To clear *all* messages from the queue, shut down qmail, then: service qmail stop cd /var/qmail/queue find intd todo local remote mess info bounce -type f -print |xargs rm service qmail start Start qmail back up, and the queue should be empty. To just clear the "stuck" messages, you'll have to define what you mean by "stuck". Source: http://msgs.securepoint.com/cgi-bin/get/qmail0308/128/1.html