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How to Set Up Postfix for Multiple Domains

A practical guide to hosting several domains on one Postfix server: choose virtual aliases or virtual mailboxes, classify domains correctly, build recipient maps, reload safely, and diagnose relay and unknown-user errors.
Length14 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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Host multiple domains in Postfix by placing each hosted domain in the correct virtual-domain class, then mapping recipients to aliases or mailboxes. Use virtual_alias_domains with virtual_alias_maps when addresses should forward to UNIX users or remote recipients. Use virtual_mailbox_domains with virtual_mailbox_maps when each address needs its own mailbox. Do not put hosted virtual-alias domains in mydestination; that overlap is a common cause of loops, relay errors, and incorrect local delivery.

The procedure is the same for every additional domain: point its MX record at the intended mail system, declare it in exactly one destination class, add recipient data to the source map, rebuild file-backed maps, reload Postfix, and test both valid and invalid recipients.

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Choose the Postfix delivery model first

Postfix separates domain ownership from recipient delivery. A domain declaration tells Postfix that it is responsible for accepting mail; a map then determines what to do with each recipient. The two built-in virtual-domain models solve different problems.

Question Virtual alias domain Virtual mailbox domain
Primary purpose Forward an address to a local UNIX account or another address Deliver to a separate mailbox for each virtual recipient
Domain parameter virtual_alias_domains virtual_mailbox_domains
Recipient map virtual_alias_maps virtual_mailbox_maps (often alongside an alias map)
Typical destination Local account such as joe, or remote address such as [email protected] A mailbox path under a virtual-mailbox base directory, or a delegated transport such as LMTP
Independent mailbox per address No; delivery follows the target address Yes, when the mailbox map and storage provide one
Best fit Forwarding domains, role addresses, and small address sets Multiple users with separate mailboxes and credentials managed by a mailbox system

These classes are deliberate, not interchangeable labels. Decide whether Postfix is forwarding envelope recipients or accepting users into a mailbox store before editing main.cf. Compare four practical axes: whether every address needs independent storage, whether delivery is local or remote, whether another service such as LMTP owns the mailbox, and how recipient data and unknown addresses will be maintained.

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Prepare DNS, ownership, and storage

Point each domain at the mail service

For every hosted domain, publish an MX record that points to the server or mail front end that will receive SMTP connections. If a front end accepts mail first, ensure it can route the recipient to this Postfix instance. DNS does not create a Postfix domain; it only directs traffic to the system that must be configured to accept it. Test each domain’s MX result from outside the server and confirm that the advertised host is reachable on the intended SMTP service.

Choose where recipient data lives

Flat LMDB maps are easy to start with and are shown in the examples below. Postfix can also query SQL, LDAP, or another supported map backend. Whatever the backend, maintain one authoritative source and verify representative lookups after every change. Decide who is allowed to add or remove recipients, how changes are reviewed, and how the active data is backed up. A database does not remove the need to test an empty result: an address with no row should be rejected or handled by an explicitly designed alias policy, not silently accepted.

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Plan mailbox ownership before enabling delivery

For direct virtual delivery, the mailbox directory must be writable by the UID and GID configured for Postfix’s virtual delivery agent. The example configuration uses UID and GID 5000; use an existing, non-privileged account appropriate for your host rather than copying that number blindly. Create the base directory, its ownership, and its permissions before accepting production mail. Keep the directory hierarchy consistent with the mailbox format consumed by your reading software, and verify that the delivery identity cannot modify unrelated system files.

Classify domains correctly

Postfix treats a domain as a final destination when it matches a local destination such as mydestination, a local or proxy interface, virtual_alias_domains, or virtual_mailbox_domains. A hosted domain must be placed in the class that matches its delivery model. The domain list controls recipient acceptance; it does not, by itself, create a mailbox or alias.

Keep virtual domains out of mydestination

mydestination is for the machine’s canonical and local-delivery domains. Do not add a virtual-alias domain there. If the same domain appears in competing classes, Postfix may classify recipients as local when they should be rewritten, loop mail back, or produce confusing relay and unknown-user behavior. Review the complete active configuration rather than only the fragment you recently edited.

Use one intentional class per hosted domain

Put forwarding-only domains in virtual_alias_domains. Put domains whose recipients are virtual mailboxes in virtual_mailbox_domains. If a separate service owns the actual mailbox store, the mailbox class can still provide recipient acceptance while virtual_transport hands delivery to that service. Do not list the same domain in both virtual classes unless your design and recipient lookups clearly account for the resulting precedence and behavior; in normal deployments, one class per hosted domain is the safer rule.

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Option A: configure virtual aliases

Virtual aliases rewrite envelope recipients. They are distinct from the system aliases(5) table, which applies only to local recipients. A virtual alias can point to a local UNIX account, another address on the same server, or a remote address. The rewrite affects the envelope recipient used for delivery; it is not a mailbox-storage mechanism and does not automatically preserve every sender-authentication property when mail is forwarded.

1. Declare the alias domains and map

Add the domains and an indexed map to /etc/postfix/main.cf:

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virtual_alias_domains = example.com example.net
virtual_alias_maps = lmdb:/etc/postfix/virtual

Replace the example names with every forwarding domain. Keep formatting unambiguous: separate domain names with spaces, and avoid accidentally including a domain that belongs to the mailbox class. If the list becomes large, move domain data to a supported map backend rather than maintaining an error-prone, wrapped line by hand.

2. Add recipient mappings

Edit the source file /etc/postfix/virtual:

[email protected] postmaster
[email protected]       joe
[email protected]      [email protected]

The left side is the complete envelope recipient. The right side is the rewritten destination. A local target such as joe is then handled as a local account; a fully qualified remote target is sent through normal remote delivery. Keep the left-hand address exact, including its domain. Add explicit entries for role addresses that must work, and remove entries when the destination is retired.

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3. Build the indexed map and reload

  1. Run postmap /etc/postfix/virtual after editing the source file. This creates or refreshes the LMDB index used by the map declaration.
  2. Run postfix check to catch configuration and permission problems.
  3. Run postfix reload so the running service reads the updated configuration and map.

A reload applies configuration changes without requiring a full service restart. If a map is generated in a different directory or with a different database type, make sure the URI in main.cf matches the generated file exactly.

4. Verify a lookup before sending mail

Query an address directly:

postmap -q [email protected] lmdb:/etc/postfix/virtual
postmap -q [email protected] lmdb:/etc/postfix/virtual

Each command should print the configured destination. An empty result means the key is absent, misspelled, or being queried against the wrong map type. Test at least one address in every hosted domain, including a role address if one is part of the operational plan.

5. Avoid an unplanned catch-all

A catch-all alias accepts addresses that were never created. The official Postfix virtual-domain guidance warns that this can attract large volumes of spam and bounces for forged recipients. Prefer explicit recipient entries. If a catch-all is genuinely required, define its scope, monitor abuse, and understand that accepting arbitrary local parts increases backscatter and cleanup work. An invalid-recipient test should prove that addresses outside the intended set are rejected rather than redirected accidentally.

Option B: configure virtual mailboxes

Virtual mailbox domains provide individual recipient mailboxes. Postfix’s virtual(8) delivery agent can write directly to mapped paths, or Postfix can pass accepted recipients to a mailbox service through a transport such as LMTP.

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1. Declare domains, storage, and maps

A direct-delivery example in /etc/postfix/main.cf is:

virtual_mailbox_domains = example.com example.net
virtual_mailbox_base = /var/mail/vhosts
virtual_mailbox_maps = lmdb:/etc/postfix/vmailbox
virtual_minimum_uid = 100
virtual_uid_maps = static:5000
virtual_gid_maps = static:5000
virtual_alias_maps = lmdb:/etc/postfix/virtual

virtual_mailbox_domains identifies domains with virtual recipients. virtual_mailbox_base is the root under which mapped paths are created. The UID/GID settings tell Postfix which unprivileged identity owns delivered files. The alias map is optional for mailbox delivery but useful for role addresses, alternate addresses, or forwarding exceptions. Keep mailbox acceptance and alias rewriting conceptually separate so an alias cannot conceal a missing mailbox entry.

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2. Map complete addresses to mailbox paths

Edit /etc/postfix/vmailbox with a complete address and a path relative to the mailbox base:

[email protected]  example.com/info
[email protected]  example.net/sales/

With the shown base directory, these entries resolve beneath /var/mail/vhosts. The trailing slash in the second value is significant to the selected mailbox format and should match the layout expected by your delivery and reading software. Create the directory hierarchy and set ownership for the configured virtual UID and GID. Before production use, deliver a test message and verify that the resulting file or directory is readable by the mailbox application but not writable by unrelated accounts.

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3. Build maps and activate the configuration

  1. Run postmap /etc/postfix/vmailbox.
  2. If you changed the alias source file as well, run postmap /etc/postfix/virtual.
  3. Run postfix check.
  4. Run postfix reload.

Check representative entries with:

postmap -q [email protected] lmdb:/etc/postfix/vmailbox
postmap -q [email protected] lmdb:/etc/postfix/vmailbox

The output should be the expected relative mailbox path. A missing result means Postfix has no recipient entry to accept. Querying the map is useful before testing SMTP because it separates recipient-data errors from network, DNS, and transport errors.

4. Delegate delivery when another service owns mailboxes

If an LMTP server or another mailbox application owns storage, keep the virtual mailbox map as the recipient-acceptance layer and configure virtual_transport for that service. The exact transport definition belongs in master.cf or the relevant client configuration. Confirm that the delegated service understands the recipient format and returns a definitive success or failure; otherwise messages can remain queued or be repeatedly deferred. Test both a valid mailbox and an unknown address through the complete transport path, not only with a local map query.

Maintain maps without creating stale data

File-backed maps

Edit the human-readable source file, not the generated index. Every change requires postmap before Postfix can see the new key. Keep backups of both the source and the active configuration, and remove obsolete recipient entries rather than leaving them to fail unpredictably. A source file that looks correct while its index is old is a common reason an apparently valid change has no effect.

SQL, LDAP, and other backends

When a database or directory supplies recipients, the same domain-class rules still apply. Validate the query result for a full address, confirm that the Postfix process can connect, and test behavior when no row is returned. Do not add a broad database fallback that silently turns unknown recipients into a catch-all. Connection failures and empty results should be visible in logs and monitored as separate operational conditions.

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Aliases and mailboxes together

A mailbox domain can use aliases for addresses such as postmaster while regular users resolve through virtual_mailbox_maps. Keep the roles explicit so an alias does not accidentally mask a mailbox or create a forwarding loop. Document which addresses are aliases, which are physical mailboxes, and which are delegated to another service.

Activation and testing checklist

  1. Confirm each domain’s MX record points to the correct server or front end.
  2. Place every hosted domain in exactly one appropriate virtual-domain parameter.
  3. Check that none of those domains is also in mydestination unless it is intentionally a local system domain.
  4. Edit the source recipient map or backend.
  5. Run postmap for every changed file-backed map.
  6. Use postmap -q for at least one known address in each domain.
  7. Run postfix check.
  8. Inspect postconf -n for accidental overlap, unexpected relay settings, or a wrong map path.
  9. Reload with postfix reload after changes to main.cf or master.cf.
  10. Send a test message to one valid recipient in every domain.
  11. Send a separate test to an intentionally invalid recipient and verify that Postfix rejects it or returns the expected unknown-user response rather than accepting it into a catch-all.
  12. Inspect the mail log and queue status to confirm acceptance, delivery, deferral, or rejection matches the design.

Run the tests from a system outside the server as well as locally. A successful local lookup proves only that the map contains a key; it does not prove that DNS, SMTP reachability, recipient policy, and final delivery are all correct.

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Troubleshoot the common failure modes

“Relay access denied” for the second domain

Postfix does not recognize the domain as a final destination. Check that its spelling appears in virtual_alias_domains or virtual_mailbox_domains, that the running configuration contains the change, and that the MX record reaches this server. A reload is required after editing main.cf. Also check that the domain was not added only to a map while omitted from the destination-class parameter.

Mail loops back or is delivered locally

The domain is often in mydestination as well as a virtual class, or the alias target points back to the original address. Remove the unintended classification, inspect the rewritten recipient, and test the alias with postmap -q. A loop can also result from forwarding between aliases that ultimately resolve to each other, so trace every rewrite target.

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Known address is rejected as an unknown user

For a virtual mailbox, verify that the full address, including its domain, exists in virtual_mailbox_maps and that the indexed map was rebuilt. For an alias domain, verify the exact left-hand key in virtual_alias_maps. Check capitalization and whitespace in the source file. If the map lookup succeeds but SMTP still rejects the address, inspect the active parameter values and recipient restrictions rather than changing the mailbox path first.

Changes appear to be ignored

Run postmap again, confirm the map URI in main.cf points to the rebuilt database, and reload Postfix. Use postconf -n to verify that the active parameter is the one you edited rather than a distribution-specific override. Check file ownership and permissions if Postfix cannot read the generated index.

Messages queue after delegation to LMTP

Check the transport named by virtual_transport, the corresponding master.cf service, socket or network permissions, and the delegated service’s logs. A mailbox map can accept a recipient while the transport remains unavailable; queue status will show the resulting deferral. Restore the transport or correct its recipient format, then watch a queued message through successful delivery.

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Security and operational boundaries

Virtual aliasing changes envelope recipients; it does not by itself configure TLS certificates, DKIM signing, DMARC policy, SPF, DNS hosting, authentication, or a mailbox application. Those are separate deployment decisions. If aliases forward to another provider, evaluate SPF, DKIM, DMARC alignment, and forwarding behavior independently because rewriting the envelope recipient alone does not preserve every sender-authentication property.

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Use least-privilege ownership for virtual mailbox storage, restrict write access to the delivery identity, and monitor logs for repeated unknown-recipient attempts. Explicit recipient lists make abuse easier to detect than unrestricted catch-alls. Keep operational contacts such as postmaster mapped deliberately in every hosted domain that requires them. Treat domain additions as configuration changes that need review: DNS, destination class, recipient data, map rebuild, reload, and an end-to-end test should be completed together.

Decide which model fits your domains

  • Choose virtual aliases when most addresses forward to existing local users or remote destinations and you do not need a separate mailbox for each address.
  • Choose virtual mailboxes when users need independent storage and the server or a delegated mailbox service is responsible for delivery.
  • Use a hybrid only when the boundary is clear: mailbox recipients resolve through the mailbox map, while explicitly defined role addresses resolve through aliases.
  • Prefer a maintained database or directory when recipient volume or administrative ownership makes flat files error-prone, but retain the same lookup and unknown-recipient tests.
  • Reject unknown recipients by default; accepting arbitrary local parts is a conscious exception with measurable spam and backscatter cost.

Once every domain has one destination class, every recipient has an intentional map entry, and the rebuilt maps pass lookup tests, Postfix can host several domains predictably on one server without confusing local and virtual delivery.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I host several domains on one Postfix server?

Point each domain’s MX record to the receiving server, list each domain in the appropriate virtual-domain parameter, create recipient entries in the alias or mailbox map, run postmap for file-backed maps, reload Postfix, and test a valid and invalid recipient in every domain.

What is the difference between a virtual alias domain and a virtual mailbox domain?

A virtual alias domain rewrites envelope recipients to local UNIX users or other addresses. A virtual mailbox domain accepts recipients that have individual mailbox paths or are handed to a mailbox service such as LMTP.

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Why does Postfix reject mail for my second domain with relay access denied?

The domain is usually missing from virtual_alias_domains or virtual_mailbox_domains, the change was not reloaded, or DNS points to a different receiving host. Confirm the active value with postconf -n and verify the MX path.

Should virtual domains be listed in mydestination?

No. Keep virtual-alias and virtual-mailbox domains in their corresponding virtual-domain class. Listing the same hosted domain in mydestination can cause local delivery, loops, relay errors, or confusing recipient behavior.

Why is a known mailbox address reported as an unknown user?

Check that the complete address, including the domain, exists in virtual_mailbox_maps, rebuild the indexed map with postmap, reload Postfix, and verify the map with postmap -q. For aliases, check the exact key in virtual_alias_maps.

Do I need a catch-all for each domain?

No. Explicit recipient entries are safer. Catch-alls accept arbitrary local parts and can attract spam and bounces for forged addresses, increasing backscatter and administrative cleanup.

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Can Postfix deliver virtual mailboxes through LMTP instead of writing files?

Yes. Keep the virtual mailbox map as the recipient-acceptance layer and configure virtual_transport for the LMTP or other mailbox service. Verify its transport definition, permissions, recipient format, and logs.

Do virtual aliases configure DKIM, SPF, or DMARC?

No. They only rewrite envelope recipients. TLS, DKIM signing, DMARC policy, SPF, DNS hosting, authentication, and mailbox software require separate configuration and should be evaluated independently for forwarded mail.

The Bottom Line

For multiple domains, classify each domain once, map every intended recipient explicitly, rebuild file-backed maps with postmap, reload Postfix, and test both delivery and rejection. Use virtual aliases for forwarding and virtual mailboxes for independent storage or delegated mailbox delivery; keep hosted virtual domains out of mydestination.

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