django-mailbox/docs/topics/piped.rst

Receiving mail directly from Exim4 or Postfix via a pipe
========================================================

Django Mailbox's ``processincomingmessage`` management command accepts, via ``stdin``, incoming messages.  
You can configure Postfix or Exim4 to pipe incoming mail to this management command 
to import messages directly without polling.  

You need not configure mailbox settings when piping-in messages, 
mailbox entries will be automatically created matching the e-mail address to which incoming messages are sent, 
but if you would like to specify the mailbox name, 
you may provide a single argument to the ``processincmingmessage`` command 
specifying the name of the mailbox you would like it to use (and, if neccessary, create).

Receiving Mail from Exim4
-------------------------

To configure Exim4 to receive incoming mail, 
start by adding a new router configuration to your Exim4 configuration like::

  django_mailbox:
    debug_print = 'R: django_mailbox for $localpart@$domain'
    driver = accept
    domains = +local_domains
    transport = send_to_django_mailbox
    local_parts = emailusernameone : emailusernametwo

Make sure that the e-mail addresses you would like handled by Django Mailbox are not handled by another router; 
you may need to disable some existing routers. 

Change the contents of ``local_parts`` to match a colon-delimited list of usernames for which you would like to receive mail.
For example, if one of the e-mail addresses targeted at this machine is ``jane@example.com``, 
the contents of ``local_parts`` would be, simply ``jane``.

Next, a new transport configuration to your Exim4 configuration::

  send_to_django_mailbox:
    driver = pipe
    command = /path/to/your/environments/python /path/to/your/projects/manage.py processincomingmessage
    user = www-data
    group = www-data
    return_path_add
    delivery_date_add

Like your router configuration, transport configuration should be altered to match your environment.  
First, modify the ``command`` setting such that it points at the proper python executable 
(if you're using a virtual environment, you'll want to direct that at the python executable in your virtual environment) 
and project ``manage.py`` script.  
Additionally, you'll need to set ``user`` and ``group`` such that 
they match a reasonable user and group (on Ubuntu, ``www-data`` suffices for both).

Receiving mail from Postfix
---------------------------

Although I have not personally tried using Postfix for this, 
Postfix is capable of delivering new mail to a script using ``pipe``. 
Please consult the `Postfix documentation for pipe here <http://www.postfix.org/pipe.8.html>`_.  
You may want to consult the above Exim4 configuration for tips.