VRFY

The VRFY (verify) command determines if a given mailbox or user ID exists on the host where SMTP is running.

Operand: Description
verify_string: Specifies the name of a mailbox or user ID whose existence is to be verified.

The z/VM® implementation of SMTP responds to the VRFY command and the EXPN command (see the EXPN command below) in the same manner. Thus, the VRFY command can be used with z/VM systems to expand a mailing list defined on such system; when this is done, a multiple-line reply may be returned in response to the VRFY command.

The VRFY command can also be used to verify the existence of the POSTMASTER mailbox or mailboxes defined for a system.

On z/VM systems, mailing lists are defined by the site administrator and are stored in the SMTP NAMES file; POSTMASTER mailboxes are defined by the POSTMASTER configuration statement in the SMTP CONFIG file. See the z/VM: TCP/IP Planning and Customization for more information about defining mailing lists and specifying POSTMASTER mailboxes.

Some example VRFY commands (issued against an SMTP server running on host TESTVM1 at somewhere.com) and their corresponding responses follow:

  vrfy tcpmaint  250 <tcpmaint@abcvm1.somewhere.com>

  vrfy tcpadmin-list  250-<tcpmaint@abcvm1.somewhere.com>
  250-<tcpadmin@abcvm1.somewhere.com>
  250-<tcpadmin@adminpc.somewhere.com>
  250 <maint@abcvm1.somewhere.com>

  vrfy postmaster  250-<TCPMAINT@TESTVM1.somewhere.com>
  250-<TCPADMIN@TESTVM1.SOMEWHERE.COM>
  250 <TCPADMIN@ADMINPC.SOMEWHERE.COM>

The hyphen (-), when present as the fourth character of a response, indicates the response is continued on the next line.