The error message Error: spawn /usr/sbin/sendmail ENOENT means that the system is unable to find the sendmail command.

This guide by IbmiMedia will help you to resolve this issue via a few simple steps.

Main causes for Error Spawn Sendmail ENOENT

This can happen for a few reasons, such as:

• The sendmail command is not installed.
• The sendmail command is installed, but it is not in the system path.
• The user does not have permission to execute the sendmail command.

Methods to fix Error Spawn Sendmail ENOENT

To resolve this error, you can try the following steps:

1. Check if the sendmail command is installed

You can do this by running the following command:

$ which sendmail

If the command returns a path to the sendmail command, then the command is installed. If the command returns nothing, then the command is not installed.

2. Install sendmail command

If the sendmail command is not installed, you can install it using your package manager. 

For example, on Debian-based systems, you can install sendmail by running the following command:

$ sudo apt install sendmail

3. Check if sendmail command is added to system path

Once the sendmail command is installed, you need to add it to the system path. The system path is a list of directories that the operating system searches for executable commands. You can add the sendmail command to the system path by editing the /etc/environment file.

Open the /etc/environment file in a text editor and add the following line to the end of the file:

PATH=$PATH:/usr/sbin

Save the file and close it.

You should now be able to execute the sendmail command without any errors. To test this, run the following command:

$ sendmail

If the command executes without any errors, then the error Error: spawn /usr/sbin/sendmail ENOENT has been resolved.

4. Check for permissions issues

If you are still getting the error Error: spawn /usr/sbin/sendmail ENOENT, then it is possible that you do not have permission to execute the sendmail command. You can check the permissions of the sendmail command by running the following command:

$ ls -l /usr/sbin/sendmail

If the output of the command shows that the sendmail command has a permissions of -rwxr-xr-x, then you do have permission to execute the command. If the permissions of the sendmail command are different, then you need to change the permissions so that you have permission to execute the command.

To change the permissions of the sendmail command, run the following command:

$ sudo chmod +x /usr/sbin/sendmail

Once you have changed the permissions of the sendmail command, you should be able to execute the command without any errors.