Sendmail Alias File to Proofpoint LDIF Converter

Tool to Convert Sendmail Alias Files to Proofpoint LDIF Format

Requirements:

• Python 3.9+

Installing the Package

You can install the tool using the following command directly from GitHub.

pip install git+https://github.com/pfptcommunity/sma2ldif.git

or can install the tool using pip.

# When testing on Ubuntu 24.04 the following will not work:
pip install sma2ldif

If you see an error similar to the following:

error: externally-managed-environment

× This environment is externally managed
╰─> To install Python packages system-wide, try apt install
    python3-xyz, where xyz is the package you are trying to
    install.

    If you wish to install a non-Debian-packaged Python package,
    create a virtual environment using python3 -m venv path/to/venv.
    Then use path/to/venv/bin/python and path/to/venv/bin/pip. Make
    sure you have python3-full installed.

    If you wish to install a non-Debian packaged Python application,
    it may be easiest to use pipx install xyz, which will manage a
    virtual environment for you. Make sure you have pipx installed.

    See /usr/share/doc/python3.12/README.venv for more information.

note: If you believe this is a mistake, please contact your Python installation or OS distribution provider. You can override this, at the risk of breaking your Python installation or OS, by passing --break-system-packages.
hint: See PEP 668 for the detailed specification.

You should use install pipx or you can configure your own virtual environment and use the command referenced above.

pipx install sma2ldif

Use Cases

In certain Proofpoint on Demand setups, valid recipient addresses may not be listed in Azure, LDAP, or Active Directory. Some organizations use aliases on an internal Sendmail system to direct messages to mailing lists or other destinations. This tool converts Sendmail alias configurations into LDIF format for import into a Proofpoint on Demand cluster. The aliases are added as contact lists, enabling recipient verification without disrupting custom email workflows. An example of a converted alias entry is provided below.

dn: 1002d@acme.com
uid: 9cf8803e-fc8c-5d4a-8381-e59b33eaa8a5
description: Auto generated by sma2ldif
givenName: 1002d
sn: sma2ldif
profileType: 1
mail: 1002d@acme.com

The the example above was generated using the following arguments:

sma2ldif --alias-file /etc/aliases --ldif-file /tmp/aliases.ldif -d acme.com

If other domains are listed with the -d argument as shown below.

sma2ldif --alias-file /etc/aliases --ldif-file /tmp/aliases.ldif -d acme.com, example.com, foo.com

The result would look similar to the following.

dn: 1002d@acme.com
uid: 9cf8803e-fc8c-5d4a-8381-e59b33eaa8a5
description: Auto generated by sma2ldif
givenName: 1002d
sn: sma2ldif
profileType: 1
mail: 1002d@acme.com
proxyAddresses: 1002d@example.com
proxyAddresses: 1002d@foo.com

If other domains are listed with the -d and the --expand-proxy argument is used the proxyAddresses would be expanded to their own DN entries.

sma2ldif --alias-file /etc/aliases --ldif-file /tmp/aliases.ldif -d acme.com, example.com, foo.com --expand-proxy

The result would look similar to the following.

dn: 1002d@acme.com
uid: 9cf8803e-fc8c-5d4a-8381-e59b33eaa8a5
description: Auto generated by sma2ldif
givenName: 1002d
sn: sma2ldif
profileType: 1
mail: 1002d@acme.com

dn: 1002d@example.com
uid: 1fe96894-171f-5053-bbc6-ec8e8670bfe9
description: Auto generated by sma2ldif
givenName: 1002d
sn: sma2ldif
profileType: 1
mail: 1002d@example.com

dn: 1002d@foo.com
uid: a1a955e8-771f-52af-8f8a-707c82c4f0f5
description: Auto generated by sma2ldif
givenName: 1002d
sn: sma2ldif
profileType: 1
mail: 1002d@foo.com

Usage

usage: sma2ldif --alias-file <aliases> --ldif-file <ldif> -d <domain> [<domain> ...] [-g <group> [<group> ...]] [-e]
                [--exclude PATTERN] [--include PATTERN] [--exclude-target PATTERN] [--include-target PATTERN]
                [--log-level {debug,info,warning,error,critical}] [-l LOG_FILE] [-s LOG_MAX_SIZE]
                [-c LOG_BACKUP_COUNT] [--version] [-h]

Convert Sendmail alias files to Proofpoint LDIF format.

Required Arguments:
  --alias-file <aliases>                                         Path to the input Sendmail aliases file.
  --ldif-file <ldif>                                             Path to the output LDIF file.
  -d <domain> [<domain> ...], --domains <domain> [<domain> ...]  List of domains for alias processing (first domain is
                                                                 primary).

Processing Arguments (Optional):
  -g <group> [<group> ...], --groups <group> [<group> ...]       List of memberOf groups for LDIF entries (default:
                                                                 none).
  -e, --expand-proxy                                             Expand proxyAddresses into unique DN entries.
  --exclude PATTERN                                              Regular expression pattern to exclude aliases. Use
                                                                 '=' before patterns starting with a hyphen. (e.g.
                                                                 --exclude="-(approval|outgoing|request)$")
  --include PATTERN                                              Regular expression pattern to include aliases. Use
                                                                 '=' before patterns starting with a hyphen. (e.g.
                                                                 --include="-(approval|outgoing|request)$")
  --exclude-target PATTERN                                       Regular expression pattern to exclude aliases by
                                                                 alias target. The variable ${lhs} can be used as a
                                                                 reference to the alias name. Use '=' before patterns
                                                                 starting with a hyphen. (e.g. --exclude-
                                                                 target="${lhs}@domain"
  --include-target PATTERN                                       Regular expression pattern to include aliases by
                                                                 alias target. The variable ${lhs} can be used as a
                                                                 reference to the alias name. Use '=' before patterns
                                                                 starting with a hyphen. (e.g. --include-
                                                                 target="${lhs}@domain"

Logging Arguments (Optional):
  --log-level {debug,info,warning,error,critical}                Set the logging level (default: warning).
  -l LOG_FILE, --log-file LOG_FILE                               Set the log file location (default: sma2ldif.log).
  -s LOG_MAX_SIZE, --log-max-size LOG_MAX_SIZE                   Maximum size of log file in bytes before rotation
                                                                 (default: 10485760).
  -c LOG_BACKUP_COUNT, --log-backup-count LOG_BACKUP_COUNT       Number of backup log files to keep (default: 5).

Help / Version Arguments:
  --version                                                      Show the program's version and exit
  -h, --help                                                     Show this help message and exit.