of the local Mail Transfer Agent's (MTA) outgoing mail queue.

Submitted by jaden.t· Apr 18, 2026Operation of Running Systems

Question

What is the purpose of the command mailq?

Options

  • AIt fetches new emails from a remote server using POP3 or IMAP.
  • BIt is a multi-user mailing list manager.
  • CIt is a proprietary tool contained only in the qmail MTA.
  • DIt queries the mail queue of the local MTA.
  • EIt is a command-line based tool for reading and writing emails.

How the community answered

(42 responses)
  • A
    2% (1)
  • B
    2% (1)
  • C
    7% (3)
  • D
    88% (37)

Why each option

The `mailq` command is used to display the contents of the local Mail Transfer Agent's (MTA) outgoing mail queue.

AIt fetches new emails from a remote server using POP3 or IMAP.

Commands like `fetchmail` or email clients are used to fetch emails from remote servers, not `mailq`.

BIt is a multi-user mailing list manager.

Mailing list managers like `Mailman` or `Sympa` handle multi-user mailing lists, not `mailq`.

CIt is a proprietary tool contained only in the qmail MTA.

While qmail has a mail queue, `mailq` is a standard command available with many MTAs (e.g., Sendmail, Postfix), not proprietary to qmail.

DIt queries the mail queue of the local MTA.Correct

`mailq` provides a snapshot of the messages currently in the local MTA's queue, indicating emails that are waiting to be sent or are temporarily undeliverable.

EIt is a command-line based tool for reading and writing emails.

Commands like `mailx` or `mutt` are used for reading and writing emails from the command line, not `mailq`.

Concept tested: Mail Transfer Agent queue inspection

Source: https://manpages.debian.org/testing/mailutils/mailq.1.en.html

Topics

#Mail Queue#MTA#Email Delivery#Command Line

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