1 .\" Copyright (c) 1980, 1990, 1993
2 .\" The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
4 .\" Gunnar Ritter. All rights reserved.
5 .\" Copyright (c) 2012 - 2013 Steffen "Daode" Nurpmeso <sdaoden@users.sf.net>.
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41 .ds UV \\%S-nail dirty
45 .\" If not ~/.mailrc, it breaks POSIX compatibility. And adjust main.c.
55 .Nd send and receive Internet mail
63 .Op Fl a Ar attachment
66 .Op Fl O Ar mta-option
67 .Op Fl q Ar quote-file
69 .Op Fl S Ar variable Ns Op Ns = Ns Ar value
77 .Op Fl S Ar variable Ns Op Ns = Ns Ar value
84 .Op Fl S Ar variable Ns Op Ns = Ns Ar value
91 \*(UA is a mail processing system with a command syntax reminiscent of
93 with lines replaced by messages.
94 It is intended to provide the functionality of the POSIX
96 command and offers (mostly optional) extensions for line editing, IDNA,
97 MIME, S/MIME, SMTP, POP3 and IMAP.
98 It is usable as a mail batch language.
100 In the following list of supported command line options,
108 are implemented by means of setting the respective option, as via
111 .Bl -tag -width ".Fl A Ar account"
115 command (see below) for
117 after the startup files have been read.
119 Attach the given file to the message.
120 The same filename conventions as described in the section
124 Make standard input and standard output line-buffered.
126 Send blind carbon copies to the given list of addresses.
128 below goes into more detail on that.
130 Send carbon copies to the given list of addresses.
138 variable, which enables debug messages and disables message delivery.
139 Note that this is not a real `sandbox' mode.
143 variable and thus discard messages with an empty message part body.
144 This is useful for sending messages from scripts.
146 Just check if mail is present in the system mailbox.
147 If yes, return an exit status of zero, a non-zero value otherwise.
149 Save the message to send in a file named after the local part of the
150 first recipient's address.
152 Read in the contents of the user's mbox (or the specified file)
154 when \*(UA is quit, it writes undeleted messages back to this file.
157 is interpreted as described for the
162 is not a direct argument to the flag
164 but is instead taken from the command line after option processing has
167 Print header summaries for all messages and exit.
171 variable to ignore tty interrupt signals.
175 variable and thus inhibits the initial display of message headers when
176 reading mail or editing a mail folder.
178 Inhibits reading \*(UR upon startup.
179 This option should be activated for \*(UA scripts that are invoked on
180 more than one machine, because the contents of that file may differ
182 (The same behaviour can be achieved by setting the
183 .Ev NAIL_NO_SYSTEM_RC
184 environment variable.)
185 .It Fl O Ar mta-option
186 Pass the given option through to the mail-transfer-agent (MTA).
187 This option has no effect when mail is send via SMTP.
189 .Ns ` Ns Li "-O-h -Onumber" Ns '
190 to specify the hop count for an old
192 Options set like that persist for an entire (interactive) session.
194 Start the message with the contents of the specified file.
195 May be given in send mode only.
197 Opens any folders read-only.
199 Sets the envelope sender address by passing an
201 option to the MTA when a message is send.
204 argument is given it'll be checked for validity and then fixated to
205 the given value, but otherwise the content of the variable
207 will be used for that purpose \(en i.e., it'll be passed through to
210 option whenever a message is send.
211 A valid non-empty value will also be set as if an additional
212 .Ns ` Ns Li "-Sfrom=VALUE" Ns '
213 option had been used and therefore affect sending of messages via SMTP
214 (as a consideration for `From:').
215 .It Fl S Ar variable Ns Op = Ns value
216 Sets the internal option
218 and, in case of a value option, assigns
221 Even though options set via
223 may be overwritten from within resource files,
224 the command line setting will be reestablished after all resources have
227 Specify the subject on the command line
228 (be careful to quote subjects containing spaces).
230 The message to be sent is expected to contain a message header with
231 `To:', `Cc:', or `Bcc:' fields giving its recipients and `Subject:'
232 giving the subject of the message.
233 Recipients and subject specified on the command line are ignored.
235 Read the system mailbox of
237 (appropriate privileges presumed), and `assume to be'
239 in some aspects, e.g. in respect to expansions of `%' etc.
243 Print \*(UA's version and exit.
247 option, which enables more verbose messages.
249 Enable tilde escapes even if not in interactive mode.
251 This sets multiple options to prepare \*(UA for working in batch mode
252 (most likely in non-interactive mode):
257 it also enables processing of tilde escapes.
258 E.g., the following should send an email message to `alias'.
260 .Dl printf 'm alias\en~s Subject\enBody\en.\enx\en' | \
261 MAILRC=/dev/null s-nail -n -#
266 To send a message to one or more people,
267 \*(UA can be invoked with arguments which are the names of people to
268 whom the mail will be sent.
271 es, plain addresses or full address specifications including user names
273 in which case care for proper quoting may be necessary.
274 If this manual refers to a \fIlist of addresses\fR,
275 then \*(UA expects a comma-separated list of such names.
277 .Sx "Recipient address specifications"
278 below explains the interpretation of names in more detail.
279 The user is then expected to type in his message, followed by a
281 at the beginning of a line.
283 .Sx "Replying to or originating mail"
284 describes some features of \*(UA available to help when composing
289 In normal usage \*(UA is given no arguments and checks the user's mail
290 out of the post office,
291 then prints out a one line header of each message found.
292 The current message is initially the first message (numbered 1) and can
295 command, which can be abbreviated `p'.
296 The commands `p+' and `p\-' move forward to the next and backward to the
297 previous message, respectively, and messages can be addressed directly
298 by specifying their message number, as in `p 1'.
301 .Ss "Disposing of mail"
302 After examining a message the user can
307 Deletion causes the \*(UA program to forget about the message.
308 This is not irreversible;
311 (`u') the message by giving its number,
312 or the \*(UA session can be ended by giving the
315 Deleted messages will, however, usually disappear never to be seen
319 .Ss "Specifying messages"
320 Commands such as print and delete can be given a list of message numbers
321 as arguments to apply to a number of messages at once.
323 .Ns ` Ns Li "delete 1 2" Ns '
324 deletes messages 1 and 2,
326 .Ns ` Ns Li "delete 1-5" Ns '
327 will delete the messages 1 through 5.
328 In sorted or threaded mode (see the
333 .Ns ` Ns Li "delete 1-5" Ns '
334 will delete the messages that are located between (and including)
335 messages 1 through 5 in the sorted/threaded order, as shown in the
337 The following special message names exist:
339 .Bl -tag -width ".It .Ar :n:u"
343 All old messages (any not in state read or new).
347 All deleted messages (for the
353 All `flagged' messages.
355 All answered messages
360 All messages marked as draft.
362 \*(OP All messages classified as spam.
366 The message that was previously the current message.
368 The parent message of the current message,
369 that is the message with the Message-ID given in the `In-Reply-To:' field
370 or the last entry of the `References:' field of the current message.
372 The next previous undeleted message,
373 or the next previous deleted message for the
376 In sorted/threaded mode,
377 the next previous such message in the sorted/threaded order.
379 The next undeleted message,
380 or the next deleted message for the
383 In sorted/threaded mode,
384 the next such message in the sorted/threaded order.
386 The first undeleted message,
387 or the first deleted message for the
390 In sorted/threaded mode,
391 the first such message in the sorted/threaded order.
394 In sorted/threaded mode,
395 the last message in the sorted/threaded order.
398 selects the message addressed with
402 is any other message specification,
403 and all messages from the thread that begins at it.
404 Otherwise it is identical to
409 the thread beginning with the current message is selected.
413 All messages that were included in the message list for the previous
415 .It Ar / Ns Ar string
416 All messages that contain
418 in the subject field (case ignored).
425 the string from the previous specification of that type is used again.
429 By default, this is a case-sensitive search for the complete email
434 only the local part of the addresses is evaluated for the comparison.
438 a case-sensitive search for the complete real name of a sender is
441 .Ns ` Ns Li "(from address)" Ns '
442 expression can be used instead if substring matches are desired.
444 All messages that satisfy the given IMAP-style SEARCH
446 This addressing mode is available with all types of folders;
447 for folders not located on IMAP servers,
448 or for servers unable to execute the SEARCH command,
449 \*(UA will perform the search locally.
450 Strings must be enclosed by double quotes `"' in their entirety
451 if they contain white space or parentheses;
453 only backslash `\e' is recognized as an escape character.
454 All string searches are case-insensitive.
455 When the description indicates that the `envelope' representation of an
456 address field is used,
457 this means that the search string is checked against both a list
460 .Dl ( \*q Ns name Ns \*q \*q Ns source Ns \*q \*q Ns \
461 local-part Ns \*q \*q Ns domain-part Ns \*q )
464 and the addresses without real names from the respective header field.
465 Criteria can be nested using parentheses.
466 .It Ar ( criterion1 criterion2 ... criterionN )
467 All messages that satisfy all of the given criteria.
468 .It Ar ( or criterion1 criterion2 )
469 All messages that satisfy either
474 To connect more than two criteria using `or',
475 (or) specifications have to be nested using additional parentheses,
477 .Ns ` Ns Li "(or a (or b c))" Ns ',
479 .Ns ` Ns Li "(or a b c)" Ns '
481 .Ns ` Ns Li "((a or b) and c)" Ns '.
482 For a simple `or' operation of independent criteria on the lowest
484 it is possible to achieve similar effects by using three separate
486 .Ns ` Ns Li "(a) (b) (c)" Ns '.
487 .It Ar ( not criterion )
488 All messages that do not satisfy
490 .It Ar ( bcc \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
491 All messages that contain
493 in the `envelope' representation of the `Bcc:' field.
494 .It Ar ( cc \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
495 All messages that contain
497 in the `envelope' representation of the `Cc:' field.
498 .It Ar ( from \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
499 All messages that contain
501 in the `envelope' representation of the `From:' field.
502 .It Ar ( subject \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
503 All messages that contain
505 in the `Subject:' field.
506 .It Ar ( to \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
507 All messages that contain
509 in the `envelope' representation of the `To:' field.
510 .It Ar ( header name \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
511 All messages that contain
516 .It Ar ( body \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
517 All messages that contain
520 .It Ar ( text \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
521 All messages that contain
523 in their header or body.
524 .It Ar ( larger size )
525 All messages that are larger than
528 .It Ar ( smaller size )
529 All messages that are smaller than
532 .It Ar ( before date )
533 All messages that were received before
535 which must be in the form
536 .Li "d[d]-mon-yyyy" ,
537 where `d' denotes the day of the month as one or two digits,
538 `mon' is the name of the month \(en one of
539 `Jan', `Feb', `Mar', `Apr', `May', `Jun',
540 `Jul', `Aug', `Sep', `Oct', `Nov', or `Dec',
541 and `yyyy' is the year as four digits, e.g., "28-Dec-2012".
543 All messages that were received on the specified date.
544 .It Ar ( since date )
545 All messages that were received since the specified date.
546 .It Ar ( sentbefore date )
547 All messages that were sent on the specified date.
548 .It Ar ( senton date )
549 All messages that were sent on the specified date.
550 .It Ar ( sentsince date )
551 All messages that were sent since the specified date.
553 The same criterion as for the previous search.
554 This specification cannot be used as part of another criterion.
555 If the previous command line contained more than one independent
556 criterion then the last of those criteria is used.
559 A practical method to read a set of messages is to issue a
561 command with the search criteria first to check for appropriate messages,
562 and to read each single message then by typing ``' repeatedly.
565 .Ss "Replying to or originating mail"
568 can be used to set up a response to a message,
569 sending it back to the person who it was from.
570 Text the user types in, up to an end-of-file,
571 defines the contents of the message.
572 While the user is composing a message \*(UA treats lines beginning with
573 the character `~' specially.
574 For instance, typing `~m' (alone on a line) will place a copy of the
575 current message into the response right shifting it by a tabstop
579 Other escapes will set up subject fields,
580 add and delete recipients to the message,
582 and allow the user to escape to an editor to revise the message
583 or to a shell to run some commands.
584 (These options are given in the summary below.)
587 .Ss "Ending a mail processing session"
588 The user can end a \*(UA session by issuing the
591 Messages which have been examined go to the user's mbox file unless they
593 in which case they are discarded.
594 Unexamined messages go back to the post office.
600 .Ss "Personal and systemwide distribution lists"
601 It is also possible to create personal distribution lists so that,
602 for instance, the user can send mail to `cohorts'
603 and have it go to a group of people.
604 Such lists can be defined via the
606 command by, e.g., placing lines like
608 .Dl alias cohorts bill ozalp jkf mark kridle@ucbcory
610 in the file \*(ur in the user's home directory.
613 without arguments lists all the currently known aliases.
615 System wide distribution lists can be created by editing
622 which are kept in a different syntax and will be used by the MTA
623 (mail-transfer-agent) rather than by \*(UA.
624 Personal aliases will be expanded by \*(UA before the message is sent.
625 System wide aliases are not expanded when the mail is sent by \*(UA,
626 but any reply returned to the machine will have the system wide alias
627 expanded as all mail goes through the MTA.
630 .Ss "Recipient address specifications"
631 When an address is used to name a recipient (in `To:', `Cc:', or `Bcc:'),
632 names of local mail folders and pipes to external commands may also be
633 specified \(en the message text is then written to them.
634 The rules are: Any name which starts with a `|' (vertical bar) character
635 specifies a pipe \(en the command string following the `|' is executed
636 and the message is sent to its standard input;
637 any other name which contains a `@' (at sign) character is treated as
639 any other name which starts with a `+' (plus sign) character specifies
641 any other name which contains a `/' (slash) character but no `!'
642 (exclamation mark) or `%' (percent sign) character before also specifies
644 what remains is treated as a mail address.
645 Compressed folders are handled as described for the
650 .Ss "Network mail (Internet / ARPA, UUCP, Berknet)"
653 for a description of network addresses.
654 If support for IDNA (internationalized domain names for applications)
655 has been compiled into \*(UA,
656 then the domain name part of network addresses will be converted via
657 IDNA mechanisms as necessary, effectively treating it as a name in the
661 for the complete picture about character sets.
663 \*(UA has a number of options which can be set in the \*(ur file
664 to alter its behavior; e.g.,
669 .Ic "set idna-disable"
670 will disable the mentioned IDNA conversion even if support is available.
671 (These options are summarized below.)
675 For any outgoing attachment \*(UA tries to determine the content type.
676 It does this by reading MIME type files whose lines have the following
679 .Dl type/subtype extension [extension ...]
681 where `type/subtype' are strings describing the file contents,
682 and `extension' is the part of a filename starting after the last dot.
683 Any line not immediately beginning with an ASCII alphabetical character
686 .Va mimetypes-load-control
687 can be used to control the sources of MIME types, and the
689 command can be used to show the list of mime types known to \*(UA.
690 If there is a match with the `extension' of the file to attach,
691 the given `type/subtype' pair is used.
692 Otherwise, or if the filename has no extension,
693 the content types `text/plain' or `application/octet-stream' are used,
694 dependent upon file content inspection.
696 .Va mime-allow-text-controls .
700 \*(UA normally detects the character set of the terminal by using
701 mechanisms that are controlled by the `LC_CTYPE' locale setting,
702 if such are supported; the variable
704 will be set to the detected terminal character set and will thus
705 show up in the output of the command
710 value is not overwritten by this detection mechanism;
711 this feature must be used if the detection doesn't work properly,
712 and it may be used to adjust the name of the locale character set.
713 E.g., on BSD systems one may use a locale with the character set
714 `ISO8859-1', which is not a valid name for this character set;
715 to be on the safe side, one may set
717 to the correct name, `ISO-8859-1'.
719 Note that changing the value doesn't mean much beside that,
720 since several aspects of the real character set are implied by the
721 locale environment of the system,
722 and that stays unaffected by the content of an overwritten
725 (This is mostly an issue when interactively using \*(UA, though.
726 It is actually possible to send mail in a completely "faked" locale
729 If no character set conversion capabilities have been compiled into
732 library has been found), then
734 will be the only supported character set,
735 and it is simply assumed that it can be used to exchange 8 bit messages,
736 and the rest of this section does not apply;
737 it may however still be necessary to explicitly set it if automatic
738 detection fails, since in that case it defaults to `ISO-8859-1'.
740 When reading messages, their text is converted into
742 as necessary in order to display them on the users terminal.
743 Unprintable characters and illegal byte sequences are detected
744 and replaced by proper substitution characters
747 was set once \*(UA was started).
749 When sending messages all their parts and attachments are classified.
750 Whereas no character set conversion is performed on those parts which
751 appear to be binary data,
752 the character set being used must be declared within the MIME header of
753 an outgoing text part if it contains characters that do not conform to
754 the set of characters that are allowed by the email standards.
755 Permissible values for character sets can be declared using the
757 variable, which is expected to contain a (comma-separated list of)
758 character set (names), and the
760 variable, which is used as a catch-all last-resort fallback.
762 All the specified character sets are tried in order unless the
763 conversion of the part or attachment succeeds.
764 If none of the tried (8 bit) character sets is capable to represent the
765 content of the part or attachment,
766 then the message will not be sent and its text will be saved to
768 Note that some character set conversions will never fail, even if the
769 result is incorrect; e.g., `ISO-8859-1' is capable to represent any
772 In general, if the message `Cannot convert from a to b' appears, either
773 some characters are not appropriate for the currently selected
774 (terminal) character set,
775 or the needed conversion is not supported by the system.
776 In the first case, it is necessary to set an appropriate `LC_CTYPE'
777 locale and/or the variable
780 The best results are usually achieved when \*(UA is run in a UTF-8
781 locale on a UTF-8 capable terminal,
782 in which case the full Unicode spectrum of characters is available.
783 In this setup characters from various countries can be displayed,
784 while it is still possible to use more simple character sets for sending
785 to retain maximum compatibility with older mail clients.
788 .Ss "Command line editor"
789 \*(OP \*(UA can be configured to support a command line editor and
790 command history lists which are saved in between sessions.
791 One may link against fully-fledged external libraries
792 .Ns ( Ns Xr readline 3 ,
794 ) or use the \*(UA command line editor instead, which should work in all
795 environments which comply to ISO C (ISO/IEC 9899:1990/Amendment 1:1995).
797 Regardless of the actually used command line editor history entries
798 will be created for lines entered in command mode only, and creation of
799 such an entry can be forcefully suppressed by starting the line with
801 Note that history handling is by itself an optional feature and may
802 therefore not be available.
803 For more information see the documentation of the options
805 .Va line-editor-disable ,
810 The builtin \*(UA command line editor supports the following operations;
811 the notation `^-character' stands for the combination of the `control'
812 key plus the mentioned character, e.g., `^A' means "hold control key
813 while adding an A key on top of it":
814 .Bl -tag -width "^M^"
816 Go to the start of the line.
818 Move the cursor backward one character.
820 Forward delete the character under the cursor;
821 quits \*(UA if used on the empty line, unless the
825 Go to the end of the line.
827 Move the cursor forward one character.
829 Cancel current operation, full reset.
830 If there is an active history search or tabulator expansion then this
831 command will first reset that, reverting to the former line content;
832 thus a second reset is needed for a full reset in this case.
833 In all cases \*(UA will reset a possibly used multibyte character input
836 The same as `backspace': backward delete one character.
838 \*(OP The same as `horizontal tabulator': try to expand the "word"
840 Here "expansion" refers to the \*(UA expansion, as documented for
842 and thus includes shell word expansion (as a last step).
843 I.e., this is \*(UA "expansion", not what one usually expects from
846 The same as `RETURN': complete this line of input.
848 Delete all characters from the cursor to the end of the line.
852 \*(OP Go to the next history entry.
854 \*(OP Go to the previous history entry.
856 \*(OP Complete the current line from (the remaining older) history entries.
858 The same as `^A' followed by `^K'.
860 Delete the characters from the one preceding the cursor to the preceding
863 Move the cursor forward one word boundary.
865 Move the cursor backward one word boundary.
868 If problems with commands that are based upon rightwise movement are
869 encountered, adjustments of the option
870 .Va line-editor-cursor-right
871 may solve the problem, as documented for it.
875 Each command is typed on a line by itself,
876 and may take arguments following the command word.
877 The command need not be typed in its entirety \(en
878 the first command which matches the typed prefix is used.
881 prints a sorted list of available commands, and the command
883 when given an argument, will show a documentation string for the
885 .Ns ` Ns Ic ? Ns Ar unc Ns ' ;
886 documentation strings are however \*(OP.)
888 For commands which take message lists as arguments,
889 if no message list is given,
890 then the next message forward which satisfies the command's requirements
892 If there are no messages forward of the current message,
893 the search proceeds backwards,
894 and if there are no good messages at all,
895 \*(UA types `no applicable messages' and aborts the command.
896 If the command begins with a `#' (number sign) character,
899 The arguments to commands can be quoted, using the following methods:
900 .Bl -bullet -offset indent
902 An argument can be enclosed between paired double-quotes `"argument"' or
903 single-quotes `'argument'';
904 any white space, shell word expansion, or backslash characters (except
905 as described next) within the quotes are treated literally as part of
907 A double-quote will be treated literally within single-quotes and vice
909 Inside such a quoted string the actually used quote character can be
910 used nonetheless by escaping it with a backslash `\\', as in
913 An argument that is not enclosed in quotes, as above, can usually still
914 contain space characters if those spaces are backslash-escaped.
916 A backslash outside of the enclosing quotes is discarded
917 and the following character is treated literally as part of the argument.
919 An unquoted backslash at the end of a command line is discarded and the
920 next line continues the command.
923 Filenames, where expected, are subsequently subjected to the following
924 transformations, in sequence:
925 .Bl -bullet -offset indent
927 If the filename begins with an unquoted plus sign, and the
930 the plus sign will be replaced by the value of the
932 variable followed by a slash.
935 variable is unset or is set to null, the filename will be unchanged.
937 Shell word expansions are applied to the filename.
938 If more than a single pathname results from this expansion and the
939 command is expecting one file, an error results.
943 The following commands are provided:
944 .Bl -tag -width ".Ic account"
946 Interprets the remainder of the word as a macro name and passes it
950 .Ns ` Ns Ic ~ Ns Ar mymacro Ns '
951 is a shorter synonym for
952 .Ns ` Ns Ic call Ar mymacro Ns ' .
954 Print out the preceding message.
955 If given a numeric argument n,
956 goes to the n'th previous message and prints it.
958 Prints a brief summary of commands.
959 \*(OP Given an argument a synopsis for the command in question is
962 Executes the shell (see
966 ) command which follows.
972 (ac) Creates, selects or lists an email account.
973 An account is formed by a group of commands,
974 primarily of those to set variables.
976 of which the second is a `{',
977 the first argument gives an account name,
978 and the following lines create a group of commands for that account
979 until a line containing a single `}' appears.
980 With one argument the previously created group of commands for the
981 account name is executed, and a
983 command is executed for the system mailbox or inbox of that account.
984 Without arguments the list of accounts and their contents are printed.
986 .Bd -literal -offset indent
988 set folder=imaps://mylogin@imap.myisp.example
990 set from="myname@myisp.example (My Name)"
991 set smtp=smtp.myisp.example
995 creates an account named `myisp' which can later be selected by
996 specifying `account myisp'.
997 The special account `null' (case-insensitive) always exists.
999 (a) With no arguments, prints out all currently-defined aliases.
1000 With one argument, prints out that alias.
1001 With more than one argument,
1002 creates a new alias or changes an old one.
1004 (alt) The alternates command is useful if the user has accounts on
1006 It can be used to inform \*(UA that the listed addresses all belong to
1008 When replying to messages \*(UA will not send a copy of the message
1009 to any of the addresses listed on the alternates list.
1010 If the alternates command is given with no argument,
1011 the current set of alternate names is displayed.
1013 (ans) Takes a message list and marks each message as having been
1015 This mark has no technical meaning in the mail system;
1016 it just causes messages to be marked in the header summary,
1017 and makes them specially addressable.
1019 \*(OP Only applicable to cached IMAP mailboxes;
1020 takes a message list and reads the specified messages into the IMAP
1023 Calls a macro (see the
1030 \*(OP Only applicable to S/MIME signed messages.
1031 Takes a message list and a file name and saves the certificates
1032 contained within the message signatures to the named file in both
1033 human-readable and PEM format.
1034 The certificates can later be used to send encrypted messages to the
1035 respective message senders by setting
1036 .Va smime-encrypt-user@host
1039 (ch) Changes the user's working directory to the specified one,
1040 or to the user's login directory, if none was given.
1043 Only applicable to threaded mode.
1044 Takes a message list and makes all replies to these messages invisible
1045 in header summaries,
1046 unless they are in state `new'.
1048 \*(OP (conn) If operating in disconnected mode on an IMAP mailbox,
1049 switch to online mode and connect to the mail server while retaining the
1051 See the description of the
1053 variable for more information.
1055 (c) The copy command does the same thing that
1057 does except that it does not mark the given messages for deletion when
1059 Compressed files and IMAP mailboxes are handled as described for the
1065 but saves the messages in a file named after the local part of the
1066 sender address of the first message.
1068 Print the current working directory.
1070 \*(OP (dec) For unencrypted messages,
1071 this command is identical to
1073 Encrypted messages are first decrypted, if possible, and then copied.
1075 \*OP (Dec) Similar to
1077 but saves the messages in a file named after the local part of the
1078 sender address of the first message.
1080 (def) Defines a macro.
1081 A macro definition is a sequence of commands in the following form:
1082 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1091 A defined macro can be explicitly invoked using
1095 or it can be implicitly invoked by setting the
1098 .Va folder-hook-fullname
1101 Prints the currently defined macros including their contents.
1103 (d) Takes a list of messages as argument and marks them all as deleted.
1104 Deleted messages will not be saved in `mbox',
1105 nor will they be available for most other commands.
1110 \*(OP (disco) If operating in online mode on an IMAP mailbox,
1111 switch to disconnected mode while retaining the mailbox status.
1112 See the description of the
1115 A list of messages may optionally be given as argument;
1116 the respective messages are then read into the cache before the
1117 connection is closed.
1118 Thus `disco *' makes the entire mailbox available for disconnected use.
1119 .It Ic dp Ns \ or Ic dt
1120 Deletes the current message and prints the next message.
1121 If there is no next message, \*(UA says `at EOF'.
1123 Takes a message list and marks each given message as a draft.
1124 This mark has no technical meaning in the mail system;
1125 it just causes messages to be marked in the header summary,
1126 and makes them specially addressable.
1128 Echoes its arguments,
1129 resolving special names as documented for the command
1131 The escape sequences `\ea', `\eb', `\ec', `\ef', `\en', `\er', `\et',
1132 `\ev', `\e\e', and `\e0octal-num\fR' are interpreted just as they are by
1134 (proper quoting provided).
1136 (e) Point the text editor at each message from the given list in turn.
1137 Modified contents are discarded unless the
1141 Marks the end of the then-part of an if statement and the beginning of
1142 the part to take effect if the condition of the if statement is false.
1144 Marks the end of an if statement.
1146 (ex or x) Effects an immediate return to the Shell without modifying the
1147 user's system mailbox, his `mbox' file, or his edit file in
1153 (fl) Takes a message list and marks the messages as `flagged' for
1154 urgent/special attention.
1155 This mark has no technical meaning in the mail system;
1156 it just causes messages to be highlighted in the header summary,
1157 and makes them specially addressable.
1159 With no arguments, list the names of the folders in the folder directory.
1160 With an existing folder as an argument,
1161 lists the names of folders below the named folder;
1162 e.\|g. the command `folders @' lists the folders on the base level of
1163 the current IMAP server.
1164 See also the variable
1165 .Va imap-list-depth .
1167 (fold) The folder command switches to a new mail file or folder.
1168 With no arguments, it tells the user which file he is currently reading.
1169 If an argument is given, it will write out changes (such as deletions)
1170 the user has made in the current file and read in the new file.
1171 Some special conventions are recognized for the
1174 .Bl -tag -offset indent -width ".Ar %:filespec"
1176 (number sign) means the previous file,
1178 (percent sign) means the invoking user's system mailbox
1183 means the system mailbox of `user'
1184 (and never the value of
1186 regardless of its actual setting),
1188 (ampersand) means the invoking user's `mbox' file (see
1192 means a `file' in the
1196 expands to the same value as `filespec',
1197 but the file is handled as a system mailbox by, e.g., the
1204 If the name matches one of the strings defined with the command
1206 it is replaced by its long form and expanded.
1207 If the name ends with `.gz' or `.bz2' it is treated as being compressed
1213 Likewise, if `name' does not exist,
1214 but either `name.gz' or `name.bz2' does,
1215 then the compressed file is used.
1216 If `name' refers to a directory with the subdirectories `tmp', `new',
1217 and `cur', then it is treated as a folder in `maildir' format.
1220 .Dl protocol://[user@]host[:port][/file]
1222 is taken as an Internet mailbox specification.
1223 The (optionally) supported protocols are `imap' (IMAP v4r1), `imaps'
1224 (IMAP with SSL/TLS encrypted transport), `pop3' (POP3) and `pop3s' (POP3
1225 with SSL/TLS encrypted transport).
1226 If `user' contains special characters, in particular `/' or `%',
1227 they must be escaped in URL notation, as `%2F' or `%25'.
1228 The optional `file' part applies to IMAP only;
1229 if it is omitted, the default `INBOX' is used.
1231 If \*(UA is connected to an IMAP server,
1232 a name of the form `@mailbox' refers to the `mailbox' on that server,
1233 but otherwise a `@' prefix has no special meaning.
1237 but saves the message in a file named after the local part of the first
1238 recipient's address.
1242 but saves the message in a file named after the local part of the first
1243 recipient's address.
1247 but responds to all recipients regardless of the
1252 .It Ic followupsender
1255 but responds to the sender only regardless of the
1261 (fwd) Takes a message and the address of a recipient
1262 and forwards the message to him.
1263 The text of the original message is included in the new one,
1264 with the value of the
1266 variable printed before.
1271 commands specify which header fields are included in the new message.
1272 Only the first part of a multipart message is included unless the
1273 .Va forward-as-attachment
1278 but saves the message in a file named after the local part of the
1279 recipient's address.
1281 (f) Takes a list of messages and prints their message headers,
1282 piped through the pager if the output does not fit on the screen.
1284 Specifies which header fields are to be ignored with the command
1286 This command has no effect when the
1287 .Va forward-as-attachment
1290 Specifies which header fields are to be retained with the command
1295 This command has no effect when the
1296 .Va forward-as-attachment
1299 Without arguments it lists all currently defined command aliases,
1301 With two arguments it defines a new command alias: the first argument is
1302 the name under which the second should be accessible.
1303 The content of the second argument can be just about anything.
1304 A ghost can be used everywhere a normal command can be used, but always
1305 takes precedence; any arguments that are given to the command alias are
1306 joined onto the alias content, and the resulting string forms the
1307 command line that is, in effect, executed.
1311 .Dl ? ghost ls '!ls -latro'
1314 (h) Lists the current range of headers, which is an 18-message group.
1315 If a `+' argument is given the next 18-message group is printed,
1316 likewise the previous is printed if the argument was `-'.
1320 (ho, also preserve) Takes a message list and marks each message therein
1321 to be saved in the user's system mailbox instead of in `mbox'.
1322 Does not override the
1325 \*(UA deviates from the POSIX standard with this command,
1328 command issued after
1330 will display the following message, not the current one.
1332 Commands in \*(UA's startup files can be executed conditionally
1333 depending on whether the user is sending or receiving mail with the if
1335 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1341 An else form is also available:
1342 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1350 Note that the only allowed conditions are `receive', `send' and `term'
1351 (execute if standard input is a tty).
1353 Add the list of header fields named to the ignored list.
1354 Header fields in the ignore list are not printed on the terminal when
1355 a message is printed.
1356 This command is very handy for suppression of certain machine-generated
1362 commands can be used to print a message in its entirety, including
1364 It lists the current set of ignored fields if no arguments were given.
1366 \*(OP Sends command strings directly to the current IMAP server.
1367 \*(UA operates always in IMAP `selected state' on the current mailbox;
1368 commands that change this will produce undesirable results and should be
1370 Useful IMAP commands are:
1371 .Bl -tag -offset indent -width ".Ic getquotearoot"
1373 Takes the name of an IMAP mailbox as an argument and creates it.
1375 (RFC 2087) Takes the name of an IMAP mailbox as an argument
1376 and prints the quotas that apply to the mailbox.
1377 Not all IMAP servers support this command.
1379 (RFC 2342) Takes no arguments and prints the Personal Namespaces,
1380 the Other User's Namespaces and the Shared Namespaces.
1381 Each namespace type is printed in parentheses;
1382 if there are multiple namespaces of the same type,
1383 inner parentheses separate them.
1384 For each namespace a prefix and a hierarchy separator is listed.
1385 Not all IMAP servers support this command.
1391 Prints the names of all available commands, alphabetically sorted.
1393 Can only be used inside of a macro definition block introduced by
1397 and is interpreted as a boolean (value `0' means false, everything
1399 Any option setting that is performed after `localopts' has been turned
1400 on will be reset to the value it had before the macro has been called
1401 (or the `account' is switched).
1402 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1403 define temporary_settings {
1413 Note that these options stack upon each other, i.e., if macro1 sets
1414 `localopts' and calls macro2, which explicitly resets `localopts', then
1415 any values set within macro2 will still be cleaned up by macro1.
1419 but saves the message in a file named after the local part of the first
1420 recipient's address.
1422 (m) Takes a (list of) recipient address(es) as (an) argument(s),
1423 or asks on standard input if none were given;
1424 then collects the remaining mail content and sends it out.
1426 The given message list is to be sent to `mbox' when \*(UA is quit.
1427 This is the default action unless the
1430 \*(UA deviates from the POSIX standard with this command,
1433 command issued after
1435 will display the following message, not the current one.
1444 In the former case all sources are loaded first as necessary.
1446 .Va mimetypes-load-control
1447 option can be used to fine-tune loading of the sources.
1451 but marks the messages for deletion if they were transferred
1454 Takes a message list and invokes the
1456 on that list, printing a form-feed (`\\f') in between messages.
1460 but also prints ignored header fields and all MIME parts.
1464 but moves the messages to a file named after the local part of the
1465 sender address of the first message.
1467 Checks for new mail in the current folder without committing any changes
1469 If new mail is present, a message is printed.
1473 the headers of each new message are also printed.
1475 (n) (like `+' or `ENTER') Goes to the next message in sequence
1477 With an argument list, types the next matching message.
1488 If the current folder is located on an IMAP or POP3 server,
1489 a `NOOP' command is sent.
1490 Otherwise, no operation is performed.
1494 but also pipes ignored header fields and all parts of MIME
1495 `multipart/alternative' messages.
1497 (pi) Takes a message list and a shell command
1498 and pipes the messages through the command.
1499 Without an argument the current message is piped through the command
1506 every message is followed by a formfeed character.
1513 but also prints out ignored header fields and all parts of MIME
1514 `multipart/alternative' messages.
1521 (p) Takes a message list and types out each message on the user's
1523 If the message is a MIME multipart message,
1524 all parts with a content type of `text' or `message' are shown,
1525 the other are hidden except for their headers.
1526 Messages are decrypted and converted to the terminal character set
1529 (q) Terminates the session, saving all undeleted, unsaved messages in
1530 the current `mbox', preserving all messages marked with
1534 or never referenced in his system mailbox,
1535 and removing all other messages from his system mailbox.
1536 If new mail has arrived during the session,
1537 the message `You have new mail' is given.
1538 If given while editing a mailbox file with the command line flag
1540 then the edit file is rewritten.
1541 A return to the shell is effected,
1542 unless the rewrite of edit file fails,
1543 in which case the user can escape with the exit command.
1551 (rem) Removes the named folders.
1552 The user is asked for confirmation in interactive mode.
1554 (ren) Takes the name of an existing folder
1555 and the name for the new folder
1556 and renames the first to the second one.
1557 Both folders must be of the same type
1558 and must be located on the current server for IMAP.
1560 (R) Reply to originator.
1561 Does not reply to other recipients of the original message.
1563 (r) Takes a message list and sends mail to the sender and all recipients
1564 of the specified messages.
1565 The default message must not be deleted.
1569 but responds to all recipients regardless of the
1577 but responds to the sender only regardless of the
1585 but does not add any header lines.
1586 This is not a way to hide the sender's identity,
1587 but useful for sending a message again to the same recipients.
1589 Takes a list of messages and a user name
1590 and sends each message to the named user.
1591 `Resent-From:' and related header fields are prepended to the new copy
1602 .It Ic respondsender
1606 Add the list of header fields named to the retained list.
1607 Only the header fields in the retain list are shown on the terminal when
1608 a message is printed, all other header fields are suppressed.
1613 commands can be used to print a message in its entirety.
1614 The current set of retained fields is shown if
1616 is used without arguments.
1620 but saves the messages in a file named after the local part of the
1621 sender of the first message instead of taking a filename argument.
1623 (s) Takes a message list and a filename and appends each message in turn
1624 to the end of the file.
1625 If no filename is given, the `mbox' file is used.
1626 The filename in quotes, followed by the line count and character count
1627 is echoed on the user's terminal.
1628 If editing a system mailbox the messages are marked for deletion.
1629 Compressed files and IMAP mailboxes are handled as described for the
1631 command line option above.
1644 Header fields thus marked are filtered out when saving a message by
1646 or when automatically saving to `mbox'.
1647 This command should only be applied to header fields that do not contain
1648 information needed to decode the message,
1649 as MIME content fields do.
1650 If saving messages on an IMAP account ignoring fields makes it
1651 impossible to copy the data directly on the server,
1652 thus operation usually becomes much slower.
1662 Header fields thus marked are the only ones saved with a message when
1665 or when automatically saving to `mbox'.
1669 The use of this command is strongly discouraged since it may strip
1670 header fields that are needed to decode the message correctly.
1672 (se) With no arguments, prints all variable values.
1673 Otherwise, sets an option.
1674 Arguments are of the form `option=value' (no space before or after `='),
1675 or plain `option' if there is no value.
1676 Quotation marks may be placed around any part of the assignment
1677 statement to quote blanks or tabs, e.g.,
1679 .Dl set indentprefix="->"
1681 If an argument begins with `no', as in `set nosave',
1682 the effect is the same as invoking the
1684 command with the remaining part of the variable (`unset save').
1686 Takes a message list and marks all messages as having been read.
1688 (sh) Invokes an interactive version of the shell.
1690 Defines a shortcut name and its string for expansion,
1691 as described for the
1694 If used without arguments the currently defined shortcuts are printed.
1698 but performs neither MIME decoding nor decryption so that the raw
1699 message text is shown.
1701 Print the size in characters of each message of the given message-list.
1703 Create a sorted representation of the current folder,
1706 command and the addressing modes such that they refer to messages in the
1708 Message numbers are the same as in regular mode.
1712 a header summary in the new order is also printed.
1713 Possible sorting criteria are:
1714 .Bl -tag -offset indent -width "subject"
1716 Sort the messages by their `Date:' field,
1717 that is by the time they were sent.
1719 Sort messages by the value of their `From:' field,
1720 that is by the address of the sender.
1724 the sender's real name (if any) is used.
1726 Sort the messages by their size.
1728 \*(OP Sort the message by their spam score, as has been classified via
1732 Sort the messages by their message status (new, read, old, etc.).
1734 Sort the messages by their subject.
1736 Create a threaded order,
1740 Sort messages by the value of their `To:' field,
1741 that is by the address of the recipient.
1745 the recipient's real name (if any) is used.
1748 If no argument is given,
1749 the current sorting criterion is printed.
1751 The source command reads commands from a file.
1753 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and clears their `is-spam' flag.
1755 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and forces the spam detector to forget it
1756 has ever used them to train its Bayesian filter, wether as `ham' or
1759 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and teaches them to the spam detector as
1761 This also clears the `is-spam' flag of the messages in question.
1763 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and rates them using the configured spam
1764 detector, setting their `is-spam' flag as appropriate.
1765 Note that the messages are not modified, and due to that the rating will
1766 get lost once the mailbox is left.
1767 Refer to the manual section
1769 for the complete picture of spam handling in \*(UA.
1771 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and sets their `is-spam' flag.
1773 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and teaches them to the spam detector as
1775 This also sets the `is-spam' flag of the messages in question.
1777 (th) Create a threaded representation of the current folder,
1778 i.\|e. indent messages that are replies to other messages in the header
1779 display and change the
1781 command and the addressing modes such that they refer to messages in the
1783 Message numbers are the same as in unthreaded mode.
1787 a header summary in threaded order is also printed.
1789 Takes a message list and prints the top few lines of each.
1790 The number of lines printed is controlled by the variable
1792 and defaults to five.
1794 Takes a message list and marks the messages for saving in `mbox'.
1795 \*(UA deviates from the POSIX standard with this command,
1798 command issued after `mbox' will display the following message instead
1801 (T) Identical to the
1808 Takes a list of names defined by alias commands
1809 and discards the remembered groups of users.
1811 Takes a message list and marks each message as not having been answered.
1813 (unc) Only applicable to threaded mode.
1814 Takes a message list and makes the message and all replies to it visible
1815 in header summaries again.
1816 When a message becomes the current message,
1817 it is automatically made visible.
1818 Also when a message with collapsed replies is printed,
1819 all of these are automatically uncollapsed.
1821 Undefines each of the named macros.
1822 It is not an error to use a name that does not belong to
1823 one of the currently defined macros.
1825 (u) Takes a message list and marks each message as not being deleted.
1827 Takes a message list and
1828 .Ns un Ns Ic draft Ns
1831 Takes a message list and marks each message as not being
1834 Removes the header field names from the list of ignored fields for the
1838 Removes the header field names from the list of retained fields for the
1842 Remove an existing command
1845 Removes the header field names from the list of ignored fields.
1850 (U) Takes a message list and marks each message as not having been read.
1852 Removes the header field names from the list of retained fields.
1854 Removes the header field names from the list of ignored fields for
1857 Removes the header field names from the list of retained fields for
1860 Takes a list of option names and discards their remembered values;
1864 Deletes the shortcut names given as arguments.
1866 Disable sorted or threaded mode
1872 return to normal message order and,
1876 print a header summary.
1881 \*(OP (verif) Takes a message list and verifies each message.
1882 If a message is not an S/MIME signed message,
1883 verification will fail for it.
1884 The verification process checks if the message was signed using a valid
1886 if the message sender's email address matches one of those contained
1887 within the certificate,
1888 and if the message content has been altered.
1890 (v) Takes a message list and invokes the display editor on each message.
1891 Modified contents are discarded unless the
1895 (w) For conventional messages the body without all headers is written.
1896 The output is decrypted and converted to its native format as necessary.
1897 If the output file exists, the text is appended.
1898 If a message is in MIME multipart format its first part is written to
1899 the specified file as for conventional messages,
1900 and the user is asked for a filename to save each other part.
1901 For convience saving of each part may be skipped by giving an empty value;
1902 the same result can also be achieved by writing it to
1904 For the second and subsequent parts a leading `|' character causes the
1905 part to be piped to the remainder of the user input interpreted as
1907 otherwise the user input is expanded as usually for folders,
1908 e.g., tilde expansion is performed.
1909 In non-interactive mode, only the parts of the multipart message
1910 that have a filename given in the part header are written,
1911 the others are discarded.
1912 The original message is never marked for deletion in the originating
1915 the contents of the destination file are overwritten if the file
1917 No special handling of compressed files is performed.
1922 \*(UA presents message headers in windowfuls as described under the
1925 This command scrolls to the next window of messages.
1926 If an argument is given,
1927 it specifies the window to use.
1928 A number prefixed by `+' or `\-' indicates
1929 that the window is calculated in relation to the current position.
1930 A number without a prefix specifies an absolute window number,
1931 and a `$' lets \*(UA scroll to the last window of messages.
1935 but scrolls to the next or previous window that contains at least one
1936 new or `flagged' message.
1941 Here is a summary of the tilde escapes,
1942 which are used to perform special functions when composing messages.
1943 Tilde escapes are only recognized at the beginning of lines.
1944 The name `tilde escape' is somewhat of a misnomer since the actual
1945 escape character can be set by the option
1947 .Bl -tag -width ".Ic ~< filename"
1949 Insert the string of text in the message prefaced by a single `~'.
1950 (If the escape character has been changed,
1951 that character must be doubled
1952 in order to send it at the beginning of a line.)
1953 .It Ic ~! Ar command
1954 Execute the indicated shell
1956 then return to the message.
1958 Same effect as typing the end-of-file character.
1959 .It Ic ~: Ar \*(UA-command Ns \ or Ic ~_ Ar \*(UA-command
1960 Execute the given \*(UA command.
1961 Not all commands, however, are allowed.
1963 Write a summary of command escapes.
1964 .It Ic ~< Ar filename
1967 .It Ic ~<! Ar command
1969 is executed using the shell.
1970 Its standard output is inserted into the message.
1971 .It Ic ~@ Op Ar filename...
1972 With no arguments, edit the attachment list interactively.
1973 If an attachment's file name is left empty,
1974 that attachment is deleted from the list.
1975 When the end of the attachment list is reached,
1976 \*(UA will ask for further attachments until an empty name is given.
1977 If a given file name solely consists of the number sign `#' followed
1978 by a valid message number of the currently active mailbox, the given
1979 message is attached as a MIME `message/rfc822' and the rest of this
1980 section does not apply.
1982 If character set conversion has been compiled into \*(UA, then this mode
1983 gives the user the option to specify input and output character sets,
1984 unless the file extension indicates binary content, in which case \*(UA
1985 asks wether this step shall be skipped for the attachment in question.
1986 If not skipped, then the charset that succeeds to represent the
1987 attachment data will be used in the `charset=' MIME parameter of the
1991 If input and output character sets are specified, then the conversion is
1992 performed on the fly.
1993 The user will be asked repeatedly until the desired conversion succeeds.
1995 If only an output character set is specified, then the input is assumed
1998 charset and will be converted to the given output charset on the fly.
1999 The user will be asked repeatedly until the desired conversion succeeds.
2001 If no character sets are specified at all then the algorithm that is
2002 documented in the section
2003 .Sx "Character sets"
2004 is applied, but directly and on the fly.
2005 The user will be asked repeatedly until the desired conversion succeeds.
2007 Finally, if an input-, but no output character set is specified, then no
2008 conversion is ever performed, but the `charset=' MIME parameter will
2009 still be set to the user input.
2012 Without character set conversion support, \*(UA will ask for the input
2013 character set only, and it'll set the `charset=' MIME parameter to the
2014 given input, if any;
2015 if no user input is seen then the
2017 character set will be used for the `charset=' parameter instead.
2018 Note that the file extension check isn't performed in this mode, since
2019 no conversion will take place anyway.
2021 Note that in non-interactive mode, for reproduceabilities sake, there
2022 will always be two questions for each attachment, regardless of wether
2023 character set conversion is available and what the file extension is.
2024 The first asks for the filename, and the second asks for the input
2025 character set to be passed through to the `charset=' MIME parameter;
2026 no conversion will be tried if there is input to the latter question,
2027 otherwise the usual conversion algorithm, as above, is applied.
2028 For message attachments, the answer to the second question is completely
2033 arguments are specified,
2034 they are treated as a comma separated list of files,
2035 which are all expanded and appended to the end of the attachment list.
2036 (Filenames with commas, or with leading or trailing whitespace can only
2037 be added via the command line or the first method.
2038 Message attachments can only be added via the first method;
2039 filenames which clash with message numbers can only be added via the
2040 command line or the second method.)
2041 In this mode the (text) attachments are assumed to be in
2043 encoding, and will be evaluated as documented in the section
2044 .Sx "Character sets" .
2046 Inserts the string contained in the
2048 variable (same as `~i Sign').
2049 The escape sequences `\et' (tabulator) and `\en' (newline) are understood.
2051 Inserts the string contained in the
2053 variable (same as `~i sign').
2054 The escape sequences `\et' (tabulator) and `\en' (newline) are understood.
2055 .It Ic ~b Ar name ...
2056 Add the given names to the list of blind carbon copy recipients.
2057 .It Ic ~c Ar name ...
2058 Add the given names to the list of carbon copy recipients.
2060 Read the file specified by the
2062 variable into the message.
2064 Invoke the text editor on the message collected so far.
2065 After the editing session is finished,
2066 the user may continue appending text to the message.
2067 .It Ic ~f Ar messages
2068 Read the named messages into the message being sent.
2069 If no messages are specified,
2070 read in the current message.
2071 Message headers currently being ignored (by the
2075 command) are not included.
2076 For MIME multipart messages,
2077 only the first printable part is included.
2078 .It Ic ~F Ar messages
2079 Identical to `~f', except that all message headers and MIME parts are
2082 Edit the message header fields `To:', `Cc:', `Bcc:', and `Subject:' by
2083 typing each one in turn and allowing the user to edit the field.
2085 Edit the message header fields `From:', `Reply-To:', `Sender:' and
2086 `Organization:' in the same manner as described for
2088 The default values for these fields originate from the
2095 .It Ic ~i Ar variable
2096 Insert the value of the specified variable into the message,
2097 adding a newline character at the end.
2098 The message remains unaltered if the variable is unset or empty.
2099 The escape sequences `\et' (tabulator) and `\en' (newline) are understood.
2100 .It Ic ~m Ar messages
2101 Read the named messages into the message being sent,
2102 indented by a tab or by the value of
2104 If no messages are specified,
2105 read the current message.
2106 Message headers currently being ignored (by the
2110 commands) are not included.
2111 For MIME multipart messages,
2112 only the first printable part is included.
2113 .It Ic ~M Ar messages
2114 Identical to `~m', except that all message headers and MIME parts are
2117 Print out the message collected so far,
2118 prefaced by the message header fields
2119 and followed by the attachment list, if any.
2121 Abort the message being sent,
2122 copying it to the file specified by the
2127 .It Ic ~r Ar filename
2128 Read the named file into the message.
2130 Cause the named string to become the current subject field.
2131 .It Ic ~t Ar name ...
2132 Add the given name(s) to the direct recipient list.
2134 Invoke an alternate editor (defined by the
2136 option) on the message collected so far.
2137 Usually, the alternate editor will be a screen editor.
2138 After the editor is quit,
2139 the user may resume appending text to the end of the message.
2140 .It Ic ~w Ar filename
2141 Write the message onto the named file.
2143 the message is appended to it.
2145 Same as `~q', except that the message is not saved at all.
2146 .It Ic ~| Ar command
2147 Pipe the message through the specified filter command.
2148 If the command gives no output or terminates abnormally,
2149 retain the original text of the message.
2152 is often used as a rejustifying filter.
2156 .Ss "Variable options"
2157 Options are controlled via
2161 commands, see the corresponding entries for a syntax description.
2162 An option is also set if it is passed to \*(UA as part of the program
2163 environment (this is not restricted to specific variables as in the
2165 A value given in a startup file overrides a value imported from the
2167 Options may be either binary, in which case it is only significant to
2168 see whether they are set or not;
2169 or string, in which case the actual value is of interest.
2172 .Ss "Binary options"
2173 The binary options include the following:
2174 .Bl -tag -width ".Va autoprint"
2175 .It Va add-file-recipients
2176 When file or pipe recipients have been specified,
2177 mention them in the corresponding address fields of the message instead
2178 of silently stripping them from their recipient list.
2179 By default such addressees are not mentioned.
2181 Causes only the local part to be evaluated
2182 when comparing addresses.
2184 Causes messages saved in mbox to be appended to the end rather than
2186 This should always be set.
2187 .It Va ask Ns \ or Va asksub
2188 Causes \*(UA to prompt for the subject of each message sent.
2189 If the user responds with simply a newline,
2190 no subject field will be sent.
2192 Causes the prompts for `Cc:' and `Bcc:' lists to appear after the
2193 message has been edited.
2195 If set, \*(UA asks for files to attach at the end of each message.
2196 An empty line finalizes the list.
2198 Causes the user to be prompted for additional carbon copy recipients (at
2199 the end of each message if
2204 An empty line finalizes the list.
2206 Causes the user to be prompted for additional blind carbon copy
2207 recipients (at the end of each message if
2212 An empty line finalizes the list.
2214 \*(OP Causes the user to be prompted if the message is to be signed at
2215 the end of each message.
2218 variable is ignored when this variable is set.
2220 Causes threads to be collapsed automatically when threaded mode is
2228 Causes the delete command to behave like `dp -';
2229 thus, after deleting a message the next one will be typed automatically.
2231 Causes threaded mode (see the
2233 command) to be entered automatically when a folder is opened.
2235 Enables the substitution of `!' by the contents of the last command line
2237 .It Va batch-exit-on-error
2238 If the batch mode has been enabled via the
2240 command line option, then this variable will be consulted whenever \*(UA
2241 completes one operation (returns to the command prompt); if it is set
2242 then \*(UA will terminate if the last operation generated an error.
2244 Causes automatic display of a header summary after executing a
2248 Sets some cosmetical features to traditional BSD style;
2249 has the same affect as setting
2251 and all other variables prefixed with `bsd';
2252 it also changes the meaning of the \*(UA specific `\\&'
2256 Changes the letters printed in the first column of a header summary
2257 to traditional BSD style.
2259 Changes the display of columns in a header summary to traditional BSD
2262 Changes some informational messages to traditional BSD style.
2264 Causes the `Subject:' field to appear immediately after the `To:' field
2265 in message headers and with the `~h' tilde command.
2267 Changes the output format of the
2269 command to traditional BSD style.
2271 Prints debugging messages and disables the actual delivery of messages.
2274 this option is intended for \*(UA development only.
2276 \*(OP When an IMAP mailbox is selected and this variable is set,
2277 no connection to the server is initiated.
2278 Instead, data is obtained from the local cache (see
2281 Mailboxes that are not present in the cache
2282 and messages that have not yet entirely been fetched from the server
2284 to fetch all messages in a mailbox at once,
2286 .Ns ` Ns Li copy * /dev/null Ns '
2287 can be used while still in
2290 Changes that are made to IMAP mailboxes in disconnected mode are queued
2291 and committed later when a connection to that server is opened in online
2293 This procedure is not completely reliable since it cannot be guaranteed
2294 that the IMAP unique identifiers (UIDs) on the server still match the
2295 ones in the cache at that time.
2298 when this problem occurs.
2299 .It Va disconnected-user@host
2300 The specified account is handled as described for the
2303 but other accounts are not affected.
2305 The binary option dot causes \*(UA to interpret a period alone on a line
2306 as the terminator of a message the user is sending.
2308 If this variable is set then the editor is started automatically when
2309 composing a message in an interactive mode,
2310 as if the `~e' tilde command had been specified.
2313 variable is implied for this automatically spawned editor session.
2315 When a message is edited while being composed,
2316 its header is included in the editable text.
2317 The `To:', `Cc:', `Bcc:', `Subject:', `From:', `Reply-To:', `Sender:',
2318 and 'Organization:' fields are accepted within the header,
2319 other fields are ignored.
2321 If set, an empty mailbox file is not removed.
2322 This may improve the interoperability with other mail user agents
2323 when using a common folder directory.
2325 If the mailbox is empty \*(UA normally prints `No mail for user' and
2327 If this option is set \*(UA starts even with an empty mailbox.
2333 commands and vice-versa.
2334 .It Va forward-as-attachment
2335 Original messages are normally sent as inline text with the
2338 and only the first part of a multipart message is included.
2339 With this option messages are sent as MIME `message/rfc822' attachments
2340 with all of their parts included.
2345 options are ignored when the
2346 .Va forward-as-attachment
2349 When replying to a message \*(UA normally removes the comment parts of
2351 which by convention contain the full names of the recipients.
2352 If this variable is set such stripping is not performed,
2353 and comments are retained.
2355 Causes the header summary to be written at startup and after commands
2356 that affect the number of messages or the order of messages in the
2357 current folder; enabled by default.
2359 This option is used to hold messages in the system mailbox by default.
2361 \*(OP Can be used to turn off the automatic conversion of domain names
2362 according to the rules of IDNA (internationalized domain names for
2364 Since the IDNA code assumes domain names are specified with the
2366 character set, an UTF-8 locale charset is required to represent
2367 all possible international domain names (before conversion, that is).
2369 Causes interrupt signals from the terminal to be ignored
2372 An option related to
2376 which makes \*(UA refuse to accept a `control-D' as the end of a message.
2377 This option also applies to \*(UA command mode.
2378 .It Va imap-use-starttls
2379 \*(OP Causes \*(UA to issue a `STARTTLS' command to make an unencrypted
2380 IMAP session SSL/TLS encrypted.
2381 This functionality is not supported by all servers,
2382 and is not used if the session is already encrypted by the IMAPS method.
2383 .It Va imap-use-starttls-user@host
2385 .Va imap-use-starttls
2386 for a specific account.
2388 This option causes \*(UA to truncate the user's system mailbox instead
2389 of deleting it when it is empty.
2390 This should always be set since it prevents malicious users from
2391 creating fake mail folders in a world-writable spool directory.
2393 When a message is saved it is usually discarded from the originating
2394 folder when \*(UA is quit.
2395 Setting this option causes all saved message to be retained.
2396 .It Va line-editor-disable
2397 Turn off any enhanced command line editing capabilities (see
2398 .Sx "Command line editor"
2401 When a message is replied to and this variable is set,
2402 it is marked as having been answered.
2403 This mark has no technical meaning in the mail system;
2404 it just causes messages to be marked in the header summary,
2405 and makes them specially addressable.
2406 .It Va message-id-disable
2407 By setting this option the generation of `Message-ID:' can be completely
2408 suppressed, effectively leaving this task up to the mail-transfer-agent
2409 (MTA) or the SMTP server.
2410 (According to RFC 5321 your SMTP server is not required to add this
2411 field by itself, so you should ensure that it accepts messages without
2414 Usually, when a group is expanded that contains the sender,
2415 the sender is removed from the expansion.
2416 Setting this option causes the sender to be included in the group.
2417 .It Va mime-allow-text-controls
2418 When sending messages, each part of the message is MIME-inspected in
2419 order to classify the `Content-Type:' and `Content-Transfer-Encoding:'
2420 that is required to send this part over mail transport, i.e.,
2421 a computation rather similar to what the
2423 command produces when used with the
2427 This classification however treats text files which are encoded in
2428 UTF-16 (often found for HTML files) and similar character sets as binary
2429 octet-streams, forcefully changing any `text/plain' or `text/html'
2430 specification to `application/octet-stream';
2431 if that actually happens, then a yet unset charset MIME parameter is set
2432 to `binary', effectively making it impossible for the receiving MUA to
2433 automatically interpret the contents of the part.
2435 If this option is set, and the data was unambiguously identified as text
2436 data at first glance (by a `.txt' or `.html' file extension), then the
2437 original `Content-Type:' will not be overwritten.
2438 .It Va mime-counter-evidence
2439 Normally the `Content-Type:' field is used to decide how to treat
2440 a messages MIME part.
2441 Some MUAs however don't use
2443 or a similar mechanism to correctly classify content,
2444 but simply specify `application/octet-stream',
2445 even for plain text attachments like `text/diff'.
2446 If this variable is set then \*(UA will use the file extension of
2447 attachments to classify such MIME message parts, if possible.
2449 Checks for new mail in the current folder each time the prompt is
2451 For IMAP mailboxes the server is then polled for new mail,
2452 which may result in delayed operation if the connection to the server is
2454 A `maildir' folder must be re-scanned to determine if new mail has
2457 If this variable is set to the special value `nopoll' an IMAP server is
2458 not actively asked for new mail,
2459 but new mail may still be detected and announced with any other IMAP
2460 command that is sent to the server.
2461 A `maildir' folder is not scanned, then.
2463 In either case the IMAP server may send notifications about messages
2464 that have been deleted on the server by another process or client.
2465 In this case, `Expunged X messages' is printed regardless of this
2467 and message numbers may have changed.
2469 Setting this option is the same as using the command line option
2472 Causes the filename given in the
2475 and the sender-based filenames for the
2479 commands to be interpreted relative to the directory given in the
2481 variable rather than to the current directory,
2482 unless it is set to an absolute pathname.
2484 If set, each message the
2486 command prints out is followed by a formfeed character.
2488 Send messages to the
2490 command without performing MIME and character set conversions.
2491 .It Va pop3-bulk-load
2492 \*(OP When accessing a POP3 server \*(UA loads the headers of the
2493 messages, and only requests the message bodies on user request.
2494 For the POP3 protocol this means that the message headers will be
2496 If this option is set then \*(UA will download only complete messages
2497 from POP3 servers instead.
2500 a macro that temporarily sets this option, then accesses a POP3 account
2501 that is known to only get small text messages, and then unsets this
2504 \*(OP Unless this variable is set the `APOP' authentication method
2505 will be used when connecting to a POP3 server that advertises support.
2506 The advantage of APOP over `USER/PASS' authentication is that the
2507 password is not sent in clear text over the wire and that only a single
2508 packet is sent for the user/password tuple.
2509 .It Va pop3-no-apop-user@host
2510 Disables usage of the `APOP' authentication method (see
2512 for a specific account.
2513 .It Va pop3-use-starttls
2514 \*(OP Causes \*(UA to issue a `STLS' command to make an unencrypted POP3
2515 session SSL/TLS encrypted.
2516 This functionality is not supported by all servers,
2517 and is not used if the session is already encrypted by the POP3S method.
2518 .It Va pop3-use-starttls-user@host
2520 .Va pop3-use-starttls
2521 for a specific account.
2522 .It Va print-all-chars
2523 This option causes all characters to be considered printable.
2524 It is only effective if given in a startup file.
2525 With this option set some character sequences in messages may put the
2526 user's terminal in an undefined state when printed;
2527 it should only be used as a last resort if no working system locale can
2529 .It Va print-alternatives
2530 When a MIME message part of type `multipart/alternative' is displayed
2531 and it contains a subpart of type `text/plain',
2532 other parts are normally discarded.
2533 Setting this variable causes all subparts to be displayed,
2534 just as if the surrounding part was of type `multipart/mixed'.
2536 Suppresses the printing of the version when first invoked.
2537 .It Va quote-as-attachment
2538 If this is set, then the original message is added in its entirety
2539 as a `message/rfc822' MIME attachment when replying to a message.
2540 Note this works regardless of the setting of
2542 .It Va recipients-in-cc
2543 On group replies, specify only the sender of the original mail in `To:'
2544 and mention it's other recipients in the secondary `Cc:'.
2545 .It Va record-resent
2546 If both this variable and the
2553 commands save messages to the
2555 folder as it is normally only done for newly composed messages.
2556 .It Va reply-in-same-charset
2557 If this variable is set \*(UA first tries to use the same character set
2558 of the original message for replies.
2559 If this fails, the mechanism described in
2560 .Sx "Character sets"
2561 is evaluated as usual.
2563 Reverses the sense of
2568 .It Va rfc822-body-from_
2569 This variable can be used to force the display of a so-called `From_'
2570 line for messages that are embedded into an envelope mail via the
2571 `message/rfc822' MIME mechanism.
2573 When the user aborts a message with two `RUBOUT' (interrupt) characters,
2574 \*(UA will copy the partial letter to the file
2576 This option is set by default.
2577 .It Va searchheaders
2578 Expand message-list specifiers in the form `/x:y' to all messages
2579 containing the substring `y' in the header field `x'.
2580 The string search is case insensitive.
2581 .It Va sendcharsets-else-ttycharset
2582 \*(OP If this variable is set, but
2584 is not, then \*(UA acts as if
2586 had been set to the value of the variable
2588 In effect this combination passes through the message data in the
2589 character set of the current locale (given that
2591 hasn't been set manually), i.e., without converting it to the
2593 fallback character set.
2594 Thus, mail message text will be in `ISO-8859-1' encoding when send from
2595 within a `ISO-8859-1' locale, and in `UTF-8' encoding when send from
2596 within an `UTF-8' locale.
2598 When sending a message wait until the MTA exits before accepting further
2600 If the MTA returns a non-zero exit status,
2601 the exit status of \*(ua will also be non-zero.
2603 Setting this option causes \*(UA to start at the last message instead of
2604 the first one when opening a mail folder.
2606 Causes \*(UA to use the sender's real name instead of the plain address
2607 in the header field summary and in message specifications.
2609 Causes the recipient of the message to be shown in the header summary
2610 if the message was sent by the user.
2611 .It Va skipemptybody
2612 If an outgoing message does not contain any text in its first or only
2614 do not send it but discard it silently (see also the command line option
2617 .It Va smime-force-encryption
2618 \*(OP Causes \*(UA to refuse sending unencrypted messages.
2620 \*(OP S/MIME sign outgoing messages with the user's private key.
2621 Signing a message enables a recipient to verify that the sender used
2622 a valid certificate,
2623 that the email addresses in the certificate match those in the message
2624 header and that the message content has not been altered.
2625 It does not change the message text,
2626 and people will be able to read the message as usual.
2627 .It Va smime-no-default-ca
2628 \*(OP Don't load default CA locations when verifying S/MIME signed
2630 .It Va smtp-use-starttls
2631 \*(OP Causes \*(UA to issue a `STARTTLS' command to make an SMTP session
2633 Not all servers support this command \(en because of common
2634 implementation defects it can't be automatically determined whether
2635 a server supports it or not.
2636 .It Va ssl-no-default-ca
2637 \*(OP Don't load default CA locations to verify SSL/TLS server
2640 \*(OP Accept SSLv2 connections.
2641 These are normally not allowed because this protocol version is insecure.
2642 .It Va keep-content-length
2643 When (editing messages and) writing MBOX mailbox files \*(UA can be told
2644 to keep the `Content-Length:' and `Lines:' header fields that some MUAs
2645 generate by setting this variable.
2646 Since \*(UA does neither use nor update these non-standardized header
2647 fields (which in itself shows one of their conceptual problems),
2648 stripping them should increase interoperability in between MUAs that
2649 work with with same mailbox files.
2650 Note that, if this is not set but
2651 .Va writebackedited ,
2652 as below, is, a possibly performed automatic stripping of these header
2653 fields already marks the message as being modified.
2655 Setting the option verbose is the same as using the command line option
2657 When \*(UA runs in verbose mode details of the actual message delivery
2658 and protocol conversations for IMAP, POP3, and SMTP,
2659 as well as of other internal processes,
2660 are displayed on the user's terminal.
2661 This is sometimes useful to debug problems.
2662 \*(UA prints all data that is sent to remote servers in clear texts,
2663 including passwords,
2664 so care should be taken that no unauthorized option can view the screen
2665 if this option is enabled.
2666 .It Va writebackedited
2667 If this variable is set messages modified using the
2671 commands are written back to the current folder when it is quit;
2672 it is only honoured for writable folders in `mbox' format, though.
2673 Note that the editor will be pointed to the raw message content in that
2674 case, i.e., neither MIME decoding nor decryption will have been
2676 and proper RFC 4155 `From ' quoting of newly added or edited content is
2677 also left as an excercise to the user.
2682 The value options include the following:
2683 .Bl -tag -width ".Va autoprint"
2685 A sequence of characters to print in the `attribute' column of a header
2687 each for one type of messages in the following order:
2688 new (N), unread but old (U), new but read (R), read and old (O), saved
2689 (S), preserved (P), mboxed (M), flagged (F), answered (A), draft (T),
2690 start of a collapsed thread (+), collapsed (\-), classified as spam ($).
2691 The default is `NUROSPMFAT+\-$',
2692 or `NU\ \ *HMFAT+\-$' if
2696 environment variable are set.
2698 Specifies a list of recipients to which a blind carbon copy of each
2699 outgoing message will be sent automatically.
2701 Specifies a list of recipients to which a carbon copy of each outgoing
2702 message will be sent automatically.
2704 Causes sorted mode (see the
2706 command) to be entered automatically with the value of this option as
2707 sorting method when a folder is opened.
2709 The value that should appear in the `charset=' parameter of
2710 `Content-Type:' MIME header fields when no character set conversion of
2711 the message data was performed.
2712 This defaults to `US-ASCII', and the chosen character set should be
2713 `US-ASCII' compatible.
2715 \*(OP The default 8 bit character set that is used if
2717 is not set or no character set therein was capable to represent the
2718 content of a message.
2719 Defaults to `UTF-8'.
2720 If no character set conversion capabilities are available in \*(UA then
2721 the only supported character set is
2723 Refer to the section
2724 .Sx "Character sets"
2725 for the complete picture of character set conversion in \*(UA.
2727 The default value for the
2731 The valued option crt is used as a threshold to determine how long
2732 a message must be before
2737 is set without a value then the height of the terminal screen stored in
2738 the system is used to compute the threshold (see
2744 The name of the file to use for saving aborted messages.
2745 This defaults to `dead.letter' in the user's home directory.
2747 The date in a header summary is normally the date of the mailbox `From\ '
2748 line of the message.
2749 If this variable is set, then the date as given in the `Date:' field is
2750 used, converted to local time.
2751 It is possible to control the display of the date by assigning a value,
2754 function will be used to format the date accordingly.
2755 Please read your system manual for the available formats.
2756 Note that the `%n' format should not be used, because \*(UA doesn't
2757 take embedded newlines into account when calculating how many lines fit
2759 .It Va datefield-markout-older
2760 This option, when set in addition to
2762 modifies the display of messages that are not really current in a way
2763 that is rather comparable to the
2768 The interpretation of the value is identical to what has been described
2772 Pathname of the text editor to use in the
2777 A default editor is used if this value is not defined.
2779 The default MIME encoding to use in outgoing text messages and message
2781 Valid values are the default `quoted-printable', `8bit' and `base64'.
2782 `8bit' may cause problems with mail transfers that are not ESMTP
2784 If there is no need to encode a message,
2785 `7bit' transfer mode is always used regardless of this variable.
2786 Binary data is always encoded as `base64'.
2788 If defined, the first character of this option
2789 gives the character to use in place of `~' to denote tilde escapes.
2791 The name of the directory to use for storing folders of messages.
2792 All folder names that begin with `+' refer to files below it.
2793 The same special conventions as documented for the
2795 command may be used when specifying a new value for
2797 but be aware that the expansion is fully performed immediately.
2798 E.g., if the expanded name refers to an IMAP account, all names that
2799 begin with `+' refer to IMAP mailboxes below the
2803 Note: some IMAP servers do not accept the creation of mailboxes in
2804 the hierarchy base, but require that they are created as subfolders of
2805 `INBOX' \(en with such servers a folder name of the form
2807 .Dl imaps://mylogin@imap.myisp.example/INBOX.
2809 should be used (the last character is the server's hierarchy delimiter).
2810 Folder names prefixed by `+' will then refer to folders below `INBOX',
2811 while folder names prefixed by `@' refer to folders below the hierarchy
2815 namespace command for a method to detect the appropriate prefix and
2818 When a folder is opened and this variable is set,
2819 the macro corresponding to the value of this variable is executed.
2820 The macro is also invoked when new mail arrives,
2821 but message lists for commands executed from the macro
2822 only include newly arrived messages then.
2823 .It Va folder-hook-fullname
2824 When a folder named `fullname' is opened,
2825 the macro corresponding to the value of this variable is executed.
2826 Unlike other folder specifications,
2827 the fully expanded name of a folder, without metacharacters,
2828 is used to avoid ambiguities.
2829 The macro specified with
2831 is not executed if this variable is effective for a folder
2834 ed from within the actually executed macro).
2836 The address (or a list of addresses) to put into the `From:' field of
2838 If replying to messages these addresses are handled as if they were in
2842 If the machine's hostname is not valid at the Internet (for example at
2843 a dialup machine), then either this variable or
2848 contains more than one address,
2851 variable must also be set.
2853 The string to print before the text of a message with the
2857 .Va forward-as-attachment
2859 Defaults to `-------- Original Message --------' if unset.
2860 No heading is printed if it is set to the empty string.
2862 A format string to use for the header summary,
2866 A `%' character introduces a format specifier.
2867 It may be followed by a number indicating the field width.
2868 If the (possibly implicitly implied) field width is negative, the field
2869 is to be left-aligned.
2870 Valid format specifiers are:
2871 .Bl -tag -offset indent -width "%%"
2875 The date when the message was received.
2877 The indenting level in threaded mode.
2879 The address of the message sender.
2881 The message thread structure.
2882 (Note that this format doesn't support a field width.)
2884 The number of lines of the message.
2888 The number of octets (bytes) in the message.
2890 Message subject (if any).
2892 Message subject (if any) in double quotes.
2894 The position in threaded/sorted order.
2896 A `>' for the current message, otherwise ` '.
2898 A `<' for the current message, otherwise ` '.
2900 The spam score of the message, as has been classified via the command
2906 The default is `%>\&%a\&%m\ %-18f\ %16d\ %4l/%\-5o\ %i%-s',
2907 or `%>\&%a\&%m\ %20-f\ \ %16d\ %3l/%\-5o\ %i%-S' if
2911 Use this string as hostname when expanding local addresses instead of
2912 the value obtained from
2916 i.e., in `Message-ID:' and `From:' fields.
2919 transport is not used then it is normally the responsibility of the MTA
2920 to create these fields; you should produce some test messages with the
2921 desired combination of
2928 \*(OP Sets the IMAP authentication method.
2929 Valid values are `login' for the usual password-based authentication
2931 `cram-md5', which is a password-based authentication that does not send
2932 the password over the network in clear text,
2933 and `gssapi' for GSSAPI-based authentication.
2934 .It Va imap-auth-user@host
2935 Sets the IMAP authentication method for a specific account.
2937 \*(OP Enables caching of IMAP mailboxes.
2938 The value of this variable must point to a directory that is either
2939 existent or can be created by \*(UA.
2940 All contents of the cache can be deleted by \*(UA at any time;
2941 it is not safe to make assumptions about them.
2942 .It Va imap-keepalive
2943 \*(OP IMAP servers may close the connection after a period of
2944 inactivity; the standard requires this to be at least 30 minutes,
2945 but practical experience may vary.
2946 Setting this variable to a numeric `value' greater than 0 causes
2947 a `NOOP' command to be sent each `value' seconds if no other operation
2949 .It Va imap-list-depth
2950 \*(OP When retrieving the list of folders on an IMAP server, the
2952 command stops after it has reached a certain depth to avoid possible
2954 The value of this variable sets the maximum depth allowed.
2956 If the folder separator on the current IMAP server is a slash `/',
2957 this variable has no effect and the
2959 command does not descend to subfolders.
2961 String used by the `~m' and `~M' tilde escapes and by the
2963 option for indenting messages,
2964 in place of the normal tab character (`^I').
2965 Be sure to quote the value if it contains spaces or tabs.
2967 Pathname of the directory lister to use in the
2969 command when operating on local mailboxes.
2972 .It Va line-editor-cursor-right
2973 \*(OP If the builtin command line editor is used, actions which are
2974 based on rightwise movement may not work on some terminals.
2975 If you encounter such problems, set this variable to the terminal
2976 control sequence that is necessary to move the cursor one column to the
2978 The default is `\\033[C', which should work for most terminals.
2979 Less often occur `\\033OC' and `\\014'.
2980 Note that `ESCAPE' and other control character have to be written as
2981 shell-style escape sequences, e.g., `\\033' for `ESCAPE'.
2983 Is used as the user's mailbox, if set.
2984 Otherwise, a system-dependent default is used.
2985 Supports a logical subset of the special conventions that are documented
2992 The name of the mbox file.
2993 Supports a logical subset of the special conventions that are documented
2999 The fallback default is `mbox' in the user's home directory.
3000 .It Va mimetypes-load-control
3001 This option can be used to control which of the
3003 MIME type databases are loaded by \*(UA.
3004 If the letter `u' (or `U') is part of this options value, then the
3007 file will be loaded (if it exists);
3008 likewise the letter `s' (or `S') controls loading of the system wide
3009 .Pa /etc/mime.types .
3010 If this option is not set \*(UA will try to load both files instead.
3011 Incorporation of the MIME types that are compiled into \*(UA cannot be
3013 .It Va NAIL_EXTRA_RC
3014 The name of an optional startup file to be read after \*(ur.
3015 This variable is ignored if it is imported from the environment;
3016 it has an effect only if it is set in \*(UR or \*(ur to allow bypassing
3017 the configuration with, e.g., `MAILRC=/dev/null'.
3018 Use this file for commands that are not understood by other \*(UA
3021 A string to put at the beginning of each new message.
3022 The escape sequences `\et' (tabulator) and `\en' (newline) are understood.
3023 .It Va NAIL_HISTFILE
3024 \*(OP If a command line editor is available then this can be set to
3025 name the (expandable) path of the location of a permanent history file.
3026 .It Va NAIL_HISTSIZE
3027 \*(OP If a command line editor is available this value restricts the
3028 amount of history entries that are saved into a set and valid
3030 A value of less than 0 disables this feature;
3031 note that loading and incorporation of
3033 upon program startup can also be suppressed by doing this.
3034 An unset or invalid value, or 0, causes a default value to be used.
3035 Dependent on the available command line editor this will also define the
3036 number of history entries in memory;
3037 it is also editor-specific wether runtime updates of this value will be
3040 A string to put at the end of each new message.
3041 The escape sequences `\et' (tabulator) and `\en' (newline) are understood.
3043 If this variable has the value `maildir',
3044 newly created local folders will be in `maildir' format.
3046 The value to put into the `Organization:' field of the message header.
3048 Pathname of the program to use in the more command or when the
3051 The default paginator is
3053 .It Va password-user@host
3054 Set the password for `user' when connecting to `host'.
3055 If no such variable is defined for a host,
3056 the user will be asked for a password on standard input.
3057 Specifying passwords in a startup file is generally a security risk;
3058 the file should be readable by the invoking user only.
3059 .It Va pipe-content/subcontent
3060 When a MIME message part of `content/subcontent' type is displayed or
3062 its text is filtered through the value of this variable interpreted as
3065 The special value `@' can be used to force interpretation of the message
3066 part as plain text, e.g., `set pipe-application/pgp-signature=@' will
3067 henceforth treat signatures as plain text and display them "as is".
3069 Also, if a normal shell command is prefixed with `@', then the command
3070 will only be used to prepare the MIME message part if the message is
3071 displayed by itself, but not when multiple messages are displayed at
3074 Finally, if a normal shell command is prefixed with `@&', then, in
3075 addition to what has been described for the plain `@' shell command
3076 prefix, the command will be run asynchronously, i.e., without blocking
3077 \*(UA, which may be a handy way to display a, e.g., PDF file while also
3078 continuing to read the mail message.
3080 Special care must be taken when using such commands as mail viruses may
3081 be distributed by this method;
3082 if messages of type `application/x-sh' were filtered through the shell,
3084 a message sender could easily execute arbitrary code on the system \*(UA
3086 .It Va pop3-keepalive
3087 \*(OP POP3 servers close the connection after a period of inactivity;
3088 the standard requires this to be at least 10 minutes,
3089 but practical experience may vary.
3090 Setting this variable to a numeric `value' greater than 0 causes
3091 a `NOOP' command to be sent each `value' seconds if no other operation
3094 The string printed when a command is accepted.
3095 Prompting may be prevented by either setting this to the null string
3098 The same XSI escape sequences that are understood by the
3100 command may be used within
3103 In addition, the following \*(UA specific additional sequences are
3105 `\\&', which expands to `?' unless
3107 is set, in which case it expands to `&';
3108 note that "\\& " is the default value for
3110 `\\?', which will expand to `1' if the last command failed, and to `0'
3112 `\\$', which will expand to the name of the currently active
3114 if any, and to the empty string otherwise,
3115 and `\\@', which will expand to the name of the currently active mailbox.
3116 (Note that the prompt buffer is size-limited, excess is cut off.)
3118 When a newer version of the
3120 .Sx "Command line editor"
3121 is used, any escape sequence must itself be encapsulated with another
3122 escape character for usage with the
3124 mechanism: \*(UA configures the control character `\\01' for this.
3126 If set, \*(UA starts a replying message with the original message
3127 prefixed by the value of the variable
3129 Normally, a heading consisting of `Fromheaderfield wrote:' is printed
3130 before the quotation.
3131 If the string `noheading' is assigned to the
3133 variable, this heading is omitted.
3134 If the string `headers' is assigned, the headers selected by the
3135 .Ic ignore Ns / Ns Ic retain
3136 commands are printed above the message body,
3139 acts like an automatic `~m' tilde escape command, then.
3140 If the string `allheaders' is assigned, all headers are printed above
3141 the message body and all MIME parts are included,
3144 act like an automatic `~M' command.
3146 .Va quote-as-attachment .
3148 \*(OP Can be set in addition to
3150 Setting this turns on a more fancy quotation algorithm in that leading
3151 quotation characters are compressed and overlong lines are folded.
3153 can be set to either one or two (space separated) numeric values,
3154 which are interpreted as the maximum (goal) and the minimum line length,
3155 respectively, in a spirit rather equal to the
3157 program, but line-, not paragraph-based.
3158 If not set explicitly the minimum will reflect the goal algorithmically.
3159 The goal can't be smaller than the length of
3161 plus some additional pad.
3162 Necessary adjustments take place silently.
3164 If defined, gives the pathname of the folder used to record all outgoing
3166 If not defined, then outgoing mail is not saved.
3167 When saving to this folder fails the message is not sent,
3168 but instead saved to
3171 A list of addresses to put into the `Reply-To:' field of the message
3173 Members of this list are handled as if they were in the
3177 When \*(UA initially prints the message headers it determines the number
3178 to print by looking at the speed of the terminal.
3179 The faster the terminal, the more it prints.
3180 This option overrides this calculation and specifies how many message
3181 headers are printed.
3182 This number is also used for scrolling with the
3186 \*(OP A comma-separated list of character set names that can be used in
3187 outgoing Internet mail.
3188 If no character set conversion capabilities are compiled into \*(UA then
3189 the only supported charset is
3192 .Va sendcharsets-else-ttycharset
3193 and refer to the section
3194 .Sx "Character sets"
3195 for the complete picture of character set conversion in \*(UA.
3197 An address that is put into the `Sender:' field of outgoing messages.
3198 This field needs not normally be present.
3199 It is, however, required if the `From:' field contains more than one
3201 It can also be used to indicate that a message was sent on behalf of
3202 someone else \(en in this case, `From:' should contain the address
3203 of the person that took responsibility for the message,
3204 and `Sender:' should contain the address of the person that actually
3208 address is handled as if it were in the
3212 To use an alternate mail delivery system,
3213 set this option to the full pathname of the program to use.
3214 It may be necessary to set
3215 .Va sendmail-progname
3217 .It Va sendmail-progname
3218 Many systems use a so-called
3220 environment to ensure compatibility with
3222 This works by inspecting the name that was used to invoke the mail
3224 If this variable is set then the mailwrapper (the program that is
3225 actually executed when calling `sendmail') will treat its contents as
3227 The default is `sendmail'.
3229 Pathname of the shell to use in the
3231 command and the `~!' tilde escape.
3232 A default shell is used if this option is not defined.
3234 A string for use with the `~A' tilde escape.
3236 A string for use with the `~a' tilde escape.
3238 Must correspond to the name of a readable file if set.
3239 The file's content is then appended to each singlepart message
3240 and to the first part of each multipart message.
3241 Be warned that there is no possibility to edit the signature for an
3244 \*(OP Specifies a directory with CA certificates in PEM (Privacy
3245 Enhanced Mail) format for verification of S/MIME signed messages.
3246 .It Va smime-ca-file
3247 \*(OP Specifies a file with CA certificates in PEM format for
3248 verification of S/MIME signed messages.
3249 .It Va smime-cipher-user@host
3250 \*(OP Specifies a cipher to use when generating S/MIME encrypted
3251 messages for `user@host'.
3252 Valid ciphers are `rc2-40' (RC2 with 40 bits), `rc2-64' (RC2 with 64
3253 bits), `des' (DES, 56 bits) and `des-ede3' (3DES, 112/168 bits).
3254 The default is 3DES.
3255 It is not recommended to use the other ciphers unless a recipient's
3256 client is actually unable to handle 3DES since they are comparatively
3258 .It Va smime-crl-file
3259 \*(OP Specifies a file that contains a CRL in PEM format to use when
3260 verifying S/MIME messages.
3261 .It Va smime-crl-dir
3262 \*(OP Specifies a directory that contains files with CRLs in PEM format
3263 to use when verifying S/MIME messages.
3264 .It Va smime-encrypt-user@host
3265 \*(OP If this variable is set, messages to `user@host' are encrypted
3267 The value of the variable must be set to the name of a file that
3268 contains a certificate in PEM format.
3270 If a message is sent to multiple recipients,
3271 each of them for whom a corresponding variable is set will receive an
3272 individually encrypted message;
3273 other recipients will continue to receive the message in plain text
3275 .Va smime-force-encryption
3277 It is recommended to sign encrypted messages, i.e., to also set the
3280 .It Va smime-sign-cert
3281 \*(OP Points to a file in PEM format that contains the user's private
3282 key as well as his certificate.
3283 Both are used with S/MIME for signing and decrypting messages.
3284 .It Va smime-sign-cert-user@host
3287 for the specific addresses.
3288 When signing messages and the value of the
3290 variable is set to `user@host', the specific file is used.
3291 When decrypting messages,
3292 their recipient fields (`To:' and `Cc:') are searched for addresses
3293 for which such a variable is set.
3294 \*(UA always uses the first address that matches,
3295 so if the same message is sent to more than one of the user's addresses
3296 using different encryption keys, decryption might fail.
3297 .It Va smime-sign-include-certs
3298 \*(OP If used, this must be set to a comma-separated list of files,
3299 each of which containing a single certificate in PEM format to be
3300 included in the S/MIME message in addition to the
3303 This is most useful for long certificate chains if it is desired to aid
3304 the receiving party's verification process.
3305 .It Va smime-sign-include-certs-user@host
3307 .Va smime-sign-include-certs
3308 for the specific addresses.
3309 Refer to the discussion of
3310 .Va smime-sign-cert-user@host
3311 for more on this topic.
3313 \*(OP Normally \*(UA invokes
3315 directly to transfer messages.
3318 variable is set, a SMTP connection to the server specified by the value
3319 of this variable is used instead.
3320 If the SMTP server does not use the standard port, a value of
3321 `server:port' can be given, with `port' as a name or as a number.
3323 There are two possible methods to get SSL/TLS encrypted SMTP sessions:
3324 First, the `STARTTLS' command can be used to encrypt a session after it
3326 but before any user-related data has been sent; see
3327 .Va smtp-use-starttls
3329 Second, some servers accept sessions that are encrypted from begin on.
3330 This mode is configured by assigning `smtps://server[:port]' to the
3334 The SMTP transfer is executed in a child process, which runs
3335 asynchronously unless either the
3340 If it receives a TERM signal, it will abort and save the message to
3343 \*(OP Sets the SMTP authentication method.
3344 If set to `login', or if unset and
3346 is set, `AUTH LOGIN' is used.
3347 If set to `cram-md5', `AUTH CRAM-MD5' is used;
3348 if set to `plain', `AUTH PLAIN' is used.
3349 Otherwise, no SMTP authentication is performed.
3350 .It Va smtp-auth-user@host
3353 for specific values of sender addresses, dependend upon the variable
3355 .It Va smtp-auth-password
3356 \*(OP Sets the global password for `SMTP AUTH'.
3357 Both user and password have to be given for `AUTH LOGIN' and
3359 .It Va smtp-auth-password-user@host
3361 .Va smtp-auth-password
3362 for specific values of sender addresses, dependent upon the variable
3364 .It Va smtp-auth-user
3365 \*(OP Sets the global user name for `SMTP AUTH'.
3366 Both user and password have to be given for `AUTH LOGIN' and
3368 If this variable is set but neither
3369 .Va smtp-auth-password
3371 .Va smtp-auth-password-user@host
3373 \*(UA will ask for a password on the user's terminal.
3374 .It Va smtp-auth-user-user@host
3377 for specific values of sender addresses, dependent upon the variable
3380 \*(OP The path to the spam detector.
3381 Note that the path is not expanded, but used "as is".
3382 A fallback path will have been compiled into the \*(UA binary if the
3384 executable had been found during compilation.
3386 \*(OP Can be used to specify the host on which
3388 listens for connections; if not set, defaults to `localhost'.
3390 \*(OP Spam detectors like
3392 decline to work with messages which exceed a specific size;
3393 if this variable is set then \*(UA won't even try to pass messages which
3394 exceed the given limit.
3395 The default is 420000 bytes.
3397 \*(OP Can be used to explicitly specify the port on which
3399 listens for connections.
3401 \*(OP If the spam detector listens on a path-based UNIX domain socket,
3402 then setting this variable to the fully qualified path will force its
3403 usage for communication.
3405 \*(OP This can be used to support multiple, per-used configuration files
3406 of the spam detector.
3407 Note that \*(UA doesn't automatically set this to reflect a possibly set
3411 \*(OP Specifies a directory with CA certificates in PEM (Pricacy
3412 Enhanced Mail) for verification of of SSL/TLS server certificates.
3414 .Xr SSL_CTX_load_verify_locations 3
3415 for more information.
3417 \*(OP Specifies a file with CA certificates in PEM format for
3418 verification of SSL/TLS server certificates.
3420 .Xr SSL_CTX_load_verify_locations 3
3421 for more information.
3423 \*(OP Sets the file name for a SSL/TLS client certificate required by
3425 .It Va ssl-cert-user@host
3426 Sets an account-specific file name for a SSL/TLS client certificate
3427 required by some servers.
3430 for the specified account.
3431 .It Va ssl-cipher-list
3432 \*(OP Specifies a list of ciphers for SSL/TLS connections.
3435 for more information.
3437 \*(OP Specifies a file that contains a CRL in PEM format to use when
3438 verifying SSL/TLS server certificates.
3440 \*(OP Specifies a directory that contains files with CRLs in PEM format
3441 to use when verifying SSL/TLS server certificates.
3443 \*(OP Sets the file name for the private key of a SSL/TLS client
3445 If unset, the name of the certificate file is used.
3446 The file is expected to be in PEM format.
3447 .It Va ssl-key-user@host
3448 Sets an account-specific file name for the private key of a SSL/TLS
3452 for the specified account.
3454 \*(OP Selects a SSL/TLS protocol version;
3455 \*(UA accepts the values `ssl2', `ssl3', `tls1', `tls1.1' and `tls1.2',
3456 though it depends on the OpenSSL library that is found on the system
3457 what is truly supported.
3458 If unset, the method is selected automatically, if possible
3459 (this process usually tries to use the most secure method possible).
3460 This approach is also taken if the chosen value is not supported by the
3461 OpenSSL library, in which case an error message will be printed first.
3462 .It Va ssl-method-user@host
3465 for a specific account.
3467 \*(OP Gives the pathname to an entropy daemon socket, see
3469 .It Va ssl-rand-file
3470 \*(OP Gives the pathname to a file with entropy data, see
3471 .Xr RAND_load_file 3 .
3472 If the file is a regular file writable by the invoking user,
3473 new data is written to it after it has been loaded.
3475 \*(OP Sets the action to be performed if an error occurs during SSL/TLS
3476 server certificate validation.
3478 `strict' (fail and close connection immediately),
3479 `ask' (ask whether to continue on standard input),
3480 `warn' (print a warning and continue),
3481 `ignore' (do not perform validation).
3482 The default is `ask'.
3483 .It Va ssl-verify-user@host
3486 for a specific account.
3488 If only set without an assigned value, then this option inhibits the
3489 generation of the `Message-Id:' and `User-Agent:' header fields that
3490 include obvious references to \*(UA.
3491 There are two pitfalls associated with this:
3492 First, the message id of outgoing messages is not known anymore.
3493 Second, an expert may still use the remaining information in the header
3494 to track down the originating mail user agent.
3495 If set to the value `noagent', then the mentioned `Message-Id:'
3496 suppression doesn't occur.
3498 If defined, gives the number of lines of a message to be printed out
3499 with the top command;
3500 normally, the first five lines are printed.
3502 The character set of the terminal \*(UA operates on,
3503 and the one and only supported character set that \*(UA can use if no
3504 character set conversion capabilities have been compiled into it,
3505 in which case it defaults to `ISO-8859-1' unless it can deduce a value
3506 from the `LC_CTYPE' locale environment.
3507 Refer to the section
3508 .Sx "Character sets"
3509 for the complete picture about character sets.
3511 Pathname of the text editor to use in the
3513 command and `~v' tilde escape.
3519 Besides the variables described above,
3520 \*(UA uses the following environment variables:
3521 .Bl -tag -width ".It Va MAILRC"
3523 The user's preferred width in column positions for the terminal screen
3524 or window (only used during startup).
3526 The user's home directory.
3527 .It Va LANG , Va LC_ALL , Va LC_COLLATE , Va LC_CTYPE , Va LC_MESSAGES
3531 The user's preferred number of lines on a page or the vertical screen or
3532 window size in lines (only used during startup).
3534 Is used as a startup file instead of \*(ur if set.
3535 When \*(UA scripts are invoked on behalf of other users,
3536 this variable should be set to
3538 to avoid side-effects from reading their configuration files.
3540 If this variable is set and
3542 is not, it is treated as a startup configuration file and read.
3543 .It Va NAIL_NO_SYSTEM_RC
3544 If this variable is set then reading of \*(UR at startup is inhibited,
3545 i.e., the same effect is achieved as if \*(UA had been started up with
3549 Changes the letters printed in the first column of a header summary.
3551 Used as directory for temporary files instead of
3555 Can be used to force identification as
3557 i.e., identical to the
3559 command line option.
3565 .Bl -tag -width ".It Pa /etc/mime.types"
3567 File giving initial commands.
3569 System wide initialization file.
3570 .It Pa ~/.mime.types
3571 Personal MIME types.
3572 .It Pa /etc/mime.types
3573 System wide MIME types.
3581 .Ss "Getting started"
3582 The \*(UA command has two distinct usages, according to whether one
3583 wants to send or receive mail.
3584 Sending mail is simple: to send a message to a user whose email address
3585 is, say, `<bill@host.example>', use the shell command:
3587 .Dl $ \*(ua bill@host.example
3589 then type your message.
3590 \*(UA will prompt you for a message `Subject:' first;
3591 after that, lines typed by you form the body of the message.
3592 When you reach the end of the message,
3593 type an EOT (`control\-D') at the beginning of a line,
3594 which will cause \*(UA to echo `EOT' and return you to the shell.
3596 If, while you are composing the message you decide that you do not wish
3597 to send it after all, you can abort the letter by typing two `RUBOUT'
3598 (interrupt) characters.
3599 Typing a single `RUBOUT' causes \*(UA to print
3600 .Ns ` Ns Li (Interrupt -- one more to kill letter) Ns '.
3601 Typing a second `RUBOUT' causes \*(UA to save your partial letter on the
3604 and abort the letter.
3605 Once you have sent mail to someone, there is no way to undo the act, so
3608 If you want to send the same message to several other people,
3609 you can list their email addresses on the command line.
3610 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3611 $ \*(ua sam@workstation.example bob@server.example
3613 Tuition fees are due next Friday. Don't forget!
3619 will sendout to `<sam@workstation.example>' and `<bob@server.example>'.
3620 To read your mail, simply type
3624 \*(UA will respond by typing its version number and date and then
3625 listing the messages you have waiting.
3626 Then it will type a prompt and await your command.
3627 The messages are assigned numbers starting with 1 \(en you refer to the
3628 messages with these numbers.
3629 \*(UA keeps track of which messages are `new' (have been sent since you
3630 last read your mail) and `read' (have been read by you).
3631 New messages have an `N' next to them in the header listing and old,
3632 but unread messages have a `U' next to them.
3633 \*(UA keeps track of new/old and read/unread messages by putting a
3634 header field called `Status' into your messages.
3636 To look at a specific message, use the
3638 command, which may be abbreviated to simply `t'.
3639 For example, if you had the following messages:
3640 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3641 O 1 drfoo@myhost.example Wed Sep 1 19:52 5/421 "Fees"
3642 O 2 sam@friends.example Thu Sep 2 00:08 30/895
3645 you could examine the first message by giving the command:
3649 which might cause \*(UA to respond with, for example:
3650 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3651 [-- Message 1 -- 5 lines, 421 bytes --]:
3652 From drfoo@myhost.example Wed Sep 1 19:52:25 2004
3656 Tuition fees are due next Wednesday. Don't forget!
3659 Many \*(UA commands that operate on messages take a message number as an
3660 argument, just as the shown
3663 For these commands, there is a notion of a current message.
3664 When you enter the \*(UA program,
3665 the current message is initially the first (or the first recent) one.
3666 Thus, you can often omit the message number and use, for example, `t` to
3667 type the current message.
3668 As a further shorthand, you can type a message by simply giving its
3669 message number \(en hence `1` would type the first message.
3671 Frequently, it is useful to read the messages in your mailbox in order,
3673 You can read the next message in \*(UA by simply typing a newline.
3674 As a special case, you can type a newline as your first command to
3675 \*(UA to type the first message.
3677 If, after typing a message, you wish to immediately send a reply,
3678 you can do so with the command
3682 takes a message number as an argument.
3683 \*(UA then begins a message addressed to the user who sent you the
3684 message and let you type in your letter in reply, followed by
3685 a `<control-D>' at the beginning of a line, as before.
3687 Note that \*(UA copies the subject header from the original message.
3688 This is useful in that correspondence about a particular matter will
3689 tend to retain the same subject heading, making it easy to recognize.
3690 If there are other header fields in the message, like `Cc:',
3691 the information found will also be used.
3693 Sometimes you will receive a message that has been sent to several
3694 people and wish to reply only to the person who sent it.
3696 (with a capital `R') replies to a message, but sends a copy to the
3699 If you wish, while reading your mail, to send a message to someone,
3700 but not as a reply to one of your messages, you can send the message
3703 command, which takes as arguments the names of the recipients you wish
3705 For example, to send a message to `<frank@machine.example>':
3707 .Dl mail frank@machine.example
3709 To delete a message from the mail folder, you can use the command
3711 In addition to not saving deleted messages,
3712 \*(UA will not let you type them, either.
3713 The effect is to make the message disappear altogether, along with its
3716 Many features of \*(UA can be tailored to your liking with the
3718 command; it has two forms, depending on whether you are setting
3719 a `binary' or a `valued' option.
3720 Binary options are either on or off \(en for example, the
3722 option informs \*(UA that each time you send a message, you want it to
3723 prompt you for a `Cc:' header to be included in the message.
3726 option, you would type
3730 Valued options are values which \*(UA uses to adapt to your tastes.
3733 option tells \*(UA where to save messages sent by you,
3734 and is specified by, e.g.,
3738 Note that no spaces are allowed in `set record=Sent'.
3740 \*(UA includes a simple facility for maintaining groups of messages
3741 together in folders.
3742 To use the folder facility, you must tell \*(UA where you wish to keep
3744 Each folder of messages will be a single file.
3745 For convenience, all of your folders are kept in a single directory of
3747 To tell \*(UA where your folder directory is, put a line of the form
3749 .Dl set folder=letters
3752 If, as in the example above, your folder directory does not begin with
3753 a `/', \*(UA will assume that your folder directory is to be found
3754 starting from your home directory.
3756 Anywhere a file name is expected, you can use a folder name, preceded
3758 For example, to put a message into a folder with the
3760 command, you can use:
3764 to save the current message in the `classwork' folder.
3765 If the `classwork' folder does not yet exist, it will be created.
3766 Note that messages which are saved with the
3768 command are automatically removed from your system mailbox.
3770 In order to make a copy of a message in a folder without causing
3771 that message to be removed from your system mailbox, use the
3773 command, which is identical in all other respects to the
3780 can be used to direct \*(UA to the contents of a different folder.
3783 .Dl folder +classwork
3785 directs \*(UA to read the contents of the `classwork' folder.
3786 All of the commands that you can use on your system mailbox are also
3787 applicable to folders, including
3792 To inquire which folder you are currently editing, use `folder' without
3794 And to list your current set of folders, use the
3800 command is available to print out a brief summary of the most important
3803 While typing in a message to be sent to others it is often useful to be
3804 able to invoke the text editor on the partial message, print the
3805 message, execute a shell command, or do some other auxiliary function.
3806 \*(UA provides these capabilities through `tilde escapes',
3807 which consist of a tilde (`~') at the beginning of a line, followed by
3808 a single character which indicates the function to be performed.
3809 For example, to print the text of the message so far, use:
3813 which will print a line of dashes, the recipients of your message, and
3814 the text of the message so far.
3815 A list of the most important tilde escapes is available with `~?'.
3818 .Ss "IMAP or POP3 client setup"
3819 \*(OP First you need the following data from your ISP:
3820 the host name of the IMAP or POP3 server,
3821 user name and password for this server,
3822 and a notice whether the server uses SSL/TLS encryption.
3823 Assuming the SSL/TLS secured host name of your IMAP account is
3824 `server.myisp.example' and your user name for that server is `mylogin',
3825 you could refer to this account using the
3829 command line option with
3831 .Dl imaps://mylogin@server.myisp.example
3833 (This string is not necessarily the same as your Internet mail address.)
3834 Even if the server does not accept IMAPS or POP3S connections,
3835 it is possible that it supports the `STARTTLS' method of upgrading
3836 already connected, but not yet authenticated sessions to use SSL/TLS
3838 The only reliable method to see if this works is to try it; enter one of
3840 .Dl set imap-use-starttls
3841 .Dl set pop3-use-starttls
3843 before you initiate the connection, dependent on the actual protocol.
3845 As you probably want messages to be deleted from this account
3846 after saving them, prefix it with `%:'.
3849 command can be used to avoid typing that many characters every time you
3852 .Dl shortcut myisp %:imaps://mylogin@server.myisp.example
3854 You might want to put this string into a startup file.
3856 is one of those commands that are specific to \*(UA and will thus
3857 confuse other implementations of POSIX
3859 so it should possibly not be placed in \*(ur.
3862 .Dl set NAIL_EXTRA_RC=.\*(uarc
3864 in \*(ur and create a file
3866 containing all the commands that are specific to \*(UA.
3867 You can then access your remote mailbox by invoking
3871 on the command line, or by executing
3876 If you want to use more than one IMAP mailbox on a server,
3877 or if you want to use the IMAP server for mail storage too, the
3879 command (which is also \*(UA-specific) is possibly more appropriate.
3880 You can put the following in
3882 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3884 set folder=imaps://mylogin@server.myisp.example
3885 set record=+Sent MBOX=+mbox outfolder
3889 and can then access incoming mail for this account by invoking
3890 `\*(ua \-A myisp' on the command line or by executing `ac myisp' within
3892 After that, a command like `copy 1 +otherfolder' will refer to
3893 `otherfolder' on the IMAP server.
3894 In particular, `fi &' will change to the `mbox' folder,
3895 and `fi +Sent' will show your recorded sent mail,
3896 with both folders located on the IMAP server.
3898 \*(UA will ask you for a password string each time you connect to
3900 If you can reasonably trust the security of your workstation,
3901 you can give this password in the startup file as
3903 .Dl set password-mylogin@server.myisp.example="SECRET"
3905 You should change the permissions of this file to 0600, see
3908 \*(UA supports different authentication methods for both IMAP and POP3.
3909 If Kerberos is used at your location,
3910 you can try to activate (the optional) GSSAPI-based authentication via
3912 .Dl set imap-auth=gssapi
3914 The advantage of this method is that \*(UA doesn't need to know your
3915 password at all, nor does it have to send sensitive data over the network.
3916 If that isn't possible, try to use authentication methods that at least
3917 avoid sending the password in clear over the wire, which is especially
3918 important if SSL/TLS cannot be used, e.g.,
3920 .Dl set imap-auth=cram-md5
3922 For POP3 \*(UA will try to use the `APOP' mechanism automatically unless
3923 explicitly disabled.
3924 If the server does not offer any such authentication methods,
3925 conventional user/password based authentication must be used.
3926 It is sometimes helpful, especially when setting up an account or when
3927 there are authentification problems, to enable verbosity by setting the
3929 option \(en \*(UA will display all data sent to the server in clear text
3930 on the screen when this option is set.
3931 (Because this may also include passwords you should take care that no
3932 unauthorized person can look at your terminal when this option is set.)
3934 If you regularly use the same workstation to access IMAP accounts,
3935 you can greatly enhance performance by enabling local caching of IMAP
3937 For any message that has been fully or partially fetched from the server,
3938 a local copy is made and is used when the message is accessed again,
3939 so most data is transferred over the network once only.
3940 To enable the IMAP cache, select a local directory name and put
3942 .Dl set imap-cache=~/localdirectory
3944 in the (\*(UA-specific) startup file.
3945 All files within that directory can be overwritten or deleted by \*(UA
3947 so you should not use the directory to store other information.
3949 Once the cache contains some messages,
3950 it is not strictly necessary anymore to open a connection to the IMAP
3951 server to access them.
3952 When \*(UA is invoked with the option
3957 only cached data is used for any folder you open.
3958 Messages that have not yet been completely cached are not available
3959 then, but all other messages can be handled as usual.
3960 Changes made to IMAP mailboxes in
3962 mode are committed to the IMAP server next time it is used in
3965 Synchronizing the local status with the status on the server is thus
3966 partially within your responsibility;
3967 if you forget to initiate a connection to the server again before you
3968 leave your location,
3969 changes made on one workstation are not available on others.
3970 Also if you alter IMAP mailboxes from a workstation while uncommitted
3971 changes are still pending on another,
3972 the latter data may become invalid.
3973 The same might also happen because of internal server status changes.
3974 You should thus carefully evaluate this feature in your environment
3975 before you rely on it.
3977 Many servers will close the connection after a short period of
3978 inactivity \(en use one of
3980 .Dl set pop3-keepalive=30
3981 .Dl set imap-keepalive=240
3983 to send a keepalive message each 30 seconds for POP3,
3984 or each 4 minutes for IMAP.
3986 If you encounter problems connecting to a SSL/TLS server,
3991 variables (see the OpenSSL FAQ for more information) or specify the
3992 protocol version with
3994 Contact your ISP if you need a client certificate or if verification of
3995 the server certificate fails.
3996 If the failed certificate is indeed valid,
3997 fetch its CA certificate by executing the shell command
3999 .Dl $ </dev/null openssl s_client \-showcerts \-connect \e
4000 .Dl \ \ \ \ \ \ server.myisp.example:imaps 2>&1 | tee log.txt
4004 ) and put it into the file specified with
4006 The data you need is located at the end of the certificate chain
4007 within (and including) the `BEGIN CERTIFICATE'
4008 and `END CERTIFICATE' lines.
4009 Note that the example above is \fBinsecure\fR!
4010 One should use the `-verify' and `-CAfile' options of
4012 to be "on the safe side" regarding the fetched certificates.
4015 .Ss "Reading HTML mail"
4020 utility or another command-line web browser that can write plain text to
4023 .Dl set pipe-text/html="elinks -force-html -dump 1"
4024 .Dl set pipe-text/html="lynx -stdin -dump -force_html"
4026 will cause HTML message parts to be converted into a more friendly form.
4029 .Ss "Viewing PDF attachments"
4030 Most PDF viewers do not accept input directly from a pipe.
4031 It is thus necessary to store the attachment in a temporary file first:
4033 .Dl set pipe-application/pdf="@&cat >/tmp/\*(ua$$.pdf; \e
4034 .Dl \ \ \ \ \ \ acroread /tmp/\*(ua$$.pdf; rm /tmp/\*(ua$$.pdf"
4036 Note that security defects are discovered in PDF viewers from time to
4038 Automatical command execution like this can compromise your system
4040 in particular if you stay not always informed about such issues.
4043 .Ss "Signed and encrypted messages with S/MIME"
4044 \*(OP S/MIME provides two central mechanisms:
4045 message signing and message encryption.
4046 A signed message contains some data in addition to the regular text.
4047 The data can be used to verify that the message was sent using a valid
4048 certificate, that the sender's address in the message header matches
4049 that in the certificate, and that the message text has not been altered.
4050 Signing a message does not change its regular text;
4051 it can be read regardless of whether the recipient's software is able to
4053 It is thus usually possible to sign all outgoing messages if so desired.
4054 Encryption, in contrast, makes the message text invisible for all people
4055 except those who have access to the secret decryption key.
4056 To encrypt a message, the specific recipient's public encryption key
4058 It is thus not possible to send encrypted mail to people unless their
4059 key has been retrieved from either previous communication or public key
4061 A message should always be signed before it is encrypted.
4062 Otherwise, it is still possible that the encrypted message text is
4065 A central concept to S/MIME is that of the certification authority (CA).
4066 A CA is a trusted institution that issues certificates.
4067 For each of these certificates it can be verified that it really
4068 originates from the CA, provided that the CA's own certificate is
4070 A set of CA certificates is usually delivered with OpenSSL and installed
4072 If you trust the source of your OpenSSL software installation,
4073 this offers reasonable security for S/MIME on the Internet.
4074 In general, a certificate cannot be more secure than the method its CA
4075 certificate has been retrieved with, though.
4076 Thus if you download a CA certificate from the Internet,
4077 you can only trust the messages you verify using that certificate as
4078 much as you trust the download process.
4080 The first thing you need for participating in S/MIME message exchange is
4081 your personal certificate, including a private key.
4082 The certificate contains public information, in particular your name and
4083 your email address, and the public key that is used by others to encrypt
4085 and to verify signed messages they supposedly received from you.
4086 The certificate is included in each signed message you send.
4087 The private key must be kept secret.
4088 It is used to decrypt messages that were previously encrypted with your
4089 public key, and to sign messages.
4091 For personal use it is recommended that you get a S/MIME certificate
4092 from one of the major CAs on the Internet using your WWW browser.
4093 (Many CAs offer such certificates for free.)
4094 You will usually receive a combined certificate and private key in
4095 PKCS#12 format which \*(UA does not directly accept.
4096 To convert it to PEM format, use the following shell command:
4098 .Dl $ openssl pkcs12 \-in cert.p12 \-out cert.pem \-clcerts \-nodes
4100 If you omit the `\-nodes' parameter, you can specifiy an additional `PEM
4101 pass phrase' for protecting the private key.
4102 \*(UA will then ask you for that pass phrase each time it signs or
4106 .Dl set smime-sign-cert-myname@myisp.example=cert.pem
4108 to make this private key and certificate known to \*(UA.
4109 You can now sign outgoing messages.
4115 From each signed message you send,
4116 the recipient can fetch your certificate and use it to send encrypted
4118 Accordingly if somebody sends you a signed message, you can do the same.
4121 command to check the validity of the certificate.
4122 After that, retrieve the certificate and tell \*(UA that it should use
4125 .Dl certsave filename
4126 .Dl set smime-encrypt-user@host=filename
4128 You should carefully consider if you prefer to store encrypted messages
4130 If you do, anybody who has access to your mail folders can read them,
4131 but if you do not, you might be unable to read them yourself later if
4132 you happen to lose your private key.
4135 command saves messages in decrypted form, while the
4140 commands leave them encrypted.
4142 Note that neither S/MIME signing nor encryption applies to message
4143 subjects or other header fields.
4144 Thus they may not contain sensitive information for encrypted messages,
4145 and cannot be trusted even if the message content has been verified.
4146 When sending signed messages,
4147 it is recommended to repeat any important header information in the
4151 .Ss "Using CRLs with S/MIME or SSL/TLS"
4152 \*(OP Certification authorities (CAs) issue certificate revocation
4153 lists (CRLs) on a regular basis.
4154 These lists contain the serial numbers of certificates that have been
4155 declared invalid after they have been issued.
4156 Such usually happens because the private key for the certificate has
4158 because the owner of the certificate has left the organization that is
4159 mentioned in the certificate, etc.
4160 To seriously use S/MIME or SSL/TLS verification,
4161 an up-to-date CRL is required for each trusted CA.
4162 There is otherwise no method to distinguish between valid and
4163 invalidated certificates.
4164 \*(UA currently offers no mechanism to fetch CRLs, nor to access them on
4165 the Internet, so you have to retrieve them by some external mechanism.
4167 \*(UA accepts CRLs in PEM format only;
4168 CRLs in DER format must be converted, like, e.\|g.:
4170 .Dl $ openssl crl \-inform DER \-in crl.der \-out crl.pem
4172 To tell \*(UA about the CRLs, a directory that contains all CRL files
4173 (and no other files) must be created.
4178 variables, respectively, must then be set to point to that directory.
4179 After that, \*(UA requires a CRL to be present for each CA that is used
4180 to verify a certificate.
4184 \*(OP \*(UA can make use of spam detection and learning facilities \(en
4185 more precisely, SpamAssassin (\%<http://spamassassin.apache.org>).
4186 A very comprehensive documentation of
4188 can be found at the O'Reilly Commons
4189 (\%<http://commons.oreilly.com/wiki/index.php/SpamAssassin>).
4191 Currently \*(UA supports interaction with
4193 only via its daemonized
4196 server / client pair, which means that, in order to detect and work
4197 with spam through \*(UA, an instance of the
4199 daemon must be running (the examples are equivalent):
4200 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4201 $ spamd -i localhost:2142 -i /tmp/.spamsock -d [-L] [-l]
4202 $ spamd --listen=localhost:2142 --listen=/tmp/.spamsock \\
4203 --daemonize [--local] [--allow-tell]
4208 should only listen on a local, path-based UNIX domain socket instead of
4209 offering its service over the network, it maybe necessary to use
4212 option instead of the shown
4214 In order to support training of the Bayesian classifier through \*(UA,
4216 must have been started with the
4222 is running \*(UA can classify messages by using the client side program,
4225 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4226 $ \*(ua -Sspam-command=/usr/local/bin/spamc \\
4227 -Sspam-socket=/tmp/.spamsock -Sspam-maxsize=500000
4230 The commands offered are
4234 which simply set an `is-spam' flag that can be used for, e.g., message
4237 which passes messages through to the spam detector in order to gain
4238 a spam score and conditionally set the `is-spam' flag accordingly,
4239 as well as the Bayesian filter related
4245 Because messages must exist on local storage in order to be scored (or
4246 used for Bayesian filter training), it is possibly a good idea to
4247 perform the local spam check last:
4248 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4249 define spamdelhook {
4251 spamset (header x-dcc-brand-metrics "bulk")
4252 # Server-side spamassassin(1)
4253 spamset (header x-spam-flag "YES")
4254 del :s # TODO we HAVE to be able to do `spamrate :u ! :s'
4255 # And finally the local spamc(1)
4259 set folder-hook-FOLDER=spamdelhook
4262 See also the documentation for the variables
4272 .Ss "Sending mail from scripts"
4273 If you want to send mail from scripts, you must be aware that \*(UA
4274 reads the user's configuration files by default.
4275 So unless your script is only intended for your own personal use
4276 (as, e.g., a cron job), you need to circumvent this:
4278 .Dl MAILRC=/dev/null \*(ua \-n
4280 You then need to create a script-local configuration for \*(UA.
4281 This can be done by either pointing the
4283 variable to a custom configuration file,
4284 by passing the configuration in environment variables,
4287 command line option to specify options.
4288 Since many configuration options are not valid shell variables, the
4290 command is useful if the approach via environment variables is used:
4291 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4292 env MAILRC=/dev/null from=scriptreply@domain smtp=host \e
4293 smtp-auth-user=login smtp-auth-password=secret \e
4294 smtp-auth=login \*(ua \-n \-s "subject" \e
4295 \-a attachment_file recipient@domain < content_file
4309 .Xr spamassassin 1 ,
4325 .Sh "IMPLEMENTATION NOTES"
4326 The character set conversion uses and relies upon the
4329 Its functionality differs widely between the various system environments
4332 Limitations with IMAP mailboxes are:
4333 It is not possible to edit messages, but it is possible to append them.
4334 Thus to edit a message, create a local copy of it, edit it, append it,
4335 and delete the original.
4336 The line count for the header display is only appropriate if the entire
4337 message has been downloaded from the server.
4338 The marking of messages as `new' is performed by the IMAP server;
4343 will not cause it to be reset, and if the
4344 .Va autoinc Ns / Ns Va newmail
4345 variables are unset, messages that arrived during a session will not be
4346 in state `new' anymore when the folder is opened again.
4347 Also if commands queued in disconnected mode are committed,
4348 the IMAP server will delete the `new' flag for all messages in the
4350 and new messages will appear as unread when it is selected for viewing
4352 The `flagged', `answered', and `draft' attributes are usually permanent,
4353 but some IMAP servers are known to drop them without notification.
4354 Message numbers may change with IMAP every time before the prompt is
4355 printed if \*(UA is notified by the server that messages have been
4356 deleted by some other client or process.
4357 In this case, `Expunged n messages' is printed, and message numbers may
4360 Limitations with POP3 mailboxes are:
4361 It is not possible to edit messages, they can only be copied and deleted.
4362 The line count for the header display is only appropriate if the entire
4363 message has been downloaded from the server.
4364 The status field of a message is maintained by the server between
4365 connections; some servers do not update it at all, and with a server
4366 that does, the `exit' command will not cause the message status to be
4368 The `newmail' command and the `newmail' variable have no effect.
4369 It is not possible to rename or to remove POP3 mailboxes.
4371 If a `RUBOUT' (interrupt) is typed while an IMAP or POP3 operation is in
4372 progress, \*(UA will wait until the operation can be safely aborted, and
4373 will then return to the command loop and print the prompt again.
4374 When a second `RUBOUT' is typed while \*(UA is waiting for the operation
4375 to complete, the operation itself will be cancelled.
4376 In this case, data that has not been fetched yet will have to be fetched
4377 before the next command can be performed.
4378 If the cancelled operation was using an SSL/TLS encrypted channel,
4379 an error in the SSL transport will very likely result and render the
4380 connection unusable.
4382 As \*(UA is a mail user agent, it provides only basic SMTP services.
4383 If it fails to contact its upstream SMTP server, it will not make
4384 further attempts to transfer the message at a later time,
4385 and it does not leave other information about this condition than an
4386 error message on the terminal and an entry in
4388 This is usually not a problem if the SMTP server is located in the same
4389 local network as the computer on which \*(UA is run.
4390 However, care should be taken when using a remote server of an ISP;
4391 it might be better to set up a local SMTP server then which just acts as
4394 \*(UA immediately contacts the SMTP server (or
4396 ) even when operating in
4399 It would not make much sense for \*(UA to defer outgoing mail since SMTP
4400 servers usually provide much more elaborated delay handling than \*(UA
4401 could perform as a client.
4402 Thus the recommended setup for sending mail in
4404 mode is to configure a local SMTP server such that it sends outgoing
4405 mail as soon as an external network connection is available again,
4406 i.e., to advise it to do that from a network startup script.
4411 A \fImail\fR command appeared in Version 1 AT&T Unix.
4412 Berkeley Mail was written in 1978 by Kurt Shoens.
4413 This man page is derived from from The Mail Reference Manual originally
4414 written by Kurt Shoens.
4415 "Heirloom Mailx" enhancements are maintained and documented by Gunnar
4417 "S-nail" is maintained and documented by Steffen "Daode" Nurpmeso.
4419 Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form
4420 from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technology
4421 \(en Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base
4422 Specifications Issue 6, Copyright \(co 2001-2003 by the Institute of
4423 Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group.
4424 In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original
4425 IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group
4426 Standard is the referee document.
4427 The original Standard can be obtained online at
4428 \%<http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html>.
4429 Redistribution of this material is permitted so long as this notice
4436 .An "Christos Zoulas" ,
4437 .An "Gunnar Ritter" ,
4438 .An Steffen Qo Daode Qc Nurpmeso Aq s-nail-users@lists.sourceforge.net
4443 Variables in the environment passed to \*(UA cannot be unset.