1 .\" Copyright (c) 1980, 1990, 1993
2 .\" The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
4 .\" Gunnar Ritter. All rights reserved.
5 .\" Copyright (c) 2012 - 2013 Steffen "Daode" Nurpmeso <sdaoden@users.sf.net>.
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17 .\" This product includes software developed by the University of
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41 .ds UV \\%S-nail dirty
45 .\" If not ~/.mailrc, it breaks POSIX compatibility. And adjust main.c.
55 .Nd send and receive Internet mail
63 .Op Fl a Ar attachment
66 .Op Fl O Ar mta-option
67 .Op Fl q Ar quote-file
69 .Op Fl S Ar variable Ns Op Ns = Ns Ar value
77 .Op Fl S Ar variable Ns Op Ns = Ns Ar value
84 .Op Fl S Ar variable Ns Op Ns = Ns Ar value
90 \*(UA is a mail processing system with a command syntax reminiscent of
92 with lines replaced by messages.
93 It is intended to provide the functionality of the POSIX
95 command and offers (mostly optional) extensions for line editing, IDNA,
96 MIME, S/MIME, SMTP, POP3 and IMAP.
97 It is usable as a mail batch language.
99 In the following list of supported command line options,
107 are implemented by means of setting the respective option, as via
110 .Bl -tag -width ".Fl A Ar account"
114 command (see below) for
116 after the startup files have been read.
118 Attach the given file to the message.
119 The same filename conventions as described in the section
123 Make standard input and standard output line-buffered.
125 Send blind carbon copies to the given list of addresses.
127 below goes into more detail on that.
129 Send carbon copies to the given list of addresses.
137 variable, which enables debug messages and disables message delivery.
138 Note that this is not a real `sandbox' mode.
142 variable and thus discard messages with an empty message part body.
143 This is useful for sending messages from scripts.
145 Just check if mail is present in the system mailbox.
146 If yes, return an exit status of zero, a non-zero value otherwise.
148 Save the message to send in a file named after the local part of the
149 first recipient's address.
151 Read in the contents of the user's mbox (or the specified file)
153 when \*(UA is quit, it writes undeleted messages back to this file.
156 is interpreted as described for the
161 is not a direct argument to the flag
163 but is instead taken from the command line after option processing has
166 Print header summaries for all messages and exit.
170 variable to ignore tty interrupt signals.
174 variable and thus inhibits the initial display of message headers when
175 reading mail or editing a mail folder.
177 Inhibits reading \*(UR upon startup.
178 This option should be activated for \*(UA scripts that are invoked on
179 more than one machine, because the contents of that file may differ
181 (The same behaviour can be achieved by setting the
182 .Ev NAIL_NO_SYSTEM_RC
183 environment variable.)
184 .It Fl O Ar mta-option
185 Pass the given option through to the mail-transfer-agent (MTA).
186 This option has no effect when mail is send via SMTP.
188 .Ns ` Ns Li "-O-h -Onumber" Ns '
189 to specify the hop count for an old
191 Options set like that persist for an entire (interactive) session.
193 Start the message with the contents of the specified file.
194 May be given in send mode only.
196 Opens any folders read-only.
198 Sets the envelope sender address by passing an
200 option to the MTA when a message is send.
203 argument is given it'll be checked for validity and then fixated to
204 the given value, but otherwise the content of the variable
206 will be used for that purpose \(en i.e., it'll be passed through to
209 option whenever a message is send.
210 A valid non-empty value will also be set as if an additional
211 .Ns ` Ns Li "-Sfrom=VALUE" Ns '
212 option had been used and therefore affect sending of messages via SMTP
213 (as a consideration for `From:').
214 .It Fl S Ar variable Ns Op = Ns value
215 Sets the internal option
217 and, in case of a value option, assigns
220 Even though options set via
222 may be overwritten from within resource files,
223 the command line setting will be reestablished after all resources have
226 Specify the subject on the command line
227 (be careful to quote subjects containing spaces).
229 The message to be sent is expected to contain a message header with
230 `To:', `Cc:', or `Bcc:' fields giving its recipients and `Subject:'
231 giving the subject of the message.
232 Recipients and subject specified on the command line are ignored.
234 Read the system mailbox of
236 (appropriate privileges presumed), and `assume to be'
238 in some aspects, e.g. in respect to expansions of `%' etc.
242 Print \*(UA's version and exit.
246 option, which enables more verbose messages.
248 Enable tilde escapes even if not in interactive mode.
250 This sets multiple options to prepare \*(UA for working in batch mode
251 (most likely in non-interactive mode):
257 it also enables processing of tilde escapes.
258 E.g., the following should send an email message to `alias'.
260 .Dl printf 'm alias\en~s Subject\enBody\en.\enx\en' | \
261 MAILRC=/dev/null s-nail -n -#
266 To send a message to one or more people,
267 \*(UA can be invoked with arguments which are the names of people to
268 whom the mail will be sent.
271 es, plain addresses or full address specifications including user names
273 in which case care for proper quoting may be necessary.
274 If this manual refers to a \fIlist of addresses\fR,
275 then \*(UA expects a comma-separated list of such names.
277 .Sx "Recipient address specifications"
278 below explains the interpretation of names in more detail.
279 The user is then expected to type in his message, followed by a
281 at the beginning of a line.
283 .Sx "Replying to or originating mail"
284 describes some features of \*(UA available to help when composing
289 In normal usage \*(UA is given no arguments and checks the user's mail
290 out of the post office,
291 then prints out a one line header of each message found.
292 The current message is initially the first message (numbered 1) and can
295 command, which can be abbreviated `p'.
296 The commands `p+' and `p\-' move forward to the next and backward to the
297 previous message, respectively, and messages can be addressed directly
298 by specifying their message number, as in `p 1'.
301 .Ss "Disposing of mail"
302 After examining a message the user can
307 Deletion causes the \*(UA program to forget about the message.
308 This is not irreversible;
311 (`u') the message by giving its number,
312 or the \*(UA session can be ended by giving the
315 Deleted messages will, however, usually disappear never to be seen
319 .Ss "Specifying messages"
320 Commands such as print and delete can be given a list of message numbers
321 as arguments to apply to a number of messages at once.
323 .Ns ` Ns Li "delete 1 2" Ns '
324 deletes messages 1 and 2,
326 .Ns ` Ns Li "delete 1-5" Ns '
327 will delete the messages 1 through 5.
328 In sorted or threaded mode (see the
333 .Ns ` Ns Li "delete 1-5" Ns '
334 will delete the messages that are located between (and including)
335 messages 1 through 5 in the sorted/threaded order, as shown in the
337 The following special message names exist:
339 .Bl -tag -width ".It .Ar :n:u"
343 All old messages (any not in state read or new).
347 All deleted messages (for the
353 All `flagged' messages.
355 All answered messages
360 All messages marked as draft.
362 \*(OP All messages classified as spam.
366 The message that was previously the current message.
368 The parent message of the current message,
369 that is the message with the Message-ID given in the `In-Reply-To:' field
370 or the last entry of the `References:' field of the current message.
372 The next previous undeleted message,
373 or the next previous deleted message for the
376 In sorted/threaded mode,
377 the next previous such message in the sorted/threaded order.
379 The next undeleted message,
380 or the next deleted message for the
383 In sorted/threaded mode,
384 the next such message in the sorted/threaded order.
386 The first undeleted message,
387 or the first deleted message for the
390 In sorted/threaded mode,
391 the first such message in the sorted/threaded order.
394 In sorted/threaded mode,
395 the last message in the sorted/threaded order.
398 selects the message addressed with
402 is any other message specification,
403 and all messages from the thread that begins at it.
404 Otherwise it is identical to
409 the thread beginning with the current message is selected.
413 All messages that were included in the message list for the previous
415 .It Ar / Ns Ar string
416 All messages that contain
418 in the subject field (case ignored).
425 the string from the previous specification of that type is used again.
429 By default, this is a case-sensitive search for the complete email
434 only the local part of the addresses is evaluated for the comparison.
438 a case-sensitive search for the complete real name of a sender is
441 .Ns ` Ns Li "(from address)" Ns '
442 expression can be used instead if substring matches are desired.
444 All messages that satisfy the given IMAP-style SEARCH
446 This addressing mode is available with all types of folders;
447 for folders not located on IMAP servers,
448 or for servers unable to execute the SEARCH command,
449 \*(UA will perform the search locally.
450 Strings must be enclosed by double quotes `"' in their entirety
451 if they contain white space or parentheses;
453 only backslash `\e' is recognized as an escape character.
454 All string searches are case-insensitive.
455 When the description indicates that the `envelope' representation of an
456 address field is used,
457 this means that the search string is checked against both a list
460 .Dl ( \*q Ns name Ns \*q \*q Ns source Ns \*q \*q Ns \
461 local-part Ns \*q \*q Ns domain-part Ns \*q )
464 and the addresses without real names from the respective header field.
465 Criteria can be nested using parentheses.
466 .It Ar ( criterion1 criterion2 ... criterionN )
467 All messages that satisfy all of the given criteria.
468 .It Ar ( or criterion1 criterion2 )
469 All messages that satisfy either
474 To connect more than two criteria using `or',
475 (or) specifications have to be nested using additional parentheses,
477 .Ns ` Ns Li "(or a (or b c))" Ns ',
479 .Ns ` Ns Li "(or a b c)" Ns '
481 .Ns ` Ns Li "((a or b) and c)" Ns '.
482 For a simple `or' operation of independent criteria on the lowest
484 it is possible to achieve similar effects by using three separate
486 .Ns ` Ns Li "(a) (b) (c)" Ns '.
487 .It Ar ( not criterion )
488 All messages that do not satisfy
490 .It Ar ( bcc \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
491 All messages that contain
493 in the `envelope' representation of the `Bcc:' field.
494 .It Ar ( cc \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
495 All messages that contain
497 in the `envelope' representation of the `Cc:' field.
498 .It Ar ( from \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
499 All messages that contain
501 in the `envelope' representation of the `From:' field.
502 .It Ar ( subject \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
503 All messages that contain
505 in the `Subject:' field.
506 .It Ar ( to \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
507 All messages that contain
509 in the `envelope' representation of the `To:' field.
510 .It Ar ( header name \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
511 All messages that contain
516 .It Ar ( body \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
517 All messages that contain
520 .It Ar ( text \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
521 All messages that contain
523 in their header or body.
524 .It Ar ( larger size )
525 All messages that are larger than
528 .It Ar ( smaller size )
529 All messages that are smaller than
532 .It Ar ( before date )
533 All messages that were received before
535 which must be in the form
536 .Li "d[d]-mon-yyyy" ,
537 where `d' denotes the day of the month as one or two digits,
538 `mon' is the name of the month \(en one of
539 `Jan', `Feb', `Mar', `Apr', `May', `Jun',
540 `Jul', `Aug', `Sep', `Oct', `Nov', or `Dec',
541 and `yyyy' is the year as four digits, e.g., "28-Dec-2012".
543 All messages that were received on the specified date.
544 .It Ar ( since date )
545 All messages that were received since the specified date.
546 .It Ar ( sentbefore date )
547 All messages that were sent on the specified date.
548 .It Ar ( senton date )
549 All messages that were sent on the specified date.
550 .It Ar ( sentsince date )
551 All messages that were sent since the specified date.
553 The same criterion as for the previous search.
554 This specification cannot be used as part of another criterion.
555 If the previous command line contained more than one independent
556 criterion then the last of those criteria is used.
559 A practical method to read a set of messages is to issue a
561 command with the search criteria first to check for appropriate messages,
562 and to read each single message then by typing ``' repeatedly.
565 .Ss "Replying to or originating mail"
568 can be used to set up a response to a message,
569 sending it back to the person who it was from.
570 Text the user types in, up to an end-of-file,
571 defines the contents of the message.
572 While the user is composing a message \*(UA treats lines beginning with
573 the character `~' specially.
574 For instance, typing `~m' (alone on a line) will place a copy of the
575 current message into the response right shifting it by a tabstop
579 Other escapes will set up subject fields,
580 add and delete recipients to the message,
582 and allow the user to escape to an editor to revise the message
583 or to a shell to run some commands.
584 (These options are given in the summary below.)
587 .Ss "Ending a mail processing session"
588 The user can end a \*(UA session by issuing the
591 Messages which have been examined go to the user's mbox file unless they
593 in which case they are discarded.
594 Unexamined messages go back to the post office.
598 When command line history is tracked, an updated history file is
600 None of these actions is performed when the command
602 (`x') is used instead of
607 .Ss "Personal and systemwide distribution lists"
608 It is possible to create personal distribution lists so that,
609 for instance, the user can send mail to `cohorts'
610 and have it go to a group of people.
611 Such lists can be defined via the
613 command by, e.g., placing lines like
615 .Dl alias cohorts bill ozalp jkf mark kridle@ucbcory
617 in the file \*(ur in the user's home directory.
620 without arguments lists all the currently known aliases.
622 Please note that this mechanism has nothing in common with the system
623 wide aliases that may be used by the local MTA (mail-transfer-agent)
624 and are often tracked in a file
631 Personal aliases will be expanded by \*(UA before the message is sent.
632 They are a convenient alternative to specifying each addressee by
636 .Ss "Recipient address specifications"
637 When an address is used to name a recipient (in `To:', `Cc:', or `Bcc:'),
638 names of local mail folders and pipes to external commands may also be
639 specified \(en the message text is then written to them.
640 The rules are: Any name which starts with a `|' (vertical bar) character
641 specifies a pipe \(en the command string following the `|' is executed
642 and the message is sent to its standard input;
643 any other name which contains a `@' (at sign) character is treated as
645 any other name which starts with a `+' (plus sign) character specifies
647 any other name which contains a `/' (slash) character but no `!'
648 (exclamation mark) or `%' (percent sign) character before also specifies
650 what remains is treated as a mail address.
651 Compressed folders are handled as described for the
656 .Ss "Network mail (Internet / ARPA, UUCP, Berknet)"
659 for a description of network addresses.
660 If support for IDNA (internationalized domain names for applications)
661 has been compiled into \*(UA,
662 then the domain name part of network addresses will be converted via
663 IDNA mechanisms as necessary, effectively treating it as a name in the
667 for the complete picture about character sets.
669 \*(UA has a number of options which can be set in the \*(ur file
670 to alter its behavior; e.g.,
675 .Ic "set idna-disable"
676 will disable the mentioned IDNA conversion even if support is available.
677 (These options are summarized below.)
681 For any outgoing attachment \*(UA tries to determine the content type.
682 It does this by reading MIME type files whose lines have the following
685 .Dl type/subtype extension [extension ...]
687 where `type/subtype' are strings describing the file contents,
688 and `extension' is the part of a filename starting after the last dot.
689 Any line not immediately beginning with an ASCII alphabetical character
692 .Va mimetypes-load-control
693 can be used to control the sources of MIME types, and the
695 command can be used to show the list of mime types known to \*(UA.
696 If there is a match with the `extension' of the file to attach,
697 the given `type/subtype' pair is used.
698 Otherwise, or if the filename has no extension,
699 the content types `text/plain' or `application/octet-stream' are used,
700 dependent upon file content inspection.
702 .Va mime-allow-text-controls .
706 \*(UA normally detects the character set of the terminal by using
707 mechanisms that are controlled by the `LC_CTYPE' locale setting,
708 if such are supported; the variable
710 will be set to the detected terminal character set and will thus
711 show up in the output of the command
716 value is not overwritten by this detection mechanism;
717 this feature must be used if the detection doesn't work properly,
718 and it may be used to adjust the name of the locale character set.
719 E.g., on BSD systems one may use a locale with the character set
720 `ISO8859-1', which is not a valid name for this character set;
721 to be on the safe side, one may set
723 to the correct name, `ISO-8859-1'.
725 Note that changing the value doesn't mean much beside that,
726 since several aspects of the real character set are implied by the
727 locale environment of the system,
728 and that stays unaffected by the content of an overwritten
731 (This is mostly an issue when interactively using \*(UA, though.
732 It is actually possible to send mail in a completely "faked" locale
735 If no character set conversion capabilities have been compiled into
738 library has been found), then
740 will be the only supported character set,
741 and it is simply assumed that it can be used to exchange 8 bit messages,
742 and the rest of this section does not apply;
743 it may however still be necessary to explicitly set it if automatic
744 detection fails, since in that case it defaults to `ISO-8859-1'.
746 When reading messages, their text is converted into
748 as necessary in order to display them on the users terminal.
749 Unprintable characters and illegal byte sequences are detected
750 and replaced by proper substitution characters
753 was set once \*(UA was started).
755 When sending messages all their parts and attachments are classified.
756 Whereas no character set conversion is performed on those parts which
757 appear to be binary data,
758 the character set being used must be declared within the MIME header of
759 an outgoing text part if it contains characters that do not conform to
760 the set of characters that are allowed by the email standards.
761 Permissible values for character sets can be declared using the
763 variable, which is expected to contain a (comma-separated list of)
764 character set (names), and the
766 variable, which is used as a catch-all last-resort fallback.
768 All the specified character sets are tried in order unless the
769 conversion of the part or attachment succeeds.
770 If none of the tried (8 bit) character sets is capable to represent the
771 content of the part or attachment,
772 then the message will not be sent and its text will be saved to
774 Note that some character set conversions will never fail, even if the
775 result is incorrect; e.g., `ISO-8859-1' is capable to represent any
778 In general, if the message `Cannot convert from a to b' appears, either
779 some characters are not appropriate for the currently selected
780 (terminal) character set,
781 or the needed conversion is not supported by the system.
782 In the first case, it is necessary to set an appropriate `LC_CTYPE'
783 locale and/or the variable
786 The best results are usually achieved when \*(UA is run in a UTF-8
787 locale on a UTF-8 capable terminal,
788 in which case the full Unicode spectrum of characters is available.
789 In this setup characters from various countries can be displayed,
790 while it is still possible to use more simple character sets for sending
791 to retain maximum compatibility with older mail clients.
794 .Ss "Command line editor"
795 \*(OP \*(UA can be configured to support a command line editor and
796 command history lists which are saved in between sessions.
797 One may link against fully-fledged external libraries
798 .Ns ( Ns Xr readline 3 ,
800 ) or use the \*(UA command line editor instead, which should work in all
801 environments which comply to ISO C (ISO/IEC 9899:1990/Amendment 1:1995).
802 When an external library is used, interactive behaviour of \*(UA relies
803 on that library and may not correspond one-to-one to what is described
806 Regardless of the actually used command line editor history entries
807 will be created for lines entered in command mode only, and creation of
808 such an entry can be forcefully suppressed by starting the line with
810 Note that history handling is by itself an optional feature and may
811 therefore not be available.
812 For more information see the documentation of the options
814 .Va line-editor-disable ,
819 The builtin \*(UA command line editor supports the following operations;
820 the notation `^-character' stands for the combination of the `control'
821 key plus the mentioned character, e.g., `^A' means "hold control key
822 while adding an A key on top of it":
823 .Bl -tag -width "^M^"
825 Go to the start of the line.
827 Move the cursor backward one character.
829 Forward delete the character under the cursor;
830 quits \*(UA if used on the empty line, unless the
834 Go to the end of the line.
836 Move the cursor forward one character.
838 Cancel current operation, full reset.
839 If there is an active history search or tabulator expansion then this
840 command will first reset that, reverting to the former line content;
841 thus a second reset is needed for a full reset in this case.
842 In all cases \*(UA will reset a possibly used multibyte character input
845 The same as `backspace': backward delete one character.
847 \*(OP The same as `horizontal tabulator': try to expand the "word"
849 Here "expansion" refers to the \*(UA expansion, as documented for
851 and thus includes shell word expansion (as a last step).
852 I.e., this is \*(UA "expansion", not what one usually expects from
855 The same as `RETURN': complete this line of input.
857 Delete all characters from the cursor to the end of the line.
861 \*(OP Go to the next history entry.
863 \*(OP Go to the previous history entry.
865 \*(OP Complete the current line from (the remaining older) history entries.
867 The same as `^A' followed by `^K'.
869 Delete the characters from the one preceding the cursor to the preceding
872 Move the cursor forward one word boundary.
874 Move the cursor backward one word boundary.
877 If problems with commands that are based upon rightwise movement are
878 encountered, adjustments of the option
879 .Va line-editor-cursor-right
880 may solve the problem, as documented for it.
884 Each command is typed on a line by itself,
885 and may take arguments following the command word.
886 The command need not be typed in its entirety \(en
887 the first command which matches the typed prefix is used.
890 prints a sorted list of available commands, and the command
892 when given an argument, will show a documentation string for the
894 .Ns ` Ns Ic ? Ns Ar unc Ns ' ;
895 documentation strings are however \*(OP.)
897 For commands which take message lists as arguments,
898 if no message list is given,
899 then the next message forward which satisfies the command's requirements
901 If there are no messages forward of the current message,
902 the search proceeds backwards,
903 and if there are no good messages at all,
904 \*(UA types `no applicable messages' and aborts the command.
905 If the command begins with a `#' (number sign) character,
908 The arguments to commands can be quoted, using the following methods:
909 .Bl -bullet -offset indent
911 An argument can be enclosed between paired double-quotes `"argument"' or
912 single-quotes `'argument'';
913 any white space, shell word expansion, or backslash characters (except
914 as described next) within the quotes are treated literally as part of
916 A double-quote will be treated literally within single-quotes and vice
918 Inside such a quoted string the actually used quote character can be
919 used nonetheless by escaping it with a backslash `\\', as in
922 An argument that is not enclosed in quotes, as above, can usually still
923 contain space characters if those spaces are backslash-escaped.
925 A backslash outside of the enclosing quotes is discarded
926 and the following character is treated literally as part of the argument.
928 An unquoted backslash at the end of a command line is discarded and the
929 next line continues the command.
932 Filenames, where expected, are subsequently subjected to the following
933 transformations, in sequence:
934 .Bl -bullet -offset indent
936 If the filename begins with an unquoted plus sign, and the
939 the plus sign will be replaced by the value of the
941 variable followed by a slash.
944 variable is unset or is set to null, the filename will be unchanged.
946 Shell word expansions are applied to the filename.
947 If more than a single pathname results from this expansion and the
948 command is expecting one file, an error results.
952 The following commands are provided:
953 .Bl -tag -width ".Ic account"
955 Interprets the remainder of the word as a macro name and passes it
959 .Ns ` Ns Ic ~ Ns Ar mymacro Ns '
960 is a shorter synonym for
961 .Ns ` Ns Ic call Ar mymacro Ns ' .
963 Print out the preceding message.
964 If given a numeric argument n,
965 goes to the n'th previous message and prints it.
967 Prints a brief summary of commands.
968 \*(OP Given an argument a synopsis for the command in question is
971 Executes the shell (see
975 ) command which follows.
981 (ac) Creates, selects or lists an email account.
982 An account is formed by a group of commands,
983 primarily of those to set variables.
985 of which the second is a `{',
986 the first argument gives an account name,
987 and the following lines create a group of commands for that account
988 until a line containing a single `}' appears.
989 With one argument the previously created group of commands for the
990 account name is executed, and a
992 command is executed for the system mailbox or inbox of that account.
993 Without arguments the list of accounts and their contents are printed.
995 .Bd -literal -offset indent
997 set folder=imaps://mylogin@imap.myisp.example
999 set from="myname@myisp.example (My Name)"
1000 set smtp=smtp.myisp.example
1004 creates an account named `myisp' which can later be selected by
1005 specifying `account myisp'.
1006 The special account `null' (case-insensitive) always exists.
1008 (a) With no arguments, prints out all currently-defined aliases.
1009 With one argument, prints out that alias.
1010 With more than one argument,
1011 creates a new alias or changes an old one.
1013 (alt) The alternates command is useful if the user has accounts on
1015 It can be used to inform \*(UA that the listed addresses all belong to
1017 When replying to messages \*(UA will not send a copy of the message
1018 to any of the addresses listed on the alternates list.
1019 If the alternates command is given with no argument,
1020 the current set of alternate names is displayed.
1022 (ans) Takes a message list and marks each message as having been
1024 This mark has no technical meaning in the mail system;
1025 it just causes messages to be marked in the header summary,
1026 and makes them specially addressable.
1028 \*(OP Only applicable to cached IMAP mailboxes;
1029 takes a message list and reads the specified messages into the IMAP
1032 Calls a macro (see the
1039 \*(OP Only applicable to S/MIME signed messages.
1040 Takes a message list and a file name and saves the certificates
1041 contained within the message signatures to the named file in both
1042 human-readable and PEM format.
1043 The certificates can later be used to send encrypted messages to the
1044 respective message senders by setting
1045 .Va smime-encrypt-user@host
1048 (ch) Changes the user's working directory to the specified one,
1049 or to the user's login directory, if none was given.
1052 Only applicable to threaded mode.
1053 Takes a message list and makes all replies to these messages invisible
1054 in header summaries,
1055 unless they are in state `new'.
1057 \*(OP (conn) If operating in disconnected mode on an IMAP mailbox,
1058 switch to online mode and connect to the mail server while retaining the
1060 See the description of the
1062 variable for more information.
1064 (c) The copy command does the same thing that
1066 does except that it does not mark the given messages for deletion when
1068 Compressed files and IMAP mailboxes are handled as described for the
1074 but saves the messages in a file named after the local part of the
1075 sender address of the first message.
1077 Print the current working directory.
1079 \*(OP (dec) For unencrypted messages,
1080 this command is identical to
1082 Encrypted messages are first decrypted, if possible, and then copied.
1084 \*OP (Dec) Similar to
1086 but saves the messages in a file named after the local part of the
1087 sender address of the first message.
1089 (def) Defines a macro.
1090 A macro definition is a sequence of commands in the following form:
1091 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1100 A defined macro can be explicitly invoked using
1104 or it can be implicitly invoked by setting the
1107 .Va folder-hook-fullname
1110 Prints the currently defined macros including their contents.
1112 (d) Takes a list of messages as argument and marks them all as deleted.
1113 Deleted messages will not be saved in `mbox',
1114 nor will they be available for most other commands.
1119 \*(OP (disco) If operating in online mode on an IMAP mailbox,
1120 switch to disconnected mode while retaining the mailbox status.
1121 See the description of the
1124 A list of messages may optionally be given as argument;
1125 the respective messages are then read into the cache before the
1126 connection is closed.
1127 Thus `disco *' makes the entire mailbox available for disconnected use.
1128 .It Ic dp Ns \ or Ic dt
1129 Deletes the current message and prints the next message.
1130 If there is no next message, \*(UA says `at EOF'.
1132 Takes a message list and marks each given message as a draft.
1133 This mark has no technical meaning in the mail system;
1134 it just causes messages to be marked in the header summary,
1135 and makes them specially addressable.
1137 Echoes its arguments,
1138 resolving special names as documented for the command
1140 The escape sequences `\ea', `\eb', `\ec', `\ef', `\en', `\er', `\et',
1141 `\ev', `\e\e', and `\e0octal-num\fR' are interpreted just as they are by
1143 (proper quoting provided).
1145 (e) Point the text editor at each message from the given list in turn.
1146 Modified contents are discarded unless the
1150 Marks the end of the then-part of an if statement and the beginning of
1151 the part to take effect if the condition of the if statement is false.
1153 Marks the end of an if statement.
1155 (ex or x) Effects an immediate return to the Shell without modifying the
1156 user's system mailbox, his `mbox' file, or his edit file in
1158 as well as a possibly tracked command line editor history file.
1160 Print the list of features that have been compiled into \*(UA.
1165 (fl) Takes a message list and marks the messages as `flagged' for
1166 urgent/special attention.
1167 This mark has no technical meaning in the mail system;
1168 it just causes messages to be highlighted in the header summary,
1169 and makes them specially addressable.
1171 With no arguments, list the names of the folders in the folder directory.
1172 With an existing folder as an argument,
1173 lists the names of folders below the named folder;
1174 e.\|g. the command `folders @' lists the folders on the base level of
1175 the current IMAP server.
1176 See also the variable
1177 .Va imap-list-depth .
1179 (fold) The folder command switches to a new mail file or folder.
1180 With no arguments, it tells the user which file he is currently reading.
1181 If an argument is given, it will write out changes (such as deletions)
1182 the user has made in the current file and read in the new file.
1183 Some special conventions are recognized for the
1186 .Bl -tag -offset indent -width ".Ar %:filespec"
1188 (number sign) means the previous file,
1190 (percent sign) means the invoking user's system mailbox
1195 means the system mailbox of `user'
1196 (and never the value of
1198 regardless of its actual setting),
1200 (ampersand) means the invoking user's `mbox' file (see
1204 means a `file' in the
1208 expands to the same value as `filespec',
1209 but the file is handled as a system mailbox by, e.g., the
1216 If the name matches one of the strings defined with the command
1218 it is replaced by its long form and expanded.
1219 If the name ends with `.gz' or `.bz2' it is treated as being compressed
1225 Likewise, if `name' does not exist,
1226 but either `name.gz' or `name.bz2' does,
1227 then the compressed file is used.
1228 If `name' refers to a directory with the subdirectories `tmp', `new',
1229 and `cur', then it is treated as a folder in `maildir' format.
1232 .Dl protocol://[user@]host[:port][/file]
1234 is taken as an Internet mailbox specification.
1235 The (optionally) supported protocols are `imap' (IMAP v4r1), `imaps'
1236 (IMAP with SSL/TLS encrypted transport), `pop3' (POP3) and `pop3s' (POP3
1237 with SSL/TLS encrypted transport).
1238 If `user' contains special characters, in particular `/' or `%',
1239 they must be escaped in URL notation, as `%2F' or `%25'.
1240 The optional `file' part applies to IMAP only;
1241 if it is omitted, the default `INBOX' is used.
1243 If \*(UA is connected to an IMAP server,
1244 a name of the form `@mailbox' refers to the `mailbox' on that server,
1245 but otherwise a `@' prefix has no special meaning.
1249 but saves the message in a file named after the local part of the first
1250 recipient's address.
1254 but saves the message in a file named after the local part of the first
1255 recipient's address.
1259 but responds to all recipients regardless of the
1264 .It Ic followupsender
1267 but responds to the sender only regardless of the
1273 (fwd) Takes a message and the address of a recipient
1274 and forwards the message to him.
1275 The text of the original message is included in the new one,
1276 with the value of the
1278 variable printed before.
1283 commands specify which header fields are included in the new message.
1284 Only the first part of a multipart message is included unless the
1285 .Va forward-as-attachment
1290 but saves the message in a file named after the local part of the
1291 recipient's address.
1293 (f) Takes a list of messages and prints their message headers,
1294 piped through the pager if the output does not fit on the screen.
1296 Specifies which header fields are to be ignored with the command
1298 This command has no effect when the
1299 .Va forward-as-attachment
1302 Specifies which header fields are to be retained with the command
1307 This command has no effect when the
1308 .Va forward-as-attachment
1311 Without arguments it lists all currently defined command aliases,
1313 With two arguments it defines a new command alias: the first argument is
1314 the name under which the second should be accessible.
1315 The content of the second argument can be just about anything.
1316 A ghost can be used everywhere a normal command can be used, but always
1317 takes precedence; any arguments that are given to the command alias are
1318 joined onto the alias content, and the resulting string forms the
1319 command line that is, in effect, executed.
1323 .Dl ? ghost ls '!ls -latro'
1326 (h) Lists the current range of headers, which is an 18-message group.
1327 If a `+' argument is given the next 18-message group is printed,
1328 likewise the previous is printed if the argument was `-'.
1332 (ho, also preserve) Takes a message list and marks each message therein
1333 to be saved in the user's system mailbox instead of in `mbox'.
1334 Does not override the
1337 \*(UA deviates from the POSIX standard with this command,
1340 command issued after
1342 will display the following message, not the current one.
1344 Commands in \*(UA's startup files can be executed conditionally
1345 depending on whether the user is sending or receiving mail with the if
1347 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1353 An else form is also available:
1354 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1362 Note that the only allowed conditions are `receive', `send' and `term'
1363 (execute if standard input is a tty).
1365 Add the list of header fields named to the ignored list.
1366 Header fields in the ignore list are not printed on the terminal when
1367 a message is printed.
1368 This command is very handy for suppression of certain machine-generated
1374 commands can be used to print a message in its entirety, including
1376 It lists the current set of ignored fields if no arguments were given.
1378 \*(OP Sends command strings directly to the current IMAP server.
1379 \*(UA operates always in IMAP `selected state' on the current mailbox;
1380 commands that change this will produce undesirable results and should be
1382 Useful IMAP commands are:
1383 .Bl -tag -offset indent -width ".Ic getquotearoot"
1385 Takes the name of an IMAP mailbox as an argument and creates it.
1387 (RFC 2087) Takes the name of an IMAP mailbox as an argument
1388 and prints the quotas that apply to the mailbox.
1389 Not all IMAP servers support this command.
1391 (RFC 2342) Takes no arguments and prints the Personal Namespaces,
1392 the Other User's Namespaces and the Shared Namespaces.
1393 Each namespace type is printed in parentheses;
1394 if there are multiple namespaces of the same type,
1395 inner parentheses separate them.
1396 For each namespace a prefix and a hierarchy separator is listed.
1397 Not all IMAP servers support this command.
1403 Prints the names of all available commands, alphabetically sorted.
1405 Can only be used inside of a macro definition block introduced by
1409 and is interpreted as a boolean (value `0' means false, everything
1411 Any option that had been set while `localopts' was in effect will be
1412 reverted to its former value once the block is left / the `account'
1414 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1415 define temporary_settings {
1425 Note that these options stack upon each other, i.e., if macro1 sets
1426 `localopts' and calls macro2, which explicitly resets `localopts', then
1427 any values set within macro2 will still be cleaned up by macro1.
1431 but saves the message in a file named after the local part of the first
1432 recipient's address.
1434 (m) Takes a (list of) recipient address(es) as (an) argument(s),
1435 or asks on standard input if none were given;
1436 then collects the remaining mail content and sends it out.
1438 The given message list is to be sent to `mbox' when \*(UA is quit.
1439 This is the default action unless the
1442 \*(UA deviates from the POSIX standard with this command,
1445 command issued after
1447 will display the following message, not the current one.
1456 In the former case all sources are loaded first as necessary.
1458 .Va mimetypes-load-control
1459 option can be used to fine-tune loading of the sources.
1463 but marks the messages for deletion if they were transferred
1466 Takes a message list and invokes the
1468 on that list, printing a form-feed (`\\f') in between messages.
1472 but also prints ignored header fields and all MIME parts.
1476 but moves the messages to a file named after the local part of the
1477 sender address of the first message.
1479 Checks for new mail in the current folder without committing any changes
1481 If new mail is present, a message is printed.
1485 the headers of each new message are also printed.
1487 (n) (like `+' or `ENTER') Goes to the next message in sequence
1489 With an argument list, types the next matching message.
1500 If the current folder is located on an IMAP or POP3 server,
1501 a `NOOP' command is sent.
1502 Otherwise, no operation is performed.
1506 but also pipes ignored header fields and all parts of MIME
1507 `multipart/alternative' messages.
1509 (pi) Takes a message list and a shell command
1510 and pipes the messages through the command.
1511 Without an argument the current message is piped through the command
1518 every message is followed by a formfeed character.
1525 but also prints out ignored header fields and all parts of MIME
1526 `multipart/alternative' messages.
1533 (p) Takes a message list and types out each message on the user's
1535 If the message is a MIME multipart message,
1536 all parts with a content type of `text' or `message' are shown,
1537 the other are hidden except for their headers.
1538 Messages are decrypted and converted to the terminal character set
1541 (q) Terminates the session, saving all undeleted, unsaved messages in
1542 the current `mbox', preserving all messages marked with
1546 or never referenced in his system mailbox,
1547 and removing all other messages from his system mailbox.
1548 If new mail has arrived during the session,
1549 the message `You have new mail' is given.
1550 If given while editing a mailbox file with the command line flag
1552 then the edit file is rewritten.
1553 A return to the shell is effected,
1554 unless the rewrite of edit file fails,
1555 in which case the user can escape with the exit command.
1563 (rem) Removes the named folders.
1564 The user is asked for confirmation in interactive mode.
1566 (ren) Takes the name of an existing folder
1567 and the name for the new folder
1568 and renames the first to the second one.
1569 Both folders must be of the same type
1570 and must be located on the current server for IMAP.
1572 (R) Reply to originator.
1573 Does not reply to other recipients of the original message.
1575 (r) Takes a message list and sends mail to the sender and all recipients
1576 of the specified messages.
1577 The default message must not be deleted.
1581 but responds to all recipients regardless of the
1589 but responds to the sender only regardless of the
1597 but does not add any header lines.
1598 This is not a way to hide the sender's identity,
1599 but useful for sending a message again to the same recipients.
1601 Takes a list of messages and a user name
1602 and sends each message to the named user.
1603 `Resent-From:' and related header fields are prepended to the new copy
1614 .It Ic respondsender
1618 Add the list of header fields named to the retained list.
1619 Only the header fields in the retain list are shown on the terminal when
1620 a message is printed, all other header fields are suppressed.
1625 commands can be used to print a message in its entirety.
1626 The current set of retained fields is shown if
1628 is used without arguments.
1632 but saves the messages in a file named after the local part of the
1633 sender of the first message instead of taking a filename argument.
1635 (s) Takes a message list and a filename and appends each message in turn
1636 to the end of the file.
1637 If no filename is given, the `mbox' file is used.
1638 The filename in quotes, followed by the line count and character count
1639 is echoed on the user's terminal.
1640 If editing a system mailbox the messages are marked for deletion.
1641 Compressed files and IMAP mailboxes are handled as described for the
1643 command line option above.
1656 Header fields thus marked are filtered out when saving a message by
1658 or when automatically saving to `mbox'.
1659 This command should only be applied to header fields that do not contain
1660 information needed to decode the message,
1661 as MIME content fields do.
1662 If saving messages on an IMAP account ignoring fields makes it
1663 impossible to copy the data directly on the server,
1664 thus operation usually becomes much slower.
1674 Header fields thus marked are the only ones saved with a message when
1677 or when automatically saving to `mbox'.
1681 The use of this command is strongly discouraged since it may strip
1682 header fields that are needed to decode the message correctly.
1684 (se) With no arguments, prints all variable values.
1685 Otherwise, sets an option.
1686 Arguments are of the form `option=value' (no space before or after `='),
1687 or plain `option' if there is no value.
1688 Quotation marks may be placed around any part of the assignment
1689 statement to quote blanks or tabs, e.g.,
1691 .Dl set indentprefix="->"
1693 If an argument begins with `no', as in `set nosave',
1694 the effect is the same as invoking the
1696 command with the remaining part of the variable (`unset save').
1698 Takes a message list and marks all messages as having been read.
1700 (sh) Invokes an interactive version of the shell.
1702 Defines a shortcut name and its string for expansion,
1703 as described for the
1706 If used without arguments the currently defined shortcuts are printed.
1710 but performs neither MIME decoding nor decryption so that the raw
1711 message text is shown.
1713 Print the size in characters of each message of the given message-list.
1715 Create a sorted representation of the current folder,
1718 command and the addressing modes such that they refer to messages in the
1720 Message numbers are the same as in regular mode.
1724 a header summary in the new order is also printed.
1725 Possible sorting criteria are:
1726 .Bl -tag -offset indent -width "subject"
1728 Sort the messages by their `Date:' field,
1729 that is by the time they were sent.
1731 Sort messages by the value of their `From:' field,
1732 that is by the address of the sender.
1736 the sender's real name (if any) is used.
1738 Sort the messages by their size.
1740 \*(OP Sort the message by their spam score, as has been classified via
1744 Sort the messages by their message status (new, read, old, etc.).
1746 Sort the messages by their subject.
1748 Create a threaded order,
1752 Sort messages by the value of their `To:' field,
1753 that is by the address of the recipient.
1757 the recipient's real name (if any) is used.
1760 If no argument is given,
1761 the current sorting criterion is printed.
1763 The source command reads commands from a file.
1765 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and clears their `is-spam' flag.
1767 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and forces the spam detector to forget it
1768 has ever used them to train its Bayesian filter, wether as `ham' or
1771 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and teaches them to the spam detector as
1773 This also clears the `is-spam' flag of the messages in question.
1775 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and rates them using the configured spam
1776 detector, setting their `is-spam' flag as appropriate.
1777 Note that the messages are not modified, and due to that the rating will
1778 get lost once the mailbox is left.
1779 Refer to the manual section
1781 for the complete picture of spam handling in \*(UA.
1783 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and sets their `is-spam' flag.
1785 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and teaches them to the spam detector as
1787 This also sets the `is-spam' flag of the messages in question.
1789 (th) Create a threaded representation of the current folder,
1790 i.\|e. indent messages that are replies to other messages in the header
1791 display and change the
1793 command and the addressing modes such that they refer to messages in the
1795 Message numbers are the same as in unthreaded mode.
1799 a header summary in threaded order is also printed.
1801 Takes a message list and prints the top few lines of each.
1802 The number of lines printed is controlled by the variable
1804 and defaults to five.
1806 Takes a message list and marks the messages for saving in `mbox'.
1807 \*(UA deviates from the POSIX standard with this command,
1810 command issued after `mbox' will display the following message instead
1813 (T) Identical to the
1820 Takes a list of names defined by alias commands
1821 and discards the remembered groups of users.
1823 Takes a message list and marks each message as not having been answered.
1825 (unc) Only applicable to threaded mode.
1826 Takes a message list and makes the message and all replies to it visible
1827 in header summaries again.
1828 When a message becomes the current message,
1829 it is automatically made visible.
1830 Also when a message with collapsed replies is printed,
1831 all of these are automatically uncollapsed.
1833 Undefines each of the named macros.
1834 It is not an error to use a name that does not belong to
1835 one of the currently defined macros.
1837 (u) Takes a message list and marks each message as not being deleted.
1839 Takes a message list and
1840 .Ns un Ns Ic draft Ns
1843 Takes a message list and marks each message as not being
1846 Removes the header field names from the list of ignored fields for the
1850 Removes the header field names from the list of retained fields for the
1854 Remove an existing command
1857 Removes the header field names from the list of ignored fields.
1862 (U) Takes a message list and marks each message as not having been read.
1864 Removes the header field names from the list of retained fields.
1866 Removes the header field names from the list of ignored fields for
1869 Removes the header field names from the list of retained fields for
1872 Takes a list of option names and discards their remembered values;
1876 Deletes the shortcut names given as arguments.
1878 Disable sorted or threaded mode
1884 return to normal message order and,
1888 print a header summary.
1893 \*(OP (verif) Takes a message list and verifies each message.
1894 If a message is not an S/MIME signed message,
1895 verification will fail for it.
1896 The verification process checks if the message was signed using a valid
1898 if the message sender's email address matches one of those contained
1899 within the certificate,
1900 and if the message content has been altered.
1902 (v) Takes a message list and invokes the display editor on each message.
1903 Modified contents are discarded unless the
1907 (w) For conventional messages the body without all headers is written.
1908 The output is decrypted and converted to its native format as necessary.
1909 If the output file exists, the text is appended.
1910 If a message is in MIME multipart format its first part is written to
1911 the specified file as for conventional messages,
1912 and the user is asked for a filename to save each other part.
1913 For convience saving of each part may be skipped by giving an empty value;
1914 the same result can also be achieved by writing it to
1916 For the second and subsequent parts a leading `|' character causes the
1917 part to be piped to the remainder of the user input interpreted as
1919 otherwise the user input is expanded as usually for folders,
1920 e.g., tilde expansion is performed.
1921 In non-interactive mode, only the parts of the multipart message
1922 that have a filename given in the part header are written,
1923 the others are discarded.
1924 The original message is never marked for deletion in the originating
1927 the contents of the destination file are overwritten if the file
1929 No special handling of compressed files is performed.
1934 \*(UA presents message headers in windowfuls as described under the
1937 This command scrolls to the next window of messages.
1938 If an argument is given,
1939 it specifies the window to use.
1940 A number prefixed by `+' or `\-' indicates
1941 that the window is calculated in relation to the current position.
1942 A number without a prefix specifies an absolute window number,
1943 and a `$' lets \*(UA scroll to the last window of messages.
1947 but scrolls to the next or previous window that contains at least one
1948 new or `flagged' message.
1953 Here is a summary of the tilde escapes,
1954 which are used to perform special functions when composing messages.
1955 Tilde escapes are only recognized at the beginning of lines.
1956 The name `tilde escape' is somewhat of a misnomer since the actual
1957 escape character can be set by the option
1959 .Bl -tag -width ".Ic ~< filename"
1961 Insert the string of text in the message prefaced by a single `~'.
1962 (If the escape character has been changed,
1963 that character must be doubled
1964 in order to send it at the beginning of a line.)
1965 .It Ic ~! Ar command
1966 Execute the indicated shell
1968 then return to the message.
1970 Same effect as typing the end-of-file character.
1971 .It Ic ~: Ar \*(UA-command Ns \ or Ic ~_ Ar \*(UA-command
1972 Execute the given \*(UA command.
1973 Not all commands, however, are allowed.
1975 Write a summary of command escapes.
1976 .It Ic ~< Ar filename
1979 .It Ic ~<! Ar command
1981 is executed using the shell.
1982 Its standard output is inserted into the message.
1983 .It Ic ~@ Op Ar filename...
1984 With no arguments, edit the attachment list interactively.
1985 If an attachment's file name is left empty,
1986 that attachment is deleted from the list.
1987 When the end of the attachment list is reached,
1988 \*(UA will ask for further attachments until an empty name is given.
1989 If a given file name solely consists of the number sign `#' followed
1990 by a valid message number of the currently active mailbox, the given
1991 message is attached as a MIME `message/rfc822' and the rest of this
1992 section does not apply.
1994 If character set conversion has been compiled into \*(UA, then this mode
1995 gives the user the option to specify input and output character sets,
1996 unless the file extension indicates binary content, in which case \*(UA
1997 asks wether this step shall be skipped for the attachment in question.
1998 If not skipped, then the charset that succeeds to represent the
1999 attachment data will be used in the `charset=' MIME parameter of the
2003 If input and output character sets are specified, then the conversion is
2004 performed on the fly.
2005 The user will be asked repeatedly until the desired conversion succeeds.
2007 If only an output character set is specified, then the input is assumed
2010 charset and will be converted to the given output charset on the fly.
2011 The user will be asked repeatedly until the desired conversion succeeds.
2013 If no character sets are specified at all then the algorithm that is
2014 documented in the section
2015 .Sx "Character sets"
2016 is applied, but directly and on the fly.
2017 The user will be asked repeatedly until the desired conversion succeeds.
2019 Finally, if an input-, but no output character set is specified, then no
2020 conversion is ever performed, but the `charset=' MIME parameter will
2021 still be set to the user input.
2024 Without character set conversion support, \*(UA will ask for the input
2025 character set only, and it'll set the `charset=' MIME parameter to the
2026 given input, if any;
2027 if no user input is seen then the
2029 character set will be used for the `charset=' parameter instead.
2030 Note that the file extension check isn't performed in this mode, since
2031 no conversion will take place anyway.
2033 Note that in non-interactive mode, for reproduceabilities sake, there
2034 will always be two questions for each attachment, regardless of wether
2035 character set conversion is available and what the file extension is.
2036 The first asks for the filename, and the second asks for the input
2037 character set to be passed through to the `charset=' MIME parameter;
2038 no conversion will be tried if there is input to the latter question,
2039 otherwise the usual conversion algorithm, as above, is applied.
2040 For message attachments, the answer to the second question is completely
2045 arguments are specified,
2046 they are treated as a comma separated list of files,
2047 which are all expanded and appended to the end of the attachment list.
2048 (Filenames with commas, or with leading or trailing whitespace can only
2049 be added via the command line or the first method.
2050 Message attachments can only be added via the first method;
2051 filenames which clash with message numbers can only be added via the
2052 command line or the second method.)
2053 In this mode the (text) attachments are assumed to be in
2055 encoding, and will be evaluated as documented in the section
2056 .Sx "Character sets" .
2058 Inserts the string contained in the
2060 variable (same as `~i Sign').
2061 The escape sequences `\et' (tabulator) and `\en' (newline) are understood.
2063 Inserts the string contained in the
2065 variable (same as `~i sign').
2066 The escape sequences `\et' (tabulator) and `\en' (newline) are understood.
2067 .It Ic ~b Ar name ...
2068 Add the given names to the list of blind carbon copy recipients.
2069 .It Ic ~c Ar name ...
2070 Add the given names to the list of carbon copy recipients.
2072 Read the file specified by the
2074 variable into the message.
2076 Invoke the text editor on the message collected so far.
2077 After the editing session is finished,
2078 the user may continue appending text to the message.
2079 .It Ic ~f Ar messages
2080 Read the named messages into the message being sent.
2081 If no messages are specified,
2082 read in the current message.
2083 Message headers currently being ignored (by the
2087 command) are not included.
2088 For MIME multipart messages,
2089 only the first printable part is included.
2090 .It Ic ~F Ar messages
2091 Identical to `~f', except that all message headers and MIME parts are
2094 Edit the message header fields `To:', `Cc:', `Bcc:', and `Subject:' by
2095 typing each one in turn and allowing the user to edit the field.
2097 Edit the message header fields `From:', `Reply-To:', `Sender:' and
2098 `Organization:' in the same manner as described for
2100 The default values for these fields originate from the
2107 .It Ic ~i Ar variable
2108 Insert the value of the specified variable into the message,
2109 adding a newline character at the end.
2110 The message remains unaltered if the variable is unset or empty.
2111 The escape sequences `\et' (tabulator) and `\en' (newline) are understood.
2112 .It Ic ~m Ar messages
2113 Read the named messages into the message being sent,
2114 indented by a tab or by the value of
2116 If no messages are specified,
2117 read the current message.
2118 Message headers currently being ignored (by the
2122 commands) are not included.
2123 For MIME multipart messages,
2124 only the first printable part is included.
2125 .It Ic ~M Ar messages
2126 Identical to `~m', except that all message headers and MIME parts are
2129 Print out the message collected so far,
2130 prefaced by the message header fields
2131 and followed by the attachment list, if any.
2133 Abort the message being sent,
2134 copying it to the file specified by the
2139 .It Ic ~r Ar filename
2140 Read the named file into the message.
2142 Cause the named string to become the current subject field.
2143 .It Ic ~t Ar name ...
2144 Add the given name(s) to the direct recipient list.
2146 Invoke an alternate editor (defined by the
2148 option) on the message collected so far.
2149 Usually, the alternate editor will be a screen editor.
2150 After the editor is quit,
2151 the user may resume appending text to the end of the message.
2152 .It Ic ~w Ar filename
2153 Write the message onto the named file.
2155 the message is appended to it.
2157 Same as `~q', except that the message is not saved at all.
2158 .It Ic ~| Ar command
2159 Pipe the message through the specified filter command.
2160 If the command gives no output or terminates abnormally,
2161 retain the original text of the message.
2164 is often used as a rejustifying filter.
2168 .Ss "Variable options"
2169 Options are controlled via
2173 commands, see the corresponding entries for a syntax description.
2174 An option is also set if it is passed to \*(UA as part of the program
2175 environment (this is not restricted to specific variables as in the
2177 A value given in a startup file overrides a value imported from the
2179 Options may be either binary, in which case it is only significant to
2180 see whether they are set or not;
2181 or string, in which case the actual value is of interest.
2184 .Ss "Binary options"
2185 The binary options include the following:
2186 .Bl -tag -width ".Va autoprint"
2187 .It Va add-file-recipients
2188 When file or pipe recipients have been specified,
2189 mention them in the corresponding address fields of the message instead
2190 of silently stripping them from their recipient list.
2191 By default such addressees are not mentioned.
2193 Causes only the local part to be evaluated
2194 when comparing addresses.
2196 Causes messages saved in mbox to be appended to the end rather than
2198 This should always be set.
2199 .It Va ask Ns \ or Va asksub
2200 Causes \*(UA to prompt for the subject of each message sent.
2201 If the user responds with simply a newline,
2202 no subject field will be sent.
2204 Causes the prompts for `Cc:' and `Bcc:' lists to appear after the
2205 message has been edited.
2207 If set, \*(UA asks for files to attach at the end of each message.
2208 An empty line finalizes the list.
2210 Causes the user to be prompted for additional carbon copy recipients (at
2211 the end of each message if
2216 An empty line finalizes the list.
2218 Causes the user to be prompted for additional blind carbon copy
2219 recipients (at the end of each message if
2224 An empty line finalizes the list.
2226 \*(OP Causes the user to be prompted if the message is to be signed at
2227 the end of each message.
2230 variable is ignored when this variable is set.
2232 Causes threads to be collapsed automatically when threaded mode is
2240 Causes the delete command to behave like `dp -';
2241 thus, after deleting a message the next one will be typed automatically.
2243 Causes threaded mode (see the
2245 command) to be entered automatically when a folder is opened.
2247 Enables the substitution of `!' by the contents of the last command line
2249 .It Va batch-exit-on-error
2250 If the batch mode has been enabled via the
2252 command line option, then this variable will be consulted whenever \*(UA
2253 completes one operation (returns to the command prompt); if it is set
2254 then \*(UA will terminate if the last operation generated an error.
2256 Causes automatic display of a header summary after executing a
2260 Sets some cosmetical features to traditional BSD style;
2261 has the same affect as setting
2263 and all other variables prefixed with `bsd';
2264 it also changes the meaning of the \*(UA specific `\\&'
2268 Changes the letters printed in the first column of a header summary
2269 to traditional BSD style.
2271 Changes the display of columns in a header summary to traditional BSD
2274 Changes some informational messages to traditional BSD style.
2276 Causes the `Subject:' field to appear immediately after the `To:' field
2277 in message headers and with the `~h' tilde command.
2279 Changes the output format of the
2281 command to traditional BSD style.
2283 Prints debugging messages and disables the actual delivery of messages.
2286 this option is intended for \*(UA development only.
2288 \*(OP When an IMAP mailbox is selected and this variable is set,
2289 no connection to the server is initiated.
2290 Instead, data is obtained from the local cache (see
2293 Mailboxes that are not present in the cache
2294 and messages that have not yet entirely been fetched from the server
2296 to fetch all messages in a mailbox at once,
2298 .Ns ` Ns Li copy * /dev/null Ns '
2299 can be used while still in
2302 Changes that are made to IMAP mailboxes in disconnected mode are queued
2303 and committed later when a connection to that server is opened in online
2305 This procedure is not completely reliable since it cannot be guaranteed
2306 that the IMAP unique identifiers (UIDs) on the server still match the
2307 ones in the cache at that time.
2310 when this problem occurs.
2311 .It Va disconnected-user@host
2312 The specified account is handled as described for the
2315 but other accounts are not affected.
2317 The binary option dot causes \*(UA to interpret a period alone on a line
2318 as the terminator of a message the user is sending.
2320 If this variable is set then the editor is started automatically when
2321 composing a message in an interactive mode,
2322 as if the `~e' tilde command had been specified.
2325 variable is implied for this automatically spawned editor session.
2327 When a message is edited while being composed,
2328 its header is included in the editable text.
2329 The `To:', `Cc:', `Bcc:', `Subject:', `From:', `Reply-To:', `Sender:',
2330 and 'Organization:' fields are accepted within the header,
2331 other fields are ignored.
2333 If set, an empty mailbox file is not removed.
2334 This may improve the interoperability with other mail user agents
2335 when using a common folder directory.
2337 If the mailbox is empty \*(UA normally prints `No mail for user' and
2339 If this option is set \*(UA starts even with an empty mailbox.
2345 commands and vice-versa.
2346 .It Va forward-as-attachment
2347 Original messages are normally sent as inline text with the
2350 and only the first part of a multipart message is included.
2351 With this option messages are sent as MIME `message/rfc822' attachments
2352 with all of their parts included.
2357 options are ignored when the
2358 .Va forward-as-attachment
2361 When replying to a message \*(UA normally removes the comment parts of
2363 which by convention contain the full names of the recipients.
2364 If this variable is set such stripping is not performed,
2365 and comments are retained.
2367 Causes the header summary to be written at startup and after commands
2368 that affect the number of messages or the order of messages in the
2369 current folder; enabled by default.
2371 This option is used to hold messages in the system mailbox by default.
2373 \*(OP Can be used to turn off the automatic conversion of domain names
2374 according to the rules of IDNA (internationalized domain names for
2376 Since the IDNA code assumes domain names are specified with the
2378 character set, an UTF-8 locale charset is required to represent
2379 all possible international domain names (before conversion, that is).
2381 Causes interrupt signals from the terminal to be ignored
2384 An option related to
2388 which makes \*(UA refuse to accept a `control-D' as the end of a message.
2389 This option also applies to \*(UA command mode.
2390 .It Va imap-use-starttls
2391 \*(OP Causes \*(UA to issue a `STARTTLS' command to make an unencrypted
2392 IMAP session SSL/TLS encrypted.
2393 This functionality is not supported by all servers,
2394 and is not used if the session is already encrypted by the IMAPS method.
2395 .It Va imap-use-starttls-user@host
2397 .Va imap-use-starttls
2398 for a specific account.
2400 This option causes \*(UA to truncate the user's system mailbox instead
2401 of deleting it when it is empty.
2402 This should always be set since it prevents malicious users from
2403 creating fake mail folders in a world-writable spool directory.
2405 When a message is saved it is usually discarded from the originating
2406 folder when \*(UA is quit.
2407 Setting this option causes all saved message to be retained.
2408 .It Va line-editor-disable
2409 Turn off any enhanced command line editing capabilities (see
2410 .Sx "Command line editor"
2413 When a message is replied to and this variable is set,
2414 it is marked as having been answered.
2415 This mark has no technical meaning in the mail system;
2416 it just causes messages to be marked in the header summary,
2417 and makes them specially addressable.
2418 .It Va message-id-disable
2419 By setting this option the generation of `Message-ID:' can be completely
2420 suppressed, effectively leaving this task up to the mail-transfer-agent
2421 (MTA) or the SMTP server.
2422 (According to RFC 5321 your SMTP server is not required to add this
2423 field by itself, so you should ensure that it accepts messages without
2426 Usually, when a group is expanded that contains the sender,
2427 the sender is removed from the expansion.
2428 Setting this option causes the sender to be included in the group.
2429 .It Va mime-allow-text-controls
2430 When sending messages, each part of the message is MIME-inspected in
2431 order to classify the `Content-Type:' and `Content-Transfer-Encoding:'
2432 that is required to send this part over mail transport, i.e.,
2433 a computation rather similar to what the
2435 command produces when used with the
2439 This classification however treats text files which are encoded in
2440 UTF-16 (often found for HTML files) and similar character sets as binary
2441 octet-streams, forcefully changing any `text/plain' or `text/html'
2442 specification to `application/octet-stream';
2443 if that actually happens, then a yet unset charset MIME parameter is set
2444 to `binary', effectively making it impossible for the receiving MUA to
2445 automatically interpret the contents of the part.
2447 If this option is set, and the data was unambiguously identified as text
2448 data at first glance (by a `.txt' or `.html' file extension), then the
2449 original `Content-Type:' will not be overwritten.
2450 .It Va mime-counter-evidence
2451 Normally the `Content-Type:' field is used to decide how to treat
2452 a messages MIME part.
2453 Some MUAs however don't use
2455 or a similar mechanism to correctly classify content,
2456 but simply specify `application/octet-stream',
2457 even for plain text attachments like `text/diff'.
2458 If this variable is set then \*(UA will use the file extension of
2459 attachments to classify such MIME message parts, if possible.
2461 Checks for new mail in the current folder each time the prompt is
2463 For IMAP mailboxes the server is then polled for new mail,
2464 which may result in delayed operation if the connection to the server is
2466 A `maildir' folder must be re-scanned to determine if new mail has
2469 If this variable is set to the special value `nopoll' an IMAP server is
2470 not actively asked for new mail,
2471 but new mail may still be detected and announced with any other IMAP
2472 command that is sent to the server.
2473 A `maildir' folder is not scanned, then.
2475 In either case the IMAP server may send notifications about messages
2476 that have been deleted on the server by another process or client.
2477 In this case, `Expunged X messages' is printed regardless of this
2479 and message numbers may have changed.
2481 Setting this option is the same as using the command line option
2484 Causes the filename given in the
2487 and the sender-based filenames for the
2491 commands to be interpreted relative to the directory given in the
2493 variable rather than to the current directory,
2494 unless it is set to an absolute pathname.
2496 If set, each message the
2498 command prints out is followed by a formfeed character.
2500 Send messages to the
2502 command without performing MIME and character set conversions.
2503 .It Va pop3-bulk-load
2504 \*(OP When accessing a POP3 server \*(UA loads the headers of the
2505 messages, and only requests the message bodies on user request.
2506 For the POP3 protocol this means that the message headers will be
2508 If this option is set then \*(UA will download only complete messages
2509 from POP3 servers instead.
2512 a macro that temporarily sets this option, then accesses a POP3 account
2513 that is known to only get small text messages, and then unsets this
2516 \*(OP Unless this variable is set the `APOP' authentication method
2517 will be used when connecting to a POP3 server that advertises support.
2518 The advantage of APOP over `USER/PASS' authentication is that the
2519 password is not sent in clear text over the wire and that only a single
2520 packet is sent for the user/password tuple.
2521 .It Va pop3-no-apop-user@host
2522 Disables usage of the `APOP' authentication method (see
2524 for a specific account.
2525 .It Va pop3-use-starttls
2526 \*(OP Causes \*(UA to issue a `STLS' command to make an unencrypted POP3
2527 session SSL/TLS encrypted.
2528 This functionality is not supported by all servers,
2529 and is not used if the session is already encrypted by the POP3S method.
2530 .It Va pop3-use-starttls-user@host
2532 .Va pop3-use-starttls
2533 for a specific account.
2534 .It Va print-all-chars
2535 This option causes all characters to be considered printable.
2536 It is only effective if given in a startup file.
2537 With this option set some character sequences in messages may put the
2538 user's terminal in an undefined state when printed;
2539 it should only be used as a last resort if no working system locale can
2541 .It Va print-alternatives
2542 When a MIME message part of type `multipart/alternative' is displayed
2543 and it contains a subpart of type `text/plain',
2544 other parts are normally discarded.
2545 Setting this variable causes all subparts to be displayed,
2546 just as if the surrounding part was of type `multipart/mixed'.
2548 Suppresses the printing of the version when first invoked.
2549 .It Va quote-as-attachment
2550 If this is set, then the original message is added in its entirety
2551 as a `message/rfc822' MIME attachment when replying to a message.
2552 Note this works regardless of the setting of
2554 .It Va recipients-in-cc
2555 On group replies, specify only the sender of the original mail in `To:'
2556 and mention it's other recipients in the secondary `Cc:'.
2557 .It Va record-resent
2558 If both this variable and the
2565 commands save messages to the
2567 folder as it is normally only done for newly composed messages.
2568 .It Va reply-in-same-charset
2569 If this variable is set \*(UA first tries to use the same character set
2570 of the original message for replies.
2571 If this fails, the mechanism described in
2572 .Sx "Character sets"
2573 is evaluated as usual.
2575 Reverses the sense of
2580 .It Va rfc822-body-from_
2581 This variable can be used to force the display of a so-called `From_'
2582 line for messages that are embedded into an envelope mail via the
2583 `message/rfc822' MIME mechanism.
2585 When the user aborts a message with two `RUBOUT' (interrupt) characters,
2586 \*(UA will copy the partial letter to the file
2588 This option is set by default.
2589 .It Va searchheaders
2590 Expand message-list specifiers in the form `/x:y' to all messages
2591 containing the substring `y' in the header field `x'.
2592 The string search is case insensitive.
2593 .It Va sendcharsets-else-ttycharset
2594 \*(OP If this variable is set, but
2596 is not, then \*(UA acts as if
2598 had been set to the value of the variable
2600 In effect this combination passes through the message data in the
2601 character set of the current locale (given that
2603 hasn't been set manually), i.e., without converting it to the
2605 fallback character set.
2606 Thus, mail message text will be in `ISO-8859-1' encoding when send from
2607 within a `ISO-8859-1' locale, and in `UTF-8' encoding when send from
2608 within an `UTF-8' locale.
2610 When sending a message wait until the MTA exits before accepting further
2612 If the MTA returns a non-zero exit status,
2613 the exit status of \*(ua will also be non-zero.
2615 Setting this option causes \*(UA to start at the last message instead of
2616 the first one when opening a mail folder.
2618 Causes \*(UA to use the sender's real name instead of the plain address
2619 in the header field summary and in message specifications.
2621 Causes the recipient of the message to be shown in the header summary
2622 if the message was sent by the user.
2623 .It Va skipemptybody
2624 If an outgoing message does not contain any text in its first or only
2626 do not send it but discard it silently (see also the command line option
2629 .It Va smime-force-encryption
2630 \*(OP Causes \*(UA to refuse sending unencrypted messages.
2632 \*(OP S/MIME sign outgoing messages with the user's private key.
2633 Signing a message enables a recipient to verify that the sender used
2634 a valid certificate,
2635 that the email addresses in the certificate match those in the message
2636 header and that the message content has not been altered.
2637 It does not change the message text,
2638 and people will be able to read the message as usual.
2639 .It Va smime-no-default-ca
2640 \*(OP Don't load default CA locations when verifying S/MIME signed
2642 .It Va smtp-use-starttls
2643 \*(OP Causes \*(UA to issue a `STARTTLS' command to make an SMTP session
2645 Not all servers support this command \(en because of common
2646 implementation defects it can't be automatically determined whether
2647 a server supports it or not.
2648 .It Va ssl-no-default-ca
2649 \*(OP Don't load default CA locations to verify SSL/TLS server
2652 \*(OP Accept SSLv2 connections.
2653 These are normally not allowed because this protocol version is insecure.
2654 .It Va keep-content-length
2655 When (editing messages and) writing MBOX mailbox files \*(UA can be told
2656 to keep the `Content-Length:' and `Lines:' header fields that some MUAs
2657 generate by setting this variable.
2658 Since \*(UA does neither use nor update these non-standardized header
2659 fields (which in itself shows one of their conceptual problems),
2660 stripping them should increase interoperability in between MUAs that
2661 work with with same mailbox files.
2662 Note that, if this is not set but
2663 .Va writebackedited ,
2664 as below, is, a possibly performed automatic stripping of these header
2665 fields already marks the message as being modified.
2667 Setting the option verbose is the same as using the command line option
2669 When \*(UA runs in verbose mode details of the actual message delivery
2670 and protocol conversations for IMAP, POP3, and SMTP,
2671 as well as of other internal processes,
2672 are displayed on the user's terminal.
2673 This is sometimes useful to debug problems.
2674 \*(UA prints all data that is sent to remote servers in clear texts,
2675 including passwords,
2676 so care should be taken that no unauthorized option can view the screen
2677 if this option is enabled.
2678 .It Va writebackedited
2679 If this variable is set messages modified using the
2683 commands are written back to the current folder when it is quit;
2684 it is only honoured for writable folders in `mbox' format, though.
2685 Note that the editor will be pointed to the raw message content in that
2686 case, i.e., neither MIME decoding nor decryption will have been
2688 and proper RFC 4155 `From ' quoting of newly added or edited content is
2689 also left as an excercise to the user.
2694 The value options include the following:
2695 .Bl -tag -width ".Va autoprint"
2697 A sequence of characters to print in the `attribute' column of a header
2699 each for one type of messages in the following order:
2700 new (N), unread but old (U), new but read (R), read and old (O), saved
2701 (S), preserved (P), mboxed (M), flagged (F), answered (A), draft (T),
2702 start of a collapsed thread (+), collapsed (\-), classified as spam ($).
2703 The default is `NUROSPMFAT+\-$',
2704 or `NU\ \ *HMFAT+\-$' if
2708 environment variable are set.
2710 Specifies a list of recipients to which a blind carbon copy of each
2711 outgoing message will be sent automatically.
2713 Specifies a list of recipients to which a carbon copy of each outgoing
2714 message will be sent automatically.
2716 Causes sorted mode (see the
2718 command) to be entered automatically with the value of this option as
2719 sorting method when a folder is opened.
2721 The value that should appear in the `charset=' parameter of
2722 `Content-Type:' MIME header fields when no character set conversion of
2723 the message data was performed.
2724 This defaults to `US-ASCII', and the chosen character set should be
2725 `US-ASCII' compatible.
2727 \*(OP The default 8 bit character set that is used if
2729 is not set or no character set therein was capable to represent the
2730 content of a message.
2731 Defaults to `UTF-8'.
2732 If no character set conversion capabilities are available in \*(UA then
2733 the only supported character set is
2735 Refer to the section
2736 .Sx "Character sets"
2737 for the complete picture of character set conversion in \*(UA.
2739 The default value for the
2743 The valued option crt is used as a threshold to determine how long
2744 a message must be before
2749 is set without a value then the height of the terminal screen stored in
2750 the system is used to compute the threshold (see
2756 The name of the file to use for saving aborted messages.
2757 This defaults to `dead.letter' in the user's home directory.
2759 The date in a header summary is normally the date of the mailbox `From\ '
2760 line of the message.
2761 If this variable is set, then the date as given in the `Date:' field is
2762 used, converted to local time.
2763 It is possible to control the display of the date by assigning a value,
2766 function will be used to format the date accordingly.
2767 Please read your system manual for the available formats.
2768 Note that the `%n' format should not be used, because \*(UA doesn't
2769 take embedded newlines into account when calculating how many lines fit
2771 .It Va datefield-markout-older
2772 This option, when set in addition to
2774 modifies the display of messages that are not really current in a way
2775 that is rather comparable to the
2780 The interpretation of the value is identical to what has been described
2784 Pathname of the text editor to use in the
2789 A default editor is used if this value is not defined.
2791 The default MIME encoding to use in outgoing text messages and message
2793 Valid values are the default `quoted-printable', `8bit' and `base64'.
2794 `8bit' may cause problems with mail transfers that are not ESMTP
2796 If there is no need to encode a message,
2797 `7bit' transfer mode is always used regardless of this variable.
2798 Binary data is always encoded as `base64'.
2800 If defined, the first character of this option
2801 gives the character to use in place of `~' to denote tilde escapes.
2803 The name of the directory to use for storing folders of messages.
2804 All folder names that begin with `+' refer to files below it.
2805 The same special conventions as documented for the
2807 command may be used when specifying a new value for
2809 but be aware that the expansion is fully performed immediately.
2810 E.g., if the expanded name refers to an IMAP account, all names that
2811 begin with `+' refer to IMAP mailboxes below the
2815 Note: some IMAP servers do not accept the creation of mailboxes in
2816 the hierarchy base, but require that they are created as subfolders of
2817 `INBOX' \(en with such servers a folder name of the form
2819 .Dl imaps://mylogin@imap.myisp.example/INBOX.
2821 should be used (the last character is the server's hierarchy delimiter).
2822 Folder names prefixed by `+' will then refer to folders below `INBOX',
2823 while folder names prefixed by `@' refer to folders below the hierarchy
2827 namespace command for a method to detect the appropriate prefix and
2830 When a folder is opened and this variable is set,
2831 the macro corresponding to the value of this variable is executed.
2832 The macro is also invoked when new mail arrives,
2833 but message lists for commands executed from the macro
2834 only include newly arrived messages then.
2835 .It Va folder-hook-fullname
2836 When a folder named `fullname' is opened,
2837 the macro corresponding to the value of this variable is executed.
2838 Unlike other folder specifications,
2839 the fully expanded name of a folder, without metacharacters,
2840 is used to avoid ambiguities.
2841 The macro specified with
2843 is not executed if this variable is effective for a folder
2846 ed from within the actually executed macro).
2848 The address (or a list of addresses) to put into the `From:' field of
2850 If replying to messages these addresses are handled as if they were in
2854 If the machine's hostname is not valid at the Internet (for example at
2855 a dialup machine), then either this variable or
2860 contains more than one address,
2863 variable must also be set.
2865 The string to print before the text of a message with the
2869 .Va forward-as-attachment
2871 Defaults to `-------- Original Message --------' if unset.
2872 No heading is printed if it is set to the empty string.
2874 A format string to use for the header summary,
2878 A `%' character introduces a format specifier.
2879 It may be followed by a number indicating the field width.
2880 If the (possibly implicitly implied) field width is negative, the field
2881 is to be left-aligned.
2882 Valid format specifiers are:
2883 .Bl -tag -offset indent -width "%%"
2887 The date when the message was received.
2889 The indenting level in threaded mode.
2891 The address of the message sender.
2893 The message thread structure.
2894 (Note that this format doesn't support a field width.)
2896 The number of lines of the message.
2900 The number of octets (bytes) in the message.
2902 Message subject (if any).
2904 Message subject (if any) in double quotes.
2906 The position in threaded/sorted order.
2908 A `>' for the current message, otherwise ` '.
2910 A `<' for the current message, otherwise ` '.
2912 The spam score of the message, as has been classified via the command
2918 The default is `%>\&%a\&%m\ %-18f\ %16d\ %4l/%\-5o\ %i%-s',
2919 or `%>\&%a\&%m\ %20-f\ \ %16d\ %3l/%\-5o\ %i%-S' if
2923 Use this string as hostname when expanding local addresses instead of
2924 the value obtained from
2928 i.e., in `Message-ID:' and `From:' fields.
2931 transport is not used then it is normally the responsibility of the MTA
2932 to create these fields; you should produce some test messages with the
2933 desired combination of
2940 \*(OP Sets the IMAP authentication method.
2941 Valid values are `login' for the usual password-based authentication
2943 `cram-md5', which is a password-based authentication that does not send
2944 the password over the network in clear text,
2945 and `gssapi' for GSSAPI-based authentication.
2946 .It Va imap-auth-user@host
2947 Sets the IMAP authentication method for a specific account.
2949 \*(OP Enables caching of IMAP mailboxes.
2950 The value of this variable must point to a directory that is either
2951 existent or can be created by \*(UA.
2952 All contents of the cache can be deleted by \*(UA at any time;
2953 it is not safe to make assumptions about them.
2954 .It Va imap-keepalive
2955 \*(OP IMAP servers may close the connection after a period of
2956 inactivity; the standard requires this to be at least 30 minutes,
2957 but practical experience may vary.
2958 Setting this variable to a numeric `value' greater than 0 causes
2959 a `NOOP' command to be sent each `value' seconds if no other operation
2961 .It Va imap-list-depth
2962 \*(OP When retrieving the list of folders on an IMAP server, the
2964 command stops after it has reached a certain depth to avoid possible
2966 The value of this variable sets the maximum depth allowed.
2968 If the folder separator on the current IMAP server is a slash `/',
2969 this variable has no effect and the
2971 command does not descend to subfolders.
2973 String used by the `~m' and `~M' tilde escapes and by the
2975 option for indenting messages,
2976 in place of the normal tab character (`^I').
2977 Be sure to quote the value if it contains spaces or tabs.
2979 Pathname of the directory lister to use in the
2981 command when operating on local mailboxes.
2984 .It Va line-editor-cursor-right
2985 \*(OP If the builtin command line editor is used, actions which are
2986 based on rightwise movement may not work on some terminals.
2987 If you encounter such problems, set this variable to the terminal
2988 control sequence that is necessary to move the cursor one column to the
2990 The default is `\\033[C', which should work for most terminals.
2991 Less often occur `\\033OC' and `\\014'.
2992 Note that `ESCAPE' and other control character have to be written as
2993 shell-style escape sequences, e.g., `\\033' for `ESCAPE'.
2995 Is used as the user's mailbox, if set.
2996 Otherwise, a system-dependent default is used.
2997 Supports a logical subset of the special conventions that are documented
3004 The name of the mbox file.
3005 Supports a logical subset of the special conventions that are documented
3011 The fallback default is `mbox' in the user's home directory.
3012 .It Va mimetypes-load-control
3013 This option can be used to control which of the
3015 MIME type databases are loaded by \*(UA.
3016 If the letter `u' (or `U') is part of this options value, then the
3019 file will be loaded (if it exists);
3020 likewise the letter `s' (or `S') controls loading of the system wide
3021 .Pa /etc/mime.types .
3022 If this option is not set \*(UA will try to load both files instead.
3023 Incorporation of the MIME types that are compiled into \*(UA cannot be
3025 .It Va NAIL_EXTRA_RC
3026 The name of an optional startup file to be read after \*(ur.
3027 This variable is ignored if it is imported from the environment;
3028 it has an effect only if it is set in \*(UR or \*(ur to allow bypassing
3029 the configuration with, e.g., `MAILRC=/dev/null'.
3030 Use this file for commands that are not understood by other \*(UA
3033 A string to put at the beginning of each new message.
3034 The escape sequences `\et' (tabulator) and `\en' (newline) are understood.
3035 .It Va NAIL_HISTFILE
3036 \*(OP If a command line editor is available then this can be set to
3037 name the (expandable) path of the location of a permanent history file.
3038 .It Va NAIL_HISTSIZE
3039 \*(OP If a command line editor is available this value restricts the
3040 amount of history entries that are saved into a set and valid
3042 A value of less than 0 disables this feature;
3043 note that loading and incorporation of
3045 upon program startup can also be suppressed by doing this.
3046 An unset or invalid value, or 0, causes a default value to be used.
3047 Dependent on the available command line editor this will also define the
3048 number of history entries in memory;
3049 it is also editor-specific wether runtime updates of this value will be
3052 A string to put at the end of each new message.
3053 The escape sequences `\et' (tabulator) and `\en' (newline) are understood.
3055 If this variable has the value `maildir',
3056 newly created local folders will be in `maildir' format.
3058 The value to put into the `Organization:' field of the message header.
3060 Pathname of the program to use in the more command or when the
3063 The default paginator is
3065 .It Va password-user@host
3066 Set the password for `user' when connecting to `host'.
3067 If no such variable is defined for a host,
3068 the user will be asked for a password on standard input.
3069 Specifying passwords in a startup file is generally a security risk;
3070 the file should be readable by the invoking user only.
3071 .It Va pipe-content/subcontent
3072 When a MIME message part of `content/subcontent' type is displayed or
3074 its text is filtered through the value of this variable interpreted as
3077 The special value `@' can be used to force interpretation of the message
3078 part as plain text, e.g., `set pipe-application/pgp-signature=@' will
3079 henceforth treat signatures as plain text and display them "as is".
3081 Also, if a normal shell command is prefixed with `@', then the command
3082 will only be used to prepare the MIME message part if the message is
3083 displayed by itself, but not when multiple messages are displayed at
3086 Finally, if a normal shell command is prefixed with `@&', then, in
3087 addition to what has been described for the plain `@' shell command
3088 prefix, the command will be run asynchronously, i.e., without blocking
3089 \*(UA, which may be a handy way to display a, e.g., PDF file while also
3090 continuing to read the mail message.
3092 Special care must be taken when using such commands as mail viruses may
3093 be distributed by this method;
3094 if messages of type `application/x-sh' were filtered through the shell,
3096 a message sender could easily execute arbitrary code on the system \*(UA
3098 .It Va pop3-keepalive
3099 \*(OP POP3 servers close the connection after a period of inactivity;
3100 the standard requires this to be at least 10 minutes,
3101 but practical experience may vary.
3102 Setting this variable to a numeric `value' greater than 0 causes
3103 a `NOOP' command to be sent each `value' seconds if no other operation
3106 The string printed when a command is accepted.
3107 Prompting may be prevented by either setting this to the null string
3110 The same XSI escape sequences that are understood by the
3112 command may be used within
3115 In addition, the following \*(UA specific additional sequences are
3117 `\\&', which expands to `?' unless
3119 is set, in which case it expands to `&';
3120 note that "\\& " is the default value for
3122 `\\?', which will expand to `1' if the last command failed, and to `0'
3124 `\\$', which will expand to the name of the currently active
3126 if any, and to the empty string otherwise,
3127 and `\\@', which will expand to the name of the currently active mailbox.
3128 (Note that the prompt buffer is size-limited, excess is cut off.)
3130 When a newer version of the
3132 .Sx "Command line editor"
3133 is used, any escape sequence must itself be encapsulated with another
3134 escape character for usage with the
3136 mechanism: \*(UA configures the control character `\\01' for this.
3138 If set, \*(UA starts a replying message with the original message
3139 prefixed by the value of the variable
3141 Normally, a heading consisting of `Fromheaderfield wrote:' is printed
3142 before the quotation.
3143 If the string `noheading' is assigned to the
3145 variable, this heading is omitted.
3146 If the string `headers' is assigned, the headers selected by the
3147 .Ic ignore Ns / Ns Ic retain
3148 commands are printed above the message body,
3151 acts like an automatic `~m' tilde escape command, then.
3152 If the string `allheaders' is assigned, all headers are printed above
3153 the message body and all MIME parts are included,
3156 act like an automatic `~M' command.
3158 .Va quote-as-attachment .
3160 \*(OP Can be set in addition to
3162 Setting this turns on a more fancy quotation algorithm in that leading
3163 quotation characters are compressed and overlong lines are folded.
3165 can be set to either one or two (space separated) numeric values,
3166 which are interpreted as the maximum (goal) and the minimum line length,
3167 respectively, in a spirit rather equal to the
3169 program, but line-, not paragraph-based.
3170 If not set explicitly the minimum will reflect the goal algorithmically.
3171 The goal can't be smaller than the length of
3173 plus some additional pad.
3174 Necessary adjustments take place silently.
3176 If defined, gives the pathname of the folder used to record all outgoing
3178 If not defined, then outgoing mail is not saved.
3179 When saving to this folder fails the message is not sent,
3180 but instead saved to
3183 A list of addresses to put into the `Reply-To:' field of the message
3185 Members of this list are handled as if they were in the
3189 When \*(UA initially prints the message headers it determines the number
3190 to print by looking at the speed of the terminal.
3191 The faster the terminal, the more it prints.
3192 This option overrides this calculation and specifies how many message
3193 headers are printed.
3194 This number is also used for scrolling with the
3198 \*(OP A comma-separated list of character set names that can be used in
3199 outgoing Internet mail.
3200 If no character set conversion capabilities are compiled into \*(UA then
3201 the only supported charset is
3204 .Va sendcharsets-else-ttycharset
3205 and refer to the section
3206 .Sx "Character sets"
3207 for the complete picture of character set conversion in \*(UA.
3209 An address that is put into the `Sender:' field of outgoing messages.
3210 This field needs not normally be present.
3211 It is, however, required if the `From:' field contains more than one
3213 It can also be used to indicate that a message was sent on behalf of
3214 someone else \(en in this case, `From:' should contain the address
3215 of the person that took responsibility for the message,
3216 and `Sender:' should contain the address of the person that actually
3220 address is handled as if it were in the
3224 To use an alternate mail delivery system,
3225 set this option to the full pathname of the program to use.
3226 It may be necessary to set
3227 .Va sendmail-progname
3229 .It Va sendmail-progname
3230 Many systems use a so-called
3232 environment to ensure compatibility with
3234 This works by inspecting the name that was used to invoke the mail
3236 If this variable is set then the mailwrapper (the program that is
3237 actually executed when calling `sendmail') will treat its contents as
3239 The default is `sendmail'.
3241 Pathname of the shell to use in the
3243 command and the `~!' tilde escape.
3244 A default shell is used if this option is not defined.
3246 A string for use with the `~A' tilde escape.
3248 A string for use with the `~a' tilde escape.
3250 Must correspond to the name of a readable file if set.
3251 The file's content is then appended to each singlepart message
3252 and to the first part of each multipart message.
3253 Be warned that there is no possibility to edit the signature for an
3256 \*(OP Specifies a directory with CA certificates in PEM (Privacy
3257 Enhanced Mail) format for verification of S/MIME signed messages.
3258 .It Va smime-ca-file
3259 \*(OP Specifies a file with CA certificates in PEM format for
3260 verification of S/MIME signed messages.
3261 .It Va smime-cipher-user@host
3262 \*(OP Specifies a cipher to use when generating S/MIME encrypted
3263 messages for `user@host'.
3264 Valid ciphers are `rc2-40' (RC2 with 40 bits), `rc2-64' (RC2 with 64
3265 bits), `des' (DES, 56 bits) and `des-ede3' (3DES, 112/168 bits).
3266 The default is 3DES.
3267 It is not recommended to use the other ciphers unless a recipient's
3268 client is actually unable to handle 3DES since they are comparatively
3270 .It Va smime-crl-file
3271 \*(OP Specifies a file that contains a CRL in PEM format to use when
3272 verifying S/MIME messages.
3273 .It Va smime-crl-dir
3274 \*(OP Specifies a directory that contains files with CRLs in PEM format
3275 to use when verifying S/MIME messages.
3276 .It Va smime-encrypt-user@host
3277 \*(OP If this variable is set, messages to `user@host' are encrypted
3279 The value of the variable must be set to the name of a file that
3280 contains a certificate in PEM format.
3282 If a message is sent to multiple recipients,
3283 each of them for whom a corresponding variable is set will receive an
3284 individually encrypted message;
3285 other recipients will continue to receive the message in plain text
3287 .Va smime-force-encryption
3289 It is recommended to sign encrypted messages, i.e., to also set the
3292 .It Va smime-sign-cert
3293 \*(OP Points to a file in PEM format that contains the user's private
3294 key as well as his certificate.
3295 Both are used with S/MIME for signing and decrypting messages.
3296 .It Va smime-sign-cert-user@host
3299 for the specific addresses.
3300 When signing messages and the value of the
3302 variable is set to `user@host', the specific file is used.
3303 When decrypting messages,
3304 their recipient fields (`To:' and `Cc:') are searched for addresses
3305 for which such a variable is set.
3306 \*(UA always uses the first address that matches,
3307 so if the same message is sent to more than one of the user's addresses
3308 using different encryption keys, decryption might fail.
3309 .It Va smime-sign-include-certs
3310 \*(OP If used, this must be set to a comma-separated list of files,
3311 each of which containing a single certificate in PEM format to be
3312 included in the S/MIME message in addition to the
3315 This is most useful for long certificate chains if it is desired to aid
3316 the receiving party's verification process.
3317 .It Va smime-sign-include-certs-user@host
3319 .Va smime-sign-include-certs
3320 for the specific addresses.
3321 Refer to the discussion of
3322 .Va smime-sign-cert-user@host
3323 for more on this topic.
3325 \*(OP Normally \*(UA invokes
3327 directly to transfer messages.
3330 variable is set, a SMTP connection to the server specified by the value
3331 of this variable is used instead.
3332 If the SMTP server does not use the standard port, a value of
3333 `server:port' can be given, with `port' as a name or as a number.
3335 There are two possible methods to get SSL/TLS encrypted SMTP sessions:
3336 First, the `STARTTLS' command can be used to encrypt a session after it
3338 but before any user-related data has been sent; see
3339 .Va smtp-use-starttls
3341 Second, some servers accept sessions that are encrypted from begin on.
3342 This mode is configured by assigning `smtps://server[:port]' to the
3346 The SMTP transfer is executed in a child process, which runs
3347 asynchronously unless either the
3352 If it receives a TERM signal, it will abort and save the message to
3355 \*(OP Sets the SMTP authentication method.
3356 If set to `login', or if unset and
3358 is set, `AUTH LOGIN' is used.
3359 If set to `cram-md5', `AUTH CRAM-MD5' is used;
3360 if set to `plain', `AUTH PLAIN' is used.
3361 Otherwise, no SMTP authentication is performed.
3362 .It Va smtp-auth-user@host
3365 for specific values of sender addresses, dependend upon the variable
3367 .It Va smtp-auth-password
3368 \*(OP Sets the global password for `SMTP AUTH'.
3369 Both user and password have to be given for `AUTH LOGIN' and
3371 .It Va smtp-auth-password-user@host
3373 .Va smtp-auth-password
3374 for specific values of sender addresses, dependent upon the variable
3376 .It Va smtp-auth-user
3377 \*(OP Sets the global user name for `SMTP AUTH'.
3378 Both user and password have to be given for `AUTH LOGIN' and
3380 If this variable is set but neither
3381 .Va smtp-auth-password
3383 .Va smtp-auth-password-user@host
3385 \*(UA will ask for a password on the user's terminal.
3386 .It Va smtp-auth-user-user@host
3389 for specific values of sender addresses, dependent upon the variable
3392 \*(OP The path to the spam detector.
3393 Note that the path is not expanded, but used "as is".
3394 A fallback path will have been compiled into the \*(UA binary if the
3396 executable had been found during compilation.
3398 \*(OP Can be used to specify the host on which
3400 listens for connections; if not set, defaults to `localhost'.
3402 \*(OP Spam detectors like
3404 decline to work with messages which exceed a specific size;
3405 if this variable is set then \*(UA won't even try to pass messages which
3406 exceed the given limit.
3407 The default is 420000 bytes.
3409 \*(OP Can be used to explicitly specify the port on which
3411 listens for connections.
3413 \*(OP If the spam detector listens on a path-based UNIX domain socket,
3414 then setting this variable to the fully qualified path will force its
3415 usage for communication.
3417 \*(OP This can be used to support multiple, per-used configuration files
3418 of the spam detector.
3419 Note that \*(UA doesn't automatically set this to reflect a possibly set
3423 \*(OP Specifies a directory with CA certificates in PEM (Pricacy
3424 Enhanced Mail) for verification of of SSL/TLS server certificates.
3426 .Xr SSL_CTX_load_verify_locations 3
3427 for more information.
3429 \*(OP Specifies a file with CA certificates in PEM format for
3430 verification of SSL/TLS server certificates.
3432 .Xr SSL_CTX_load_verify_locations 3
3433 for more information.
3435 \*(OP Sets the file name for a SSL/TLS client certificate required by
3437 .It Va ssl-cert-user@host
3438 Sets an account-specific file name for a SSL/TLS client certificate
3439 required by some servers.
3442 for the specified account.
3443 .It Va ssl-cipher-list
3444 \*(OP Specifies a list of ciphers for SSL/TLS connections.
3447 for more information.
3449 \*(OP Specifies a file that contains a CRL in PEM format to use when
3450 verifying SSL/TLS server certificates.
3452 \*(OP Specifies a directory that contains files with CRLs in PEM format
3453 to use when verifying SSL/TLS server certificates.
3455 \*(OP Sets the file name for the private key of a SSL/TLS client
3457 If unset, the name of the certificate file is used.
3458 The file is expected to be in PEM format.
3459 .It Va ssl-key-user@host
3460 Sets an account-specific file name for the private key of a SSL/TLS
3464 for the specified account.
3466 \*(OP Selects a SSL/TLS protocol version;
3467 \*(UA accepts the values `ssl2', `ssl3', `tls1', `tls1.1' and `tls1.2',
3468 though it depends on the OpenSSL library that is found on the system
3469 what is truly supported.
3470 If unset, the method is selected automatically, if possible
3471 (this process usually tries to use the most secure method possible).
3472 This approach is also taken if the chosen value is not supported by the
3473 OpenSSL library, in which case an error message will be printed first.
3474 .It Va ssl-method-user@host
3477 for a specific account.
3479 \*(OP Gives the pathname to an entropy daemon socket, see
3481 .It Va ssl-rand-file
3482 \*(OP Gives the pathname to a file with entropy data, see
3483 .Xr RAND_load_file 3 .
3484 If the file is a regular file writable by the invoking user,
3485 new data is written to it after it has been loaded.
3487 \*(OP Sets the action to be performed if an error occurs during SSL/TLS
3488 server certificate validation.
3490 `strict' (fail and close connection immediately),
3491 `ask' (ask whether to continue on standard input),
3492 `warn' (print a warning and continue),
3493 `ignore' (do not perform validation).
3494 The default is `ask'.
3495 .It Va ssl-verify-user@host
3498 for a specific account.
3500 If only set without an assigned value, then this option inhibits the
3501 generation of the `Message-Id:' and `User-Agent:' header fields that
3502 include obvious references to \*(UA.
3503 There are two pitfalls associated with this:
3504 First, the message id of outgoing messages is not known anymore.
3505 Second, an expert may still use the remaining information in the header
3506 to track down the originating mail user agent.
3507 If set to the value `noagent', then the mentioned `Message-Id:'
3508 suppression doesn't occur.
3510 If defined, gives the number of lines of a message to be printed out
3511 with the top command;
3512 normally, the first five lines are printed.
3514 The character set of the terminal \*(UA operates on,
3515 and the one and only supported character set that \*(UA can use if no
3516 character set conversion capabilities have been compiled into it,
3517 in which case it defaults to `ISO-8859-1' unless it can deduce a value
3518 from the `LC_CTYPE' locale environment.
3519 Refer to the section
3520 .Sx "Character sets"
3521 for the complete picture about character sets.
3523 Pathname of the text editor to use in the
3525 command and `~v' tilde escape.
3531 Besides the variables described above,
3532 \*(UA uses the following environment variables:
3533 .Bl -tag -width ".It Va MAILRC"
3535 The user's preferred width in column positions for the terminal screen
3536 or window (only used during startup).
3538 The user's home directory.
3539 .It Va LANG , Va LC_ALL , Va LC_COLLATE , Va LC_CTYPE , Va LC_MESSAGES
3543 The user's preferred number of lines on a page or the vertical screen or
3544 window size in lines (only used during startup).
3546 Is used as a startup file instead of \*(ur if set.
3547 When \*(UA scripts are invoked on behalf of other users,
3548 this variable should be set to
3550 to avoid side-effects from reading their configuration files.
3552 If this variable is set and
3554 is not, it is treated as a startup configuration file and read.
3555 .It Va NAIL_NO_SYSTEM_RC
3556 If this variable is set then reading of \*(UR at startup is inhibited,
3557 i.e., the same effect is achieved as if \*(UA had been started up with
3561 Changes the letters printed in the first column of a header summary.
3563 Used as directory for temporary files instead of
3567 Can be used to force identification as
3569 i.e., identical to the
3571 command line option.
3577 .Bl -tag -width ".It Pa /etc/mime.types"
3579 File giving initial commands.
3581 System wide initialization file.
3582 .It Pa ~/.mime.types
3583 Personal MIME types.
3584 .It Pa /etc/mime.types
3585 System wide MIME types.
3593 .Ss "Getting started"
3594 The \*(UA command has two distinct usages, according to whether one
3595 wants to send or receive mail.
3596 Sending mail is simple: to send a message to a user whose email address
3597 is, say, `<bill@host.example>', use the shell command:
3599 .Dl $ \*(ua bill@host.example
3601 then type your message.
3602 \*(UA will prompt you for a message `Subject:' first;
3603 after that, lines typed by you form the body of the message.
3604 When you reach the end of the message,
3605 type an EOT (`control\-D') at the beginning of a line,
3606 which will cause \*(UA to echo `EOT' and return you to the shell.
3608 If, while you are composing the message you decide that you do not wish
3609 to send it after all, you can abort the letter by typing two `RUBOUT'
3610 (interrupt) characters.
3611 Typing a single `RUBOUT' causes \*(UA to print
3612 .Ns ` Ns Li (Interrupt -- one more to kill letter) Ns '.
3613 Typing a second `RUBOUT' causes \*(UA to save your partial letter on the
3616 and abort the letter.
3617 Once you have sent mail to someone, there is no way to undo the act, so
3620 If you want to send the same message to several other people,
3621 you can list their email addresses on the command line.
3622 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3623 $ \*(ua sam@workstation.example bob@server.example
3625 Tuition fees are due next Friday. Don't forget!
3631 will sendout to `<sam@workstation.example>' and `<bob@server.example>'.
3632 To read your mail, simply type
3636 \*(UA will respond by typing its version number and date and then
3637 listing the messages you have waiting.
3638 Then it will type a prompt and await your command.
3639 The messages are assigned numbers starting with 1 \(en you refer to the
3640 messages with these numbers.
3641 \*(UA keeps track of which messages are `new' (have been sent since you
3642 last read your mail) and `read' (have been read by you).
3643 New messages have an `N' next to them in the header listing and old,
3644 but unread messages have a `U' next to them.
3645 \*(UA keeps track of new/old and read/unread messages by putting a
3646 header field called `Status' into your messages.
3648 To look at a specific message, use the
3650 command, which may be abbreviated to simply `t'.
3651 For example, if you had the following messages:
3652 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3653 O 1 drfoo@myhost.example Wed Sep 1 19:52 5/421 "Fees"
3654 O 2 sam@friends.example Thu Sep 2 00:08 30/895
3657 you could examine the first message by giving the command:
3661 which might cause \*(UA to respond with, for example:
3662 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3663 [-- Message 1 -- 5 lines, 421 bytes --]:
3664 From drfoo@myhost.example Wed Sep 1 19:52:25 2004
3668 Tuition fees are due next Wednesday. Don't forget!
3671 Many \*(UA commands that operate on messages take a message number as an
3672 argument, just as the shown
3675 For these commands, there is a notion of a current message.
3676 When you enter the \*(UA program,
3677 the current message is initially the first (or the first recent) one.
3678 Thus, you can often omit the message number and use, for example, `t` to
3679 type the current message.
3680 As a further shorthand, you can type a message by simply giving its
3681 message number \(en hence `1` would type the first message.
3683 Frequently, it is useful to read the messages in your mailbox in order,
3685 You can read the next message in \*(UA by simply typing a newline.
3686 As a special case, you can type a newline as your first command to
3687 \*(UA to type the first message.
3689 If, after typing a message, you wish to immediately send a reply,
3690 you can do so with the command
3694 takes a message number as an argument.
3695 \*(UA then begins a message addressed to the user who sent you the
3696 message and let you type in your letter in reply, followed by
3697 a `<control-D>' at the beginning of a line, as before.
3699 Note that \*(UA copies the subject header from the original message.
3700 This is useful in that correspondence about a particular matter will
3701 tend to retain the same subject heading, making it easy to recognize.
3702 If there are other header fields in the message, like `Cc:',
3703 the information found will also be used.
3705 Sometimes you will receive a message that has been sent to several
3706 people and wish to reply only to the person who sent it.
3708 (with a capital `R') replies to a message, but sends a copy to the
3711 If you wish, while reading your mail, to send a message to someone,
3712 but not as a reply to one of your messages, you can send the message
3715 command, which takes as arguments the names of the recipients you wish
3717 For example, to send a message to `<frank@machine.example>':
3719 .Dl mail frank@machine.example
3721 To delete a message from the mail folder, you can use the command
3723 In addition to not saving deleted messages,
3724 \*(UA will not let you type them, either.
3725 The effect is to make the message disappear altogether, along with its
3728 Many features of \*(UA can be tailored to your liking with the
3730 command; it has two forms, depending on whether you are setting
3731 a `binary' or a `valued' option.
3732 Binary options are either on or off \(en for example, the
3734 option informs \*(UA that each time you send a message, you want it to
3735 prompt you for a `Cc:' header to be included in the message.
3738 option, you would type
3742 Valued options are values which \*(UA uses to adapt to your tastes.
3745 option tells \*(UA where to save messages sent by you,
3746 and is specified by, e.g.,
3750 Note that no spaces are allowed in `set record=Sent'.
3752 \*(UA includes a simple facility for maintaining groups of messages
3753 together in folders.
3754 To use the folder facility, you must tell \*(UA where you wish to keep
3756 Each folder of messages will be a single file.
3757 For convenience, all of your folders are kept in a single directory of
3759 To tell \*(UA where your folder directory is, put a line of the form
3761 .Dl set folder=letters
3764 If, as in the example above, your folder directory does not begin with
3765 a `/', \*(UA will assume that your folder directory is to be found
3766 starting from your home directory.
3768 Anywhere a file name is expected, you can use a folder name, preceded
3770 For example, to put a message into a folder with the
3772 command, you can use:
3776 to save the current message in the `classwork' folder.
3777 If the `classwork' folder does not yet exist, it will be created.
3778 Note that messages which are saved with the
3780 command are automatically removed from your system mailbox.
3782 In order to make a copy of a message in a folder without causing
3783 that message to be removed from your system mailbox, use the
3785 command, which is identical in all other respects to the
3792 can be used to direct \*(UA to the contents of a different folder.
3795 .Dl folder +classwork
3797 directs \*(UA to read the contents of the `classwork' folder.
3798 All of the commands that you can use on your system mailbox are also
3799 applicable to folders, including
3804 To inquire which folder you are currently editing, use `folder' without
3806 And to list your current set of folders, use the
3812 command is available to print out a brief summary of the most important
3815 While typing in a message to be sent to others it is often useful to be
3816 able to invoke the text editor on the partial message, print the
3817 message, execute a shell command, or do some other auxiliary function.
3818 \*(UA provides these capabilities through `tilde escapes',
3819 which consist of a tilde (`~') at the beginning of a line, followed by
3820 a single character which indicates the function to be performed.
3821 For example, to print the text of the message so far, use:
3825 which will print a line of dashes, the recipients of your message, and
3826 the text of the message so far.
3827 A list of the most important tilde escapes is available with `~?'.
3830 .Ss "IMAP or POP3 client setup"
3831 \*(OP First you need the following data from your ISP:
3832 the host name of the IMAP or POP3 server,
3833 user name and password for this server,
3834 and a notice whether the server uses SSL/TLS encryption.
3835 Assuming the SSL/TLS secured host name of your IMAP account is
3836 `server.myisp.example' and your user name for that server is `mylogin',
3837 you could refer to this account using the
3841 command line option with
3843 .Dl imaps://mylogin@server.myisp.example
3845 (This string is not necessarily the same as your Internet mail address.)
3846 Even if the server does not accept IMAPS or POP3S connections,
3847 it is possible that it supports the `STARTTLS' method of upgrading
3848 already connected, but not yet authenticated sessions to use SSL/TLS
3850 The only reliable method to see if this works is to try it; enter one of
3852 .Dl set imap-use-starttls
3853 .Dl set pop3-use-starttls
3855 before you initiate the connection, dependent on the actual protocol.
3857 As you probably want messages to be deleted from this account
3858 after saving them, prefix it with `%:'.
3861 command can be used to avoid typing that many characters every time you
3864 .Dl shortcut myisp %:imaps://mylogin@server.myisp.example
3866 You might want to put this string into a startup file.
3868 is one of those commands that are specific to \*(UA and will thus
3869 confuse other implementations of POSIX
3871 so it should possibly not be placed in \*(ur.
3874 .Dl set NAIL_EXTRA_RC=.\*(uarc
3876 in \*(ur and create a file
3878 containing all the commands that are specific to \*(UA.
3879 You can then access your remote mailbox by invoking
3883 on the command line, or by executing
3888 If you want to use more than one IMAP mailbox on a server,
3889 or if you want to use the IMAP server for mail storage too, the
3891 command (which is also \*(UA-specific) is possibly more appropriate.
3892 You can put the following in
3894 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3896 set folder=imaps://mylogin@server.myisp.example
3897 set record=+Sent MBOX=+mbox outfolder
3901 and can then access incoming mail for this account by invoking
3902 `\*(ua \-A myisp' on the command line or by executing `ac myisp' within
3904 After that, a command like `copy 1 +otherfolder' will refer to
3905 `otherfolder' on the IMAP server.
3906 In particular, `fi &' will change to the `mbox' folder,
3907 and `fi +Sent' will show your recorded sent mail,
3908 with both folders located on the IMAP server.
3910 \*(UA will ask you for a password string each time you connect to
3912 If you can reasonably trust the security of your workstation,
3913 you can give this password in the startup file as
3915 .Dl set password-mylogin@server.myisp.example="SECRET"
3917 You should change the permissions of this file to 0600, see
3920 \*(UA supports different authentication methods for both IMAP and POP3.
3921 If Kerberos is used at your location,
3922 you can try to activate (the optional) GSSAPI-based authentication via
3924 .Dl set imap-auth=gssapi
3926 The advantage of this method is that \*(UA doesn't need to know your
3927 password at all, nor does it have to send sensitive data over the network.
3928 If that isn't possible, try to use authentication methods that at least
3929 avoid sending the password in clear over the wire, which is especially
3930 important if SSL/TLS cannot be used, e.g.,
3932 .Dl set imap-auth=cram-md5
3934 For POP3 \*(UA will try to use the `APOP' mechanism automatically unless
3935 explicitly disabled.
3936 If the server does not offer any such authentication methods,
3937 conventional user/password based authentication must be used.
3938 It is sometimes helpful, especially when setting up an account or when
3939 there are authentification problems, to enable verbosity by setting the
3941 option \(en \*(UA will display all data sent to the server in clear text
3942 on the screen when this option is set.
3943 (Because this may also include passwords you should take care that no
3944 unauthorized person can look at your terminal when this option is set.)
3946 If you regularly use the same workstation to access IMAP accounts,
3947 you can greatly enhance performance by enabling local caching of IMAP
3949 For any message that has been fully or partially fetched from the server,
3950 a local copy is made and is used when the message is accessed again,
3951 so most data is transferred over the network once only.
3952 To enable the IMAP cache, select a local directory name and put
3954 .Dl set imap-cache=~/localdirectory
3956 in the (\*(UA-specific) startup file.
3957 All files within that directory can be overwritten or deleted by \*(UA
3959 so you should not use the directory to store other information.
3961 Once the cache contains some messages,
3962 it is not strictly necessary anymore to open a connection to the IMAP
3963 server to access them.
3964 When \*(UA is invoked with the option
3969 only cached data is used for any folder you open.
3970 Messages that have not yet been completely cached are not available
3971 then, but all other messages can be handled as usual.
3972 Changes made to IMAP mailboxes in
3974 mode are committed to the IMAP server next time it is used in
3977 Synchronizing the local status with the status on the server is thus
3978 partially within your responsibility;
3979 if you forget to initiate a connection to the server again before you
3980 leave your location,
3981 changes made on one workstation are not available on others.
3982 Also if you alter IMAP mailboxes from a workstation while uncommitted
3983 changes are still pending on another,
3984 the latter data may become invalid.
3985 The same might also happen because of internal server status changes.
3986 You should thus carefully evaluate this feature in your environment
3987 before you rely on it.
3989 Many servers will close the connection after a short period of
3990 inactivity \(en use one of
3992 .Dl set pop3-keepalive=30
3993 .Dl set imap-keepalive=240
3995 to send a keepalive message each 30 seconds for POP3,
3996 or each 4 minutes for IMAP.
3998 If you encounter problems connecting to a SSL/TLS server,
4003 variables (see the OpenSSL FAQ for more information) or specify the
4004 protocol version with
4006 Contact your ISP if you need a client certificate or if verification of
4007 the server certificate fails.
4008 If the failed certificate is indeed valid,
4009 fetch its CA certificate by executing the shell command
4011 .Dl $ </dev/null openssl s_client \-showcerts \-connect \e
4012 .Dl \ \ \ \ \ \ server.myisp.example:imaps 2>&1 | tee log.txt
4016 ) and put it into the file specified with
4018 The data you need is located at the end of the certificate chain
4019 within (and including) the `BEGIN CERTIFICATE'
4020 and `END CERTIFICATE' lines.
4021 Note that the example above is \fBinsecure\fR!
4022 One should use the `-verify' and `-CAfile' options of
4024 to be "on the safe side" regarding the fetched certificates.
4027 .Ss "Reading HTML mail"
4032 utility or another command-line web browser that can write plain text to
4035 .Dl set pipe-text/html="elinks -force-html -dump 1"
4036 .Dl set pipe-text/html="lynx -stdin -dump -force_html"
4038 will cause HTML message parts to be converted into a more friendly form.
4041 .Ss "Viewing PDF attachments"
4042 Most PDF viewers do not accept input directly from a pipe.
4043 It is thus necessary to store the attachment in a temporary file first:
4045 .Dl set pipe-application/pdf="@&cat >/tmp/\*(ua$$.pdf; \e
4046 .Dl \ \ \ \ \ \ acroread /tmp/\*(ua$$.pdf; rm /tmp/\*(ua$$.pdf"
4048 Note that security defects are discovered in PDF viewers from time to
4050 Automatical command execution like this can compromise your system
4052 in particular if you stay not always informed about such issues.
4055 .Ss "Signed and encrypted messages with S/MIME"
4056 \*(OP S/MIME provides two central mechanisms:
4057 message signing and message encryption.
4058 A signed message contains some data in addition to the regular text.
4059 The data can be used to verify that the message was sent using a valid
4060 certificate, that the sender's address in the message header matches
4061 that in the certificate, and that the message text has not been altered.
4062 Signing a message does not change its regular text;
4063 it can be read regardless of whether the recipient's software is able to
4065 It is thus usually possible to sign all outgoing messages if so desired.
4066 Encryption, in contrast, makes the message text invisible for all people
4067 except those who have access to the secret decryption key.
4068 To encrypt a message, the specific recipient's public encryption key
4070 It is thus not possible to send encrypted mail to people unless their
4071 key has been retrieved from either previous communication or public key
4073 A message should always be signed before it is encrypted.
4074 Otherwise, it is still possible that the encrypted message text is
4077 A central concept to S/MIME is that of the certification authority (CA).
4078 A CA is a trusted institution that issues certificates.
4079 For each of these certificates it can be verified that it really
4080 originates from the CA, provided that the CA's own certificate is
4082 A set of CA certificates is usually delivered with OpenSSL and installed
4084 If you trust the source of your OpenSSL software installation,
4085 this offers reasonable security for S/MIME on the Internet.
4086 In general, a certificate cannot be more secure than the method its CA
4087 certificate has been retrieved with, though.
4088 Thus if you download a CA certificate from the Internet,
4089 you can only trust the messages you verify using that certificate as
4090 much as you trust the download process.
4092 The first thing you need for participating in S/MIME message exchange is
4093 your personal certificate, including a private key.
4094 The certificate contains public information, in particular your name and
4095 your email address, and the public key that is used by others to encrypt
4097 and to verify signed messages they supposedly received from you.
4098 The certificate is included in each signed message you send.
4099 The private key must be kept secret.
4100 It is used to decrypt messages that were previously encrypted with your
4101 public key, and to sign messages.
4103 For personal use it is recommended that you get a S/MIME certificate
4104 from one of the major CAs on the Internet using your WWW browser.
4105 (Many CAs offer such certificates for free.)
4106 You will usually receive a combined certificate and private key in
4107 PKCS#12 format which \*(UA does not directly accept.
4108 To convert it to PEM format, use the following shell command:
4110 .Dl $ openssl pkcs12 \-in cert.p12 \-out cert.pem \-clcerts \-nodes
4112 If you omit the `\-nodes' parameter, you can specifiy an additional `PEM
4113 pass phrase' for protecting the private key.
4114 \*(UA will then ask you for that pass phrase each time it signs or
4118 .Dl set smime-sign-cert-myname@myisp.example=cert.pem
4120 to make this private key and certificate known to \*(UA.
4121 You can now sign outgoing messages.
4127 From each signed message you send,
4128 the recipient can fetch your certificate and use it to send encrypted
4130 Accordingly if somebody sends you a signed message, you can do the same.
4133 command to check the validity of the certificate.
4134 After that, retrieve the certificate and tell \*(UA that it should use
4137 .Dl certsave filename
4138 .Dl set smime-encrypt-user@host=filename
4140 You should carefully consider if you prefer to store encrypted messages
4142 If you do, anybody who has access to your mail folders can read them,
4143 but if you do not, you might be unable to read them yourself later if
4144 you happen to lose your private key.
4147 command saves messages in decrypted form, while the
4152 commands leave them encrypted.
4154 Note that neither S/MIME signing nor encryption applies to message
4155 subjects or other header fields.
4156 Thus they may not contain sensitive information for encrypted messages,
4157 and cannot be trusted even if the message content has been verified.
4158 When sending signed messages,
4159 it is recommended to repeat any important header information in the
4163 .Ss "Using CRLs with S/MIME or SSL/TLS"
4164 \*(OP Certification authorities (CAs) issue certificate revocation
4165 lists (CRLs) on a regular basis.
4166 These lists contain the serial numbers of certificates that have been
4167 declared invalid after they have been issued.
4168 Such usually happens because the private key for the certificate has
4170 because the owner of the certificate has left the organization that is
4171 mentioned in the certificate, etc.
4172 To seriously use S/MIME or SSL/TLS verification,
4173 an up-to-date CRL is required for each trusted CA.
4174 There is otherwise no method to distinguish between valid and
4175 invalidated certificates.
4176 \*(UA currently offers no mechanism to fetch CRLs, nor to access them on
4177 the Internet, so you have to retrieve them by some external mechanism.
4179 \*(UA accepts CRLs in PEM format only;
4180 CRLs in DER format must be converted, like, e.\|g.:
4182 .Dl $ openssl crl \-inform DER \-in crl.der \-out crl.pem
4184 To tell \*(UA about the CRLs, a directory that contains all CRL files
4185 (and no other files) must be created.
4190 variables, respectively, must then be set to point to that directory.
4191 After that, \*(UA requires a CRL to be present for each CA that is used
4192 to verify a certificate.
4196 \*(OP \*(UA can make use of spam detection and learning facilities \(en
4197 more precisely, SpamAssassin (\%<http://spamassassin.apache.org>).
4198 A very comprehensive documentation of
4200 can be found at the O'Reilly Commons
4201 (\%<http://commons.oreilly.com/wiki/index.php/SpamAssassin>).
4203 Currently \*(UA supports interaction with
4205 only via its daemonized
4208 server / client pair, which means that, in order to detect and work
4209 with spam through \*(UA, an instance of the
4211 daemon must be running (the examples are equivalent):
4212 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4213 $ spamd -i localhost:2142 -i /tmp/.spamsock -d [-L] [-l]
4214 $ spamd --listen=localhost:2142 --listen=/tmp/.spamsock \\
4215 --daemonize [--local] [--allow-tell]
4220 should only listen on a local, path-based UNIX domain socket instead of
4221 offering its service over the network, it maybe necessary to use
4224 option instead of the shown
4226 In order to support training of the Bayesian classifier through \*(UA,
4228 must have been started with the
4234 is running \*(UA can classify messages by using the client side program,
4237 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4238 $ \*(ua -Sspam-command=/usr/local/bin/spamc \\
4239 -Sspam-socket=/tmp/.spamsock -Sspam-maxsize=500000
4242 The commands offered are
4246 which simply set an `is-spam' flag that can be used for, e.g., message
4249 which passes messages through to the spam detector in order to gain
4250 a spam score and conditionally set the `is-spam' flag accordingly,
4251 as well as the Bayesian filter related
4257 Because messages must exist on local storage in order to be scored (or
4258 used for Bayesian filter training), it is possibly a good idea to
4259 perform the local spam check last:
4260 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4261 define spamdelhook {
4263 spamset (header x-dcc-brand-metrics "bulk")
4264 # Server-side spamassassin(1)
4265 spamset (header x-spam-flag "YES")
4266 del :s # TODO we HAVE to be able to do `spamrate :u ! :s'
4267 # And finally the local spamc(1)
4271 set folder-hook-FOLDER=spamdelhook
4274 See also the documentation for the variables
4284 .Ss "Sending mail from scripts"
4285 If you want to send mail from scripts, you must be aware that \*(UA
4286 reads the user's configuration files by default.
4287 So unless your script is only intended for your own personal use
4288 (as, e.g., a cron job), you need to circumvent this:
4290 .Dl MAILRC=/dev/null \*(ua \-n
4292 You then need to create a script-local configuration for \*(UA.
4293 This can be done by either pointing the
4295 variable to a custom configuration file,
4296 by passing the configuration in environment variables,
4299 command line option to specify options.
4300 Since many configuration options are not valid shell variables, the
4302 command is useful if the approach via environment variables is used:
4303 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4304 env MAILRC=/dev/null from=scriptreply@domain smtp=host \e
4305 smtp-auth-user=login smtp-auth-password=secret \e
4306 smtp-auth=login \*(ua \-n \-s "subject" \e
4307 \-a attachment_file recipient@domain < content_file
4321 .Xr spamassassin 1 ,
4337 .Sh "IMPLEMENTATION NOTES"
4338 The character set conversion uses and relies upon the
4341 Its functionality differs widely between the various system environments
4344 Limitations with IMAP mailboxes are:
4345 It is not possible to edit messages, but it is possible to append them.
4346 Thus to edit a message, create a local copy of it, edit it, append it,
4347 and delete the original.
4348 The line count for the header display is only appropriate if the entire
4349 message has been downloaded from the server.
4350 The marking of messages as `new' is performed by the IMAP server;
4355 will not cause it to be reset, and if the
4356 .Va autoinc Ns / Ns Va newmail
4357 variables are unset, messages that arrived during a session will not be
4358 in state `new' anymore when the folder is opened again.
4359 Also if commands queued in disconnected mode are committed,
4360 the IMAP server will delete the `new' flag for all messages in the
4362 and new messages will appear as unread when it is selected for viewing
4364 The `flagged', `answered', and `draft' attributes are usually permanent,
4365 but some IMAP servers are known to drop them without notification.
4366 Message numbers may change with IMAP every time before the prompt is
4367 printed if \*(UA is notified by the server that messages have been
4368 deleted by some other client or process.
4369 In this case, `Expunged n messages' is printed, and message numbers may
4372 Limitations with POP3 mailboxes are:
4373 It is not possible to edit messages, they can only be copied and deleted.
4374 The line count for the header display is only appropriate if the entire
4375 message has been downloaded from the server.
4376 The status field of a message is maintained by the server between
4377 connections; some servers do not update it at all, and with a server
4378 that does, the `exit' command will not cause the message status to be
4380 The `newmail' command and the `newmail' variable have no effect.
4381 It is not possible to rename or to remove POP3 mailboxes.
4383 If a `RUBOUT' (interrupt) is typed while an IMAP or POP3 operation is in
4384 progress, \*(UA will wait until the operation can be safely aborted, and
4385 will then return to the command loop and print the prompt again.
4386 When a second `RUBOUT' is typed while \*(UA is waiting for the operation
4387 to complete, the operation itself will be cancelled.
4388 In this case, data that has not been fetched yet will have to be fetched
4389 before the next command can be performed.
4390 If the cancelled operation was using an SSL/TLS encrypted channel,
4391 an error in the SSL transport will very likely result and render the
4392 connection unusable.
4394 As \*(UA is a mail user agent, it provides only basic SMTP services.
4395 If it fails to contact its upstream SMTP server, it will not make
4396 further attempts to transfer the message at a later time,
4397 and it does not leave other information about this condition than an
4398 error message on the terminal and an entry in
4400 This is usually not a problem if the SMTP server is located in the same
4401 local network as the computer on which \*(UA is run.
4402 However, care should be taken when using a remote server of an ISP;
4403 it might be better to set up a local SMTP server then which just acts as
4406 \*(UA immediately contacts the SMTP server (or
4408 ) even when operating in
4411 It would not make much sense for \*(UA to defer outgoing mail since SMTP
4412 servers usually provide much more elaborated delay handling than \*(UA
4413 could perform as a client.
4414 Thus the recommended setup for sending mail in
4416 mode is to configure a local SMTP server such that it sends outgoing
4417 mail as soon as an external network connection is available again,
4418 i.e., to advise it to do that from a network startup script.
4423 A \fImail\fR command appeared in Version 1 AT&T Unix.
4424 Berkeley Mail was written in 1978 by Kurt Shoens.
4425 This man page is derived from from The Mail Reference Manual originally
4426 written by Kurt Shoens.
4427 "Heirloom Mailx" enhancements are maintained and documented by Gunnar
4429 "S-nail" is maintained and documented by Steffen "Daode" Nurpmeso.
4431 Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form
4432 from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technology
4433 \(en Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base
4434 Specifications Issue 6, Copyright \(co 2001-2003 by the Institute of
4435 Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group.
4436 In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original
4437 IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group
4438 Standard is the referee document.
4439 The original Standard can be obtained online at
4440 \%<http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html>.
4441 Redistribution of this material is permitted so long as this notice
4448 .An "Christos Zoulas" ,
4449 .An "Gunnar Ritter" ,
4450 .An Steffen Qo Daode Qc Nurpmeso Aq s-nail-users@lists.sourceforge.net
4455 Variables in the environment passed to \*(UA cannot be unset.