Provided by: spamassassin_3.4.6-1ubuntu0.22.04.1_all 
NAME
sa-update - automate SpamAssassin rule updates
SYNOPSIS
sa-update [options]
Options:
--channel channel Retrieve updates from this channel
Use multiple times for multiple channels
--channelfile file Retrieve updates from the channels in the file
--checkonly Check for update availability, do not install
--install filename Install updates directly from this file. Signature
verification will use "file.asc", "file.sha256",
and "file.sha512".
--allowplugins Allow updates to load plugin code (DANGEROUS)
--gpgkey key Trust the key id to sign releases
Use multiple times for multiple keys
--gpgkeyfile file Trust the key ids in the file to sign releases
--gpghomedir path Store the GPG keyring in this directory
--gpg and --nogpg Use (or do not use) GPG to verify updates
(--gpg is assumed by use of the above
--gpgkey and --gpgkeyfile options)
--import file Import GPG key(s) from file into sa-update's
keyring. Use multiple times for multiple files
--updatedir path Directory to place updates, defaults to the
SpamAssassin site rules directory
(default: /var/lib/spamassassin/3.004006)
--refreshmirrors Force the MIRRORED.BY file to be updated
--httputil util Force used download tool. By default first found
from these is used: curl, wget, fetch, lwp
-D, --debug [area=n,...] Print debugging messages
-v, --verbose Be verbose, like print updated channel names;
For more verbosity specify multiple times
-V, --version Print version
-h, --help Print usage message
-4 Force using the inet protocol (IPv4), not inet6
-6 Force using the inet6 protocol (IPv6), not inet
DESCRIPTION
sa-update automates the process of downloading and installing new rules and configuration, based on
channels. The default channel is updates.spamassassin.org, which has updated rules since the previous
release.
Update archives are verified using SHA256 and SHA512 hashes and GPG signatures, by default.
Note that "sa-update" will not restart "spamd" or otherwise cause a scanner to reload the now-updated
ruleset automatically. Instead, "sa-update" is typically used in something like the following manner:
sa-update && /etc/init.d/spamassassin reload
This works because "sa-update" only returns an exit status of 0 if it has successfully downloaded and
installed an updated ruleset.
The program sa-update uses the underlying operating system umask for the updated rule files it installs.
You may wish to run sa-update from a script that sets the umask prior to calling sa-update. For example:
#!/bin/sh
umask 022
sa-update
OPTIONS
--channel
sa-update can update multiple channels at the same time. By default, it will only access
"updates.spamassassin.org", but more channels can be specified via this option. If there are
multiple additional channels, use the option multiple times, once per channel. i.e.:
sa-update --channel foo.example.com --channel bar.example.com
--channelfile
Similar to the --channel option, except specify the additional channels in a file instead of on the
commandline. This is useful when there are a lot of additional channels.
--checkonly
Only check if an update is available, don't actually download and install it. The exit code will be
0 or 1 as described below.
--install
Install updates "offline", from the named tar.gz file, instead of performing DNS lookups and HTTP
invocations.
Files named file.sha256, file.sha512, and file.asc will be used for the SHA256 and SHA512 hashes and
the GPG signature, respectively. The filename provided must contain a version number of at least 3
digits, which will be used as the channel's update version number.
Multiple --channel switches cannot be used with --install. To install multiple channels from
tarballs, run "sa-update" multiple times with different --channel and --install switches, e.g.:
sa-update --channel foo.example.com --install foo-34958.tgz
sa-update --channel bar.example.com --install bar-938455.tgz
--allowplugins
Allow downloaded updates to activate plugins. The default is not to activate plugins; any
"loadplugin" or "tryplugin" lines will be commented in the downloaded update rules files.
You should never enable this for 3rd party update channels, since plugins can execute unrestricted
code on your system, even possibly as root! This includes spamassassin official updates, which have
no need to include running code.
Use --reallyallowplugins option to bypass warnings and make it work.
--gpg, --nogpg
sa-update by default will verify update archives by use of SHA256 and SHA512 checksums and GPG
signature. SHA* hashes can verify whether or not the downloaded archive has been corrupted, but it
does not offer any form of security regarding whether or not the downloaded archive is legitimate
(aka: non-modifed by evildoers). GPG verification of the archive is used to solve that problem.
If you wish to skip GPG verification, you can use the --nogpg option to disable its use. Use of the
following gpgkey-related options will override --nogpg and keep GPG verification enabled.
Note: Currently, only GPG itself is supported (ie: not PGP). v1.2 has been tested, although later
versions ought to work as well.
--gpgkey
sa-update has the concept of "release trusted" GPG keys. When an archive is downloaded and the
signature verified, sa-update requires that the signature be from one of these "release trusted" keys
or else verification fails. This prevents third parties from manipulating the files on a mirror, for
instance, and signing with their own key.
By default, sa-update trusts key ids "24F434CE" and "5244EC45", which are the standard SpamAssassin
release key and its sub-key. Use this option to trust additional keys. See the --import option for
how to add keys to sa-update's keyring. For sa-update to use a key it must be in sa-update's keyring
and trusted.
For multiple keys, use the option multiple times. i.e.:
sa-update --gpgkey E580B363 --gpgkey 298BC7D0
Note: use of this option automatically enables GPG verification.
--gpgkeyfile
Similar to the --gpgkey option, except specify the additional keys in a file instead of on the
commandline. This is extremely useful when there are a lot of additional keys that you wish to
trust.
--gpghomedir
Specify a directory path to use as a storage area for the "sa-update" GPG keyring. By default, this
is
/etc/spamassassin/sa-update-keys
--import
Use to import GPG key(s) from a file into the sa-update keyring which is located in the directory
specified by --gpghomedir. Before using channels from third party sources, you should use this
option to import the GPG key(s) used by those channels. You must still use the --gpgkey or
--gpgkeyfile options above to get sa-update to trust imported keys.
To import multiple keys, use the option multiple times. i.e.:
sa-update --import channel1-GPG.KEY --import channel2-GPG.KEY
Note: use of this option automatically enables GPG verification.
--refreshmirrors
Force the list of sa-update mirrors for each channel, stored in the MIRRORED.BY file, to be updated.
By default, the MIRRORED.BY file will be cached for up to 7 days after each time it is downloaded.
--updatedir
By default, "sa-update" will use the system-wide rules update directory:
/var/lib/spamassassin/3.004006
If the updates should be stored in another location, specify it here.
Note that use of this option is not recommended; if you're just using sa-update to download updated
rulesets for a scanner, and sa-update is placing updates in the wrong directory, you probably need to
rebuild SpamAssassin with different "Makefile.PL" arguments, instead of overriding sa-update's
runtime behaviour.
-D [area,...], --debug [area,...]
Produce debugging output. If no areas are listed, all debugging information is printed. Diagnostic
output can also be enabled for each area individually; area is the area of the code to instrument.
For example, to produce diagnostic output on channel, gpg, and http, use:
sa-update -D channel,gpg,http
For more information about which areas (also known as channels) are available, please see the
documentation at <http://wiki.apache.org/spamassassin/DebugChannels>.
-h, --help
Print help message and exit.
-V, --version
Print sa-update version and exit.
EXIT CODES
In absence of a --checkonly option, an exit code of 0 means: an update was available, and was downloaded
and installed successfully. If --checkonly was specified, an exit code of 0 means: an update was
available.
An exit code of 1 means no fresh updates were available.
An exit code of 2 means that at least one update is available but that a lint check of the site pre files
failed. The site pre files must pass a lint check before any updates are attempted.
An exit code of 3 means that at least one update succeeded while other channels failed. If using sa-
compile, you should proceed with it.
An exit code of 4 or higher, indicates that errors occurred while attempting to download and extract
updates, and no channels were updated.
SEE ALSO
Mail::SpamAssassin(3) Mail::SpamAssassin::Conf(3) spamassassin(1) spamd(1)
<http://wiki.apache.org/spamassassin/RuleUpdates>
PREREQUISITES
"Mail::SpamAssassin"
BUGS
See <http://issues.apache.org/SpamAssassin/>
AUTHORS
The Apache SpamAssassin(tm) Project <https://spamassassin.apache.org/>
LICENSE AND COPYRIGHT
SpamAssassin is distributed under the Apache License, Version 2.0, as described in the file "LICENSE"
included with the distribution.
Copyright (C) 2015 The Apache Software Foundation
perl v5.34.0 2023-03-23 SA-UPDATE(1p)