1 .\"@ nail.1 - S-nail(1) reference manual.
3 .\" Copyright (c) 2000-2008 Gunnar Ritter, Freiburg i. Br., Germany.
4 .\" Copyright (c) 2012 - 2018 Steffen (Daode) Nurpmeso <steffen@sdaoden.eu>.
6 .\" Copyright (c) 1980, 1990, 1993
7 .\" The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
9 .\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
10 .\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
12 .\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
13 .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
14 .\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
15 .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
16 .\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
17 .\" 3. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
18 .\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
19 .\" without specific prior written permission.
21 .\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
22 .\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
23 .\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
24 .\" ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
25 .\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
26 .\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
27 .\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
28 .\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
29 .\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
30 .\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
34 .\"@ S-nail v14.9.10 / 2018-03-25
44 .ds VD \\%~/dead.letter
48 .ds vS /etc/mime.types
56 .ds OU [no v15-compat]
57 .ds ID [v15 behaviour may differ]
58 .ds NQ [Only new quoting rules]
62 .if !d str-Lb-libterminfo \
63 .ds str-Lb-libterminfo Terminal Information Library (libterminfo, \-lterminfo)
72 .Nd send and receive Internet mail
78 .\" Keep in SYNC: ./nail.1:"SYNOPSIS, main()
87 .Op : Ns Fl a Ar attachment Ns \&:
88 .Op : Ns Fl b Ar bcc-addr Ns \&:
89 .Op : Ns Fl C Ar """custom:\0header""" Ns \&:
90 .Op : Ns Fl c Ar cc-addr Ns \&:
91 .Op Fl M Ar type | Fl m Ar file | Fl q Ar file | Fl t
94 .Fl S Ar var Ns Op Ns = Ns Ar value Ns
97 .Op : Ns Fl X Ar cmd Ns \&:
99 .Pf : Ar to-addr Ns \&:
100 .Op Fl Fl \~ Ns : Ns Ar mta-option Ns \&:
108 .Op : Ns Fl C Ar """custom:\0header""" Ns \&:
110 .Op Fl r Ar from-addr
112 .Fl S Ar var Ns Op Ns = Ns Ar value Ns
115 .Op : Ns Fl X Ar cmd Ns \&:
116 .Op Fl Fl \~ Ns : Ns Ar mta-option Ns \&:
123 .Op : Ns Fl C Ar """custom:\0header""" Ns \&:
126 .Op Fl r Ar from-addr
128 .Fl S Ar var Ns Op Ns = Ns Ar value Ns
130 .Op : Ns Fl X Ar cmd Ns \&:
132 .Op Fl Fl \~ Ns : Ns Ar mta-option Ns \&:
138 .Mx -toc -tree html pdf ps xhtml
141 .\" .Sh DESCRIPTION {{{
144 .Bd -filled -compact -offset indent
145 .Sy Compatibility note:
146 S-nail (\*(UA) will wrap up into \%S-mailx in v15.0 (circa 2020).
147 Backward incompatibility has to be expected \(en
150 .Sx "Shell-style argument quoting"
151 rules, for example, and shell metacharacters will become meaningful.
152 New and old behaviour is flagged \*(IN and \*(OU, and setting
155 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES" ,
156 will choose new behaviour when applicable.
157 \*(OB flags what will vanish, and enabling
161 enables obsoletion warnings.
165 \*(UA provides a simple and friendly environment for sending and
167 It is intended to provide the functionality of the POSIX
169 command, but is MIME capable and optionally offers extensions for
170 line editing, S/MIME, SMTP and POP3, among others.
171 \*(UA divides incoming mail into its constituent messages and allows
172 the user to deal with them in any order.
176 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES"
177 for manipulating messages and sending mail.
178 It provides the user simple editing capabilities to ease the composition
179 of outgoing messages, and increasingly powerful and reliable
180 non-interactive scripting capabilities.
182 .\" .Ss "Options" {{{
185 .Bl -tag -width ".It Fl BaNg"
188 Explicitly control which of the
192 d (loaded): if the letter
194 is (case-insensitively) part of the
198 is sourced, likewise the letter
200 controls sourcing of the user's personal
202 file, whereas the letters
206 explicitly forbid sourcing of any resource files.
207 Scripts should use this option: to avoid environmental noise they should
209 from any configuration and create a script-specific environment, setting
211 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES"
214 and running configurating commands via
216 This option overrides
223 command for the given user email
225 after program startup is complete (all resource files are loaded, any
227 setting is being established; only
229 commands have not been evaluated yet).
230 Being a special incarnation of
232 macros for the purpose of bundling longer-lived
234 tings, activating such an email account also switches to the accounts
236 .Sx "primary system mailbox"
239 If the operation fails the program will exit if it is used
240 non-interactively, or if any of
247 .It Fl a Ar file Ns Op Ar =input-charset Ns Op Ar #output-charset
250 to the message (for compose mode opportunities refer to
254 .Sx "Filename transformations"
257 will be performed, except that shell variables are not expanded.
260 not be accessible but contain a
262 character, then anything before the last
264 will be used as the filename, anything thereafter as a character set
267 If an input character set is specified,
268 .Mx -ix "character set specification"
269 but no output character set, then the given input character set is fixed
270 as-is, and no conversion will be applied;
271 giving the empty string or the special string hyphen-minus
273 will be treated as if
275 has been specified (the default).
277 If an output character set has also been given then the conversion will
278 be performed exactly as specified and on-the-fly, not considering the
279 file type and content.
280 As an exception, if the output character set is specified as the empty
281 string or hyphen-minus
283 then the default conversion algorithm (see
284 .Sx "Character sets" )
285 is applied (therefore no conversion is performed on-the-fly,
287 will be MIME-classified and its contents will be inspected first) \(em
288 without support for character set conversions
290 does not include the term
292 only this argument is supported.
295 (\*(OB: \*(UA will always use line-buffered output, to gain
296 line-buffered input even in batch mode enable batch mode via
301 Send a blind carbon copy to
308 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES" ,
310 The option may be used multiple times.
312 .Sx "On sending mail, and non-interactive mode" .
315 .It Fl C Ar """field: body"""
316 Create a custom header which persists for an entire session.
317 A custom header consists of the field name followed by a colon
319 and the field content body, e.g.,
320 .Ql -C """Blah: Neminem laede; imo omnes, quantum potes, juva""" .
321 Standard header field names cannot be overwritten by custom headers.
322 Runtime adjustable custom headers are available via the variable
327 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES" ,
328 is the most flexible and powerful option to manage message headers.
329 This option may be used multiple times.
333 Send carbon copies to the given receiver, if so allowed by
335 May be used multiple times.
345 Almost enable a sandbox mode with the internal variable
347 the same can be achieved via
348 .Ql Fl S Va \&\&debug
350 .Ql Ic set Va \&\&debug .
356 and thus discard messages with an empty message part body.
360 Just check if mail is present (in the system
362 or the one specified via
364 if yes, return an exit status of zero, a non-zero value otherwise.
365 To restrict the set of mails to consider in this evaluation a message
366 specification can be added with the option
371 Save the message to send in a file named after the local part of the
372 first recipient's address (instead of in
377 Read in the contents of the user's
379 .Sx "secondary mailbox"
381 (or the specified file) for processing;
382 when \*(UA is quit, it writes undeleted messages back to this file
388 argument will undergo some special
389 .Sx "Filename transformations"
394 is not an argument to the flag
396 but is instead taken from the command line after option processing has
400 that starts with a hyphen-minus, prefix with a relative path, as in
401 .Ql ./-hyphenbox.mbox .
407 and exit; a configurable summary view is available via the
413 Show a short usage summary.
419 to ignore tty interrupt signals.
425 of all messages that match the given
429 .Sx "Specifying messages"
434 option has been given in addition no header summary is produced,
435 but \*(UA will instead indicate via its exit status whether
441 note that any verbose output is suppressed in this mode and must instead
442 be enabled explicitly (e.g., by using the option
447 Special send mode that will flag standard input with the MIME
451 and use it as the main message body.
452 \*(ID Using this option will bypass processing of
453 .Va message-inject-head
455 .Va message-inject-tail .
461 Special send mode that will MIME classify the specified
463 and use it as the main message body.
464 \*(ID Using this option will bypass processing of
465 .Va message-inject-head
467 .Va message-inject-tail .
473 inhibit the initial display of message headers when reading mail or
478 for the internal variable
483 Standard flag that inhibits reading the system wide
488 allows more control over the startup sequence; also see
489 .Sx "Resource files" .
493 Special send mode that will initialize the message body with the
494 contents of the specified
496 which may be standard input
498 only in non-interactive context.
508 opened will be in read-only mode.
512 .It Fl r Ar from-addr
513 Whereas the source address that appears in the
515 header of a message (or in the
517 header if the former contains multiple addresses) is honoured by the
518 builtin SMTP transport, it is not used by a file-based
520 (Mail-Transfer-Agent) for the RFC 5321 reverse-path used for relaying
521 and delegating a message to its destination(s), for delivery errors
522 etc., but it instead uses the local identity of the initiating user.
525 When this command line option is used the given
527 will be assigned to the internal variable
529 but in addition the command line option
530 .Fl \&\&f Ar from-addr
531 will be passed to a file-based
533 whenever a message is sent.
536 include a user name the address components will be separated and
537 the name part will be passed to a file-based
543 If an empty string is passed as
545 then the content of the variable
547 (or, if that contains multiple addresses,
549 will be evaluated and used for this purpose whenever the file-based
558 command line options are used when contacting a file-based MTA, unless
559 this automatic deduction is enforced by
561 ing the internal variable
562 .Va r-option-implicit .
565 Remarks: many default installations and sites disallow overriding the
566 local user identity like this unless either the MTA has been configured
567 accordingly or the user is member of a group with special privileges.
568 Passing an invalid address will cause an error.
572 .It Fl S Ar var Ns Op = Ns value
574 (or, with a prefix string
577 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES" ,
580 iable and optionally assign
582 if supported; \*(ID the entire expression is evaluated as if specified
583 within dollar-single-quotes (see
584 .Sx "Shell-style argument quoting" )
585 if the internal variable
588 If the operation fails the program will exit if any of
593 Settings established via
595 cannot be changed from within
597 or an account switch initiated by
599 They will become mutable again before commands registered via
605 Specify the subject of the message to be sent.
606 Newline (NL) and carriage-return (CR) bytes are invalid and will be
607 normalized to space (SP) characters.
611 The message given (on standard input) is expected to contain, separated
612 from the message body by an empty line, a message header with
617 fields giving its recipients, which will be added to any recipients
618 specified on the command line.
619 If a message subject is specified via
621 then it will be used in favour of one given on the command line.
637 .Ql Mail-Followup-To: ,
638 by default created automatically dependent on message context, will
639 be used if specified (a special address massage will however still occur
641 Any other custom header field (also see
646 is passed through entirely
647 unchanged, and in conjunction with the options
651 it is possible to embed
652 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES" .
660 .Sx "primary system mailbox"
663 appropriate privileges presumed; effectively identical to
664 .Ql Fl \&\&f Ns \0%user .
673 will also show the list of
675 .Ql $ \*(uA -Xversion -Xx .
680 ting the internal variable
682 enables display of some informational context messages.
683 Using it twice increases the level of verbosity.
687 Add the given (or multiple for a multiline argument)
689 to the list of commands to be executed,
690 as a last step of program startup, before normal operation starts.
691 This is the only possibility to execute commands in non-interactive mode
692 when reading startup files has been disabled.
693 The commands will be evaluated as a unit, just as via
703 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES"
704 in compose mode even in non-interactive use cases.
705 This can be used to, e.g., automatically format the composed message
706 text before sending the message:
707 .Bd -literal -offset indent
708 $ ( echo 'line one. Word. Word2.';\e
709 echo '~| /usr/bin/fmt -tuw66' ) |\e
710 LC_ALL=C \*(uA -d~:/ -Sttycharset=utf-8 bob@exam.ple
715 Enables batch mode: standard input is made line buffered, the complete
716 set of (interactive) commands is available, processing of
717 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES"
718 is enabled in compose mode, and diverse
719 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES"
720 are adjusted for batch necessities, exactly as if done via
736 The following prepares an email message in a batched dry run:
737 .Bd -literal -offset indent
738 $ LC_ALL=C printf 'm bob\en~s ubject\enText\en~.\enx\en' |\e
739 LC_ALL=C \*(uA -d#:/ -X'alias bob bob@exam.ple'
744 This flag forces termination of option processing in order to prevent
747 It also forcefully puts \*(UA into send mode, see
748 .Sx "On sending mail, and non-interactive mode" .
754 arguments and all receivers established via
758 are subject to the checks established by
761 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES" .
764 allows their recognition all
766 arguments given at the end of the command line after a
768 separator will be passed through to a file-based
770 (Mail-Transfer-Agent) and persist for the entire session.
772 constraints do not apply to the content of
776 .\" .Ss "A starter" {{{
779 \*(UA is a direct descendant of
781 Mail, itself a successor of the Research
784 .Dq was there from the start
787 It thus represents the user side of the
789 mail system, whereas the system side (Mail-Transfer-Agent, MTA) was
790 traditionally taken by
792 and most MTAs provide a binary of this name for compatibility purposes.
797 of \*(UA then the system side is not a mandatory precondition for mail
801 Because \*(UA strives for compliance with POSIX
803 it is likely that some configuration settings have to be adjusted before
804 using it is a smooth experience.
805 (Rather complete configuration examples can be found in the section
810 .Sx "Resource files" )
811 template bends those standard imposed settings of the
812 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES"
813 a bit towards more user friendliness and safety, however.
821 in order to suppress the automatic moving of messages to the
823 .Sx "secondary mailbox"
825 that would otherwise occur (see
826 .Sx "Message states" ) ,
829 to not remove empty system MBOX mailbox files (or all empty such files if
831 .Pf a.k.a.\0 Ev POSIXLY_CORRECT
832 mode has been enabled) to avoid mangling of file permissions when files
833 eventually get recreated.
837 in order to synchronize \*(UA with the exit status report of the used
844 to enter interactive startup even if the initial mailbox is empty,
846 to allow editing of headers as well as
848 to not strip down addresses in compose mode, and
850 to include the message that is being responded to when
852 ing, which is indented by an
854 that also deviates from standard imposed settings.
855 .Va mime-counter-evidence
856 is fully enabled, too.
860 The file mode creation mask can be managed explicitly via the variable
862 Sufficient system support provided symbolic links will not be followed
863 when files are opened for writing.
864 Files and shell pipe output can be
866 d for evaluation, also during startup from within the
867 .Sx "Resource files" .
870 .\" .Ss "On sending mail, and non-interactive mode" {{{
871 .Ss "On sending mail, and non-interactive mode"
873 To send a message to one or more people, using a local or built-in
875 (Mail-Transfer-Agent) transport to actually deliver the generated mail
876 message, \*(UA can be invoked with arguments which are the names of
877 people to whom the mail will be sent, and the command line options
881 can be used to add (blind) carbon copy receivers:
883 .Bd -literal -offset indent
885 $ \*(uA -s ubject -a ttach.txt bill@exam.ple
887 # But... try it in an isolated dry-run mode (-d) first
888 $ LC_ALL=C \*(uA -d -:/ -Ssendwait -Sttycharset=utf8 \e
889 -b bcc@exam.ple -c cc@exam.ple \e
891 '(Lovely) Bob <bob@exam.ple>' eric@exam.ple
894 $ LC_ALL=C \*(uA -d -:/ -Sv15-compat -Ssendwait -Sttycharset=utf8 \e
895 -S mta=smtps://mylogin@exam.ple:465 -Ssmtp-auth=none \e
896 -S from=scriptreply@exam.ple \e
902 If standard input is a terminal rather than the message to be sent,
903 the user is expected to type in the message contents.
904 In this compose mode \*(UA treats lines beginning with the character
906 special \(en these are so-called
907 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES" ,
908 which can be used to read in files, process shell commands, add and edit
909 attachments and more; e.g.,
917 respectively, to revise the message in its current state,
919 allows editing of the most important message headers, with the potent
921 custom headers can be created, for example (more specifically than with
926 \*(OPally gives an overview of most other available command escapes.
929 will leave compose mode and send the message once it is completed.
930 Aborting letter composition is possible with either of
934 the latter of which will save the message in the file denoted by
943 can also be achieved by typing end-of-transmission (EOT) via
946 at the beginning of an empty line, and
948 is always reachable by typing end-of-text (ETX) twice via
956 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES"
957 can be used to alter default behavior.
958 E.g., messages are sent asynchronously, without supervision, unless the
961 is set, therefore send errors will not be recognizable until then.
966 will automatically startup an editor when compose mode is entered,
968 allows editing of headers additionally to plain body content,
972 will cause the user to be prompted actively for (blind) carbon-copy
973 recipients, respectively, and (the default)
975 will request confirmation whether the message shall be sent.
978 The envelope sender address is defined by
980 explicitly defining an originating
982 may be desirable, especially with the builtin SMTP Mail-Transfer-Agent
985 for outgoing message and MIME part content are configurable via
987 whereas input data is assumed to be in
989 Message data will be passed over the wire in a
991 MIME parts a.k.a. attachments need to be assigned a
994 .Sx "The mime.types files" .
995 Saving a copy of sent messages in a
997 mailbox may be desirable \(en as for most mailbox
999 targets the value will undergo
1000 .Sx "Filename transformations" .
1005 sandbox dry-run tests will prove correctness.
1008 Message recipients (as specified on the command line or defined in
1013 may not only be email addressees but can also be names of mailboxes and
1014 even complete shell command pipe specifications.
1017 is not set then only network addresses (see
1019 for a description of mail addresses) and plain user names (including MTA
1020 aliases) may be used, other types will be filtered out, giving a warning
1022 A network address that contains no domain-, but only a valid local user
1024 in angle brackets will be automatically expanded to a valid address when
1026 is set to a non-empty value; setting it to the empty value instructs
1029 will perform the necessary expansion.
1032 may help to generate standard compliant network addresses.
1034 .\" When changing any of the following adjust any RECIPIENTADDRSPEC;
1035 .\" grep the latter for the complete picture
1039 is set then an extended set of recipient addresses will be accepted:
1040 Any name that starts with a vertical bar
1042 character specifies a command pipe \(en the command string following the
1044 is executed and the message is sent to its standard input;
1045 Likewise, any name that starts with the character solidus
1047 or the character sequence dot solidus
1049 is treated as a file, regardless of the remaining content;
1050 likewise a name that solely consists of a hyphen-minus
1052 Any other name which contains a commercial at
1054 character is treated as a network address;
1055 Any other name which starts with a plus sign
1057 character specifies a mailbox name;
1058 Any other name which contains a solidus
1060 character but no exclamation mark
1064 character before also specifies a mailbox name;
1065 What remains is treated as a network address.
1067 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1068 $ echo bla | \*(uA -Sexpandaddr -s test ./mbox.mbox
1069 $ echo bla | \*(uA -Sexpandaddr -s test '|cat >> ./mbox.mbox'
1070 $ echo safe | LC_ALL=C \e
1071 \*(uA -:/ -Sv15-compat -Ssendwait -Sttycharset=utf8 \e
1072 -Sexpandaddr=fail,-all,+addr,failinvaddr -s test \e
1077 It is possible to create personal distribution lists via the
1079 command, so that, for instance, the user can send mail to
1081 and have it go to a group of people.
1082 Different to the alias mechanism of a local
1084 which is often tracked in a file
1088 and the names of which are subject to the
1092 personal aliases will be expanded by \*(UA before the message is sent.
1093 They are thus a convenient alternative to specifying each addressee by
1094 itself, correlate with the active set of
1100 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1101 ? alias cohorts bill jkf mark kridle@ucbcory ~/cohorts.mbox
1102 ? alias mark mark@exam.ple
1106 .Va on-compose-enter , on-compose-leave
1108 .Va on-compose-cleanup
1109 hook variables may be set to
1111 d macros to automatically adjust some settings dependent
1112 on receiver, sender or subject contexts, and via the
1113 .Va on-compose-splice
1115 .Va on-compose-splice-shell
1116 variables, the former also to be set to a
1118 d macro, increasingly powerful mechanisms to perform automated message
1119 adjustments, including signature creation, are available.
1120 (\*(ID These hooks work for commands which newly create messages, namely
1121 .Ic forward , mail , reply
1126 for now provide only the hooks
1129 .Va on-resend-cleanup . )
1132 For the purpose of arranging a complete environment of settings that can
1133 be switched to with a single command or command line option there are
1135 Alternatively it is also possible to use a flat configuration, making use
1136 of so-called variable chains which automatically pick
1140 context-dependent variable variants: for example addressing
1141 .Ql Ic File Ns \& pop3://yaa@exam.ple
1143 .Va \&\&pop3-no-apop-yaa@exam.ple ,
1144 .Va \&\&pop3-no-apop-exam.ple
1149 .Sx "On URL syntax and credential lookup"
1151 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES" .
1154 To avoid environmental noise scripts should
1156 \*(UA from any configuration files and create a script-local
1157 environment, ideally with the command line options
1159 to disable any configuration file in conjunction with repetitions of
1161 to specify variables:
1163 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1164 $ env LC_ALL=C \*(uA -:/ \e
1165 -Sv15-compat -Ssendwait -Sttycharset=utf-8 \e
1166 -Sexpandaddr=fail,-all,failinvaddr \e
1167 -S mta=smtps://mylogin@exam.ple:465 -Ssmtp-auth=login \e
1168 -S from=scriptreply@exam.ple \e
1169 -s 'Subject to go' -a attachment_file \e
1171 'Recipient 1 <rec1@exam.ple>' rec2@exam.ple \e
1176 As shown, scripts can
1178 a locale environment, the above specifies the all-compatible 7-bit clean
1181 but will nonetheless take and send UTF-8 in the message text by using
1183 In interactive mode, which is introduced in the next section, messages
1184 can be sent by calling the
1186 command with a list of recipient addresses:
1188 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1189 $ \*(uA -d -Squiet -Semptystart
1190 "/var/spool/mail/user": 0 messages
1191 ? mail "Recipient 1 <rec1@exam.ple>", rec2@exam.ple
1193 ? # Will do the right thing (tm)
1194 ? m rec1@exam.ple rec2@exam.ple
1198 .\" .Ss "On reading mail, and interactive mode" {{{
1199 .Ss "On reading mail, and interactive mode"
1201 When invoked without addressees \*(UA enters interactive mode in which
1203 When used like that the user's system
1205 (for more on mailbox types please see the command
1207 is read in and a one line header of each message therein is displayed if
1211 The visual style of this summary of
1213 can be adjusted through the variable
1215 and the possible sorting criterion via
1221 can be performed with the command
1223 If the initially opened mailbox is empty \*(UA will instead exit
1224 immediately (after displaying a message) unless the variable
1233 will give a listing of all available commands and
1235 will \*(OPally give a summary of some common ones.
1236 If the \*(OPal documentation strings are available (see
1241 and see the actual expansion of
1243 and what its purpose is, i.e., commands can be abbreviated
1244 (note that POSIX defines some abbreviations, so that the alphabetical
1245 order of commands does not necessarily relate to the abbreviations; it is
1246 however possible to define overwrites with
1247 .Ic commandalias ) .
1248 These commands can also produce a more
1253 Messages are given numbers (starting at 1) which uniquely identify
1254 messages; the current message \(en the
1256 \(en will either be the first new message, or the first unread message,
1257 or the first message of the mailbox; the internal variable
1259 will instead cause usage of the last message for this purpose.
1264 ful of header summaries containing the
1268 will display only the summaries of the given messages, defaulting to the
1272 Message content can be displayed with the command
1279 controls whether and when \*(UA will use the configured
1281 for display instead of directly writing to the user terminal
1283 the sole difference to the command
1285 which will always use the
1289 will instead only show the first
1291 of a message (maybe even compressed if
1294 Message display experience may improve by setting and adjusting
1295 .Va mime-counter-evidence ,
1297 .Sx "HTML mail and MIME attachments" .
1300 By default the current message
1302 is displayed, but like with many other commands it is possible to give
1303 a fancy message specification (see
1304 .Sx "Specifying messages" ) ,
1307 will display all unread messages,
1312 will type the messages 1 and 5,
1314 will type the messages 1 through 5, and
1318 will display the previous and the next message, respectively.
1321 (a more substantial alias for
1323 will display a header summary of the given message specification list
1324 instead of their content, e.g., the following will search for subjects:
1327 .Dl ? from "'@Some subject to search for'"
1330 In the default setup all header fields of a message will be
1332 d, but fields can be white- or blacklisted for a variety of
1333 applications by using the command
1335 e.g., to restrict their display to a very restricted set for
1337 .Ql Ic \:headerpick Cd \:type retain Ar \:from to cc subject .
1338 In order to display all header fields of a message regardless of
1339 currently active ignore or retain lists, use the commands
1344 will show the raw message content.
1345 Note that historically the global
1347 not only adjusts the list of displayed headers, but also sets
1351 Dependent upon the configuration a line editor (see the section
1352 .Sx "On terminal control and line editor" )
1353 aims at making the user experience with the many
1356 When reading the system
1362 specified a mailbox explicitly prefixed with the special
1364 modifier (to propagate it to a
1366 .Sx "primary system mailbox" ) ,
1367 then messages which have been read
1368 .Pf (see\0 Sx "Message states" )
1369 will be automatically moved to a
1371 .Sx "secondary mailbox" ,
1374 file, when the mailbox is left, either by changing the active mailbox or
1375 by quitting \*(UA \(en this automatic moving from a system- or primary-
1376 to the secondary mailbox is not performed when the variable
1379 Messages can also be explicitly
1381 d to other mailboxes, whereas
1383 keeps the original message.
1385 can be used to write out data content of specific parts of messages.
1388 After examining a message the user can
1390 to the sender and all recipients (which will also be placed in
1393 .Va recipients-in-cc
1396 exclusively to the sender(s).
1399 knows how to apply a special addressee massage, see
1400 .Sx "Mailing lists" .
1402 ing a message will allow editing the new message: the original message
1403 will be contained in the message body, adjusted according to
1409 messages: the former will add a series of
1411 headers, whereas the latter will not; different to newly created
1412 messages editing is not possible and no copy will be saved even with
1414 unless the additional variable
1417 When sending, replying or forwarding messages comments and full names
1418 will be stripped from recipient addresses unless the internal variable
1423 Of course messages can be
1425 and they can spring into existence again via
1427 or when the \*(UA session is ended via the
1431 commands to perform a quick program termation.
1432 To end a mail processing session regulary and perform a full program
1433 exit one may issue the command
1435 It will, among others, move read messages to the
1437 .Sx "secondary mailbox"
1439 as necessary, discard deleted messages in the current mailbox,
1440 and update the \*(OPal (see
1446 .\" .Ss "HTML mail and MIME attachments" {{{
1447 .Ss "HTML mail and MIME attachments"
1449 Messages which are HTML-only become more and more common, and of course
1450 many messages come bundled with a bouquet of MIME (Multipurpose Internet
1451 Mail Extensions) parts.
1452 To get a notion of MIME types \*(UA has a default set of types built-in,
1453 onto which the content of
1454 .Sx "The mime.types files"
1455 will be added (as configured and allowed by
1456 .Va mimetypes-load-control ) .
1457 Types can also become registered with the command
1459 To improve interaction with faulty MIME part declarations which are
1460 often seen in real-life messages, setting
1461 .Va mime-counter-evidence
1462 will allow verification of the given assertion, and possible provision
1463 of an alternative, better MIME type.
1466 Whereas \*(UA \*(OPally supports a simple HTML-to-text filter for
1467 displaying HTML messages, it cannot handle MIME types other than plain
1469 Instead programs need to become registered to deal with specific MIME
1470 types or file extensions.
1471 These programs may either prepare plain text versions of their input in
1472 order to enable \*(UA to integrate their output neatlessly in its own
1473 message visualization (a mode which is called
1474 .Cd copiousoutput ) ,
1475 or display the content themselves, for example in an external graphical
1476 window: such handlers will only be considered by and for the command
1480 To install a handler program for a specific MIME type an according
1481 .Va pipe-TYPE/SUBTYPE
1482 variable needs to be set; to instead define a handler for a specific
1483 file extension the respective
1485 variable can be used \(en these handlers take precedence.
1486 \*(OPally \*(UA supports mail user agent configuration as defined in
1487 RFC 1524; this mechanism (see
1488 .Sx "The Mailcap files" )
1489 will be queried for display or quote handlers if none of the former two
1490 .\" TODO v15-compat "will be" -> "is"
1491 did; it will be the sole source for handlers of other purpose.
1492 A last source for handlers is the MIME type definition itself, if
1493 a type-marker has been registered with the command
1495 which many of the built-in MIME types do.
1498 For example, to display a HTML message inline (converted to a more fancy
1499 plain text representation than the built-in filter is capable to produce)
1500 with either of the text-mode browsers
1504 teach \*(UA about MathML documents and make it display them as plain
1505 text, and to open PDF attachments in an external PDF viewer,
1506 asynchronously and with some other magic attached:
1508 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1509 ? if [ "$features" !% +filter-html-tagsoup ]
1510 ? #set pipe-text/html='@* elinks -force-html -dump 1'
1511 ? set pipe-text/html='@* lynx -stdin -dump -force_html'
1512 ? # Display HTML as plain text instead
1513 ? #set pipe-text/html=@
1515 ? mimetype @ application/mathml+xml mathml
1516 ? wysh set pipe-application/pdf='@&=@ \e
1517 trap "rm -f \e"${MAILX_FILENAME_TEMPORARY}\e"" EXIT;\e
1518 trap "trap \e"\e" INT QUIT TERM; exit 1" INT QUIT TERM;\e
1519 mupdf "${MAILX_FILENAME_TEMPORARY}"'
1523 .\" .Ss "Mailing lists" {{{
1526 \*(UA offers some support to ease handling of mailing lists.
1529 promotes all given arguments to known mailing lists, and
1531 sets their subscription attribute, creating them first as necessary.
1536 automatically, but only resets the subscription attribute.)
1537 Using the commands without arguments will show (a subset of) all
1538 currently defined mailing lists.
1543 can be used to mark out messages with configured list addresses
1548 If the \*(OPal regular expression support is available a mailing list
1549 specification that contains any of the
1551 regular expression characters
1555 will be interpreted as one, which allows matching of many addresses with
1556 a single expression.
1557 However, all fully qualified list addresses are matched via a fast
1558 dictionary, whereas expressions are placed in (a) list(s) which is
1559 (are) matched sequentially.
1561 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1562 ? set followup-to followup-to-honour=ask-yes \e
1563 reply-to-honour=ask-yes
1564 ? wysh mlist a1@b1.c1 a2@b2.c2 '.*@lists\e.c3$'
1565 ? mlsubscribe a4@b4.c4 exact@lists.c3
1570 .Va followup-to-honour
1572 .Ql Mail-\:Followup-\:To:
1573 header is honoured when the message is being replied to (via
1579 controls whether this header is created when sending mails; it will be
1580 created automatically for a couple of reasons, too, like when the
1582 .Dq mailing list specific
1587 is used to respond to a message with its
1588 .Ql Mail-Followup-To:
1592 A difference in between the handling of known and subscribed lists is
1593 that the address of the user is usually not part of a generated
1594 .Ql Mail-Followup-To:
1595 when addressing the latter, whereas it is for the former kind of lists.
1596 Usually because there are exceptions: say, if multiple lists are
1597 addressed and not all of them are subscribed lists.
1599 For convenience \*(UA will, temporarily, automatically add a list
1600 address that is presented in the
1602 header of a message that is being responded to to the list of known
1604 Shall that header have existed \*(UA will instead, dependent on the
1606 .Va reply-to-honour ,
1609 for this purpose (if it provides a single address which resides on the
1610 same domain as what is stated in
1612 in order to accept a list administrator's wish that is supposed to have
1613 been manifested like that.
1616 .\" .Ss "Signed and encrypted messages with S/MIME" {{{
1617 .Ss "Signed and encrypted messages with S/MIME"
1619 \*(OP S/MIME provides two central mechanisms:
1620 message signing and message encryption.
1621 A signed message contains some data in addition to the regular text.
1622 The data can be used to verify that the message has been sent using
1623 a valid certificate, that the sender address matches that in the
1624 certificate, and that the message text has not been altered.
1625 Signing a message does not change its regular text;
1626 it can be read regardless of whether the recipients software is able to
1628 It is thus usually possible to sign all outgoing messages if so desired.
1631 Encryption, in contrast, makes the message text invisible for all people
1632 except those who have access to the secret decryption key.
1633 To encrypt a message, the specific recipients public encryption key
1635 It is therefore not possible to send encrypted mail to people unless their
1636 key has been retrieved from either previous communication or public key
1638 A message should always be signed before it is encrypted.
1641 A central concept to S/MIME is that of the certification authority (CA).
1642 A CA is a trusted institution that issues certificates.
1643 For each of these certificates it can be verified that it really
1644 originates from the CA, provided that the CA's own certificate is
1646 A set of CA certificates is usually delivered and installed together
1647 with the cryptographical library that is used on the local system.
1648 Therefore reasonable security for S/MIME on the Internet is provided if
1649 the source that provides that library installation is trusted.
1650 It is also possible to use a specific pool of trusted certificates.
1652 .Va smime-ca-no-defaults
1653 should be set to avoid using the default certificate pool, and
1657 should be pointed to a trusted pool of certificates.
1658 A certificate cannot be more secure than the method its CA certificate
1659 has been retrieved with.
1662 This trusted pool of certificates is used by the command
1664 to ensure that the given S/MIME messages can be trusted.
1665 If so, verified sender certificates that were embedded in signed
1666 messages can be saved locally with the command
1668 and used by \*(UA to encrypt further communication with these senders:
1670 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1672 ? set smime-encrypt-USER@HOST=FILENAME \e
1673 smime-cipher-USER@HOST=AES256
1677 To sign outgoing messages in order to allow receivers to verify the
1678 origin of these messages a personal S/MIME certificate is required.
1679 \*(UA supports password-protected personal certificates (and keys),
1680 for more on this, and its automatization, please see the section
1681 .Sx "On URL syntax and credential lookup" .
1683 .Sx "S/MIME step by step"
1684 shows examplarily how such a private certificate can be obtained.
1685 In general, if such a private key plus certificate
1687 is available, all that needs to be done is to set some variables:
1689 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1690 ? set smime-sign-cert=ME@exam.ple.paired \e
1691 smime-sign-message-digest=SHA512 \e
1696 Variables of interest for S/MIME in general are
1699 .Va smime-ca-flags ,
1700 .Va smime-ca-no-defaults ,
1702 .Va smime-crl-file .
1703 For S/MIME signing of interest are
1705 .Va smime-sign-cert ,
1706 .Va smime-sign-include-certs
1708 .Va smime-sign-message-digest .
1709 Additional variables of interest for S/MIME en- and decryption:
1712 .Va smime-encrypt-USER@HOST .
1715 \*(ID Note that neither S/MIME signing nor encryption applies to
1716 message subjects or other header fields yet.
1717 Thus they may not contain sensitive information for encrypted messages,
1718 and cannot be trusted even if the message content has been verified.
1719 When sending signed messages,
1720 it is recommended to repeat any important header information in the
1724 .\" .Ss "On URL syntax and credential lookup" {{{
1725 .Ss "On URL syntax and credential lookup"
1727 \*(IN For accessing protocol-specific resources usage of Uniform
1728 Resource Locators (URL, RFC 1738) has become omnipresent.
1729 \*(UA expects and understands URLs in the following form;
1732 denote optional parts, optional either because there also exist other
1733 ways to define the information in question or because support of the
1734 part is protocol-specific, e.g.,
1736 is used by the local maildir and the IMAP protocol, but not by POP3;
1741 are specified they must be given in URL percent encoded form (RFC 3986;
1747 .Dl PROTOCOL://[USER[:PASSWORD]@]server[:port][/path]
1750 Note that these \*(UA URLs most often do not conform to any real
1751 standard, but instead represent a normalized variant of RFC 1738 \(en
1752 they are not used in data exchange but only meant as a compact,
1753 easy-to-use way of defining and representing information in
1754 a well-known notation.
1757 Many internal variables of \*(UA exist in multiple versions, called
1758 variable chains for the rest of this document: the plain
1763 .Ql variable-USER@HOST .
1770 had been specified in the respective URL, otherwise it refers to the plain
1776 that had been found when doing the user chain lookup as is described
1779 will never be in URL percent encoded form, whether it came from an URL
1780 or not; i.e., variable chain name extensions of
1781 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES"
1782 must not be URL percent encoded.
1785 For example, whether an hypothetical URL
1786 .Ql smtp://hey%3Ayou@our.house
1787 had been given that includes a user, or whether the URL was
1788 .Ql smtp://our.house
1789 and the user had been found differently, to lookup the variable chain
1790 .Va smtp-use-starttls
1791 \*(UA first looks for whether
1792 .Ql smtp-\:use-\:starttls-\:hey:you@our.house
1793 is defined, then whether
1794 .Ql smtp-\:use-\:starttls-\:our.house
1795 exists before finally ending up looking at the plain variable itself.
1798 \*(UA obeys the following logic scheme when dealing with the
1799 necessary credential information of an account:
1805 has been given in the URL the variables
1810 If no such variable(s) can be found then \*(UA will,
1811 when enforced by the \*(OPal variables
1812 .Va netrc-lookup-HOST
1816 .Sx "The .netrc file"
1819 specific entry which provides a
1821 name: this lookup will only succeed if unambiguous (one possible matching
1825 If there is still no
1827 then \*(UA will fall back to the user who is supposed to run \*(UA,
1828 the identity of which has been fixated during \*(UA startup and is
1829 known to be a valid user on the current host.
1832 Authentication: unless otherwise noted this will lookup the
1833 .Va PROTOCOL-auth-USER@HOST , PROTOCOL-auth-HOST , PROTOCOL-auth
1834 variable chain, falling back to a protocol-specific default should this
1840 has been given in the URL, then if the
1842 has been found through the \*(OPal
1844 that may have already provided the password, too.
1845 Otherwise the variable chain
1846 .Va password-USER@HOST , password-HOST , password
1847 is looked up and used if existent.
1849 Afterwards the complete \*(OPal variable chain
1850 .Va netrc-lookup-USER@HOST , netrc-lookup-HOST , netrc-lookup
1854 cache is searched for a password only (multiple user accounts for
1855 a single machine may exist as well as a fallback entry without user
1856 but with a password).
1858 If at that point there is still no password available, but the
1859 (protocols') chosen authentication type requires a password, then in
1860 interactive mode the user will be prompted on the terminal.
1865 S/MIME verification works relative to the values found in the
1869 header field(s), which means that the values of
1870 .Va smime-sign , smime-sign-cert , smime-sign-include-certs
1872 .Va smime-sign-message-digest
1873 will not be looked up using the
1877 chains from above but instead use the corresponding values from the
1878 message that is being worked on.
1879 In unusual cases multiple and different
1883 combinations may therefore be involved \(en on the other hand those
1884 unusual cases become possible.
1885 The usual case is as short as:
1887 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1888 set mta=smtp://USER:PASS@HOST smtp-use-starttls \e
1889 smime-sign smime-sign-cert=+smime.pair
1895 contains complete example configurations.
1898 .\" .Ss "Encrypted network communication" {{{
1899 .Ss "Encrypted network communication"
1901 SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) a.k.a. its successor TLS (Transport Layer
1902 Security) are protocols which aid in securing communication by providing
1903 a safely initiated and encrypted network connection.
1904 A central concept of SSL/TLS is that of certificates: as part of each
1905 network connection setup a (set of) certificates will be exchanged, and
1906 by using those the identity of the network peer can be cryptographically
1908 SSL/TLS works by using a locally installed pool of trusted certificates,
1909 and verifying the connection peer succeeds if that provides
1910 a certificate which has been issued or is trusted by any certificate in
1911 the trusted local pool.
1914 The local pool of trusted so-called CA (Certification Authority)
1915 certificates is usually delivered with the used SSL/TLS library, and
1916 will be selected automatically.
1917 It is also possible to use a specific pool of trusted certificates.
1919 .Va ssl-ca-no-defaults
1920 should be set to avoid using the default certificate pool, and
1924 should be pointed to a trusted pool of certificates.
1925 A certificate cannot be more secure than the method its CA certificate
1926 has been retrieved with.
1929 It depends on the used protocol whether encrypted communication is
1930 possible, and which configuration steps have to be taken to enable it.
1931 Some protocols, e.g., POP3S, are implicitly encrypted, others, like
1932 POP3, can upgrade a plain text connection if so requested.
1933 For example, to use the
1935 that POP3 offers (a member of) the variable (chain)
1936 .Va pop3-use-starttls
1939 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1940 shortcut encpop1 pop3s://pop1.exam.ple
1942 shortcut encpop2 pop3://pop2.exam.ple
1943 set pop3-use-starttls-pop2.exam.ple
1945 set mta=smtps://smtp.exam.ple:465
1946 set mta=smtp://smtp.exam.ple smtp-use-starttls
1950 Normally that is all there is to do, given that SSL/TLS libraries try to
1951 provide safe defaults, plenty of knobs however exist to adjust settings.
1952 For example certificate verification settings can be fine-tuned via
1954 and the SSL/TLS configuration basics are accessible via
1955 .Va ssl-config-pairs ,
1956 for example to specify the allowed protocols or cipher lists that
1957 a communication channel may use.
1958 In the past hints on how to restrict the set of protocols to highly
1959 secure ones were indicated, but as of the time of this writing the list
1960 of protocols or ciphers may need to become relaxed in order to be able
1961 to connect to some servers; the following example allows connecting to a
1963 that uses OpenSSL 0.9.8za from June 2014 (refer to
1964 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES"
1965 for more on variable chains):
1967 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1968 wysh set ssl-config-pairs-lion@exam.ple='MinProtocol=TLSv1.1,\e
1969 CipherString=TLSv1.2:!aNULL:!eNULL:\e
1970 ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA:\e
1971 DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA:@STRENGTH'
1977 can be used and should be referred to when creating a custom cipher list.
1978 Variables of interest for SSL/TLS in general are
1982 .Va ssl-ca-no-defaults ,
1983 .Va ssl-config-file ,
1984 .Va ssl-config-module ,
1985 .Va ssl-config-pairs ,
1993 .\" .Ss "Character sets" {{{
1994 .Ss "Character sets"
1996 \*(OP \*(UA detects the character set of the terminal by using
1997 mechanisms that are controlled by the
1999 environment variable
2004 in that order, see there).
2005 The internal variable
2007 will be set to the detected terminal character set accordingly,
2008 and will thus show up in the output of commands like, e.g.,
2014 However, the user may give
2016 a value during startup, making it possible to send mail in a completely
2018 locale environment, an option which can be used to generate and send,
2019 e.g., 8-bit UTF-8 input data in a pure 7-bit US-ASCII
2021 environment (an example of this can be found in the section
2022 .Sx "On sending mail, and non-interactive mode" ) .
2023 Changing the value does not mean much beside that, because several
2024 aspects of the real character set are implied by the locale environment
2025 of the system, which stays unaffected by
2029 Messages and attachments which consist of 7-bit clean data will be
2030 classified as consisting of
2033 This is a problem if the
2035 character set is a multibyte character set that is also 7-bit clean.
2036 For example, the Japanese character set ISO-2022-JP is 7-bit clean but
2037 capable to encode the rich set of Japanese Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana
2038 characters: in order to notify receivers of this character set the mail
2039 message must be MIME encoded so that the character set ISO-2022-JP can
2041 To achieve this, the variable
2043 must be set to ISO-2022-JP.
2044 (Today a better approach regarding email is the usage of UTF-8, which
2045 uses 8-bit bytes for non-US-ASCII data.)
2048 If the \*(OPal character set conversion capabilities are not available
2050 does not include the term
2054 will be the only supported character set,
2055 it is simply assumed that it can be used to exchange 8-bit messages
2056 (over the wire an intermediate, configurable
2059 and the rest of this section does not apply;
2060 it may however still be necessary to explicitly set it if automatic
2061 detection fails, since in that case it defaults to
2062 .\" (Keep in SYNC: ./nail.1:"Character sets", ./config.h:CHARSET_*!)
2063 LATIN1 a.k.a. ISO-8859-1 unless the operating system environment is
2064 known to always and exclusively support UTF-8 locales.
2067 \*(OP When reading messages, their text is converted into
2069 as necessary in order to display them on the user's terminal.
2070 Unprintable characters and invalid byte sequences are detected
2071 and replaced by proper substitution characters.
2072 Character set mappings for source character sets can be established with
2075 which may be handy to work around faulty character set catalogues (e.g.,
2076 to add a missing LATIN1 to ISO-8859-1 mapping), or to enforce treatment
2077 of one character set as another one (e.g., to interpret LATIN1 as CP1252).
2079 .Va charset-unknown-8bit
2080 to deal with another hairy aspect of message interpretation.
2083 When sending messages their parts and attachments are classified.
2084 Whereas no character set conversion is performed on those parts which
2085 appear to be binary data,
2086 the character set being used must be declared within the MIME header of
2087 an outgoing text part if it contains characters that do not conform to
2088 the set of characters that are allowed by the email standards.
2089 Permissible values for character sets used in outgoing messages can be
2094 which defines a catch-all last-resort fallback character set that is
2095 implicitly appended to the list of character sets in
2099 When replying to a message and the variable
2100 .Va reply-in-same-charset
2101 is set, then the character set of the message being replied to
2102 is tried first (still being a subject of
2103 .Ic charsetalias ) .
2104 And it is also possible to make \*(UA work even more closely related to
2105 the current locale setting automatically by using the variable
2106 .Va sendcharsets-else-ttycharset ,
2107 please see there for more information.
2110 All the specified character sets are tried in order unless the
2111 conversion of the part or attachment succeeds.
2112 If none of the tried (8-bit) character sets is capable to represent the
2113 content of the part or attachment,
2114 then the message will not be send and its text will optionally be
2118 In general, if a message saying
2119 .Dq cannot convert from a to b
2120 appears, either some characters are not appropriate for the currently
2121 selected (terminal) character set,
2122 or the needed conversion is not supported by the system.
2123 In the first case, it is necessary to set an appropriate
2125 locale and/or the variable
2129 The best results are usually achieved when \*(UA is run in a UTF-8
2130 locale on an UTF-8 capable terminal, in which case the full Unicode
2131 spectrum of characters is available.
2132 In this setup characters from various countries can be displayed,
2133 while it is still possible to use more simple character sets for sending
2134 to retain maximum compatibility with older mail clients.
2137 On the other hand the POSIX standard defines a locale-independent 7-bit
2138 .Dq portable character set
2139 that should be used when overall portability is an issue, the even more
2140 restricted subset named
2141 .Dq portable filename character set
2142 consists of A-Z, a-z, 0-9, period
2150 .\" .Ss "Message states" {{{
2151 .Ss "Message states"
2153 \*(UA differentiates in between several message states; the current
2154 state will be reflected in the summary of
2161 .Sx "Specifying messages"
2162 dependent on their state is possible.
2163 When operating on the system
2167 .Sx "primary system mailbox" ,
2168 special actions, like the automatic moving of messages to the
2170 .Sx "secondary mailbox"
2172 may be applied when the mailbox is left (also implicitly by program
2173 termination, unless the command
2175 was used) \(en however, because this may be irritating to users which
2178 mail-user-agents, the provided global
2180 template sets the internal
2184 variables in order to suppress this behaviour.
2186 .Bl -hang -width ".It Ql new"
2188 Message has neither been viewed nor moved to any other state.
2189 Such messages are retained even in the
2191 .Sx "primary system mailbox" .
2194 Message has neither been viewed nor moved to any other state, but the
2195 message was present already when the mailbox has been opened last:
2196 Such messages are retained even in the
2198 .Sx "primary system mailbox" .
2201 The message has been processed by one of the following commands:
2220 will always try to automatically
2226 logical message, and may thus mark multiple messages as read, the
2228 command will do so if the internal variable
2234 command is used, messages that are in a
2236 .Sx "primary system mailbox"
2239 state when the mailbox is left will be saved in the
2241 .Sx "secondary mailbox"
2243 unless the internal variable
2248 The message has been processed by one of the following commands:
2254 can be used to access such messages.
2257 The message has been processed by a
2259 command and it will be retained in its current location.
2262 The message has been processed by one of the following commands:
2268 command is used, messages that are in a
2270 .Sx "primary system mailbox"
2273 state when the mailbox is left will be deleted; they will be saved in the
2275 .Sx "secondary mailbox"
2277 when the internal variable
2283 In addition to these message states, flags which otherwise have no
2284 technical meaning in the mail system except allowing special ways of
2285 addressing them when
2286 .Sx "Specifying messages"
2287 can be set on messages.
2288 These flags are saved with messages and are thus persistent, and are
2289 portable between a set of widely used MUAs.
2291 .Bl -hang -width ".It Ic answered"
2293 Mark messages as having been answered.
2295 Mark messages as being a draft.
2297 Mark messages which need special attention.
2301 .\" .Ss "Specifying messages" {{{
2302 .Ss "Specifying messages"
2305 .Sx "Message list arguments" ,
2313 can be given a list of message numbers as arguments to apply to a number
2314 of messages at once.
2317 deletes messages 1 and 2,
2320 will delete the messages 1 through 5.
2321 In sorted or threaded mode (see the
2325 will delete the messages that are located between (and including)
2326 messages 1 through 5 in the sorted/threaded order, as shown in the
2329 The following special message names exist:
2332 .Bl -tag -width ".It Ar BaNg"
2334 The current message, the so-called
2338 The message that was previously the current message.
2341 The parent message of the current message,
2342 that is the message with the Message-ID given in the
2344 field or the last entry of the
2346 field of the current message.
2349 The previous undeleted message, or the previous deleted message for the
2355 ed mode, the previous such message in the according order.
2358 The next undeleted message, or the next deleted message for the
2364 ed mode, the next such message in the according order.
2367 The first undeleted message,
2368 or the first deleted message for the
2374 ed mode, the first such message in the according order.
2377 The last message; In
2381 ed mode, the last such message in the according order.
2388 mode, selects the message addressed with
2392 is any other message specification,
2393 and all messages from the thread that begins at it.
2394 Otherwise it is identical to
2399 the thread beginning with the current message is selected.
2404 All messages that were included in the
2405 .Sx "Message list arguments"
2406 of the previous command.
2409 An inclusive range of message numbers.
2410 Selectors that may also be used as endpoints include any of
2415 .Dq any substring matches
2418 header, which will match addresses (too) even if
2420 is set (and POSIX says
2421 .Dq any address as shown in a header summary shall be matchable in this form ) ;
2424 variable is set, only the local part of the address is evaluated
2425 for the comparison, not ignoring case, and the setting of
2427 is completely ignored.
2428 For finer control and match boundaries use the
2432 .It Ar / Ns Ar string
2433 All messages that contain
2435 in the subject field (case ignored according to locale).
2442 the string from the previous specification of that type is used again.
2445 .It Xo Op Ar @ Ns Ar name-list Ns
2448 All messages that contain the given case-insensitive search
2450 ession; If the \*(OPal regular expression support is available
2452 will be interpreted as (an extended) one if any of the
2454 regular expression characters
2459 .Ar @ Ns Ar name-list
2460 part is missing the search is restricted to the subject field body,
2463 specifies a comma-separated list of header fields to search, e.g.,
2466 .Dl '@to,from,cc@Someone i ought to know'
2469 In order to search for a string that includes a
2471 (commercial at) character the
2473 is effectively non-optional, but may be given as the empty string.
2474 Also, specifying an empty search
2476 ession will effectively test for existence of the given header fields.
2477 Some special header fields may be abbreviated:
2491 respectively and case-insensitively.
2492 \*(OPally, and just like
2495 will be interpreted as (an extended) regular expression if any of the
2497 regular expression characters is seen.
2504 can be used to search in (all of) the header(s) of the message, and the
2513 will perform full text searches \(en whereas the former searches only
2514 the body, the latter also searches the message header (\*(ID this mode
2515 yet brute force searches over the entire decoded content of messages,
2516 including administrativa strings).
2519 This specification performs full text comparison, but even with
2520 regular expression support it is almost impossible to write a search
2521 expression that safely matches only a specific address domain.
2522 To request that the body content of the header is treated as a list of
2523 addresses, and to strip those down to the plain email address which the
2524 search expression is to be matched against, prefix the effective
2530 .Dl @~f@@a\e.safe\e.domain\e.match$
2534 All messages of state or with matching condition
2538 is one or multiple of the following colon modifiers:
2540 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It Ar :M"
2543 messages (cf. the variable
2544 .Va markanswered ) .
2556 Messages with receivers that match
2560 Messages with receivers that match
2567 Old messages (any not in state
2575 \*(OP Messages with unsure spam classification (see
2576 .Sx "Handling spam" ) .
2578 \*(OP Messages classified as spam.
2590 \*(OP IMAP-style SEARCH expressions may also be used.
2591 This addressing mode is available with all types of mailbox
2593 s; \*(UA will perform the search locally as necessary.
2594 Strings must be enclosed by double quotes
2596 in their entirety if they contain whitespace or parentheses;
2597 within the quotes, only reverse solidus
2599 is recognized as an escape character.
2600 All string searches are case-insensitive.
2601 When the description indicates that the
2603 representation of an address field is used,
2604 this means that the search string is checked against both a list
2607 .Bd -literal -offset indent
2608 (\*qname\*q \*qsource\*q \*qlocal-part\*q \*qdomain-part\*q)
2613 and the addresses without real names from the respective header field.
2614 These search expressions can be nested using parentheses, see below for
2618 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It Ar _n_u"
2619 .It Ar ( criterion )
2620 All messages that satisfy the given
2622 .It Ar ( criterion1 criterion2 ... criterionN )
2623 All messages that satisfy all of the given criteria.
2625 .It Ar ( or criterion1 criterion2 )
2626 All messages that satisfy either
2631 To connect more than two criteria using
2633 specifications have to be nested using additional parentheses,
2635 .Ql (or a (or b c)) ,
2639 .Ql ((a or b) and c) .
2642 operation of independent criteria on the lowest nesting level,
2643 it is possible to achieve similar effects by using three separate
2647 .It Ar ( not criterion )
2648 All messages that do not satisfy
2650 .It Ar ( bcc \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
2651 All messages that contain
2653 in the envelope representation of the
2656 .It Ar ( cc \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
2657 All messages that contain
2659 in the envelope representation of the
2662 .It Ar ( from \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
2663 All messages that contain
2665 in the envelope representation of the
2668 .It Ar ( subject \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
2669 All messages that contain
2674 .It Ar ( to \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
2675 All messages that contain
2677 in the envelope representation of the
2680 .It Ar ( header name \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
2681 All messages that contain
2686 .It Ar ( body \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
2687 All messages that contain
2690 .It Ar ( text \*q Ns Ar string Ns Ar \*q )
2691 All messages that contain
2693 in their header or body.
2694 .It Ar ( larger size )
2695 All messages that are larger than
2698 .It Ar ( smaller size )
2699 All messages that are smaller than
2703 .It Ar ( before date )
2704 All messages that were received before
2706 which must be in the form
2710 denotes the day of the month as one or two digits,
2712 is the name of the month \(en one of
2713 .Ql Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec ,
2716 is the year as four digits, e.g.,
2720 All messages that were received on the specified date.
2721 .It Ar ( since date )
2722 All messages that were received since the specified date.
2723 .It Ar ( sentbefore date )
2724 All messages that were sent on the specified date.
2725 .It Ar ( senton date )
2726 All messages that were sent on the specified date.
2727 .It Ar ( sentsince date )
2728 All messages that were sent since the specified date.
2730 The same criterion as for the previous search.
2731 This specification cannot be used as part of another criterion.
2732 If the previous command line contained more than one independent
2733 criterion then the last of those criteria is used.
2737 .\" .Ss "On terminal control and line editor" {{{
2738 .Ss "On terminal control and line editor"
2740 \*(OP Terminal control will be realized through one of the standard
2742 libraries, either the
2744 or, alternatively, the
2746 both of which will be initialized to work with the environment variable
2748 Terminal control will enhance or enable interactive usage aspects, e.g.,
2749 .Sx "Coloured display" ,
2750 and extend behaviour of the Mailx-Line-Editor (MLE), which may learn the
2751 byte-sequences of keys like the cursor- and function-keys.
2754 The internal variable
2756 can be used to overwrite settings or to learn (correct(ed)) keycodes.
2757 Actual library interaction can be disabled completely by setting
2758 .Va termcap-disable ;
2760 will be queried regardless, which is true even if the \*(OPal library
2761 support has not been enabled at configuration time as long as some other
2762 \*(OP which (may) query terminal control sequences has been enabled.
2763 \*(UA can be told to enter an alternative exclusive screen, the
2764 so-called ca-mode, by setting
2765 .Va termcap-ca-mode ;
2766 this requires sufficient terminal support, and the used
2768 may also need special configuration, dependent on the value of
2772 \*(OP The built-in Mailx-Line-Editor (MLE) should work in all
2773 environments which comply to the ISO C standard
2775 and will support wide glyphs if possible (the necessary functionality
2776 had been removed from ISO C, but was included in
2778 Usage of a line editor in interactive mode can be prevented by setting
2779 .Va line-editor-disable .
2780 Especially if the \*(OPal terminal control support is missing setting
2781 entries in the internal variable
2783 will help shall the MLE misbehave, see there for more.
2784 The MLE can support a little bit of
2790 feature is available then input from line editor prompts will be saved
2791 in a history list that can be searched in and be expanded from.
2792 Such saving can be prevented by prefixing input with any amount of
2794 Aspects of history, like allowed content and maximum size, as well as
2795 whether history shall be saved persistently, can be configured with the
2799 .Va history-gabby-persist
2804 The MLE supports a set of editing and control commands.
2805 By default (as) many (as possible) of these will be assigned to a set of
2806 single-letter control codes, which should work on any terminal (and can
2807 be generated by holding the
2809 key while pressing the key of desire, e.g.,
2813 command is available then the MLE commands can also be accessed freely
2814 by assigning the command name, which is shown in parenthesis in the list
2815 below, to any desired key-sequence, and the MLE will instead and also use
2817 to establish its built-in key bindings
2818 (more of them if the \*(OPal terminal control is available),
2819 an action which can then be suppressed completely by setting
2820 .Va line-editor-no-defaults .
2821 .Sx "Shell-style argument quoting"
2822 notation is used in the following;
2823 combinations not mentioned either cause job control signals or do not
2824 generate a (unique) keycode:
2828 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It Ql \eBa"
2830 Go to the start of the line
2832 .Pf ( Cd mle-go-home ) .
2835 Move the cursor backward one character
2837 .Pf ( Cd mle-go-bwd ) .
2840 Forward delete the character under the cursor;
2841 quits \*(UA if used on the empty line unless the internal variable
2845 .Pf ( Cd mle-del-fwd ) .
2848 Go to the end of the line
2850 .Pf ( Cd mle-go-end ) .
2853 Move the cursor forward one character
2855 .Pf ( Cd mle-go-fwd ) .
2858 Cancel current operation, full reset.
2859 If there is an active history search or tabulator expansion then this
2860 command will first reset that, reverting to the former line content;
2861 thus a second reset is needed for a full reset in this case
2863 .Pf ( Cd mle-reset ) .
2866 Backspace: backward delete one character
2868 .Pf ( Cd mle-del-bwd ) .
2872 Horizontal tabulator:
2873 try to expand the word before the cursor, supporting the usual
2874 .Sx "Filename transformations"
2876 .Pf ( Cd mle-complete ;
2878 .Cd mle-quote-rndtrip ) .
2882 commit the current line
2884 .Pf ( Cd mle-commit ) .
2887 Cut all characters from the cursor to the end of the line
2889 .Pf ( Cd mle-snarf-end ) .
2894 .Pf ( Cd mle-repaint ) .
2897 \*(OP Go to the next history entry
2899 .Pf ( Cd mle-hist-fwd ) .
2902 (\*(OPally context-dependent) Invokes the command
2906 \*(OP Go to the previous history entry
2908 .Pf ( Cd mle-hist-bwd ) .
2911 Toggle roundtrip mode shell quotes, where produced,
2914 .Pf ( Cd mle-quote-rndtrip ) .
2915 This setting is temporary, and will be forgotten once the command line
2916 is committed; also see
2920 \*(OP Complete the current line from (the remaining) older history entries
2922 .Pf ( Cd mle-hist-srch-bwd ) .
2925 \*(OP Complete the current line from (the remaining) newer history entries
2927 .Pf ( Cd mle-hist-srch-fwd ) .
2930 Paste the snarf buffer
2932 .Pf ( Cd mle-paste ) .
2940 .Pf ( Cd mle-snarf-line ) .
2943 Prompts for a Unicode character (hexadecimal number without prefix, see
2947 .Pf ( Cd mle-prompt-char ) .
2948 Note this command needs to be assigned to a single-letter control code
2949 in order to become recognized and executed during input of
2950 a key-sequence (only three single-letter control codes can be used for
2951 that shortcut purpose); this control code is then special-treated and
2952 thus cannot be part of any other sequence (because it will trigger the
2954 function immediately).
2957 Cut the characters from the one preceding the cursor to the preceding
2960 .Pf ( Cd mle-snarf-word-bwd ) .
2963 Move the cursor forward one word boundary
2965 .Pf ( Cd mle-go-word-fwd ) .
2968 Move the cursor backward one word boundary
2970 .Pf ( Cd mle-go-word-bwd ) .
2973 Escape: reset a possibly used multibyte character input state machine
2974 and \*(OPally a lingering, incomplete key binding
2976 .Pf ( Cd mle-cancel ) .
2977 This command needs to be assigned to a single-letter control code in
2978 order to become recognized and executed during input of a key-sequence
2979 (only three single-letter control codes can be used for that shortcut
2981 This control code may also be part of a multi-byte sequence, but if
2982 a sequence is active and the very control code is currently also an
2983 expected input, then the active sequence takes precedence and will
2984 consume the control code.
2987 (\*(OPally context-dependent) Invokes the command
2991 (\*(OPally context-dependent) Invokes the command
2995 (\*(OPally context-dependent) Invokes the command
2999 Cut the characters from the one after the cursor to the succeeding word
3002 .Pf ( Cd mle-snarf-word-fwd ) .
3013 this will immediately reset a possibly active search etc.
3018 ring the audible bell.
3022 .\" .Ss "Coloured display" {{{
3023 .Ss "Coloured display"
3025 \*(OP \*(UA can be configured to support a coloured display and font
3026 attributes by emitting ANSI a.k.a. ISO 6429 SGR (select graphic
3027 rendition) escape sequences.
3028 Usage of colours and font attributes solely depends upon the
3029 capability of the detected terminal type that is defined by the
3030 environment variable
3032 and which can be fine-tuned by the user via the internal variable
3036 On top of what \*(UA knows about the terminal the boolean variable
3038 defines whether the actually applicable colour and font attribute
3039 sequences should also be generated when output is going to be paged
3040 through the external program defined by the environment variable
3045 This is not enabled by default because different pager programs need
3046 different command line switches or other configuration in order to
3047 support those sequences.
3048 \*(UA however knows about some widely used pagers and in a clean
3049 environment it is often enough to simply set
3051 please refer to that variable for more on this topic.
3054 Colours and font attributes can be managed with the multiplexer command
3058 can be used to remove mappings of a given colour type.
3061 is set then any active usage of colour and font attribute sequences
3062 is suppressed without affecting possibly established
3065 Since colours are only available in interactive mode, it may make
3066 sense to conditionalize the colour setup by encapsulating it with
3069 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3070 if terminal && [ "$features" =% +colour ]
3071 colour iso view-msginfo ft=bold,fg=green
3072 colour iso view-header ft=bold,fg=red from,subject
3073 colour iso view-header fg=red
3075 uncolour iso view-header from,subject
3076 colour iso view-header ft=bold,fg=magenta,bg=cyan
3077 colour 256 view-header ft=bold,fg=208,bg=230 "subject,from"
3078 colour mono view-header ft=bold
3079 colour mono view-header ft=bold,ft=reverse subject,from
3084 .\" .Ss "Handling spam" {{{
3087 \*(OP \*(UA can make use of several spam interfaces for the purpose of
3088 identification of, and, in general, dealing with spam messages.
3089 A precondition of most commands in order to function is that the
3091 variable is set to one of the supported interfaces.
3092 .Sx "Specifying messages"
3093 that have been identified as spam is possible via their (volatile)
3099 specifications, and their
3101 entries will be used when displaying the
3109 rates the given messages and sets their
3112 If the spam interface offers spam scores these can be shown in
3121 will interact with the Bayesian filter of the chosen interface and learn
3122 the given messages as
3126 respectively; the last command can be used to cause
3128 of messages; it adheres to their current
3130 state and thus reverts previous teachings.
3135 will simply set and clear, respectively, the mentioned volatile
3137 message flag, without any interface interaction.
3146 requires a running instance of the
3148 server in order to function, started with the option
3150 shall Bayesian filter learning be possible.
3152 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3153 $ spamd -i localhost:2142 -i /tmp/.spamsock -d [-L] [-l]
3154 $ spamd --listen=localhost:2142 --listen=/tmp/.spamsock \e
3155 --daemonize [--local] [--allow-tell]
3159 Thereafter \*(UA can make use of these interfaces:
3161 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3162 $ \*(uA -Sspam-interface=spamc -Sspam-maxsize=500000 \e
3163 -Sspamc-command=/usr/local/bin/spamc \e
3164 -Sspamc-arguments="-U /tmp/.spamsock" -Sspamc-user=
3166 $ \*(uA -Sspam-interface=spamc -Sspam-maxsize=500000 \e
3167 -Sspamc-command=/usr/local/bin/spamc \e
3168 -Sspamc-arguments="-d localhost -p 2142" -Sspamc-user=
3172 Using the generic filter approach allows usage of programs like
3174 Here is an example, requiring it to be accessible via
3177 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3178 $ \*(uA -Sspam-interface=filter -Sspam-maxsize=500000 \e
3179 -Sspamfilter-ham="bogofilter -n" \e
3180 -Sspamfilter-noham="bogofilter -N" \e
3181 -Sspamfilter-nospam="bogofilter -S" \e
3182 -Sspamfilter-rate="bogofilter -TTu 2>/dev/null" \e
3183 -Sspamfilter-spam="bogofilter -s" \e
3184 -Sspamfilter-rate-scanscore="1;^(.+)$"
3188 Because messages must exist on local storage in order to be scored (or
3189 used for Bayesian filter training), it is possibly a good idea to
3190 perform the local spam check last.
3191 Spam can be checked automatically when opening specific folders by
3192 setting a specialized form of the internal variable
3195 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3196 define spamdelhook {
3198 spamset (header x-dcc-brand-metrics "bulk")
3199 # Server-side spamassassin(1)
3200 spamset (header x-spam-flag "YES")
3201 del :s # TODO we HAVE to be able to do `spamrate :u ! :sS'
3207 set folder-hook-SOMEFOLDER=spamdelhook
3211 See also the documentation for the variables
3212 .Va spam-interface , spam-maxsize ,
3213 .Va spamc-command , spamc-arguments , spamc-user ,
3214 .Va spamfilter-ham , spamfilter-noham , spamfilter-nospam , \
3217 .Va spamfilter-rate-scanscore .
3220 .\" }}} (DESCRIPTION)
3223 .\" .Sh COMMANDS {{{
3226 \*(UA reads input in lines.
3227 An unquoted reverse solidus
3229 at the end of a command line
3231 the newline character: it is discarded and the next line of input is
3232 used as a follow-up line, with all leading whitespace removed;
3233 once an entire line is completed, the whitespace characters
3234 .Cm space , tabulator , newline
3235 as well as those defined by the variable
3237 are removed from the beginning and end.
3238 Placing any whitespace characters at the beginning of a line will
3239 prevent a possible addition of the command line to the \*(OPal
3243 The beginning of such input lines is then scanned for the name of
3244 a known command: command names may be abbreviated, in which case the
3245 first command that matches the given prefix will be used.
3246 .Sx "Command modifiers"
3247 may prefix a command in order to modify its behaviour.
3248 A name may also be a
3250 which will become expanded until no more expansion is possible.
3251 Once the command that shall be executed is known, the remains of the
3252 input line will be interpreted according to command-specific rules,
3253 documented in the following.
3256 This behaviour is different to the
3258 ell, which is a programming language with syntactic elements of clearly
3259 defined semantics, and therefore capable to sequentially expand and
3260 evaluate individual elements of a line.
3261 \*(UA will never be able to handle
3262 .Ql ? set one=value two=$one
3263 in a single statement, because the variable assignment is performed by
3271 can be used to show the list of all commands, either alphabetically
3272 sorted or in prefix search order (these do not match, also because the
3273 POSIX standard prescribes a set of abbreviations).
3274 \*(OPally the command
3278 when given an argument, will show a documentation string for the
3279 command matching the expanded argument, as in
3281 which should be a shorthand of
3283 with these documentation strings both commands support a more
3285 listing mode which includes the argument type of the command and other
3286 information which applies; a handy suggestion might thus be:
3288 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3290 # Before v15: need to enable sh(1)ell-style on _entire_ line!
3291 localopts yes;wysh set verbose;ignerr eval "${@}";return ${?}
3293 ? commandalias xv '\ecall __xv'
3297 .\" .Ss "Command modifiers" {{{
3298 .Ss "Command modifiers"
3300 Commands may be prefixed by one or multiple command modifiers.
3301 Some command modifiers can be used with a restricted set of commands
3306 will (\*(OPally) show which modifiers apply.
3310 The modifier reverse solidus
3313 to be placed first, prevents
3315 expansions on the remains of the line, e.g.,
3317 will always evaluate the command
3319 even if an (command)alias of the same name exists.
3321 content may itself contain further command modifiers, including
3322 an initial reverse solidus to prevent further expansions.
3328 indicates that any error generated by the following command should be
3329 ignored by the state machine and not cause a program exit with enabled
3331 or for the standardized exit cases in
3336 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES" ,
3337 will be set to the real exit status of the command regardless.
3342 will alter the called command to apply changes only temporarily,
3343 local to block-scope, and can thus only be used inside of a
3348 Specifying it implies the modifier
3350 Block-scope settings will not be inherited by macros deeper in the
3352 chain, and will be garbage collected once the current block is left.
3353 To record and unroll changes in the global scope use the command
3359 does yet not implement any functionality.
3364 does yet not implement any functionality.
3367 Some commands support the
3370 modifier: if used, they expect the name of a variable, which can itself
3371 be a variable, i.e., shell expansion is applied, as their first
3372 argument, and will place their computation result in it instead of the
3373 default location (it is usually written to standard output).
3375 The given name will be tested for being a valid
3377 variable name, and may therefore only consist of upper- and lowercase
3378 characters, digits, and the underscore; the hyphen-minus may be used as
3379 a non-portable extension; digits may not be used as first, hyphen-minus
3380 may not be used as last characters.
3381 In addition the name may either not be one of the known
3382 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES" ,
3383 or must otherwise refer to a writable (non-boolean) value variable.
3384 The actual put operation may fail nonetheless, e.g., if the variable
3385 expects a number argument only a number will be accepted.
3386 Any error during these operations causes the command as such to fail,
3387 and the error number
3390 .Va ^ERR Ns -NOTSUP ,
3395 but some commands deviate from the latter, which is documented.
3398 Last, but not least, the modifier
3401 can be used for some old and established commands to choose the new
3402 .Sx "Shell-style argument quoting"
3403 rules over the traditional
3404 .Sx "Old-style argument quoting" .
3408 .\" .Ss "Message list arguments" {{{
3409 .Ss "Message list arguments"
3411 Some commands expect arguments that represent messages (actually
3412 their symbolic message numbers), as has been documented above under
3413 .Sx "Specifying messages"
3415 If no explicit message list has been specified, the next message
3416 forward that satisfies the commands requirements will be used,
3417 and if there are no messages forward of the current message,
3418 the search proceeds backwards;
3419 if there are no good messages at all to be found, an error message is
3420 shown and the command is aborted.
3423 .\" .Ss "Old-style argument quoting" {{{
3424 .Ss "Old-style argument quoting"
3426 \*(ID This section documents the old, traditional style of quoting
3427 non-message-list arguments to commands which expect this type of
3428 arguments: whereas still used by the majority of such commands, the new
3429 .Sx "Shell-style argument quoting"
3430 may be available even for those via
3433 .Sx "Command modifiers" .
3434 Nonetheless care must be taken, because only new commands have been
3435 designed with all the capabilities of the new quoting rules in mind,
3436 which can, e.g., generate control characters.
3439 .Bl -bullet -offset indent
3441 An argument can be enclosed between paired double-quotes
3446 any whitespace, shell word expansion, or reverse solidus characters
3447 (except as described next) within the quotes are treated literally as
3448 part of the argument.
3449 A double-quote will be treated literally within single-quotes and vice
3451 Inside such a quoted string the actually used quote character can be
3452 used nonetheless by escaping it with a reverse solidus
3458 An argument that is not enclosed in quotes, as above, can usually still
3459 contain space characters if those spaces are reverse solidus escaped, as in
3463 A reverse solidus outside of the enclosing quotes is discarded
3464 and the following character is treated literally as part of the argument.
3468 .\" .Ss "Shell-style argument quoting" {{{
3469 .Ss "Shell-style argument quoting"
3471 Commands which do not expect message-list arguments use
3473 ell-style, and therefore POSIX standardized, argument parsing and
3475 \*(ID Most new commands only support these new rules and are flagged
3476 \*(NQ, some elder ones can use them with the command modifier
3478 in the future only this type of argument quoting will remain.
3481 A command line is parsed from left to right and an input token is
3482 completed whenever an unquoted, otherwise ignored, metacharacter is seen.
3483 Metacharacters are vertical bar
3489 as well as all characters from the variable
3492 .Cm space , tabulator , newline .
3493 The additional metacharacters left and right parenthesis
3495 and less-than and greater-than signs
3499 supports are not used, and are treated as ordinary characters: for one
3500 these characters are a vivid part of email addresses, and it seems
3501 highly unlikely that their function will become meaningful to \*(UA.
3503 .Bd -filled -offset indent
3504 .Sy Compatibility note:
3505 \*(ID Please note that even many new-style commands do not yet honour
3507 to parse their arguments: whereas the
3509 ell is a language with syntactic elements of clearly defined semantics,
3510 \*(UA parses entire input lines and decides on a per-command base what
3511 to do with the rest of the line.
3512 This also means that whenever an unknown command is seen all that \*(UA
3513 can do is cancellation of the processing of the remains of the line.
3515 It also often depends on an actual subcommand of a multiplexer command
3516 how the rest of the line should be treated, and until v15 we are not
3517 capable to perform this deep inspection of arguments.
3518 Nonetheless, at least the following commands which work with positional
3519 parameters fully support
3521 for an almost shell-compatible field splitting:
3522 .Ic call , call_if , read , vpospar , xcall .
3526 Any unquoted number sign
3528 at the beginning of a new token starts a comment that extends to the end
3529 of the line, and therefore ends argument processing.
3530 An unquoted dollar sign
3532 will cause variable expansion of the given name, which must be a valid
3534 ell-style variable name (see
3536 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES"
3539 (shell) variables can be accessed through this mechanism, brace
3540 enclosing the name is supported (i.e., to subdivide a token).
3543 Whereas the metacharacters
3544 .Cm space , tabulator , newline
3545 only complete an input token, vertical bar
3551 also act as control operators and perform control functions.
3552 For now supported is semicolon
3554 which terminates a single command, therefore sequencing the command line
3555 and making the remainder of the line a subject to reevaluation.
3556 With sequencing, multiple command argument types and quoting rules may
3557 therefore apply to a single line, which can become problematic before
3558 v15: e.g., the first of the following will cause surprising results.
3561 .Dl ? echo one; set verbose; echo verbose=$verbose.
3562 .Dl ? echo one; wysh set verbose; echo verbose=$verbose.
3565 Quoting is a mechanism that will remove the special meaning of
3566 metacharacters and reserved words, and will prevent expansion.
3567 There are four quoting mechanisms: the escape character, single-quotes,
3568 double-quotes and dollar-single-quotes:
3571 .Bl -bullet -offset indent
3573 The literal value of any character can be preserved by preceding it
3574 with the escape character reverse solidus
3578 Arguments which are enclosed in
3579 .Ql 'single-\:quotes'
3580 retain their literal value.
3581 A single-quote cannot occur within single-quotes.
3584 The literal value of all characters enclosed in
3585 .Ql \(dqdouble-\:quotes\(dq
3586 is retained, with the exception of dollar sign
3588 which will cause variable expansion, as above, backquote (grave accent)
3590 (which not yet means anything special), reverse solidus
3592 which will escape any of the characters dollar sign
3594 (to prevent variable expansion), backquote (grave accent)
3598 (to prevent ending the quote) and reverse solidus
3600 (to prevent escaping, i.e., to embed a reverse solidus character as-is),
3601 but has no special meaning otherwise.
3604 Arguments enclosed in
3605 .Ql $'dollar-\:single-\:quotes'
3606 extend normal single quotes in that reverse solidus escape sequences are
3607 expanded as follows:
3609 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".Ql \eNNN"
3611 bell control character (ASCII and ISO-10646 BEL).
3613 backspace control character (ASCII and ISO-10646 BS).
3615 escape control character (ASCII and ISO-10646 ESC).
3619 form feed control character (ASCII and ISO-10646 FF).
3621 line feed control character (ASCII and ISO-10646 LF).
3623 carriage return control character (ASCII and ISO-10646 CR).
3625 horizontal tabulator control character (ASCII and ISO-10646 HT).
3627 vertical tabulator control character (ASCII and ISO-10646 VT).
3629 emits a reverse solidus character.
3633 double quote (escaping is optional).
3635 eight-bit byte with the octal value
3637 (one to three octal digits), optionally prefixed by an additional
3639 A 0 byte will suppress further output for the quoted argument.
3641 eight-bit byte with the hexadecimal value
3643 (one or two hexadecimal characters, no prefix, see
3645 A 0 byte will suppress further output for the quoted argument.
3647 the Unicode / ISO-10646 character with the hexadecimal codepoint value
3649 (one to eight hexadecimal characters) \(em note that Unicode defines the
3650 maximum codepoint ever to be supported as
3655 This escape is only supported in locales that support Unicode (see
3656 .Sx "Character sets" ) ,
3657 in other cases the sequence will remain unexpanded unless the given code
3658 point is ASCII compatible or (if the \*(OPal character set conversion is
3659 available) can be represented in the current locale.
3660 The character NUL will suppress further output for the quoted argument.
3664 except it takes only one to four hexadecimal characters.
3666 Emits the non-printable (ASCII and compatible) C0 control codes
3667 0 (NUL) to 31 (US), and 127 (DEL).
3668 Printable representations of ASCII control codes can be created by
3669 mapping them to a different, visible part of the ASCII character set.
3670 Adding the number 64 achieves this for the codes 0 to 31, e.g., 7 (BEL):
3671 .Ql 7 + 64 = 71 = G .
3672 The real operation is a bitwise logical XOR with 64 (bit 7 set, see
3674 thus also covering code 127 (DEL), which is mapped to 63 (question mark):
3675 .Ql ? vexpr ^ 127 64 .
3677 Whereas historically circumflex notation has often been used for
3678 visualization purposes of control codes, e.g.,
3680 the reverse solidus notation has been standardized:
3682 Some control codes also have standardized (ISO-10646, ISO C) aliases,
3683 as shown above (e.g.,
3687 whenever such an alias exists it will be used for display purposes.
3688 The control code NUL
3690 a non-standard extension) will suppress further output for the remains
3691 of the token (which may extend beyond the current quote), or, depending
3692 on the context, the remains of all arguments for the current command.
3694 Non-standard extension: expand the given variable name, as above.
3695 Brace enclosing the name is supported.
3697 Not yet supported, just to raise awareness: Non-standard extension.
3704 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3705 ? echo 'Quotes '${HOME}' and 'tokens" differ!"# no comment
3706 ? echo Quotes ${HOME} and tokens differ! # comment
3707 ? echo Don"'"t you worry$'\ex21' The sun shines on us. $'\eu263A'
3711 .\" .Ss "Raw data arguments for codec commands" {{{
3712 .Ss "Raw data arguments for codec commands"
3714 A special set of commands, which all have the string
3716 in their name, e.g.,
3720 take raw string data as input, which means that the content of the
3721 command input line is passed completely unexpanded and otherwise
3722 unchanged: like this the effect of the actual codec is visible without
3723 any noise of possible shell quoting rules etc., i.e., the user can input
3724 one-to-one the desired or questionable data.
3725 To gain a level of expansion, the entire command line can be
3729 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3730 ? vput shcodec res encode /usr/Sch\[:o]nes Wetter/heute.txt
3732 $'/usr/Sch\eu00F6nes Wetter/heute.txt'
3734 $'/usr/Sch\eu00F6nes Wetter/heute.txt'
3735 ? eval shcodec d $res
3736 /usr/Sch\[:o]nes Wetter/heute.txt
3740 .\" .Ss "Filename transformations" {{{
3741 .Ss "Filename transformations"
3743 Filenames, where expected, and unless documented otherwise, are
3744 subsequently subject to the following filename transformations, in
3747 .Bl -bullet -offset indent
3749 If the given name is a registered
3751 it will be replaced with the expanded shortcut.
3754 The filename is matched against the following patterns or strings:
3756 .Bl -hang -compact -width ".Ar %user"
3758 (Number sign) is expanded to the previous file.
3760 (Percent sign) is replaced by the invoking
3761 .Mx -ix "primary system mailbox"
3762 user's primary system mailbox, which either is the (itself expandable)
3764 if that is set, the standardized absolute pathname indicated by
3766 if that is set, or a built-in compile-time default otherwise.
3768 Expands to the primary system mailbox of
3770 (and never the value of
3772 regardless of its actual setting).
3774 (Ampersand) is replaced with the invoking user's
3775 .Mx -ix "secondary mailbox"
3776 secondary mailbox, the
3783 directory (if that variable is set).
3785 Expands to the same value as
3787 but has special meaning when used with, e.g., the command
3789 the file will be treated as a primary system mailbox by, e.g., the
3793 commands, meaning that messages that have been read in the current
3794 session will be moved to the
3796 mailbox instead of simply being flagged as read.
3800 Meta expansions may be applied to the resulting filename, as allowed by
3801 the operation and applicable to the resulting access protocol (also see
3802 .Sx "On URL syntax and credential lookup" ) .
3803 For the file-protocol, a leading tilde
3805 character will be replaced by the expansion of
3807 except when followed by a valid user name, in which case the home
3808 directory of the given user is used instead.
3810 A shell expansion as if specified in double-quotes (see
3811 .Sx "Shell-style argument quoting" )
3812 may be applied, so that any occurrence of
3816 will be replaced by the expansion of the variable, if possible;
3817 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES"
3820 (shell) variables can be accessed through this mechanism.
3822 Shell pathname wildcard pattern expansions
3824 may be applied as documented.
3825 If the fully expanded filename results in multiple pathnames and the
3826 command is expecting only one file, an error results.
3828 In interactive context, in order to allow simple value acceptance (via
3830 arguments will usually be displayed in a properly quoted form, e.g., a file
3831 .Ql diet\e is \ecurd.txt
3833 .Ql 'diet\e is \ecurd.txt' .
3837 .\" .Ss "Commands" {{{
3840 The following commands are available:
3842 .Bl -tag -width ".It Ic BaNg"
3849 command which follows, replacing unescaped exclamation marks with the
3850 previously executed command if the internal variable
3853 This command supports
3856 .Sx "Command modifiers" ,
3857 and manages the error number
3859 A 0 or positive exit status
3861 reflects the exit status of the command, negative ones that
3862 an error happened before the command was executed, or that the program
3863 did not exit cleanly, but, e.g., due to a signal: the error number is
3864 .Va ^ERR Ns -CHILD ,
3868 In conjunction with the
3870 modifier the following special cases exist:
3871 a negative exit status occurs if the collected data could not be stored
3872 in the given variable, which is a
3874 error that should otherwise not occur.
3875 .Va ^ERR Ns -CANCELED
3876 indicates that no temporary file could be created to collect the command
3877 output at first glance.
3878 In case of catchable out-of-memory situations
3880 will occur and \*(UA will try to store the empty string, just like with
3881 all other detected error conditions.
3886 The comment-command causes the entire line to be ignored.
3888 this really is a normal command which' purpose is to discard its
3891 indicating special character, which means that, e.g., trailing comments
3892 on a line are not possible (except for commands which use
3893 .Sx "Shell-style argument quoting" ) .
3897 Goes to the next message in sequence and types it
3903 Display the preceding message, or the n'th previous message if given
3904 a numeric argument n.
3908 Show the current message number (the
3913 \*(OP Show a brief summary of commands.
3914 \*(OP Given an argument a synopsis for the command in question is
3915 shown instead; commands can be abbreviated in general and this command
3916 can be used to see the full expansion of an abbreviation including the
3917 synopsis, try, e.g.,
3922 and see how the output changes.
3923 This mode also supports a more
3925 output, which will provide the information documented for
3936 .It Ic account , unaccount
3937 (ac, una) Creates, selects or lists (an) account(s).
3938 Accounts are special incarnations of
3940 macros and group commands and variable settings which together usually
3941 arrange the environment for the purpose of creating an email account.
3942 Different to normal macros settings which are covered by
3944 \(en here by default enabled! \(en will not be reverted before the
3949 (case-insensitive) always exists, and all but it can be deleted by the
3950 latter command, and in one operation with the special name
3952 Also for all but it a possibly set
3953 .Va on-account-cleanup
3954 hook is called once they are left.
3956 Without arguments a listing of all defined accounts is shown.
3957 With one argument the given account is activated: the system
3959 of that account will be activated (as via
3961 a possibly installed
3963 will be run, and the internal variable
3966 The two argument form is identical to defining a macro as via
3968 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3970 set folder=~/mail inbox=+syste.mbox record=+sent.mbox
3971 set from='(My Name) myname@myisp.example'
3972 set mta=smtp://mylogin@smtp.myisp.example
3979 Perform email address codec transformations on raw-data argument, rather
3980 according to email standards (RFC 5322; \*(ID will furtherly improve).
3984 .Sx "Command modifiers" ) ,
3985 and manages the error number
3987 The first argument must be either
3988 .Ar [+[+[+]]]e[ncode] ,
3993 and specifies the operation to perform on the rest of the line.
3996 Decoding will show how a standard-compliant MUA will display the given
3997 argument, which should be an email address.
3998 Please be aware that most MUAs have difficulties with the address
3999 standards, and vary wildly when (comments) in parenthesis,
4001 strings, or quoted-pairs, as below, become involved.
4002 \*(ID \*(UA currently does not perform decoding when displaying addresses.
4005 Skinning is identical to decoding but only outputs the plain address,
4006 without any string, comment etc. components.
4007 Another difference is that it may fail with the error number
4011 if decoding fails to find a(n) (valid) email address, in which case the
4012 unmodified input will be output again.
4016 first performs a skin operation, and thereafter checks a valid
4017 address for whether it is a registered mailing list (see
4021 eventually reporting that state in the error number
4024 .Va ^ERR Ns -EXIST .
4025 (This state could later become overwritten by an I/O error, though.)
4028 Encoding supports four different modes, lesser automated versions can be
4029 chosen by prefixing one, two or three plus signs: the standard imposes
4030 a special meaning on some characters, which thus have to be transformed
4031 to so-called quoted-pairs by pairing them with a reverse solidus
4033 in order to remove the special meaning; this might change interpretation
4034 of the entire argument from what has been desired, however!
4035 Specify one plus sign to remark that parenthesis shall be left alone,
4036 two for not turning double quotation marks into quoted-pairs, and three
4037 for also leaving any user-specified reverse solidus alone.
4038 The result will always be valid, if a successful exit status is reported
4039 (\*(ID the current parser fails this assertion for some constructs).
4040 \*(ID Addresses need to be specified in between angle brackets
4043 if the construct becomes more difficult, otherwise the current parser
4044 will fail; it is not smart enough to guess right.
4046 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4047 ? addrc enc "Hey, you",<diet@exam.ple>\e out\e there
4048 "\e"Hey, you\e", \e\e out\e\e there" <diet@exam.ple>
4049 ? addrc d "\e"Hey, you\e", \e\e out\e\e there" <diet@exam.ple>
4050 "Hey, you", \e out\e there <diet@exam.ple>
4051 ? addrc s "\e"Hey, you\e", \e\e out\e\e there" <diet@exam.ple>
4058 .It Ic alias , unalias
4059 (a, una) Aliases are a method of creating personal distribution lists
4060 that map a single alias name to none to multiple real receivers;
4061 these aliases become expanded after message composing is completed.
4062 The latter command removes the given list of aliases, the special name
4064 will discard all existing aliases.
4066 The former command shows all currently defined aliases when used without
4067 arguments, and with one argument the expansion of the given alias.
4068 With more than one argument, creates or appends to the alias name given
4069 as the first argument the remaining arguments.
4070 Alias names adhere to the Postfix MTA
4072 rules and are thus restricted to alphabetic characters, digits, the
4073 underscore, hyphen-minus, the number sign, colon and commercial at,
4074 the last character can also be the dollar sign; the regular expression:
4075 .Ql [[:alnum:]_#:@-]+$? .
4076 .\" ALIASCOLON next sentence
4077 \*(ID Unfortunately the colon is currently not supported, as it
4078 interferes with normal address parsing rules.
4079 As extensions the exclamation mark
4084 .Dq any character that has the high bit set
4086 .\" ALIASCOLON next sentence
4087 \*(ID Such high bit characters will likely cause warnings at the moment
4088 for the same reasons why colon is unsupported.
4092 .It Ic alternates , unalternates
4093 \*(NQ (alt) Manage a list of alternate addresses or names of the active
4094 user, members of which will be removed from recipient lists (except one).
4095 The latter command removes the given list of alternates, the special name
4097 will discard all existing alternate names.
4099 The former command manages the error number
4101 It shows the current set of alternates when used without arguments; in
4102 this mode only it also supports
4105 .Sx "Command modifiers" ) .
4106 Otherwise the given arguments (after being checked for validity) are
4107 appended to the list of alternate names; in
4109 mode they replace that list instead.
4110 There is a set of implicit alternates which is formed of the values of
4119 .It Ic answered , unanswered
4120 Take a message lists and mark each message as (not) having been answered.
4121 Messages will be marked answered when being
4123 to automatically if the
4127 .Sx "Message states" .
4132 .It Ic bind , unbind
4133 \*(OP\*(NQ The bind command extends the MLE (see
4134 .Sx "On terminal control and line editor" )
4135 with freely configurable key bindings.
4136 The latter command removes from the given context the given key binding,
4137 both of which may be specified as a wildcard
4141 will remove all bindings of all contexts.
4142 Due to initialization order unbinding will not work for built-in key
4143 bindings upon program startup, however: please use
4144 .Va line-editor-no-defaults
4145 for this purpose instead.
4148 With one argument the former command shows all key bindings for the
4149 given context, specifying an asterisk
4151 will show the bindings of all contexts; a more verbose listing will be
4152 produced if either of
4157 With two or more arguments a binding is (re)established:
4158 the first argument is the context to which the binding shall apply,
4159 the second argument is a comma-separated list of the
4161 which form the binding, and any remaining arguments form the expansion.
4162 To indicate that a binding shall not be auto-committed, but that the
4163 expansion shall instead be furtherly editable by the user, a commercial at
4165 (that will be removed) can be placed last in the expansion, from which
4166 leading and trailing whitespace will finally be removed.
4167 Reverse solidus cannot be used as the last character of expansion.
4170 Contexts define when a binding applies, i.e., a binding will not be seen
4171 unless the context for which it is defined for is currently active.
4172 This is not true for the shared binding
4174 which is the foundation for all other bindings and as such always
4175 applies, its bindings, however, only apply secondarily.
4176 The available contexts are the shared
4180 context which is used in all not otherwise documented situations, and
4182 which applies to compose mode only.
4186 which form the binding are specified as a comma-separated list of
4187 byte-sequences, where each list entry corresponds to one key(press).
4188 A list entry may, indicated by a leading colon character
4190 also refer to the name of a terminal capability; several dozen names
4191 will be compiled in and may be specified either by their
4193 or, if existing, by their
4195 name, regardless of the actually used \*(OPal terminal control library.
4196 It is possible to use any capability, as long as the name is resolvable
4197 by the \*(OPal control library or was defined via the internal variable
4199 Input sequences are not case-normalized, so that an exact match is
4200 required to update or remove a binding.
4203 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4204 ? bind base $'\eE',d mle-snarf-word-fwd # Esc(ape)
4205 ? bind base $'\eE',$'\ec?' mle-snarf-word-bwd # Esc,Delete
4206 ? bind default $'\ecA',:khome,w 'echo Editable binding@'
4207 ? bind default a,b,c rm -irf / @ # Also editable
4208 ? bind default :kf1 File %
4209 ? bind compose :kf1 ~v
4213 Note that the entire comma-separated list is first parsed (over) as a
4214 shell-token with whitespace as the field separator, before being parsed
4215 and expanded for real with comma as the field separator, therefore
4216 whitespace needs to be properly quoted, see
4217 .Sx "Shell-style argument quoting" .
4218 Using Unicode reverse solidus escape sequences renders a binding
4219 defunctional if the locale does not support Unicode (see
4220 .Sx "Character sets" ) ,
4221 and using terminal capabilities does so if no (corresponding) terminal
4222 control support is (currently) available.
4225 The following terminal capability names are built-in and can be used in
4227 or (if available) the two-letter
4230 See the respective manual for a list of capabilities.
4233 can be used to show all the capabilities of
4235 or the given terminal type;
4238 flag will also show supported (non-standard) extensions.
4241 .Bl -tag -compact -width kcuuf_or_kcuuf
4242 .It Cd kbs Ns \0or Cd kb
4244 .It Cd kdch1 Ns \0or Cd kD
4246 .It Cd kDC Ns \0or Cd *4
4247 \(em shifted variant.
4248 .It Cd kel Ns \0or Cd kE
4249 Clear to end of line.
4250 .It Cd kext Ns \0or Cd @9
4252 .It Cd kich1 Ns \0or Cd kI
4254 .It Cd kIC Ns \0or Cd #3
4255 \(em shifted variant.
4256 .It Cd khome Ns \0or Cd kh
4258 .It Cd kHOM Ns \0or Cd #2
4259 \(em shifted variant.
4260 .It Cd kend Ns \0or Cd @7
4262 .It Cd knp Ns \0or Cd kN
4264 .It Cd kpp Ns \0or Cd kP
4266 .It Cd kcub1 Ns \0or Cd kl
4267 Left cursor (with more modifiers: see below).
4268 .It Cd kLFT Ns \0or Cd #4
4269 \(em shifted variant.
4270 .It Cd kcuf1 Ns \0or Cd kr
4271 Right cursor (ditto).
4272 .It Cd kRIT Ns \0or Cd %i
4273 \(em shifted variant.
4274 .It Cd kcud1 Ns \0or Cd kd
4275 Down cursor (ditto).
4277 \(em shifted variant (only terminfo).
4278 .It Cd kcuu1 Ns \0or Cd ku
4281 \(em shifted variant (only terminfo).
4282 .It Cd kf0 Ns \0or Cd k0
4284 Add one for each function key up to
4289 .It Cd kf10 Ns \0or Cd k;
4291 .It Cd kf11 Ns \0or Cd F1
4293 Add one for each function key up to
4301 Some terminals support key-modifier combination extensions, e.g.,
4303 For example, the delete key,
4305 in its shifted variant, the name is mutated to
4307 then a number is appended for the states
4319 .Ql Shift+Alt+Control
4321 The same for the left cursor key,
4323 .Cd KLFT , KLFT3 , KLFT4 , KLFT5 , KLFT6 , KLFT7 , KLFT8 .
4326 It is advisable to use an initial escape or other control character (e.g.,
4328 for bindings which describe user key combinations (as opposed to purely
4329 terminal capability based ones), in order to avoid ambiguities whether
4330 input belongs to key sequences or not; it also reduces search time.
4333 may help shall keys and sequences be falsely recognized.
4338 \*(NQ Calls the given macro, which must have been created via
4343 Calling macros recursively will at some time excess the stack size
4344 limit, causing a hard program abortion; if recursively calling a macro
4345 is the last command of the current macro, consider to use the command
4347 which will first release all resources of the current macro before
4348 replacing the current macro with the called one.
4349 Numeric and string operations can be performed via
4353 may be helpful to recreate argument lists.
4360 if the given macro has been created via
4362 but does not fail nor warn if the macro does not exist.
4366 (ch) Change the working directory to
4368 or the given argument.
4374 \*(OP Only applicable to S/MIME signed messages.
4375 Takes a message list and a filename and saves the certificates
4376 contained within the message signatures to the named file in both
4377 human-readable and PEM format.
4378 The certificates can later be used to send encrypted messages to the
4379 respective message senders by setting
4380 .Va smime-encrypt-USER@HOST
4385 .It Ic charsetalias , uncharsetalias
4386 \*(NQ Manage alias mappings for (conversion of)
4387 .Sx "Character sets" .
4388 Mappings are ineffective if character set conversion is not available
4392 Expansion happens recursively, but expansion is not performed for
4393 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES" ,
4397 The latter command deletes all aliases given as arguments,
4398 all aliases can be deleted at once with the special argument
4400 The former shows the list of all currently defined aliases if used
4401 without arguments, the expansion of the given alias with one argument.
4402 Otherwise all given arguments are treated as pairs of character sets and
4403 their desired target alias name, creating new or changing already
4404 existing aliases, as necessary.
4408 (ch) Change the working directory to
4410 or the given argument.
4416 .It Ic collapse , uncollapse
4422 Takes a message list and makes all replies to these messages invisible
4423 in header summaries, except for
4427 Also when a message with collapsed replies is displayed,
4428 all of these are automatically uncollapsed.
4429 The latter command undoes collapsing.
4432 .\" FIXME review until this point
4435 .It Ic colour , uncolour
4436 \*(OP\*(NQ Manage colour mappings of and for a
4437 .Sx "Coloured display" .
4438 The type of colour is given as the (case-insensitive) first argument,
4439 which must be one of
4441 for 256-colour terminals,
4446 for the standard 8-colour ANSI / ISO 6429 colour palette and
4450 for monochrome terminals.
4451 Monochrome terminals cannot deal with colours, but only (some) font
4455 Without further arguments the list of all currently defined mappings
4456 for the given colour type is shown (as a special case giving
4460 will show the mappings of all types).
4461 Otherwise the second argument defines the mappable slot, and the third
4462 argument a (comma-separated list of) colour and font attribute
4463 specification(s), and the optional fourth argument can be used to
4464 specify a precondition: if conditioned mappings exist they are tested in
4465 (creation) order unless a (case-insensitive) match has been found, and
4466 the default mapping (if any has been established) will only be chosen as
4468 The types of precondition available depend on the mappable slot (see
4469 .Sx "Coloured display"
4470 for some examples), the following of which exist:
4473 Mappings prefixed with
4475 are used for the \*(OPal built-in Mailx-Line-Editor (MLE, see
4476 .Sx "On terminal control and line editor" )
4477 and do not support preconditions.
4479 .Bl -tag -compact -width view-partinfo
4481 This mapping is used for the position indicator that is visible when
4482 a line cannot be fully displayed on the screen.
4489 Mappings prefixed with
4491 are used in header summaries, and they all understand the preconditions
4493 (the current message) and
4495 for elder messages (only honoured in conjunction with
4496 .Va datefield-markout-older ) .
4498 .Bl -tag -compact -width view-partinfo
4500 This mapping is used for the
4502 that can be created with the
4506 formats of the variable
4509 For the complete header summary line except the
4511 and the thread structure.
4513 For the thread structure which can be created with the
4515 format of the variable
4520 Mappings prefixed with
4522 are used when displaying messages.
4524 .Bl -tag -compact -width view-partinfo
4526 This mapping is used for so-called
4528 lines, which are MBOX file format specific header lines.
4531 A comma-separated list of headers to which the mapping applies may be
4532 given as a precondition; if the \*(OPal regular expression support is
4533 available then if any of the
4535 (extended) regular expression characters is seen the precondition will
4536 be evaluated as (an extended) one.
4538 For the introductional message info line.
4539 .It Ar view-partinfo
4540 For MIME part info lines.
4544 The following (case-insensitive) colour definitions and font attributes
4545 are understood, multiple of which can be specified in a comma-separated
4555 It is possible (and often applicable) to specify multiple font
4556 attributes for a single mapping.
4559 foreground colour attribute:
4569 To specify a 256-colour mode a decimal number colour specification in
4570 the range 0 to 255, inclusive, is supported, and interpreted as follows:
4572 .Bl -tag -compact -width "999 - 999"
4574 the standard ISO 6429 colours, as above.
4576 high intensity variants of the standard colours.
4578 216 colours in tuples of 6.
4580 grayscale from black to white in 24 steps.
4582 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4584 fg() { printf "\e033[38;5;${1}m($1)"; }
4585 bg() { printf "\e033[48;5;${1}m($1)"; }
4587 while [ $i -lt 256 ]; do fg $i; i=$(($i + 1)); done
4588 printf "\e033[0m\en"
4590 while [ $i -lt 256 ]; do bg $i; i=$(($i + 1)); done
4591 printf "\e033[0m\en"
4595 background colour attribute (see
4597 for possible values).
4603 will remove for the given colour type (the special type
4605 selects all) the given mapping; if the optional precondition argument is
4606 given only the exact tuple of mapping and precondition is removed.
4609 will remove all mappings (no precondition allowed), thus
4611 will remove all established mappings.
4616 .It Ic commandalias , uncommandalias
4617 \*(NQ Define or list, and remove, respectively, command aliases.
4618 An (command)alias can be used everywhere a normal command can be used,
4619 but always takes precedence: any arguments that are given to the command
4620 alias are joined onto the alias expansion, and the resulting string
4621 forms the command line that is, in effect, executed.
4622 The latter command removes all given aliases, the special name
4624 will remove all existing aliases.
4625 When used without arguments the former shows a list of all currently
4626 known aliases, with one argument only the expansion of the given one.
4628 With two or more arguments a command alias is defined or updated: the
4629 first argument is the name under which the remaining command line should
4630 be accessible, the content of which can be just about anything.
4631 An alias may itself expand to another alias, but to avoid expansion loops
4632 further expansion will be prevented if an alias refers to itself or if
4633 an expansion depth limit is reached.
4634 Explicit expansion prevention is available via reverse solidus
4637 .Sx "Command modifiers" .
4638 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4640 \*(uA: `commandalias': no such alias: xx
4641 ? commandalias xx echo hello,
4643 commandalias xx 'echo hello,'
4652 (C) Copy messages to files whose names are derived from the author of
4653 the respective message and do not mark them as being saved;
4654 otherwise identical to
4659 (c) Copy messages to the named file and do not mark them as being saved;
4660 otherwise identical to
4665 Show the name of the current working directory, as reported by
4670 .Sx "Command modifiers" ) .
4671 The return status is tracked via
4676 \*(OP For unencrypted messages this command is identical to
4678 Encrypted messages are first decrypted, if possible, and then copied.
4682 \*(OP For unencrypted messages this command is identical to
4684 Encrypted messages are first decrypted, if possible, and then copied.
4689 .It Ic define , undefine
4690 The latter command deletes the given macro, the special name
4692 will discard all existing macros.
4693 Deletion of (a) macro(s) can be performed from within running (a)
4694 macro(s), including self-deletion.
4695 Without arguments the former command prints the current list of macros,
4696 including their content, otherwise it it defines a macro, replacing an
4697 existing one of the same name as applicable.
4700 A defined macro can be invoked explicitly by using the
4705 commands, or implicitly if a macro hook is triggered, e.g., a
4707 Execution of a macro body can be stopped from within by calling
4711 Temporary macro block-scope variables can be created or deleted with the
4713 command modifier in conjunction with the commands
4718 To enforce unrolling of changes made to (global)
4719 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES"
4722 can be used instead; its covered scope depends on how (i.e.,
4724 normal macro, folder hook, hook,
4726 switch) the macro is invoked.
4731 ed macro, the given positional parameters are implicitly local
4732 to the macro's scope, and may be accessed via the variables
4738 and any other positive unsigned decimal number less than or equal to
4740 Positional parameters can be
4742 ed, or become completely replaced, removed etc. via
4745 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4755 echo Parameter 1 of ${#} is ${1}, all: ${*} / ${@}
4758 call exmac Hello macro exmac!
4759 echo ${?}/${!}/${^ERRNAME}
4765 .It Ic delete , undelete
4766 (d, u) Marks the given message list as being or not being
4768 respectively; if no argument has been specified then the usual search
4769 for a visible message is performed, as documented for
4770 .Sx "Message list arguments" ,
4771 showing only the next input prompt if the search fails.
4772 Deleted messages will neither be saved in the
4774 .Sx "secondary mailbox"
4776 nor will they be available for most other commands.
4779 variable is set, the new
4781 or the last message restored, respectively, is automatically
4791 Superseded by the multiplexer
4797 Delete the given messages and automatically
4801 if one exists, regardless of the setting of
4808 up or down by one message when given
4812 argument, respectively.
4816 .It Ic draft , undraft
4817 Take message lists and mark each given message as being draft, or not
4818 being draft, respectively, as documented in the section
4819 .Sx "Message states" .
4823 \*(NQ (ec) Echoes arguments to standard output and writes a trailing
4824 newline, whereas the otherwise identical
4827 .Sx "Shell-style argument quoting"
4829 .Sx "Filename transformations"
4830 are applied to the expanded arguments.
4831 This command also supports
4834 .Sx "Command modifiers" ,
4835 and manages the error number
4837 if data is stored in a variable then the return value reflects the
4838 length of the result string in case of success and is
4846 except that is echoes to standard error.
4849 In interactive sessions the \*(OPal message ring queue for
4851 will be used instead, if available and
4859 but does not write or store a trailing newline.
4865 but does not write or store a trailing newline.
4871 at each message from the given list in turn.
4872 Modified contents are discarded unless the
4874 variable is set, and are not used unless the mailbox can be written to
4875 and the editor returns a successful exit status.
4877 can be used instead for a more display oriented editor.
4882 .Ic if Ns \0/\: Ic elif Ns \0/\: Ic else Ns \0/\: Ic endif
4883 conditional \(em if the condition of a preceding
4885 was false, check the following condition and execute the following block
4886 if it evaluates true.
4891 .Ic if Ns \0/\: Ic elif Ns \0/\: Ic else Ns \0/\: Ic endif
4892 conditional \(em if none of the conditions of the preceding
4896 commands was true, the
4902 (en) Marks the end of an
4903 .Ic if Ns \0/\: Ic elif Ns \0/\: Ic else Ns \0/\: Ic endif
4904 conditional execution block.
4909 \*(NQ \*(UA has a strict notion about which variables are
4910 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES"
4911 and which are managed in the program
4913 Since some of the latter are a vivid part of \*(UAs functioning,
4914 however, they are transparently integrated into the normal handling of
4915 internal variables via
4919 To integrate other environment variables of choice into this
4920 transparent handling, and also to export internal variables into the
4921 process environment where they normally are not, a
4923 needs to become established with this command, as in, e.g.,
4926 .Dl environ link PERL5LIB TZ
4929 Afterwards changing such variables with
4931 will cause automatic updates of the program environment, and therefore
4932 be inherited by newly created child processes.
4933 Sufficient system support provided (it was in BSD as early as 1987, and
4934 is standardized since Y2K) removing such variables with
4936 will remove them also from the program environment, but in any way
4937 the knowledge they ever have been
4940 Note that this implies that
4942 may cause loss of such links.
4947 will remove an existing link, but leaves the variables as such intact.
4948 Additionally the subcommands
4952 are provided, which work exactly the same as the documented commands
4956 but (additionally un)link the variable(s) with the program environment
4957 and thus immediately export them to, or remove them from (if possible),
4958 respectively, the program environment.
4963 \*(OP Since \*(UA uses the console as a user interface it can happen
4964 that messages scroll by too fast to become recognized.
4965 An error message ring queue is available which stores duplicates of any
4966 error message and notifies the user in interactive sessions whenever
4967 a new error has occurred.
4968 The queue is finite: if its maximum size is reached any new message
4969 replaces the eldest.
4972 can be used to manage this message queue: if given
4974 or no argument the queue will be displayed and cleared,
4976 will only clear all messages from the queue.
4980 \*(NQ Construct a command by concatenating the arguments, separated with
4981 a single space character, and then evaluate the result.
4982 This command passes through the exit status
4986 of the evaluated command; also see
4988 .Bd -literal -offset indent
4999 call yyy '\ecall xxx' "b\e$'\et'u ' "
5007 (ex or x) Exit from \*(UA without changing the active mailbox and skip
5008 any saving of messages in the
5010 .Sx "secondary mailbox"
5012 as well as a possibly tracked line editor
5014 The optional status number argument will be passed through to
5016 \*(ID For now it can happen that the given status will be overwritten,
5017 later this will only occur if a later error needs to be reported onto an
5018 otherwise success indicating status.
5024 but open the mailbox read-only.
5029 (fi) The file command switches to a new mailbox.
5030 Without arguments it shows status information of the current mailbox.
5031 If an argument is given, it will write out changes (such as deletions)
5032 the user has made, open a new mailbox, update the internal variables
5033 .Va mailbox-resolved
5035 .Va mailbox-display ,
5036 and optionally display a summary of
5043 .Sx "Filename transformations"
5044 will be applied to the
5048 prefixes are, i.e., URL syntax is understood, e.g.,
5049 .Ql maildir:///tmp/mdirbox :
5050 if a protocol prefix is used the mailbox type is fixated and neither
5051 the auto-detection (read on) nor the
5054 \*(OPally URLs can also be used to access network resources, which may
5055 be accessed securely via
5056 .Sx "Encrypted network communication"
5057 if so supported, and it is possible to proxy all network traffic over
5058 a SOCKS5 server given via
5062 .Dl \*(IN protocol://[user[:password]@]host[:port][/path]
5063 .Dl \*(OU protocol://[user@]host[:port][/path]
5066 \*(OPally supported network protocols are
5070 (POP3 with SSL/TLS encrypted transport),
5076 part is valid only for IMAP; there it defaults to
5078 Network URLs require a special encoding as documented in the section
5079 .Sx "On URL syntax and credential lookup" .
5082 If the resulting file protocol (MBOX database)
5084 is located on a local filesystem then the list of all registered
5086 s is traversed in order to see whether a transparent intermediate
5087 conversion step is necessary to handle the given mailbox, in which case
5088 \*(UA will use the found hook to load and save data into and from
5089 a temporary file, respectively.
5090 Changing hooks will not affect already opened mailboxes.
5091 For example, the following creates hooks for the
5093 compression tool and a combined compressed and encrypted format:
5095 .Bd -literal -offset indent
5097 gzip 'gzip -dc' 'gzip -c' \e
5098 zst.pgp 'gpg -d | zstd -dc' 'zstd -19 -zc | gpg -e'
5102 MBOX databases will always be protected via file-region locks
5104 during file operations in order to avoid inconsistencies due to
5105 concurrent modifications.
5106 \*(OPal In addition mailbox files treated as the system
5111 .Sx "primary system mailbox" Ns
5112 es in general will also be protected by so-called dotlock files,
5113 the traditional way of mail spool file locking: for any file
5117 will be created for the duration of the synchronization \(em
5118 as necessary a privilege-separated dotlock child process will be used
5119 to accommodate for necessary privilege adjustments in order to create
5120 the dotlock file in the same directory
5121 and with the same user and group identities as the file of interest.
5122 Possible dotlock creation errors can be catched by setting
5123 .Va dotlock-ignore-error .
5126 \*(UA by default uses tolerant POSIX rules when reading MBOX database
5127 files, but it will detect invalid message boundaries in this mode and
5128 complain (even more with
5130 if any is seen: in this case
5132 can be used to create a valid MBOX database from the invalid input.
5135 If no protocol has been fixated, and
5137 refers to a directory with the subdirectories
5142 then it is treated as a folder in
5145 The maildir format stores each message in its own file, and has been
5146 designed so that file locking is not necessary when reading or writing
5150 \*(ID If no protocol has been fixated and no existing file has
5151 been found, the variable
5153 controls the format of mailboxes yet to be created.
5158 .It Ic filetype , unfiletype
5159 \*(NQ Define or list, and remove, respectively, file handler hooks,
5160 which provide (shell) commands that enable \*(UA to load and save MBOX
5161 files from and to files with the registered file extensions;
5162 it will use an intermediate temporary file to store the plain data.
5163 The latter command removes the hooks for all given extensions,
5165 will remove all existing handlers.
5167 When used without arguments the former shows a list of all currently
5168 defined file hooks, with one argument the expansion of the given alias.
5169 Otherwise three arguments are expected, the first specifying the file
5170 extension for which the hook is meant, and the second and third defining
5171 the load- and save commands, respectively, to deal with the file type,
5172 both of which must read from standard input and write to standard
5174 Changing hooks will not affect already opened mailboxes (\*(ID except below).
5175 \*(ID For now too much work is done, and files are oftened read in twice
5176 where once would be sufficient: this can cause problems if a filetype is
5177 changed while such a file is opened; this was already so with the
5178 built-in support of .gz etc. in Heirloom, and will vanish in v15.
5179 \*(ID For now all handler strings are passed to the
5180 .Ev SHELL for evaluation purposes; in the future a
5182 prefix to load and save commands may mean to bypass this shell instance:
5183 placing a leading space will avoid any possible misinterpretations.
5184 .Bd -literal -offset indent
5185 ? filetype bz2 'bzip2 -dc' 'bzip2 -zc' \e
5186 gz 'gzip -dc' 'gzip -c' xz 'xz -dc' 'xz -zc' \e
5187 zst 'zstd -dc' 'zstd -19 -zc' \e
5188 zst.pgp 'gpg -d | zstd -dc' 'zstd -19 -zc | gpg -e'
5189 ? set record=+sent.zst.pgp
5194 .It Ic flag , unflag
5195 Take message lists and mark the messages as being flagged, or not being
5196 flagged, respectively, for urgent/special attention.
5198 .Sx "Message states" .
5207 With no arguments, list the names of the folders in the folder directory.
5208 With an existing folder as an argument,
5209 lists the names of folders below the named folder.
5215 but saves the message in a file named after the local part of the first
5216 recipient's address (instead of in
5223 but saves the message in a file named after the local part of the first
5224 recipient's address (instead of in
5231 but responds to all recipients regardless of the
5236 .It Ic followupsender
5239 but responds to the sender only regardless of the
5247 but saves the message in a file named after the local part of the
5248 recipient's address (instead of in
5253 Takes a message and the address of a recipient
5254 and forwards the message to him.
5255 The text of the original message is included in the new one,
5256 with the value of the
5257 .Va forward-inject-head
5258 variable preceding it.
5259 To filter the included header fields to the desired subset use the
5261 slot of the white- and blacklisting command
5263 Only the first part of a multipart message is included unless
5264 .Va forward-as-attachment ,
5265 and recipient addresses will be stripped from comments, names
5266 etc. unless the internal variable
5270 This may generate the errors
5271 .Va ^ERR Ns -DESTADDRREQ
5272 if no receiver has been specified,
5274 if some addressees where rejected by
5277 if no applicable messages have been given,
5279 if multiple messages have been specified,
5281 if an I/O error occurs,
5283 if a necessary character set conversion fails, and
5289 (f) Takes a list of message specifications and displays a summary of
5290 their message headers, exactly as via
5292 making the first message of the result the new
5294 (the last message if
5297 An alias of this command is
5300 .Sx "Specifying messages" .
5311 \*(OB Superseded by the multiplexer
5315 \*(OB Superseded by the multiplexer
5318 .It Ic ghost , unghost
5321 .Ic uncommandalias .
5325 .It Ic headerpick , unheaderpick
5326 \*(NQ Multiplexer command to manage white- and blacklisting
5327 selections of header fields for a variety of applications.
5328 Without arguments the set of contexts that have settings is displayed.
5329 When given arguments, the first argument is the context to which the
5330 command applies, one of (case-insensitive)
5332 for display purposes (via, e.g.,
5335 for selecting which headers shall be stored persistently when
5341 ing messages (note that MIME related etc. header fields should not be
5342 ignored in order to not destroy usability of the message in this case),
5344 for stripping down messages when
5346 ing message (has no effect if
5347 .Va forward-as-attachment
5350 for defining user-defined set of fields for the command
5353 The current settings of the given context are displayed if it is the
5355 A second argument denotes the type of restriction that is to be chosen,
5356 it may be (a case-insensitive prefix of)
5360 for white- and blacklisting purposes, respectively.
5361 Establishing a whitelist suppresses inspection of the corresponding
5364 If no further argument is given the current settings of the given type
5365 will be displayed, otherwise the remaining arguments specify header
5366 fields, which \*(OPally may be given as regular expressions, to be added
5368 The special wildcard field (asterisk,
5370 will establish a (fast) shorthand setting which covers all fields.
5372 The latter command always takes three or more arguments and can be used
5373 to remove selections, i.e., from the given context, the given type of
5374 list, all the given headers will be removed, the special argument
5376 will remove all headers.
5380 (h) Show the current group of headers, the size of which depends on
5383 and the style of which can be adjusted with the variable
5385 If a message-specification is given the group of headers containing the
5386 first message therein is shown and the message at the top of the screen
5389 the last message is targeted if
5400 \*(OP Without arguments or when given
5402 all history entries are shown (this mode also supports a more
5406 will replace the list of entries with the content of
5410 will dump the current list to said file, replacing former content.
5412 will delete all history entries.
5413 The argument can also be a signed decimal
5415 which will select and evaluate the respective history entry, and move it
5416 to the top of the history; a negative number is used as an offset to the
5417 current command, e.g.,
5419 will select the last command, the history top.
5421 .Sx "On terminal control and line editor"
5422 for more on this topic.
5428 Takes a message list and marks each message therein to be saved in the
5433 .Sx "secondary mailbox"
5435 Does not override the
5438 \*(UA deviates from the POSIX standard with this command, because a
5440 command issued after
5442 will display the following message, not the current one.
5447 (i) Part of the nestable
5448 .Ic if Ns \0/\: Ic elif Ns \0/\: Ic else Ns \0/\: Ic endif
5449 conditional execution construct \(em if the given condition is true then
5450 the encapsulated block is executed.
5451 The POSIX standards supports the (case-insensitive) conditions
5456 end, all remaining conditions are non-portable extensions.
5457 \*(ID These commands do not yet use
5458 .Sx "Shell-style argument quoting"
5459 and therefore do not know about input tokens, so that syntax
5460 elements have to be surrounded by whitespace; in v15 \*(UA will inspect
5461 all conditions bracket group wise and consider the tokens, representing
5462 values and operators, therein, which also means that variables will
5463 already have been expanded at that time (just like in the shell).
5465 .Bd -literal -offset indent
5474 The (case-insensitive) condition
5476 erminal will evaluate to true if the standard input is a terminal, i.e.,
5477 in interactive sessions.
5478 Another condition can be any boolean value (see the section
5479 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES"
5480 for textual boolean representations) to mark an enwrapped block as
5483 .Dq always execute .
5484 (It shall be remarked that a faulty condition skips all branches until
5489 .Sx "Shell-style argument quoting"
5490 will be used, and this command will simply interpret expanded tokens.)
5491 It is possible to check
5492 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES"
5495 variables for existence or compare their expansion against a user given
5496 value or another variable by using the
5498 .Pf ( Dq variable next )
5499 conditional trigger character;
5500 a variable on the right hand side may be signalled using the same
5502 Variable names may be enclosed in a pair of matching braces.
5503 When this mode has been triggered, several operators are available:
5506 Integer operators treat the arguments on the left and right hand side of
5507 the operator as integral numbers and compare them arithmetically.
5508 It is an error if any of the operands is not a valid integer, an empty
5509 argument (which implies it had been quoted) is treated as if it were 0.
5510 Available operators are
5514 (less than or equal to),
5520 (greater than or equal to), and
5525 String data operators compare the left and right hand side according to
5526 their textual content.
5527 Unset variables are treated as the empty string.
5528 The behaviour of string operators can be adjusted by prefixing the
5529 operator with the modifier trigger commercial at
5531 followed by none to multiple modifiers: for now supported is
5533 which turns the comparison into a case-insensitive one: this is
5534 implied if no modifier follows the trigger.
5537 Available string operators are
5541 (less than or equal to),
5547 (greater than or equal to),
5551 (is substring of) and
5553 (is not substring of).
5554 By default these operators work on bytes and (therefore) do not take
5555 into account character set specifics.
5556 If the case-insensitivity modifier has been used, case is ignored
5557 according to the rules of the US-ASCII encoding, i.e., bytes are
5561 When the \*(OPal regular expression support is available, the additional
5567 They treat the right hand side as an extended regular expression that is
5568 matched according to the active locale (see
5569 .Sx "Character sets" ) ,
5570 i.e., character sets should be honoured correctly.
5573 Conditions can be joined via AND-OR lists (where the AND operator is
5575 and the OR operator is
5577 which have equal precedence and will be evaluated with left
5578 associativity, thus using the same syntax that is known for the
5580 It is also possible to form groups of conditions and lists by enclosing
5581 them in pairs of brackets
5582 .Ql [\ \&.\&.\&.\ ] ,
5583 which may be interlocked within each other, and also be joined via
5587 The results of individual conditions and entire groups may be modified
5588 via unary operators: the unary operator
5590 will reverse the result.
5592 .Bd -literal -offset indent
5593 # (This not in v15, there [ -n "$debug"]!)
5597 if [ "$ttycharset" == UTF-8 ] || \e
5598 [ "$ttycharset" @i== UTF8 ]
5599 echo *ttycharset* is UTF-8, the former case-sensitive!
5602 if [ "${t1}" == "${t2}" ]
5603 echo These two variables are equal
5605 if [ "$features" =% +regex ] && \e
5606 [ "$TERM" @i=~ "^xterm\&.*" ]
5607 echo ..in an X terminal
5609 if [ [ true ] && [ [ "${debug}" != '' ] || \e
5610 [ "$verbose" != '' ] ] ]
5613 if true && [ "$debug" != '' ] || [ "${verbose}" != '' ]
5614 echo Left associativity, as is known from the shell
5623 Superseded by the multiplexer
5628 Shows the names of all available commands, alphabetically sorted.
5629 If given any non-whitespace argument the list will be shown in the order
5630 in which command prefixes are searched.
5631 \*(OP In conjunction with a set variable
5633 additional information will be provided for each command: the argument
5634 type will be indicated, the documentation string will be shown,
5635 and the set of command flags will show up:
5637 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It Ql NEEDS_BOX"
5639 command supports the command modifier
5642 command supports the command modifier
5645 the error number is tracked in
5648 commands needs an active mailbox, a
5650 .It Ql "ok: batch/interactive"
5651 command may only be used in interactive or
5654 .It Ql "ok: send mode"
5655 command can be used in send mode.
5656 .It Ql "not ok: compose mode"
5657 command is not available when in compose mode.
5658 .It Ql "not ok: startup"
5659 command cannot be used during program startup, e.g., while loading
5660 .Sx "Resource files" .
5661 .It Ql "ok: subprocess"
5662 command is allowed to be used when running in a subprocess instance,
5663 e.g., from within a macro that is called via
5664 .Va on-compose-splice .
5666 The command produces
5675 This command can be used to localize changes to (linked)
5678 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES" ,
5679 meaning that their state will be reverted to the former one once the
5682 Just like the command modifier
5684 which provides block-scope localization for some commands (instead),
5685 it can only be used inside of macro definition blocks introduced by
5689 The covered scope of an
5691 is left once a different account is activated, and some macros, notably
5692 .Va folder-hook Ns s ,
5693 use their own specific notion of covered scope, here it will be extended
5694 until the folder is left again.
5697 This setting stacks up: i.e., if
5699 enables change localization and calls
5701 which explicitly resets localization, then any value changes within
5703 will still be reverted when the scope of
5706 (Caveats: if in this example
5708 changes to a different
5710 which sets some variables that are already covered by localizations,
5711 their scope will be extended, and in fact leaving the
5713 will (thus) restore settings in (likely) global scope which actually
5714 were defined in a local, macro private context!)
5717 This command takes one or two arguments, the optional first one
5718 specifies an attribute that may be one of
5720 which refers to the current scope and is thus the default,
5722 which causes any macro that is being
5724 ed to be started with localization enabled by default, as well as
5726 which (if enabled) disallows any called macro to turn off localization:
5727 like this it can be ensured that once the current scope regains control,
5728 any changes made in deeper levels have been reverted.
5729 The latter two are mutually exclusive, and neither affects
5731 The (second) argument is interpreted as a boolean (string, see
5732 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES" )
5733 and states whether the given attribute shall be turned on or off.
5735 .Bd -literal -offset indent
5736 define temporary_settings {
5737 set possibly_global_option1
5739 set localized_option1
5740 set localized_option2
5742 set possibly_global_option2
5749 Reply to messages that come in via known
5752 .Pf ( Ic mlsubscribe )
5753 mailing lists, or pretend to do so (see
5754 .Sx "Mailing lists" ) :
5757 functionality this will actively resort and even remove message
5758 recipients in order to generate a message that is supposed to be sent to
5760 For example it will also implicitly generate a
5761 .Ql Mail-Followup-To:
5762 header if that seems useful, regardless of the setting of the variable
5764 For more documentation please refer to
5765 .Sx "On sending mail, and non-interactive mode" .
5767 This may generate the errors
5768 .Va ^ERR Ns -DESTADDRREQ
5769 if no receiver has been specified,
5771 if some addressees where rejected by
5774 if no applicable messages have been given,
5776 if an I/O error occurs,
5778 if a necessary character set conversion fails, and
5781 Any error stops processing of further messages.
5787 but saves the message in a file named after the local part of the first
5788 recipient's address (instead of in
5793 (m) Takes a (list of) recipient address(es) as (an) argument(s),
5794 or asks on standard input if none were given;
5795 then collects the remaining mail content and sends it out.
5796 Unless the internal variable
5798 is set recipient addresses will be stripped from comments, names etc.
5799 For more documentation please refer to
5800 .Sx "On sending mail, and non-interactive mode" .
5802 This may generate the errors
5803 .Va ^ERR Ns -DESTADDRREQ
5804 if no receiver has been specified,
5806 if some addressees where rejected by
5809 if no applicable messages have been given,
5811 if multiple messages have been specified,
5813 if an I/O error occurs,
5815 if a necessary character set conversion fails, and
5821 (mb) The given message list is to be sent to the
5823 .Sx "secondary mailbox"
5825 when \*(UA is quit; this is the default action unless the variable
5828 \*(ID This command can only be used in a
5830 .Sx "primary system mailbox" .
5834 .It Ic mimetype , unmimetype
5835 Without arguments the content of the MIME type cache will displayed;
5836 a more verbose listing will be produced if either of
5841 When given arguments they will be joined, interpreted as shown in
5842 .Sx "The mime.types files"
5844 .Sx "HTML mail and MIME attachments" ) ,
5845 and the resulting entry will be added (prepended) to the cache.
5846 In any event MIME type sources are loaded first as necessary \(en
5847 .Va mimetypes-load-control
5848 can be used to fine-tune which sources are actually loaded.
5850 The latter command deletes all specifications of the given MIME type, thus
5851 .Ql ? unmimetype text/plain
5852 will remove all registered specifications for the MIME type
5856 will discard all existing MIME types, just as will
5858 but which also reenables cache initialization via
5859 .Va mimetypes-load-control .
5863 .It Ic mlist , unmlist
5864 The latter command removes all given mailing lists, the special name
5866 can be used to remove all registered lists.
5867 The former will list all currently defined mailing lists (and their
5868 attributes, if any) when used without arguments; a more verbose listing
5869 will be produced if either of
5874 Otherwise all given arguments will be added and henceforth be recognized
5876 If the \*(OPal regular expression support is available then any argument
5877 which contains any of the
5879 regular expression characters
5883 will be interpreted as one, which allows matching of many addresses with
5884 a single expression.
5887 pair of commands manages subscription attributes of mailing lists.
5891 \*(ID Only available in interactive mode, this command allows one to
5892 display MIME parts which require external MIME handler programs to run
5893 which do not integrate in \*(UAs normal
5896 .Sx "HTML mail and MIME attachments" ) .
5897 (\*(ID No syntax to directly address parts, this restriction may vanish.)
5898 The user will be asked for each non-text part of the given message in
5899 turn whether the registered handler shall be used to display the part.
5903 .It Ic mlsubscribe , unmlsubscribe
5904 The latter command removes the subscription attribute from all given
5905 mailing lists, the special name
5907 can be used to do so for any registered list.
5908 The former will list all currently defined mailing lists which have
5909 a subscription attribute when used without arguments; a more verbose
5910 listing will be produced if either of
5915 Otherwise this attribute will be set for all given mailing lists,
5916 newly creating them as necessary (as via
5925 but moves the messages to a file named after the local part of the
5926 sender address of the first message (instead of in
5933 but marks the messages for deletion if they were transferred
5940 but also displays header fields which would not pass the
5942 selection, and all MIME parts.
5950 on the given messages, even in non-interactive mode and as long as the
5951 standard output is a terminal.
5957 \*(OP When used without arguments or if
5959 has been given the content of the
5961 cache is shown, loading it first as necessary.
5964 then the cache will only be initialized and
5966 will remove its contents.
5967 Note that \*(UA will try to load the file only once, use
5968 .Ql Ic \&\&netrc Ns \:\0\:clear
5969 to unlock further attempts.
5974 .Sx "On URL syntax and credential lookup" ;
5976 .Sx "The .netrc file"
5977 documents the file format in detail.
5981 Checks for new mail in the current folder without committing any changes
5983 If new mail is present, a message is shown.
5987 the headers of each new message are also shown.
5988 This command is not available for all mailbox types.
5996 Goes to the next message in sequence and types it.
5997 With an argument list, types the next matching message.
6011 If the current folder is accessed via a network connection, a
6013 command is sent, otherwise no operation is performed.
6019 but also displays header fields which would not pass the
6021 selection, and all MIME parts.
6029 on the given messages, even in non-interactive mode and as long as the
6030 standard output is a terminal.
6038 but also pipes header fields which would not pass the
6040 selection, and all parts of MIME
6041 .Ql multipart/alternative
6046 (pi) Takes a message list and a shell command
6047 and pipes the messages through the command.
6048 Without an argument the current message is piped through the command
6055 every message is followed by a formfeed character.
6076 (q) Terminates the session, saving all undeleted, unsaved messages in
6079 .Sx "secondary mailbox"
6081 preserving all messages marked with
6085 or never referenced in the system
6087 and removing all other messages from the
6089 .Sx "primary system mailbox" .
6090 If new mail has arrived during the session,
6092 .Dq You have new mail
6094 If given while editing a mailbox file with the command line option
6096 then the edit file is rewritten.
6097 A return to the shell is effected,
6098 unless the rewrite of edit file fails,
6099 in which case the user can escape with the exit command.
6100 The optional status number argument will be passed through to
6102 \*(ID For now it can happen that the given status will be overwritten,
6103 later this will only occur if a later error needs to be reported onto an
6104 otherwise success indicating status.
6108 \*(NQ Read a line from standard input, or the channel set active via
6110 and assign the data, which will be split as indicated by
6112 to the given variables.
6113 The variable names are checked by the same rules as documented for
6115 and the same error codes will be seen in
6119 indicates the number of bytes read, it will be
6121 with the error number
6125 in case of I/O errors, or
6128 If there are more fields than variables, assigns successive fields to the
6129 last given variable.
6130 If there are less fields than variables, assigns the empty string to the
6132 .Bd -literal -offset indent
6135 ? echo "<$a> <$b> <$c>"
6137 ? wysh set ifs=:; read a b c;unset ifs
6138 hey2.0,:"'you ",:world!:mars.:
6139 ? echo $?/$^ERRNAME / <$a><$b><$c>
6140 0/NONE / <hey2.0,><"'you ",><world!:mars.:><><>
6145 \*(NQ Read anything from standard input, or the channel set active via
6147 and assign the data to the given variable.
6148 The variable name is checked by the same rules as documented for
6150 and the same error codes will be seen in
6154 indicates the number of bytes read, it will be
6156 with the error number
6160 in case of I/O errors, or
6163 \*(ID The input data length is restricted to 31-bits.
6167 \*(NQ Manages input channels for
6171 to be used to avoid complicated or impracticable code, like calling
6173 from within a macro in non-interactive mode.
6174 Without arguments, or when the first argument is
6176 a listing of all known channels is printed.
6177 Channels can otherwise be
6179 d, and existing channels can be
6183 d by giving the string used for creation.
6185 The channel name is expected to be a file descriptor number, or,
6186 if parsing the numeric fails, an input file name that undergoes
6187 .Sx "Filename transformations" .
6188 E.g. (this example requires a modern shell):
6189 .Bd -literal -offset indent
6190 $ LC_ALL=C printf 'echon "hey, "\enread a\enyou\enecho $a' |\e
6193 $ LC_ALL=C printf 'echon "hey, "\enread a\enecho $a' |\e
6194 LC_ALL=C 6<<< 'you' \*(uA -R#X'readctl create 6'
6208 Removes the named files or directories.
6209 .Sx "Filename transformations"
6210 including shell pathname wildcard pattern expansions
6212 are performed on the arguments.
6213 If a name refer to a mailbox, e.g., a Maildir mailbox, then a mailbox
6214 type specific removal will be performed, deleting the complete mailbox.
6215 The user is asked for confirmation in interactive mode.
6219 Takes the name of an existing folder
6220 and the name for the new folder
6221 and renames the first to the second one.
6222 .Sx "Filename transformations"
6223 including shell pathname wildcard pattern expansions
6225 are performed on both arguments.
6226 Both folders must be of the same type.
6230 (R) Replies to only the sender of each message of the given message
6231 list, by using the first message as the template to quote, for the
6235 will exchange this command with
6237 Unless the internal variable
6239 is set the recipient address will be stripped from comments, names etc.
6241 headers will be inspected if
6245 This may generate the errors
6246 .Va ^ERR Ns -DESTADDRREQ
6247 if no receiver has been specified,
6249 if some addressees where rejected by
6252 if no applicable messages have been given,
6254 if an I/O error occurs,
6256 if a necessary character set conversion fails, and
6262 (r) Take a message and group-responds to it by addressing the sender
6263 and all recipients, subject to
6267 .Va followup-to-honour ,
6270 .Va recipients-in-cc
6271 influence response behaviour.
6272 Unless the internal variable
6274 is set recipient addresses will be stripped from comments, names etc.
6284 offers special support for replying to mailing lists.
6285 For more documentation please refer to
6286 .Sx "On sending mail, and non-interactive mode" .
6288 This may generate the errors
6289 .Va ^ERR Ns -DESTADDRREQ
6290 if no receiver has been specified,
6292 if some addressees where rejected by
6295 if no applicable messages have been given,
6297 if an I/O error occurs,
6299 if a necessary character set conversion fails, and
6302 Any error stops processing of further messages.
6308 but initiates a group-reply regardless of the value of
6315 but responds to the sender only regardless of the value of
6322 but does not add any header lines.
6323 This is not a way to hide the sender's identity,
6324 but useful for sending a message again to the same recipients.
6328 Takes a list of messages and a user name
6329 and sends each message to the named user.
6331 and related header fields are prepended to the new copy of the message.
6334 is only performed if
6338 This may generate the errors
6339 .Va ^ERR Ns -DESTADDRREQ
6340 if no receiver has been specified,
6342 if some addressees where rejected by
6345 if no applicable messages have been given,
6347 if an I/O error occurs,
6349 if a necessary character set conversion fails, and
6352 Any error stops processing of further messages.
6370 .It Ic respondsender
6376 (ret) Superseded by the multiplexer
6381 Only available inside the scope of a
6385 this will stop evaluation of any further macro content, and return
6386 execution control to the caller.
6387 The two optional parameters must be specified as positive decimal
6388 numbers and default to the value 0:
6389 the first argument specifies the signed 32-bit return value (stored in
6391 \*(ID and later extended to signed 64-bit),
6392 the second the signed 32-bit error number (stored in
6396 a non-0 exit status may cause the program to exit.
6402 but saves the messages in a file named after the local part of the
6403 sender of the first message instead of (in
6405 and) taking a filename argument; the variable
6407 is inspected to decide on the actual storage location.
6411 (s) Takes a message list and a filename and appends each message in turn
6412 to the end of the file.
6413 .Sx "Filename transformations"
6414 including shell pathname wildcard pattern expansions
6416 is performed on the filename.
6417 If no filename is given, the
6419 .Sx "secondary mailbox"
6422 The filename in quotes, followed by the generated character count
6423 is echoed on the user's terminal.
6426 .Sx "primary system mailbox"
6427 the messages are marked for deletion.
6428 .Sx "Filename transformations"
6430 To filter the saved header fields to the desired subset use the
6432 slot of the white- and blacklisting command
6436 \*(OB Superseded by the multiplexer
6440 \*(OB Superseded by the multiplexer
6444 \*(OB Superseded by the multiplexer
6449 Takes a message specification (list) and displays a header summary of
6450 all matching messages, as via
6452 This command is an alias of
6455 .Sx "Specifying messages" .
6459 Takes a message list and marks all messages as having been read.
6465 (se, \*(NQ uns) The latter command will delete all given global
6466 variables, or only block-scope local ones if the
6468 command modifier has been used.
6469 The former, when used without arguments, will show all
6470 currently known variables, being more verbose if either of
6475 Remarks: this list mode will not automatically link-in known
6477 variables, but only explicit addressing will, e.g., via
6479 using a variable in an
6481 condition or a string passed to
6485 ting, as well as some program-internal use cases.
6488 Otherwise the given variables (and arguments) are set or adjusted.
6489 Arguments are of the form
6491 (no space before or after
6495 if there is no value, i.e., a boolean variable.
6496 If a name begins with
6500 the effect is the same as invoking the
6502 command with the remaining part of the variable
6503 .Pf ( Ql unset save ) .
6504 \*(ID In conjunction with the
6506 .Pf (or\0 Cm local )
6508 .Sx "Shell-style argument quoting"
6509 can be used to quote arguments as necessary.
6510 \*(ID Otherwise quotation marks may be placed around any part of the
6511 assignment statement to quote blanks or tabs.
6514 When operating in global scope any
6516 that is known to map to an environment variable will automatically cause
6517 updates in the program environment (unsetting a variable in the
6518 environment requires corresponding system support) \(em use the command
6520 for further environmental control.
6521 If the command modifier
6523 has been used to alter the command to work in block-scope all variables
6524 have values (may they be empty), and creation of names which shadow
6525 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES"
6526 is actively prevented (\*(ID shadowing of linked
6528 variables and free-form versions of variable chains is not yet detected).
6532 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES"
6536 .Bd -literal -offset indent
6537 ? wysh set indentprefix=' -> '
6538 ? wysh set atab=$'\t' aspace=' ' zero=0
6544 Apply shell quoting rules to the given raw-data arguments.
6548 .Sx "Command modifiers" ) .
6549 The first argument specifies the operation:
6553 cause shell quoting to be applied to the remains of the line, and
6554 expanded away thereof, respectively.
6555 If the former is prefixed with a plus-sign, the quoted result will not
6556 be roundtrip enabled, and thus can be decoded only in the very same
6557 environment that was used to perform the encode; also see
6558 .Cd mle-quote-rndtrip .
6559 If the coding operation fails the error number
6562 .Va ^ERR Ns -CANCELED ,
6563 and the unmodified input is used as the result; the error number may
6564 change again due to output or result storage errors.
6568 \*(NQ (sh) Invokes an interactive version of the shell,
6569 and returns its exit status.
6573 .It Ic shortcut , unshortcut
6574 Without arguments the list of all currently defined shortcuts is
6575 shown, with one argument the expansion of the given shortcut.
6576 Otherwise all given arguments are treated as pairs of shortcuts and
6577 their expansions, creating new or changing already existing shortcuts,
6579 The latter command will remove all given shortcuts, the special name
6581 will remove all registered shortcuts.
6585 \*(NQ Shift the positional parameter stack (starting at
6587 by the given number (which must be a positive decimal),
6588 or 1 if no argument has been given.
6589 It is an error if the value exceeds the number of positional parameters.
6590 If the given number is 0, no action is performed, successfully.
6591 The stack as such can be managed via
6593 Note this command will fail in
6595 and hook macros unless the positional parameter stack has been
6596 explicitly created in the current context via
6603 but performs neither MIME decoding nor decryption, so that the raw
6604 message text is shown.
6608 (si) Shows the size in characters of each message of the given
6613 \*(NQ Sleep for the specified number of seconds (and optionally
6614 milliseconds), by default interruptably.
6615 If a third argument is given the sleep will be uninterruptible,
6616 otherwise the error number
6620 if the sleep has been interrupted.
6621 The command will fail and the error number will be
6622 .Va ^ERR Ns -OVERFLOW
6623 if the given duration(s) overflow the time datatype, and
6625 if the given durations are no valid integers.
6630 .It Ic sort , unsort
6631 The latter command disables sorted or threaded mode, returns to normal
6632 message order and, if the
6635 displays a header summary.
6636 The former command shows the current sorting criterion when used without
6637 an argument, but creates a sorted representation of the current folder
6638 otherwise, and changes the
6640 command and the addressing modes such that they refer to messages in
6642 Message numbers are the same as in regular mode.
6646 a header summary in the new order is also displayed.
6647 Automatic folder sorting can be enabled by setting the
6649 variable, as in, e.g.,
6650 .Ql set autosort=thread .
6651 Possible sorting criterions are:
6654 .Bl -tag -compact -width "subject"
6656 Sort the messages by their
6658 field, that is by the time they were sent.
6660 Sort messages by the value of their
6662 field, that is by the address of the sender.
6665 variable is set, the sender's real name (if any) is used.
6667 Sort the messages by their size.
6669 \*(OP Sort the message by their spam score, as has been classified by
6672 Sort the messages by their message status.
6674 Sort the messages by their subject.
6676 Create a threaded display.
6678 Sort messages by the value of their
6680 field, that is by the address of the recipient.
6683 variable is set, the recipient's real name (if any) is used.
6689 \*(NQ (so) The source command reads commands from the given file.
6690 .Sx "Filename transformations"
6692 If the given expanded argument ends with a vertical bar
6694 then the argument will instead be interpreted as a shell command and
6695 \*(UA will read the output generated by it.
6696 Dependent on the settings of
6700 and also dependent on whether the command modifier
6702 had been used, encountering errors will stop sourcing of the given input.
6705 cannot be used from within macros that execute as
6706 .Va folder-hook Ns s
6709 i.e., it can only be called from macros that were
6714 \*(NQ The difference to
6716 (beside not supporting pipe syntax aka shell command input) is that
6717 this command will not generate an error nor warn if the given file
6718 argument cannot be opened successfully.
6722 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and clears their
6728 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and causes the
6730 to forget it has ever used them to train its Bayesian filter.
6731 Unless otherwise noted the
6733 flag of the message is inspected to chose whether a message shall be
6741 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and informs the Bayesian filter of the
6745 This also clears the
6747 flag of the messages in question.
6751 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and rates them using the configured
6752 .Va spam-interface ,
6753 without modifying the messages, but setting their
6755 flag as appropriate; because the spam rating headers are lost the rate
6756 will be forgotten once the mailbox is left.
6757 Refer to the manual section
6759 for the complete picture of spam handling in \*(UA.
6763 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and sets their
6769 \*(OP Takes a list of messages and informs the Bayesian filter of the
6775 flag of the messages in question.
6791 slot for white- and blacklisting header fields.
6795 (to) Takes a message list and types out the first
6797 lines of each message on the user's terminal.
6798 Unless a special selection has been established for the
6802 command, the only header fields that are displayed are
6813 It is possible to apply compression to what is displayed by setting
6815 Messages are decrypted and converted to the terminal character set
6820 (tou) Takes a message list and marks the messages for saving in the
6822 .Sx "secondary mailbox"
6824 \*(UA deviates from the POSIX standard with this command,
6827 command will display the following message instead of the current one.
6833 but also displays header fields which would not pass the
6835 selection, and all visualizable parts of MIME
6836 .Ql multipart/alternative
6841 (t) Takes a message list and types out each message on the user's terminal.
6842 The display of message headers is selectable via
6844 For MIME multipart messages, all parts with a content type of
6846 all parts which have a registered MIME type handler (see
6847 .Sx "HTML mail and MIME attachments" )
6848 which produces plain text output, and all
6850 parts are shown, others are hidden except for their headers.
6851 Messages are decrypted and converted to the terminal character set
6855 can be used to display parts which are not displayable as plain text.
6898 \*(OB Superseded by the multiplexer
6902 \*(OB Superseded by the multiplexer
6907 Superseded by the multiplexer
6918 .It Ic unmlsubscribe
6929 Takes a message list and marks each message as not having been read.
6933 Superseded by the multiplexer
6937 \*(OB Superseded by the multiplexer
6941 \*(OB Superseded by the multiplexer
6963 Perform URL percent codec operations on the raw-data argument, rather
6964 according to RFC 3986.
6968 .Sx "Command modifiers" ) ,
6969 and manages the error number
6971 This is a character set agnostic and thus locale dependent operation,
6972 and it may decode bytes which are invalid in the current
6974 \*(ID This command does not know about URLs beside that.
6976 The first argument specifies the operation:
6980 perform plain URL percent en- and decoding, respectively.
6984 perform a slightly modified operation which should be better for
6985 pathnames: it does not allow a tilde
6987 and will neither accept hyphen-minus
6991 as an initial character.
6992 The remains of the line form the URL data which is to be converted.
6993 If the coding operation fails the error number
6996 .Va ^ERR Ns -CANCELED ,
6997 and the unmodified input is used as the result; the error number may
6998 change again due to output or result storage errors.
7002 \*(NQ This command produces the same output as the listing mode of
7006 ity adjustments, but only for the given variables.
7010 \*(OP Takes a message list and verifies each message.
7011 If a message is not a S/MIME signed message,
7012 verification will fail for it.
7013 The verification process checks if the message was signed using a valid
7015 if the message sender's email address matches one of those contained
7016 within the certificate,
7017 and if the message content has been altered.
7025 of \*(UA, as well as the build and running system environment.
7029 .Sx "Command modifiers" ) .
7034 \*(NQ Evaluate arguments according to a given operator.
7035 This is a multiplexer command which can be used to perform signed 64-bit
7036 numeric calculations as well as byte string and string operations.
7037 It uses polish notation, i.e., the operator is the first argument and
7038 defines the number and type, and the meaning of the remaining arguments.
7039 An empty argument is replaced with a 0 if a number is expected.
7043 .Sx "Command modifiers" ) .
7046 The result that is shown in case of errors is always
7048 for usage errors and numeric operations, and the empty string for byte
7049 string and string operations;
7050 if the latter two fail to provide result data for
7052 errors, e.g., when a search operation failed, they also set the
7055 .Va ^ERR Ns -NODATA .
7056 Except when otherwise noted numeric arguments are parsed as signed 64-bit
7057 numbers, and errors will be reported in the error number
7059 as the numeric error
7060 .Va ^ERR Ns -RANGE .
7063 Numeric operations work on one or two signed 64-bit integers.
7064 Numbers prefixed with
7068 are interpreted as hexadecimal (base 16) numbers, whereas
7070 indicates octal (base 8), and
7074 denote binary (base 2) numbers.
7075 It is possible to use any base in between 2 and 36, inclusive, with the
7077 notation, where the base is given as an unsigned decimal number, e.g.,
7079 is a different way of specifying a hexadecimal number.
7080 Unsigned interpretation of a number can be enforced by prefixing a
7082 (case-insensitively), e.g.,
7084 this is not necessary for power-of-two bases (2, 4, 8, 16 and 32),
7085 which will be interpreted as unsigned by default, but it still makes
7086 a difference regarding overflow detection and overflow constant.
7087 It is possible to enforce signed interpretation by (instead) prefixing a
7089 (case-insensitively).
7092 One integer is expected by assignment (equals sign
7094 which does nothing but parsing the argument, thus detecting validity and
7095 possible overflow conditions, and unary not (tilde
7097 which creates the bitwise complement.
7098 Two integers are used by addition (plus sign
7100 subtraction (hyphen-minus
7102 multiplication (asterisk
7106 and modulo (percent sign
7108 as well as for the bitwise operators logical or (vertical bar
7111 bitwise and (ampersand
7114 bitwise xor (circumflex
7116 the bitwise signed left- and right shifts
7119 as well as for the unsigned right shift
7123 Another numeric operation is
7125 which takes a number base in between 2 and 36, inclusive, and will act
7126 on the second number given just the same as what equals sign
7128 does, but the number result will be formatted in the base given.
7131 All numeric operators can be prefixed with a commercial at
7135 this will turn the operation into a saturated one, which means that
7136 overflow errors and division and modulo by zero are no longer reported
7137 via the exit status, but the result will linger at the minimum or
7138 maximum possible value, instead of overflowing (or trapping).
7139 This is true also for the argument parse step.
7140 For the bitwise shifts, the saturated maximum is 63.
7141 Any catched overflow will be reported via the error number
7144 .Va ^ERR Ns -OVERFLOW .
7145 .Bd -literal -offset indent
7146 ? vexpr @- +1 -9223372036854775808
7147 ? echo $?/$!/$^ERRNAME
7151 Character set agnostic string functions have no notion of locale
7152 settings and character sets.
7154 .Bl -hang -width ".It Cm random"
7157 .Sx "Filename transformations"
7160 Generates a random string of the given length, or of
7162 bytes (a constant from
7164 if the value 0 is given; the random string will be base64url encoded
7165 according to RFC 4648, and thus be usable as a (portable) filename.
7169 Byte string operations work on 8-bit bytes and have no notion of locale
7170 settings and character sets, effectively assuming ASCII data.
7173 .Bl -hang -width ".It Cm length"
7175 Queries the length of the given argument.
7178 Calculates the Chris Torek hash of the given argument.
7181 Byte-searches in the first for the second argument.
7182 Shows the resulting 0-based offset shall it have been found.
7187 but works case-insensitively according to the rules of the ASCII
7191 Creates a substring of its first argument.
7192 The second argument is the 0-based starting offset, a negative one
7193 counts from the end;
7194 the optional third argument specifies the length of the desired result,
7195 a negative length leaves off the given number of bytes at the end of the
7196 original string, by default the entire string is used;
7197 this operation tries to work around faulty arguments (set
7199 for error logs), but reports them via the error number
7202 .Va ^ERR Ns -OVERFLOW .
7205 Trim away whitespace characters from both ends of the argument.
7208 Trim away whitespace characters from the begin of the argument.
7211 Trim away whitespace characters from the end of the argument.
7216 String operations work, sufficient support provided, according to the
7217 active user's locale encoding and character set (see
7218 .Sx "Character sets" ) .
7221 .Bl -hang -width ".It Cm regex"
7223 (One-way) Converts the argument to something safely printable on the
7227 \*(OP A string operation that will try to match the first argument with
7228 the regular expression given as the second argument.
7229 If the optional third argument has been given then instead of showing
7230 the match offset a replacement operation is performed: the third
7231 argument is treated as if specified within dollar-single-quote (see
7232 .Sx "Shell-style argument quoting" ) ,
7233 and any occurrence of a positional parameter, e.g.,
7235 is replaced by the corresponding match group of the regular expression:
7236 .Bd -literal -offset indent
7237 ? vput vexpr res regex bananarama \e
7238 (.*)NanA(.*) '\e${1}au\e$2'
7239 ? echo $?/$!/$^ERRNAME: $res
7243 On otherwise identical case-insensitive equivalent to
7245 .Bd -literal -offset indent
7246 ? vput vexpr res ire bananarama \e
7247 (.*)NanA(.*) '\e${1}au\e$2'
7248 ? echo $?/$!/$^ERRNAME: $res
7255 \*(NQ Manage the positional parameter stack (see
7259 If the first argument is
7261 then the positional parameter stack of the current context, or the
7262 global one, if there is none, is cleared.
7265 then the remaining arguments will be used to (re)create the stack,
7266 if the parameter stack size limit is excessed an
7267 .Va ^ERR Ns -OVERFLOW
7271 If the first argument is
7273 a round-trip capable representation of the stack contents is created,
7274 with each quoted parameter separated from each other with the first
7277 and followed by the first character of
7279 if that is not empty and not identical to the first.
7280 If that results in no separation at all a
7286 .Sx "Command modifiers" ) .
7287 I.e., the subcommands
7291 can be used (in conjunction with
7293 to (re)create an argument stack from and to a single variable losslessly.
7295 .Bd -literal -offset indent
7296 ? vpospar set hey, "'you ", world!
7297 ? echo $#: <${1}><${2}><${3}>
7298 ? vput vpospar x quote
7300 ? echo $#: <${1}><${2}><${3}>
7301 ? eval vpospar set ${x}
7302 ? echo $#: <${1}><${2}><${3}>
7308 (v) Takes a message list and invokes the
7310 display editor on each message.
7311 Modified contents are discarded unless the
7313 variable is set, and are not used unless the mailbox can be written to
7314 and the editor returns a successful exit status.
7316 can be used instead for a less display oriented editor.
7320 (w) For conventional messages the body without all headers is written.
7321 The original message is never marked for deletion in the originating
7323 The output is decrypted and converted to its native format as necessary.
7324 If the output file exists, the text is appended.
7325 If a message is in MIME multipart format its first part is written to
7326 the specified file as for conventional messages, handling of the remains
7327 depends on the execution mode.
7328 No special handling of compressed files is performed.
7330 In interactive mode the user is consecutively asked for the filenames of
7331 the processed parts.
7332 For convience saving of each part may be skipped by giving an empty
7333 value, the same result as writing it to
7335 Shell piping the part content by specifying a leading vertical bar
7337 character for the filename is supported.
7338 Other user input undergoes the usual
7339 .Sx "Filename transformations" ,
7340 including shell pathname wildcard pattern expansions
7342 and shell variable expansion for the message as such, not the individual
7343 parts, and contents of the destination file are overwritten if the file
7346 \*(ID In non-interactive mode any part which does not specify a filename
7347 is ignored, and suspicious parts of filenames of the remaining parts are
7348 URL percent encoded (as via
7350 to prevent injection of malicious character sequences, resulting in
7351 a filename that will be written into the current directory.
7352 Existing files will not be overwritten, instead the part number or
7353 a dot are appended after a number sign
7355 to the name until file creation succeeds (or fails due to other
7360 \*(NQ The sole difference to
7362 is that the new macro is executed in place of the current one, which
7363 will not regain control: all resources of the current macro will be
7365 This implies that any setting covered by
7367 will be forgotten and covered variables will become cleaned up.
7368 If this command is not used from within a
7370 ed macro it will silently be (a more expensive variant of)
7380 \*(NQ \*(UA presents message headers in
7382 fuls as described under the
7385 Without arguments this command scrolls to the next window of messages,
7386 likewise if the argument is
7390 scrolls to the last,
7392 scrolls to the first, and
7397 A number argument prefixed by
7401 indicates that the window is calculated in relation to the current
7402 position, and a number without a prefix specifies an absolute position.
7408 but scrolls to the next or previous window that contains at least one
7419 .\" .Sh COMMAND ESCAPES {{{
7420 .Sh "COMMAND ESCAPES"
7422 Here is a summary of the command escapes available in compose mode,
7423 which are used to perform special functions when composing messages.
7424 Command escapes are only recognized at the beginning of lines, and
7425 consist of a trigger (escape) and a command character.
7426 The actual escape character can be set via the internal variable
7428 it defaults to the tilde
7430 Otherwise ignored whitespace characters following the escape character
7431 will prevent a possible addition of the command line to the \*(OPal
7435 Unless otherwise noted all compose mode command escapes ensure proper
7436 updates of the variables which represent the error number
7442 is set they will, unless stated otherwise, error out message compose
7443 mode and cause a program exit if an operation fails.
7444 It is however possible to place the character hyphen-minus
7446 after (possible whitespace following) the escape character, which has an
7447 effect equivalent to the command modifier
7449 If the \*(OPal key bindings are available it is possible to create
7451 ings specifically for the compose mode.
7454 .Bl -tag -width ".It Ic BaNg"
7457 Insert the string of text in the message prefaced by a single
7459 (If the escape character has been changed,
7460 that character must be doubled instead.)
7463 .It Ic ~! Ar command
7464 Execute the indicated shell
7466 which follows, replacing unescaped exclamation marks with the previously
7467 executed command if the internal variable
7469 is set, then return to the message.
7473 End compose mode and send the message.
7475 .Va on-compose-splice-shell
7477 .Va on-compose-splice ,
7478 in order, will be called when set, after which
7480 will be checked, a set
7481 .Va on-compose-leave
7482 hook will be called,
7486 will be joined in if set,
7488 will be honoured in interactive mode, finally a given
7489 .Va message-inject-tail
7490 will be incorporated, after which the compose mode is left.
7493 .It Ic ~: Ar \*(UA-command Ns \0or Ic ~_ Ar \*(UA-command
7494 Execute the given \*(UA command.
7495 Not all commands, however, are allowed.
7498 .It Ic ~< Ar filename
7503 .It Ic ~<! Ar command
7505 is executed using the shell.
7506 Its standard output is inserted into the message.
7510 \*(OP Write a summary of command escapes.
7513 .It Ic ~@ Op Ar filename...
7514 Append or edit the list of attachments.
7515 Does not manage the error number
7521 instead if this is a concern).
7524 arguments is expected as shell tokens (see
7525 .Sx "Shell-style argument quoting" ;
7526 token-separating commas are ignored, too), to be
7527 interpreted as documented for the command line option
7529 with the message number exception as below.
7533 arguments the attachment list is edited, entry by entry;
7534 if a filename is left empty, that attachment is deleted from the list;
7535 once the end of the list is reached either new attachments may be
7536 entered or the session can be quit by committing an empty
7539 In non-interactive mode or in batch mode
7541 the list of attachments is effectively not edited but instead recreated;
7542 again, an empty input ends list creation.
7544 For all modes, if a given filename solely consists of the number sign
7546 followed by a valid message number of the currently active mailbox, then
7547 the given message is attached as a
7550 The number sign must be quoted to avoid misinterpretation with the shell
7554 .It Ic ~| Ar command
7555 Pipe the message through the specified filter command.
7556 If the command gives no output or terminates abnormally,
7557 retain the original text of the message.
7560 is often used as a rejustifying filter.
7564 .It Ic ~^ Ar cmd Op Ar subcmd Op Ar arg3 Op Ar arg4
7565 Low-level command meant for scripted message access, i.e., for
7566 .Va on-compose-splice
7568 .Va on-compose-splice-shell .
7569 The used protocol is likely subject to changes, and therefore the
7570 mentioned hooks receive the used protocol version as an initial line.
7571 In general the first field of a response line represents a status code
7572 which specifies whether a command was successful or not, whether result
7573 data is to be expected, and if, the format of the result data.
7574 Does not manage the error number
7578 because errors are reported via the protocol
7579 (hard errors like I/O failures cannot be handled).
7580 This command has read-only access to several virtual pseudo headers in
7581 the \*(UA private namespace, which may not exist (except for the first):
7585 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It Va BaNg"
7586 .It Ql Mailx-Command:
7587 The name of the command that generates the message, one of
7595 .It Ql Mailx-Raw-To:
7596 .It Ql Mailx-Raw-Cc:
7597 .It Ql Mailx-Raw-Bcc:
7598 Represent the frozen initial state of these headers before any
7599 transformation (e.g.,
7602 .Va recipients-in-cc
7605 .It Ql Mailx-Orig-From:
7606 .It Ql Mailx-Orig-To:
7607 .It Ql Mailx-Orig-Cc:
7608 .It Ql Mailx-Orig-Bcc:
7609 The values of said headers of the original message which has been
7611 .Ic reply , forward , resend .
7615 The status codes are:
7619 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It Ql 210"
7621 Status ok; the remains of the line are the result.
7624 Status ok; the rest of the line is optionally used for more status.
7625 What follows are lines of result addresses, terminated by an empty line.
7626 The address lines consist of two fields, the first of which is the
7627 plain address, e.g.,
7629 separated by a single ASCII SP space from the second which contains the
7630 unstripped address, even if that is identical to the first field, e.g.,
7631 .Ql (Lovely) Bob <bob@exam.ple> .
7632 All the input, including the empty line, must be consumed before further
7633 commands can be issued.
7636 Status ok; the rest of the line is optionally used for more status.
7637 What follows are lines of furtherly unspecified string content,
7638 terminated by an empty line.
7639 All the input, including the empty line, must be consumed before further
7640 commands can be issued.
7643 Syntax error; invalid command.
7646 Syntax error in parameters or arguments.
7649 Error: an argument fails verification.
7650 For example an invalid address has been specified, or an attempt was
7651 made to modify anything in \*(UA's own namespace.
7654 Error: an otherwise valid argument is rendered invalid due to context.
7655 For example, a second address is added to a header which may consist of
7656 a single address only.
7661 If a command indicates failure then the message will have remained
7663 Most commands can fail with
7665 if required arguments are missing (false command usage).
7666 The following (case-insensitive) commands are supported:
7669 .Bl -hang -width ".It Cm header"
7671 This command allows listing, inspection, and editing of message headers.
7672 Header name case is not normalized, and case-insensitive comparison
7673 should be used when matching names.
7674 The second argument specifies the subcommand to apply, one of:
7676 .Bl -hang -width ".It Cm remove"
7678 Without a third argument a list of all yet existing headers is given via
7680 this command is the default command of
7682 if no second argument has been given.
7683 A third argument restricts output to the given header only, which may
7686 if no such field is defined.
7689 Shows the content of the header given as the third argument.
7690 Dependent on the header type this may respond with
7694 any failure results in
7698 This will remove all instances of the header given as the third
7703 if no such header can be found, and
7705 on \*(UA namespace violations.
7708 This will remove from the header given as the third argument the
7709 instance at the list position (counting from one!) given with the fourth
7714 if the list position argument is not a number or on \*(UA namespace
7717 if no such header instance exists.
7720 Create a new or an additional instance of the header given in the third
7721 argument, with the header body content as given in the fourth argument
7722 (the remains of the line).
7725 if the third argument specifies a free-form header field name that is
7726 invalid, or if body content extraction fails to succeed,
7728 if any extracted address does not pass syntax and/or security checks or
7729 on \*(UA namespace violations, and
7731 to indicate prevention of excessing a single-instance header \(em note that
7733 can be appended to (a space separator will be added automatically first).
7736 is returned upon success, followed by the name of the header and the list
7737 position of the newly inserted instance.
7738 The list position is always 1 for single-instance header fields.
7739 All free-form header fields are managed in a single list.
7744 This command allows listing, removal and addition of message attachments.
7745 The second argument specifies the subcommand to apply, one of:
7747 .Bl -hang -width ".It Cm remove"
7749 List all attachments via
7753 if no attachments exist.
7754 This command is the default command of
7756 if no second argument has been given.
7759 This will remove the attachment given as the third argument, and report
7763 if no such attachment can be found.
7764 If there exists any path component in the given argument, then an exact
7765 match of the path which has been used to create the attachment is used
7766 directly, but if only the basename of that path matches then all
7767 attachments are traversed to find an exact match first, and the removal
7768 occurs afterwards; if multiple basenames match, a
7771 Message attachments are treated as absolute pathnames.
7773 If no path component exists in the given argument, then all attachments
7774 will be searched for
7776 parameter matches as well as for matches of the basename of the path
7777 which has been used when the attachment has been created; multiple
7782 This will interpret the third argument as a number and remove the
7783 attachment at that list position (counting from one!), reporting
7787 if the argument is not a number or
7789 if no such attachment exists.
7792 Adds the attachment given as the third argument, specified exactly as
7793 documented for the command line option
7795 and supporting the message number extension as documented for
7799 upon success, with the index of the new attachment following,
7801 if the given file cannot be opened,
7803 if an on-the-fly performed character set conversion fails, otherwise
7805 is reported; this is also reported if character set conversion is
7806 requested but not available.
7809 This uses the same search mechanism as described for
7811 and prints any known attributes of the first found attachment via
7815 if no such attachment can be found.
7816 The attributes are written as lines of keyword and value tuples, the
7817 keyword being separated from the rest of the line with an ASCII SP space
7821 This uses the same search mechanism as described for
7823 and is otherwise identical to
7826 .It Cm attribute-set
7827 This uses the same search mechanism as described for
7829 and will assign the attribute given as the fourth argument, which is
7830 expected to be a value tuple of keyword and other data, separated by
7831 a ASCII SP space or TAB tabulator character.
7832 If the value part is empty, then the given attribute is removed, or
7833 reset to a default value if existence of the attribute is crucial.
7837 upon success, with the index of the found attachment following,
7839 for message attachments or if the given keyword is invalid, and
7841 if no such attachment can be found.
7842 The following keywords may be used (case-insensitively):
7844 .Bl -hang -compact -width ".It Ql filename"
7846 Sets the filename of the MIME part, i.e., the name that is used for
7847 display and when (suggesting a name for) saving (purposes).
7848 .It Ql content-description
7849 Associate some descriptive information to the attachment's content, used
7850 in favour of the plain filename by some MUAs.
7852 May be used for uniquely identifying MIME entities in several contexts;
7853 this expects a special reference address format as defined in RFC 2045
7856 upon address content verification failure.
7858 Defines the media type/subtype of the part, which is managed
7859 automatically, but can be overwritten.
7860 .It Ql content-disposition
7861 Automatically set to the string
7865 .It Cm attribute-set-at
7866 This uses the same search mechanism as described for
7868 and is otherwise identical to
7877 .Ql Ic ~i Ns \| Va Sign .
7882 .Ql Ic ~i Ns \| Va sign .
7885 .It Ic ~b Ar name ...
7886 Add the given names to the list of blind carbon copy recipients.
7889 .It Ic ~c Ar name ...
7890 Add the given names to the list of carbon copy recipients.
7894 Read the file specified by the
7896 variable into the message.
7902 on the message collected so far, then return to compose mode.
7904 can be used for a more display oriented editor.
7907 .It Ic ~F Ar messages
7908 Read the named messages into the message being sent, including all
7909 message headers and MIME parts.
7910 If no messages are specified, read in the current message, the
7914 .It Ic ~f Ar messages
7915 Read the named messages into the message being sent.
7916 If no messages are specified, read in the current message, the
7918 Strips down the list of header fields according to the
7920 white- and blacklist selection of
7922 For MIME multipart messages,
7923 only the first displayable part is included.
7927 Edit the message header fields
7932 by typing each one in turn and allowing the user to edit the field.
7933 The default values for these fields originate from the
7941 Edit the message header fields
7947 by typing each one in turn and allowing the user to edit the field.
7950 .It Ic ~I Ar variable
7951 Insert the value of the specified variable into the message.
7952 The message remains unaltered if the variable is unset or empty.
7953 Any embedded character sequences
7955 horizontal tabulator and
7957 line feed are expanded in
7959 mode; otherwise the expansion should occur at
7961 time by using the command modifier
7965 .It Ic ~i Ar variable
7966 Insert the value of the specified variable followed by a newline
7967 character into the message.
7968 The message remains unaltered if the variable is unset or empty.
7969 Any embedded character sequences
7971 horizontal tabulator and
7973 line feed are expanded in
7975 mode; otherwise the expansion should occur at
7977 time by using the command modifier
7981 .It Ic ~M Ar messages
7982 Read the named messages into the message being sent,
7985 If no messages are specified, read the current message, the
7989 .It Ic ~m Ar messages
7990 Read the named messages into the message being sent,
7993 If no messages are specified, read the current message, the
7995 Strips down the list of header fields according to the
7997 white- and blacklist selection of
7999 For MIME multipart messages,
8000 only the first displayable part is included.
8004 Display the message collected so far,
8005 prefaced by the message header fields
8006 and followed by the attachment list, if any.
8010 Abort the message being sent,
8011 copying it to the file specified by the
8018 .It Ic ~R Ar filename
8021 but indent each line that has been read by
8025 .It Ic ~r Ar filename Op Ar HERE-delimiter
8026 Read the named file, object to the usual
8027 .Sx "Filename transformations" ,
8028 into the message; if (the expanded)
8032 then standard input is used, e.g., for pasting purposes.
8033 Only in this latter mode
8035 may be given: if it is data will be read in until the given
8037 is seen on a line by itself, and encountering EOF is an error; the
8039 is a required argument in non-interactive mode; if it is single-quote
8040 quoted then the pasted content will not be expanded, \*(ID otherwise
8041 a future version of \*(UA may perform shell-style expansion on the content.
8045 Cause the named string to become the current subject field.
8046 Newline (NL) and carriage-return (CR) bytes are invalid and will be
8047 normalized to space (SP) characters.
8050 .It Ic ~t Ar name ...
8051 Add the given name(s) to the direct recipient list.
8054 .It Ic ~U Ar messages
8055 Read in the given / current message(s) excluding all headers, indented by
8059 .It Ic ~u Ar messages
8060 Read in the given / current message(s), excluding all headers.
8066 editor on the message collected so far, then return to compose mode.
8068 can be used for a less display oriented editor.
8071 .It Ic ~w Ar filename
8072 Write the message onto the named file, which is object to the usual
8073 .Sx "Filename transformations" .
8075 the message is appended to it.
8081 except that the message is not saved at all.
8087 .\" .Sh INTERNAL VARIABLES {{{
8088 .Sh "INTERNAL VARIABLES"
8090 Internal \*(UA variables are controlled via the
8094 commands; prefixing a variable name with the string
8098 has the same effect as using
8105 will give more insight on the given variable(s), and
8107 when called without arguments, will show a listing of all variables.
8108 Both commands support a more
8111 Some well-known variables will also become inherited from the
8114 implicitly, others can be imported explicitly with the command
8116 and henceforth share said properties.
8119 Two different kinds of internal variables exist, and both of which can
8121 There are boolean variables, which can only be in one of the two states
8125 and value variables with a(n optional) string value.
8126 For the latter proper quoting is necessary upon assignment time, the
8127 introduction of the section
8129 documents the supported quoting rules.
8131 .Bd -literal -offset indent
8132 ? wysh set one=val\e 1 two="val 2" \e
8133 three='val "3"' four=$'val \e'4\e''; \e
8134 varshow one two three four; \e
8135 unset one two three four
8139 Dependent upon the actual option string values may become interpreted as
8140 colour names, command specifications, normal text, etc.
8141 They may be treated as numbers, in which case decimal values are
8142 expected if so documented, but otherwise any numeric format and
8143 base that is valid and understood by the
8145 command may be used, too.
8148 There also exists a special kind of string value, the
8149 .Dq boolean string ,
8150 which must either be a decimal integer (in which case
8154 and any other value is true) or any of the (case-insensitive) strings
8160 for a false boolean and
8166 for a true boolean; a special kind of boolean string is the
8168 which is a boolean string that can optionally be prefixed with the
8169 (case-insensitive) term
8173 which causes prompting of the user in interactive mode, with the given
8174 boolean as the default value.
8177 Variable chains extend a plain
8182 .Ql variable-USER@HOST
8190 had been specified in the contextual Uniform Resource Locator URL, see
8191 .Sx "On URL syntax and credential lookup" .
8192 Even though this mechanism is based on URLs no URL percent encoding may
8193 be applied to neither of
8197 variable chains need to be specified using raw data;
8198 the mentioned section contains examples.
8199 Variables which support chains are explicitly documented as such, and
8200 \*(UA treats the base name of any such variable special, meaning that
8201 users should not create custom names like
8203 in order to avoid false classifications and treatment of such variables.
8205 .\" .Ss "Initial settings" {{{
8206 .\" (Keep in SYNC: ./nail.h:okeys, ./nail.rc, ./nail.1:"Initial settings")
8207 .Ss "Initial settings"
8209 The standard POSIX 2008/Cor 2-2016 mandates the following initial
8215 .Pf no Va autoprint ,
8229 .Pf no Va ignoreeof ,
8231 .Pf no Va keepsave ,
8233 .Pf no Va outfolder ,
8241 .Pf no Va sendwait ,
8250 Notes: \*(UA does not support the
8252 variable \(en use command line options or
8254 to pass options through to a
8256 And the default global
8258 file, which is loaded unless the
8260 (with according argument) or
8262 command line options have been used, or the
8263 .Ev MAILX_NO_SYSTEM_RC
8264 environment variable is set (see
8265 .Sx "Resource files" )
8266 bends those initial settings a bit, e.g., it sets the variables
8271 to name a few, establishes a default
8273 selection etc., and should thus be taken into account.
8276 .\" .Ss "Variables" {{{
8279 .Bl -tag -width ".It Va BaNg"
8283 \*(RO The exit status of the last command, or the
8288 This status has a meaning in the state machine: in conjunction with
8290 any non-0 exit status will cause a program exit, and in
8292 mode any error while loading (any of the) resource files will have the
8296 .Sx "Command modifiers" ,
8297 can be used to instruct the state machine to ignore errors.
8301 \*(RO The current error number
8302 .Pf ( Xr errno 3 ) ,
8303 which is set after an error occurred; it is also available via
8305 and the error name and documentation string can be queried via
8309 \*(ID This machinery is new and the error number is only really usable
8310 if a command explicitly states that it manages the variable
8312 for others errno will be used in case of errors, or
8314 if that is 0: it thus may or may not reflect the real error.
8315 The error number may be set with the command
8321 \*(RO This is a multiplexer variable which performs dynamic expansion of
8322 the requested state or condition, of which there are:
8325 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It Va BaNg"
8329 .It Va ^ERR , ^ERRDOC , ^ERRNAME
8330 The number, documentation, and name of the current
8332 respectively, which is usually set after an error occurred.
8333 The documentation is an \*(OP, the name is used if not available.
8334 \*(ID This machinery is new and is usually reliable only if a command
8335 explicitly states that it manages the variable
8337 which is effectively identical to
8339 Each of those variables can be suffixed with a hyphen minus followed by
8340 a name or number, in which case the expansion refers to the given error.
8341 Note this is a direct mapping of (a subset of) the system error values:
8342 .Bd -literal -offset indent
8344 eval echo \e$1: \e$^ERR-$1:\e
8345 \e$^ERRNAME-$1: \e$^ERRDOC-$1
8346 vput vexpr i + "$1" 1
8358 \*(RO Expands all positional parameters (see
8360 separated by the first character of the value of
8362 \*(ID The special semantics of the equally named special parameter of the
8364 are not yet supported.
8368 \*(RO Expands all positional parameters (see
8370 separated by a space character.
8371 If placed in double quotation marks, each positional parameter is
8372 properly quoted to expand to a single parameter again.
8376 \*(RO Expands to the number of positional parameters, i.e., the size of
8377 the positional parameter stack in decimal.
8381 \*(RO Inside the scope of a
8385 ed macro this expands to the name of the calling macro, or to the empty
8386 string if the macro is running from top-level.
8387 For the \*(OPal regular expression search and replace operator of
8389 this expands to the entire matching expression.
8390 It represents the program name in global context.
8394 \*(RO Access of the positional parameter stack.
8395 All further parameters can be accessed with this syntax, too, e.g.,
8398 etc.; positional parameters can be shifted off the stack by calling
8400 The parameter stack contains, e.g., the arguments of a
8404 d macro, the matching groups of the \*(OPal regular expression search
8405 and replace expression of
8407 and can be explicitly created or overwritten with the command
8412 \*(RO Is set to the active
8416 .It Va add-file-recipients
8417 \*(BO When file or pipe recipients have been specified,
8418 mention them in the corresponding address fields of the message instead
8419 of silently stripping them from their recipient list.
8420 By default such addressees are not mentioned.
8424 \*(BO Causes only the local part to be evaluated
8425 when comparing addresses.
8429 \*(BO Causes messages saved in the
8431 .Sx "secondary mailbox"
8433 to be appended to the end rather than prepended.
8434 This should always be set.
8438 \*(BO Causes the prompts for
8442 lists to appear after the message has been edited.
8446 \*(BO If set, \*(UA asks for files to attach at the end of each message.
8447 An empty line finalizes the list.
8451 \*(BO Causes the user to be prompted for carbon copy recipients
8452 (at the end of each message if
8460 \*(BO Causes the user to be prompted for blind carbon copy
8461 recipients (at the end of each message if
8469 \*(BO Causes the user to be prompted for confirmation to send the
8470 message or reenter compose mode after having been shown an envelope
8472 This is by default enabled.
8476 \*(BO\*(OP Causes the user to be prompted if the message is to be
8477 signed at the end of each message.
8480 variable is ignored when this variable is set.
8484 .\" The alternative *ask* is not documented on purpose
8485 \*(BO Causes \*(UA to prompt for the subject upon entering compose mode
8486 unless a subject already exists.
8490 A sequence of characters to display in the
8494 as shown in the display of
8496 each for one type of messages (see
8497 .Sx "Message states" ) ,
8498 with the default being
8501 .Ql NU\ \ *HMFAT+\-$~
8504 variable is set, in the following order:
8506 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It Ql _"
8528 start of a collapsed thread.
8530 an uncollapsed thread (TODO ignored for now).
8534 classified as possible spam.
8540 Specifies a list of recipients to which a blind carbon copy of each
8541 outgoing message will be sent automatically.
8545 Specifies a list of recipients to which a carbon copy of each outgoing
8546 message will be sent automatically.
8550 \*(BO Causes threads to be collapsed automatically when .Ql thread Ns
8553 mode is entered (see the
8559 \*(BO Enable automatic
8561 ing of a(n existing)
8567 commands, e.g., the message that becomes the new
8569 is shown automatically, as via
8576 Causes sorted mode (see the
8578 command) to be entered automatically with the value of this variable as
8579 sorting method when a folder is opened, e.g.,
8580 .Ql set autosort=thread .
8584 \*(BO Enables the substitution of all not (reverse-solidus) escaped
8587 characters by the contents of the last executed command for the
8589 shell escape command and
8591 one of the compose mode
8592 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES" .
8593 If this variable is not set no reverse solidus stripping is performed.
8597 \*(OP Terminals generate multi-byte sequences for certain forms of
8598 input, for example for function and other special keys.
8599 Some terminals however do not write these multi-byte sequences as
8600 a whole, but byte-by-byte, and the latter is what \*(UA actually reads.
8601 This variable specifies the timeout in milliseconds that the MLE (see
8602 .Sx "On terminal control and line editor" )
8603 waits for more bytes to arrive unless it considers a sequence
8609 \*(BO Sets some cosmetical features to traditional BSD style;
8610 has the same affect as setting
8612 and all other variables prefixed with
8614 it also changes the behaviour of
8616 (which does not exist in BSD).
8620 \*(BO Changes the letters shown in the first column of a header
8621 summary to traditional BSD style.
8625 \*(BO Changes the display of columns in a header summary to traditional
8630 \*(BO Changes some informational messages to traditional BSD style.
8636 field to appear immediately after the
8638 field in message headers and with the
8640 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES" .
8644 .It Va build-os , build-osenv
8645 \*(RO The operating system \*(UA has been build for, usually taken from
8651 respectively, the former being lowercased.
8655 The value that should appear in the
8659 MIME header fields when no character set conversion of the message data
8661 This defaults to US-ASCII, and the chosen character set should be
8662 US-ASCII compatible.
8666 \*(OP The default 8-bit character set that is used as an implicit last
8667 member of the variable
8669 This defaults to UTF-8 if character set conversion capabilities are
8670 available, and to ISO-8859-1 otherwise (unless the operating system
8671 environment is known to always and exclusively support UTF-8 locales),
8672 in which case the only supported character set is
8674 and this variable is effectively ignored.
8675 Refer to the section
8676 .Sx "Character sets"
8677 for the complete picture of character set conversion in \*(UA.
8680 .It Va charset-unknown-8bit
8681 \*(OP RFC 1428 specifies conditions when internet mail gateways shall
8683 the content of a mail message by using a character set with the name
8685 Because of the unclassified nature of this character set \*(UA will not
8686 be capable to convert this character set to any other character set.
8687 If this variable is set any message part which uses the character set
8689 is assumed to really be in the character set given in the value,
8690 otherwise the (final) value of
8692 is used for this purpose.
8694 This variable will also be taken into account if a MIME type (see
8695 .Sx "The mime.types files" )
8696 of a MIME message part that uses the
8698 character set is forcefully treated as text.
8702 The default value for the
8707 .It Va colour-disable
8708 \*(BO\*(OP Forcefully disable usage of colours.
8709 Also see the section
8710 .Sx "Coloured display" .
8714 \*(BO\*(OP Whether colour shall be used for output that is paged through
8716 Note that pagers may need special command line options, e.g.,
8724 in order to support colours.
8725 Often doing manual adjustments is unnecessary since \*(UA may perform
8726 adjustments dependent on the value of the environment variable
8728 (see there for more).
8732 .It Va contact-mail , contact-web
8733 \*(RO Addresses for contact per email and web, respectively, e.g., for
8734 bug reports, suggestions, or help regarding \*(UA.
8735 The former can be used directly:
8736 .Ql ? Ns \| Ic eval Ns \| Ic mail Ns \| $contact-mail .
8740 In a(n interactive) terminal session, then if this valued variable is
8741 set it will be used as a threshold to determine how many lines the given
8742 output has to span before it will be displayed via the configured
8746 can be forced by setting this to the value
8748 setting it without a value will deduce the current height of the
8749 terminal screen to compute the threshold (see
8754 \*(ID At the moment this uses the count of lines of the message in wire
8755 format, which, dependent on the
8757 of the message, is unrelated to the number of display lines.
8758 (The software is old and historically the relation was a given thing.)
8762 Define a set of custom headers to be injected into newly composed or
8764 A custom header consists of the field name followed by a colon
8766 and the field content body.
8767 Standard header field names cannot be overwritten by a custom header.
8768 Different to the command line option
8770 the variable value is interpreted as a comma-separated list of custom
8771 headers: to include commas in header bodies they need to become escaped
8772 with reverse solidus
8774 Headers can be managed more freely in compose mode via
8777 .Dl ? set customhdr='Hdr1: Body1-1\e, Body1-2, Hdr2: Body2'
8781 Controls the appearance of the
8783 date and time format specification of the
8785 variable, that is used, for example, when viewing the summary of
8787 If unset, then the local receiving date is used and displayed
8788 unformatted, otherwise the message sending
8790 It is possible to assign a
8792 format string and control formatting, but embedding newlines via the
8794 format is not supported, and will result in display errors.
8796 .Ql %Y-%m-%d %H:%M ,
8798 .Va datefield-markout-older .
8801 .It Va datefield-markout-older
8802 Only used in conjunction with
8804 Can be used to create a visible distinction of messages dated more than
8805 a day in the future, or older than six months, a concept comparable to the
8807 option of the POSIX utility
8809 If set to the empty string, then the plain month, day and year of the
8811 will be displayed, but a
8813 format string to control formatting can be assigned.
8819 \*(BO Enables debug messages and obsoletion warnings, disables the
8820 actual delivery of messages and also implies
8826 .It Va disposition-notification-send
8828 .Ql Disposition-Notification-To:
8829 header (RFC 3798) with the message.
8833 .\" TODO .It Va disposition-notification-send-HOST
8835 .\".Va disposition-notification-send
8836 .\" for SMTP accounts on a specific host.
8837 .\" TODO .It Va disposition-notification-send-USER@HOST
8839 .\".Va disposition-notification-send
8840 .\"for a specific account.
8844 \*(BO When dot is set, a period
8846 on a line by itself during message input in (interactive or batch
8848 compose mode will be treated as end-of-message (in addition to the
8849 normal end-of-file condition).
8850 This behaviour is implied in
8856 .It Va dotlock-ignore-error
8857 \*(BO\*(OP Synchronization of mailboxes which \*(UA treats as
8859 .Sx "primary system mailbox" Ns
8860 es (see, e.g., the notes on
8861 .Sx "Filename transformations" ,
8862 as well as the documentation of
8864 will be protected with so-called dotlock files\(emthe traditional mail
8865 spool file locking method\(emin addition to system file locking.
8866 Because \*(UA ships with a privilege-separated dotlock creation program
8867 that should always be able to create such a dotlock file there is no
8868 good reason to ignore dotlock file creation errors, and thus these are
8869 fatal unless this variable is set.
8873 If this variable is set then the editor is started automatically when
8874 a message is composed in interactive mode.
8875 If the value starts with the letter
8877 then this acts as if
8881 .Pf (see\0 Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES" )
8885 variable is implied for this automatically spawned editor session.
8889 \*(BO When a message is edited while being composed,
8890 its header is included in the editable text.
8894 \*(BO When entering interactive mode \*(UA normally writes
8895 .Dq \&No mail for user
8896 and exits immediately if a mailbox is empty or does not exist.
8897 If this variable is set \*(UA starts even with an empty or non-existent
8898 mailbox (the latter behaviour furtherly depends upon
8904 \*(BO Let each command with a non-0 exit status, including every
8908 s a non-0 status, cause a program exit unless prefixed by
8911 .Sx "Command modifiers" ) .
8913 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES" ,
8914 but which use a different modifier for ignoring the error.
8915 Please refer to the variable
8917 for more on this topic.
8921 The first character of this value defines the escape character for
8922 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES"
8924 The default value is the character tilde
8926 If set to the empty string, command escapes are disabled.
8930 If not set then file and command pipeline targets are not allowed,
8931 and any such address will be filtered out, giving a warning message.
8932 If set without a value then all possible recipient address
8933 specifications will be accepted \(en see the section
8934 .Sx "On sending mail, and non-interactive mode"
8936 To accept them, but only in interactive mode, or when tilde commands
8937 were enabled explicitly by using one of the command line options
8941 set this to the (case-insensitive) value
8943 (it actually acts like
8944 .Ql restrict,-all,+name,+addr ,
8945 so that care for ordering issues must be taken) .
8947 In fact the value is interpreted as a comma-separated list of values.
8950 then the existence of disallowed specifications is treated as a hard
8951 send error instead of only filtering them out.
8952 The remaining values specify whether a specific type of recipient
8953 address specification is allowed (optionally indicated by a plus sign
8955 prefix) or disallowed (prefixed with a hyphen-minus
8959 addresses all possible address specifications,
8963 command pipeline targets,
8965 plain user names and (MTA) aliases and
8968 These kind of values are interpreted in the given order, so that
8969 .Ql restrict,\:fail,\:+file,\:-all,\:+addr
8970 will cause hard errors for any non-network address recipient address
8971 unless \*(UA is in interactive mode or has been started with the
8975 command line option; in the latter case(s) any address may be used, then.
8977 Historically invalid network addressees are silently stripped off.
8978 To change this so that any encountered invalid email address causes
8979 a hard error it must be ensured that
8981 is an entry in the above list.
8982 Setting this automatically enables network addressees
8983 (it actually acts like
8984 .Ql failinvaddr,+addr ,
8985 so that care for ordering issues must be taken) .
8989 Unless this variable is set additional
8991 (Mail-Transfer-Agent)
8992 arguments from the command line, as can be given after a
8994 separator, results in a program termination with failure status.
8995 The same can be accomplished by using the special (case-insensitive) value
8997 A lesser strict variant is the otherwise identical
8999 which does accept such arguments in interactive mode, or if tilde
9000 commands were enabled explicitly by using one of the command line options
9004 The empty value will allow unconditional usage.
9008 \*(RO String giving a list of optional features.
9009 Features are preceded with a plus sign
9011 if they are available, with a hyphen-minus
9014 The output of the command
9016 will include this information in a more pleasant output.
9020 \*(BO This setting reverses the meanings of a set of reply commands,
9021 turning the lowercase variants, which by default address all recipients
9022 included in the header of a message
9023 .Pf ( Ic reply , respond , followup )
9024 into the uppercase variants, which by default address the sender only
9025 .Pf ( Ic Reply , Respond , Followup )
9028 .Ic replysender , respondsender , followupsender
9030 .Ic replyall , respondall , followupall
9031 are not affected by the current setting of
9036 The default path under which mailboxes are to be saved:
9037 filenames that begin with the plus sign
9039 will have the plus sign replaced with the value of this variable if set,
9040 otherwise the plus sign will remain unchanged when doing
9041 .Sx "Filename transformations" ;
9044 for more on this topic.
9045 The value supports a subset of transformations itself, and if the
9046 non-empty value does not start with a solidus
9050 will be prefixed automatically.
9051 Once the actual value is evaluated first, the internal variable
9053 will be updated for caching purposes.
9056 .It Va folder-hook-FOLDER , Va folder-hook
9059 macro which will be called whenever a
9062 The macro will also be invoked when new mail arrives,
9063 but message lists for commands executed from the macro
9064 only include newly arrived messages then.
9066 are activated by default in a folder hook, causing the covered settings
9067 to be reverted once the folder is left again.
9069 The specialized form will override the generic one if
9071 matches the file that is opened.
9072 Unlike other folder specifications, the fully expanded name of a folder,
9073 without metacharacters, is used to avoid ambiguities.
9074 However, if the mailbox resides under
9078 specification is tried in addition, e.g., if
9082 (and thus relative to the user's home directory) then
9083 .Pa /home/usr1/mail/sent
9085 .Ql folder-hook-/home/usr1/mail/sent
9086 first, but then followed by
9087 .Ql folder-hook-+sent .
9090 .It Va folder-resolved
9091 \*(RO Set to the fully resolved path of
9093 once that evaluation has occurred; rather internal.
9097 \*(BO Controls whether a
9098 .Ql Mail-Followup-To:
9099 header is generated when sending messages to known mailing lists.
9101 .Va followup-to-honour
9103 .Ic mlist , mlsubscribe , reply
9108 .It Va followup-to-honour
9110 .Ql Mail-Followup-To:
9111 header is honoured when group-replying to a message via
9115 This is a quadoption; if set without a value it defaults to
9125 .It Va forward-as-attachment
9126 \*(BO Original messages are normally sent as inline text with the
9129 and only the first part of a multipart message is included.
9130 With this setting enabled messages are sent as unmodified MIME
9132 attachments with all of their parts included.
9135 .It Va forward-inject-head
9136 The string to put before the text of a message with the
9138 command instead of the default
9139 .Dq -------- Original Message -------- .
9140 No heading is put if it is set to the empty string.
9141 This variable is ignored if the
9142 .Va forward-as-attachment
9148 The address (or a list of addresses) to put into the
9150 field of the message header, quoting RFC 5322:
9151 the author(s) of the message, that is, the mailbox(es) of the person(s)
9152 or system(s) responsible for the writing of the message.
9153 According to that RFC setting the
9155 variable is required if
9157 contains more than one address.
9160 ing to messages these addresses are handled as if they were in the
9165 If a file-based MTA is used, then
9167 (or, if that contains multiple addresses,
9169 can nonetheless be enforced to appear as the envelope sender address at
9170 the MTA protocol level (the RFC 5321 reverse-path), either by using the
9172 command line option (with an empty argument; see there for the complete
9173 picture on this topic), or by setting the internal variable
9174 .Va r-option-implicit .
9177 If the machine's hostname is not valid at the Internet (for example at
9178 a dialup machine) then either this variable or
9182 adds even more fine-tuning capabilities with
9183 .Va smtp-hostname ) ,
9184 have to be set; if so the message and MIME part related unique ID fields
9188 will be created (except when disallowed by
9189 .Va message-id-disable
9196 \*(BO Due to historical reasons comments and name parts of email
9197 addresses are removed by default when sending mail, replying to or
9198 forwarding a message.
9199 If this variable is set such stripping is not performed.
9202 \*(OB Predecessor of
9203 .Va forward-inject-head .
9207 \*(BO Causes the header summary to be written at startup and after
9208 commands that affect the number of messages or the order of messages in
9213 mode a header summary will also be displayed on folder changes.
9214 The command line option
9222 A format string to use for the summary of
9224 similar to the ones used for
9227 Format specifiers in the given string start with a percent sign
9229 and may be followed by an optional decimal number indicating the field
9230 width \(em if that is negative, the field is to be left-aligned.
9231 Valid format specifiers are:
9234 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It Ql _%%_"
9236 A plain percent sign.
9239 a space character but for the current message
9241 for which it expands to
9244 .Va headline-plain ) .
9247 a space character but for the current message
9249 for which it expands to
9252 .Va headline-plain ) .
9254 \*(OP The spam score of the message, as has been classified via the
9257 Shows only a replacement character if there is no spam support.
9259 Message attribute character (status flag); the actual content can be
9263 The date found in the
9265 header of the message when
9267 is set (the default), otherwise the date when the message was received.
9268 Formatting can be controlled by assigning a
9273 The indenting level in
9279 The address of the message sender.
9281 The message thread tree structure.
9282 (Note that this format does not support a field width, and honours
9283 .Va headline-plain . )
9285 The number of lines of the message, if available.
9289 The number of octets (bytes) in the message, if available.
9291 Message subject (if any).
9293 Message subject (if any) in double quotes.
9295 Message recipient flags: is the addressee of the message a known or
9296 subscribed mailing list \(en see
9301 The position in threaded/sorted order.
9303 The value 0 except in an IMAP mailbox,
9304 where it expands to the UID of the message.
9308 .Ql %>\&%a\&%m\ %-18f\ %16d\ %4l/%\-5o\ %i%-s ,
9310 .Ql %>\&%a\&%m\ %20-f\ \ %16d\ %3l/%\-5o\ %i%-S
9322 .It Va headline-bidi
9323 Bidirectional text requires special treatment when displaying headers,
9324 because numbers (in dates or for file sizes etc.) will not affect the
9325 current text direction, in effect resulting in ugly line layouts when
9326 arabic or other right-to-left text is to be displayed.
9327 On the other hand only a minority of terminals is capable to correctly
9328 handle direction changes, so that user interaction is necessary for
9330 Note that extended host system support is required nonetheless, e.g.,
9331 detection of the terminal character set is one precondition;
9332 and this feature only works in an Unicode (i.e., UTF-8) locale.
9334 In general setting this variable will cause \*(UA to encapsulate text
9335 fields that may occur when displaying
9337 (and some other fields, like dynamic expansions in
9339 with special Unicode control sequences;
9340 it is possible to fine-tune the terminal support level by assigning
9342 no value (or any value other than
9347 will make \*(UA assume that the terminal is capable to properly deal
9348 with Unicode version 6.3, in which case text is embedded in a pair of
9349 U+2068 (FIRST STRONG ISOLATE) and U+2069 (POP DIRECTIONAL ISOLATE)
9351 In addition no space on the line is reserved for these characters.
9353 Weaker support is chosen by using the value
9355 (Unicode 6.3, but reserve the room of two spaces for writing the control
9356 sequences onto the line).
9361 select Unicode 1.1 support (U+200E, LEFT-TO-RIGHT MARK); the latter
9362 again reserves room for two spaces in addition.
9365 .It Va headline-plain
9366 \*(BO On Unicode (UTF-8) aware terminals enhanced graphical symbols are
9367 used by default for certain entries of
9369 If this variable is set only basic US-ASCII symbols will be used.
9373 \*(OP If a line editor is available then this can be set to
9374 name the (expandable) path of the location of a permanent
9380 .It Va history-gabby
9381 \*(BO\*(OP Add more entries to the
9383 as is normally done.
9386 .It Va history-gabby-persist
9387 \*(BO\*(OP \*(UA's own MLE will not save the additional
9389 entries in persistent storage unless this variable is set.
9390 On the other hand it will not loose the knowledge of whether
9391 a persistent entry was gabby or not.
9397 \*(OP Setting this variable imposes a limit on the number of concurrent
9400 If set to the value 0 then no further history entries will be added,
9401 and loading and incorporation of the
9403 upon program startup can also be suppressed by doing this.
9404 Runtime changes will not be reflected, but will affect the number of
9405 entries saved to permanent storage.
9409 \*(BO This setting controls whether messages are held in the system
9411 and it is set by default.
9415 Used instead of the value obtained from
9419 as the hostname when expanding local addresses, e.g., in
9422 .Sx "On sending mail, and non-interactive mode" ,
9423 especially for expansion of network addresses that contain domain-less
9424 valid user names in angle brackets).
9427 or this variable Is set the message and MIME part related unique ID fields
9431 will be created (except when disallowed by
9432 .Va message-id-disable
9435 If the \*(OPal IDNA support is available (see
9437 variable assignment is aborted when a necessary conversion fails.
9439 Setting it to the empty string will cause the normal hostname to be
9440 used, but nonetheless enables creation of said ID fields.
9441 \*(IN in conjunction with the built-in SMTP
9444 also influences the results:
9445 one should produce some test messages with the desired combination of
9454 \*(BO\*(OP Can be used to turn off the automatic conversion of domain
9455 names according to the rules of IDNA (internationalized domain names
9457 Since the IDNA code assumes that domain names are specified with the
9459 character set, an UTF-8 locale charset is required to represent all
9460 possible international domain names (before conversion, that is).
9464 The input field separator that is used (\*(ID by some functions) to
9465 determine where to split input data.
9467 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It MMM"
9469 Unsetting is treated as assigning the default value,
9472 If set to the empty value, no field splitting will be performed.
9474 If set to a non-empty value, all whitespace characters are extracted
9475 and assigned to the variable
9479 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It MMM"
9482 will be ignored at the beginning and end of input.
9483 Diverging from POSIX shells default whitespace is removed in addition,
9484 which is owed to the entirely different line content extraction rules.
9486 Each occurrence of a character of
9488 will cause field-splitting, any adjacent
9490 characters will be skipped.
9495 \*(RO Automatically deduced from the whitespace characters in
9500 \*(BO Ignore interrupt signals from the terminal while entering
9501 messages; instead echo them as
9503 characters and discard the current line.
9507 \*(BO Ignore end-of-file conditions
9508 .Pf ( Ql control-D )
9509 in compose mode on message input and in interactive command input.
9510 If set an interactive command input session can only be left by
9511 explicitly using one of the commands
9515 and message input in compose mode can only be terminated by entering
9518 on a line by itself or by using the
9520 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES" ;
9521 Setting this implies the behaviour that
9529 If this is set to a non-empty string it will specify the user's
9531 .Sx "primary system mailbox" ,
9534 and the system-dependent default, and (thus) be used to replace
9537 .Sx "Filename transformations" ;
9540 for more on this topic.
9541 The value supports a subset of transformations itself.
9549 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES"
9552 option for indenting messages,
9553 in place of the POSIX mandated default tabulator character
9560 \*(BO If set, an empty
9562 .Sx "primary system mailbox"
9563 file is not removed.
9564 Note that, in conjunction with
9566 mode any empty file will be removed unless this variable is set.
9567 This may improve the interoperability with other mail user agents
9568 when using a common folder directory, and prevents malicious users
9569 from creating fake mailboxes in a world-writable spool directory.
9570 \*(ID Only local regular (MBOX) files are covered, Maildir or other
9571 mailbox types will never be removed, even if empty.
9574 .It Va keep-content-length
9575 \*(BO When (editing messages and) writing MBOX mailbox files \*(UA can
9580 header fields that some MUAs generate by setting this variable.
9581 Since \*(UA does neither use nor update these non-standardized header
9582 fields (which in itself shows one of their conceptual problems),
9583 stripping them should increase interoperability in between MUAs that
9584 work with with same mailbox files.
9585 Note that, if this is not set but
9586 .Va writebackedited ,
9587 as below, is, a possibly performed automatic stripping of these header
9588 fields already marks the message as being modified.
9589 \*(ID At some future time \*(UA will be capable to rewrite and apply an
9591 to modified messages, and then those fields will be stripped silently.
9595 \*(BO When a message is saved it is usually discarded from the
9596 originating folder when \*(UA is quit.
9597 This setting causes all saved message to be retained.
9600 .It Va line-editor-disable
9601 \*(BO Turn off any enhanced line editing capabilities (see
9602 .Sx "On terminal control and line editor"
9606 .It Va line-editor-no-defaults
9607 \*(BO\*(OP Do not establish any default key binding.
9611 Error log message prefix string
9612 .Pf ( Ql "\*(uA: " ) .
9615 .It Va mailbox-display
9616 \*(RO The name of the current mailbox
9618 possibly abbreviated for display purposes.
9621 .It Va mailbox-resolved
9622 \*(RO The fully resolved path of the current mailbox.
9625 .It Va mailx-extra-rc
9626 An additional startup file that is loaded as the last of the
9627 .Sx "Resource files" .
9628 Use this file for commands that are not understood by other POSIX
9630 implementations, i.e., mostly anything which is not covered by
9631 .Sx "Initial settings" .
9635 \*(BO When a message is replied to and this variable is set,
9636 it is marked as having been
9639 .Sx "Message states" .
9643 \*(BO When opening MBOX mailbox databases \*(UA by default uses tolerant
9644 POSIX rules for detecting message boundaries (so-called
9646 lines) due to compatibility reasons, instead of the stricter rules that
9647 have been standardized in RFC 4155.
9648 This behaviour can be switched to the stricter RFC 4155 rules by
9649 setting this variable.
9650 (This is never necessary for any message newly generated by \*(UA,
9651 it only applies to messages generated by buggy or malicious MUAs, or may
9652 occur in old MBOX databases: \*(UA itself will choose a proper
9654 to avoid false interpretation of
9656 content lines in the MBOX database.)
9658 This may temporarily be handy when \*(UA complains about invalid
9660 lines when opening a MBOX: in this case setting this variable and
9661 re-opening the mailbox in question may correct the result.
9662 If so, copying the entire mailbox to some other file, as in
9663 .Ql copy * SOME-FILE ,
9664 will perform proper, all-compatible
9666 quoting for all detected messages, resulting in a valid MBOX mailbox.
9667 Finally the variable can be unset again:
9668 .Bd -literal -offset indent
9670 localopts yes; wysh set mbox-rfc4155;\e
9671 wysh File "${1}"; eval copy * "${2}"
9673 call mboxfix /tmp/bad.mbox /tmp/good.mbox
9678 \*(BO Internal development variable.
9681 .It Va message-id-disable
9682 \*(BO By setting this variable the generation of
9686 message and MIME part headers can be completely suppressed, effectively
9687 leaving this task up to the
9689 (Mail-Transfer-Agent) or the SMTP server.
9690 Note that according to RFC 5321 a SMTP server is not required to add this
9691 field by itself, so it should be ensured that it accepts messages without
9695 .It Va message-inject-head
9696 A string to put at the beginning of each new message, followed by a newline.
9697 \*(OB The escape sequences tabulator
9701 are understood (use the
9705 ting the variable(s) instead).
9708 .It Va message-inject-tail
9709 A string to put at the end of each new message, followed by a newline.
9710 \*(OB The escape sequences tabulator
9714 are understood (use the
9718 ting the variable(s) instead).
9722 \*(BO Usually, when an
9724 expansion contains the sender, the sender is removed from the expansion.
9725 Setting this option suppresses these removals.
9730 option to be passed through to the
9732 (Mail-Transfer-Agent); though most of the modern MTAs no longer document
9733 this flag, no MTA is known which does not support it (for historical
9737 .It Va mime-allow-text-controls
9738 \*(BO When sending messages, each part of the message is MIME-inspected
9739 in order to classify the
9742 .Ql Content-Transfer-Encoding:
9745 that is required to send this part over mail transport, i.e.,
9746 a computation rather similar to what the
9748 command produces when used with the
9752 This classification however treats text files which are encoded in
9753 UTF-16 (seen for HTML files) and similar character sets as binary
9754 octet-streams, forcefully changing any
9759 .Ql application/octet-stream :
9760 If that actually happens a yet unset charset MIME parameter is set to
9762 effectively making it impossible for the receiving MUA to automatically
9763 interpret the contents of the part.
9765 If this variable is set, and the data was unambiguously identified as
9766 text data at first glance (by a
9770 file extension), then the original
9772 will not be overwritten.
9775 .It Va mime-alternative-favour-rich
9776 \*(BO If this variable is set then rich MIME alternative parts (e.g.,
9777 HTML) will be preferred in favour of included plain text versions when
9778 displaying messages, provided that a handler exists which produces
9779 output that can be (re)integrated into \*(UA's normal visual display.
9780 (E.g., at the time of this writing some newsletters ship their full
9781 content only in the rich HTML part, whereas the plain text part only
9782 contains topic subjects.)
9785 .It Va mime-counter-evidence
9788 field is used to decide how to handle MIME parts.
9789 Some MUAs, however, do not use
9790 .Sx "The mime.types files"
9792 .Sx "HTML mail and MIME attachments" )
9793 or a similar mechanism to correctly classify content, but specify an
9794 unspecific MIME type
9795 .Pf ( Ql application/octet-stream )
9796 even for plain text attachments.
9797 If this variable is set then \*(UA will try to re-classify such MIME
9798 message parts, if possible, for example via a possibly existing
9799 attachment filename.
9800 A non-empty value may also be given, in which case a number is expected,
9801 actually a carrier of bits, best specified as a binary value, e.g.,
9804 .Bl -bullet -compact
9806 If bit two is set (counting from 1, decimal 2) then the detected
9808 will be carried along with the message and be used for deciding which
9809 MIME handler is to be used, for example;
9810 when displaying such a MIME part the part-info will indicate the
9811 overridden content-type by showing a plus sign
9814 If bit three is set (decimal 4) then the counter-evidence is always
9815 produced and a positive result will be used as the MIME type, even
9816 forcefully overriding the parts given MIME type.
9818 If bit four is set (decimal 8) as a last resort the actual content of
9819 .Ql application/octet-stream
9820 parts will be inspected, so that data which looks like plain text can be
9822 This mode is even more relaxed when data is to be displayed to the user
9823 or used as a message quote (data consumers which mangle data for display
9824 purposes, which includes masking of control characters, for example).
9828 .It Va mime-encoding
9830 .Ql Content-Transfer-Encoding
9831 to use in outgoing text messages and message parts, where applicable.
9832 (7-bit clean text messages are sent as-is, without a transfer encoding.)
9835 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It Ql _%%_"
9838 8-bit transport effectively causes the raw data be passed through
9839 unchanged, but may cause problems when transferring mail messages over
9840 channels that are not ESMTP (RFC 1869) compliant.
9841 Also, several input data constructs are not allowed by the
9842 specifications and may cause a different transfer-encoding to be used.
9843 .It Ql quoted-printable
9845 Quoted-printable encoding is 7-bit clean and has the property that ASCII
9846 characters are passed through unchanged, so that an english message can
9847 be read as-is; it is also acceptable for other single-byte locales that
9848 share many characters with ASCII, like, e.g., ISO-8859-1.
9849 The encoding will cause a large overhead for messages in other character
9850 sets: e.g., it will require up to twelve (12) bytes to encode a single
9851 UTF-8 character of four (4) bytes.
9852 It is the default encoding.
9854 .Pf (Or\0 Ql b64 . )
9855 This encoding is 7-bit clean and will always be used for binary data.
9856 This encoding has a constant input:output ratio of 3:4, regardless of
9857 the character set of the input data it will encode three bytes of input
9858 to four bytes of output.
9859 This transfer-encoding is not human readable without performing
9864 .It Va mimetypes-load-control
9865 Can be used to control which of
9866 .Sx "The mime.types files"
9867 are loaded: if the letter
9869 is part of the option value, then the user's personal
9871 file will be loaded (if it exists); likewise the letter
9873 controls loading of the system wide
9875 directives found in the user file take precedence, letter matching is
9877 If this variable is not set \*(UA will try to load both files.
9878 Incorporation of the \*(UA-built-in MIME types cannot be suppressed,
9879 but they will be matched last (the order can be listed via
9882 More sources can be specified by using a different syntax: if the
9883 value string contains an equals sign
9885 then it is instead parsed as a comma-separated list of the described
9888 pairs; the given filenames will be expanded and loaded, and their
9889 content may use the extended syntax that is described in the section
9890 .Sx "The mime.types files" .
9891 Directives found in such files always take precedence (are prepended to
9892 the MIME type cache).
9897 To choose an alternate Mail-Transfer-Agent, set this option to either
9898 the full pathname of an executable (optionally prefixed with the protocol
9900 or \*(OPally a SMTP a.k.a. SUBMISSION protocol URL, e.g., \*(IN
9902 .Dl smtps?://[user[:password]@]server[:port]
9905 .Ql [smtp://]server[:port] . )
9906 The default has been chosen at compile time.
9907 All supported data transfers are executed in child processes, which
9908 run asynchronously and without supervision unless either the
9913 If such a child receives a TERM signal, it will abort and
9920 For a file-based MTA it may be necessary to set
9922 in in order to choose the right target of a modern
9925 It will be passed command line arguments from several possible sources:
9928 if set, from the command line if given and the variable
9931 Argument processing of the MTA will be terminated with a
9936 The otherwise occurring implicit usage of the following MTA command
9937 line arguments can be disabled by setting the boolean variable
9938 .Va mta-no-default-arguments
9939 (which will also disable passing
9943 (for not treating a line with only a dot
9945 character as the end of input),
9953 variable is set); in conjunction with the
9955 command line option \*(UA will also (not) pass
9961 \*(OPally \*(UA can send mail over SMTP a.k.a. SUBMISSION network
9962 connections to a single defined smart host by setting this variable to
9963 a SMTP or SUBMISSION URL (see
9964 .Sx "On URL syntax and credential lookup" ) .
9965 An authentication scheme can be specified via the variable chain
9967 Encrypted network connections are \*(OPally available, the section
9968 .Sx "Encrypted network communication"
9969 should give an overview and provide links to more information on this.
9970 Note that with some mail providers it may be necessary to set the
9972 variable in order to use a specific combination of
9977 \*(UA also supports forwarding of all network traffic over a specified
9979 The following SMTP variants may be used:
9983 The plain SMTP protocol (RFC 5321) that normally lives on the
9984 server port 25 and requires setting the
9985 .Va smtp-use-starttls
9986 variable to enter a SSL/TLS encrypted session state.
9987 Assign a value like \*(IN
9988 .Ql smtp://[user[:password]@]server[:port]
9990 .Ql smtp://server[:port] )
9991 to choose this protocol.
9993 The so-called SMTPS which is supposed to live on server port 465
9994 and is automatically SSL/TLS secured.
9995 Unfortunately it never became a standardized protocol and may thus not
9996 be supported by your hosts network service database
9997 \(en in fact the port number has already been reassigned to other
10000 SMTPS is nonetheless a commonly offered protocol and thus can be
10001 chosen by assigning a value like \*(IN
10002 .Ql smtps://[user[:password]@]server[:port]
10004 .Ql smtps://server[:port] ) ;
10005 due to the mentioned problems it is usually necessary to explicitly
10006 specify the port as
10010 The SUBMISSION protocol (RFC 6409) lives on server port 587 and
10011 is identically to the SMTP protocol from \*(UA's point of view;
10012 it requires setting
10013 .Va smtp-use-starttls
10014 to enter a SSL/TLS secured session state; e.g., \*(IN
10015 .Ql submission://[user[:password]@]server[:port] .
10017 The SUBMISSIONS protocol (RFC 8314) that lives on server port 465 and is
10018 SSL/TLS secured by default.
10019 It can be chosen by assigning a value like \*(IN
10020 .Ql submissions://[user[:password]@]server[:port] .
10021 Due to the problems mentioned for SMTPS above and the fact that
10022 SUBMISSIONS is new and a successor that lives on the same port as the
10023 historical engineering mismanagement named SMTPS, it is usually
10024 necessary to explicitly specify the port as
10030 .It Va mta-arguments
10031 Arguments to pass through to a file-based
10033 can be given via this variable, which is parsed according to
10034 .Sx "Shell-style argument quoting"
10035 into an array of arguments, and which will be joined onto MTA options
10036 from other sources, and then passed individually to the MTA:
10037 .Ql ? wysh set mta-arguments='-t -X \&"/tmp/my log\&"' .
10040 .It Va mta-no-default-arguments
10041 \*(BO Unless this variable is set \*(UA will pass some well known
10042 standard command line options to a file-based
10044 (Mail-Transfer-Agent), see there for more.
10047 .It Va mta-no-receiver-arguments
10048 \*(BO By default a file-based
10050 will be passed all receiver addresses on the command line.
10051 This variable can be set to suppress any such argument.
10055 Many systems use a so-called
10057 environment to ensure compatibility with
10059 This works by inspecting the name that was used to invoke the mail
10061 If this variable is set then the mailwrapper (the program that is
10062 actually executed when calling the file-based
10064 will treat its contents as that name.
10066 .Mx Va netrc-lookup
10067 .It Va netrc-lookup-USER@HOST , netrc-lookup-HOST , netrc-lookup
10068 \*(BO\*(IN\*(OP Used to control usage of the user's
10070 file for lookup of account credentials, as documented in the section
10071 .Sx "On URL syntax and credential lookup"
10072 and for the command
10075 .Sx "The .netrc file"
10076 documents the file format.
10088 then \*(UA will read the output of a shell pipe instead of the user's
10090 file if this variable is set (to the desired shell command).
10091 This can be used to, e.g., store
10094 .Ql ? set netrc-pipe='gpg -qd ~/.netrc.pgp' .
10098 If this variable has the value
10100 newly created local folders will be in Maildir instead of MBOX format.
10104 Checks for new mail in the current folder each time the prompt is shown.
10105 A Maildir folder must be re-scanned to determine if new mail has arrived.
10106 If this variable is set to the special value
10108 then a Maildir folder will not be rescanned completely, but only
10109 timestamp changes are detected.
10113 \*(BO Causes the filename given in the
10116 and the sender-based filenames for the
10120 commands to be interpreted relative to the directory given in the
10122 variable rather than to the current directory,
10123 unless it is set to an absolute pathname.
10125 .Mx Va on-account-cleanup
10126 .It Va on-account-cleanup-ACCOUNT , Va on-account-cleanup
10127 Macro hook which will be called once an
10129 is left, as the very last step before unrolling per-account
10131 This hook is run even in case of fatal errors, and it is advisable to
10132 perform only absolutely necessary actions, like cleaning up
10135 The specialized form is used in favour of the generic one if found.
10138 .It Va on-compose-cleanup
10139 Macro hook which will be called after the message has been sent (or not,
10140 in case of failures), as the very last step before unrolling compose mode
10142 This hook is run even in case of fatal errors, and it is advisable to
10143 perform only absolutely necessary actions, like cleaning up
10147 For compose mode hooks that may affect the message content please see
10148 .Va on-compose-enter , on-compose-leave , on-compose-splice .
10149 \*(ID This hook exists because
10150 .Ic alias , alternates , commandalias , shortcut ,
10151 to name a few, are not covered by
10153 changes applied in compose mode will continue to be in effect thereafter.
10158 .It Va on-compose-enter , on-compose-leave
10159 Macro hooks which will be called once compose mode is entered,
10160 and after composing has been finished, but before a set
10161 .Va message-inject-tail
10162 has been injected etc., respectively.
10164 are enabled for these hooks, and changes on variables will be forgotten
10165 after the message has been sent.
10166 .Va on-compose-cleanup
10167 can be used to perform other necessary cleanup steps.
10169 The following (read-only) variables will be set temporarily during
10170 execution of the macros to represent respective message headers, to
10171 the empty string otherwise; most of them correspond to according virtual
10172 message headers that can be accessed via
10175 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES"
10177 .Va on-compose-splice
10181 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It Va mailx_subject"
10182 .It Va mailx-command
10183 The command that generates the message.
10184 .It Va mailx-subject
10188 .It Va mailx-sender
10190 .It Va mailx-to , mailx-cc , mailx-bcc
10191 The list of receiver addresses as a space-separated list.
10192 .It Va mailx-raw-to , mailx-raw-cc , mailx-raw-bcc
10193 The list of receiver addresses before any mangling (due to, e.g.,
10196 .Va recipients-in-cc )
10197 as a space-separated list.
10198 .It Va mailx-orig-from
10199 When replying, forwarding or resending, this will be set to the
10201 of the given message.
10202 .It Va mailx-orig-to , mailx-orig-cc , mailx-orig-bcc
10203 When replying, forwarding or resending, this will be set to the
10204 receivers of the given message.
10208 Here is am example that injects a signature via
10209 .Va message-inject-tail ;
10211 .Va on-compose-splice
10212 to simply inject the file of desire via
10216 may be a better approach.
10218 .Bd -literal -offset indent
10220 vput ! i cat ~/.mysig
10222 vput vexpr message-inject-tail trim-end $i
10226 readctl create ~/.mysig
10230 vput vexpr message-inject-tail trim-end $i
10232 readctl remove ~/.mysig
10235 set on-compose-leave=t_ocl
10241 .It Va on-compose-splice , on-compose-splice-shell
10242 These hooks run once the normal compose mode is finished, but before the
10243 .Va on-compose-leave
10244 macro hook is called, the
10245 .Va message-inject-tail
10247 Both hooks will be executed in a subprocess, with their input and output
10248 connected to \*(UA such that they can act as if they would be an
10250 The difference in between them is that the latter is a
10252 command, whereas the former is a normal \*(UA macro, but which is
10253 restricted to a small set of commands (the
10257 will indicate said capability).
10259 are enabled for these hooks (in the parent process), causing any setting
10260 to be forgotten after the message has been sent;
10261 .Va on-compose-cleanup
10262 can be used to perform other cleanup as necessary.
10265 During execution of these hooks \*(UA will temporarily forget whether it
10266 has been started in interactive mode, (a restricted set of)
10267 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES"
10268 will always be available, and for guaranteed reproducibilities sake
10272 will be set to their defaults.
10273 The compose mode command
10275 has been especially designed for scriptability (via these hooks).
10276 The first line the hook will read on its standard input is the protocol
10277 version of said command escape, currently
10279 backward incompatible protocol changes have to be expected.
10282 Care must be taken to avoid deadlocks and other false control flow:
10283 if both involved processes wait for more input to happen at the
10284 same time, or one does not expect more input but the other is stuck
10285 waiting for consumption of its output, etc.
10286 There is no automatic synchronization of the hook: it will not be
10287 stopped automatically just because it, e.g., emits
10289 The hooks will however receive a termination signal if the parent enters
10290 an error condition.
10291 \*(ID Protection against and interaction with signals is not yet given;
10292 it is likely that in the future these scripts will be placed in an
10293 isolated session, which is signalled in its entirety as necessary.
10295 .Bd -literal -offset indent
10296 define ocs_signature {
10298 echo '~< ~/.mysig' # '~<! fortune pathtofortunefile'
10300 set on-compose-splice=ocs_signature
10302 wysh set on-compose-splice-shell=$'\e
10304 printf "hello $version! Headers: ";\e
10305 echo \e'~^header list\e';\e
10306 read status result;\e
10307 echo "status=$status result=$result";\e
10312 echo Splice protocol version is $version
10313 echo '~^h l'; read hl; vput vexpr es substring "${hl}" 0 1
10315 echoerr 'Cannot read header list'; echo '~x'; xit
10317 if [ "$hl" @i!% ' cc' ]
10318 echo '~^h i cc Diet is your <mirr.or>'; read es;\e
10319 vput vexpr es substring "${es}" 0 1
10321 echoerr 'Cannot insert Cc: header'; echo '~x'
10322 # (no xit, macro finishs anyway)
10326 set on-compose-splice=ocsm
10331 .It Va on-resend-cleanup
10333 .Va on-compose-cleanup ,
10334 but is only triggered by
10338 .It Va on-resend-enter
10340 .Va on-compose-enter ,
10341 but is only triggered by
10346 \*(BO If set, each message feed through the command given for
10348 is followed by a formfeed character
10352 .It Va password-USER@HOST , password-HOST , password
10353 \*(IN Variable chain that sets a password, which is used in case none has
10354 been given in the protocol and account-specific URL;
10355 as a last resort \*(UA will ask for a password on the user's terminal if
10356 the authentication method requires a password.
10357 Specifying passwords in a startup file is generally a security risk;
10358 the file should be readable by the invoking user only.
10360 .It Va password-USER@HOST
10361 \*(OU (see the chain above for \*(IN)
10362 Set the password for
10366 If no such variable is defined for a host,
10367 the user will be asked for a password on standard input.
10368 Specifying passwords in a startup file is generally a security risk;
10369 the file should be readable by the invoking user only.
10373 \*(BO Send messages to the
10375 command without performing MIME and character set conversions.
10379 .It Va pipe-TYPE/SUBTYPE
10380 When a MIME message part of type
10382 (case-insensitive) is displayed or quoted,
10383 its text is filtered through the value of this variable interpreted as
10385 Note that only parts which can be displayed inline as plain text (see
10386 .Cd copiousoutput )
10387 are displayed unless otherwise noted, other MIME parts will only be
10388 considered by and for the command
10392 The special value commercial at
10394 forces interpretation of the message part as plain text, e.g.,
10395 .Ql set pipe-application/xml=@
10396 will henceforth display XML
10398 (The same could also be achieved by adding a MIME type marker with the
10401 And \*(OPally MIME type handlers may be defined via
10402 .Sx "The Mailcap files"
10403 \(em these directives,
10405 has already been used, should be referred to for further documentation.
10410 can in fact be used as a trigger character to adjust usage and behaviour
10411 of a following shell command specification more thoroughly by appending
10412 more special characters which refer to further mailcap directives, e.g.,
10413 the following hypothetical command specification could be used:
10415 .Bd -literal -offset indent
10416 ? set pipe-X/Y='@!++=@vim ${MAILX_FILENAME_TEMPORARY}'
10420 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It Ql __"
10422 The command produces plain text to be integrated in \*(UAs output:
10423 .Cd copiousoutput .
10426 If set the handler will not be invoked when a message is to be quoted,
10427 but only when it will be displayed:
10428 .Cd x-mailx-noquote .
10431 Run the command asynchronously, i.e., without blocking \*(UA:
10432 .Cd x-mailx-async .
10435 The command must be run on an interactive terminal, \*(UA will
10436 temporarily release the terminal to it:
10437 .Cd needsterminal .
10440 Request creation of a zero-sized temporary file, the absolute pathname
10441 of which will be made accessible via the environment variable
10442 .Ev MAILX_FILENAME_TEMPORARY :
10443 .Cd x-mailx-tmpfile .
10444 If given twice then the file will be unlinked automatically by \*(UA
10445 when the command loop is entered again at latest:
10446 .Cd x-mailx-tmpfile-unlink .
10449 Normally the MIME part content is passed to the handler via standard
10450 input; if this flag is set then the data will instead be written into
10451 .Ev MAILX_FILENAME_TEMPORARY
10452 .Pf ( Cd x-mailx-tmpfile-fill ) ,
10453 the creation of which is implied; note however that in order to cause
10454 deletion of the temporary file you still have to use two plus signs
10459 To avoid ambiguities with normal shell command content you can use
10460 another commercial at to forcefully terminate interpretation of
10461 remaining characters.
10462 (Any character not in this list will have the same effect.)
10466 Some information about the MIME part to be displayed is embedded into
10467 the environment of the shell command:
10470 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It Ev _AIL__ILENAME__ENERATED"
10472 .It Ev MAILX_CONTENT
10473 The MIME content-type of the part, if known, the empty string otherwise.
10476 .It Ev MAILX_CONTENT_EVIDENCE
10478 .Va mime-counter-evidence
10479 includes the carry-around-bit (2), then this will be set to the detected
10480 MIME content-type; not only then identical to
10481 .Ev \&\&MAILX_CONTENT
10485 .It Ev MAILX_EXTERNAL_BODY_URL
10487 .Ql message/external-body access-type=url
10488 will store the access URL in this variable, it is empty otherwise.
10489 URL targets should not be activated automatically, without supervision.
10492 .It Ev MAILX_FILENAME
10493 The filename, if any is set, the empty string otherwise.
10496 .It Ev MAILX_FILENAME_GENERATED
10500 .It Ev MAILX_FILENAME_TEMPORARY
10501 If temporary file creation has been requested through the command prefix
10502 this variable will be set and contain the absolute pathname of the
10508 .It Va pipe-EXTENSION
10509 This is identical to
10510 .Va pipe-TYPE/SUBTYPE
10513 (normalized to lowercase using character mappings of the ASCII charset)
10514 names a file extension, e.g.,
10516 Handlers registered using this method take precedence.
10519 .It Va pop3-auth-USER@HOST , pop3-auth-HOST , pop3-auth
10520 \*(OP\*(IN Variable chain that sets the POP3 authentication method.
10521 The only possible value as of now is
10523 which is thus the default.
10525 .Mx Va pop3-bulk-load
10526 .It Va pop3-bulk-load-USER@HOST , pop3-bulk-load-HOST , pop3-bulk-load
10527 \*(BO\*(OP When accessing a POP3 server \*(UA loads the headers of
10528 the messages, and only requests the message bodies on user request.
10529 For the POP3 protocol this means that the message headers will be
10531 If this variable is set then \*(UA will download only complete messages
10532 from the given POP3 server(s) instead.
10534 .Mx Va pop3-keepalive
10535 .It Va pop3-keepalive-USER@HOST , pop3-keepalive-HOST , pop3-keepalive
10536 \*(OP POP3 servers close the connection after a period of inactivity;
10537 the standard requires this to be at least 10 minutes,
10538 but practical experience may vary.
10539 Setting this variable to a numeric value greater than
10543 command to be sent each value seconds if no other operation is performed.
10545 .Mx Va pop3-no-apop
10546 .It Va pop3-no-apop-USER@HOST , pop3-no-apop-HOST , pop3-no-apop
10547 \*(BO\*(OP Unless this variable is set the
10549 authentication method will be used when connecting to a POP3 server that
10550 advertises support.
10553 is that the password is not sent in clear text over the wire and that
10554 only a single packet is sent for the user/password tuple.
10556 .Va pop3-no-apop-HOST
10559 .Mx Va pop3-use-starttls
10560 .It Va pop3-use-starttls-USER@HOST , pop3-use-starttls-HOST , pop3-use-starttls
10561 \*(BO\*(OP Causes \*(UA to issue a
10563 command to make an unencrypted POP3 session SSL/TLS encrypted.
10564 This functionality is not supported by all servers,
10565 and is not used if the session is already encrypted by the POP3S method.
10567 .Va pop3-use-starttls-HOST
10573 \*(BO This flag enables POSIX mode, which changes behaviour of \*(UA
10574 where that deviates from standardized behaviour.
10575 It will be set implicitly before the
10576 .Sx "Resource files"
10577 are loaded if the environment variable
10578 .Ev POSIXLY_CORRECT
10579 is set, and adjusting any of those two will be reflected by the other
10581 The following behaviour is covered and enforced by this mechanism:
10584 .Bl -bullet -compact
10586 In non-interactive mode, any error encountered while loading resource
10587 files during program startup will cause a program exit, whereas in
10588 interactive mode such errors will stop loading of the currently loaded
10589 (stack of) file(s, i.e., recursively).
10590 These exits can be circumvented on a per-command base by using
10593 .Sx "Command modifiers" ,
10594 for each command which shall be allowed to fail.
10598 will replace the list of alternate addresses instead of appending to it.
10601 The variable inserting
10602 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES"
10608 will expand embedded character sequences
10610 horizontal tabulator and
10613 \*(ID For compatibility reasons this step will always be performed.
10616 Upon changing the active
10620 will be displayed even if
10627 implies the behaviour described by
10633 is extended to cover any empty mailbox, not only empty
10635 .Sx "primary system mailbox" Ns
10636 es: they will be removed when they are left in empty state otherwise.
10641 .It Va print-alternatives
10642 \*(BO When a MIME message part of type
10643 .Ql multipart/alternative
10644 is displayed and it contains a subpart of type
10646 other parts are normally discarded.
10647 Setting this variable causes all subparts to be displayed,
10648 just as if the surrounding part was of type
10649 .Ql multipart/mixed .
10653 The string used as a prompt in interactive mode.
10654 Whenever the variable is evaluated the value is treated as if specified
10655 within dollar-single-quotes (see
10656 .Sx "Shell-style argument quoting" ) .
10657 This (post-assignment, i.e., second) expansion can be used to embed
10658 status information, for example
10663 .Va mailbox-display .
10665 In order to embed characters which should not be counted when
10666 calculating the visual width of the resulting string, enclose the
10667 characters of interest in a pair of reverse solidus escaped brackets:
10669 a slot for coloured prompts is also available with the \*(OPal command
10671 Prompting may be prevented by setting this to the null string
10673 .Ql set noprompt ) .
10677 This string is used for secondary prompts, but is otherwise identical to
10684 \*(BO Suppresses the printing of the version when first invoked.
10688 If set, \*(UA starts a replying message with the original message
10689 prefixed by the value of the variable
10691 Normally, a heading consisting of
10692 .Dq Fromheaderfield wrote:
10693 is put before the quotation.
10698 variable, this heading is omitted.
10701 is assigned, only the headers selected by the
10704 selection are put above the message body,
10707 acts like an automatic
10709 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES"
10713 is assigned, all headers are put above the message body and all MIME
10714 parts are included, making
10716 act like an automatic
10719 .Va quote-as-attachment .
10722 .It Va quote-as-attachment
10723 \*(BO Add the original message in its entirety as a
10725 MIME attachment when replying to a message.
10726 Note this works regardless of the setting of
10731 Can be set to a string consisting of non-whitespace ASCII characters
10732 which shall be treated as quotation leaders, the default being
10737 \*(OP Can be set in addition to
10739 Setting this turns on a more fancy quotation algorithm in that leading
10740 quotation characters
10741 .Pf ( Va quote-chars )
10742 are compressed and overlong lines are folded.
10744 can be set to either one or two (space separated) numeric values,
10745 which are interpreted as the maximum (goal) and the minimum line length,
10746 respectively, in a spirit rather equal to the
10748 program, but line-, not paragraph-based.
10749 If not set explicitly the minimum will reflect the goal algorithmically.
10750 The goal cannot be smaller than the length of
10752 plus some additional pad.
10753 Necessary adjustments take place silently.
10756 .It Va r-option-implicit
10757 \*(BO Setting this option evaluates the contents of
10759 (or, if that contains multiple addresses,
10761 and passes the results onto the used (file-based) MTA as described for the
10763 option (empty argument case).
10766 .It Va recipients-in-cc
10773 are by default merged into the new
10775 If this variable is set, only the original
10779 the rest is merged into
10784 Unless this variable is defined, no copies of outgoing mail will be saved.
10785 If defined it gives the pathname, subject to the usual
10786 .Sx "Filename transformations" ,
10787 of a folder where all new, replied-to or forwarded messages are saved:
10788 when saving to this folder fails the message is not sent, but instead
10792 The standard defines that relative (fully expanded) paths are to be
10793 interpreted relative to the current directory
10795 to force interpretation relative to
10798 needs to be set in addition.
10801 .It Va record-files
10802 \*(BO If this variable is set the meaning of
10804 will be extended to cover messages which target only file and pipe
10807 These address types will not appear in recipient lists unless
10808 .Va add-file-recipients
10812 .It Va record-resent
10813 \*(BO If this variable is set the meaning of
10815 will be extended to also cover the
10822 .It Va reply-in-same-charset
10823 \*(BO If this variable is set \*(UA first tries to use the same
10824 character set of the original message for replies.
10825 If this fails, the mechanism described in
10826 .Sx "Character sets"
10827 is evaluated as usual.
10830 .It Va reply-strings
10831 Can be set to a comma-separated list of (case-insensitive according to
10832 ASCII rules) strings which shall be recognized in addition to the
10833 built-in strings as
10835 reply message indicators \(en built-in are
10837 which is mandated by RFC 5322, as well as the german
10842 which often has been seen in the wild;
10843 I.e., the separating colon has to be specified explicitly.
10847 A list of addresses to put into the
10849 field of the message header.
10850 Members of this list are handled as if they were in the
10859 .It Va reply-to-honour
10862 header is honoured when replying to a message via
10866 This is a quadoption; if set without a value it defaults to
10870 .It Va rfc822-body-from_
10871 \*(BO This variable can be used to force displaying a so-called
10873 line for messages that are embedded into an envelope mail via the
10875 MIME mechanism, for more visual convenience.
10879 \*(BO Enable saving of (partial) messages in
10881 upon interrupt or delivery error.
10885 The number of lines that represents a
10894 line display and scrolling via
10896 If this variable is not set \*(UA falls back to a calculation based upon
10897 the detected terminal window size and the baud rate: the faster the
10898 terminal, the more will be shown.
10899 Overall screen dimensions and pager usage is influenced by the
10900 environment variables
10908 .It Va searchheaders
10909 \*(BO Expand message-list specifiers in the form
10911 to all messages containing the substring
10913 in the header field
10915 The string search is case insensitive.
10918 .It Va sendcharsets
10919 \*(OP A comma-separated list of character set names that can be used in
10920 outgoing internet mail.
10921 The value of the variable
10923 is automatically appended to this list of character sets.
10924 If no character set conversion capabilities are compiled into \*(UA then
10925 the only supported charset is
10928 .Va sendcharsets-else-ttycharset
10929 and refer to the section
10930 .Sx "Character sets"
10931 for the complete picture of character set conversion in \*(UA.
10934 .It Va sendcharsets-else-ttycharset
10935 \*(BO\*(OP If this variable is set, but
10937 is not, then \*(UA acts as if
10939 had been set to the value of the variable
10941 In effect this combination passes through the message data in the
10942 character set of the current locale encoding:
10943 therefore mail message text will be (assumed to be) in ISO-8859-1
10944 encoding when send from within a ISO-8859-1 locale, and in UTF-8
10945 encoding when send from within an UTF-8 locale.
10949 never comes into play as
10951 is implicitly assumed to be 8-bit and capable to represent all files the
10952 user may specify (as is the case when no character set conversion
10953 support is available in \*(UA and the only supported character set is
10955 .Sx "Character sets" ) .
10956 This might be a problem for scripts which use the suggested
10958 setting, since in this case the character set is US-ASCII by definition,
10959 so that it is better to also override
10965 An address that is put into the
10967 field of outgoing messages, quoting RFC 5322: the mailbox of the agent
10968 responsible for the actual transmission of the message.
10969 This field should normally not be used unless the
10971 field contains more than one address, on which case it is required.
10974 address is handled as if it were in the
10978 .Va r-option-implicit .
10981 \*(OB Predecessor of
10984 .It Va sendmail-arguments
10985 \*(OB Predecessor of
10986 .Va mta-arguments .
10988 .It Va sendmail-no-default-arguments
10989 \*(OB\*(BO Predecessor of
10990 .Va mta-no-default-arguments .
10992 .It Va sendmail-progname
10993 \*(OB Predecessor of
10998 \*(BO When sending a message wait until the
11000 (including the built-in SMTP one) exits before accepting further commands.
11002 with this variable set errors reported by the MTA will be recognizable!
11003 If the MTA returns a non-zero exit status,
11004 the exit status of \*(UA will also be non-zero.
11008 \*(BO This setting causes \*(UA to start at the last message
11009 instead of the first one when opening a mail folder, as well as with
11016 \*(BO Causes \*(UA to use the sender's real name instead of the plain
11017 address in the header field summary and in message specifications.
11021 \*(BO Causes the recipient of the message to be shown in the header
11022 summary if the message was sent by the user.
11029 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES" .
11031 .Va message-inject-tail ,
11032 .Va on-compose-leave
11034 .Va on-compose-splice .
11041 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES" .
11043 .Va message-inject-tail ,
11044 .Va on-compose-leave
11046 .Va on-compose-splice .
11051 .Va on-compose-splice
11053 .Va on-compose-splice-shell
11055 .Va on-compose-leave
11057 .Va message-inject-tail
11061 .It Va skipemptybody
11062 \*(BO If an outgoing message does not contain any text in its first or
11063 only message part, do not send it but discard it silently (see also the
11064 command line option
11069 .It Va smime-ca-dir , smime-ca-file
11070 \*(OP Specify the location of trusted CA certificates in PEM (Privacy
11071 Enhanced Mail) format as a directory and a file, respectively, for the
11072 purpose of verification of S/MIME signed messages.
11073 It is possible to set both, the file will be loaded immediately, the
11074 directory will be searched whenever no match has yet been found.
11075 The set of CA certificates which are built into the SSL/TLS library can
11076 be explicitly turned off by setting
11077 .Va smime-ca-no-defaults ,
11078 and further fine-tuning is possible via
11079 .Va smime-ca-flags .
11082 .It Va smime-ca-flags
11083 \*(OP Can be used to fine-tune behaviour of the X509 CA certificate
11084 storage, and the certificate verification that is used.
11085 The actual values and their meanings are documented for
11089 .It Va smime-ca-no-defaults
11090 \*(BO\*(OP Do not load the default CA locations that are built into the
11091 used to SSL/TLS library to verify S/MIME signed messages.
11093 .Mx Va smime-cipher
11094 .It Va smime-cipher-USER@HOST , smime-cipher
11095 \*(OP Specifies the cipher to use when generating S/MIME encrypted
11096 messages (for the specified account).
11097 RFC 5751 mandates a default of
11100 Possible values are (case-insensitive and) in decreasing cipher strength:
11108 (DES EDE3 CBC, 168 bits; default if
11110 is not available) and
11112 (DES CBC, 56 bits).
11114 The actually available cipher algorithms depend on the cryptographic
11115 library that \*(UA uses.
11116 \*(OP Support for more cipher algorithms may be available through
11117 dynamic loading via, e.g.,
11118 .Xr EVP_get_cipherbyname 3
11119 (OpenSSL) if \*(UA has been compiled to support this.
11122 .It Va smime-crl-dir
11123 \*(OP Specifies a directory that contains files with CRLs in PEM format
11124 to use when verifying S/MIME messages.
11127 .It Va smime-crl-file
11128 \*(OP Specifies a file that contains a CRL in PEM format to use when
11129 verifying S/MIME messages.
11132 .It Va smime-encrypt-USER@HOST
11133 \*(OP If this variable is set, messages send to the given receiver are
11134 encrypted before sending.
11135 The value of the variable must be set to the name of a file that
11136 contains a certificate in PEM format.
11138 If a message is sent to multiple recipients,
11139 each of them for whom a corresponding variable is set will receive an
11140 individually encrypted message;
11141 other recipients will continue to receive the message in plain text
11143 .Va smime-force-encryption
11145 It is recommended to sign encrypted messages, i.e., to also set the
11150 .It Va smime-force-encryption
11151 \*(BO\*(OP Causes \*(UA to refuse sending unencrypted messages.
11155 \*(BO\*(OP S/MIME sign outgoing messages with the user's private key
11156 and include the user's certificate as a MIME attachment.
11157 Signing a message enables a recipient to verify that the sender used
11158 a valid certificate,
11159 that the email addresses in the certificate match those in the message
11160 header and that the message content has not been altered.
11161 It does not change the message text,
11162 and people will be able to read the message as usual.
11164 .Va smime-sign-cert , smime-sign-include-certs
11166 .Va smime-sign-message-digest .
11168 .Mx Va smime-sign-cert
11169 .It Va smime-sign-cert-USER@HOST , smime-sign-cert
11170 \*(OP Points to a file in PEM format.
11171 For the purpose of signing and decryption this file needs to contain the
11172 user's private key, followed by his certificate.
11174 For message signing
11176 is always derived from the value of
11178 (or, if that contains multiple addresses,
11180 For the purpose of encryption the recipient's public encryption key
11181 (certificate) is expected; the command
11183 can be used to save certificates of signed messages (the section
11184 .Sx "Signed and encrypted messages with S/MIME"
11185 gives some details).
11186 This mode of operation is usually driven by the specialized form.
11188 When decrypting messages the account is derived from the recipient
11193 of the message, which are searched for addresses for which such
11195 \*(UA always uses the first address that matches,
11196 so if the same message is sent to more than one of the user's addresses
11197 using different encryption keys, decryption might fail.
11199 For signing and decryption purposes it is possible to use encrypted
11200 keys, and the pseudo-host(s)
11201 .Ql USER@HOST.smime-cert-key
11202 for the private key
11204 .Ql USER@HOST.smime-cert-cert
11205 for the certificate stored in the same file)
11206 will be used for performing any necessary password lookup,
11207 therefore the lookup can be automated via the mechanisms described in
11208 .Sx "On URL syntax and credential lookup" .
11209 For example, the hypothetical address
11211 could be driven with a private key / certificate pair path defined in
11212 .Va \&\&smime-sign-cert-bob@exam.ple ,
11213 and needed passwords would then be looked up via the pseudo hosts
11214 .Ql bob@exam.ple.smime-cert-key
11216 .Ql bob@exam.ple.smime-cert-cert ) .
11217 To include intermediate certificates, use
11218 .Va smime-sign-include-certs .
11220 .Mx Va smime-sign-include-certs
11221 .It Va smime-sign-include-certs-USER@HOST , smime-sign-include-certs
11222 \*(OP If used, this is supposed to a consist of a comma-separated list
11223 of files, each of which containing a single certificate in PEM format to
11224 be included in the S/MIME message in addition to the
11225 .Va smime-sign-cert
11227 This can be used to include intermediate certificates of the certificate
11228 authority, in order to allow the receiver's S/MIME implementation to
11229 perform a verification of the entire certificate chain, starting from
11230 a local root certificate, over the intermediate certificates, down to the
11231 .Va smime-sign-cert .
11232 Even though top level certificates may also be included in the chain,
11233 they won't be used for the verification on the receiver's side.
11235 For the purpose of the mechanisms involved here,
11237 refers to the content of the internal variable
11239 (or, if that contains multiple addresses,
11242 .Ql USER@HOST.smime-include-certs
11243 will be used for performing password lookups for these certificates,
11244 shall they have been given one, therefore the lookup can be automated
11245 via the mechanisms described in
11246 .Sx "On URL syntax and credential lookup" .
11248 .Mx Va smime-sign-message-digest
11249 .It Va smime-sign-message-digest-USER@HOST , smime-sign-message-digest
11250 \*(OP Specifies the message digest to use when signing S/MIME messages.
11251 RFC 5751 mandates a default of
11253 Possible values are (case-insensitive and) in decreasing cipher strength:
11261 The actually available message digest algorithms depend on the
11262 cryptographic library that \*(UA uses.
11263 \*(OP Support for more message digest algorithms may be available
11264 through dynamic loading via, e.g.,
11265 .Xr EVP_get_digestbyname 3
11266 (OpenSSL) if \*(UA has been compiled to support this.
11267 Remember that for this
11269 refers to the variable
11271 (or, if that contains multiple addresses,
11275 \*(OB\*(OP To use the built-in SMTP transport, specify a SMTP URL in
11277 \*(ID For compatibility reasons a set
11279 is used in preference of
11283 .It Va smtp-auth-USER@HOST , smtp-auth-HOST , smtp-auth
11284 \*(OP Variable chain that controls the SMTP
11286 authentication method, possible values are
11292 as well as the \*(OPal methods
11298 method does not need any user credentials,
11300 requires a user name and all other methods require a user name and
11308 .Va smtp-auth-password
11310 .Va smtp-auth-user ) .
11315 .Va smtp-auth-USER@HOST :
11316 may override dependent on sender address in the variable
11319 .It Va smtp-auth-password
11320 \*(OP\*(OU Sets the global fallback password for SMTP authentication.
11321 If the authentication method requires a password, but neither
11322 .Va smtp-auth-password
11324 .Va smtp-auth-password-USER@HOST
11326 \*(UA will ask for a password on the user's terminal.
11328 .It Va smtp-auth-password-USER@HOST
11330 .Va smtp-auth-password
11331 for specific values of sender addresses, dependent upon the variable
11334 .It Va smtp-auth-user
11335 \*(OP\*(OU Sets the global fallback user name for SMTP authentication.
11336 If the authentication method requires a user name, but neither
11339 .Va smtp-auth-user-USER@HOST
11341 \*(UA will ask for a user name on the user's terminal.
11343 .It Va smtp-auth-user-USER@HOST
11346 for specific values of sender addresses, dependent upon the variable
11350 .It Va smtp-hostname
11351 \*(OP\*(IN Normally \*(UA uses the variable
11353 to derive the necessary
11355 information in order to issue a
11362 can be used to use the
11364 from the SMTP account
11371 from the content of this variable (or, if that is the empty string,
11373 or the local hostname as a last resort).
11374 This often allows using an address that is itself valid but hosted by
11375 a provider other than which (in
11377 is about to send the message.
11378 Setting this variable also influences generated
11383 If the \*(OPal IDNA support is available (see
11385 variable assignment is aborted when a necessary conversion fails.
11387 .Mx Va smtp-use-starttls
11388 .It Va smtp-use-starttls-USER@HOST , smtp-use-starttls-HOST , smtp-use-starttls
11389 \*(BO\*(OP Causes \*(UA to issue a
11391 command to make an SMTP
11393 session SSL/TLS encrypted, i.e., to enable transport layer security.
11396 .It Va socks-proxy-USER@HOST , socks-proxy-HOST , socks-proxy
11397 \*(OP If this is set to the hostname (SOCKS URL) of a SOCKS5 server then
11398 \*(UA will proxy all of its network activities through it.
11399 This can be used to proxy SMTP, POP3 etc. network traffic through the
11400 Tor anonymizer, for example.
11401 The following would create a local SOCKS proxy on port 10000 that
11402 forwards to the machine
11404 and from which the network traffic is actually instantiated:
11405 .Bd -literal -offset indent
11406 # Create local proxy server in terminal 1 forwarding to HOST
11407 $ ssh -D 10000 USER@HOST
11408 # Then, start a client that uses it in terminal 2
11409 $ \*(uA -Ssocks-proxy-USER@HOST=localhost:10000
11413 .It Va spam-interface
11414 \*(OP In order to use any of the spam-related commands (like, e.g.,
11416 the desired spam interface must be defined by setting this variable.
11417 Please refer to the manual section
11418 .Sx "Handling spam"
11419 for the complete picture of spam handling in \*(UA.
11420 All or none of the following interfaces may be available:
11422 .Bl -tag -width ".It Ql _ilte_"
11428 .Pf ( Lk http://spamassassin.apache.org SpamAssassin )
11430 Different to the generic filter interface \*(UA will automatically add
11431 the correct arguments for a given command and has the necessary
11432 knowledge to parse the program's output.
11433 A default value for
11435 will have been compiled into the \*(UA binary if
11439 during compilation.
11440 Shall it be necessary to define a specific connection type (rather than
11441 using a configuration file for that), the variable
11442 .Va spamc-arguments
11443 can be used as in, e.g.,
11444 .Ql -d server.example.com -p 783 .
11445 It is also possible to specify a per-user configuration via
11447 Note that this interface does not inspect the
11449 flag of a message for the command
11453 generic spam filter support via freely configurable hooks.
11454 This interface is meant for programs like
11456 and requires according behaviour in respect to the hooks' exit
11457 status for at least the command
11460 meaning a message is spam,
11464 for unsure and any other return value indicating a hard error);
11465 since the hooks can include shell code snippets diverting behaviour
11466 can be intercepted as necessary.
11468 .Va spamfilter-ham , spamfilter-noham , spamfilter-nospam , \
11471 .Va spamfilter-spam ;
11473 .Sx "Handling spam"
11474 contains examples for some programs.
11475 The process environment of the hooks will have the variable
11476 .Ev MAILX_FILENAME_GENERATED
11478 Note that spam score support for
11480 is not supported unless the \*(OPtional regular expression support is
11482 .Va spamfilter-rate-scanscore
11488 .It Va spam-maxsize
11489 \*(OP Messages that exceed this size will not be passed through to the
11491 .Va spam-interface .
11492 If unset or 0, the default of 420000 bytes is used.
11495 .It Va spamc-command
11496 \*(OP The path to the
11500 .Va spam-interface .
11501 Note that the path is not expanded, but used
11503 A fallback path will have been compiled into the \*(UA binary if the
11504 executable had been found during compilation.
11507 .It Va spamc-arguments
11508 \*(OP Even though \*(UA deals with most arguments for the
11511 automatically, it may at least sometimes be desirable to specify
11512 connection-related ones via this variable, e.g.,
11513 .Ql -d server.example.com -p 783 .
11517 \*(OP Specify a username for per-user configuration files for the
11519 .Va spam-interface .
11520 If this is set to the empty string then \*(UA will use the name of the
11529 .It Va spamfilter-ham , spamfilter-noham , \
11530 spamfilter-nospam , spamfilter-rate , spamfilter-spam
11531 \*(OP Command and argument hooks for the
11533 .Va spam-interface .
11535 .Sx "Handling spam"
11536 contains examples for some programs.
11539 .It Va spamfilter-rate-scanscore
11540 \*(OP Because of the generic nature of the
11543 spam scores are not supported for it by default, but if the \*(OPnal
11544 regular expression support is available then setting this variable can
11545 be used to overcome this restriction.
11546 It is interpreted as follows: first a number (digits) is parsed that
11547 must be followed by a semicolon
11549 and an extended regular expression.
11550 Then the latter is used to parse the first output line of the
11551 .Va spamfilter-rate
11552 hook, and, in case the evaluation is successful, the group that has been
11553 specified via the number is interpreted as a floating point scan score.
11557 .It Va ssl-ca-dir-USER@HOST , ssl-ca-dir-HOST , ssl-ca-dir ,\
11558 ssl-ca-file-USER@HOST , ssl-ca-file-HOST , ssl-ca-file
11559 \*(OP Specify the location of trusted CA certificates in PEM (Privacy
11560 Enhanced Mail) format as a directory and a file, respectively, for the
11561 purpose of verification of SSL/TLS server certificates.
11562 It is possible to set both, the file will be loaded immediately, the
11563 directory will be searched whenever no match has yet been found.
11564 The set of CA certificates which are built into the SSL/TLS library can
11565 be explicitly turned off by setting
11566 .Va ssl-ca-no-defaults ,
11567 and further fine-tuning is possible via
11570 .Xr SSL_CTX_load_verify_locations 3
11571 for more information.
11572 \*(UA will try to use the TLS/SNI (ServerNameIndication) extension when
11573 establishing TLS connections to servers identified with hostnames.
11576 .Mx Va ssl-ca-flags
11577 .It Va ssl-ca-flags-USER@HOST , ssl-ca-flags-HOST , ssl-ca-flags
11578 \*(OP Can be used to fine-tune behaviour of the X509 CA certificate
11579 storage, and the certificate verification that is used (also see
11581 The value is expected to consist of a comma-separated list of
11582 configuration directives, with any intervening whitespace being ignored.
11583 The directives directly map to flags that can be passed to
11584 .Xr X509_STORE_set_flags 3 ,
11585 which are usually defined in a file
11586 .Pa openssl/x509_vfy.h ,
11587 and the availability of which depends on the used SSL/TLS library
11588 version: a directive without mapping is ignored (error log subject to
11590 Directives currently understood (case-insensitively) include:
11593 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It Cd BaNg"
11594 .It Cd no-alt-chains
11595 If the initial chain is not trusted, do not attempt to build an
11597 Setting this flag will make OpenSSL certificate verification match that
11598 of older OpenSSL versions, before automatic building and checking of
11599 alternative chains has been implemented; also see
11600 .Cd trusted-first .
11601 .It Cd no-check-time
11602 Do not check certificate/CRL validity against current time.
11603 .It Cd partial-chain
11604 By default partial, incomplete chains which cannot be verified up to the
11605 chain top, a self-signed root certificate, will not verify.
11606 With this flag set, a chain succeeds to verify if at least one signing
11607 certificate of the chain is in any of the configured trusted stores of
11609 The OpenSSL manual page
11610 .Xr SSL_CTX_load_verify_locations 3
11611 gives some advise how to manage your own trusted store of CA certificates.
11613 Disable workarounds for broken certificates.
11614 .It Cd trusted-first
11615 Try building a chain using issuers in the trusted store first to avoid
11616 problems with server-sent legacy intermediate certificates.
11617 Newer versions of OpenSSL support alternative chain checking and enable
11618 it by default, resulting in the same behaviour; also see
11619 .Cd no-alt-chains .
11623 .Mx Va ssl-ca-no-defaults
11624 .It Va ssl-ca-no-defaults-USER@HOST , ssl-ca-no-defaults-HOST ,\
11626 \*(BO\*(OP Do not load the default CA locations that are built into the
11627 used to SSL/TLS library to verify SSL/TLS server certificates.
11630 .It Va ssl-cert-USER@HOST , ssl-cert-HOST , ssl-cert
11631 \*(OB\*(OP Please use the
11634 .Va ssl-config-pairs .
11636 .Mx Va ssl-cipher-list
11637 .It Va ssl-cipher-list-USER@HOST , ssl-cipher-list-HOST , ssl-cipher-list
11638 \*(OB\*(OP Please use the
11641 .Va ssl-config-pairs .
11644 .It Va ssl-config-file
11645 \*(OP If this variable is set
11646 .Xr CONF_modules_load_file 3
11648 .Ql +modules-load-file
11651 is used to allow resource file based configuration of the SSL/TLS library.
11652 This happens once the library is used first, which may also be early
11653 during startup (logged with
11655 If a non-empty value is given then the given file, after performing
11656 .Sx "Filename transformations" ,
11657 will be used instead of the global OpenSSL default, and it is an error
11658 if the file cannot be loaded.
11659 The application name will always be passed as
11661 Some SSL/TLS libraries support application-specific configuration via
11662 resource files loaded like this, please see
11663 .Va ssl-config-module .
11665 .Mx Va ssl-config-module
11666 .It Va ssl-config-module-USER@HOST , ssl-config-module-HOST ,\
11668 \*(OP If file based application-specific configuration via
11669 .Va ssl-config-file
11670 is available, announced as
11674 indicating availability of
11675 .Xr SSL_CTX_config 3 ,
11676 then, it becomes possible to use a central SSL/TLS configuration file
11677 for all programs, including \*(uA, e.g.:
11678 .Bd -literal -offset indent
11679 # Register a configuration section for \*(uA
11680 \*(uA = mailx_master
11681 # The top configuration section creates a relation
11682 # in between dynamic SSL configuration and an actual
11683 # program specific configuration section
11685 ssl_conf = mailx_ssl_config
11686 # Well that actual program specific configuration section
11687 # now can map individual ssl-config-module names to sections,
11688 # e.g., ssl-config-module=account_xy
11690 account_xy = mailx_account_xy
11691 account_yz = mailx_account_yz
11693 MinProtocol = TLSv1.2
11696 CipherString = TLSv1.2:!aNULL:!eNULL:
11697 MinProtocol = TLSv1.1
11702 .Mx Va ssl-config-pairs
11703 .It Va ssl-config-pairs-USER@HOST , ssl-config-pairs-HOST , ssl-config-pairs
11704 \*(OP The value of this variable chain will be interpreted as
11705 a comma-separated list of directive/value pairs.
11706 Directives and values need to be separated by equals signs
11708 any whitespace surrounding pair members is removed.
11709 Keys are (usually) case-insensitive.
11710 Different to when placing these pairs in a
11711 .Va ssl-config-module
11713 .Va ssl-config-file ,
11716 need to be escaped with a reverse solidus
11718 when included in pairs; also different: if the equals sign
11720 is preceded with an asterisk
11722 .Sx "Filename transformations"
11723 will be performed on the value; it is an error if these fail.
11724 Unless proper support is announced by
11726 .Pf ( Ql +conf-ctx )
11727 only the keys below are supported, otherwise the pairs will be used
11728 directly as arguments to the function
11729 .Xr SSL_CONF_cmd 3 .
11732 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It Cd C_rtificate"
11734 Filename of a SSL/TLS client certificate (chain) required by some servers.
11735 Fallback support via
11736 .Xr SSL_CTX_use_certificate_chain_file 3 .
11737 .Sx "Filename transformations"
11739 .\" v15compat: remove the next sentence
11741 if you use this you need to specify the private key via
11746 .It Cd CipherString
11747 A list of ciphers for SSL/TLS connections, see
11749 By default no list of ciphers is set, resulting in a
11750 .Cd Protocol Ns - Ns
11751 specific list of ciphers (the protocol standards define lists of
11752 acceptable ciphers; possibly cramped by the used SSL/TLS library).
11753 Fallback support via
11754 .Xr SSL_CTX_set_cipher_list 3 .
11756 .It Cd Ciphersuites
11757 A list of ciphers used for TLSv1.3 connections, see
11759 These will be joined onto the list of ciphers from
11764 .Ql +ctx-set-ciphersuites ,
11766 .Xr SSL_CTX_set_ciphersuites 3 .
11769 A list of supported elliptic curves, if applicable.
11770 By default no curves are set.
11771 Fallback support via
11772 .Xr SSL_CTX_set1_curves_list 3 ,
11775 .It Cd MaxProtocol , MinProtocol
11776 The maximum and minimum supported SSL/TLS versions, respectively.
11780 .Ql +ctx-set-maxmin-proto ,
11782 .Xr SSL_CTX_set_max_proto_version 3
11784 .Xr SSL_CTX_set_min_proto_version 3 ;
11785 these fallbacks use an internal parser which understands the strings
11791 and the special value
11793 which disables the given limit.
11796 Various flags to set.
11798 .Xr SSL_CTX_set_options 3 ,
11799 in which case any other value but (exactly)
11801 results in an error.
11804 Filename of the private key in PEM format of a SSL/TLS client certificate.
11805 If unset, the name of the certificate file is used.
11806 .Sx "Filename transformations"
11809 .Xr SSL_CTX_use_PrivateKey_file 3 .
11810 .\" v15compat: remove the next sentence
11812 if you use this you need to specify the certificate (chain) via
11818 The used SSL/TLS protocol.
11824 .Ql ctx-set-maxmin-proto
11831 .Xr SSL_CTX_set_options 3 ,
11832 driven via an internal parser which understands the strings
11838 and the special value
11840 Multiple protocols may be given as a comma-separated list, any
11841 whitespace is ignored, an optional plus sign
11843 prefix enables, a hyphen-minus
11845 prefix disables a protocol, so that
11847 enables only the TLSv1.2 protocol.
11853 .It Va ssl-crl-dir , ssl-crl-file
11854 \*(OP Specify a directory / a file, respectively that contains a CRL in
11855 PEM format to use when verifying SSL/TLS server certificates.
11858 .It Va ssl-curves-USER@HOST , ssl-curves-HOST , ssl-curves
11859 \*(OB\*(OP Please use the
11862 .Va ssl-config-pairs .
11865 .It Va ssl-features
11866 \*(OP\*(RO This expands to a comma separated list of the TLS/SSL library
11867 identity and optional TLS/SSL library features.
11868 Currently supported identities are
11872 (OpenSSL v1.1.x series)
11875 (elder OpenSSL series, other clones).
11876 Optional features are preceded with a plus sign
11878 when available, and with a hyphen-minus
11881 .Ql modules-load-file
11882 .Pf ( Va ssl-config-file ) ,
11884 .Pf ( Va ssl-config-pairs ) ,
11886 .Pf ( Va ssl-config-module ) ,
11887 .Ql ctx-set-maxmin-proto
11888 .Pf ( Va ssl-config-pairs )
11891 .Pf ( Va ssl-rand-egd ) .
11894 .It Va ssl-key-USER@HOST , ssl-key-HOST , ssl-key
11895 \*(OB\*(OP Please use the
11898 .Va ssl-config-pairs .
11900 .It Va ssl-method-USER@HOST , ssl-method-HOST , ssl-method
11901 \*(OB\*(OP Please use the
11904 .Va ssl-config-pairs .
11906 .Mx Va ssl-protocol
11907 .It Va ssl-protocol-USER@HOST , ssl-protocol-HOST , ssl-protocol
11908 \*(OB\*(OP Please use the
11911 .Va ssl-config-pairs .
11914 .It Va ssl-rand-egd
11915 \*(OP Gives the pathname to an entropy daemon socket, see
11917 Not all SSL/TLS libraries support this,
11919 announces availability with
11923 .It Va ssl-rand-file
11924 \*(OP Gives the filename to a file with random entropy data, see
11925 .Xr RAND_load_file 3 .
11926 If this variable is not set, or set to the empty string, or if the
11927 .Sx "Filename transformations"
11929 .Xr RAND_file_name 3
11930 will be used to create the filename.
11931 If the SSL PRNG was seeded successfully
11932 The file will be updated
11933 .Pf ( Xr RAND_write_file 3 )
11934 if and only if seeding and buffer stirring succeeds.
11935 This variable is only used if
11937 is not set (or not supported by the SSL/TLS library).
11940 .It Va ssl-verify-USER@HOST , ssl-verify-HOST , ssl-verify
11941 \*(OP Variable chain that sets the action to be performed if an error
11942 occurs during SSL/TLS server certificate validation against the
11943 specified or default trust stores
11946 or the SSL/TLS library built-in defaults (unless usage disallowed via
11947 .Va ssl-ca-no-defaults ) ,
11948 and as fine-tuned via
11950 Valid (case-insensitive) values are
11952 (fail and close connection immediately),
11954 (ask whether to continue on standard input),
11956 (show a warning and continue),
11958 (do not perform validation).
11964 If only set without an assigned value, then this setting inhibits the
11970 header fields that include obvious references to \*(UA.
11971 There are two pitfalls associated with this:
11972 First, the message id of outgoing messages is not known anymore.
11973 Second, an expert may still use the remaining information in the header
11974 to track down the originating mail user agent.
11975 If set to the value
11981 suppression does not occur.
11984 .It Va system-mailrc
11985 \*(RO The compiled in path of the system wide initialization file
11987 .Sx "Resource files" :
11993 (\*(OP) This specifies a comma-separated list of
11998 .Sx "On terminal control and line editor" ,
11999 escape commas with reverse solidus) to be used to overwrite or define
12002 this variable will only be queried once at program startup and can
12003 thus only be specified in resource files or on the command line.
12006 String capabilities form
12008 pairs and are expected unless noted otherwise.
12009 Numerics have to be notated as
12011 where the number is expected in normal decimal notation.
12012 Finally, booleans do not have any value but indicate a true or false
12013 state simply by being defined or not; this indeed means that \*(UA
12014 does not support undefining an existing boolean.
12015 String capability values will undergo some expansions before use:
12016 for one notations like
12019 .Ql control-LETTER ,
12020 and for clarification purposes
12022 can be used to specify
12024 (the control notation
12026 could lead to misreadings when a left bracket follows, which it does for
12027 the standard CSI sequence);
12028 finally three letter octal sequences, as in
12031 To specify that a terminal supports 256-colours, and to define sequences
12032 that home the cursor and produce an audible bell, one might write:
12034 .Bd -literal -offset indent
12035 ? set termcap='Co#256,home=\eE[H,bel=^G'
12039 The following terminal capabilities are or may be meaningful for the
12040 operation of the built-in line editor or \*(UA in general:
12043 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It Cd yay"
12045 .It Cd colors Ns \0or Cd Co
12047 numeric capability specifying the maximum number of colours.
12048 Note that \*(UA does not actually care about the terminal beside that,
12049 but always emits ANSI / ISO 6429 escape sequences.
12052 .It Cd rmcup Ns \0or Cd te Ns \0/ Cd smcup Ns \0or Cd ti
12055 .Cd enter_ca_mode ,
12056 respectively: exit and enter the alternative screen ca-mode,
12057 effectively turning \*(UA into a fullscreen application.
12058 This must be enabled explicitly by setting
12059 .Va termcap-ca-mode .
12061 .It Cd smkx Ns \0or Cd ks Ns \0/ Cd rmkx Ns \0or Cd ke
12065 respectively: enable and disable the keypad.
12066 This is always enabled if available, because it seems even keyboards
12067 without keypads generate other key codes for, e.g., cursor keys in that
12068 case, and only if enabled we see the codes that we are interested in.
12070 .It Cd ed Ns \0or Cd cd
12074 .It Cd clear Ns \0or Cd cl
12076 clear the screen and home cursor.
12077 (Will be simulated via
12082 .It Cd home Ns \0or Cd ho
12087 .It Cd el Ns \0or Cd ce
12089 clear to the end of line.
12090 (Will be simulated via
12092 plus repetitions of space characters.)
12094 .It Cd hpa Ns \0or Cd ch
12095 .Cd column_address :
12096 move the cursor (to the given column parameter) in the current row.
12097 (Will be simulated via
12103 .Cd carriage_return :
12104 move to the first column in the current row.
12105 The default built-in fallback is
12108 .It Cd cub1 Ns \0or Cd le
12110 move the cursor left one space (non-destructively).
12111 The default built-in fallback is
12114 .It Cd cuf1 Ns \0or Cd nd
12116 move the cursor right one space (non-destructively).
12117 The default built-in fallback is
12119 which is used by most terminals.
12127 Many more capabilities which describe key-sequences are documented for
12132 .It Va termcap-ca-mode
12133 \*(OP Allow usage of the
12137 terminal capabilities, see
12140 this variable will only be queried once at program startup and can
12141 thus only be specified in resource files or on the command line.
12144 .It Va termcap-disable
12145 \*(OP Disable any interaction with a terminal control library.
12146 If set only some generic fallback built-ins and possibly the content of
12148 describe the terminal to \*(UA.
12150 this variable will only be queried once at program startup and can
12151 thus only be specified in resource files or on the command line.
12155 If defined, gives the number of lines of a message to be displayed
12158 if unset, the first five lines are printed, if set to 0 the variable
12161 If the value is negative then its absolute value will be used for
12162 unsigned right shifting (see
12170 \*(BO If set then the
12172 command series will strip adjacent empty lines and quotations.
12176 The character set of the terminal \*(UA operates on,
12177 and the one and only supported character set that \*(UA can use if no
12178 character set conversion capabilities have been compiled into it,
12179 in which case it defaults to ISO-8859-1.
12180 Otherwise it defaults to UTF-8.
12181 Sufficient locale support provided the default will be preferably
12182 deduced from the locale environment if that is set (e.g.,
12184 see there for more); runtime locale changes will be reflected by
12186 except during the program startup phase and if
12188 had been used to freeze the given value.
12189 Refer to the section
12190 .Sx "Character sets"
12191 for the complete picture about character sets.
12194 .It Va typescript-mode
12195 \*(BO A special multiplex variable that disables all variables and
12196 settings which result in behaviour that interferes with running \*(UA in
12199 .Va colour-disable ,
12200 .Va line-editor-disable
12201 and (before startup completed only)
12202 .Va termcap-disable .
12203 Unsetting it does not restore the former state of the covered settings.
12207 For a safe-by-default policy the process file mode creation mask
12211 on program startup by default.
12212 Child processes inherit the file mode creation mask of their parent, and
12213 by setting this variable to an empty value no change will be applied,
12214 and the inherited value will be used.
12215 Otherwise the given value will be made the new file mode creation mask.
12218 .It Va user-HOST , user
12219 \*(IN Variable chain that sets a global fallback user name, which is
12220 used in case none has been given in the protocol and account-specific
12222 This variable defaults to the name of the user who runs \*(UA.
12226 \*(BO Setting this enables upward compatibility with \*(UA
12227 version 15.0 in respect to which configuration options are available and
12228 how they are handled.
12229 This manual uses \*(IN and \*(OU to refer to the new and the old way of
12230 doing things, respectively.
12234 \*(BO This setting, also controllable via the command line option
12236 causes \*(UA to be more verbose, e.g., it will display obsoletion
12237 warnings and SSL/TLS certificate chains.
12238 Even though marked \*(BO this option may be set twice in order to
12239 increase the level of verbosity even more, in which case even details of
12240 the actual message delivery and protocol conversations are shown.
12243 is sufficient to disable verbosity as such.
12250 .It Va version , version-date , \
12251 version-hexnum , version-major , version-minor , version-update
12252 \*(RO \*(UA version information: the first variable is a string with
12253 the complete version identification, the second the release date in ISO
12254 8601 notation without time.
12255 The third is a 32-bit hexadecimal number with the upper 8 bits storing
12256 the major, followed by the minor and update version numbers which occupy
12258 The latter three variables contain only decimal digits: the major, minor
12259 and update version numbers.
12260 The output of the command
12262 will include this information.
12265 .It Va writebackedited
12266 If this variable is set messages modified using the
12270 commands are written back to the current folder when it is quit;
12271 it is only honoured for writable folders in MBOX format, though.
12272 Note that the editor will be pointed to the raw message content in that
12273 case, i.e., neither MIME decoding nor decryption will have been
12274 performed, and proper RFC 4155
12276 quoting of newly added or edited content is also left as an exercise to
12279 .\" }}} (Variables)
12281 .\" }}} (INTERNAL VARIABLES)
12284 .\" .Sh ENVIRONMENT {{{
12288 .Dq environment variable
12289 should be considered an indication that these variables are either
12290 standardized as vivid parts of process environments, or that they are
12291 commonly found in there.
12292 The process environment is inherited from the
12294 once \*(UA is started, and unless otherwise explicitly noted handling of
12295 the following variables transparently integrates into that of the
12296 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES"
12297 from \*(UA's point of view.
12298 This means that, e.g., they can be managed via
12302 causing automatic program environment updates (to be inherited by
12303 newly created child processes).
12306 In order to transparently integrate other environment variables equally
12307 they need to be imported (linked) with the command
12309 This command can also be used to set and unset non-integrated
12310 environment variables from scratch, sufficient system support provided.
12311 The following example, applicable to a POSIX shell, sets the
12313 environment variable for \*(UA only, and beforehand exports the
12315 in order to affect any further processing in the running shell:
12317 .Bd -literal -offset indent
12318 $ EDITOR="vim -u ${HOME}/.vimrc"
12320 $ COLUMNS=80 \*(uA -R
12323 .Bl -tag -width ".It Ev BaNg"
12326 The user's preferred width in column positions for the terminal screen
12328 Queried and used once on program startup, actively managed for child
12329 processes and the MLE (see
12330 .Sx "On terminal control and line editor" )
12331 in interactive mode thereafter.
12332 Ignored in non-interactive mode, which always uses 80 columns, unless in
12338 The name of the (mailbox)
12340 to use for saving aborted messages if
12342 is set; this defaults to
12346 is set no output will be generated, otherwise the contents of the file
12351 Pathname of the text editor to use for the
12355 .Pf (see\0 Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES" ) ;
12357 is used for a more display oriented editor.
12361 The user's home directory.
12362 This variable is only used when it resides in the process environment.
12363 The calling user's home directory will be used instead if this directory
12364 does not exist, is not accessible or cannot be read;
12365 it will always be used for the root user.
12366 (No test for being writable is performed to allow usage by
12367 non-privileged users within read-only jails, but dependent on the
12368 variable settings this directory is a default write target, e.g. for
12376 .It Ev LC_ALL , LC_CTYPE , LANG
12377 \*(OP The (names in lookup order of the)
12381 which indicates the used
12382 .Sx "Character sets" .
12383 Runtime changes trigger automatic updates of the entire locale system,
12384 which includes updating
12386 (except during startup if the variable has been frozen via
12391 The user's preferred number of lines on a page or the vertical screen
12392 or window size in lines.
12393 Queried and used once on program startup, actively managed for child
12394 processes in interactive mode thereafter.
12395 Ignored in non-interactive mode, which always uses 24 lines, unless in
12401 Pathname of the directory lister to use in the
12403 command when operating on local mailboxes.
12406 (path search through
12411 Upon startup \*(UA will actively ensure that this variable refers to the
12412 name of the user who runs \*(UA, in order to be able to pass a verified
12413 name to any newly created child process.
12417 Is used as the user's
12419 .Sx "primary system mailbox"
12423 This is assumed to be an absolute pathname.
12427 \*(OP Overrides the default path search for
12428 .Sx "The Mailcap files" ,
12429 which is defined in the standard RFC 1524 as
12430 .Ql ~/.mailcap:\:/etc/mailcap:\:/usr/etc/mailcap:\:/usr/local/etc/mailcap .
12431 .\" TODO we should have a mailcaps-default virtual RDONLY option!
12432 (\*(UA makes it a configuration option, however.)
12433 Note this is not a search path, but a path search.
12437 Is used as a startup file instead of
12440 In order to avoid side-effects from configuration files scripts should
12441 either set this variable to
12445 command line option should be used.
12448 .It Ev MAILX_NO_SYSTEM_RC
12449 If this variable is set then reading of
12452 .Va system-mailrc )
12453 at startup is inhibited, i.e., the same effect is achieved as if \*(UA
12454 had been started up with the option
12456 (and according argument) or
12458 This variable is only used when it resides in the process environment.
12462 The name of the user's
12464 .Sx "secondary mailbox"
12466 A logical subset of the special
12467 .Sx "Filename transformations"
12473 Traditionally this MBOX is used as the file to save messages from the
12475 .Sx "primary system mailbox"
12476 that have been read.
12478 .Sx "Message states" .
12482 \*(IN\*(OP This variable overrides the default location of the user's
12488 Pathname of the program to use for backing the command
12492 variable enforces usage of a pager for output.
12493 The default paginator is
12495 (path search through
12498 \*(UA inspects the contents of this variable: if its contains the string
12500 then a non-existing environment variable
12507 will optionally be set to
12514 A colon-separated list of directories that is searched by the shell when
12515 looking for commands, e.g.,
12516 .Ql /bin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin .
12519 .It Ev POSIXLY_CORRECT
12520 This variable is automatically looked for upon startup, see
12526 The shell to use for the commands
12531 .Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES"
12532 and when starting subprocesses.
12533 A default shell is used if this environment variable is not defined.
12536 .It Ev SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH
12537 Specifies a time in seconds since the Unix epoch (1970-01-01) to be
12538 used in place of the current time.
12539 This variable is looked up upon program startup, and its existence will
12540 switch \*(UA to a reproducible mode
12541 .Pf ( Lk https://reproducible-builds.org )
12542 which uses deterministic random numbers, a special fixated pseudo
12545 This operation mode is used for development and by software packagers.
12546 \*(ID Currently an invalid setting is only ignored, rather than causing
12547 a program abortion.
12549 .Dl $ SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH=`date +%s` \*(uA
12553 \*(OP The terminal type for which output is to be prepared.
12554 For extended colour and font control please refer to
12555 .Sx "Coloured display" ,
12556 and for terminal management in general to
12557 .Sx "On terminal control and line editor" .
12561 Except for the root user this variable defines the directory for
12562 temporary files to be used instead of
12564 (or the given compile-time constant) if set, existent, accessible as
12565 well as read- and writable.
12566 This variable is only used when it resides in the process environment,
12567 but \*(UA will ensure at startup that this environment variable is
12568 updated to contain a usable temporary directory.
12574 (see there), but this variable is not standardized, should therefore not
12575 be used, and is only corrected if already set.
12579 Pathname of the text editor to use for the
12583 .Pf (see\0 Sx "COMMAND ESCAPES" ) ;
12585 is used for a less display oriented editor.
12595 .Bl -tag -width ".It Pa BaNg"
12597 User-specific file giving initial commands, one of the
12598 .Sx "Resource files" .
12599 The actual value is read from
12603 System wide initialization file, one of the
12604 .Sx "Resource files" .
12605 The actual value is read from
12606 .Va system-mailrc .
12610 \*(OP Personal MIME type handler definition file, see
12611 .Sx "The Mailcap files" .
12612 This location is part of the RFC 1524 standard search path, which is
12613 a configuration option and can be overridden via
12617 .It Pa /etc/mailcap
12618 \*(OP System wide MIME type handler definition file, see
12619 .Sx "The Mailcap files" .
12620 This location is part of the RFC 1524 standard search path, which is
12621 a configuration option and can be overridden via
12625 The default value for
12630 Personal MIME types, see
12631 .Sx "The mime.types files" .
12635 System wide MIME types, see
12636 .Sx "The mime.types files" .
12640 \*(IN\*(OP The default location of the user's
12642 file \(en the section
12643 .Sx "The .netrc file"
12644 documents the file format.
12645 The actually used path can be overridden via
12655 .\" .Ss "Resource files" {{{
12656 .Ss "Resource files"
12658 Upon startup \*(UA reads in several resource files, in order:
12660 .Bl -tag -width ".It Pa BaNg"
12663 System wide initialization file
12664 .Pf ( Va system-mailrc ) .
12665 Reading of this file can be suppressed, either by using the
12667 (and according argument) or
12669 command line options, or by setting the
12672 .Ev MAILX_NO_SYSTEM_RC .
12676 File giving initial commands.
12677 A different file can be chosen by setting the
12681 Reading of this file can be suppressed with the
12683 command line option.
12685 .It Va mailx-extra-rc
12686 Defines a startup file to be read after all other resource files.
12687 It can be used to specify settings that are not understood by other
12689 implementations, for example.
12690 This variable is only honoured when defined in a resource file, e.g.,
12692 .Sx "INTERNAL VARIABLES" .
12696 The content of these files is interpreted as follows:
12699 .Bl -bullet -compact
12701 The whitespace characters space, tabulator and newline,
12702 as well as those defined by the variable
12704 are removed from the beginning and end of input lines.
12706 Empty lines are ignored.
12708 Any other line is interpreted as a command.
12709 It may be spread over multiple input lines if the newline character is
12711 by placing a reverse solidus character
12713 as the last character of the line; whereas any leading whitespace of
12714 follow lines is ignored, trailing whitespace before a escaped newline
12715 remains in the input.
12717 If the line (content) starts with the number sign
12719 then it is a comment-command and also ignored.
12720 (The comment-command is a real command, which does nothing, and
12721 therefore the usual follow lines mechanism applies!)
12725 Unless \*(UA is about to enter interactive mode syntax errors that occur
12726 while loading these files are treated as errors and cause program exit.
12727 More files with syntactically equal content can be
12729 The following, saved in a file, would be an examplary content:
12731 .Bd -literal -offset indent
12732 # This line is a comment command. And y\e
12733 es, it is really continued here.
12740 .\" .Ss "The mime.types files" {{{
12741 .Ss "The mime.types files"
12744 .Sx "HTML mail and MIME attachments"
12745 \*(UA needs to learn about MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions)
12746 media types in order to classify message and attachment content.
12747 One source for them are
12749 files, the loading of which can be controlled by setting the variable
12750 .Va mimetypes-load-control .
12751 Another is the command
12753 which also offers access to \*(UAs MIME type cache.
12755 files have the following syntax:
12757 .Bd -literal -offset indent
12758 type/subtype extension [extension ...]
12759 # E.g., text/html html htm
12765 define the MIME media type, as standardized in RFC 2046:
12767 is used to declare the general type of data, while the
12769 specifies a specific format for that type of data.
12770 One or multiple filename
12772 s, separated by whitespace, can be bound to the media type format.
12773 Comments may be introduced anywhere on a line with a number sign
12775 causing the remaining line to be discarded.
12777 \*(UA also supports an extended, non-portable syntax in especially
12778 crafted files, which can be loaded via the alternative value syntax of
12779 .Va mimetypes-load-control ,
12780 and prepends an optional
12784 .Dl [type-marker ]type/subtype extension [extension ...]
12787 The following type markers are supported:
12790 .Bl -tag -compact -width ".It Ar _n_u"
12792 Treat message parts with this content as plain text.
12797 Treat message parts with this content as HTML tagsoup.
12798 If the \*(OPal HTML-tagsoup-to-text converter is not available treat
12799 the content as plain text instead.
12803 but instead of falling back to plain text require an explicit content
12804 handler to be defined.
12806 If no handler can be found a text message is displayed which says so.
12807 This can be annoying, for example signatures serve a contextual purpose,
12808 their content is of no use by itself.
12809 This marker will avoid displaying the text message.
12814 for sending messages:
12816 .Va mime-allow-text-controls ,
12817 .Va mimetypes-load-control .
12818 For reading etc. messages:
12819 .Sx "HTML mail and MIME attachments" ,
12820 .Sx "The Mailcap files" ,
12822 .Va mime-counter-evidence ,
12823 .Va mimetypes-load-control ,
12824 .Va pipe-TYPE/SUBTYPE ,
12825 .Va pipe-EXTENSION .
12828 .\" .Ss "The Mailcap files" {{{
12829 .Ss "The Mailcap files"
12831 .\" TODO MAILCAP DISABLED
12832 .Sy This feature is not available in v14.9.0, sorry!
12834 .Dq User Agent Configuration Mechanism
12835 which \*(UA \*(OPally supports (see
12836 .Sx "HTML mail and MIME attachments" ) .
12837 It defines a file format to be used to inform mail user agent programs
12838 about the locally-installed facilities for handling various data
12839 formats, i.e., about commands and how they can be used to display, edit
12840 et cetera MIME part contents, as well as a default path search that
12841 includes multiple possible locations of
12845 environment variable that can be used to overwrite that (repeating here
12846 that it is not a search path, but instead a path search specification).
12847 Any existing files will be loaded in sequence, appending any content to
12848 the list of MIME type handler directives.
12852 files consist of a set of newline separated entries.
12853 Comment lines start with a number sign
12855 (in the first column!) and are ignored.
12856 Empty lines are also ignored.
12857 All other lines form individual entries that must adhere to the syntax
12859 To extend a single entry (not comment) its line can be continued on
12860 follow lines if newline characters are
12862 by preceding them with the reverse solidus character
12864 The standard does not specify how leading whitespace of follow lines
12865 is to be treated, therefore \*(UA retains it.
12869 entries consist of a number of semicolon
12871 separated fields, and the reverse solidus
12873 character can be used to escape any following character including
12874 semicolon and itself.
12875 The first two fields are mandatory and must occur in the specified
12876 order, the remaining fields are optional and may appear in any order.
12877 Leading and trailing whitespace of content is ignored (removed).
12880 The first field defines the MIME
12882 the entry is about to handle (case-insensitively, and no reverse solidus
12883 escaping is possible in this field).
12884 If the subtype is specified as an asterisk
12886 the entry is meant to match all subtypes of the named type, e.g.,
12888 would match any audio type.
12889 The second field defines the shell command which shall be used to
12891 MIME parts of the given type; it is implicitly called the
12898 shell commands message (MIME part) data is passed via standard input
12899 unless the given shell command includes one or more instances of the
12902 in which case these instances will be replaced with a temporary filename
12903 and the data will have been stored in the file that is being pointed to.
12906 shell commands data is assumed to be generated on standard output unless
12907 the given command includes (one ore multiple)
12909 In any case any given
12911 format is replaced with a(n already) properly quoted filename.
12912 Note that when a command makes use of a temporary file via
12914 then \*(UA will remove it again, as if the
12915 .Cd x-mailx-tmpfile ,
12916 .Cd x-mailx-tmpfile-fill
12918 .Cd x-mailx-tmpfile-unlink
12919 flags had been set; see below for more.
12922 The optional fields either define a shell command or an attribute (flag)
12923 value, the latter being a single word and the former being a keyword
12924 naming the field followed by an equals sign
12926 succeeded by a shell command, and as usual for any
12928 content any whitespace surrounding the equals sign will be removed, too.
12929 Optional fields include the following:
12932 .Bl -tag -width ".It Cd BaNg"
12934 A program that can be used to compose a new body or body part in the
12936 (Currently unused.)
12938 .It Cd composetyped
12941 field, but is to be used when the composing program needs to specify the
12943 header field to be applied to the composed data.
12944 (Currently unused.)
12947 A program that can be used to edit a body or body part in the given
12949 (Currently unused.)
12952 A program that can be used to print a message or body part in the given
12954 (Currently unused.)
12957 Specifies a program to be run to test some condition, e.g., the machine
12958 architecture, or the window system in use, to determine whether or not
12959 this mailcap entry applies.
12960 If the test fails, a subsequent mailcap entry should be sought; also see
12961 .Cd x-mailx-test-once .
12964 .It Cd needsterminal
12965 This flag field indicates that the given shell command must be run on
12966 an interactive terminal.
12967 \*(UA will temporarily release the terminal to the given command in
12968 interactive mode, in non-interactive mode this entry will be entirely
12969 ignored; this flag implies
12970 .Cd x-mailx-noquote .
12973 .It Cd copiousoutput
12974 A flag field which indicates that the output of the
12976 command will be an extended stream of textual output that can be
12977 (re)integrated into \*(UA's normal visual display.
12978 It is mutually exclusive with
12979 .Cd needsterminal .
12981 .It Cd textualnewlines
12982 A flag field which indicates that this type of data is line-oriented and
12983 that, if encoded in
12985 all newlines should be converted to canonical form (CRLF) before
12986 encoding, and will be in that form after decoding.
12987 (Currently unused.)
12989 .It Cd nametemplate
12990 This field gives a filename format, in which
12992 will be replaced by a random string, the joined combination of which
12993 will be used as the filename denoted by
12994 .Ev MAILX_FILENAME_TEMPORARY .
12995 One could specify that a GIF file being passed to an image viewer should
12996 have a name ending in
12999 .Ql nametemplate=%s.gif .
13000 Note that \*(UA ignores the name template unless that solely specifies
13001 a filename suffix that consists of (ASCII) alphabetic and numeric
13002 characters, the underscore and dot only.
13005 Names a file, in X11 bitmap (xbm) format, which points to an appropriate
13006 icon to be used to visually denote the presence of this kind of data.
13007 This field is not used by \*(UA.
13010 A textual description that describes this type of data.
13013 .It Cd x-mailx-even-if-not-interactive
13014 An extension flag test field \(em by default handlers without
13016 are entirely ignored in non-interactive mode, but if this flag is set
13017 then their use will be considered.
13018 It is an error if this flag is set for commands that use the flag
13019 .Cd needsterminal .
13022 .It Cd x-mailx-noquote
13023 An extension flag field that indicates that even a
13026 command shall not be used to generate message quotes
13027 (as it would be by default).
13030 .It Cd x-mailx-async
13031 Extension flag field that denotes that the given
13033 command shall be executed asynchronously, without blocking \*(UA.
13034 Cannot be used in conjunction with
13035 .Cd needsterminal .
13038 .It Cd x-mailx-test-once
13039 Extension flag which denotes whether the given
13041 command shall be evaluated once only and the (boolean) result be cached.
13042 This is handy if some global unchanging condition is to be queried, like
13043 .Dq running under the X Window System .
13046 .It Cd x-mailx-tmpfile
13047 Extension flag field that requests creation of a zero-sized temporary
13048 file, the name of which is to be placed in the environment variable
13049 .Ev MAILX_FILENAME_TEMPORARY .
13050 It is an error to use this flag with commands that include a
13055 .It Cd x-mailx-tmpfile-fill
13056 Normally the MIME part content is passed to the handler via standard
13057 input; if this flag is set then the data will instead be written into
13059 .Cd x-mailx-tmpfile .
13060 In order to cause deletion of the temporary file you will have to set
13061 .Cd x-mailx-tmpfile-unlink
13063 It is an error to use this flag with commands that include a
13068 .It Cd x-mailx-tmpfile-unlink
13069 Extension flag field that requests that the temporary file shall be
13070 deleted automatically when the command loop is entered again at latest.
13071 (Do not use this for asynchronous handlers.)
13072 It is an error to use this flag with commands that include a
13074 format, or in conjunction with
13075 .Cd x-mailx-async ,
13076 or without also setting
13077 .Cd x-mailx-tmpfile
13079 .Cd x-mailx-tmpfile-fill .
13082 .It Cd x-mailx-tmpfile-keep
13085 implies the three tmpfile related flags above, but if you want, e.g.,
13087 and deal with the temporary file yourself, you can add in this flag to
13089 .Cd x-mailx-tmpfile-unlink .
13094 The standard includes the possibility to define any number of additional
13095 entry fields, prefixed by
13097 Flag fields apply to the entire
13099 entry \(em in some unusual cases, this may not be desirable, but
13100 differentiation can be accomplished via separate entries, taking
13101 advantage of the fact that subsequent entries are searched if an earlier
13102 one does not provide enough information.
13105 command needs to specify the
13109 command shall not, the following will help out the latter (with enabled
13113 level \*(UA will show information about handler evaluation):
13115 .Bd -literal -offset indent
13116 application/postscript; ps-to-terminal %s; needsterminal
13117 application/postscript; ps-to-terminal %s; compose=idraw %s
13121 In fields any occurrence of the format string
13123 will be replaced by the
13126 Named parameters from the
13128 field may be placed in the command execution line using
13130 followed by the parameter name and a closing
13133 The entire parameter should appear as a single command line argument,
13134 regardless of embedded spaces; thus:
13136 .Bd -literal -offset indent
13138 Content-type: multipart/mixed; boundary=42
13141 multipart/*; /usr/local/bin/showmulti \e
13142 %t %{boundary} ; composetyped = /usr/local/bin/makemulti
13144 # Executed shell command
13145 /usr/local/bin/showmulti multipart/mixed 42
13149 .\" TODO v15: Mailcap: %n,%F
13150 Note that \*(UA does not support handlers for multipart MIME parts as
13151 shown in this example (as of today).
13152 \*(UA does not support the additional formats
13156 An example file, also showing how to properly deal with the expansion of
13158 which includes any quotes that are necessary to make it a valid shell
13159 argument by itself and thus will cause undesired behaviour when placed
13160 in additional user-provided quotes:
13162 .Bd -literal -offset indent
13164 text/richtext; richtext %s; copiousoutput
13166 text/x-perl; perl -cWT %s
13168 application/pdf; \e
13170 trap "rm -f ${infile}" EXIT\e; \e
13171 trap "exit 75" INT QUIT TERM\e; \e
13173 x-mailx-async; x-mailx-tmpfile-keep
13175 application/*; echo "This is \e"%t\e" but \e
13176 is 50 \e% Greek to me" \e; < %s head -c 1024 | cat -vet; \e
13177 copiousoutput; x-mailx-noquote
13182 .Sx "HTML mail and MIME attachments" ,
13183 .Sx "The mime.types files" ,
13186 .Va mime-counter-evidence ,
13187 .Va pipe-TYPE/SUBTYPE ,
13188 .Va pipe-EXTENSION .
13191 .\" .Ss "The .netrc file" {{{
13192 .Ss "The .netrc file"
13196 file contains user credentials for machine accounts.
13197 The default location
13199 may be overridden by the
13201 environment variable.
13202 It is possible to load encrypted
13204 files by using an appropriate value in
13208 The file consists of space, tabulator or newline separated tokens.
13209 \*(UA implements a parser that supports a superset of the original BSD
13210 syntax, but users should nonetheless be aware of portability glitches
13211 of that file format, shall their
13213 be usable across multiple programs and platforms:
13216 .Bl -bullet -compact
13218 BSD does not support single, but only double quotation marks, e.g.,
13219 .Ql password="pass with spaces" .
13221 BSD (only?) supports escaping of single characters via a reverse solidus
13222 (e.g., a space can be escaped via
13224 in- as well as outside of a quoted string.
13226 BSD does not require a final quotation mark of the last user input token.
13228 The original BSD (Berknet) parser also supported a format which allowed
13229 tokens to be separated with commas \(en whereas at least Hewlett-Packard
13230 still seems to support this syntax, \*(UA does not!
13232 As a non-portable extension some widely-used programs support
13233 shell-style comments: if an input line starts, after any amount of
13234 whitespace, with a number sign
13236 then the rest of the line is ignored.
13238 Whereas other programs may require that the
13240 file is accessible by only the user if it contains a
13242 token for any other
13246 \*(UA will always require these strict permissions.
13250 Of the following list of supported tokens \*(UA only uses (and caches)
13255 At runtime the command
13257 can be used to control \*(UA's
13261 .Bl -tag -width ".It Cd BaNg"
13262 .It Cd machine Ar name
13263 The hostname of the entries' machine, lowercase-normalized by \*(UA
13265 Any further file content, until either end-of-file or the occurrence
13270 first-class token is bound (only related) to the machine
13273 As an extension that should not be the cause of any worries
13274 \*(UA supports a single wildcard prefix for
13276 .Bd -literal -offset indent
13277 machine *.example.com login USER password PASS
13278 machine pop3.example.com login USER password PASS
13279 machine smtp.example.com login USER password PASS
13285 .Ql pop3.example.com ,
13289 .Ql local.smtp.example.com .
13290 Note that in the example neither
13291 .Ql pop3.example.com
13293 .Ql smtp.example.com
13294 will be matched by the wildcard, since the exact matches take
13295 precedence (it is however faster to specify it the other way around).
13298 This is the same as
13300 except that it is a fallback entry that is used shall none of the
13301 specified machines match; only one default token may be specified,
13302 and it must be the last first-class token.
13304 .It Cd login Ar name
13305 The user name on the remote machine.
13307 .It Cd password Ar string
13308 The user's password on the remote machine.
13310 .It Cd account Ar string
13311 Supply an additional account password.
13312 This is merely for FTP purposes.
13314 .It Cd macdef Ar name
13316 A macro is defined with the specified
13318 it is formed from all lines beginning with the next line and continuing
13319 until a blank line is (consecutive newline characters are) encountered.
13322 entries cannot be utilized by multiple machines, too, but must be
13323 defined following the
13325 they are intended to be used with.)
13328 exists, it is automatically run as the last step of the login process.
13329 This is merely for FTP purposes.
13336 .\" .Sh EXAMPLES {{{
13339 .\" .Ss "An example configuration" {{{
13340 .Ss "An example configuration"
13342 .Bd -literal -offset indent
13343 # This example assumes v15.0 compatibility mode
13346 # Request strict SSL/TLS transport security checks
13347 set ssl-verify=strict
13349 # Where are the up-to-date SSL/TLS certificates?
13350 # (Since we manage up-to-date ones explicitly, do not use any,
13351 # possibly outdated, default certificates shipped with OpenSSL)
13352 #set ssl-ca-dir=/etc/ssl/certs
13353 set ssl-ca-file=/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt
13354 set ssl-ca-no-defaults
13355 #set ssl-ca-flags=partial-chain
13356 wysh set smime-ca-file="${ssl-ca-file}" \e
13357 smime-ca-no-defaults #smime-ca-flags="${ssl-ca-flags}"
13359 # This could be outsourced to a central configuration file via
13360 # ssl-config-file plus ssl-config-module if the used library allows.
13361 # CipherString: explicitly define the list of ciphers, which may
13362 # improve security, especially with protocols older than TLS v1.2.
13363 # See ciphers(1). Possibly best to only use ssl-cipher-list-HOST
13364 # (or -USER@HOST), as necessary, again..
13365 # Note that TLSv1.3 uses Ciphersuites= instead, which will join
13366 # with CipherString (if protocols older than v1.3 are allowed)
13367 # Curves: especially with TLSv1.3 curves selection may be desired.
13368 # MinProtocol,MaxProtocol: do not use protocols older than TLS v1.2.
13369 # Change this only when the remote server does not support it:
13370 # maybe use chain support via ssl-config-pairs-HOST / -USER@HOST
13371 # to define such explicit exceptions, then, e.g.
13372 # MinProtocol=TLSv1.1
13373 if [ "$ssl-features" =% +ctx-set-maxmin-proto ]
13374 wysh set ssl-config-pairs='\e
13375 CipherString=TLSv1.2:!aNULL:!eNULL:@STRENGTH,\e
13376 Curves=P-521:P-384:P-256,\e
13377 MinProtocol=TLSv1.1'
13379 wysh set ssl-config-pairs='\e
13380 CipherString=TLSv1.2:!aNULL:!eNULL:@STRENGTH,\e
13381 Curves=P-521:P-384:P-256,\e
13382 Protocol=-ALL\e,+TLSv1.1 \e, +TLSv1.2\e, +TLSv1.3'
13385 # Essential setting: select allowed character sets
13386 set sendcharsets=utf-8,iso-8859-1
13388 # A very kind option: when replying to a message, first try to
13389 # use the same encoding that the original poster used herself!
13390 set reply-in-same-charset
13392 # When replying, do not merge From: and To: of the original message
13393 # into To:. Instead old From: -> new To:, old To: -> merge Cc:.
13394 set recipients-in-cc
13396 # When sending messages, wait until the Mail-Transfer-Agent finishs.
13397 # Only like this you will be able to see errors reported through the
13398 # exit status of the MTA (including the built-in SMTP one)!
13401 # Only use built-in MIME types, no mime.types(5) files
13402 set mimetypes-load-control
13404 # Default directory where we act in (relative to $HOME)
13406 # A leading "+" (often) means: under *folder*
13407 # *record* is used to save copies of sent messages
13408 set MBOX=+mbox.mbox DEAD=+dead.txt \e
13409 record=+sent.mbox record-files record-resent
13411 # Make "file mymbox" and "file myrec" go to..
13412 shortcut mymbox %:+mbox.mbox myrec +sent.mbox
13414 # Not really optional, e.g., for S/MIME
13415 set from='Your Name <address@exam.ple>'
13417 # It may be necessary to set hostname and/or smtp-hostname
13418 # if the "SERVER" of mta and "domain" of from do not match.
13419 # The `urlencode' command can be used to encode USER and PASS
13420 set mta=(smtps?|submission)://[USER[:PASS]@]SERVER[:PORT] \e
13421 smtp-auth=login/plain... \e
13424 # Never refuse to start into interactive mode, and more
13426 colour-pager crt= \e
13427 followup-to followup-to-honour=ask-yes fullnames \e
13428 history-file=+.\*(uAhist history-size=-1 history-gabby \e
13429 mime-counter-evidence=0b1111 \e
13430 prompt='?\e$?!\e$!/\e$^ERRNAME[\e$account#\e$mailbox-display]? ' \e
13431 reply-to-honour=ask-yes \e
13434 # Only include the selected header fields when typing messages
13435 headerpick type retain from_ date from to cc subject \e
13436 message-id mail-followup-to reply-to
13437 # ...when forwarding messages
13438 headerpick forward retain subject date from to cc
13439 # ...when saving message, etc.
13440 #headerpick save ignore ^Original-.*$ ^X-.*$
13442 # Some mailing lists
13443 mlist '@xyz-editor\e.xyz$' '@xyzf\e.xyz$'
13444 mlsubscribe '^xfans@xfans\e.xyz$'
13446 # Handle a few file extensions (to store MBOX databases)
13447 filetype bz2 'bzip2 -dc' 'bzip2 -zc' \e
13448 gz 'gzip -dc' 'gzip -c' xz 'xz -dc' 'xz -zc' \e
13449 zst 'zstd -dc' 'zstd -19 -zc' \e
13450 zst.pgp 'gpg -d | zstd -dc' 'zstd -19 -zc | gpg -e'
13452 # A real life example of a very huge free mail provider
13453 # Instead of directly placing content inside `account',
13454 # we `define' a macro: like that we can switch "accounts"
13455 # from within *on-compose-splice*, for example!
13457 set folder=~/spool/XooglX inbox=+syste.mbox sent=+sent
13458 set from='Your Name <address@examp.ple>'
13460 set pop3-no-apop-pop.gmXil.com
13461 shortcut pop %:pop3s://pop.gmXil.com
13462 shortcut imap %:imaps://imap.gmXil.com
13463 # Or, entirely IMAP based setup
13464 #set folder=imaps://imap.gmail.com record="+[Gmail]/Sent Mail" \e
13465 # imap-cache=~/spool/cache
13467 set mta=smtp://USER:PASS@smtp.gmXil.com smtp-use-starttls
13469 set mta=smtps://USER:PASS@smtp.gmail.com:465
13475 # Here is a pretty large one which does not allow sending mails
13476 # if there is a domain name mismatch on the SMTP protocol level,
13477 # which would bite us if the value of from does not match, e.g.,
13478 # for people who have a sXXXXeforge project and want to speak
13479 # with the mailing list under their project account (in from),
13480 # still sending the message through their normal mail provider
13482 set folder=~/spool/XandeX inbox=+syste.mbox sent=+sent
13483 set from='Your Name <address@exam.ple>'
13485 shortcut pop %:pop3s://pop.yaXXex.com
13486 shortcut imap %:imaps://imap.yaXXex.com
13488 set mta=smtps://USER:PASS@smtp.yaXXex.com:465 \e
13489 hostname=yaXXex.com smtp-hostname=
13495 # Create some new commands so that, e.g., `ls /tmp' will..
13496 commandalias lls '!ls ${LS_COLOUR_FLAG} -aFlrS'
13497 commandalias llS '!ls ${LS_COLOUR_FLAG} -aFlS'
13499 set pipe-message/external-body='@* echo $MAILX_EXTERNAL_BODY_URL'
13501 # We do not support gpg(1) directly yet. But simple --clearsign'd
13502 # message parts can be dealt with as follows:
13505 wysh set pipe-text/plain=$'@*#++=@\e
13506 < "${MAILX_FILENAME_TEMPORARY}" awk \e
13507 -v TMPFILE="${MAILX_FILENAME_TEMPORARY}" \e'\e
13509 /^-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----/,/^$/ {\e
13512 print "--- GPG --verify ---";\e
13513 system("gpg --verify " TMPFILE " 2>&1");\e
13514 print "--- GPG --verify ---";\e
13518 /^-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----/,\e
13519 /^-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----/{\e
13526 commandalias V '\e'call V
13530 When storing passwords in
13532 appropriate permissions should be set on this file with
13533 .Ql $ chmod 0600 \*(ur .
13536 is available user credentials can be stored in the central
13538 file instead; e.g., here is a different version of the example account
13539 that sets up SMTP and POP3:
13541 .Bd -literal -offset indent
13543 set folder=~/spool/XandeX inbox=+syste.mbox sent=+sent
13544 set from='Your Name <address@exam.ple>'
13546 # Load an encrypted ~/.netrc by uncommenting the next line
13547 #set netrc-pipe='gpg -qd ~/.netrc.pgp'
13549 set mta=smtps://smtp.yXXXXx.ru:465 \e
13550 smtp-hostname= hostname=yXXXXx.com
13551 set pop3-keepalive=240 pop3-no-apop-pop.yXXXXx.ru
13552 commandalias xp fi pop3s://pop.yXXXXx.ru
13564 .Bd -literal -offset indent
13565 machine *.yXXXXx.ru login USER password PASS
13569 This configuration should now work just fine:
13572 .Dl $ echo text | \*(uA -dvv -AXandeX -s Subject user@exam.ple
13575 .\" .Ss "S/MIME step by step" {{{
13576 .Ss "S/MIME step by step"
13578 \*(OP The first thing you need for participating in S/MIME message
13579 exchange is your personal certificate, including a private key.
13580 The certificate contains public information, in particular your name and
13581 your email address(es), and the public key that is used by others to
13582 encrypt messages for you,
13583 and to verify signed messages they supposedly received from you.
13584 The certificate is included in each signed message you send.
13585 The private key must be kept secret.
13586 It is used to decrypt messages that were previously encrypted with your
13587 public key, and to sign messages.
13590 For personal use it is recommended that you get a S/MIME certificate
13591 from one of the major CAs on the Internet using your WWW browser.
13592 Many CAs offer such certificates for free.
13594 .Lk https://www.CAcert.org
13595 which issues client and server certificates to members of their
13596 community for free; their root certificate
13597 .Pf ( Lk https://\:www.cacert.org/\:certs/\:root.crt )
13598 is often not in the default set of trusted CA root certificates, though,
13599 which means you will have to download their root certificate separately
13600 and ensure it is part of our S/MIME certificate validation chain by
13603 or as a vivid member of the
13604 .Va smime-ca-file .
13605 But let us take a step-by-step tour on how to setup S/MIME with
13606 a certificate from CAcert.org despite this situation!
13609 First of all you will have to become a member of the CAcert.org
13610 community, simply by registrating yourself via the web interface.
13611 Once you are, create and verify all email addresses you want to be able
13612 to create signed and encrypted messages for/with using the corresponding
13613 entries of the web interface.
13614 Now ready to create S/MIME certificates, so let us create a new
13615 .Dq client certificate ,
13616 ensure to include all email addresses that should be covered by the
13617 certificate in the following web form, and also to use your name as the
13621 Create a private key and a certificate request on your local computer
13622 (please see the manual pages of the used commands for more in-depth
13623 knowledge on what the used arguments etc. do):
13626 .Dl $ openssl req -nodes -newkey rsa:4096 -keyout key.pem -out creq.pem
13629 Afterwards copy-and-paste the content of
13631 into the certificate-request (CSR) field of the web form on the
13632 CAcert.org website (you may need to unfold some
13633 .Dq advanced options
13634 to see the corresponding text field).
13635 This last step will ensure that your private key (which never left your
13636 box) and the certificate belong together (through the public key that
13637 will find its way into the certificate via the certificate-request).
13638 You are now ready and can create your CAcert certified certificate.
13639 Download and store or copy-and-paste it as
13644 In order to use your new S/MIME setup a combined private key/public key
13645 (certificate) file has to be created:
13648 .Dl $ cat key.pem pub.crt > ME@HERE.com.paired
13651 This is the file \*(UA will work with.
13652 If you have created your private key with a passphrase then \*(UA will
13653 ask you for it whenever a message is signed or decrypted.
13654 Set the following variables to henceforth use S/MIME (setting
13656 is of interest for verification only):
13658 .Bd -literal -offset indent
13659 ? set smime-ca-file=ALL-TRUSTED-ROOT-CERTS-HERE \e
13660 smime-sign-cert=ME@HERE.com.paired \e
13661 smime-sign-message-digest=SHA256 \e
13667 .\" .Ss "Using CRLs with S/MIME or SSL/TLS" {{{
13668 .Ss "Using CRLs with S/MIME or SSL/TLS"
13670 \*(OP Certification authorities (CAs) issue certificate revocation
13671 lists (CRLs) on a regular basis.
13672 These lists contain the serial numbers of certificates that have been
13673 declared invalid after they have been issued.
13674 Such usually happens because the private key for the certificate has
13676 because the owner of the certificate has left the organization that is
13677 mentioned in the certificate, etc.
13678 To seriously use S/MIME or SSL/TLS verification,
13679 an up-to-date CRL is required for each trusted CA.
13680 There is otherwise no method to distinguish between valid and
13681 invalidated certificates.
13682 \*(UA currently offers no mechanism to fetch CRLs, nor to access them on
13683 the Internet, so they have to be retrieved by some external mechanism.
13686 \*(UA accepts CRLs in PEM format only;
13687 CRLs in DER format must be converted, like, e.\|g.:
13690 .Dl $ openssl crl \-inform DER \-in crl.der \-out crl.pem
13693 To tell \*(UA about the CRLs, a directory that contains all CRL files
13694 (and no other files) must be created.
13699 variables, respectively, must then be set to point to that directory.
13700 After that, \*(UA requires a CRL to be present for each CA that is used
13701 to verify a certificate.
13710 In general it is a good idea to turn on
13716 twice) if something does not work well.
13717 Very often a diagnostic message can be produced that leads to the
13718 problems' solution.
13720 .\" .Ss "\*(UA shortly hangs on startup" {{{
13721 .Ss "\*(UA shortly hangs on startup"
13723 This can have two reasons, one is the necessity to wait for a file lock
13724 and cannot be helped, the other being that \*(UA calls the function
13726 in order to query the nodename of the box (sometimes the real one is
13727 needed instead of the one represented by the internal variable
13729 One may have varying success by ensuring that the real hostname and
13733 or, more generally, that the name service is properly setup \(en
13736 return the expected value?
13737 Does this local hostname have a domain suffix?
13738 RFC 6762 standardized the link-local top-level domain
13740 try again after adding an (additional) entry with this extension.
13743 .\" .Ss "I cannot login to Google mail aka GMail" {{{
13744 .Ss "I cannot login to Google mail aka GMail"
13746 Since 2014 some free service providers classify programs as
13748 unless they use a special authentication method (OAuth 2.0) which
13749 was not standardized for non-HTTP protocol authentication token query
13750 until August 2015 (RFC 7628).
13753 Different to Kerberos / GSSAPI, which is developed since the mid of the
13754 1980s, where a user can easily create a local authentication ticket for
13755 her- and himself with the locally installed
13757 program, that protocol has no such local part but instead requires
13758 a world-wide-web query to create or fetch a token; since there is no
13759 local cache this query would have to be performed whenever \*(UA is
13760 invoked (in interactive sessions situation may differ).
13763 \*(UA does not support OAuth.
13764 Because of this it is necessary to declare \*(UA a
13765 .Dq less secure app
13766 (on the providers account web page) in order to read and send mail.
13767 However, it also seems possible to take the following steps instead:
13772 give the provider the number of a mobile phone,
13775 .Dq 2-Step Verification ,
13777 create an application specific password (16 characters), and
13779 use that special password instead of the real Google account password in
13780 \*(UA (for more on that see the section
13781 .Sx "On URL syntax and credential lookup" ) .
13785 .\" .Ss "Not \(dqdefunctional\(dq, but the editor key does not work" {{{
13786 .Ss "Not \(dqdefunctional\(dq, but the editor key does not work"
13788 It can happen that the terminal library (see
13789 .Sx "On terminal control and line editor",
13792 reports different codes than the terminal really sends, in which case
13793 \*(UA will tell that a key binding is functional, but will not be able to
13794 recognize it because the received data does not match anything expected.
13795 Especially without the \*(OPal terminal capability library support one
13796 reason for this may be that the (possibly even non-existing) keypad
13797 is not turned on and the resulting layout reports the keypad control
13798 codes for the normal keyboard keys.
13803 ings will show the byte sequences that are expected.
13806 To overcome the situation, use, e.g., the program
13808 in conjunction with the command line option
13810 if available, to see the byte sequences which are actually produced
13811 by keypresses, and use the variable
13813 to make \*(UA aware of them.
13814 E.g., the terminal this is typed on produces some false sequences, here
13815 an example showing the shifted home key:
13817 .Bd -literal -offset indent
13820 # 1B 5B=[ 31=1 3B=; 32=2 48=H
13825 ? \*(uA -v -Stermcap='kHOM=\eE[H'
13832 .\" .Ss "Can \*(UA git-send-email?" {{{
13833 .Ss "Can \*(UA git-send-email?"
13836 Put (at least parts of) the following in your
13839 .Bd -literal -offset indent
13841 smtpserver = /usr/bin/s-mailx
13842 smtpserveroption = -t
13843 #smtpserveroption = -Sexpandaddr
13844 smtpserveroption = -Athe-account-you-need
13847 suppressfrom = false
13848 assume8bitEncoding = UTF-8
13851 chainreplyto = true
13862 .\" .Sh "IMAP CLIENT" {{{
13865 \*(OPally there is IMAP client support available.
13866 This part of the program is obsolete and will vanish in v15 with the
13867 large MIME and I/O layer rewrite, because it uses old-style blocking I/O
13868 and makes excessive use of signal based long code jumps.
13869 Support can hopefully be readded later based on a new-style I/O, with
13870 SysV signal handling.
13871 In fact the IMAP support had already been removed from the codebase, but
13872 was reinstantiated on user demand: in effect the IMAP code is at the
13873 level of \*(UA v14.8.16 (with
13875 being the sole exception), and should be treated with some care.
13882 protocol prefixes, and an IMAP-based
13885 IMAP URLs (paths) undergo inspections and possible transformations
13886 before use (and the command
13888 can be used to manually apply them to any given argument).
13889 Hierarchy delimiters are normalized, a step which is configurable via the
13891 variable chain, but defaults to the first seen delimiter otherwise.
13892 \*(UA supports internationalised IMAP names, and en- and decodes the
13893 names from and to the
13895 as necessary and possible.
13896 If a mailbox name is expanded (see
13897 .Sx "Filename transformations" )
13898 to an IMAP mailbox, all names that begin with `+' then refer to IMAP
13899 mailboxes below the
13901 target box, while folder names prefixed by `@' refer to folders below
13902 the hierarchy base, e.g., the following lists all folders below the
13903 current one when in an IMAP mailbox:
13907 Note: some IMAP servers do not accept the creation of mailboxes in
13908 the hierarchy base, but require that they are created as subfolders of
13909 `INBOX' \(en with such servers a folder name of the form
13911 .Dl imaps://mylogin@imap.myisp.example/INBOX.
13913 should be used (the last character is the server's hierarchy
13915 The following IMAP-specific commands exist:
13918 .Bl -tag -width ".It Ic BaNg"
13921 Only applicable to cached IMAP mailboxes;
13922 takes a message list and reads the specified messages into the IMAP
13927 If operating in disconnected mode on an IMAP mailbox,
13928 switch to online mode and connect to the mail server while retaining
13929 the mailbox status.
13930 See the description of the
13932 variable for more information.
13936 If operating in online mode on an IMAP mailbox,
13937 switch to disconnected mode while retaining the mailbox status.
13938 See the description of the
13941 A list of messages may optionally be given as argument;
13942 the respective messages are then read into the cache before the
13943 connection is closed, thus
13945 makes the entire mailbox available for disconnected use.
13949 Sends command strings directly to the current IMAP server.
13950 \*(UA operates always in IMAP `selected state' on the current mailbox;
13951 commands that change this will produce undesirable results and should be
13953 Useful IMAP commands are:
13954 .Bl -tag -offset indent -width ".Ic getquotearoot"
13956 Takes the name of an IMAP mailbox as an argument and creates it.
13958 (RFC 2087) Takes the name of an IMAP mailbox as an argument
13959 and prints the quotas that apply to the mailbox.
13960 Not all IMAP servers support this command.
13962 (RFC 2342) Takes no arguments and prints the Personal Namespaces,
13963 the Other User's Namespaces and the Shared Namespaces.
13964 Each namespace type is printed in parentheses;
13965 if there are multiple namespaces of the same type,
13966 inner parentheses separate them.
13967 For each namespace a prefix and a hierarchy separator is listed.
13968 Not all IMAP servers support this command.
13973 Perform IMAP path transformations.
13977 .Sx "Command modifiers" ) ,
13978 and manages the error number
13980 The first argument specifies the operation:
13982 normalizes hierarchy delimiters (see
13984 and converts the strings from the locale
13986 to the internationalized variant used by IMAP,
13988 performs the reverse operation.
13993 The following IMAP-specific internal variables exist:
13996 .Bl -tag -width ".It Va BaNg"
13998 .It Va disconnected
13999 \*(BO When an IMAP mailbox is selected and this variable is set,
14000 no connection to the server is initiated.
14001 Instead, data is obtained from the local cache (see
14004 Mailboxes that are not present in the cache
14005 and messages that have not yet entirely been fetched from the server
14007 to fetch all messages in a mailbox at once,
14009 .No ` Ns Li copy * /dev/null Ns '
14010 can be used while still in connected mode.
14011 Changes that are made to IMAP mailboxes in disconnected mode are queued
14012 and committed later when a connection to that server is made.
14013 This procedure is not completely reliable since it cannot be guaranteed
14014 that the IMAP unique identifiers (UIDs) on the server still match the
14015 ones in the cache at that time.
14018 when this problem occurs.
14020 .It Va disconnected-USER@HOST
14021 The specified account is handled as described for the
14024 but other accounts are not affected.
14027 .It Va imap-auth-USER@HOST , imap-auth
14028 Sets the IMAP authentication method.
14029 Valid values are `login' for the usual password-based authentication
14031 `cram-md5', which is a password-based authentication that does not send
14032 the password over the network in clear text,
14033 and `gssapi' for GSS-API based authentication.
14037 Enables caching of IMAP mailboxes.
14038 The value of this variable must point to a directory that is either
14039 existent or can be created by \*(UA.
14040 All contents of the cache can be deleted by \*(UA at any time;
14041 it is not safe to make assumptions about them.
14044 .It Va imap-delim-USER@HOST , imap-delim-HOST , imap-delim
14045 The hierarchy separator used by the IMAP server.
14046 Whenever an IMAP path is specified it will undergo normalization.
14047 One of the normalization steps is the squeezing and adjustment of
14048 hierarchy separators.
14049 If this variable is set, any occurrence of any character of the given
14050 value that exists in the path will be replaced by the first member of
14051 the value; an empty value will cause the default to be used, it is
14053 If not set, we will reuse the first hierarchy separator character that
14054 is discovered in a user-given mailbox name.
14056 .Mx Va imap-keepalive
14057 .It Va imap-keepalive-USER@HOST , imap-keepalive-HOST , imap-keepalive
14058 IMAP servers may close the connection after a period of
14059 inactivity; the standard requires this to be at least 30 minutes,
14060 but practical experience may vary.
14061 Setting this variable to a numeric `value' greater than 0 causes
14062 a `NOOP' command to be sent each `value' seconds if no other operation
14066 .It Va imap-list-depth
14067 When retrieving the list of folders on an IMAP server, the
14069 command stops after it has reached a certain depth to avoid possible
14071 The value of this variable sets the maximum depth allowed.
14073 If the folder separator on the current IMAP server is a slash `/',
14074 this variable has no effect and the
14076 command does not descend to subfolders.
14078 .Mx Va imap-use-starttls
14079 .It Va imap-use-starttls-USER@HOST , imap-use-starttls-HOST , imap-use-starttls
14080 Causes \*(UA to issue a `STARTTLS' command to make an unencrypted
14081 IMAP session SSL/TLS encrypted.
14082 This functionality is not supported by all servers,
14083 and is not used if the session is already encrypted by the IMAPS method.
14089 .\" .Sh "SEE ALSO" {{{
14099 .Xr spamassassin 1 ,
14108 .Xr mailwrapper 8 ,
14114 .\" .Sh HISTORY {{{
14117 M. Douglas McIlroy writes in his article
14118 .Dq A Research UNIX Reader: Annotated Excerpts \
14119 from the Programmer's Manual, 1971-1986
14122 command already appeared in First Edition
14126 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
14127 Electronic mail was there from the start.
14128 Never satisfied with its exact behavior, everybody touched it at one
14129 time or another: to assure the safety of simultaneous access, to improve
14130 privacy, to survive crashes, to exploit uucp, to screen out foreign
14131 freeloaders, or whatever.
14132 Not until v7 did the interface change (Thompson).
14133 Later, as mail became global in its reach, Dave Presotto took charge and
14134 brought order to communications with a grab-bag of external networks
14140 Mail was written in 1978 by Kurt Shoens and developed as part of the
14143 distribution until 1995.
14144 Mail has then seen further development in open source
14146 variants, noticeably by Christos Zoulas in
14148 Based upon this Nail, later Heirloom Mailx, was developed by Gunnar
14149 Ritter in the years 2000 until 2008.
14150 Since 2012 S-nail is maintained by Steffen (Daode) Nurpmeso.
14151 This man page is derived from
14152 .Dq The Mail Reference Manual
14153 that was originally written by Kurt Shoens.
14161 .An "Kurt Shoens" ,
14162 .An "Edward Wang" ,
14163 .An "Keith Bostic" ,
14164 .An "Christos Zoulas" ,
14165 .An "Gunnar Ritter" .
14166 \*(UA is developed by
14167 .An "Steffen Nurpmeso" Aq steffen@sdaoden.eu .
14170 .\" .Sh CAVEATS {{{
14173 \*(ID Interrupting an operation via
14177 from anywhere else but a command prompt is very problematic and likely
14178 to leave the program in an undefined state: many library functions
14179 cannot deal with the
14181 that this software (still) performs; even though efforts have been taken
14182 to address this, no sooner but in v15 it will have been worked out:
14183 interruptions have not been disabled in order to allow forceful breakage
14184 of hanging network connections, for example (all this is unrelated to
14188 The SMTP and POP3 protocol support of \*(UA is very basic.
14189 Also, if it fails to contact its upstream SMTP server, it will not make
14190 further attempts to transfer the message at a later time (setting
14195 If this is a concern, it might be better to set up a local SMTP server
14196 that is capable of message queuing.
14203 After deleting some message of a POP3 mailbox the header summary falsely
14204 claims that there are no messages to display, one needs to perform
14205 a scroll or dot movement to restore proper state.
14211 mode a power user may encounter crashes very occasionally (this is may
14216 in the source repository lists future directions.
14219 Please report bugs to the
14221 address, e.g., from within \*(uA:
14222 .\" v15-compat: drop eval as `mail' will expand variable?
14223 .Ql ? Ns \| Ic eval Ns \| Ic mail Ns \| $contact-mail .
14224 Including the output of the command
14226 may be helpful, e.g.,
14228 .Bd -literal -offset indent
14229 ? vput version xy; wysh set escape=!; eval mail $contact-mail
14236 Information on the web at
14237 .Ql $ \*(uA -X 'echo Ns \| $ Ns Va contact-web Ns ' -Xx .