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 - 2014 Steffen (Daode) Nurpmeso <sdaoden@users.sf.net>.
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17 .\" This product includes software developed by the University of
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19 .\" This product includes software developed by Gunnar Ritter
20 .\" and his contributors.
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37 .\" S-nail(1): v14.7.1 / 2014-06-24
49 .\" If not ~/.mailrc, it breaks POSIX compatibility. And adjust main.c.
54 .ds OU [no v15-compat]
59 .Nd send and receive Internet mail
66 .Op Fl a Ar attachment
69 .Op Fl q Ar quote-file
71 .Op Fl S Ar variable Ns Op Ns = Ns Ar value
77 .Op Fl - Ar mta-option ...
84 .Op Fl S Ar variable Ns Op Ns = Ns Ar value
90 .Op Fl - Ar mta-option ...
96 .Op Fl S Ar variable Ns Op Ns = Ns Ar value
99 .Op Fl - Ar mta-option ...
104 .if d this_is_only_for_mandoc \{
105 .Sh "TABLE OF CONTENTS"
110 . Sx "USAGE INTRODUCTION"
112 . Sx "SPECIFYING MESSAGES"
118 . Sx "VARIABLE OPTIONS"
128 . Sx "IMPLEMENTATION NOTES"
135 .\" .Sh DESCRIPTION {{{
137 .Bd -filled -offset indent -compact
138 .Sy Compatibility note:
139 \*(UA and part of its configuration syntax will change in v15.0.
140 Until then there will exist a partial but growing number of
141 backward and forward compatibility configuration options.
142 To choose the new syntax and behaviour already today, the binary option
145 The manual will refer to it via \*(IN and \*(OU as necessary.
148 \*(UA is a mail processing system with a command syntax reminiscent of
150 with lines replaced by messages.
151 It is intended to provide the functionality of the POSIX
153 command and offers (mostly optional) extensions for line editing, IDNA,
154 MIME, S/MIME, SMTP and POP3 (and IMAP).
155 It is usable as a mail batch language.
157 In the following list of supported command line options,
165 are implemented by means of setting the respective option, as via
168 .Op Ar mta-option ...
170 arguments that are given at the end of the command line after an `--'
171 separator persist for an entire (interactive) session and will be passed
172 through unchanged to the mail-transfer-agent (MTA).
173 Additional MTA arguments can be specified via the option
174 .Va sendmail-arguments .
175 All of these are ignored when mail is send via SMTP data transfer.
177 .Bl -tag -width ".Fl A Ar account"
181 command (see below) for
183 after the startup files have been read.
185 Attach the given file to the message.
186 The same filename conventions as described in the section
190 Make standard input and standard output line-buffered.
192 Send blind carbon copies to the given list of addresses.
194 below goes into more detail on that.
196 Send carbon copies to the given list of addresses.
204 variable, which enables debug messages and disables message delivery.
205 Note that this is not a real `sandbox' mode.
209 variable and thus discard messages with an empty message part body.
210 This is useful for sending messages from scripts.
212 Just check if mail is present in the system mailbox.
213 If yes, return an exit status of zero, a non-zero value otherwise.
215 Save the message to send in a file named after the local part of the
216 first recipient's address.
218 Read in the contents of the user's mbox (or the specified file)
220 when \*(UA is quit, it writes undeleted messages back to this file.
223 is interpreted as described for the
228 is not a direct argument to the flag
230 but is instead taken from the command line after option processing has
233 Print a header summary of all messages and exit.
234 A configurable summary view is available via the
240 variable to ignore tty interrupt signals.
241 .It Fl L Ar spec-list
242 Print a header summary of only those messages that match the given
246 .Sx "Specifying messages"
251 option has been given in addition to
253 then printing of the header summary is suppressed,
254 and \*(UA will instead indicate via its exit status wether
256 matched any messages (`0') or not (`1');
257 note that messages are forcefully suppressed, then, and unless verbosity
258 is explicitly enabled (e.g., by using the
264 variable and thus inhibits the initial display of message headers when
265 reading mail or editing a mail folder.
267 Inhibits reading \*(UR upon startup.
268 This option should be activated for \*(UA scripts that are invoked on
269 more than one machine, because the contents of that file may differ
271 (The same behaviour can be achieved by setting the
272 .Ev NAIL_NO_SYSTEM_RC
273 environment variable.)
275 Start the message with the contents of the specified file.
276 May be given in send mode only.
278 Opens any folders read-only.
280 Sets the envelope sender address by passing an
283 option to the MTA when a message is send.
286 argument is given it'll be checked for validity and then fixated to
287 the given value, but otherwise the content of the variable
289 will be used for that purpose \(en i.e., it'll be passed through to
292 option whenever a message is send.
293 A valid non-empty value will also be set as if an additional
294 .Ns ` Ns Li "-Sfrom=VALUE" Ns '
295 option had been used and therefore affect sending of messages via SMTP
296 (as a consideration for `From:').
297 .It Fl S Ar variable Ns Op = Ns value
298 Sets the internal option
300 and, in case of a value option, assigns
303 Even though options set via
305 may be overwritten from within resource files,
306 the command line setting will be reestablished after all resources have
309 Specify the subject on the command line
310 (be careful to quote subjects containing spaces).
312 The message to be sent is expected to contain a message header with
313 `To:', `Cc:', or `Bcc:' fields giving its recipients and `Subject:'
314 giving the subject of the message.
315 Recipients and subject specified on the command line are ignored.
317 Read the system mailbox of
319 (appropriate privileges presumed), and `assume to be'
321 in some aspects, e.g. in respect to expansions of `%' etc.
325 Print \*(UA's version and exit.
329 option causes some verbosity (like printing of certificate chains).
330 Using it twice increases the level of verbosity.
332 Enable tilde escapes even if not in interactive mode.
334 This sets multiple options to prepare \*(UA for working in batch mode
335 (most likely in non-interactive mode):
347 it also enables processing of tilde escapes.
348 E.g., the following should send an email message to `alias'.
350 .Dl printf 'm alias\en~s Subject\enBody\en.\enx\en' | \
351 MAILRC=/dev/null s-nail -n -#
355 .\" .Sh "USAGE INTRODUCTION" {{{
356 .Sh "USAGE INTRODUCTION"
358 .\" .Ss "Sending mail" {{{
360 To send a message to one or more people,
361 \*(UA can be invoked with arguments which are the names of people to
362 whom the mail will be sent.
365 es, plain addresses or full address specifications including user names
367 in which case care for proper quoting may be necessary.
368 If this manual refers to a \fIlist of addresses\fR,
369 then \*(UA expects a comma-separated list of such names.
371 .Sx "Recipient address specifications"
372 below explains the interpretation of names in more detail.
373 The user is then expected to type in his message, followed by a
375 (`^D') at the beginning of a line.
377 .Sx "Replying to or originating mail"
378 describes some features of \*(UA available to help when composing
382 .\" .Ss "Reading mail" {{{
384 When invoked without addressees \*(UA enters interactive mode in which
386 When used like that \*(UA checks the user's mail out of the post office,
387 then prints out a one line header of each message found.
390 option is set \*(UA will only print a notification message and exit if
391 the mailbox is empty.
392 Messages are given numbers (starting at 1) which uniquely identify
393 messages; the current message \(en the dot \(en will be the first
394 message unless the option
396 is set, in which case the last message will be initial dot.
397 (Note this only applies to boxes with all-unread messages.
398 Boxes opened regulary, e.g., via the `-f' command line option, will have
399 the initial dot point to the first unread message.)
401 Messages can be printed with the
403 command, or short: `p'.
404 By default the current message (dot) is printed, but just like many
405 other commands it is possible to specify lists of messages, as is
407 .Sx "SPECIFYING MESSAGES" ;
408 e.g., `p:u' will display all unread messages, `p.' will print the dot,
409 `p 1 5' will print the messages 1 and 5 and `p-' and `p+' will print the
410 last and the next message, respectively.
411 Dependent upon the configuration a
412 .Sx "Command line editor"
413 aims at making user experience with the many
418 .\" .Ss "Disposing of mail" {{{
419 .Ss "Disposing of mail"
420 After examining a message the user can
425 Deletion causes the \*(UA program to forget about the message.
426 This is not irreversible;
429 (`u') the message by giving its number,
430 or the \*(UA session can be ended by giving the
433 Deleted messages will, however, usually disappear never to be seen
437 .\" .Ss "Viewing HTML mail and MIME attachments" {{{
438 .Ss "Viewing HTML mail and MIME attachments"
439 Messages which are HTML-only get more and more common and of course many
440 messages come bundled with a bouquet of MIME attachments.
441 \*(UA can't deal with any of these itself, but instead programs need to
442 become registered to deal with specific MIME types or file extensions;
443 these programs may either prepare a plain text version of its input,
444 i.e., in order to enable \*(UA to display the content on the terminal
445 (or, as necessary and desired, through
447 ), or display the content themselves, for example in a graphical window.
448 The latter type of programs by default "suspends" \*(UA until the
449 external viewer is terminated, but asynchronous side-by-side execution
450 is also possible, in which case \*(UA will continue to display the
451 message and remain responsive.
453 To install an external handler program for a specific MIME type, set a
454 .Va pipe-CONTENT/SUBCONTENT
455 variable accordingly.
456 To define a handler for a specific file extension set the respective
458 variable \(en these handlers take precedence.
460 .Va mime-counter-evidence
461 can be set to improve dealing with faulty MIME part declarations as are
462 often seen in real-life messages.
463 E.g., to display a HTML message inline (that is, converted to plain
464 text) with either of the text-mode browsers
468 and to open PDF attachments in an external PDF viewer, asynchronously:
469 .Bd -literal -offset indent
470 #set pipe-text/html="elinks -force-html -dump 1"
471 set pipe-text/html="lynx -stdin -dump -force_html"
472 set pipe-application/pdf="@&cat > \e"/tmp/${NAIL_FILENAME}\e";\e
473 acroread \e"/tmp/${NAIL_FILENAME}\e";\e
474 rm \e"/tmp/${NAIL_FILENAME}\e""
477 Note: special care must be taken when using such commands as mail
478 viruses may be distributed by this method;
479 if messages of type `application/x-sh' or files with the extensions `sh'
480 were blindly filtered through the shell, for example, a message sender
481 could easily execute arbitrary code on the system \*(UA is running on.
482 For more on MIME, also in respect to sending of messages, see the
489 .\" .Ss "Replying to or originating mail" {{{
490 .Ss "Replying to or originating mail"
493 can be used to set up a response to a message,
494 sending it back to the person who it was from.
495 Text the user types in, up to an end-of-file,
496 defines the contents of the message.
497 While the user is composing a message \*(UA treats lines beginning with
498 the character `~' specially.
499 For instance, typing `~m' (alone on a line) will place a copy of the
500 current message into the response, each line prefixed by the value of
502 Other escapes will set up subject fields,
503 add and delete recipients to the message,
505 and allow the user to escape to an editor to revise the message
506 or to a shell to run some commands.
507 (These options are given in the summary below.)
510 .\" .Ss "Recipient address specifications" {{{
511 .Ss "Recipient address specifications"
512 When an address is used to name a recipient (in `To:', `Cc:', or `Bcc:'),
513 names of local mail folders and pipes to external commands may also be
514 specified \(en the message text is then written to them.
515 The rules are: Any name which starts with a `|' (vertical bar) character
516 specifies a pipe \(en the command string following the `|' is executed
517 and the message is sent to its standard input;
518 any other name which contains a `@' (at sign) character is treated as
520 any other name which starts with a `+' (plus sign) character specifies
522 any other name which contains a `/' (slash) character but no `!'
523 (exclamation mark) or `%' (percent sign) character before also specifies
525 what remains is treated as a mail address.
526 Compressed folders are handled as described for the
531 .\" .Ss "Personal and systemwide distribution lists" {{{
532 .Ss "Personal and systemwide distribution lists"
533 It is possible to create personal distribution lists so that,
534 for instance, the user can send mail to `cohorts'
535 and have it go to a group of people.
536 Such lists can be defined via the
538 command by, e.g., placing lines like
540 .Dl alias cohorts bill ozalp jkf mark kridle@ucbcory
542 in the file \*(ur in the user's home directory.
545 without arguments lists all the currently known aliases.
547 Please note that this mechanism has nothing in common with the system
548 wide aliases that may be used by the local MTA (mail-transfer-agent)
549 and are often tracked in a file
556 Personal aliases will be expanded by \*(UA before the message is sent.
557 They are a convenient alternative to specifying each addressee by
561 .\" .Ss "Ending a mail processing session" {{{
562 .Ss "Ending a mail processing session"
563 The user can end a \*(UA session by issuing the
566 Messages which have been examined go to the user's mbox file unless they
568 in which case they are discarded.
569 Unexamined messages go back to the post office.
573 When command line history is tracked, an updated history file is
575 None of these actions is performed when the command
577 (`x') is used instead of
581 .\" }}} (Usage introduction)
583 .\" .Sh "SPECIFYING MESSAGES" {{{
584 .Sh "SPECIFYING MESSAGES"
585 Commands such as print and delete can be given a list of message numbers
586 as arguments to apply to a number of messages at once.
588 .Ns ` Ns Li "delete 1 2" Ns '
589 deletes messages 1 and 2,
591 .Ns ` Ns Li "delete 1-5" Ns '
592 will delete the messages 1 through 5.
593 In sorted or threaded mode (see the
598 .Ns ` Ns Li "delete 1-5" Ns '
599 will delete the messages that are located between (and including)
600 messages 1 through 5 in the sorted/threaded order, as shown in the
602 The following special message names exist:
604 .Bl -tag -width ".It Ar :n:u"
608 All old messages (any not in state read or new).
612 All deleted messages (for the
618 All `flagged' messages.
620 All answered messages
625 All messages marked as draft.
627 \*(OP All messages classified as spam.
631 The message that was previously the current message.
633 The parent message of the current message,
634 that is the message with the Message-ID given in the `In-Reply-To:' field
635 or the last entry of the `References:' field of the current message.
637 The next previous undeleted message,
638 or the next previous deleted message for the
641 In sorted/threaded mode,
642 the next previous such message in the sorted/threaded order.
644 The next undeleted message,
645 or the next deleted message for the
648 In sorted/threaded mode,
649 the next such message in the sorted/threaded order.
651 The first undeleted message,
652 or the first deleted message for the
655 In sorted/threaded mode,
656 the first such message in the sorted/threaded order.
659 In sorted/threaded mode,
660 the last message in the sorted/threaded order.
663 selects the message addressed with
667 is any other message specification,
668 and all messages from the thread that begins at it.
669 Otherwise it is identical to
674 the thread beginning with the current message is selected.
678 All messages that were included in the message list for the previous
680 .It Ar / Ns Ar string
681 All messages that contain
683 in the subject field (case ignored).
690 the string from the previous specification of that type is used again.
691 .It Xo Op Ar @ Ns Ar name-list Ns
694 All messages that contain the given case-insensitive search
696 ession; if the \*(OPal regular expression (see
700 will be interpreted as one if any of the `magic'al regular expression
703 .Ar @ Ns Ar name-list
704 part is missing, the search is restricted to the subject field body,
707 specifies a comma-separated list of header fields to search, as in
709 .Dl '@to,from,cc@Someone i ought to know'
711 The special name `header' (or `<') can be used to search in the header
712 of the message, and the special names `body' (or `>') and `text' (or `=')
713 can be used to perform full text searches \(en whereas the former
714 searches only the body, the latter also searches the message header.
715 In order to search for a string that includes a `@' (commercial at)
718 is effectively non-optional, but may be given as the empty string.
722 By default, this is a case-sensitive search for the complete email
727 only the local part of the addresses is evaluated for the comparison.
731 a case-sensitive search for the complete real name of a sender is
734 .Ns ` Ns Li "(from address)" Ns '
735 expression can be used instead if substring matches are desired.
739 \*(OP IMAP-style SEARCH expressions may also be used.
740 This addressing mode is available with all types of folders;
741 for folders not located on IMAP servers,
742 or for servers unable to execute the SEARCH command,
743 \*(UA will perform the search locally.
744 Strings must be enclosed by double quotes `"' in their entirety
745 if they contain white space or parentheses;
747 only backslash `\e' is recognized as an escape character.
748 All string searches are case-insensitive.
749 When the description indicates that the `envelope' representation of an
750 address field is used,
751 this means that the search string is checked against both a list
754 .Dl ( \*q Ns name Ns \*q \*q Ns source Ns \*q \*q Ns \
755 local-part Ns \*q \*q Ns domain-part Ns \*q )
758 and the addresses without real names from the respective header field.
759 These search expressions can be nested using parentheses, see below for
761 .Bl -tag -width ".It Ar :n:u"
763 All messages that satisfy the given
765 .It Ar ( criterion1 criterion2 ... criterionN )
766 All messages that satisfy all of the given criteria.
767 .It Ar ( or criterion1 criterion2 )
768 All messages that satisfy either
773 To connect more than two criteria using `or',
774 (or) specifications have to be nested using additional parentheses,
776 .Ns ` Ns Li "(or a (or b c))" Ns ',
778 .Ns ` Ns Li "(or a b c)" Ns '
780 .Ns ` Ns Li "((a or b) and c)" Ns '.
781 For a simple `or' operation of independent criteria on the lowest
783 it is possible to achieve similar effects by using three separate
785 .Ns ` Ns Li "(a) (b) (c)" Ns '.
786 .It Ar ( not criterion )
787 All messages that do not satisfy
789 .It Ar ( bcc \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
790 All messages that contain
792 in the `envelope' representation of the `Bcc:' field.
793 .It Ar ( cc \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
794 All messages that contain
796 in the `envelope' representation of the `Cc:' field.
797 .It Ar ( from \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
798 All messages that contain
800 in the `envelope' representation of the `From:' field.
801 .It Ar ( subject \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
802 All messages that contain
804 in the `Subject:' field.
805 .It Ar ( to \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
806 All messages that contain
808 in the `envelope' representation of the `To:' field.
809 .It Ar ( header name \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
810 All messages that contain
815 .It Ar ( body \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
816 All messages that contain
819 .It Ar ( text \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
820 All messages that contain
822 in their header or body.
823 .It Ar ( larger size )
824 All messages that are larger than
827 .It Ar ( smaller size )
828 All messages that are smaller than
831 .It Ar ( before date )
832 All messages that were received before
834 which must be in the form
835 .Li "d[d]-mon-yyyy" ,
836 where `d' denotes the day of the month as one or two digits,
837 `mon' is the name of the month \(en one of
838 `Jan', `Feb', `Mar', `Apr', `May', `Jun',
839 `Jul', `Aug', `Sep', `Oct', `Nov', or `Dec',
840 and `yyyy' is the year as four digits, e.g., "28-Dec-2012".
842 All messages that were received on the specified date.
843 .It Ar ( since date )
844 All messages that were received since the specified date.
845 .It Ar ( sentbefore date )
846 All messages that were sent on the specified date.
847 .It Ar ( senton date )
848 All messages that were sent on the specified date.
849 .It Ar ( sentsince date )
850 All messages that were sent since the specified date.
852 The same criterion as for the previous search.
853 This specification cannot be used as part of another criterion.
854 If the previous command line contained more than one independent
855 criterion then the last of those criteria is used.
859 .\" TODO group logically (network/URL..); no .Ss at top level; EXAMPLES!
861 .\" .Ss "Network mail (Internet / ARPA, UUCP, Berknet)" {{{
862 .Ss "Network mail (Internet / ARPA, UUCP, Berknet)"
865 for a description of network addresses.
866 If support for IDNA (internationalized domain names for applications)
867 has been compiled into \*(UA,
868 then the domain name part of network addresses will be converted via
869 IDNA mechanisms as necessary, effectively treating it as a name in the
873 for the complete picture about character sets.
875 \*(UA has a number of options which can be set in the \*(ur file
876 to alter its behavior; e.g.,
881 .Ic "set idna-disable"
882 will disable the mentioned IDNA conversion even if support is available.
883 (These options are summarized below.)
886 .\" .Ss "URL syntax" {{{
888 \*(IN For accessing protocol-specific resources, like an IMAP mailbox,
889 usage of compact and standardized Uniform Resource Locators
890 (URL, RFC 1738) has become omnipresent.
891 \*(UA expects and understands URLs in the following form;
892 parts in brackets `[]' denote optional parts, optional either because
893 there also exist other ways to define the information in question or
894 because support of the part is protocol-specific \(en
895 e.g., `/path' is used by the IMAP protocol but not by POP3.
897 .Dl PROTOCOL://[USER[:PASSWORD]@]server[:port][/path]
899 If `USER' and `PASSWORD' are specified as part of an URL they must be
900 given in URL percent encoded (RFC 3986) form \(en the command
902 can be used to perform the encoding and show the encoded value.
903 (This doesn't really conform to any standard, but for one it isn't
904 used for any data exchange over the internet, and second it's easier for
907 on a string and use that instead of having to deal with several
908 different standards.)
909 On the other hand, values given in variables are expected not to be URL
912 Many variable options of \*(UA exist in multiple versions: the plain
913 `variable' as well as `variable-HOST' and `variable-USER@HOST'.
914 Here `HOST' indeed means `server:port' if a `port' had been specified in
915 the respective URL, otherwise it refers to the plain `server'.
916 Also, `USER' isn't truly the `USER' that had been found when doing the
917 user chain lookup as is described below, i.e., this `USER' will never be
918 in URL percent encoded form, wether it came from an URL or not.
920 E.g., wether an hypothetic URL `smtp://you%20there@our.house' had been
921 given that includes a user, or wether the URL was `smtp://our.house' and
922 the user had been found differently, in order to lookup the variable
923 .Va smtp-use-starttls
924 \*(UA first looks for wether `smtp-use-starttls-you\ there@our.house'
925 is defined, then wether `smtp-use-starttls-our.house' exists before
926 finally ending up looking at the plain variable itself.
928 In general \*(UA adheres to the following logic scheme when dealing with
929 the necessary informations of a resource:
930 .Bl -bullet -offset indent
932 If no `USER' is given the variables
936 are looked up; if no such variable(s) can be found then \*(UA will,
937 when enforced by the \*(OPal variables
938 .Va netrc-lookup-HOST
943 file for a `HOST' specific entry which provides a `login' name
944 (this source may also provide a `password').
946 If after all these steps there is still no `USER' then \*(UA will
947 fall back to the user who is supposed to run \*(UA:
948 either the name that has been given with the
950 command line option (or, equivalent, but with less precedence, the
953 or `getpwuid(getuid())' a.k.a. the current user.
954 The identity of this user has been fixated during \*(UA startup and is
955 known to be a valid user on the current host.
957 Authentication: unless otherwise noted this will first look for
958 .Va PROTOCOL-auth-USER@HOST ,
960 .Va PROTOCOL-auth-HOST
963 which has a protocol-specific default should none of the variables be
966 If no `PASSWORD' has been given in the URL \(en it should be noted once
967 that specifying the password in the URL is only syntactic sugar for the
968 user, it'll never be part of an URL that \*(UA uses itself \(en,
969 then if the `USER' has been found through
971 then that may have provided the password, too.
972 Otherwise the variables
973 .Va password-USER@HOST ,
979 The chain is \*(OPionally continued via the described
981 lookup when enabled via
982 .Va netrc-lookup-USER@HOST ,
983 .Va netrc-lookup-HOST
986 this time looking only for the password (multiple user accounts
987 for a single machine may exist as well as a fallback entry without user
988 but with a password).
990 If at that point there is still no password available, but the
991 (protocols') chosen authentication type requires a password, then in
992 interactive mode the user will be prompted on the terminal.
996 For SMTP the rules are a bit more complicated, since \*(UA will always
999 instead of a given SMTP account in respect to S/MIME
1000 .Ns ( Va smime-sign ,
1003 .Va smime-sign-include-certs )
1004 \(en this is because S/MIME verification works relative to the values
1005 found in `From:' (or `Sender:').
1006 In unusual cases multiple and different `USER' and `HOST' combinations
1007 may therefore be involved when looking up values that make up an SMTP
1008 account; on the other hand those unusual cases become possible.
1009 The usual case can be as short as:
1011 .Dl set smtp=USER:PASS@HOST smtp-auth=plain smtp-use-starttls \e
1012 .Dl \ \ \ \ smime-sign smime-sign-cert=+smime.pair
1015 .\" .Ss "MIME types" {{{
1017 For any outgoing attachment \*(UA tries to determine the content type.
1018 It does this by reading MIME type files whose lines have the following
1021 .Dl type/subtype extension [extension ...]
1023 where `type/subtype' are strings describing the file contents,
1024 and `extension' is the part of a filename starting after the last dot.
1025 Any line not immediately beginning with an ASCII alphabetical character
1026 is ignored by \*(UA.
1028 .Va mimetypes-load-control
1029 can be used to control the sources of MIME types, and the
1031 command can be used to show the list of mime types known to \*(UA.
1032 If there is a match with the `extension' of the file to attach,
1033 the given `type/subtype' pair is used.
1034 Otherwise, or if the filename has no extension,
1035 the content types `text/plain' or `application/octet-stream' are used,
1036 dependent upon file content inspection.
1038 .Va mime-allow-text-controls .
1041 .\" .Ss "Character sets" {{{
1042 .Ss "Character sets"
1043 \*(OP \*(UA detects the character set of the terminal by using
1044 mechanisms that are controlled by the
1049 should give an overview); the \*(UA internal variable
1051 will be set to the detected terminal character set accordingly
1052 and will thus show up in the output of the command
1055 However, a user supplied
1057 value is not overwritten by this detection mechanism;
1058 this feature must be used if the detection doesn't work properly,
1059 and it may be used to adjust the name of the locale character set.
1060 E.g., on BSD systems one may use a locale with the character set
1061 `ISO8859-1', which is not a valid name for this character set;
1062 to be on the safe side, one may set
1064 to the correct name, `ISO-8859-1'.
1066 Note that changing the value doesn't mean much beside that,
1067 since several aspects of the real character set are implied by the
1068 locale environment of the system,
1069 and that stays unaffected by the content of an overwritten
1072 (This is mostly an issue when interactively using \*(UA, though.
1073 It is actually possible to send mail in a completely "faked" locale
1076 If no character set conversion capabilities have been compiled into
1079 library has been found), then
1081 will be the only supported character set,
1082 it is simply assumed that it can be used to exchange 8 bit messages,
1083 and the rest of this section does not apply;
1084 it may however still be necessary to explicitly set it if automatic
1085 detection fails, since in that case it defaults to `ISO-8859-1'.
1087 When reading messages, their text is converted into
1089 as necessary in order to display them on the users terminal.
1090 Unprintable characters and invalid byte sequences are detected
1091 and replaced by proper substitution characters
1092 (unless the variable
1094 was set once \*(UA was started).
1096 When sending messages all their parts and attachments are classified.
1097 Whereas no character set conversion is performed on those parts which
1098 appear to be binary data,
1099 the character set being used must be declared within the MIME header of
1100 an outgoing text part if it contains characters that do not conform to
1101 the set of characters that are allowed by the email standards.
1102 Permissible values for character sets can be declared using the
1106 which defines a catch-all last-resort fallback character set that is
1107 implicitly appended to the list of character-sets in
1110 All the specified character sets are tried in order unless the
1111 conversion of the part or attachment succeeds.
1112 If none of the tried (8 bit) character sets is capable to represent the
1113 content of the part or attachment,
1114 then the message will not be sent and its text will be saved to
1116 In general, if the message `Cannot convert from a to b' appears, either
1117 some characters are not appropriate for the currently selected
1118 (terminal) character set,
1119 or the needed conversion is not supported by the system.
1120 In the first case, it is necessary to set an appropriate `LC_CTYPE'
1121 locale and/or the variable
1124 The best results are usually achieved when \*(UA is run in a UTF-8
1125 locale on a UTF-8 capable terminal,
1126 in which case the full Unicode spectrum of characters is available.
1127 In this setup characters from various countries can be displayed,
1128 while it is still possible to use more simple character sets for sending
1129 to retain maximum compatibility with older mail clients.
1132 .\" .Ss "Command line editor" {{{
1133 .Ss "Command line editor"
1134 \*(OP \*(UA can be configured to support a command line editor and
1135 command history lists which are saved in between sessions.
1136 One may link against fully-fledged external libraries
1137 .Ns ( Ns Xr readline 3 ,
1139 ) or use \*(UA's own command line editor NCL (nail-command-line)
1140 instead, which should work in all environments which comply to ISO
1141 C (ISO/IEC 9899:1990/Amendment 1:1995).
1142 When an external library is used, interactive behaviour of \*(UA relies
1143 on that library and may not correspond one-to-one to what is described
1146 Regardless of the actually used command line editor history entries
1147 will be created for lines entered in command mode only, and creation of
1148 such an entry can be forcefully suppressed by starting the line with
1150 Note that history handling is by itself an optional feature and may
1151 therefore not be available.
1152 For more information see the documentation of the options
1155 .Va line-editor-disable ,
1160 The builtin \*(UA command line editor supports the following operations;
1161 the notation `^-character' stands for the combination of the `control'
1162 key plus the mentioned character, e.g., `^A' means "hold control key
1163 while adding an A key on top of it":
1164 .Bl -tag -width "^M^"
1166 Go to the start of the line.
1168 Move the cursor backward one character.
1170 Forward delete the character under the cursor;
1171 quits \*(UA if used on the empty line, unless the
1175 Go to the end of the line.
1177 Move the cursor forward one character.
1179 Cancel current operation, full reset.
1180 If there is an active history search or tabulator expansion then this
1181 command will first reset that, reverting to the former line content;
1182 thus a second reset is needed for a full reset in this case.
1183 In all cases \*(UA will reset a possibly used multibyte character input
1186 The same as `backspace': backward delete one character.
1188 \*(OP The same as `horizontal tabulator': try to expand the "word"
1190 Here "expansion" refers to the \*(UA expansion, as documented for
1192 and thus includes shell word expansion (as a last step).
1193 I.e., this is \*(UA "expansion", not what one usually expects from
1196 The same as `ENTER': complete this line of input.
1198 Delete all characters from the cursor to the end of the line.
1202 \*(OP Go to the next history entry.
1204 \*(OP Go to the previous history entry.
1206 \*(OP Complete the current line from (the remaining older) history entries.
1208 The same as `^A' followed by `^K'.
1210 Delete the characters from the one preceding the cursor to the preceding
1213 Move the cursor forward one word boundary.
1215 Move the cursor backward one word boundary.
1218 If problems with commands that are based upon rightwise movement are
1219 encountered, adjustments of the option
1220 .Va line-editor-cursor-right
1221 may solve the problem, as documented for it.
1223 If the terminal produces key sequences which are compatible with
1225 then the left and right cursor keys will map to `^B' and `^F',
1226 respectively, the up and down cursor keys will map to `^P' and `^N',
1227 and the Home/End/PgUp/PgDown keys will call the
1229 command with the respective arguments `0', `$', `-' and `+'
1230 (i.e., perform scrolling through the header summary list).
1233 .\" .Ss "Coloured message display" {{{
1234 .Ss "Coloured message display"
1235 \*(OP \*(UA can be configured to support coloured message display.
1236 Colours are used only when the
1238 environment variable is set and the terminal type can be found in
1240 (or includes the string "color").
1241 On top of that the binary option
1243 defines wether ANSI colour sequences are generated when the output
1244 of a command needs to go through the
1248 ); this is not enabled by default.
1250 "Coloured message display" can be configured through font attributes
1251 (`ft=' \(en `bold', `invers' and `underline'), foreground (`fg=') and
1252 background (`bg=') colours (`black', `blue', `green', `red', `brown',
1253 `magenta', `cyan' and `white').
1254 Multiple specifications can be joined in a comma separated list, as in
1256 .Dl set colour-msginfo="ft=bold,fg=magenta,bg=cyan"
1258 Options to be set are
1259 .Va colour-msginfo ,
1260 .Va colour-partinfo ,
1264 .Va colour-uheader ,
1266 .Va colour-user-headers ,
1267 which is a list of headers to be colourized via
1269 instead of the default
1271 To forcefully disable colours, set
1272 .Va colour-disable .
1275 .\" .Sh "COMMANDS" {{{
1277 Each command is typed on a line by itself,
1278 and may take arguments following the command word.
1279 The command need not be typed in its entirety \(en
1280 the first command which matches the typed prefix is used.
1283 prints a sorted list of available commands, and the command
1285 when given an argument, will show a documentation string for the
1287 .Ns ` Ns Ic ? Ns Ar unc Ns ' ;
1288 documentation strings are however \*(OP.)
1290 For commands which take message lists as arguments,
1291 if no message list is given,
1292 then the next message forward which satisfies the command's requirements
1294 If there are no messages forward of the current message,
1295 the search proceeds backwards,
1296 and if there are no good messages at all,
1297 \*(UA types `no applicable messages' and aborts the command.
1298 If the command begins with a `#' (number sign) character,
1299 the line is ignored.
1301 The arguments to commands can be quoted, using the following methods:
1302 .Bl -bullet -offset indent
1304 An argument can be enclosed between paired double-quotes `"argument"' or
1305 single-quotes `'argument'';
1306 any white space, shell word expansion, or backslash characters (except
1307 as described next) within the quotes are treated literally as part of
1309 A double-quote will be treated literally within single-quotes and vice
1311 Inside such a quoted string the actually used quote character can be
1312 used nonetheless by escaping it with a backslash `\\', as in
1315 An argument that is not enclosed in quotes, as above, can usually still
1316 contain space characters if those spaces are backslash-escaped.
1318 A backslash outside of the enclosing quotes is discarded
1319 and the following character is treated literally as part of the argument.
1321 An unquoted backslash at the end of a command line is discarded and the
1322 next line continues the command.
1325 Filenames, where expected, are subsequently subjected to the following
1326 transformations, in sequence:
1327 .Bl -bullet -offset indent
1329 If the filename begins with an unquoted plus sign, and the
1331 variable is defined,
1332 the plus sign will be replaced by the value of the
1334 variable followed by a slash.
1337 variable is unset or is set to null, the filename will be unchanged.
1339 Shell word expansions are applied to the filename.
1340 If more than a single pathname results from this expansion and the
1341 command is expecting one file, an error results.
1345 The following commands are available:
1346 .Bl -tag -width ".Ic account"
1348 This is the comment-command and causes the entire line to be ignored.
1349 Note: since it is a normal command you cannot have trailing comments in
1350 lines from resource files etc.
1352 Interprets the remainder of the word as a macro name and passes it
1356 .Ns ` Ns Ic ~ Ns Ar mymacro Ns '
1357 is a shorter synonym for
1358 .Ns ` Ns Ic call Ar mymacro Ns ' .
1360 Print out the preceding message.
1361 If given a numeric argument n,
1362 goes to the n'th previous message and prints it.
1364 Prints a brief summary of commands.
1365 \*(OP Given an argument a synopsis for the command in question is
1367 note it is possible to abbreviate the command and see the expansion
1368 \(en try, e.g., `?h', `?hel' and `?help' and see how the display changes.
1370 Executes the shell (see
1374 ) command which follows.
1380 (ac) Creates, selects or lists an email account.
1381 An account is formed by a group of commands,
1382 primarily of those to set variables.
1384 of which the second is a `{',
1385 the first argument gives an account name,
1386 and the following lines create a group of commands for that account
1387 until a line containing a single `}' appears.
1388 With one argument the previously created group of commands for the
1389 account name is executed, and a
1391 command is executed for the system mailbox or inbox of that account.
1392 Without arguments the list of accounts and their contents are printed.
1394 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1396 set folder=imaps://mylogin@imap.myisp.example
1398 set from="myname@myisp.example (My Name)"
1399 set smtp=smtp://mylogin@smtp.myisp.example
1403 creates an account named `myisp' which can later be selected by
1404 specifying `account myisp'.
1405 The special account `null' (case-insensitive) always exists.
1407 can be used to localize account settings.
1408 Accounts can be deleted via
1411 (a) With no arguments, prints out all currently-defined aliases.
1412 With one argument, prints out that alias.
1413 With more than one argument,
1414 creates a new alias or changes an old one.
1416 can be used to delete aliases.
1418 (alt) The alternates command is useful if the user has accounts on
1420 It can be used to inform \*(UA that the listed addresses all belong to
1422 When replying to messages \*(UA will not send a copy of the message
1423 to any of the addresses listed on the alternates list.
1424 If the alternates command is given with no argument,
1425 the current set of alternate names is displayed.
1427 (ans) Takes a message list and marks each message as having been
1429 This mark has no technical meaning in the mail system;
1430 it just causes messages to be marked in the header summary,
1431 and makes them specially addressable.
1433 \*(OP Only applicable to cached IMAP mailboxes;
1434 takes a message list and reads the specified messages into the IMAP
1437 Calls a macro (see the
1444 \*(OP Only applicable to S/MIME signed messages.
1445 Takes a message list and a file name and saves the certificates
1446 contained within the message signatures to the named file in both
1447 human-readable and PEM format.
1448 The certificates can later be used to send encrypted messages to the
1449 respective message senders by setting
1450 .Va smime-encrypt-USER@HOST
1453 (ch) Changes the user's working directory to the specified one,
1454 or to the user's login directory, if none was given.
1457 Only applicable to threaded mode.
1458 Takes a message list and makes all replies to these messages invisible
1459 in header summaries,
1460 unless they are in state `new'.
1462 \*(OP (conn) If operating in disconnected mode on an IMAP mailbox,
1463 switch to online mode and connect to the mail server while retaining the
1465 See the description of the
1467 variable for more information.
1469 (c) The copy command does the same thing that
1471 does except that it does not mark the given messages for deletion when
1473 Compressed files and IMAP mailboxes are handled as described for the
1479 but saves the messages in a file named after the local part of the
1480 sender address of the first message.
1482 Print the current working directory.
1484 \*(OP (dec) For unencrypted messages,
1485 this command is identical to
1487 Encrypted messages are first decrypted, if possible, and then copied.
1489 \*(OP (Dec) Similar to
1491 but saves the messages in a file named after the local part of the
1492 sender address of the first message.
1494 (def) Without arguments the current list of macros, including their
1495 content, is printed.
1496 If arguments are given this command defines a macro.
1497 A macro definition is a sequence of commands in the following form:
1498 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1507 A defined macro can be explicitly invoked using
1511 or it can be implicitly invoked by setting the
1514 .Va folder-hook-fullname
1516 Macros can be deleted via
1519 (d) Takes a list of messages as argument and marks them all as deleted.
1520 Deleted messages will not be saved in `mbox',
1521 nor will they be available for most other commands.
1526 \*(OP (disco) If operating in online mode on an IMAP mailbox,
1527 switch to disconnected mode while retaining the mailbox status.
1528 See the description of the
1531 A list of messages may optionally be given as argument;
1532 the respective messages are then read into the cache before the
1533 connection is closed.
1534 Thus `disco *' makes the entire mailbox available for disconnected use.
1535 .It Ic dp Ns \ or Ic dt
1536 Deletes the current message and prints the next message.
1537 If there is no next message, \*(UA says `at EOF'.
1539 Takes a message list and marks each given message as a draft.
1540 This mark has no technical meaning in the mail system;
1541 it just causes messages to be marked in the header summary,
1542 and makes them specially addressable.
1544 Echoes its arguments,
1545 resolving special names as documented for the command
1547 The escape sequences `\ea', `\eb', `\ec', `\ef', `\en', `\er', `\et',
1548 `\ev', `\e\e', and `\e0octal-num\fR' are interpreted just as they are by
1550 (proper quoting provided).
1552 (e) Point the text editor at each message from the given list in turn.
1553 Modified contents are discarded unless the
1562 conditional \(em if the condition of a preceeding
1564 was false, check the following condition and execute the following block
1565 if it evaluates true.
1572 conditional \(em if none of the conditions of the preceeding
1576 commands was true, the
1585 conditional execution block.
1587 (ex or x) Effects an immediate return to the Shell without modifying the
1588 user's system mailbox, his `mbox' file, or his edit file in
1590 as well as a possibly tracked command line editor history file.
1592 Print the list of features that have been compiled into \*(UA.
1594 (fi) The file command switches to a new mailbox.
1595 With no arguments, it tells the user which mailbox is the active one.
1596 If an argument is given, it will write out changes (such as deletions)
1597 the user has made and open a new mailbox; the command
1599 can be used to open a mailbox and make it readonly.
1600 Some special conventions are recognized for the
1603 .Bl -tag -offset indent -width ".Ar %:filespec"
1605 (number sign) means the previous file,
1607 (percent sign) means the invoking user's system mailbox
1612 means the system mailbox of `user'
1613 (and never the value of
1615 regardless of its actual setting),
1617 (ampersand) means the invoking user's `mbox' file (see
1621 means a `file' in the
1625 expands to the same value as `filespec',
1626 but the file is handled as a system mailbox by, e.g., the
1633 If the name matches one of the strings defined with the command
1635 it is replaced by its long form and expanded.
1636 If the name ends with `.gz', `.bz2' or `.xz' it is treated as being
1642 respectively, and transparently handled through an intermediate
1643 (un)compression step (using a temporary file) with the respective
1644 utility, which thus must be available in the path.
1645 If `name' refers to a directory with the subdirectories `tmp', `new',
1646 and `cur', then it is treated as a folder in `maildir' format.
1649 .Dl \*(IN protocol://[user[:password]@]host[:port][/path]
1650 .Dl \*(OU protocol://[user@]host[:port][/path]
1652 is taken as an Internet mailbox specification.
1653 The \*(OPally supported protocols are `imap' (IMAP v4r1), `imaps'
1654 (IMAP with SSL/TLS encrypted transport), `pop3' (POP3) and `pop3s' (POP3
1655 with SSL/TLS encrypted transport).
1656 The `[/path]' part is valid only for IMAP; there it defaults to `INBOX'.
1657 Also see the section
1660 \*(OU If `user' contains special characters, in particular `/' or `%',
1661 they must be escaped in URL notation \(en the command
1663 can be used to show the necessary conversion.
1664 The optional `path' part applies to IMAP only;
1665 if it is omitted, the default `INBOX' is used.
1667 If \*(UA is connected to an IMAP server,
1668 a name of the form `@mailbox' refers to the `mailbox' on that server,
1669 but otherwise a `@' prefix has no special meaning.
1671 (fl) Takes a message list and marks the messages as `flagged' for
1672 urgent/special attention.
1673 This mark has no technical meaning in the mail system;
1674 it just causes messages to be highlighted in the header summary,
1675 and makes them specially addressable.
1680 With no arguments, list the names of the folders in the folder directory.
1681 With an existing folder as an argument,
1682 lists the names of folders below the named folder;
1683 e.\|g. the command `folders @' lists the folders on the base level of
1684 the current IMAP server.
1685 See also the variable
1686 .Va imap-list-depth .
1690 but saves the message in a file named after the local part of the first
1691 recipient's address.
1695 but saves the message in a file named after the local part of the first
1696 recipient's address.
1700 but responds to all recipients regardless of the
1705 .It Ic followupsender
1708 but responds to the sender only regardless of the
1714 (fwd) Takes a message and the address of a recipient
1715 and forwards the message to him.
1716 The text of the original message is included in the new one,
1717 with the value of the
1719 variable printed before.
1724 commands specify which header fields are included in the new message.
1725 Only the first part of a multipart message is included unless the
1726 .Va forward-as-attachment
1731 but saves the message in a file named after the local part of the
1732 recipient's address.
1734 (f) Takes a list of messages and prints their message headers,
1735 piped through the pager if the output does not fit on the screen.
1737 Specifies which header fields are to be ignored with the command
1739 This command has no effect when the
1740 .Va forward-as-attachment
1743 Specifies which header fields are to be retained with the command
1748 This command has no effect when the
1749 .Va forward-as-attachment
1752 Without arguments it lists all currently defined command aliases,
1754 With two arguments it defines a new command alias: the first argument is
1755 the name under which the second should be accessible.
1756 The content of the second argument can be just about anything.
1757 A ghost can be used everywhere a normal command can be used, but always
1758 takes precedence; any arguments that are given to the command alias are
1759 joined onto the alias content, and the resulting string forms the
1760 command line that is, in effect, executed.
1764 .Dl ? ghost ls '!ls -latro'
1767 (h) Lists the current range of headers, which is an 18-message group.
1768 If a `+' argument is given the next 18-message group is printed,
1769 likewise the previous is printed if the argument was `-'.
1778 the list of history entries;
1781 argument selects and shows the respective history entry \(en
1782 press `ENTER' to accept it, and the history entry will become the new
1784 The default mode if no arguments are given is
1787 (ho, also preserve) Takes a message list and marks each message therein
1788 to be saved in the user's system mailbox instead of in `mbox'.
1789 Does not override the
1792 \*(UA deviates from the POSIX standard with this command,
1795 command issued after
1797 will display the following message, not the current one.
1799 Part of the nestable
1804 conditional execution construct \(em if the given condition is false
1805 execute the following block.
1806 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1814 Note that POSIX only supports the conditions `[Rr]eceive', `[Ss]end'
1815 and `[Tt]erm' (execute if standard input is a tty).
1816 Extensions are `0' (never execute) and `1' (always execute);
1817 it is also possible to conditionalize upon wether an option is set,
1818 or set to a specific value, by using the `$' conditional trigger, e.g.:
1819 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1823 if $encoding == "UTF-8"
1826 if $encoding != "UTF-8"
1831 The first form simply checks wether an option is set, the other two also
1832 perform value content comparison (equality and non-equality,
1833 respectively); an unset value is treated as the empty string, then.
1834 The \*(OPal regular expression support adds `=~' and `!~' tests, which
1835 treat the right hand side as a regular expression that is matched
1836 case-insensitively, e.g., `^UTF.*' (see
1840 Add the list of header fields named to the ignored list.
1841 Header fields in the ignore list are not printed on the terminal when
1842 a message is printed.
1843 This command is very handy for suppression of certain machine-generated
1849 commands can be used to print a message in its entirety, including
1851 It lists the current set of ignored fields if no arguments were given.
1853 \*(OP Sends command strings directly to the current IMAP server.
1854 \*(UA operates always in IMAP `selected state' on the current mailbox;
1855 commands that change this will produce undesirable results and should be
1857 Useful IMAP commands are:
1858 .Bl -tag -offset indent -width ".Ic getquotearoot"
1860 Takes the name of an IMAP mailbox as an argument and creates it.
1862 (RFC 2087) Takes the name of an IMAP mailbox as an argument
1863 and prints the quotas that apply to the mailbox.
1864 Not all IMAP servers support this command.
1866 (RFC 2342) Takes no arguments and prints the Personal Namespaces,
1867 the Other User's Namespaces and the Shared Namespaces.
1868 Each namespace type is printed in parentheses;
1869 if there are multiple namespaces of the same type,
1870 inner parentheses separate them.
1871 For each namespace a prefix and a hierarchy separator is listed.
1872 Not all IMAP servers support this command.
1878 Prints the names of all available commands, alphabetically sorted.
1880 Can only be used inside of a macro definition block introduced by
1884 and is interpreted as a boolean (value `0' means false, everything
1886 Any option that had been set while `localopts' was in effect will be
1887 reverted to its former value once the block is left / the `account'
1889 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1890 define temporary_settings {
1900 Note that these options stack upon each other, i.e., if macro1 sets
1901 `localopts' and calls macro2, which explicitly resets `localopts', then
1902 any values set within macro2 will still be cleaned up by macro1.
1906 but saves the message in a file named after the local part of the first
1907 recipient's address.
1909 (m) Takes a (list of) recipient address(es) as (an) argument(s),
1910 or asks on standard input if none were given;
1911 then collects the remaining mail content and sends it out.
1913 The given message list is to be sent to `mbox' when \*(UA is quit.
1914 This is the default action unless the
1917 \*(UA deviates from the POSIX standard with this command,
1920 command issued after
1922 will display the following message, not the current one.
1931 In the former case all sources are loaded first as necessary.
1933 .Va mimetypes-load-control
1934 option can be used to fine-tune which sources are loaded.
1938 but marks the messages for deletion if they were transferred
1941 Takes a message list and invokes the
1943 on that list, printing a form-feed (`\\f') in between messages.
1947 but also prints ignored header fields and all MIME parts.
1951 but moves the messages to a file named after the local part of the
1952 sender address of the first message.
1961 In the former case the file is loaded first as necessary.
1967 Checks for new mail in the current folder without committing any changes
1969 If new mail is present, a message is printed.
1973 the headers of each new message are also printed.
1975 (n) (like `+' or `ENTER') Goes to the next message in sequence
1977 With an argument list, types the next matching message.
1985 If the current folder is located on an IMAP or POP3 server,
1986 a `NOOP' command is sent.
1987 Otherwise, no operation is performed.
1991 but also pipes ignored header fields and all parts of MIME
1992 `multipart/alternative' messages.
1994 (pi) Takes a message list and a shell command
1995 and pipes the messages through the command.
1996 Without an argument the current message is piped through the command
2003 every message is followed by a formfeed character.
2010 but also prints out ignored header fields and all parts of MIME
2011 `multipart/alternative' messages.
2018 (p) Takes a message list and types out each message on the user's
2020 If the message is a MIME multipart message,
2021 all parts with a content type of `text' or `message' are shown,
2022 the other are hidden except for their headers.
2023 Messages are decrypted and converted to the terminal character set
2026 (q) Terminates the session, saving all undeleted, unsaved messages in
2027 the current `mbox', preserving all messages marked with
2031 or never referenced in his system mailbox,
2032 and removing all other messages from his system mailbox.
2033 If new mail has arrived during the session,
2034 the message `You have new mail' is given.
2035 If given while editing a mailbox file with the command line flag
2037 then the edit file is rewritten.
2038 A return to the shell is effected,
2039 unless the rewrite of edit file fails,
2040 in which case the user can escape with the exit command.
2048 (rem) Removes the named folders.
2049 The user is asked for confirmation in interactive mode.
2051 (ren) Takes the name of an existing folder
2052 and the name for the new folder
2053 and renames the first to the second one.
2054 Both folders must be of the same type
2055 and must be located on the current server for IMAP.
2057 (R) Reply to originator.
2058 Does not reply to other recipients of the original message.
2060 (r) Takes a message list and sends mail to the sender and all recipients
2061 of the specified messages.
2062 The default message must not be deleted.
2066 but responds to all recipients regardless of the
2074 but responds to the sender only regardless of the
2082 but does not add any header lines.
2083 This is not a way to hide the sender's identity,
2084 but useful for sending a message again to the same recipients.
2086 Takes a list of messages and a user name
2087 and sends each message to the named user.
2088 `Resent-From:' and related header fields are prepended to the new copy
2099 .It Ic respondsender
2103 Add the list of header fields named to the retained list.
2104 Only the header fields in the retain list are shown on the terminal when
2105 a message is printed, all other header fields are suppressed.
2110 commands can be used to print a message in its entirety.
2111 The current set of retained fields is shown if
2113 is used without arguments.
2115 Without arguments this prints informations about the current mailbox,
2116 otherwise it switches to a new mailbox and makes it readonly; also see
2124 but saves the messages in a file named after the local part of the
2125 sender of the first message instead of taking a filename argument.
2127 (s) Takes a message list and a filename and appends each message in turn
2128 to the end of the file.
2129 If no filename is given, the `mbox' file is used.
2130 The filename in quotes, followed by the line count and character count
2131 is echoed on the user's terminal.
2132 If editing a system mailbox the messages are marked for deletion.
2133 Compressed files and IMAP mailboxes are handled as described for the
2135 command line option above.
2148 Header fields thus marked are filtered out when saving a message by
2150 or when automatically saving to `mbox'.
2151 This command should only be applied to header fields that do not contain
2152 information needed to decode the message,
2153 as MIME content fields do.
2154 If saving messages on an IMAP account ignoring fields makes it
2155 impossible to copy the data directly on the server,
2156 thus operation usually becomes much slower.
2166 Header fields thus marked are the only ones saved with a message when
2169 or when automatically saving to `mbox'.
2173 The use of this command is strongly discouraged since it may strip
2174 header fields that are needed to decode the message correctly.
2176 Takes a message list and marks all messages as having been read.
2178 (se) With no arguments, prints all variable values.
2179 Otherwise, sets an option.
2180 Arguments are of the form `option=value' (no space before or after `='),
2181 or plain `option' if there is no value.
2182 Quotation marks may be placed around any part of the assignment
2183 statement to quote blanks or tabs, e.g.,
2185 .Dl set indentprefix="->"
2187 If an argument begins with `no', as in `set nosave',
2188 the effect is the same as invoking the
2190 command with the remaining part of the variable (`unset save').
2194 except that the options are also exported into the program environment;
2195 since this task requires native host support the command will always
2196 report error if that is not available (but still act like
2199 This operation is a no-op unless all resource files have been loaded.
2203 (sh) Invokes an interactive version of the shell.
2205 Defines a shortcut name and its string for expansion,
2206 as described for the
2209 If used without arguments the currently defined shortcuts are printed.
2213 but performs neither MIME decoding nor decryption so that the raw
2214 message text is shown.
2216 Print the size in characters of each message of the given message-list.
2218 Create a sorted representation of the current folder,
2221 command and the addressing modes such that they refer to messages in the
2223 Message numbers are the same as in regular mode.
2227 a header summary in the new order is also printed.
2228 Possible sorting criteria are:
2229 .Bl -tag -offset indent -width "subject"
2231 Sort the messages by their `Date:' field,
2232 that is by the time they were sent.
2234 Sort messages by the value of their `From:' field,
2235 that is by the address of the sender.
2239 the sender's real name (if any) is used.
2241 Sort the messages by their size.
2243 \*(OP Sort the message by their spam score, as has been classified via
2247 Sort the messages by their message status (new, read, old, etc.).
2249 Sort the messages by their subject.
2251 Create a threaded order,
2255 Sort messages by the value of their `To:' field,
2256 that is by the address of the recipient.
2260 the recipient's real name (if any) is used.
2263 If no argument is given,
2264 the current sorting criterion is printed.
2266 The source command reads commands from a file.
2268 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and clears their `is-spam' flag.
2270 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and forces the spam detector to forget it
2271 has ever used them to train its Bayesian filter, wether as `ham' or
2274 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and teaches them to the spam detector as
2276 This also clears the `is-spam' flag of the messages in question.
2278 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and rates them using the configured spam
2279 detector, setting their `is-spam' flag as appropriate.
2280 Note that the messages are not modified, and due to that the rating will
2281 get lost once the mailbox is left.
2282 Refer to the manual section
2284 for the complete picture of spam handling in \*(UA.
2286 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and sets their `is-spam' flag.
2288 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and teaches them to the spam detector as
2290 This also sets the `is-spam' flag of the messages in question.
2292 (th) Create a threaded representation of the current folder,
2293 i.\|e. indent messages that are replies to other messages in the header
2294 display and change the
2296 command and the addressing modes such that they refer to messages in the
2298 Message numbers are the same as in unthreaded mode.
2302 a header summary in threaded order is also printed.
2304 Takes a message list and prints the top few lines of each.
2305 The number of lines printed is controlled by the variable
2307 and defaults to five.
2309 Takes a message list and marks the messages for saving in `mbox'.
2310 \*(UA deviates from the POSIX standard with this command,
2313 command issued after `mbox' will display the following message instead
2316 (T) Identical to the
2323 Delete all given accounts.
2324 An error message is printed if a given account is not defined.
2325 Attempts to delete the currently active account are rejected.
2327 Takes a list of names defined by alias commands
2328 and discards the remembered groups of users.
2330 Takes a message list and marks each message as not having been answered.
2332 (unc) Only applicable to threaded mode.
2333 Takes a message list and makes the message and all replies to it visible
2334 in header summaries again.
2335 When a message becomes the current message,
2336 it is automatically made visible.
2337 Also when a message with collapsed replies is printed,
2338 all of these are automatically uncollapsed.
2340 Undefine all given macros.
2341 An error message is printed if a given macro is not defined.
2343 (u) Takes a message list and marks each message as not being deleted.
2345 Takes a message list and
2346 .Ns un Ns Ic draft Ns
2349 Takes a message list and marks each message as not being
2352 Removes the header field names from the list of ignored fields for the
2355 The special name `*' will remove all fields.
2357 Removes the header field names from the list of retained fields for the
2360 The special name `*' will remove all fields.
2362 Remove an existing command
2365 Removes the header field names from the list of ignored fields.
2366 The special name `*' will remove all fields.
2371 (U) Takes a message list and marks each message as not having been read.
2373 Removes the header field names from the list of retained fields.
2374 The special name `*' will remove all fields.
2376 Removes the header field names from the list of ignored fields for
2378 The special name `*' will remove all fields.
2380 Removes the header field names from the list of retained fields for
2382 The special name `*' will remove all fields.
2384 Takes a list of option names and discards their remembered values;
2390 except that the options are also removed from the program environment;
2391 since this task requires native host support the command will always
2392 report error if that is not available (but still act like
2395 This operation is a no-op unless all resource files have been loaded.
2399 Deletes the shortcut names given as arguments.
2401 Disable sorted or threaded mode
2407 return to normal message order and,
2411 print a header summary.
2416 Decode the given URL-encoded string arguments and show the results.
2418 URL-encode the given arguments and show the results.
2420 Edit the values of the given variable(s) in the
2422 Binary variables, as well as variables which are not currently set are
2425 Show information about all given options.
2427 \*(OP (verif) Takes a message list and verifies each message.
2428 If a message is not an S/MIME signed message,
2429 verification will fail for it.
2430 The verification process checks if the message was signed using a valid
2432 if the message sender's email address matches one of those contained
2433 within the certificate,
2434 and if the message content has been altered.
2436 (v) Takes a message list and invokes the display editor on each message.
2437 Modified contents are discarded unless the
2441 (w) For conventional messages the body without all headers is written.
2442 The output is decrypted and converted to its native format as necessary.
2443 If the output file exists, the text is appended.
2444 If a message is in MIME multipart format its first part is written to
2445 the specified file as for conventional messages,
2446 and the user is asked for a filename to save each other part.
2447 For convience saving of each part may be skipped by giving an empty value;
2448 the same result can also be achieved by writing it to
2450 For the second and subsequent parts a leading `|' character causes the
2451 part to be piped to the remainder of the user input interpreted as
2453 otherwise the user input is expanded as usually for folders,
2454 e.g., tilde expansion is performed.
2455 In non-interactive mode, only the parts of the multipart message
2456 that have a filename given in the part header are written,
2457 the others are discarded.
2458 The original message is never marked for deletion in the originating
2461 the contents of the destination file are overwritten if the file
2463 No special handling of compressed files is performed.
2468 \*(UA presents message headers in windowfuls as described under the
2471 This command scrolls to the next window of messages.
2472 If an argument is given,
2473 it specifies the window to use.
2474 A number prefixed by `+' or `\-' indicates
2475 that the window is calculated in relation to the current position.
2476 A number without a prefix specifies an absolute window number,
2477 and a `$' lets \*(UA scroll to the last window of messages.
2481 but scrolls to the next or previous window that contains at least one
2482 new or `flagged' message.
2486 .\" .Sh "TILDE ESCAPES" {{{
2488 Here is a summary of the tilde escapes,
2489 which are used to perform special functions when composing messages.
2490 Tilde escapes are only recognized at the beginning of lines.
2491 The name `tilde escape' is somewhat of a misnomer since the actual
2492 escape character can be set by the option
2494 .Bl -tag -width ".Ic ~< filename"
2496 Insert the string of text in the message prefaced by a single `~'.
2497 (If the escape character has been changed,
2498 that character must be doubled
2499 in order to send it at the beginning of a line.)
2500 .It Ic ~! Ar command
2501 Execute the indicated shell
2503 then return to the message.
2505 Same effect as typing the end-of-file character.
2506 .It Ic ~: Ar \*(UA-command Ns \ or Ic ~_ Ar \*(UA-command
2507 Execute the given \*(UA command.
2508 Not all commands, however, are allowed.
2510 Write a summary of command escapes.
2511 .It Ic ~< Ar filename
2514 .It Ic ~<! Ar command
2516 is executed using the shell.
2517 Its standard output is inserted into the message.
2518 .It Ic ~@ Op Ar filename...
2519 With no arguments, edit the attachment list interactively.
2520 If an attachment's file name is left empty,
2521 that attachment is deleted from the list.
2522 When the end of the attachment list is reached,
2523 \*(UA will ask for further attachments until an empty name is given.
2524 If a given file name solely consists of the number sign `#' followed
2525 by a valid message number of the currently active mailbox, the given
2526 message is attached as a MIME `message/rfc822' and the rest of this
2527 section does not apply.
2529 If character set conversion has been compiled into \*(UA, then this mode
2530 gives the user the option to specify input and output character sets,
2531 unless the file extension indicates binary content, in which case \*(UA
2532 asks wether this step shall be skipped for the attachment in question.
2533 If not skipped, then the charset that succeeds to represent the
2534 attachment data will be used in the `charset=' MIME parameter of the
2538 If input and output character sets are specified, then the conversion is
2539 performed on the fly.
2540 The user will be asked repeatedly until the desired conversion succeeds.
2542 If only an output character set is specified, then the input is assumed
2545 charset and will be converted to the given output charset on the fly.
2546 The user will be asked repeatedly until the desired conversion succeeds.
2548 If no character sets are specified at all then the algorithm that is
2549 documented in the section
2550 .Sx "Character sets"
2551 is applied, but directly and on the fly.
2552 The user will be asked repeatedly until the desired conversion succeeds.
2554 Finally, if an input-, but no output character set is specified, then no
2555 conversion is ever performed, but the `charset=' MIME parameter will
2556 still be set to the user input.
2558 The character set selection loop can be left by typing `control-C',
2559 i.e., causing an interrupt.
2560 .\" \*(OU next sentence
2561 Note that before \*(UA version 15.0 this terminates the entire
2562 current attachment selection, not only the character set selection.
2565 Without character set conversion support, \*(UA will ask for the input
2566 character set only, and it'll set the `charset=' MIME parameter to the
2567 given input, if any;
2568 if no user input is seen then the
2570 character set will be used for the `charset=' parameter instead.
2571 Note that the file extension check isn't performed in this mode, since
2572 no conversion will take place anyway.
2574 Note that in non-interactive mode, for reproduceabilities sake, there
2575 will always be two questions for each attachment, regardless of wether
2576 character set conversion is available and what the file extension is.
2577 The first asks for the filename, and the second asks for the input
2578 character set to be passed through to the `charset=' MIME parameter;
2579 no conversion will be tried if there is input to the latter question,
2580 otherwise the usual conversion algorithm, as above, is applied.
2581 For message attachments, the answer to the second question is completely
2586 arguments are specified,
2587 they are treated as a comma separated list of files,
2588 which are all expanded and appended to the end of the attachment list.
2589 (Filenames with commas, or with leading or trailing whitespace can only
2590 be added via the command line or the first method.
2591 Message attachments can only be added via the first method;
2592 filenames which clash with message numbers can only be added via the
2593 command line or the second method.)
2594 In this mode the (text) attachments are assumed to be in
2596 encoding, and will be evaluated as documented in the section
2597 .Sx "Character sets" .
2599 Inserts the string contained in the
2601 variable (same as `~i Sign').
2602 The escape sequences `\et' (tabulator) and `\en' (newline) are understood.
2604 Inserts the string contained in the
2606 variable (same as `~i sign').
2607 The escape sequences `\et' (tabulator) and `\en' (newline) are understood.
2608 .It Ic ~b Ar name ...
2609 Add the given names to the list of blind carbon copy recipients.
2610 .It Ic ~c Ar name ...
2611 Add the given names to the list of carbon copy recipients.
2613 Read the file specified by the
2615 variable into the message.
2617 Invoke the text editor on the message collected so far.
2618 After the editing session is finished,
2619 the user may continue appending text to the message.
2620 .It Ic ~F Ar messages
2621 Read the named messages into the message being sent, including all
2622 message headers and MIME parts.
2623 If no messages are specified, read in the current message.
2624 .It Ic ~f Ar messages
2625 Read the named messages into the message being sent.
2626 If no messages are specified, read in the current message.
2627 Message headers currently being ignored (by the
2631 command) are not included.
2632 For MIME multipart messages,
2633 only the first printable part is included.
2635 Edit the message header fields `From:', `Reply-To:', `Sender:' and
2636 `Organization:' by typing each one in turn and allowing the user to edit
2638 The default values for these fields originate from the
2646 Edit the message header fields `To:', `Cc:', `Bcc:', and `Subject:' by
2647 typing each one in turn and allowing the user to edit the field.
2648 .It Ic ~i Ar variable
2649 Insert the value of the specified variable into the message,
2650 adding a newline character at the end.
2651 The message remains unaltered if the variable is unset or empty.
2652 The escape sequences `\et' (tabulator) and `\en' (newline) are understood.
2653 .It Ic ~M Ar messages
2654 Read the named messages into the message being sent,
2657 If no messages are specified, read the current message.
2658 .It Ic ~m Ar messages
2659 Read the named messages into the message being sent,
2662 If no messages are specified, read the current message.
2663 Message headers currently being ignored (by the
2667 commands) are not included.
2668 For MIME multipart messages,
2669 only the first printable part is included.
2671 Print out the message collected so far,
2672 prefaced by the message header fields
2673 and followed by the attachment list, if any.
2675 Abort the message being sent,
2676 copying it to the file specified by the
2681 .It Ic ~R Ar filename
2682 Read the named file into the message, indented by
2684 .It Ic ~r Ar filename
2685 Read the named file into the message.
2687 Cause the named string to become the current subject field.
2688 .It Ic ~t Ar name ...
2689 Add the given name(s) to the direct recipient list.
2690 .It Ic ~U Ar messages
2691 Like `~m', but exclude all message headers.
2692 .It Ic ~u Ar messages
2693 Like `~f', but exclude all message headers.
2695 Invoke an alternate editor (defined by the
2697 option) on the message collected so far.
2698 Usually, the alternate editor will be a screen editor.
2699 After the editor is quit,
2700 the user may resume appending text to the end of the message.
2701 .It Ic ~w Ar filename
2702 Write the message onto the named file.
2704 the message is appended to it.
2706 Same as `~q', except that the message is not saved at all.
2707 .It Ic ~| Ar command
2708 Pipe the message through the specified filter command.
2709 If the command gives no output or terminates abnormally,
2710 retain the original text of the message.
2713 is often used as a rejustifying filter.
2717 .\" .Sh "VARIABLE OPTIONS" {{{
2718 .Sh "VARIABLE OPTIONS"
2719 Options are controlled via
2723 commands, see the corresponding entries for a syntax description;
2726 can also be accomplished by prefixing a variable name with the string
2729 e.g., "unset crt" will have the same effect as "set nocrt".
2731 An option is also set if it has been passed to \*(UA as part of the
2732 program environment or when it has been set explicitly via the
2734 command line option.
2736 \*(UA differentiates in between two different kind of options:
2737 binary options, which can only be in the two states set and unset,
2738 as well as value options which have an assigned string value.
2739 (For the latter kind proper quoting is important upon assignment time.)
2742 will show informations about all given variables and
2744 when used without arguments, will print a listing of all currently set
2745 variables, including values of string variables.
2747 .\" .Ss "Initial settings" {{{
2748 .Ss "Initial Settings"
2749 The standard POSIX 2008/Cor 1-2013 mandates the following initial
2751 .Ns no Ns Va allnet ,
2752 .Ns no Ns Va append ,
2754 .Ns no Ns Va askbcc ,
2755 .Ns no Ns Va autoprint ,
2759 .Ns no Ns Va debug ,
2763 .Ns no Ns Va flipr ,
2764 .Ns no Ns Va folder ,
2767 .Ns no Ns Va ignore ,
2768 .Ns no Ns Va ignoreeof ,
2770 .Ns no Ns Va keepsave ,
2771 .Ns no Ns Va metoo ,
2772 .Ns no Ns Va outfolder ,
2776 (note that \*(UA deviates from the standard by using "\\& ", but the
2779 escape results in "?" being printed unless
2783 .Ns no Ns Va record ,
2785 .Ns no Ns Va sendwait ,
2786 .Ns no Ns Va showto ,
2792 Notes: \*(UA doesn't support the
2794 variable \(en use command line options or
2795 .Va sendmail-arguments
2796 to pass options through to a MTA.
2799 .\" .Ss "Binary options" {{{
2800 .Ss "Binary options"
2801 .Bl -tag -width ".Va autoprint"
2802 .It Va add-file-recipients
2803 When file or pipe recipients have been specified,
2804 mention them in the corresponding address fields of the message instead
2805 of silently stripping them from their recipient list.
2806 By default such addressees are not mentioned.
2808 Causes only the local part to be evaluated
2809 when comparing addresses.
2811 Causes messages saved in mbox to be appended to the end rather than
2813 This should always be set.
2814 .It Va ask Ns \ or Va asksub
2815 Causes \*(UA to prompt for the subject of each message sent.
2816 If the user responds with simply a newline,
2817 no subject field will be sent.
2819 Causes the prompts for `Cc:' and `Bcc:' lists to appear after the
2820 message has been edited.
2822 If set, \*(UA asks for files to attach at the end of each message.
2823 An empty line finalizes the list.
2825 Causes the user to be prompted for additional carbon copy recipients (at
2826 the end of each message if
2831 An empty line finalizes the list.
2833 Causes the user to be prompted for additional blind carbon copy
2834 recipients (at the end of each message if
2839 An empty line finalizes the list.
2841 \*(OP Causes the user to be prompted if the message is to be signed at
2842 the end of each message.
2845 variable is ignored when this variable is set.
2847 Causes threads to be collapsed automatically when threaded mode is
2852 Causes the delete command to behave like `dp -';
2853 thus, after deleting a message the next one will be typed automatically.
2855 Causes threaded mode (see the
2857 command) to be entered automatically when a folder is opened.
2859 Enables the substitution of `!' by the contents of the last command line
2861 .It Va batch-exit-on-error
2862 If the batch mode has been enabled via the
2864 command line option, then this variable will be consulted whenever \*(UA
2865 completes one operation (returns to the command prompt); if it is set
2866 then \*(UA will terminate if the last operation generated an error.
2868 Causes automatic display of a header summary after executing a
2872 Sets some cosmetical features to traditional BSD style;
2873 has the same affect as setting
2875 and all other variables prefixed with `bsd';
2876 it also changes the meaning of the \*(UA specific `\\&'
2880 Changes the letters printed in the first column of a header summary
2881 to traditional BSD style.
2883 Changes the display of columns in a header summary to traditional BSD
2886 Changes some informational messages to traditional BSD style.
2888 Causes the `Subject:' field to appear immediately after the `To:' field
2889 in message headers and with the `~h' tilde command.
2891 Changes the output format of the
2893 command to traditional BSD style.
2894 .It Va colour-disable
2895 \*(OP Forcefully disable usage of colours.
2896 Also see the section
2897 .Sx "Coloured message display" .
2899 \*(OP Wether colour shall be used for output that is paged through
2901 Note that pagers may need special flags, e.g.,
2909 in order to support colours; therefore \*(UA will inspect the variable
2911 \(en if that starts with the string `less' a non-existing
2912 environment variable
2914 will be set to "FRSXi", likewise for `lv'
2916 will be optionally set to "-c".
2917 Also see the section
2918 .Sx "Coloured message display"
2921 Prints debugging messages and disables the actual delivery of messages.
2924 this option is intended for \*(UA development only.
2926 \*(OP When an IMAP mailbox is selected and this variable is set,
2927 no connection to the server is initiated.
2928 Instead, data is obtained from the local cache (see
2931 Mailboxes that are not present in the cache
2932 and messages that have not yet entirely been fetched from the server
2934 to fetch all messages in a mailbox at once,
2936 .Ns ` Ns Li copy * /dev/null Ns '
2937 can be used while still in connected mode.
2938 Changes that are made to IMAP mailboxes in disconnected mode are queued
2939 and committed later when a connection to that server is made.
2940 This procedure is not completely reliable since it cannot be guaranteed
2941 that the IMAP unique identifiers (UIDs) on the server still match the
2942 ones in the cache at that time.
2945 when this problem occurs.
2946 .It Va disconnected-USER@HOST
2947 The specified account is handled as described for the
2950 but other accounts are not affected.
2951 .It Va disposition-notification-send
2952 \*(OP Emit a `Disposition-Notification-To:' header (RFC 3798) with the
2957 .\" TODO .It Va disposition-notification-send-HOST
2959 .\".Va disposition-notification-send
2960 .\" for SMTP accounts on a specific host.
2961 .\" TODO .It Va disposition-notification-send-USER@HOST
2963 .\".Va disposition-notification-send
2964 .\"for a specific account.
2966 When dot is set, a dot (`.') on a line by itself during message input
2967 from a terminal shall be treated as end-of-message (in addition to the
2968 normal end-of-file condition).
2973 is ignored and using a dot is the only method to terminate input mode.
2975 If this variable is set then the editor is started automatically when
2976 composing a message in an interactive mode,
2977 as if the `~e' tilde command had been specified.
2980 variable is implied for this automatically spawned editor session.
2982 When a message is edited while being composed,
2983 its header is included in the editable text.
2984 The `To:', `Cc:', `Bcc:', `Subject:', `From:', `Reply-To:', `Sender:',
2985 and 'Organization:' fields are accepted within the header,
2986 other fields are ignored.
2988 If set, an empty mailbox file is not removed.
2989 This may improve the interoperability with other mail user agents
2990 when using a common folder directory.
2992 If the mailbox is empty \*(UA normally prints `No mail for user' and
2994 If this option is set \*(UA starts even with an empty mailbox.
3000 commands and vice-versa.
3001 .It Va forward-as-attachment
3002 Original messages are normally sent as inline text with the
3005 and only the first part of a multipart message is included.
3006 With this option messages are sent as MIME `message/rfc822' attachments
3007 with all of their parts included.
3012 options are ignored when the
3013 .Va forward-as-attachment
3016 When replying to a message \*(UA normally removes the comment parts of
3018 which by convention contain the full names of the recipients.
3019 If this variable is set such stripping is not performed,
3020 and comments are retained.
3022 Causes the header summary to be written at startup and after commands
3023 that affect the number of messages or the order of messages in the
3024 current folder; enabled by default.
3025 The command line option
3029 .It Va history-gabby
3030 \*(OP Add more entries to the history as is normally done.
3031 .It Va history-gabby-persist
3032 \*(OP \*(UAs own NCL will not save the additional (gabby) history
3033 entries in persistent storage unless this variable is also set.
3037 This option is used to hold messages in the system mailbox by default.
3039 \*(OP Can be used to turn off the automatic conversion of domain names
3040 according to the rules of IDNA (internationalized domain names for
3042 Since the IDNA code assumes domain names are specified with the
3044 character set, an UTF-8 locale charset is required to represent
3045 all possible international domain names (before conversion, that is).
3047 Ignore interrupt signals from the terminal while entering messages;
3048 instead echo them as `@' characters and discard the current line.
3050 Ignore end-of-file conditions (`control-D') on message input,
3051 which instead can be terminated only by entering a
3053 (`.') on a line by itself or by using the `~.' tilde escape.
3054 This option also applies to \*(UA command mode.
3055 .It Va imap-use-starttls
3056 \*(OP Causes \*(UA to issue a `STARTTLS' command to make an unencrypted
3057 IMAP session SSL/TLS encrypted.
3058 This functionality is not supported by all servers,
3059 and is not used if the session is already encrypted by the IMAPS method.
3060 .It Va imap-use-starttls-USER@HOST
3062 .Va imap-use-starttls
3063 for a specific account.
3065 This option causes \*(UA to truncate the user's system mailbox instead
3066 of deleting it when it is empty.
3067 This should always be set since it prevents malicious users from
3068 creating fake mail folders in a world-writable spool directory.
3070 When a message is saved it is usually discarded from the originating
3071 folder when \*(UA is quit.
3072 Setting this option causes all saved message to be retained.
3073 .It Va line-editor-disable
3074 Turn off any enhanced command line editing capabilities (see
3075 .Sx "Command line editor"
3078 When a message is replied to and this variable is set,
3079 it is marked as having been answered.
3080 This mark has no technical meaning in the mail system;
3081 it just causes messages to be marked in the header summary,
3082 and makes them specially addressable.
3083 .It Va message-id-disable
3084 By setting this option the generation of `Message-ID:' can be completely
3085 suppressed, effectively leaving this task up to the mail-transfer-agent
3086 (MTA) or the SMTP server.
3087 (According to RFC 5321 your SMTP server is not required to add this
3088 field by itself, so you should ensure that it accepts messages without
3091 Usually, when a group is expanded that contains the sender,
3092 the sender is removed from the expansion.
3093 Setting this option causes the sender to be included in the group.
3094 .It Va mime-allow-text-controls
3095 When sending messages, each part of the message is MIME-inspected in
3096 order to classify the `Content-Type:' and `Content-Transfer-Encoding:'
3097 that is required to send this part over mail transport, i.e.,
3098 a computation rather similar to what the
3100 command produces when used with the
3104 This classification however treats text files which are encoded in
3105 UTF-16 (often found for HTML files) and similar character sets as binary
3106 octet-streams, forcefully changing any `text/plain' or `text/html'
3107 specification to `application/octet-stream';
3108 if that actually happens, then a yet unset charset MIME parameter is set
3109 to `binary', effectively making it impossible for the receiving MUA to
3110 automatically interpret the contents of the part.
3112 If this option is set, and the data was unambiguously identified as text
3113 data at first glance (by a `.txt' or `.html' file extension), then the
3114 original `Content-Type:' will not be overwritten.
3115 .It Va netrc-lookup-USER@HOST , \
3116 Va netrc-lookup-HOST , \
3118 \*(IN \*(OP Used to control usage of the users
3120 file for lookup of account credentials (see the section
3125 The default path can be overridden by the environment variable
3127 Note that \*(UA requires that the file is only accessible by the user,
3128 regardless of the file content; also, whereas a conforming parser is
3129 used, only `machine', `login' and `password' entries are saved and used.
3130 A given `HOST' must match exactly the `machine NAME', but as an
3131 extension \*(UA allows a single wildcard prefix, as in
3133 .Dl *.example.com login USER password PASSWORD
3134 .Dl imap.example.com login USER password PASSWORD
3136 which would match `smtp.example.com' as well as `pop3.example.com', but
3137 neither `example.com' nor `local.smtp.example.com'.
3138 Note that in the example `imap.example.com' will not be matched by the
3139 wildcard, since the exact match takes precedence (it is however faster
3140 to specify it the other way around).
3142 Causes the filename given in the
3145 and the sender-based filenames for the
3149 commands to be interpreted relative to the directory given in the
3151 variable rather than to the current directory,
3152 unless it is set to an absolute pathname.
3154 If set, each message the
3156 command prints out is followed by a formfeed character.
3158 Send messages to the
3160 command without performing MIME and character set conversions.
3161 .It Va pop3-bulk-load
3162 \*(OP When accessing a POP3 server \*(UA loads the headers of the
3163 messages, and only requests the message bodies on user request.
3164 For the POP3 protocol this means that the message headers will be
3166 If this option is set then \*(UA will download only complete messages
3167 from POP3 servers instead.
3170 a macro that temporarily sets this option, then accesses a POP3 account
3171 that is known to only get small text messages, and then unsets this
3174 \*(OP Unless this variable is set the `APOP' authentication method
3175 will be used when connecting to a POP3 server that advertises support.
3176 The advantage of APOP over `USER/PASS' authentication is that the
3177 password is not sent in clear text over the wire and that only a single
3178 packet is sent for the user/password tuple.
3179 .It Va pop3-no-apop-HOST
3180 \*(IN Disables the `APOP' authentication method for a specific host.
3181 .It Va pop3-no-apop-USER@HOST
3182 Disables the `APOP' authentication method for a specific account.
3183 .It Va pop3-use-starttls
3184 \*(OP Causes \*(UA to issue a `STLS' command to make an unencrypted POP3
3185 session SSL/TLS encrypted.
3186 This functionality is not supported by all servers,
3187 and is not used if the session is already encrypted by the POP3S method.
3188 .It Va pop3-use-starttls-HOST
3190 .Va pop3-use-starttls
3191 for a specific host.
3192 .It Va pop3-use-starttls-USER@HOST
3194 .Va pop3-use-starttls
3195 for a specific account.
3196 .It Va print-all-chars
3197 This option causes all characters to be considered printable.
3198 It is only effective if given in a startup file.
3199 With this option set some character sequences in messages may put the
3200 user's terminal in an undefined state when printed;
3201 it should only be used as a last resort if no working system locale can
3203 .It Va print-alternatives
3204 When a MIME message part of type `multipart/alternative' is displayed
3205 and it contains a subpart of type `text/plain',
3206 other parts are normally discarded.
3207 Setting this variable causes all subparts to be displayed,
3208 just as if the surrounding part was of type `multipart/mixed'.
3210 Suppresses the printing of the version when first invoked.
3211 .It Va quote-as-attachment
3212 If this is set, then the original message is added in its entirety
3213 as a `message/rfc822' MIME attachment when replying to a message.
3214 Note this works regardless of the setting of
3216 .It Va recipients-in-cc
3217 On group replies, specify only the sender of the original mail in `To:'
3218 and mention it's other recipients in the secondary `Cc:'.
3219 .It Va record-resent
3220 If both this variable and the
3227 commands save messages to the
3229 folder as it is normally only done for newly composed messages.
3230 .It Va reply-in-same-charset
3231 If this variable is set \*(UA first tries to use the same character set
3232 of the original message for replies.
3233 If this fails, the mechanism described in
3234 .Sx "Character sets"
3235 is evaluated as usual.
3237 Reverses the sense of
3242 .It Va rfc822-body-from_
3243 This variable can be used to force the display of a so-called `From_'
3244 line for messages that are embedded into an envelope mail via the
3245 `message/rfc822' MIME mechanism.
3247 When the user aborts a message with two `RUBOUT' (interrupt,
3248 `control-C') characters,
3249 \*(UA will copy the partial letter to the file
3251 This option is set by default.
3252 .It Va searchheaders
3253 Expand message-list specifiers in the form `/x:y' to all messages
3254 containing the substring `y' in the header field `x'.
3255 The string search is case insensitive.
3256 .It Va sendcharsets-else-ttycharset
3257 \*(OP If this variable is set, but
3259 is not, then \*(UA acts as if
3261 had been set to the value of the variable
3263 In effect this combination passes through the message data in the
3264 character set of the current locale (given that
3266 hasn't been set manually), i.e., without converting it to the
3268 fallback character set.
3269 Thus, mail message text will be in `ISO-8859-1' encoding when send from
3270 within a `ISO-8859-1' locale, and in `UTF-8' encoding when send from
3271 within an `UTF-8' locale.
3272 If no character set conversion capabilities are available in \*(UA then
3273 the only supported character set is
3276 When sending a message wait until the MTA exits before accepting further
3278 If the MTA returns a non-zero exit status,
3279 the exit status of \*(ua will also be non-zero.
3281 Setting this option causes \*(UA to start at the last message instead of
3282 the first one when opening a mail folder.
3284 Causes \*(UA to use the sender's real name instead of the plain address
3285 in the header field summary and in message specifications.
3287 Causes the recipient of the message to be shown in the header summary
3288 if the message was sent by the user.
3289 .It Va skipemptybody
3290 If an outgoing message does not contain any text in its first or only
3292 do not send it but discard it silently (see also the command line option
3295 .It Va smime-force-encryption
3296 \*(OP Causes \*(UA to refuse sending unencrypted messages.
3298 \*(OP S/MIME sign outgoing messages with the user's private key and
3299 include the user's certificate as a MIME attachment.
3300 Signing a message enables a recipient to verify that the sender used
3301 a valid certificate,
3302 that the email addresses in the certificate match those in the message
3303 header and that the message content has not been altered.
3304 It does not change the message text,
3305 and people will be able to read the message as usual.
3309 .Va smime-sign-include-certs .
3310 .It Va smime-no-default-ca
3311 \*(OP Don't load default CA locations when verifying S/MIME signed
3313 .It Va smtp-use-starttls
3314 \*(OP Causes \*(UA to issue a `STARTTLS' command to make an SMTP session
3316 .It Va smtp-use-starttls-HOST
3318 .Va smtp-use-starttls
3319 for SMTP accounts on a specific host.
3320 .It Va smtp-use-starttls-USER@HOST
3322 .Va smtp-use-starttls
3323 for a specific account.
3324 .It Va ssl-no-default-ca
3325 \*(OP Don't load default CA locations to verify SSL/TLS server
3328 \*(OP Accept SSLv2 connections.
3329 These are normally not allowed because this protocol version is insecure.
3330 .It Va keep-content-length
3331 When (editing messages and) writing
3333 mailbox files \*(UA can be told to keep the `Content-Length:' and
3334 `Lines:' header fields that some MUAs generate by setting this variable.
3335 Since \*(UA does neither use nor update these non-standardized header
3336 fields (which in itself shows one of their conceptual problems),
3337 stripping them should increase interoperability in between MUAs that
3338 work with with same mailbox files.
3339 Note that, if this is not set but
3340 .Va writebackedited ,
3341 as below, is, a possibly performed automatic stripping of these header
3342 fields already marks the message as being modified.
3344 Setting this option enables upward compatibility with \*(UA version 15.0
3345 in respect to which configuration options are available and how they are
3347 This manual uses \*(IN and \*(OU to refer to the new and the old way of
3348 doing things, respectively.
3350 Setting this option, also controllable via the command line option
3352 causes \*(UA to be more verbose, so that, e.g., certificate chains will
3353 be displayed on the users terminal.
3354 Setting this binary options twice increases the level of verbosity, in
3355 which case even details of the actual message delivery and protocol
3356 conversations are also shown.
3359 is sufficient to disable verbosity as such.
3360 .It Va writebackedited
3361 If this variable is set messages modified using the
3365 commands are written back to the current folder when it is quit;
3366 it is only honoured for writable folders in `mbox' format, though.
3367 Note that the editor will be pointed to the raw message content in that
3368 case, i.e., neither MIME decoding nor decryption will have been
3370 and proper RFC 4155 `From ' quoting of newly added or edited content is
3371 also left as an excercise to the user.
3375 .\" .Ss "Value options" {{{
3377 .Bl -tag -width ".Va autoprint"
3379 A sequence of characters to print in the `attribute' column of a header
3381 each for one type of messages in the following order:
3382 new (N), unread but old (U), new but read (R), read and old (O), saved
3383 (S), preserved (P), mboxed (M), flagged (F), answered (A), draft (T),
3384 start of a collapsed thread (+), collapsed (\-), classified as spam ($).
3385 The default is `NUROSPMFAT+\-$',
3386 or `NU\ \ *HMFAT+\-$' if
3390 environment variable are set.
3392 Specifies a list of recipients to which a blind carbon copy of each
3393 outgoing message will be sent automatically.
3395 Specifies a list of recipients to which a carbon copy of each outgoing
3396 message will be sent automatically.
3398 Causes sorted mode (see the
3400 command) to be entered automatically with the value of this option as
3401 sorting method when a folder is opened.
3403 The value that should appear in the `charset=' parameter of
3404 `Content-Type:' MIME header fields when no character set conversion of
3405 the message data was performed.
3406 This defaults to `US-ASCII', and the chosen character set should be
3407 `US-ASCII' compatible.
3409 \*(OP The default 8 bit character set that is used as an implied last
3410 member of the variable
3412 Defaults to `UTF-8'.
3413 If no character set conversion capabilities are available in \*(UA then
3414 the only supported character set is
3416 Refer to the section
3417 .Sx "Character sets"
3418 for the complete picture of character set conversion in \*(UA.
3420 The default value for the
3424 \*(OP The colour specification for so-called `From_' lines.
3426 .Sx "Coloured message display"
3427 for the format of the value.
3428 .It Va colour-header
3429 \*(OP The colour specification for header lines.
3431 .Sx "Coloured message display"
3432 for the format of the value.
3433 .It Va colour-msginfo
3434 \*(OP The colour specification for the introductional message info line.
3436 .Sx "Coloured message display"
3437 for the format of the value.
3438 .It Va colour-partinfo
3439 \*(OP The colour specification for MIME part info lines.
3441 .Sx "Coloured message display"
3442 for the format of the value.
3444 \*(OP A comma-separated list of
3446 inals for which coloured message display can be used.
3447 Entries only need to be added if the string "color" isn't part of the
3448 terminal name itself; the default value is
3450 .Dl cons25,linux,rxvt,rxvt-unicode,\:screen,\:sun,\:vt100,\:vt220,\:\
3452 .It Va colour-uheader
3453 \*(OP The colour specification for those header lines that have been
3455 .Va colour-user-headers
3458 .Sx "Coloured message display"
3459 for the format of the value.
3460 .It Va colour-user-headers
3461 A comma separated list of (case-insensitive) header names which should
3462 be colourized with the alternative
3465 The default value is `from,subject'.
3467 The valued option crt is used as a threshold to determine how long
3468 a message must be before
3473 is set without a value then the height of the terminal screen stored in
3474 the system is used to compute the threshold (see
3480 The date in a header summary is normally the date of the mailbox `From\ '
3481 line of the message.
3482 If this variable is set, then the date as given in the `Date:' field is
3483 used, converted to local time.
3484 It is possible to control the display of the date by assigning a value,
3487 function will be used to format the date accordingly.
3488 Please read your system manual for the available formats.
3489 Note that the `%n' format should not be used, because \*(UA doesn't
3490 take embedded newlines into account when calculating how many lines fit
3492 .It Va datefield-markout-older
3493 This option, when set in addition to
3495 modifies the display of messages that are not really current in a way
3496 that is rather comparable to the
3501 The interpretation of the value is identical to what has been described
3505 Suggestion for the MIME encoding to use in outgoing text messages
3507 Valid values are the default `quoted-printable', `8bit' and `base64'.
3508 `8bit' may cause problems with when transferring mail messages over
3509 channels that are not ESMTP (RFC 1869) compliant.
3510 If there is no need to encode a message,
3511 `7bit' transfer mode is always used regardless of this variable.
3512 Binary data is always encoded as `base64'.
3514 If defined, the first character of this option
3515 gives the character to use in place of `~' to denote tilde escapes.
3517 The name of the directory to use for storing folders of messages.
3518 All folder names that begin with `+' refer to files below it.
3519 The same special conventions as documented for the
3521 command may be used when specifying a new value for
3523 but be aware that the expansion is fully performed immediately.
3524 E.g., if the expanded name refers to an IMAP account, all names that
3525 begin with `+' refer to IMAP mailboxes below the
3529 Note: some IMAP servers do not accept the creation of mailboxes in
3530 the hierarchy base, but require that they are created as subfolders of
3531 `INBOX' \(en with such servers a folder name of the form
3533 .Dl imaps://mylogin@imap.myisp.example/INBOX.
3535 should be used (the last character is the server's hierarchy delimiter).
3536 Folder names prefixed by `+' will then refer to folders below `INBOX',
3537 while folder names prefixed by `@' refer to folders below the hierarchy
3541 namespace command for a method to detect the appropriate prefix and
3544 When a folder is opened and this variable is set,
3545 the macro corresponding to the value of this variable is executed.
3546 The macro is also invoked when new mail arrives,
3547 but message lists for commands executed from the macro
3548 only include newly arrived messages then.
3549 .It Va folder-hook-fullname
3550 When a folder named `fullname' is opened,
3551 the macro corresponding to the value of this variable is executed.
3552 Unlike other folder specifications,
3553 the fully expanded name of a folder, without metacharacters,
3554 is used to avoid ambiguities.
3555 The macro specified with
3557 is not executed if this variable is effective for a folder
3560 ed from within the actually executed macro).
3562 The address (or a list of addresses) to put into the `From:' field of
3563 the message header, quoting RFC 5322:
3564 the author(s) of the message, that is, the mailbox(es) of the person(s)
3565 or system(s) responsible for the writing of the message.
3566 If replying to messages these addresses are handled as if they were in
3570 If the machine's hostname is not valid at the Internet (for example at
3571 a dialup machine) then either this variable or
3576 adds even more fine-tuning capabilities),
3580 contains more than one address,
3583 variable is required (according to the standard RFC 5322).
3585 The string to print before the text of a message with the
3589 .Va forward-as-attachment
3591 Defaults to `-------- Original Message --------' if unset.
3592 No heading is printed if it is set to the empty string.
3594 A format string to use for the header summary,
3598 A `%' character introduces a format specifier.
3599 It may be followed by a number indicating the field width.
3600 If the (possibly implicitly implied) field width is negative, the field
3601 is to be left-aligned.
3602 Valid format specifiers are:
3603 .Bl -tag -offset indent -width "%%"
3607 The date when the message was received.
3609 The indenting level in threaded mode.
3611 The address of the message sender.
3613 The message thread structure.
3614 (Note that this format doesn't support a field width.)
3616 The number of lines of the message.
3620 The number of octets (bytes) in the message.
3622 Message subject (if any).
3624 Message subject (if any) in double quotes.
3626 The position in threaded/sorted order.
3628 A `>' for the current message, otherwise ` '.
3630 A `<' for the current message, otherwise ` '.
3632 The spam score of the message, as has been classified via the command
3638 The default is `%>\&%a\&%m\ %-18f\ %16d\ %4l/%\-5o\ %i%-s',
3639 or `%>\&%a\&%m\ %20-f\ \ %16d\ %3l/%\-5o\ %i%-S' if
3644 .It Va headline-bidi
3645 Bidirectional text requires special treatment when displaying headers,
3646 because numbers (in dates or for file sizes etc.) will not affect the
3647 current text direction, in effect resulting in ugly line layouts when
3648 arabic or other right-to-left text is to be displayed.
3649 On the other hand only a minority of terminals is capable to correctly
3650 handle direction changes, so that user interaction is necessary for
3652 Note that extended host system support is required nonetheless, e.g.,
3653 detection of the terminal character set is one precondition;
3654 and this feature only works in an Unicode (i.e., UTF-8) locale.
3656 In general setting this variable will cause \*(UA to encapsulate text
3657 fields that may occur when printing
3659 (and some other fields, like dynamic expansions in
3661 with special Unicode control sequences;
3662 it is possible to fine-tune the terminal support level by assigning
3664 no value (or any value other than `1', `2' and `3') will make \*(UA
3665 assume that the terminal is capable to properly deal with Unicode
3666 version 6.3, in which case text is embedded in a pair of U+2068 (FIRST
3667 STRONG ISOLATE) and U+2069 (POP DIRECTIONAL ISOLATE) characters.
3668 In addition no space on the line is reserved for these characters.
3670 Weaker support is chosen by using the value `1' (Unicode 6.3, but
3671 reserve the room of two spaces for writing the control sequences onto
3673 The values `2' and `3' select Unicode 1.1 support (U+200E, LEFT-TO-RIGHT
3674 MARK); the latter again reserves room for two spaces in addition.
3676 Use this string as hostname when expanding local addresses instead of
3677 the value obtained from
3681 i.e., in `Message-ID:' and `From:' fields.
3684 transport is not used then it is normally the responsibility of the MTA
3685 to create these fields, \*(IN in conjunction with
3689 also influences the results;
3690 you should produce some test messages with the desired combination of
3697 \*(OP Sets the IMAP authentication method.
3698 Valid values are `login' for the usual password-based authentication
3700 `cram-md5', which is a password-based authentication that does not send
3701 the password over the network in clear text,
3702 and `gssapi' for GSS-API based authentication.
3703 .It Va imap-auth-USER@HOST
3704 Sets the IMAP authentication method for a specific account.
3706 \*(OP Enables caching of IMAP mailboxes.
3707 The value of this variable must point to a directory that is either
3708 existent or can be created by \*(UA.
3709 All contents of the cache can be deleted by \*(UA at any time;
3710 it is not safe to make assumptions about them.
3711 .It Va imap-keepalive
3712 \*(OP IMAP servers may close the connection after a period of
3713 inactivity; the standard requires this to be at least 30 minutes,
3714 but practical experience may vary.
3715 Setting this variable to a numeric `value' greater than 0 causes
3716 a `NOOP' command to be sent each `value' seconds if no other operation
3718 .It Va imap-list-depth
3719 \*(OP When retrieving the list of folders on an IMAP server, the
3721 command stops after it has reached a certain depth to avoid possible
3723 The value of this variable sets the maximum depth allowed.
3725 If the folder separator on the current IMAP server is a slash `/',
3726 this variable has no effect and the
3728 command does not descend to subfolders.
3730 String used by the `~m', `~M' and `~R' tilde escapes and by the
3732 option for indenting messages,
3733 in place of the normal tabulator character (`^I'), which is the default.
3734 Be sure to quote the value if it contains spaces or tabs.
3735 .It Va line-editor-cursor-right
3736 \*(OP If the builtin command line editor is used, actions which are
3737 based on rightwise movement may not work on some terminals.
3738 If you encounter such problems, set this variable to the terminal
3739 control sequence that is necessary to move the cursor one column to the
3741 The default is `\\033[C', which should work for most terminals.
3742 Less often occur `\\033OC' and `\\014'.
3743 Note that `ESCAPE' and other control character have to be written as
3744 shell-style escape sequences, e.g., `\\033' for `ESCAPE'.
3746 Is used as the user's mailbox, if set.
3747 Otherwise, a system-dependent default is used.
3748 Supports a logical subset of the special conventions that are documented
3754 .It Va mime-counter-evidence
3755 Normally the `Content-Type:' field is used to decide how to treat
3756 a messages MIME part.
3757 Some MUAs however don't use
3759 or a similar mechanism to correctly classify content,
3760 but simply specify `application/octet-stream',
3761 even for plain text attachments like `text/diff'.
3762 If this variable is set then \*(UA will use the file extension of
3763 attachments to classify such MIME message parts, if possible.
3765 This can also be given a non-empty value: in this case the value is
3766 expected to be a number, actually a carrier of bits.
3767 If bit two is set (0x2) then the detected "real" content-type will be
3768 carried along with the message and be used for detecting which
3769 .Va pipe-CONTENT/SUBCONTENT
3770 is responsible for the MIME part, shall that question arise;
3771 when displaying such a MIME part the part-info will indicate the
3772 overridden content-type by showing a plus-sign (`+').
3773 .It Va mimetypes-load-control
3774 This option can be used to control which of the
3776 MIME type databases are loaded by \*(UA.
3777 If the letter `u' (or `U') is part of this options value, then the
3780 file will be loaded (if it exists);
3781 likewise the letter `s' (or `S') controls loading of the system wide
3782 .Pa /etc/mime.types .
3783 If this option is not set \*(UA will try to load both files instead.
3784 Incorporation of the MIME types that are compiled into \*(UA cannot be
3786 .It Va NAIL_EXTRA_RC
3787 The name of an optional startup file to be read after \*(ur.
3788 This variable is ignored if it is imported from the environment;
3789 it has an effect only if it is set in \*(UR or \*(ur to allow bypassing
3790 the configuration with, e.g., `MAILRC=/dev/null'.
3791 Use this file for commands that are not understood by other \*(UA
3794 A string to put at the beginning of each new message.
3795 The escape sequences `\et' (tabulator) and `\en' (newline) are understood.
3796 .It Va NAIL_HISTFILE
3797 \*(OP If a command line editor is available then this can be set to
3798 name the (expandable) path of the location of a permanent history file.
3799 .It Va NAIL_HISTSIZE
3800 \*(OP If a command line editor is available this value restricts the
3801 amount of history entries that are saved into a set and valid
3803 A value of less than 0 disables this feature;
3804 note that loading and incorporation of
3806 upon program startup can also be suppressed by doing this.
3807 An unset or invalid value, or 0, causes a default value to be used.
3808 Dependent on the available command line editor this will also define the
3809 number of history entries in memory;
3810 it is also editor-specific wether runtime updates of this value will be
3813 A string to put at the end of each new message.
3814 The escape sequences `\et' (tabulator) and `\en' (newline) are understood.
3816 If this variable has the value `maildir',
3817 newly created local folders will be in `maildir' format.
3819 Checks for new mail in the current folder each time the prompt is
3821 For IMAP mailboxes the server is then polled for new mail,
3822 which may result in delayed operation if the connection to the server is
3824 A `maildir' folder must be re-scanned to determine if new mail has
3827 If this variable is set to the special value `nopoll' an IMAP server is
3828 not actively asked for new mail,
3829 but new mail may still be detected and announced with any other IMAP
3830 command that is sent to the server.
3831 A `maildir' folder is not scanned, then.
3833 In either case the IMAP server may send notifications about messages
3834 that have been deleted on the server by another process or client.
3835 In this case, `Expunged X messages' is printed regardless of this
3837 and message numbers may have changed.
3839 The value to put into the `Organization:' field of the message header.
3841 \*(IN Sets a global fallback password, which is used in case none has
3842 been given in the protocol and account-specific URL and neither is there
3843 a matching `password-USER@HOST' nor a matching `password-HOST';
3844 as a last resort \*(UA will ask for a password on the user's terminal if
3845 the authentication method requires a password.
3846 Specifying passwords in a startup file is generally a security risk;
3847 the file should be readable by the invoking user only.
3848 .It Va password-HOST
3851 for accounts on a specific host.
3852 .It Va password-USER@HOST
3857 for a specific account.
3859 Set the password for `user' when connecting to `host'.
3860 If no such variable is defined for a host,
3861 the user will be asked for a password on standard input.
3862 Specifying passwords in a startup file is generally a security risk;
3863 the file should be readable by the invoking user only.
3864 .It Va pipe-CONTENT/SUBCONTENT
3865 When a MIME message part of type `CONTENT/SUBCONTENT' (normalized to
3866 lowercase) type is displayed or quoted,
3867 its text is filtered through the value of this variable interpreted as
3869 Some information about the MIME part to be displayed is embedded into
3870 the environment of the shell command:
3871 .Bl -tag -width ".It Ev NAIL_FILENAME_GENERATED"
3872 .It Ev NAIL_FILENAME
3873 The filename, if any is set, the empty string otherwise.
3874 .It Ev NAIL_FILENAME_GENERATED
3877 if that isn't empty, but otherwise a combination of a random string
3878 (always) and the `SUBCONTENT' of the MIME part, if the latter is known.
3880 The MIME content-type of the part, if known, the empty string otherwise.
3881 .It Ev NAIL_CONTENT_EVIDENCE
3883 .Va mime-counter-evidence
3884 includes the carry-around-bit (2), then this will be set to the detected
3885 MIME content-type; not only then identical to
3890 The special value `@' can be used to force interpretation of the message
3891 part as plain text, e.g., `set pipe-application/pgp-signature=@' will
3892 henceforth treat signatures as plain text and display them "as is".
3894 Also, if a normal shell command is prefixed with `@', then the command
3895 will only be used to prepare the MIME message part if the message is
3896 displayed by itself, but not when multiple messages are displayed at
3899 Finally, if a normal shell command is prefixed with `@&', then, in
3900 addition to what has been described for the plain `@' shell command
3901 prefix, the command will be run asynchronously, i.e., without blocking
3902 \*(UA, which may be a handy way to display a, e.g., PDF file while also
3903 continuing to read the mail message.
3904 .It Va pipe-EXTENSION
3905 This is identical to
3906 .Va pipe-CONTENT/SUBCONTENT
3907 except that `EXTENSION' (normalized to lowercase using character
3908 mappings of the ASCII charset) names a file extension, e.g., `xhtml'.
3909 Handlers registered using this method take precedence.
3910 .It Va pop3-keepalive
3911 \*(OP POP3 servers close the connection after a period of inactivity;
3912 the standard requires this to be at least 10 minutes,
3913 but practical experience may vary.
3914 Setting this variable to a numeric `value' greater than 0 causes
3915 a `NOOP' command to be sent each `value' seconds if no other operation
3918 The string printed when a command is accepted.
3919 Prompting may be prevented by either setting this to the null string
3922 The same XSI escape sequences that are understood by the
3924 command may be used within
3927 In addition, the following \*(UA specific additional sequences are
3929 `\\&', which expands to `?' unless
3931 is set, in which case it expands to `&';
3932 note that "\\& " is the default value for
3934 `\\?', which will expand to `1' if the last command failed, and to `0'
3936 `\\$', which will expand to the name of the currently active
3938 if any, and to the empty string otherwise,
3939 and `\\@', which will expand to the name of the currently active mailbox.
3940 (Note that the prompt buffer is size-limited, excess is cut off.)
3946 to encapsulate the expansions of the `\\$' and `\\@' escape sequences as
3947 necessary to correctly display bidirectional text, this is not true for
3948 the final string that makes up
3950 as such, i.e., real BIDI handling is not supported.
3952 When a newer version of the
3954 .Sx "Command line editor"
3955 is used, any escape sequence must itself be encapsulated with another
3956 escape character for usage with the
3958 mechanism: \*(UA configures the control character `\\01' for this.
3960 If set, \*(UA starts a replying message with the original message
3961 prefixed by the value of the variable
3963 Normally, a heading consisting of `Fromheaderfield wrote:' is printed
3964 before the quotation.
3965 If the string `noheading' is assigned to the
3967 variable, this heading is omitted.
3968 If the string `headers' is assigned, the headers selected by the
3969 .Ic ignore Ns / Ns Ic retain
3970 commands are printed above the message body,
3973 acts like an automatic `~m' tilde escape command, then.
3974 If the string `allheaders' is assigned, all headers are printed above
3975 the message body and all MIME parts are included,
3978 act like an automatic `~M' command.
3980 .Va quote-as-attachment .
3982 \*(OP Can be set in addition to
3984 Setting this turns on a more fancy quotation algorithm in that leading
3985 quotation characters are compressed and overlong lines are folded.
3987 can be set to either one or two (space separated) numeric values,
3988 which are interpreted as the maximum (goal) and the minimum line length,
3989 respectively, in a spirit rather equal to the
3991 program, but line-, not paragraph-based.
3992 If not set explicitly the minimum will reflect the goal algorithmically.
3993 The goal can't be smaller than the length of
3995 plus some additional pad.
3996 Necessary adjustments take place silently.
3998 If defined, gives the pathname of the folder used to record all outgoing
4000 If not defined, then outgoing mail is not saved.
4001 When saving to this folder fails the message is not sent,
4002 but instead saved to
4005 A list of addresses to put into the `Reply-To:' field of the message
4007 Members of this list are handled as if they were in the
4011 When \*(UA initially prints the message headers it determines the number
4012 to print by looking at the speed of the terminal.
4013 The faster the terminal, the more it prints.
4014 This option overrides this calculation and specifies how many message
4015 headers are printed.
4016 This number is also used for scrolling with the
4020 \*(OP A comma-separated list of character set names that can be used in
4021 outgoing Internet mail.
4022 The value of the variable
4024 is automatically appended to this list of character-sets.
4025 If no character set conversion capabilities are compiled into \*(UA then
4026 the only supported charset is
4029 .Va sendcharsets-else-ttycharset
4030 and refer to the section
4031 .Sx "Character sets"
4032 for the complete picture of character set conversion in \*(UA.
4034 An address that is put into the `Sender:' field of outgoing messages,
4035 quoting RFC 5322: the mailbox of the agent responsible for the actual
4036 transmission of the message.
4037 This field should normally not be used unless the `From:' field contains
4038 more than one address, on which case it is required.
4041 address is handled as if it were in the
4045 To use an alternate mail delivery system,
4046 set this option to the full pathname of the program to use.
4047 It may be necessary to set
4048 .Va sendmail-progname
4050 .It Va sendmail-arguments
4051 Arguments to pass through to the Mail-Transfer-Agent can be given via
4053 These will be joined onto MTA options that have been given on the
4056 .Dl set sendmail-arguments='-t -X \&"/tmp/my log\&"'
4057 .It Va sendmail-progname
4058 Many systems use a so-called
4060 environment to ensure compatibility with
4062 This works by inspecting the name that was used to invoke the mail
4064 If this variable is set then the mailwrapper (the program that is
4065 actually executed when calling `sendmail') will treat its contents as
4067 The default is `sendmail'.
4069 A string for use with the `~A' tilde escape.
4071 A string for use with the `~a' tilde escape.
4073 Must correspond to the name of a readable file if set.
4074 The file's content is then appended to each singlepart message
4075 and to the first part of each multipart message.
4076 Be warned that there is no possibility to edit the signature for an
4079 \*(OP Specifies a directory with CA certificates in PEM (Privacy
4080 Enhanced Mail) format for verification of S/MIME signed messages.
4081 .It Va smime-ca-file
4082 \*(OP Specifies a file with CA certificates in PEM format for
4083 verification of S/MIME signed messages.
4084 .It Va smime-cipher-USER@HOST
4085 \*(OP Specifies a cipher to use when generating S/MIME encrypted
4086 messages for the specified account.
4087 RFC 5751 mandates a default of `aes-128' (AES-128 CBC).
4089 The actually available cipher algorithms depend on the cryptographic
4090 library that \*(UA uses; possible values are, in decreasing cipher
4092 `aes-256' (AES-256 CBC), `aes-192' (AES-192 CBC), `aes-128' (AES-128 CBC),
4093 `des3' (DES EDE3 CBC, 168 bits; default if `aes-128' isn't available)
4094 and `des' (DES CBC, 56 bits).
4096 The following ciphers have been obsoleted and are no longer mentioned by
4097 the S/MIME specification (RFC 5751), but may be selected if available:
4098 `rc2-64' (RC2 CBC, 64 bits) and `rc2-40' (RC2 CBC, 40 bits).
4099 .It Va smime-crl-file
4100 \*(OP Specifies a file that contains a CRL in PEM format to use when
4101 verifying S/MIME messages.
4102 .It Va smime-crl-dir
4103 \*(OP Specifies a directory that contains files with CRLs in PEM format
4104 to use when verifying S/MIME messages.
4105 .It Va smime-encrypt-USER@HOST
4106 \*(OP If this variable is set, messages send to the given receiver are
4107 encrypted before sending.
4108 The value of the variable must be set to the name of a file that
4109 contains a certificate in PEM format.
4111 If a message is sent to multiple recipients,
4112 each of them for whom a corresponding variable is set will receive an
4113 individually encrypted message;
4114 other recipients will continue to receive the message in plain text
4116 .Va smime-force-encryption
4118 It is recommended to sign encrypted messages, i.e., to also set the
4121 .It Va smime-sign-cert
4122 \*(OP Points to a file in PEM format.
4123 For the purpose of signing and decryption this file needs to contain the
4124 user's private key as well as his certificate.
4126 For the purpose of encryption the recipient's public encryption key
4127 (certificate) is expected; the command
4129 can be used to save certificates of signed messages (the section
4130 .Sx "Signed and encrypted messages with S/MIME"
4131 gives some details).
4132 This mode of operation is usually driven via
4133 .Va smime-sign-cert-USER@HOST ,
4135 .It Va smime-sign-cert-USER@HOST
4138 for a specific account.
4139 For message signing `USER@HOST' is always derived from the value of
4141 (or, if that contains multiple addresses,
4145 When decrypting messages the account is derived from the recipient
4146 fields (`To:' and `Cc:') of the message, which are searched for
4147 addresses for which such a variable is set.
4148 \*(UA always uses the first address that matches,
4149 so if the same message is sent to more than one of the user's addresses
4150 using different encryption keys, decryption might fail.
4151 .It Va smime-sign-include-certs
4152 \*(OP If used, this is supposed to a consist of a comma-separated list
4153 of files, each of which containing a single certificate in PEM format to
4154 be included in the S/MIME message in addition to the
4157 This is most useful for long certificate chains if it is desired to aid
4158 the receiving party's verification process.
4159 Note that top level certificates may also be included in the chain but
4160 don't play a role for verification.
4164 .Va smime-sign-cert-USER@HOST .
4165 .It Va smime-sign-include-certs-USER@HOST
4167 .Va smime-sign-include-certs
4168 for a specific account.
4170 \*(OP Normally \*(UA invokes the program defined via
4172 to transfer messages.
4175 variable will instead cause `SMTP' network connections be made to the
4176 server specified therein in order to directly submit the message.
4177 \*(UA knows about three different "SMTP protocols":
4178 .Bl -bullet -offset indent
4180 The plain `SMTP' protocol (RFC 5321) that normally lives on the
4181 server port 25 and requires setting of the
4182 .Va smtp-use-starttls
4183 variable as above to enter a SSL/TLS encrypted session state.
4184 Assign a value like \*(IN `[smtp://][user[:password]@]server[:port]'
4185 (\*(OU `[smtp://]server[:port]')
4186 to choose this protocol.
4188 Then the so-called `SMTPS' which is supposed to live on server port 465
4189 and is automatically SSL/TLS secured.
4190 Unfortunately it never became a standardized protocol and may thus not
4191 be supported by your hosts network service database
4192 \(en in fact the port number has already been reassigned to other
4195 `SMTPS' is nonetheless a commonly offered "protocol" and thus can be
4196 chosen by assigning a value like \*(IN
4197 `smtps://[user[:password]@]server[:port]'
4198 (\*(OU `smtps://server[:port]');
4199 due to the mentioned problems it is usually necessary to explicitly
4200 specify the port as `:465', however.
4202 Finally there is the `SUBMISSION' protocol (RFC 6409), which usually
4203 lives on server port 587 and is practically identically to the `SMTP'
4204 protocol from \*(UAs point of view beside that; it requires setting the
4205 .Va smtp-use-starttls
4206 variable to enter a SSL/TLS secured session state.
4207 Assign a value like \*(IN `submission://[user[:password]@]server[:port]'
4208 (\*(OU `submission://server[:port]').
4211 The SMTP transfer is executed in a child process, which runs
4212 asynchronously unless either the
4217 If it receives a TERM signal, it will abort and save the message to
4220 \*(OP Sets the SMTP authentication method.
4221 Possible values are `none' (the default), `plain', `login'
4222 as well as the \*(OPal methods `cram-md5' and `gssapi'.
4223 The `none' method doesn't need any user credentials,
4224 `gssapi' requires a user name
4225 and all other methods require a user name and a password.
4232 .Va smtp-auth-password
4234 .Va smtp-auth-user Ns
4236 .It Va smtp-auth-HOST
4239 for SMTP accounts on a specific host.
4240 .It Va smtp-auth-USER@HOST
4243 for a specific account.
4244 (\*(OU For specific values of sender addresses, dependend upon the variable
4247 .It Va smtp-auth-password
4248 \*(OP \*(OU Sets the global fallback password for SMTP authentication.
4249 If the authentication method requires a password, but neither
4250 .Va smtp-auth-password
4252 .Va smtp-auth-password-USER@HOST
4254 \*(UA will ask for a password on the user's terminal.
4255 .It Va smtp-auth-password-USER@HOST
4257 .Va smtp-auth-password
4258 for specific values of sender addresses, dependent upon the variable
4260 .It Va smtp-auth-user
4261 \*(OP \*(OU Sets the global fallback user name for SMTP authentication.
4262 If the authentication method requires a user name, but neither
4265 .Va smtp-auth-user-USER@HOST
4267 \*(UA will ask for a user name on the user's terminal.
4268 .It Va smtp-auth-user-USER@HOST
4271 for specific values of sender addresses, dependent upon the variable
4273 .It Va smtp-hostname
4274 \*(IN Normally \*(UA uses the variable
4276 to derive the necessary `USER@HOST' information to issue a
4277 `MAIL FROM:<>' SMTP command.
4280 can be used to use the `USER' from the SMTP account
4285 and the `HOST' from the content of this variable
4286 (or, if that is the empty string,
4288 or the local hostname as a last resort).
4289 This often allows using an address that is itself valid but hosted by
4290 a provider other than which is about to send the message in
4292 Setting this variable also influences the generated `Message-Id:'.
4294 \*(OP The path to the spam detector.
4295 Note that the path is not expanded, but used "as is".
4296 A fallback path will have been compiled into the \*(UA binary if the
4298 executable had been found during compilation.
4300 \*(OP Can be used to specify the host on which
4302 listens for connections; if not set, defaults to `localhost'.
4304 \*(OP Spam detectors like
4306 decline to work with messages which exceed a specific size;
4307 if this variable is set then \*(UA won't even try to pass messages which
4308 exceed the given limit.
4309 The default is 420000 bytes.
4311 \*(OP Can be used to explicitly specify the port on which
4313 listens for connections.
4315 \*(OP If the spam detector listens on a path-based UNIX domain socket,
4316 then setting this variable to the fully qualified path will force its
4317 usage for communication.
4319 \*(OP This can be used to support multiple, per-used configuration files
4320 of the spam detector.
4321 Note that \*(UA doesn't automatically set this to reflect a possibly set
4325 \*(OP Specifies a directory with CA certificates in PEM (Pricacy
4326 Enhanced Mail) for verification of of SSL/TLS server certificates.
4328 .Xr SSL_CTX_load_verify_locations 3
4329 for more information.
4331 \*(OP Specifies a file with CA certificates in PEM format for
4332 verification of SSL/TLS server certificates.
4334 .Xr SSL_CTX_load_verify_locations 3
4335 for more information.
4337 \*(OP Sets the file name for a SSL/TLS client certificate required by
4339 .It Va ssl-cert-USER@HOST
4340 Sets an account-specific file name for a SSL/TLS client certificate
4341 required by some servers.
4344 for the specified account.
4345 .It Va ssl-cipher-list
4346 \*(OP Specifies a list of ciphers for SSL/TLS connections.
4349 for more information.
4351 \*(OP Specifies a file that contains a CRL in PEM format to use when
4352 verifying SSL/TLS server certificates.
4354 \*(OP Specifies a directory that contains files with CRLs in PEM format
4355 to use when verifying SSL/TLS server certificates.
4357 \*(OP Sets the file name for the private key of a SSL/TLS client
4359 If unset, the name of the certificate file is used.
4360 The file is expected to be in PEM format.
4361 .It Va ssl-key-USER@HOST
4362 Sets an account-specific file name for the private key of a SSL/TLS
4366 for the specified account.
4368 \*(OP Selects the used TLS/SSL protocol version.
4369 The actually available protocol versions depend on the TLS/SSL
4370 library that \*(UA uses; possible values are, from newest to oldest:
4371 `tls1.2', `tls1.1', `tls1', `ssl3' and `ssl2'.
4375 to any of these values will fixate the used protocol, which means that
4376 connections will fail if the server doesn't support it.
4377 The value `auto', which is the default, chooses a compatibility method
4378 that automatically uses the newest protocol version that the server
4379 is capable to understand.
4381 It has to be noted that `auto' is used as a fallback method if
4382 the actual setting of
4384 isn't supported by the used TLS/SSL library \(em in this case an error
4385 message will be printed first, however.
4386 .It Va ssl-method-USER@HOST
4389 for a specific account.
4391 \*(OP Gives the pathname to an entropy daemon socket, see
4393 Note that (as of 2014) not all OpenSSL installations include this
4395 .It Va ssl-rand-file
4396 \*(OP Gives the pathname to a file with entropy data, see
4397 .Xr RAND_load_file 3 .
4398 If the file is a regular file writable by the invoking user,
4399 new data is written to it after it has been loaded.
4401 \*(OP Sets the action to be performed if an error occurs during SSL/TLS
4402 server certificate validation.
4404 `strict' (fail and close connection immediately),
4405 `ask' (ask whether to continue on standard input),
4406 `warn' (print a warning and continue),
4407 `ignore' (do not perform validation).
4408 The default is `ask'.
4409 .It Va ssl-verify-USER@HOST
4412 for a specific account.
4414 If only set without an assigned value, then this option inhibits the
4415 generation of the `Message-Id:' and `User-Agent:' header fields that
4416 include obvious references to \*(UA.
4417 There are two pitfalls associated with this:
4418 First, the message id of outgoing messages is not known anymore.
4419 Second, an expert may still use the remaining information in the header
4420 to track down the originating mail user agent.
4421 If set to the value `noagent', then the mentioned `Message-Id:'
4422 suppression doesn't occur.
4424 If defined, gives the number of lines of a message to be printed out
4425 with the top command;
4426 normally, the first five lines are printed.
4428 The character set of the terminal \*(UA operates on,
4429 and the one and only supported character set that \*(UA can use if no
4430 character set conversion capabilities have been compiled into it,
4431 in which case it defaults to `ISO-8859-1' unless it can deduce a value
4432 from the `LC_CTYPE' locale environment.
4433 Refer to the section
4434 .Sx "Character sets"
4435 for the complete picture about character sets.
4437 \*(IN Sets a global fallback user name, which is used in case none has
4438 been given in the protocol and account-specific URL and there is also
4441 This variable defaults to the value of
4446 for a specific host.
4449 .\" }}} (Variable options)
4451 .\" .Sh ENVIRONMENT {{{
4453 Besides the variables described above,
4454 \*(UA uses the following environment variables:
4455 .Bl -tag -width ".It Ev MAILRC"
4457 The user's preferred width in column positions for the terminal screen
4458 or window (only used during startup).
4460 The name of the file to use for saving aborted messages.
4461 This defaults to `dead.letter' in the user's home directory.
4463 Pathname of the text editor to use in the
4468 A default editor is used if this value is not defined.
4470 The user's home directory.
4471 .It Ev LANG , Ev LC_ALL , Ev LC_COLLATE , Ev LC_CTYPE , Ev LC_MESSAGES
4475 The user's preferred number of lines on a page or the vertical screen or
4476 window size in lines (only used during startup).
4478 Pathname of the directory lister to use in the
4480 command when operating on local mailboxes.
4484 The name of the mbox file.
4485 Supports a logical subset of the special conventions that are documented
4491 The fallback default is `mbox' in the user's home directory.
4493 Is used as a startup file instead of \*(ur if set.
4494 When \*(UA scripts are invoked on behalf of other users,
4495 this variable should be set to
4497 to avoid side-effects from reading their configuration files.
4499 If this variable is set and
4501 is not, it is treated as a startup configuration file and read.
4502 .It Ev NAIL_NO_SYSTEM_RC
4503 If this variable is set then reading of \*(UR at startup is inhibited,
4504 i.e., the same effect is achieved as if \*(UA had been started up with
4508 \*(IN \*(OP This variable overrides the default location of the user's
4512 Pathname of the program to use in the more command or when the
4515 The default paginator is
4518 Pathname of the shell to use in the
4520 command and the `~!' tilde escape.
4521 A default shell is used if this option is not defined.
4523 Changes the letters printed in the first column of a header summary.
4525 \*(OP The terminal type for which output is to be prepared.
4527 Used as directory for temporary files instead of
4531 Can be used to force identification as
4533 i.e., identical to the
4535 command line option.
4537 Pathname of the text editor to use in the
4539 command and `~v' tilde escape.
4545 .Bl -tag -width ".It Pa /etc/mime.types"
4547 File giving initial commands.
4549 System wide initialization file.
4550 .It Pa ~/.mime.types
4551 Personal MIME types.
4552 .It Pa /etc/mime.types
4553 System wide MIME types.
4555 \*(IN \*(OP The default location of the users
4561 .\" .Sh EXAMPLES {{{
4564 .\" .Ss "Getting started" {{{
4565 .Ss "Getting started"
4566 The \*(UA command has two distinct usages, according to whether one
4567 wants to send or receive mail.
4568 Sending mail is simple: to send a message to a user whose email address
4569 is, say, `<bill@host.example>', use the shell command:
4571 .Dl $ \*(ua bill@host.example
4573 then type your message.
4574 \*(UA will prompt you for a message `Subject:' first;
4575 after that, lines typed by you form the body of the message.
4576 When you reach the end of the message,
4577 type an EOT (`control\-D') at the beginning of a line,
4578 which will cause \*(UA to echo `EOT' and return you to the shell.
4580 If, while you are composing the message you decide that you do not wish
4581 to send it after all, you can abort the letter by typing two `RUBOUT'
4582 (interrupt, `control-C') characters.
4583 Typing a single `RUBOUT' causes \*(UA to print
4584 .Ns ` Ns Li (Interrupt -- one more to kill letter) Ns '.
4585 Typing a second `RUBOUT' causes \*(UA to save your partial letter on the
4588 and abort the letter.
4589 Once you have sent mail to someone, there is no way to undo the act, so
4592 If you want to send the same message to several other people,
4593 you can list their email addresses on the command line.
4594 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4595 $ \*(ua sam@workstation.example bob@server.example
4597 Tuition fees are due next Friday. Don't forget!
4603 will sendout to `<sam@workstation.example>' and `<bob@server.example>'.
4604 To read your mail, simply type
4608 \*(UA will respond by typing its version number and date and then
4609 listing the messages you have waiting.
4610 Then it will type a prompt and await your command.
4611 The messages are assigned numbers starting with 1 \(en you refer to the
4612 messages with these numbers.
4613 \*(UA keeps track of which messages are `new' (have been sent since you
4614 last read your mail) and `read' (have been read by you).
4615 New messages have an `N' next to them in the header listing and old,
4616 but unread messages have a `U' next to them.
4617 \*(UA keeps track of new/old and read/unread messages by putting a
4618 header field called `Status' into your messages.
4620 To look at a specific message, use the
4622 command, which may be abbreviated to simply `t'.
4623 For example, if you had the following messages:
4624 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4625 O 1 drfoo@myhost.example Wed Sep 1 19:52 5/421 "Fees"
4626 O 2 sam@friends.example Thu Sep 2 00:08 30/895
4629 you could examine the first message by giving the command:
4633 which might cause \*(UA to respond with, for example:
4634 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4635 [-- Message 1 -- 5 lines, 421 bytes --]:
4636 From drfoo@myhost.example Wed Sep 1 19:52:25 2004
4640 Tuition fees are due next Wednesday. Don't forget!
4643 Many \*(UA commands that operate on messages take a message number as an
4644 argument, just as the shown
4647 For these commands, there is a notion of a current message.
4648 When you enter the \*(UA program,
4649 the current message is initially the first (or the first recent) one.
4650 Thus, you can often omit the message number and use, for example, `t` to
4651 type the current message.
4652 As a further shorthand, you can type a message by simply giving its
4653 message number \(en hence `1` would type the first message.
4655 Frequently, it is useful to read the messages in your mailbox in order,
4657 You can read the next message in \*(UA by simply typing a newline.
4658 As a special case, you can type a newline as your first command to
4659 \*(UA to type the first message.
4661 If, after typing a message, you wish to immediately send a reply,
4662 you can do so with the command
4666 takes a message number as an argument.
4667 \*(UA then begins a message addressed to the user who sent you the
4668 message and let you type in your letter in reply, followed by
4669 a `control-D' (`^D')at the beginning of a line, as before.
4671 Note that \*(UA copies the subject header from the original message.
4672 This is useful in that correspondence about a particular matter will
4673 tend to retain the same subject heading, making it easy to recognize.
4674 If there are other header fields in the message, like `Cc:',
4675 the information found will also be used.
4677 Sometimes you will receive a message that has been sent to several
4678 people and wish to reply only to the person who sent it.
4680 (with a capital `R') replies to a message, but sends a copy to the
4683 If you wish, while reading your mail, to send a message to someone,
4684 but not as a reply to one of your messages, you can send the message
4687 command, which takes as arguments the names of the recipients you wish
4689 For example, to send a message to `<frank@machine.example>':
4691 .Dl mail frank@machine.example
4693 To delete a message from the mail folder, you can use the command
4695 In addition to not saving deleted messages,
4696 \*(UA will not let you type them, either.
4697 The effect is to make the message disappear altogether, along with its
4700 Many features of \*(UA can be tailored to your liking with the
4702 command; it has two forms, depending on whether you are setting
4703 a `binary' or a `valued' option.
4704 Binary options are either on or off \(en for example, the
4706 option informs \*(UA that each time you send a message, you want it to
4707 prompt you for a `Cc:' header to be included in the message.
4710 option, you would type
4714 Valued options are values which \*(UA uses to adapt to your tastes.
4717 option tells \*(UA where to save messages sent by you,
4718 and is specified by, e.g.,
4722 Note that no spaces are allowed in `set record=Sent'.
4724 \*(UA includes a simple facility for maintaining groups of messages
4725 together in folders.
4726 To use the folder facility, you must tell \*(UA where you wish to keep
4728 Each folder of messages will be a single file.
4729 For convenience, all of your folders are kept in a single directory of
4731 To tell \*(UA where your folder directory is, put a line of the form
4733 .Dl set folder=letters
4736 If, as in the example above, your folder directory does not begin with
4737 a `/', \*(UA will assume that your folder directory is to be found
4738 starting from your home directory.
4740 Anywhere a file name is expected, you can use a folder name, preceded
4742 For example, to put a message into a folder with the
4744 command, you can use:
4748 to save the current message in the `classwork' folder.
4749 If the `classwork' folder does not yet exist, it will be created.
4750 Note that messages which are saved with the
4752 command are automatically removed from your system mailbox.
4754 In order to make a copy of a message in a folder without causing
4755 that message to be removed from your system mailbox, use the
4757 command, which is identical in all other respects to the
4764 can be used to direct \*(UA to the contents of a different folder.
4767 .Dl folder +classwork
4769 directs \*(UA to read the contents of the `classwork' folder.
4770 All of the commands that you can use on your system mailbox are also
4771 applicable to folders, including
4776 To inquire which folder you are currently editing, use `folder' without
4778 And to list your current set of folders, use the
4784 command is available to print out a brief summary of the most important
4787 While typing in a message to be sent to others it is often useful to be
4788 able to invoke the text editor on the partial message, print the
4789 message, execute a shell command, or do some other auxiliary function.
4790 \*(UA provides these capabilities through `tilde escapes',
4791 which consist of a tilde (`~') at the beginning of a line, followed by
4792 a single character which indicates the function to be performed.
4793 For example, to print the text of the message so far, use:
4797 which will print a line of dashes, the recipients of your message, and
4798 the text of the message so far.
4799 A list of the most important tilde escapes is available with `~?'.
4802 .\" .Ss "IMAP or POP3 client setup" {{{
4803 .Ss "IMAP or POP3 client setup"
4804 \*(OP First you need the following data from your ISP:
4805 the host name of the IMAP or POP3 server,
4806 user name and password for this server,
4807 and a notice whether the server uses SSL/TLS encryption.
4808 Assuming the SSL/TLS secured host name of your IMAP account is
4809 `server.myisp.example' and your user name for that server is `mylogin',
4810 you could refer to this account using the
4814 command line option with
4816 .Dl imaps://mylogin@server.myisp.example
4818 (This string is not necessarily the same as your Internet mail address.)
4819 Even if the server does not accept IMAPS or POP3S connections,
4820 it is possible that it supports the `STARTTLS' method of upgrading
4821 already connected, but not yet authenticated sessions to use SSL/TLS
4823 The only reliable method to see if this works is to try it; enter one of
4825 .Dl set imap-use-starttls
4826 .Dl set pop3-use-starttls
4828 before you initiate the connection, dependent on the actual protocol.
4830 As you probably want messages to be deleted from this account
4831 after saving them, prefix it with `%:'.
4834 command can be used to avoid typing that many characters every time you
4837 .Dl shortcut myisp %:imaps://mylogin@server.myisp.example
4839 You might want to put this string into a startup file.
4841 is one of those commands that are specific to \*(UA and will thus
4842 confuse other implementations of POSIX
4844 so it should possibly not be placed in \*(ur.
4847 .Dl set NAIL_EXTRA_RC=.\*(uarc
4849 in \*(ur and create a file
4851 containing all the commands that are specific to \*(UA.
4852 You can then access your remote mailbox by invoking
4856 on the command line, or by executing
4861 If you want to use more than one IMAP mailbox on a server,
4862 or if you want to use the IMAP server for mail storage too, the
4864 command (which is also \*(UA-specific) is possibly more appropriate.
4865 You can put the following in
4867 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4869 set folder=imaps://mylogin@server.myisp.example
4870 set record=+Sent MBOX=+mbox outfolder
4874 and can then access incoming mail for this account by invoking
4875 `\*(ua \-A myisp' on the command line or by executing `ac myisp' within
4877 After that, a command like `copy 1 +otherfolder' will refer to
4878 `otherfolder' on the IMAP server.
4879 In particular, `fi&' will change to the `mbox' folder,
4880 and `fi+Sent' will show your recorded sent mail,
4881 with both folders located on the IMAP server.
4883 \*(UA will ask you for a password string each time you connect to
4885 If you can reasonably trust the security of your workstation,
4886 you can give this password in the startup file as
4888 .Dl set password-mylogin@server.myisp.example="SECRET"
4890 You should change the permissions of this file to 0600, see
4893 \*(UA supports different authentication methods for both IMAP and POP3.
4894 If Kerberos is used at your location,
4895 you can try to activate (the optional) GSS-API based authentication via
4897 .Dl set imap-auth=gssapi
4899 The advantage of this method is that \*(UA doesn't need to know your
4900 password at all, nor does it have to send sensitive data over the network.
4901 If that isn't possible, try to use authentication methods that at least
4902 avoid sending the password in clear over the wire, which is especially
4903 important if SSL/TLS cannot be used, e.g.,
4905 .Dl set imap-auth=cram-md5
4907 For POP3 \*(UA will try to use the `APOP' mechanism automatically unless
4908 explicitly disabled.
4909 If the server does not offer any such authentication methods,
4910 conventional user/password based authentication must be used.
4911 It is sometimes helpful, especially when setting up an account or when
4912 there are authentification problems, to enable verbosity by setting the
4914 option \(en \*(UA will display all data sent to the server in clear text
4915 on the screen when this option is set.
4916 (Because this may also include passwords you should take care that no
4917 unauthorized person can look at your terminal when this option is set.)
4919 If you regularly use the same workstation to access IMAP accounts,
4920 you can greatly enhance performance by enabling local caching of IMAP
4922 For any message that has been fully or partially fetched from the server,
4923 a local copy is made and is used when the message is accessed again,
4924 so most data is transferred over the network once only.
4925 To enable the IMAP cache, select a local directory name and put
4927 .Dl set imap-cache=~/localdirectory
4929 in the (\*(UA-specific) startup file.
4930 All files within that directory can be overwritten or deleted by \*(UA
4932 so you should not use the directory to store other information.
4934 Once the cache contains some messages,
4935 it is not strictly necessary anymore to open a connection to the IMAP
4936 server to access them.
4937 When \*(UA is invoked with the option
4942 only cached data is used for any folder you open.
4943 Messages that have not yet been completely cached are not available
4944 then, but all other messages can be handled as usual.
4945 Changes made to IMAP mailboxes in
4947 mode are committed to the IMAP server next time it is being connected to.
4948 Synchronizing the local status with the status on the server is thus
4949 partially within your responsibility;
4950 if you forget to initiate a connection to the server again before you
4951 leave your location,
4952 changes made on one workstation are not available on others.
4953 Also if you alter IMAP mailboxes from a workstation while uncommitted
4954 changes are still pending on another,
4955 the latter data may become invalid.
4956 The same might also happen because of internal server status changes.
4957 You should thus carefully evaluate this feature in your environment
4958 before you rely on it.
4960 Many servers will close the connection after a short period of
4961 inactivity \(en use one of
4963 .Dl set pop3-keepalive=30
4964 .Dl set imap-keepalive=240
4966 to send a keepalive message each 30 seconds for POP3,
4967 or each 4 minutes for IMAP.
4969 If you encounter problems connecting to a SSL/TLS server,
4974 variables (see the OpenSSL FAQ for more information) or specify the
4975 protocol version with
4977 Contact your ISP if you need a client certificate or if verification of
4978 the server certificate fails.
4979 If the failed certificate is indeed valid,
4980 fetch its CA certificate by executing the shell command
4982 .Dl $ </dev/null openssl s_client \-showcerts \-connect \e
4983 .Dl \ \ \ \ \ \ server.myisp.example:imaps 2>&1 | tee log.txt
4987 ) and put it into the file specified with
4989 The data you need is located at the end of the certificate chain
4990 within (and including) the `BEGIN CERTIFICATE'
4991 and `END CERTIFICATE' lines.
4992 Note that the example above is \fBinsecure\fR!
4993 One should use the `-verify' and `-CAfile' options of
4995 to be "on the safe side" regarding the fetched certificates.
4998 .\" .Ss "Signed and encrypted messages with S/MIME" {{{
4999 .Ss "Signed and encrypted messages with S/MIME"
5000 \*(OP S/MIME provides two central mechanisms:
5001 message signing and message encryption.
5002 A signed message contains some data in addition to the regular text.
5003 The data can be used to verify that the message was sent using a valid
5004 certificate, that the sender's address in the message header matches
5005 that in the certificate, and that the message text has not been altered.
5006 Signing a message does not change its regular text;
5007 it can be read regardless of whether the recipient's software is able to
5009 It is thus usually possible to sign all outgoing messages if so desired.
5010 Encryption, in contrast, makes the message text invisible for all people
5011 except those who have access to the secret decryption key.
5012 To encrypt a message, the specific recipient's public encryption key
5014 It is thus not possible to send encrypted mail to people unless their
5015 key has been retrieved from either previous communication or public key
5017 A message should always be signed before it is encrypted.
5018 Otherwise, it is still possible that the encrypted message text is
5021 A central concept to S/MIME is that of the certification authority (CA).
5022 A CA is a trusted institution that issues certificates.
5023 For each of these certificates it can be verified that it really
5024 originates from the CA, provided that the CA's own certificate is
5026 A set of CA certificates is usually delivered with OpenSSL and installed
5028 If you trust the source of your OpenSSL software installation,
5029 this offers reasonable security for S/MIME on the Internet.
5030 In general, a certificate cannot be more secure than the method its CA
5031 certificate has been retrieved with, though.
5032 Thus if you download a CA certificate from the Internet,
5033 you can only trust the messages you verify using that certificate as
5034 much as you trust the download process.
5036 The first thing you need for participating in S/MIME message exchange is
5037 your personal certificate, including a private key.
5038 The certificate contains public information, in particular your name and
5039 your email address, and the public key that is used by others to encrypt
5041 and to verify signed messages they supposedly received from you.
5042 The certificate is included in each signed message you send.
5043 The private key must be kept secret.
5044 It is used to decrypt messages that were previously encrypted with your
5045 public key, and to sign messages.
5047 For personal use it is recommended that you get a S/MIME certificate
5048 from one of the major CAs on the Internet using your WWW browser.
5049 (Many CAs offer such certificates for free.)
5050 You will usually receive a combined certificate and private key in
5051 PKCS#12 format which \*(UA does not directly accept.
5052 To convert it to PEM format, use the following shell command:
5054 .Dl $ openssl pkcs12 \-in cert.p12 \-out cert.pem \-clcerts \-nodes
5056 If you omit the `\-nodes' parameter, you can specifiy an additional `PEM
5057 pass phrase' for protecting the private key.
5058 \*(UA will then ask you for that pass phrase each time it signs or
5062 .Dl set smime-sign-cert-myname@myisp.example=cert.pem
5064 to make this private key and certificate known to \*(UA.
5065 You can now sign outgoing messages.
5071 From each signed message you send,
5072 the recipient can fetch your certificate and use it to send encrypted
5074 Accordingly if somebody sends you a signed message, you can do the same.
5077 command to check the validity of the certificate.
5078 After that, retrieve the certificate and tell \*(UA that it should use
5081 .Dl certsave filename
5082 .Dl set smime-encrypt-USER@HOST=filename
5084 You should carefully consider if you prefer to store encrypted messages
5086 If you do, anybody who has access to your mail folders can read them,
5087 but if you do not, you might be unable to read them yourself later if
5088 you happen to lose your private key.
5091 command saves messages in decrypted form, while the
5096 commands leave them encrypted.
5098 Note that neither S/MIME signing nor encryption applies to message
5099 subjects or other header fields.
5100 Thus they may not contain sensitive information for encrypted messages,
5101 and cannot be trusted even if the message content has been verified.
5102 When sending signed messages,
5103 it is recommended to repeat any important header information in the
5107 .\" .Ss "Using CRLs with S/MIME or SSL/TLS" {{{
5108 .Ss "Using CRLs with S/MIME or SSL/TLS"
5109 \*(OP Certification authorities (CAs) issue certificate revocation
5110 lists (CRLs) on a regular basis.
5111 These lists contain the serial numbers of certificates that have been
5112 declared invalid after they have been issued.
5113 Such usually happens because the private key for the certificate has
5115 because the owner of the certificate has left the organization that is
5116 mentioned in the certificate, etc.
5117 To seriously use S/MIME or SSL/TLS verification,
5118 an up-to-date CRL is required for each trusted CA.
5119 There is otherwise no method to distinguish between valid and
5120 invalidated certificates.
5121 \*(UA currently offers no mechanism to fetch CRLs, nor to access them on
5122 the Internet, so you have to retrieve them by some external mechanism.
5124 \*(UA accepts CRLs in PEM format only;
5125 CRLs in DER format must be converted, like, e.\|g.:
5127 .Dl $ openssl crl \-inform DER \-in crl.der \-out crl.pem
5129 To tell \*(UA about the CRLs, a directory that contains all CRL files
5130 (and no other files) must be created.
5135 variables, respectively, must then be set to point to that directory.
5136 After that, \*(UA requires a CRL to be present for each CA that is used
5137 to verify a certificate.
5140 .\" .Ss "Handling spam" {{{
5142 \*(OP \*(UA can make use of spam detection and learning facilities \(en
5143 more precisely, SpamAssassin (\%<http://spamassassin.apache.org>).
5144 A very comprehensive documentation of
5146 can be found at the O'Reilly Commons
5147 (\%<http://commons.oreilly.com/wiki/index.php/SpamAssassin>).
5149 Currently \*(UA supports interaction with
5151 only via its daemonized
5154 server / client pair, which means that, in order to detect and work
5155 with spam through \*(UA, an instance of the
5157 daemon must be running (the examples are equivalent):
5158 .Bd -literal -offset indent
5159 $ spamd -i localhost:2142 -i /tmp/.spamsock -d [-L] [-l]
5160 $ spamd --listen=localhost:2142 --listen=/tmp/.spamsock \\
5161 --daemonize [--local] [--allow-tell]
5166 should only listen on a local, path-based UNIX domain socket instead of
5167 offering its service over the network, it maybe necessary to use
5170 option instead of the shown
5172 In order to support training of the Bayesian classifier through \*(UA,
5174 must have been started with the
5180 is running \*(UA can classify messages by using the client side program,
5183 .Bd -literal -offset indent
5184 $ \*(ua -Sspam-command=/usr/local/bin/spamc \\
5185 -Sspam-socket=/tmp/.spamsock -Sspam-maxsize=500000
5188 The commands offered are
5192 which simply set an `is-spam' flag that can be used for, e.g., message
5195 which passes messages through to the spam detector in order to gain
5196 a spam score and conditionally set the `is-spam' flag accordingly,
5197 as well as the Bayesian filter related
5203 Because messages must exist on local storage in order to be scored (or
5204 used for Bayesian filter training), it is possibly a good idea to
5205 perform the local spam check last:
5206 .Bd -literal -offset indent
5207 define spamdelhook {
5209 spamset (header x-dcc-brand-metrics "bulk")
5210 # Server-side spamassassin(1)
5211 spamset (header x-spam-flag "YES")
5212 del :s # TODO we HAVE to be able to do `spamrate :u ! :s'
5213 # And finally the local spamc(1)
5217 set folder-hook-FOLDER=spamdelhook
5220 See also the documentation for the variables
5230 .\" .Ss "Sending mail from scripts" {{{
5231 .Ss "Sending mail from scripts"
5232 If you want to send mail from scripts, you must be aware that \*(UA
5233 reads the user's configuration files by default.
5234 So unless your script is only intended for your own personal use
5235 (as, e.g., a cron job), you need to circumvent this:
5237 .Dl MAILRC=/dev/null LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8 \*(ua \-n
5239 You then need to create a script-local configuration for \*(UA.
5240 This can be done by either pointing the
5242 variable to a custom configuration file,
5243 by passing the configuration in environment variables,
5246 command line option to specify options.
5247 Since many configuration options are not valid shell variables, the
5249 command is useful if the approach via environment variables is used:
5250 .Bd -literal -offset indent
5251 env MAILRC=/dev/null LC_ALL=C password=secret \*(ua -n -Sv15-compat \e
5252 -S 'smtp=smtps://mylogin@some.host:465' -Ssmtp-auth=login \e
5253 -S 'from=scriptreply@domain' \e
5254 -s 'subject' -a attachment_file recipient@domain < content_file
5259 .\" .Sh "SEE ALSO" {{{
5272 .Xr spamassassin 1 ,
5290 .\" .Sh "IMPLEMENTATION NOTES" {{{
5291 .Sh "IMPLEMENTATION NOTES"
5292 The character set conversion uses and relies upon the
5295 Its functionality differs widely between the various system environments
5298 Limitations with IMAP mailboxes are:
5299 It is not possible to edit messages, but it is possible to append them.
5300 Thus to edit a message, create a local copy of it, edit it, append it,
5301 and delete the original.
5302 The line count for the header display is only appropriate if the entire
5303 message has been downloaded from the server.
5304 The marking of messages as `new' is performed by the IMAP server;
5309 will not cause it to be reset, and if the
5311 variable is unset, messages that arrived during a session will not be
5312 in state `new' anymore when the folder is opened again.
5313 Also if commands queued in disconnected mode are committed,
5314 the IMAP server will delete the `new' flag for all messages in the
5316 and new messages will appear as unread when it is selected for viewing
5318 The `flagged', `answered', and `draft' attributes are usually permanent,
5319 but some IMAP servers are known to drop them without notification.
5320 Message numbers may change with IMAP every time before the prompt is
5321 printed if \*(UA is notified by the server that messages have been
5322 deleted by some other client or process.
5323 In this case, `Expunged n messages' is printed, and message numbers may
5326 Limitations with POP3 mailboxes are:
5327 It is not possible to edit messages, they can only be copied and deleted.
5328 The line count for the header display is only appropriate if the entire
5329 message has been downloaded from the server.
5330 The status field of a message is maintained by the server between
5331 connections; some servers do not update it at all, and with a server
5332 that does, the `exit' command will not cause the message status to be
5334 The `newmail' command and the `newmail' variable have no effect.
5335 It is not possible to rename or to remove POP3 mailboxes.
5337 If a `RUBOUT' (interrupt, `control-C') is typed while an IMAP or POP3
5338 operation is in progress, \*(UA will wait until the operation can be
5340 and will then return to the command loop and print the prompt again.
5341 When a second `RUBOUT' is typed while \*(UA is waiting for the operation
5342 to complete, the operation itself will be cancelled.
5343 In this case, data that has not been fetched yet will have to be fetched
5344 before the next command can be performed.
5345 If the cancelled operation was using an SSL/TLS encrypted channel,
5346 an error in the SSL transport will very likely result and render the
5347 connection unusable.
5349 As \*(UA is a mail user agent, it provides only basic SMTP services.
5350 If it fails to contact its upstream SMTP server, it will not make
5351 further attempts to transfer the message at a later time,
5352 and it does not leave other information about this condition than an
5353 error message on the terminal and an entry in
5355 This is usually not a problem if the SMTP server is located in the same
5356 local network as the computer on which \*(UA is run.
5357 However, care should be taken when using a remote server of an ISP;
5358 it might be better to set up a local SMTP server then which just acts as
5361 \*(UA immediately contacts the SMTP server (or
5363 ) even when operating in
5366 It would not make much sense for \*(UA to defer outgoing mail since SMTP
5367 servers usually provide much more elaborated delay handling than \*(UA
5368 could perform as a client.
5369 Thus the recommended setup for sending mail in
5371 mode is to configure a local SMTP server such that it sends outgoing
5372 mail as soon as an external network connection is available again,
5373 i.e., to advise it to do that from a network startup script.
5378 A \fImail\fR command appeared in Version 1 AT&T Unix.
5379 Berkeley Mail was written in 1978 by Kurt Shoens.
5380 This man page is derived from from The Mail Reference Manual originally
5381 written by Kurt Shoens.
5382 "Heirloom Mailx" enhancements are maintained and documented by Gunnar
5384 "S-nail" is maintained and documented by Steffen (Daode) Nurpmeso.
5386 Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form
5387 from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technology
5388 \(en Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base
5389 Specifications Issue 6, Copyright \(co 2001-2003 by the Institute of
5390 Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group.
5391 In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original
5392 IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group
5393 Standard is the referee document.
5394 The original Standard can be obtained online at
5395 \%<http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html>.
5396 Redistribution of this material is permitted so long as this notice
5402 .An "Christos Zoulas" ,
5403 .An "Gunnar Ritter" ,
5404 .An Steffen Po Daode Pc Nurpmeso Aq s-nail-users@lists.sourceforge.net
5407 Too many (see the file `TODO' from the distribution or the repository).