.TH "DOVEADM-EXEC" "1" "October 2025" "65dfbff" "Dovecot"
.SH "NAME"
\fBdoveadm-exec\fR - Easily execute commands from Dovecot's libexec directory.
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
.P
\fBdoveadm\fR \[lB]\fIGLOBAL OPTIONS\fR\[rB] \fBexec\fR \fIbinary\fR \[lB]\fIbinary arguments\fR\[rB]
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
.P
This command allows administrators and local users to simply execute commands from within \fI/usr/libexec/dovecot\fR. So for example a logged in system user could start a pre-authenticated imap session, using the command: \fBdoveadm exec imap\fR. An administrator would use the command \fBdoveadm exec imap -u\fR \fIusername\fR.
.SH "GLOBAL OPTIONS"
.P
Global doveadm(1) 
.P
\fB-D\fR
.RS 0
.RS 4
.P
Enables \fIverbosity\fR and debug messages.
.RE 0

.RE 0

.P
\fB-O\fR
.RS 0
.RS 4
.P
Do not read any config file, just use defaults. The \fBdovecot_storage_version\fR setting defaults to the latest version, but can be overridden with 
.RE 0

.RE 0

.P
\fB-k\fR
.RS 0
.RS 4
.P
Preserve entire environment for doveadm, not just \fBimport_environment\fR setting.
.RE 0

.RE 0

.P
\fB-v\fR
.RS 0
.RS 4
.P
Enables verbosity, including progress counter.
.RE 0

.RE 0

.P
\fB-i\fR \fIinstance-name\fR
.RS 0
.RS 4
.P
If using multiple Dovecot instances, choose the config file based on this instance name.
.P
See \fBinstance_name\fR setting for more information.
.RE 0

.RE 0

.P
\fB-c\fR \fIconfig-file\fR
.RS 0
.RS 4
.P
Read configuration from the given \fIconfig-file\fR. By default it first reads config socket, and then falls back to \fI/etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf\fR. You can also point this to config socket of some instance running compatible version.
.RE 0

.RE 0

.P
\fB-o\fR \fIsetting\fR\fB=\fR\fIvalue\fR
.RS 0
.RS 4
.P
Overrides the configuration \fIsetting\fR from \fI/etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf\fR and from the userdb with the given \fIvalue\fR. In order to override multiple settings, the \fB-o\fR option may be specified multiple times.
.RE 0

.RE 0

.SH "ARGUMENTS"
.P
\fIbinary\fR
.RS 0
.RS 4
.P
the name of an executable located in \fI/usr/libexec/dovecot\fR.
.RE 0

.RE 0

.P
\fIbinary arguments\fR
.RS 0
.RS 4
.P
options and arguments, which will be passed through to the \fIbinary\fR.
.RE 0

.RE 0

.SH "EXAMPLE"
.P
This example demonstrates how to deliver a message from a file to a user's mailbox.
.P
.RS 2
.nf
doveadm exec dovecot-lda -d user@example.net -f admin@example.net < ~/stuff/welcome.msg
.fi
.RE
.SH "REPORTING BUGS"
.P
Report bugs, including \fIdoveconf -n\fR output, to the Dovecot Mailing List \fI\(ladovecot@dovecot.org\(ra\fR. Information about reporting bugs is available at: https://dovecot.org/bugreport.html
.P
SEE ALSO
.P
doveadm(1)