BASH - Linux sendmail script

Most linux distributions come with the sendmail application. Some interpreted languages like php use it for its mail() function. I have even seen command line php used from bash for its mail functions as opposed to the command line sendmail. When you are bash scripting, it is often better to use sendmail directly as opposed to adding the overhead, complexity and extra dependency (for portability) of php.

Here is how to send a simple email using linux sendmail, for use in a cronjob script. These are generally used for administrative purposes, so a text-only email is usually just fine. We also have an article about using bash and sendmail with an attachment.




Note: when i put this in a cronjob I usually have to replace 'sendmail' above with '/usr/sbin/sendmail'. To find out where sendmail is on your system type: