Definitive guide to unblock emails in DirectAdmin usage counter and Exim queue

Definitive guide: unblocking emails in DirectAdmin (what docs often underemphasize)

In this incident, GUI reactivation alone did not restore mail flow. The effective fix required handling three layers together: usage counter, queue residue, and account credential renewal.

Where DirectAdmin tracks send limits

/etc/virtual/usage/domain.com

The file content is commonly a sequence of 1 characters. Operationally, each 1 maps to counted sent messages for limit enforcement.

SSH recovery steps

Reset counter:

> /etc/virtual/usage/domain.com
chown mail:mail /etc/virtual/usage/domain.com

Remove account-level override lock if present:

rm -f /etc/virtual/domain.com/limit/mail-user

Purge compromised sender queue entries:

exiqgrep -i -f user@domain.com | xargs -r exim -Mrm

Then rotate mailbox password to break compromised-auth loops.

Operational conclusion

For durable recovery in DirectAdmin, do not treat this as a single toggle. Treat it as a 3-layer fix: counter + queue + credential.

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