doc/tech-notes/cmd-line.html

   1 <HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Alpine Technical Notes: Command Line Arguments</TITLE></HEAD><BODY>
   2 <H1>Command Line Arguments</H1>
   3
   4 <H2><A NAME="alpine">Alpine</A></H2>
   5
   6 <EM>Alpine</EM> and <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> can accept quite a few
   7 command-line arguments.
   8 Many of these arguments overlap with variables
   9 in the <EM>Alpine</EM> configuration file.
  10 If there is a difference, then a flag set in the command line takes precedence.
  11 Both <EM>Alpine</EM> and <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> expect command line arguments (other
  12 than addresses) to be
  13 preceded by the "-" (dash) as normally used by UNIX programs.
  14 <P>
  15
  16 <DL COMPACT>
  17
  18 <DT> <EM>[addresses]</EM>
  19
  20 <DD> Send-to:  If you give <EM>Alpine</EM> an argument or arguments which
  21 do not begin with a dash, <EM>Alpine</EM> treats them as email addresses.
  22 <EM>Alpine</EM> will startup in
  23 the composer with a message started to the addresses specified.
  24 Once the message is sent, the <EM>Alpine</EM> session closes.
  25 Standard input redirection is allowed.
  26 Separate multiple addresses with a space between them.
  27 Addresses are placed in the &quot;To&quot; field only.
  28 <P>
  29
  30 <DT> &lt; <EM>file</EM>
  31
  32 <DD> <EM>Alpine</EM> will startup in the composer with <EM>file</EM> read
  33 into the body of the message.
  34 Once the message is sent, the <EM>Alpine</EM> session closes.
  35 <P>
  36
  37 <DT> -attach <EM>file</EM>
  38
  39 <DD> Go directly into composer with given file attached.
  40 <P>
  41
  42 <DT> -attachlist <EM>file-list</EM>
  43
  44 <DD> Go directly into composer with given files attached.
  45 This must be the last option on the command line.
  46 <P>
  47
  48 <DT> -attach_and_delete <EM>file</EM>
  49
  50 <DD> Go directly into composer with given file attached, delete when finished.
  51 <P>
  52
  53 <DT> -aux <EM>local_directory</EM>
  54
  55 <DD> <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> only.
  56 This tells <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> the local directory to use for storing auxiliary
  57 files, like debug files, address books, and signature files.  The pinerc may
  58 be local or remote.
  59 <P>
  60
  61 <DT> -nosplash
  62
  63 <DD> <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> only.
  64 This tells <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> to not display the splash screen upon startup.
  65 This may be helpful for certain troubleshooting or terminal server scenarios.
  66 <P>
  67
  68 <DT> -bail
  69
  70 <DD> If the personal configuration file doesn't already exist, exit.
  71 This might be useful if the configuration file is accessed using some
  72 remote filesystem protocol. If the remote mount is missing this will cause
  73 <EM>Alpine</EM> to quit instead of creating a new pinerc.
  74 <P>
  75
  76 <DT> -c <EM>n</EM>
  77
  78 <DD> When used with the <CODE>-f</CODE> option, apply the <EM>n</EM>th context.
  79 This is used when there are multiple folder collections (contexts) and you
  80 want to open a folder not in the primary collection.
  81 <P>
  82
  83 <DT> -conf
  84
  85 <DD> Configuration: Prints a sample system configuration file to the
  86 screen or standard output. To generate an initial system configuration
  87 file, execute
  88
  89 <PRE><CODE>
  90                 alpine -conf > /usr/local/lib/pine.conf
  91 </CODE></PRE>
  92 <P>
  93
  94 To generate a system configuration file using settings from an old
  95 system configuration file, execute
  96
  97 <PRE><CODE>
  98                 alpine -P old-pine.conf -conf > /usr/local/lib/pine.conf
  99 </CODE></PRE>
 100 <P>
 101 A system configuration file is not required.
 102 <P>
 103
 104 <DT> -convert_sigs <EM>-p pinerc</EM>
 105
 106 <DD> Convert signatures contained in signature files into literal signatures.
 107 <P>
 108
 109 <DT> <A NAME="copy_abook">-copy_abook <EM>&lt;local_abook_file&gt; &lt;remote_abook_folder&gt;</EM>
 110
 111 <DD> Copy an address book file to a remote address book folder.
 112 If the remote folder doesn't exist, it will be created.
 113 If it exists but the first message in the folder isn't a remote address
 114 book header message, the copy will be aborted.
 115 This flag will not usually be used by a user.
 116 Instead, the user will create a remote address book from within <EM>Alpine</EM>
 117 and copy entries from the local address book by using aggregate Save in
 118 the address book screen.
 119 <P>
 120
 121 <DT>  <A NAME="copy_pinerc">-copy_pinerc <EM>&lt;local_pinerc_file&gt; &lt;remote_pinerc_folder&gt;</EM>
 122
 123 <DD> Copy a pinerc configuration file to a remote pinerc folder.
 124 If the remote folder doesn't exist, it will be created.
 125 If it exists but the first message in the folder isn't a remote pinerc
 126 header message, the copy will be aborted.
 127 This flag may be useful to users who already have a local pinerc file and
 128 would like to convert it to a remote pinerc folder and use that instead.
 129 This gives a way to bootstrap that conversion without having to manually
 130 reset all of the variables in the remote pinerc folder.
 131 <P>
 132
 133 <DT> -d <EM>debug-level</EM>
 134
 135 <DD> Debug Level:  Sets the level of debugging information written by
 136 <EM>Alpine</EM>.
 137 <EM>Debug-level</EM> can be set to any integer 0-9.
 138 A debug level of 0 turns off debugging for the session.
 139 (Actually there are some levels higher than 9, but you probably don't
 140 want to see them. Sensitive authentication information is hidden at
 141 levels less than 10.)
 142 <P>
 143
 144 <DT> -d <EM>keywords</EM>
 145
 146 <DD> You may use a more detailed version of the debugging flag to set
 147 the debug level in separate parts of <EM>Alpine</EM>.
 148 The possibilities are flush, timestamp, imap=0..4, tcp, numfiles=0..31, and
 149 verbose=0..9.
 150 <EM>Flush</EM> causes debugging information to be flushed immediately to
 151 the debug file as it is written.
 152 <EM>Verbose</EM> is the general debugging verbosity level.
 153 <EM>Timestamp</EM> causes timestamps to be added to the debug file, which
 154 is useful when you are trying to figure out what is responsible for delays.
 155 <EM>Numfiles</EM> sets the number of debug files saved.
 156 <EM>Imap</EM> sets the debug level for the debugging statements related
 157 to the conversation with the IMAP server, and more generally, for the
 158 debugging related to <EM>Alpine</EM>'s interaction with the C-Client library.
 159 If <EM>imap</EM> is set higher than 4, sensitive authentication information
 160 will be included in the debug file.
 161 <EM>Tcp</EM> adds more TCP/IP debugging information.
 162 <P>
 163
 164 <DT> -f <EM>folder</EM>
 165
 166 <DD> Startup folder:  <EM>Alpine</EM> will open this folder in place
 167 of the standard INBOX.
 168 <P>
 169
 170 <DT> -F <EM>file</EM>
 171
 172 <DD> Open named text file for viewing and forwarding.
 173 <P>
 174
 175 <DT> -h
 176
 177 <DD> Help:  Prints the list of available command-line arguments to the
 178 screen.
 179 <P>
 180
 181 <DT> -i
 182
 183 <DD> <EM>Alpine</EM> will start up in the FOLDER INDEX
 184 screen instead of the MAIN MENU.
 185 <P>
 186
 187 Configuration equivalent:  <EM>initial-keystroke-list=i</EM>.
 188 <P>
 189
 190 <DT> -I <EM>a,b,c,...</EM>
 191
 192 <DD> Initial Keystrokes:  <EM>Alpine</EM> will execute this comma-separated
 193 sequence of commands upon startup.
 194 This allows users to get <EM>Alpine</EM> to start in any
 195 of its menus/screens.
 196 You cannot include any input to the composer in the initial keystrokes.
 197 The key &lt;Return&gt; is represented by a ``CR'' in
 198 the keystroke list; the spacebar is designated by the letters ``SPACE''.
 199 Control keys are two character sequences beginning with ``^'', such as
 200 ``^I''.
 201 A tab character is ``TAB''.
 202 Function keys are ``F1'' - ``F12'' and the arrow keys are ``UP'',
 203 ``DOWN'', ``LEFT'', and ``RIGHT''.
 204 A restriction is that you can't mix function keys and character keys in this
 205 list even though you can, in some cases, mix them when running <EM>Alpine</EM>.
 206 A user can always use only <EM>character</EM> keys in the startup list even
 207 if he or she is using <EM>function</EM> keys normally, or vice versa.
 208 If an element in this list is a string of characters surrounded by double
 209 quotes (&quot;) then it will be expanded into the individual characters in
 210 the string, excluding the double quotes.
 211 <P>
 212
 213 Configuration equivalent:  <EM>initial-keystroke-list</EM>
 214 <P>
 215
 216 <DT> -install
 217
 218 <DD> For <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> only, this option prompts for some basic
 219 setup information, then exits.
 220 <P>
 221
 222 <DT> -k
 223
 224 <DD> Function-Key Mode:  When invoked in this way, <EM>Alpine</EM> expects
 225 the input of commands to be function-keys.
 226 Otherwise, commands are linked to the regular character keys.
 227 <P>
 228
 229 Configuration equivalent:  <EM>use-function-keys</EM> included in
 230 <EM>feature-list</EM>.
 231 <P>
 232
 233 <DT> -n <EM>n</EM>
 234
 235 <DD> Message-Number:  When specified, <EM>Alpine</EM> starts up in the
 236 FOLDER INDEX screen with the current message being the specified
 237 message number.
 238 <P>
 239
 240 <DT> -nowrite_password_cache
 241
 242 <DD> This tells <EM>Alpine</EM> to use the local password cache if there is one, but to
 243 never offer writing new passwords to the cache.
 244 <P>
 245
 246 <DT> -o <EM>folder</EM>
 247
 248 <DD> Opens the INBOX (or a folder specified via the -f argument) ReadOnly.
 249 <P>
 250
 251 <DT> -p <EM>pinerc</EM>
 252
 253 <DD> Uses the named file as the personal configuration file instead of
 254 <EM>~/.pinerc</EM> or the default PINERC search sequence <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> uses.
 255 Pinerc may be either a local file or a remote configuration folder.
 256 <P>
 257
 258 <DT> -P <EM>pinerc</EM>
 259
 260 <DD> Uses the named file as the system wide configuration file instead of
 261 <EM>/usr/local/lib/pine.conf</EM> on UNIX, or nothing on <EM>PC-Alpine</EM>.
 262 Pinerc may be either a local file or a remote configuration folder.
 263 <P>
 264
 265 <DT> -passfile <EM>passfile</EM>
 266
 267 <DD> This tells <EM>Alpine</EM> what file should be used as the password file.
 268 This should be a fully-qualified filename.
 269 <P>
 270
 271 <DT> -pinerc <EM>file</EM>
 272
 273 <DD> Output fresh pinerc configuration to <EM>file</EM>, preserving the
 274 settings of variables that the user has made.
 275 Use <EM>file</EM> set to ``-'' to make output go to standard out.
 276 <P>
 277
 278 <DT> -r
 279
 280 <DD> Restricted Mode:  For UNIX <EM>Alpine</EM> only.
 281 <EM>Alpine</EM> in restricted mode can only send email to itself.
 282 Save and export are limited.
 283 <P>
 284
 285 <DT> -registry <EM>cmd</EM>
 286
 287 <DD> For <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> only, this option affects the values of
 288 <EM>Alpine</EM>'s registry entries.
 289 Possible values for <EM>cmd</EM> are set, noset, clear, clearsilent, and dump.
 290 <EM>Set</EM> will always reset <EM>Alpine</EM>'s registry
 291 entries according to its current settings.
 292 <EM>NoSet</EM> will never set any values in the registry, but it will
 293 still use the values already set in the registry.
 294 <EM>Clear</EM> will clear the registry values.
 295 <EM>Clearsilent</EM> will silently clear the registry values.
 296 <EM>Dump</EM> will display the values of current registry settings.
 297 Note that the dump command is currently disabled.
 298 Without the -registry option, <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> will write values into
 299 the registry only if there currently aren't any values set.
 300 <P>
 301
 302 <DT> -sort <EM>key</EM>
 303
 304 <DD> Sort-Key:  Specifies the order messages will be displayed in for the
 305 FOLDER INDEX screen.
 306 <EM>Key</EM> can have the following values:
 307 arrival, date, subject, orderedsubj, thread, from, size, score, to, cc,
 308 arrival/reverse, date/reverse, subject/reverse, orderedsubj/reverse, thread/reverse,
 309 from/reverse, size/reverse, score/reverse, to/reverse, and cc/reverse.
 310 The default value is &quot;arrival&quot;.
 311 The <EM>key</EM> value reverse is equivalent to arrival/reverse.
 312 <P>
 313
 314 Configuration equivalent:  <EM>sort-key</EM>.
 315 <P>
 316
 317 <DT> -supported
 318
 319 <DD> Some options may or may not be supported depending on how <EM>Alpine</EM>
 320 was compiled.
 321 This is a way to determine which options are supported in the particular
 322 copy of <EM>Alpine</EM> you are using.
 323 <P>
 324
 325 <DT> -install
 326
 327 <DD> For <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> only, this option removes references to Alpine
 328 in Windows settings.  The registry settings are removed and
 329 the password cache is cleared.
 330 <P>
 331
 332 <DT> -url <EM>url</EM>
 333
 334 <DD> Open the given URL.
 335 <P>
 336
 337 <DT> -v
 338
 339 <DD> Version:  Print version information to the screen.
 340 <P>
 341
 342 <DT> -version
 343
 344 <DD> Version:  Print version information to the screen.
 345 <P>
 346
 347 <DT> -x <EM>exceptions_config</EM>
 348
 349 <DD> Configuration settings in the exceptions config override your normal
 350 default settings.
 351 <EM>Exceptions_config</EM> may be either a local file or a remote pinerc folder.
 352 <P>
 353
 354 <DT> -z
 355
 356 <DD> Enable Suspend:  When run with this flag, the key sequence ctrl-z
 357 will suspend the <EM>Alpine</EM> session.
 358 <P>
 359
 360 Configuration equivalent:  <EM>enable-suspend</EM> included in
 361 <EM>feature-list</EM>.
 362 <P>
 363
 364 <DT> -<EM>option</EM>=<EM>value</EM>
 365
 366 <DD> Assign <EM>value</EM> to the config option <EM>option</EM>.
 367 For example, <EM>-signature-file=sig1</EM> or
 368 <EM>-feature-list=signature-at-bottom</EM>.
 369 (Note:  feature-list values are
 370 additive and features may be preceded with no- to turn them off).
 371 <P>
 372
 373 </DL>
 374 <P>
 375
 376 <H2><A NAME="pico">Pico</A></H2>
 377
 378 The following command line options are supported in <EM>Pico</EM>:
 379
 380 <DL>
 381
 382 <DT> +<EM>n</EM>
 383
 384 <DD> Causes <EM>Pico</EM> to be started with the cursor located <EM>n</EM>
 385 lines into the file. (Note: no space between "+" sign and number) <P>
 386
 387 <DT> -a
 388
 389 <DD> Display all files and directories, including those beginning
 390 with a period (.). <P>
 391
 392 <DT> -b
 393
 394 <DD> Enable the option to Replace text matches found using the
 395 "Where is" command. This now does nothing. Instead, the option is
 396 always turned on (as if the -b flag had been specified). <P>
 397
 398 <DT> -d
 399
 400 <DD> Rebind the "delete" key so the character the cursor is on is rubbed
 401 out rather than the character to its left.  <P>
 402
 403 <DT> -e
 404
 405 <DD>Enable file name completion. <P>
 406
 407 <DT> -f
 408
 409 <DD> Use function keys for commands.  <I>This option supported only in
 410 conjunction with UW Enhanced NCSA telnet.</I> <P>
 411
 412 <DT> -g
 413
 414 <DD> Enable "Show Cursor" mode in file browser.  Cause cursor to be
 415 positioned before the current selection rather than placed at the lower
 416 left of the display. <P>
 417
 418 <DT> -k
 419
 420 <DD>Causes "Cut Text" command to remove characters from the cursor
 421 position to the end of the line rather than remove the entire line. <P>
 422
 423 <DT> -m
 424
 425 <DD> Enable mouse functionality.  This only works when <EM>Pico</EM> is
 426 run from within an X Window System "xterm" window. <P>
 427
 428 <DT>-n<EM>n</EM>
 429
 430 <DD> The -n<EM>n</EM> option enables new mail notification.  The
 431 <EM>n</EM> argument is optional, and specifies how often, in seconds, your
 432 mailbox is checked for new mail.  For example, -n60 causes <EM>Pico</EM>
 433 to check for new mail once every minute.  The default interval is 180
 434 seconds, while the minimum allowed is 30. (Note: no space between "n" and
 435 the number) <P>
 436
 437 <DT> -o <EM>dir</EM>
 438
 439 <DD> Sets operating directory.  Only files within this directory are
 440 accessible.  Likewise, the file browser is limited to the specified
 441 directory subtree. <P>
 442
 443 <DT> -p
 444
 445 <DD> Preserve the &quot;start&quot; and &quot;stop&quot; characters, typically Ctrl-Q
 446  and Ctrl-S, which are sometimes used in communications paths to control data flow
 447 between devices that operate at different speeds.<P>
 448
 449 <DT> -q
 450
 451 <DD> TermdefWins. Termcap or terminfo escape sequences are used in preference
 452 to default escape sequences.<P>
 453
 454 <DT> -Q <EM>quotestr</EM>
 455
 456 <DD> Set the quote string.  Especially useful when composing email, setting this
 457 allows the quote string to be checked for when Justifying paragraphs.
 458 A common quote string is "> ".<P>
 459
 460 <DT> -r<EM>n</EM>
 461
 462 <DD> Sets column used to limit the "Justify" command's right margin. <P>
 463
 464 <DT> -t
 465
 466 <DD> Enable "tool" mode.  Intended for when <EM>Pico</EM> is used as the
 467 editor within other tools (e.g., Elm, Pnews).  <EM>Pico</EM> will not
 468 prompt for save on exit, and will not rename the buffer during the "Write
 469 Out" command. <P>
 470
 471 <DT> -v
 472
 473 <DD> View the file only, disallowing any editing. <P>
 474
 475 <DT> -version
 476
 477 <DD> Print version information. <P>
 478
 479 <DT> -w
 480
 481 <DD> Disable word wrap (thus allow editing of long lines).  <P>
 482
 483 <I>Note: <EM>Pico</EM> will break any lines over 255 characters when reading a
 484 file, regardless of word wrapping.</I> <P>
 485
 486 <DT> -x
 487
 488 <DD> Disable keymenu at the bottom of the screen. <P>
 489
 490 <DT> -z
 491
 492 <DD> Enable ^Z suspension of <EM>Pico</EM>. <P>
 493
 494 </DL>
 495
 496 <H2><A NAME="pilot">Pilot</A></H2>
 497
 498 The following command line options are supported in <EM>Pilot</EM>:
 499
 500 <DL>
 501
 502 <DT> -a
 503
 504 <DD> Display all files including those beginning with a period (.). <P>
 505
 506 <DT> -f
 507
 508 <DD> Use function keys for commands.  <I>This option supported only in
 509 conjunction with UW Enhanced NCSA telnet.</I> <P>
 510
 511 <DT> -g
 512
 513 <DD> Enable "Show Cursor" mode.  Cause cursor to be positioned before the
 514 current selection rather than placed at the lower left of the display. <P>
 515
 516 <DT> -m
 517
 518 <DD> Enable mouse functionality.  This only works when <EM>Pilot</EM> is
 519 run from within an X Window System "xterm" window. <P>
 520
 521 <DT> -n<EM>n</EM>
 522
 523 <DD> The -n<EM>n</EM> option enables new mail notification.  The
 524 <EM>n</EM> argument is optional, and specifies how often, in seconds, your
 525 mailbox is checked for new mail.  For example, -n60 causes <EM>Pilot</EM>
 526 to check for new mail once every minute.  The default interval is 180
 527 seconds, while the minimum allowed is 30. (Note: no space between "n" and
 528 the number) <P>
 529
 530 <DT> -o <EM>dir</EM>
 531
 532 <DD>Sets operating directory.  Only files within the specified directory
 533 are accessible and browsing is limited to the specified directory subtree.
 534 <P>
 535
 536 <DT> -v
 537
 538 <DD> Enable single vertical column display. <P>
 539
 540 <DT> -x
 541
 542 <DD> Disable keymenu at the bottom of the screen. <P>
 543
 544 <DT> -z
 545
 546 <DD> Enable ^Z suspension of <EM>Pilot</EM>.
 547
 548 </DL>
 549
 550 <!-- pnuts -->
 551
 552 </BODY>
 553 </HTML>