mailman_2_-_mailman

Original version from BALUG:

https://wiki.sluug.org/mailman_2_-_mailman_3

Thanks!!

—

## Mailman 3

### Debian

* Debian 10 “Buster”

LTS EOL: 2024‑06‑30
First stable to support Mailman 3; last to support Mailman 2

* balug-sf-lug-v2.balug.org (balug.org)

`mailman3` startup script (as `list` user, `LANG=en_US.UTF-8`, `umask 022`)

  ```sh
  #!/bin/sh
  umask 022 &&
  unset LC_ALL &&
  LANG=en_US.UTF-8 export LANG &&
  case "$(id -n -u)" in
      list)
          umask 022 &&
          exec mailman "$@"
          ;;
      *)
          umask 022 &&
          exec sudo -u list \
          mailman "$@"
          ;;
  esac
  ```

* Typical commands:

```sh
/usr/share/mailman3-web/manage.py            # help
manage.py createsuperuser
manage.py changepassword <login_name>
```

* Databases (SQLite examples):

`/var/lib/mailman3/data/mailman.db`
`/var/lib/dbconfig-common/sqlite3/mailman3-web/mailman3web.db`

Backup command:

```sh
sqlite3 /path/to/mailman3web.db \
  ".backup '/path/to/mailman3web.BACKUP.db'"
```

* Example list: `balug-test3@lists.balug.org`

Web UI:

Public: `https://lists.balug.org/mailman3/`
Admin: `https://lists.balug.org/mailman3/admin/`

### Archiving & Import Behavior

* Headers like `X-Archive`, `X-No-Archive` respected; conflicts result in no archive.

* Imported archives:

append to existing data
headers and bodies may be altered (To, CC headers stripped or changed, content-type altered)

* Archives stored in database tables like `hyperkitty_email` ([wiki.balug.org][1])

* Downloadable via `.mbox.gz`, e.g.:

`https://lists.balug.org/mailman3/hyperkitty/list/…/export/….mbox.gz` ([wiki.balug.org][1])

* Email obfuscation:

GUI and downloaded archives may alter “@” to “(a)” inconsistently; actual DB data may be unaltered ([wiki.balug.org][1])

### Managing Messages & Lists

* Delete individual messages via admin UI or directly in DB (`hyperkitty_email`) ([wiki.balug.org][1]) * Rename lists and adjust archive and posting settings through Postorius UI ([wiki.balug.org][1]) * Prevent archiving while allowing posting via disabling “Active archivers” in settings 

### Migration Checklist

Task	test	admin	talk	announce
————————————-	:–:	:—:	:–:	:——:
lock old	y	y	y	y
handle pending	y	y	y	y
create/rename target	y	y	y	y
migrate config	y	y	y	y
migrate archive	y	y	y	y
index archive	y	y	y	y
archive \*.pck files	y	y	y	y
archive info pages	y	y	y	y
remove Mailman 2 list (keep archives)	y	y	y	y
update lists.balug.org site	y	y	y	y
update links on balug.org	y	y	y	y
set Mailman 2→3 redirects	ir	ir	ir	ir
update Mailman 2 archive links	n	n	n	n
customize templates	i	i	i	i
update monthly stats	-	y	-	-

Legend:

* y = done * n = not done * ir = redirects are in place * i = in progress

### Migration Procedure & Notes

1. Ensure Debian supports it (e.g., Buster → Bookworm). 2. Lock/suspend Mailman 2:

Remove or comment out aliases in `/etc/aliases` and run `newaliases` ([wiki.balug.org][1])

3. Create corresponding Mailman 3 lists via Postorius or CLI. 4. Import config:

 ```sh
 mailman import21 <list> /var/lib/mailman/lists/*/config.pck
 ```

Workaround: run as `list` user and reset `bounce_info` if import fails ([wiki.balug.org][1])

5. Import and index archives:

 ```sh
 manage.py hyperkitty_import -l <list> --since 1968 /var/lib/mailman/archives/private/*.mbox
 manage.py update_index_one_list <list>
 manage.py update_index -s 1970-01-01T00:00:00
 ```

Must be run as `www-data` on Debian ([wiki.balug.org][1])

6. Remove old Mailman 2 list:

 ```sh
 /usr/lib/mailman/bin/rmlist <list>
 ```

Old archives remain unless you use `-a` option ([wiki.balug.org][1])

7. Update site redirects, links, and stats reporting (e.g. cron scripts for monthly summaries). 8. Optional: mass-export/import user preferences, but user logins differ (per-list vs. per-account) ([wiki.balug.org][1])

### Feature & Configuration Mapping

* Delivery status, digest preferences, moderation options, and user settings generally map 1:1 from Mailman 2 to Mailman 3 (with some exceptions due to default settings or absence of certain flags) ([wiki.balug.org][1]) * Some template formatting quirks (e.g. line-wrapping at 70 chars). Use leading whitespace to avoid unwanted wrapping ([wiki.balug.org][1]) * Gravatar leakage issue fixed in HyperKitty ≥ 1.3.4; disable via `HYPERKITTY_ENABLE_GRAVATAR` in later versions ([wiki.balug.org][1])

—

Let me know if you'd like this as a downloadable Markdown file, cleaned up further, or reformatted to match another wiki syntax!

[1]: https://www.wiki.balug.org/wiki/doku.php?id=system%3Amailman3&utm_source=chatgpt.com "system:mailman3 [BALUG Wiki]"