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PMTA knowledge base›Monitor screen§ 5.6

Configuration

Configuration Page
🔴 A screen that changes it

Shows the main configuration file and the files included with the include line, and lets you edit them.

🔴 This is not viewing but editing: after saving, the reload happens by itself. A change that requires a service restart will not be applied by the page — the restart remains the operator’s job.

The defaults file is visible too, but it cannot be edited: installation and upgrades overwrite it entirely.

Access levels: viewing the configuration is opened by operator, editing by admin in http-access.

For a program — /configFile: reading, writing and listing files.

The main trap is thinking operator is harmless. It opens viewing of the whole configuration, which holds submission login passwords and the http-api-key lines. Whoever got operator also got the key that grants full admin access.
What the Hub does. It does not use the page: it assembles the configuration itself, puts it on the node over SSH, checks it with test config and reloads.

⚠️ An edit through this page diverges from the Hub: on the next apply it overwrites the files entirely.

Recommended values

What question the page answers:

Question This one or not
what is written in the configuration now yes — the operator level
fix a line on the fly yes — the admin level, the reload happens by itself
apply something that requires a restart no — a manual service restart
what applies to a specific pair no — show settings
The page contents, the reload on save, the caveats about restarts and the defaults file, and access levels come from the manual (§ 5.2, § 5.6, § 3.3.1.58.3). The conclusion about passwords and keys in the configuration is ours.
Example configuration
# configuration viewing for one address, editing only from the machine itself
http-access 10.0.0.5 operatorhttp-access 127.0.0.1 admin
The operator level already shows the whole configuration — together with passwords and keys.
yellow — — directive names, blue — blocks. They are highlighted the same way in the text of the card.
Compatibility
PowerMTA 6.0
described in the manual of this version · platform: any
The vendor does not state the first version for every directive — there is no note here. The name also appears in the 5.0 edition of the manual.
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Related entries

4 relations

Does not work without

Reloading settings versus restarting the serviceThe mechanism that is visible here. § 5.6

Depends on

What protects the web monitor and what that protection is notAccess to the screen is decided by rights and addresses set at the node level. § 5.1

Conflicts with

The defaults fileThe file this output refers to. § 5.6

Affects

The node's main configuration fileThe file this output refers to. § 5.6

Referenced from

Replace the configuration file over the networkThe same subject on the monitor screen. inferenceRead the configuration file over the networkThe screen that shows the same thing to a human. inferenceSubmission logins, plain-text passwords and per-user settingsThe configuration page shows the whole file — including the submission passwords. inference

How to check on the node
See the access levels and check the file after an edit:
grep -n 'http-access' /etc/pmta/config
pmta test config
After an edit through the page, test config shows whether an error remains in the files.
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What else to read

3 articles

◇How the node selects a source and combines its settingsA connection falls under all source blocks whose addresses cover it, and they act merged — the narrow one overrides the wide one; named blocks are attached only by direct reference.◇Accept, route, deliverA message’s path inside the node: accept, decide where, deliver — and all the settings live between these three steps.◇Who is allowed to submit mail and for whom to accept itOut of the box, the node accepts submission only from the machine itself; two different questions — “who can send through us” and “for whose addresses we accept mail” — are answered by different directives.

In the Hub
Cost of a mistake
dangerous: effects outlast a rollback
Scenarios
Configuration lifecycle · Node security