The Mutt E-Mail Client

MichaelElkins

<me@cs.hmc.edu>

version 1.5.18 (2008-05-17)

Abstract

``All mail clients suck. This one just sucks less.'' -me, circa 1995

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

    1. Mutt Home Page
    2. Mailing Lists
    3. Software Distribution Sites
    4. IRC
    5. USENET
    6. Copyright

2. Getting Started

    1. Moving Around in Menus
    2. Editing Input Fields

        2.1. Introduction
        2.2. History

    3. Reading Mail - The Index and Pager

        3.1. The Message Index
        3.2. The Pager
        3.3. Threaded Mode
        3.4. Miscellaneous Functions

    4. Sending Mail

        4.1. Editing the message header
        4.2. Using Mutt with PGP
        4.3. Sending anonymous messages via mixmaster.
        4.4. Sending format=flowed messages

    5. Forwarding and Bouncing Mail
    6. Postponing Mail

3. Configuration

    1. Syntax of Initialization Files
    2. Address groups
    3. Defining/Using aliases
    4. Changing the default key bindings
    5. Defining aliases for character sets
    6. Setting variables based upon mailbox
    7. Keyboard macros
    8. Using color and mono video attributes
    9. Ignoring (weeding) unwanted message headers
    10. Alternative addresses
    11. Mailing lists
    12. Using Multiple spool mailboxes
    13. Monitoring incoming mail
    14. User defined headers
    15. Defining the order of headers when viewing messages
    16. Specify default save mailbox
    17. Specify default Fcc: mailbox when composing
    18. Specify default save filename and default Fcc: mailbox at once
    19. Change settings based upon message recipients
    20. Change settings before formatting a message
    21. Choosing the cryptographic key of the recipient
    22. Adding key sequences to the keyboard buffer
    23. Executing functions
    24. Message Scoring
    25. Spam detection
    26. Setting and Querying Variables

        26.1. Commands
        26.2. User-defined variables

    27. Reading initialization commands from another file
    28. Removing hooks
    29. Format Strings

        29.1. Basic usage
        29.2. Filters

4. Advanced Usage

    1. Regular Expressions
    2. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging

        2.1. Pattern Modifier
        2.2. Simple Patterns
        2.3. Complex Patterns
        2.4. Searching by Date

    3. Using Tags
    4. Using Hooks

        4.1. Message Matching in Hooks

    5. External Address Queries
    6. Mailbox Formats
    7. Mailbox Shortcuts
    8. Handling Mailing Lists
    9. Editing threads

        9.1. Linking threads
        9.2. Breaking threads

    10. Delivery Status Notification (DSN) Support
    11. Start a WWW Browser on URLs (EXTERNAL)

5. Mutt's MIME Support

    1. Using MIME in Mutt

        1.1. Viewing MIME messages in the pager
        1.2. The Attachment Menu
        1.3. The Compose Menu

    2. MIME Type configuration with mime.types
    3. MIME Viewer configuration with mailcap

        3.1. The Basics of the mailcap file
        3.2. Secure use of mailcap
        3.3. Advanced mailcap Usage
        3.4. Example mailcap files

    4. MIME Autoview
    5. MIME Multipart/Alternative
    6. Attachment Searching and Counting
    7. MIME Lookup

6. Optional features

    1. General notes

        1.1. Enabling/disabling features
        1.2. URL syntax

    2. SSL/TLS Support
    3. POP3 Support
    4. IMAP Support

        4.1. The Folder Browser
        4.2. Authentication

    5. SMTP Support
    6. Managing multiple accounts
    7. Local caching

        7.1. Header caching
        7.2. Body caching
        7.3. Maintenance

    8. Exact address generation

7. Performance tuning

    1. Reading and writing mailboxes
    2. Reading messages from remote folders
    3. Searching and limiting

8. Reference

    1. Command line options
    2. Configuration Commands
    3. Configuration variables

        3.1. abort_nosubject
        3.2. abort_unmodified
        3.3. alias_file
        3.4. alias_format
        3.5. allow_8bit
        3.6. allow_ansi
        3.7. arrow_cursor
        3.8. ascii_chars
        3.9. askbcc
        3.10. askcc
        3.11. assumed_charset
        3.12. attach_charset
        3.13. attach_format
        3.14. attach_sep
        3.15. attach_split
        3.16. attribution
        3.17. autoedit
        3.18. auto_tag
        3.19. beep
        3.20. beep_new
        3.21. bounce
        3.22. bounce_delivered
        3.23. braille_friendly
        3.24. check_mbox_size
        3.25. charset
        3.26. check_new
        3.27. collapse_unread
        3.28. uncollapse_jump
        3.29. compose_format
        3.30. config_charset
        3.31. confirmappend
        3.32. confirmcreate
        3.33. connect_timeout
        3.34. content_type
        3.35. copy
        3.36. crypt_use_gpgme
        3.37. crypt_use_pka
        3.38. crypt_autopgp
        3.39. crypt_autosmime
        3.40. date_format
        3.41. default_hook
        3.42. delete
        3.43. delete_untag
        3.44. digest_collapse
        3.45. display_filter
        3.46. dotlock_program
        3.47. dsn_notify
        3.48. dsn_return
        3.49. duplicate_threads
        3.50. edit_headers
        3.51. editor
        3.52. encode_from
        3.53. envelope_from_address
        3.54. escape
        3.55. fast_reply
        3.56. fcc_attach
        3.57. fcc_clear
        3.58. folder
        3.59. folder_format
        3.60. followup_to
        3.61. force_name
        3.62. forward_decode
        3.63. forward_edit
        3.64. forward_format
        3.65. forward_quote
        3.66. from
        3.67. gecos_mask
        3.68. hdrs
        3.69. header
        3.70. help
        3.71. hidden_host
        3.72. hide_limited
        3.73. hide_missing
        3.74. hide_thread_subject
        3.75. hide_top_limited
        3.76. hide_top_missing
        3.77. history
        3.78. history_file
        3.79. honor_followup_to
        3.80. hostname
        3.81. ignore_linear_white_space
        3.82. ignore_list_reply_to
        3.83. imap_authenticators
        3.84. imap_check_subscribed
        3.85. imap_delim_chars
        3.86. imap_headers
        3.87. imap_idle
        3.88. imap_keepalive
        3.89. imap_list_subscribed
        3.90. imap_login
        3.91. imap_pass
        3.92. imap_passive
        3.93. imap_peek
        3.94. imap_servernoise
        3.95. imap_user
        3.96. implicit_autoview
        3.97. include
        3.98. include_onlyfirst
        3.99. indent_string
        3.100. index_format
        3.101. ispell
        3.102. keep_flagged
        3.103. locale
        3.104. mail_check
        3.105. mailcap_path
        3.106. mailcap_sanitize
        3.107. header_cache
        3.108. maildir_header_cache_verify
        3.109. header_cache_pagesize
        3.110. header_cache_compress
        3.111. maildir_trash
        3.112. mark_old
        3.113. markers
        3.114. mask
        3.115. mbox
        3.116. mbox_type
        3.117. metoo
        3.118. menu_context
        3.119. menu_move_off
        3.120. menu_scroll
        3.121. meta_key
        3.122. mh_purge
        3.123. mh_seq_flagged
        3.124. mh_seq_replied
        3.125. mh_seq_unseen
        3.126. mime_forward
        3.127. mime_forward_decode
        3.128. mime_forward_rest
        3.129. mix_entry_format
        3.130. mixmaster
        3.131. move
        3.132. message_cachedir
        3.133. message_cache_clean
        3.134. message_format
        3.135. narrow_tree
        3.136. net_inc
        3.137. pager
        3.138. pager_context
        3.139. pager_format
        3.140. pager_index_lines
        3.141. pager_stop
        3.142. crypt_autosign
        3.143. crypt_autoencrypt
        3.144. pgp_ignore_subkeys
        3.145. crypt_replyencrypt
        3.146. crypt_replysign
        3.147. crypt_replysignencrypted
        3.148. crypt_timestamp
        3.149. pgp_use_gpg_agent
        3.150. crypt_verify_sig
        3.151. smime_is_default
        3.152. smime_ask_cert_label
        3.153. smime_decrypt_use_default_key
        3.154. pgp_entry_format
        3.155. pgp_good_sign
        3.156. pgp_check_exit
        3.157. pgp_long_ids
        3.158. pgp_retainable_sigs
        3.159. pgp_autoinline
        3.160. pgp_replyinline
        3.161. pgp_show_unusable
        3.162. pgp_sign_as
        3.163. pgp_strict_enc
        3.164. pgp_timeout
        3.165. pgp_sort_keys
        3.166. pgp_mime_auto
        3.167. pgp_auto_decode
        3.168. pgp_decode_command
        3.169. pgp_getkeys_command
        3.170. pgp_verify_command
        3.171. pgp_decrypt_command
        3.172. pgp_clearsign_command
        3.173. pgp_sign_command
        3.174. pgp_encrypt_sign_command
        3.175. pgp_encrypt_only_command
        3.176. pgp_import_command
        3.177. pgp_export_command
        3.178. pgp_verify_key_command
        3.179. pgp_list_secring_command
        3.180. pgp_list_pubring_command
        3.181. forward_decrypt
        3.182. smime_timeout
        3.183. smime_encrypt_with
        3.184. smime_keys
        3.185. smime_ca_location
        3.186. smime_certificates
        3.187. smime_decrypt_command
        3.188. smime_verify_command
        3.189. smime_verify_opaque_command
        3.190. smime_sign_command
        3.191. smime_sign_opaque_command
        3.192. smime_encrypt_command
        3.193. smime_pk7out_command
        3.194. smime_get_cert_command
        3.195. smime_get_signer_cert_command
        3.196. smime_import_cert_command
        3.197. smime_get_cert_email_command
        3.198. smime_default_key
        3.199. ssl_client_cert
        3.200. ssl_force_tls
        3.201. ssl_starttls
        3.202. certificate_file
        3.203. ssl_usesystemcerts
        3.204. entropy_file
        3.205. ssl_use_sslv2
        3.206. ssl_use_sslv3
        3.207. ssl_use_tlsv1
        3.208. ssl_min_dh_prime_bits
        3.209. ssl_ca_certificates_file
        3.210. pipe_split
        3.211. pipe_decode
        3.212. pipe_sep
        3.213. pop_authenticators
        3.214. pop_auth_try_all
        3.215. pop_checkinterval
        3.216. pop_delete
        3.217. pop_host
        3.218. pop_last
        3.219. pop_reconnect
        3.220. pop_user
        3.221. pop_pass
        3.222. post_indent_string
        3.223. postpone
        3.224. postponed
        3.225. preconnect
        3.226. print
        3.227. print_command
        3.228. print_decode
        3.229. print_split
        3.230. prompt_after
        3.231. query_command
        3.232. query_format
        3.233. quit
        3.234. quote_regexp
        3.235. read_inc
        3.236. read_only
        3.237. realname
        3.238. recall
        3.239. record
        3.240. reply_regexp
        3.241. reply_self
        3.242. reply_to
        3.243. resolve
        3.244. reverse_alias
        3.245. reverse_name
        3.246. reverse_realname
        3.247. rfc2047_parameters
        3.248. save_address
        3.249. save_empty
        3.250. save_history
        3.251. save_name
        3.252. score
        3.253. score_threshold_delete
        3.254. score_threshold_flag
        3.255. score_threshold_read
        3.256. send_charset
        3.257. sendmail
        3.258. sendmail_wait
        3.259. shell
        3.260. sig_dashes
        3.261. sig_on_top
        3.262. signature
        3.263. simple_search
        3.264. smart_wrap
        3.265. smileys
        3.266. sleep_time
        3.267. smtp_authenticators
        3.268. smtp_pass
        3.269. smtp_url
        3.270. sort
        3.271. sort_alias
        3.272. sort_aux
        3.273. sort_browser
        3.274. sort_re
        3.275. spam_separator
        3.276. spoolfile
        3.277. status_chars
        3.278. status_format
        3.279. status_on_top
        3.280. strict_threads
        3.281. suspend
        3.282. text_flowed
        3.283. thread_received
        3.284. thorough_search
        3.285. tilde
        3.286. time_inc
        3.287. timeout
        3.288. tmpdir
        3.289. to_chars
        3.290. tunnel
        3.291. use_8bitmime
        3.292. use_domain
        3.293. use_envelope_from
        3.294. use_from
        3.295. use_idn
        3.296. use_ipv6
        3.297. user_agent
        3.298. visual
        3.299. wait_key
        3.300. weed
        3.301. wrap
        3.302. wrap_search
        3.303. wrapmargin
        3.304. write_inc
        3.305. write_bcc

    4. Functions

        4.1. generic
        4.2. index
        4.3. pager
        4.4. alias
        4.5. query
        4.6. attach
        4.7. compose
        4.8. postpone
        4.9. browser
        4.10. pgp
        4.11. smime
        4.12. mix
        4.13. editor

9. Miscellany

    1. Acknowledgements
    2. About this document

List of Tables

2.1. Most common navigation keys
2.2. Most common line editor keys
2.3. Most common message index keys
2.4. Most common pager keys
2.5. ANSI escape sequences
2.6. Color sequences
2.7. Most common thread mode keys
2.8. Most common mail sending keys
2.9. Most common compose menu keys
2.10. PGP key menu flags
2.11. Message forwarding/bouncing keys
3.1. Symbolic key names
4.1. Pattern modifiers
4.2. Simple search keywords
4.3. Date units
8.1. Command line options
8.2. Default generic function bindings
8.3. Default index function bindings
8.4. Default pager function bindings
8.5. Default alias function bindings
8.6. Default query function bindings
8.7. Default attach function bindings
8.8. Default compose function bindings
8.9. Default postpone function bindings
8.10. Default browser function bindings
8.11. Default pgp function bindings
8.12. Default smime function bindings
8.13. Default mix function bindings
8.14. Default editor function bindings

Chapter 1. Introduction

Table of Contents

1. Mutt Home Page
2. Mailing Lists
3. Software Distribution Sites
4. IRC
5. USENET
6. Copyright

Mutt is a small but very powerful text-based MIME mail client. Mutt is highly
configurable, and is well suited to the mail power user with advanced features
like key bindings, keyboard macros, mail threading, regular expression searches
and a powerful pattern matching language for selecting groups of messages.

1. Mutt Home Page

http://www.mutt.org/

2. Mailing Lists

To subscribe to one of the following mailing lists, send a message with the
word subscribe in the body to list-name-request@mutt.org.

  ● <mutt-announce-request@mutt.org> -- low traffic list for announcements

  ● <mutt-users-request@mutt.org> -- help, bug reports and feature requests

  ● <mutt-dev-request@mutt.org> -- development mailing list

Note: all messages posted to mutt-announce are automatically forwarded to
mutt-users, so you do not need to be subscribed to both lists.

3. Software Distribution Sites

  ● ftp://ftp.mutt.org/mutt/

For a list of mirror sites, please refer to http://www.mutt.org/download.html.

4. IRC

Visit channel #mutt on irc.freenode.net to chat with other people interested in
Mutt.

5. USENET

See the newsgroup comp.mail.mutt.

6. Copyright

Mutt is Copyright (C) 1996-2005 Michael R. Elkins <me@cs.hmc.edu> and others

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software
Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later
version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin
Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.

Chapter 2. Getting Started

Table of Contents

1. Moving Around in Menus
2. Editing Input Fields

    2.1. Introduction
    2.2. History

3. Reading Mail - The Index and Pager

    3.1. The Message Index
    3.2. The Pager
    3.3. Threaded Mode
    3.4. Miscellaneous Functions

4. Sending Mail

    4.1. Editing the message header
    4.2. Using Mutt with PGP
    4.3. Sending anonymous messages via mixmaster.
    4.4. Sending format=flowed messages

5. Forwarding and Bouncing Mail
6. Postponing Mail

This section is intended as a brief overview of how to use Mutt. There are many
other features which are described elsewhere in the manual. There is even more
information available in the Mutt FAQ and various web pages. See the Mutt Page
for more details.

The keybindings described in this section are the defaults as distributed. Your
local system administrator may have altered the defaults for your site. You can
always type ``?'' in any menu to display the current bindings.

The first thing you need to do is invoke mutt, simply by typing mutt at the
command line. There are various command-line options, see either the mutt man
page or the reference.

1. Moving Around in Menus

Information is presented in menus, very similar to ELM, see Table 2.1, "Most
common navigation keys" for common keys used to navigate menus in Mutt.

Table 2.1. Most common navigation keys

┌───────────┬──────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│    Key    │   Function   │               Description               │
├───────────┼──────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│j or Down  │next-entry    │move to the next entry                   │
├───────────┼──────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│k or Up    │previous-entry│move to the previous entry               │
├───────────┼──────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│z or PageDn│page-down     │go to the next page                      │
├───────────┼──────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│Z or PageUp│page-up       │go to the previous page                  │
├───────────┼──────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│= or Home  │first-entry   │jump to the first entry                  │
├───────────┼──────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│* or End   │last-entry    │jump to the last entry                   │
├───────────┼──────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│q          │quit          │exit the current menu                    │
├───────────┼──────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│?          │help          │list all keybindings for the current menu│
└───────────┴──────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────┘


2. Editing Input Fields

2.1. Introduction

Mutt has a built-in line editor for inputting text, e.g. email addresses or
filenames. The keys used to manipulate text input are very similar to those of
Emacs. See Table 2.2, "Most common line editor keys" for a full reference of
available functions, their default key bindings, and short descriptions.

Table 2.2. Most common line editor keys

┌──────────────┬───────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┐
│     Key      │   Function    │            Description             │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│^A or <Home>  │bol            │move to the start of the line       │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│^B or <Left>  │backward-char  │move back one char                  │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│Esc B         │backward-word  │move back one word                  │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│^D or <Delete>│delete-char    │delete the char under the cursor    │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│^E or <End>   │eol            │move to the end of the line         │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│^F or <Right> │forward-char   │move forward one char               │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│Esc F         │forward-word   │move forward one word               │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│<Tab>         │complete       │complete filename or alias          │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│^T            │complete-query │complete address with query         │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│^K            │kill-eol       │delete to the end of the line       │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC d         │kill-eow       │delete to the end ot the word       │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│^W            │kill-word      │kill the word in front of the cursor│
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│^U            │kill-line      │delete entire line                  │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│^V            │quote-char     │quote the next typed key            │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│<Up>          │history-up     │recall previous string from history │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│<Down>        │history-down   │recall next string from history     │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│<BackSpace>   │backspace      │kill the char in front of the cursor│
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│Esc u         │upcase-word    │convert word to upper case          │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│Esc l         │downcase-word  │convert word to lower case          │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│Esc c         │capitalize-word│capitalize the word                 │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│^G            │n/a            │abort                               │
├──────────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│<Return>      │n/a            │finish editing                      │
└──────────────┴───────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┘


You can remap the editor functions using the bind command. For example, to make
the Delete key delete the character in front of the cursor rather than under,
you could use

bind editor <delete> backspace

2.2. History

The number of items in the built-in editor's history is controlled by the
$history variable. You may cycle through them at an editor prompt by using the
history-up and/or history-down commands.

Mutt maintains several distinct history lists, one for each of the following
categories:

  ● muttrc commands

  ● addresses and aliases

  ● shell commands

  ● filenames

  ● patterns

  ● everything else

Mutt automatically filters out repeated items from the history. It also mimics
the behavior of some shells by ignoring items starting with a space.

The latter feature can be useful in macros to not clobber the history's
valuable entries with unwanted entries.

3. Reading Mail - The Index and Pager

Similar to many other mail clients, there are two modes in which mail is read
in Mutt. The first is the index of messages in the mailbox, which is called the
``index'' in Mutt. The second mode is the display of the message contents. This
is called the ``pager.''

The next few sections describe the functions provided in each of these modes.

3.1. The Message Index

Common keys used to navigate through and manage messages in the index are shown
in Table 2.3, "Most common message index keys".

Table 2.3. Most common message index keys

┌────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Key   │                Description                │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│c       │change to a different mailbox              │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC c   │change to a folder in read-only mode       │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│C       │copy the current message to another mailbox│
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC C   │decode a message and copy it to a folder   │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC s   │decode a message and save it to a folder   │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│D       │delete messages matching a pattern         │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│d       │delete the current message                 │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│F       │mark as important                          │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│l       │show messages matching a pattern           │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│N       │mark message as new                        │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│o       │change the current sort method             │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│O       │reverse sort the mailbox                   │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│q       │save changes and exit                      │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│s       │save-message                               │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│T       │tag messages matching a pattern            │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│t       │toggle the tag on a message                │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC t   │toggle tag on entire message thread        │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│U       │undelete messages matching a pattern       │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│u       │undelete-message                           │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│v       │view-attachments                           │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│x       │abort changes and exit                     │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│<Return>│display-message                            │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│<Tab>   │jump to the next new or unread message     │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│@       │show the author's full e-mail address      │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│$       │save changes to mailbox                    │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│/       │search                                     │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC /   │search-reverse                             │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│^L      │clear and redraw the screen                │
├────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│^T      │untag messages matching a pattern          │
└────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────┘


3.1.1. Status Flags

In addition to who sent the message and the subject, a short summary of the
disposition of each message is printed beside the message number. Zero or more
of the following ``flags'' may appear, which mean:

D

    message is deleted (is marked for deletion)

d

    message have attachments marked for deletion

K

    contains a PGP public key

N

    message is new

O

    message is old

P

    message is PGP encrypted

r

    message has been replied to

S

    message is signed, and the signature is successfully verified

s

    message is signed

!

    message is flagged

*

    message is tagged

Some of the status flags can be turned on or off using

  ● set-flag (default: w)

  ● clear-flag (default: W)

Furthermore, the following flags reflect who the message is addressed to. They
can be customized with the $to_chars variable.

+

    message is to you and you only

T

    message is to you, but also to or cc'ed to others

C

    message is cc'ed to you

F

    message is from you

L

    message is sent to a subscribed mailing list

3.2. The Pager

By default, Mutt uses its builtin pager to display the body of messages. The
pager is very similar to the Unix program less though not nearly as featureful.

Table 2.4. Most common pager keys

┌────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Key   │                           Description                            │
├────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│<Return>│go down one line                                                  │
├────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│<Space> │display the next page (or next message if at the end of a message)│
├────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-       │go back to the previous page                                      │
├────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│n       │search for next match                                             │
├────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│S       │skip beyond quoted text                                           │
├────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│T       │toggle display of quoted text                                     │
├────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│?       │show keybindings                                                  │
├────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│/       │search for a regular expression (pattern)                         │
├────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC /   │search backwards for a regular expression                         │
├────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│\       │toggle search pattern coloring                                    │
├────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│^       │jump to the top of the message                                    │
└────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘


In addition to key bindings in Table 2.4, "Most common pager keys", many of the
functions from the index are available in the pager, such as delete-message or
copy-message (this is one advantage over using an external pager to view
messages).

Also, the internal pager supports a couple other advanced features. For one, it
will accept and translate the ``standard'' nroff sequences for bold and
underline. These sequences are a series of either the letter, backspace (^H),
the letter again for bold or the letter, backspace, ``_'' for denoting
underline. Mutt will attempt to display these in bold and underline
respectively if your terminal supports them. If not, you can use the bold and
underline color objects to specify a color or mono attribute for them.

Additionally, the internal pager supports the ANSI escape sequences for
character attributes. Mutt translates them into the correct color and character
settings. The sequences Mutt supports are '\e[Ps;Ps;..Ps;m' where Ps can be one
of the codes shown in Table 2.5, "ANSI escape sequences".

Table 2.5. ANSI escape sequences

┌───────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│Escape code│                         Description                          │
├───────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│0          │All Attributes Off                                            │
├───────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│1          │Bold on                                                       │
├───────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│4          │Underline on                                                  │
├───────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│5          │Blink on                                                      │
├───────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│7          │Reverse video on                                              │
├───────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│3<color>   │Foreground color is <color> (see Table 2.6, "Color sequences")│
├───────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│4<color>   │Background color is <color> (see Table 2.6, "Color sequences")│
└───────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘


Table 2.6. Color sequences

┌───────────┬───────┐
│Color code │ Color │
├───────────┼───────┤
│0          │Black  │
├───────────┼───────┤
│1          │Red    │
├───────────┼───────┤
│2          │Green  │
├───────────┼───────┤
│3          │Yellow │
├───────────┼───────┤
│4          │Blue   │
├───────────┼───────┤
│5          │Magenta│
├───────────┼───────┤
│6          │Cyan   │
├───────────┼───────┤
│7          │White  │
└───────────┴───────┘


Mutt uses these attributes for handling text/enriched messages, and they can
also be used by an external autoview script for highlighting purposes. Note: If
you change the colors for your display, for example by changing the color
associated with color2 for your xterm, then that color will be used instead of
green.

3.3. Threaded Mode

When the mailbox is sorted by threads, there are a few additional functions
available in the index and pager modes as shown in Table 2.7, "Most common
thread mode keys".

Table 2.7. Most common thread mode keys

┌─────┬──────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Key │     Function     │                 Description                  │
├─────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│^D   │delete-thread     │delete all messages in the current thread     │
├─────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│^U   │undelete-thread   │undelete all messages in the current thread   │
├─────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│^N   │next-thread       │jump to the start of the next thread          │
├─────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│^P   │previous-thread   │jump to the start of the previous thread      │
├─────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│^R   │read-thread       │mark the current thread as read               │
├─────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC d│delete-subthread  │delete all messages in the current subthread  │
├─────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC u│undelete-subthread│undelete all messages in the current subthread│
├─────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC n│next-subthread    │jump to the start of the next subthread       │
├─────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC p│previous-subthread│jump to the start of the previous subthread   │
├─────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC r│read-subthread    │mark the current subthread as read            │
├─────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC t│tag-thread        │toggle the tag on the current thread          │
├─────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC v│collapse-thread   │toggle collapse for the current thread        │
├─────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC V│collapse-all      │toggle collapse for all threads               │
├─────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│P    │parent-message    │jump to parent message in thread              │
└─────┴──────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────┘


Note: Collapsing a thread displays only the first message in the thread and
hides the others. This is useful when threads contain so many messages that you
can only see a handful of threads on the screen. See %M in $index_format. For
example, you could use "%?M?(#%03M)&(%4l)?" in $index_format to optionally
display the number of hidden messages if the thread is collapsed.

See also: $strict_threads.

3.4. Miscellaneous Functions

create-alias (default: a)

Creates a new alias based upon the current message (or prompts for a new one).
Once editing is complete, an alias command is added to the file specified by
the $alias_file variable for future use. Note: Specifying an $alias_file does
not add the aliases specified there-in, you must also source the file.

check-traditional-pgp (default: ESC P)

This function will search the current message for content signed or encrypted
with PGP the "traditional" way, that is, without proper MIME tagging.
Technically, this function will temporarily change the MIME content types of
the body parts containing PGP data; this is similar to the edit-type function's
effect.

display-toggle-weed (default: h)

Toggles the weeding of message header fields specified by ignore commands.

edit (default: e)

This command (available in the ``index'' and ``pager'') allows you to edit the
raw current message as it's present in the mail folder. After you have finished
editing, the changed message will be appended to the current folder, and the
original message will be marked for deletion.

edit-type (default: ^E on the attachment menu, and in the pager and index
menus; ^T on the compose menu)

This command is used to temporarily edit an attachment's content type to fix,
for instance, bogus character set parameters. When invoked from the index or
from the pager, you'll have the opportunity to edit the top-level attachment's
content type. On the attachment menu, you can change any attachment's content
type. These changes are not persistent, and get lost upon changing folders.

Note that this command is also available on the compose menu. There, it's used
to fine-tune the properties of attachments you are going to send.

enter-command (default: ``:'')

This command is used to execute any command you would normally put in a
configuration file. A common use is to check the settings of variables, or in
conjunction with macros to change settings on the fly.

extract-keys (default: ^K)

This command extracts PGP public keys from the current or tagged message(s) and
adds them to your PGP public key ring.

forget-passphrase (default: ^F)

This command wipes the passphrase(s) from memory. It is useful, if you
misspelled the passphrase.

list-reply (default: L)

Reply to the current or tagged message(s) by extracting any addresses which
match the regular expressions given by the lists or subscribe commands, but
also honor any Mail-Followup-To header(s) if the $honor_followup_to
configuration variable is set. Using this when replying to messages posted to
mailing lists helps avoid duplicate copies being sent to the author of the
message you are replying to.

pipe-message (default: |)

Asks for an external Unix command and pipes the current or tagged message(s) to
it. The variables $pipe_decode, $pipe_split, $pipe_sep and $wait_key control
the exact behavior of this function.

resend-message (default: ESC e)

With resend-message, mutt takes the current message as a template for a new
message. This function is best described as "recall from arbitrary folders". It
can conveniently be used to forward MIME messages while preserving the original
mail structure. Note that the amount of headers included here depends on the
value of the $weed variable.

This function is also available from the attachment menu. You can use this to
easily resend a message which was included with a bounce message as a message/
rfc822 body part.

shell-escape (default: !)

Asks for an external Unix command and executes it. The $wait_key can be used to
control whether Mutt will wait for a key to be pressed when the command returns
(presumably to let the user read the output of the command), based on the
return status of the named command.

toggle-quoted (default: T)

The pager uses the $quote_regexp variable to detect quoted text when displaying
the body of the message. This function toggles the display of the quoted
material in the message. It is particularly useful when are interested in just
the response and there is a large amount of quoted text in the way.

skip-quoted (default: S)

This function will go to the next line of non-quoted text which come after a
line of quoted text in the internal pager.

4. Sending Mail

The bindings shown in Table 2.8, "Most common mail sending keys" are available
in the index for sending messages.

Table 2.8. Most common mail sending keys

┌─────┬───────────┬────────────────────────────────┐
│ Key │ Function  │          Description           │
├─────┼───────────┼────────────────────────────────┤
│m    │compose    │compose a new message           │
├─────┼───────────┼────────────────────────────────┤
│r    │reply      │reply to sender                 │
├─────┼───────────┼────────────────────────────────┤
│g    │group-reply│reply to all recipients         │
├─────┼───────────┼────────────────────────────────┤
│L    │list-reply │reply to mailing list address   │
├─────┼───────────┼────────────────────────────────┤
│f    │forward    │forward message                 │
├─────┼───────────┼────────────────────────────────┤
│b    │bounce     │bounce (remail) message         │
├─────┼───────────┼────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC k│mail-key   │mail a PGP public key to someone│
└─────┴───────────┴────────────────────────────────┘


Bouncing a message sends the message as is to the recipient you specify.
Forwarding a message allows you to add comments or modify the message you are
forwarding. These items are discussed in greater detail in the next chapter ``
Forwarding and Bouncing Mail.''

Mutt will then enter the compose menu and prompt you for the recipients to
place on the ``To:'' header field. Next, it will ask you for the ``Subject:''
field for the message, providing a default if you are replying to or forwarding
a message. See also $askcc, $askbcc, $autoedit, $bounce, $fast_reply, and
$include for changing how Mutt asks these questions.

Mutt will then automatically start your $editor on the message body. If the
$edit_headers variable is set, the headers will be at the top of the message in
your editor. Any messages you are replying to will be added in sort order to
the message, with appropriate $attribution, $indent_string and
$post_indent_string. When forwarding a message, if the $mime_forward variable
is unset, a copy of the forwarded message will be included. If you have
specified a $signature, it will be appended to the message.

Once you have finished editing the body of your mail message, you are returned
to the compose menu providing the functions show in Table 2.9, "Most common
compose menu keys".

Table 2.9. Most common compose menu keys

┌─────┬─────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Key │    Function     │                Description                 │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│a    │attach-file      │attach a file                               │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│A    │attach-message   │attach message(s) to the message            │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC k│attach-key       │attach a PGP public key                     │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│d    │edit-description │edit description on attachment              │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│D    │detach-file      │detach a file                               │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│t    │edit-to          │edit the To field                           │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ESC f│edit-from        │edit the From field                         │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│r    │edit-reply-to    │edit the Reply-To field                     │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│c    │edit-cc          │edit the Cc field                           │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│b    │edit-bcc         │edit the Bcc field                          │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│y    │send-message     │send the message                            │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│s    │edit-subject     │edit the Subject                            │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│S    │smime-menu       │select S/MIME options                       │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│f    │edit-fcc         │specify an ``Fcc'' mailbox                  │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│p    │pgp-menu         │select PGP options                          │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│P    │postpone-message │postpone this message until later           │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│q    │quit             │quit (abort) sending the message            │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│w    │write-fcc        │write the message to a folder               │
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│i    │ispell           │check spelling (if available on your system)│
├─────┼─────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│^F   │forget-passphrase│wipe passphrase(s) from memory              │
└─────┴─────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────────────┘


Note: The attach-message function will prompt you for a folder to attach
messages from. You can now tag messages in that folder and they will be
attached to the message you are sending. Note that certain operations like
composing a new mail, replying, forwarding, etc. are not permitted when you are
in that folder. The %r in $status_format will change to a 'A' to indicate that
you are in attach-message mode.

4.1. Editing the message header

When editing the header of your outgoing message, there are a couple of special
features available.

If you specify Fcc:filename Mutt will pick up filename just as if you had used
the edit-fcc function in the compose menu.

You can also attach files to your message by specifying Attach:filename [
description ] where filename is the file to attach and description is an
optional string to use as the description of the attached file.

When replying to messages, if you remove the In-Reply-To: field from the header
field, Mutt will not generate a References: field, which allows you to create a
new message thread.

Also see $edit_headers.

4.2. Using Mutt with PGP

If you want to use PGP, you can specify

Pgp: [ E | S | S<id> ]

``E'' encrypts, ``S'' signs and ``S<id>'' signs with the given key, setting
$pgp_sign_as permanently.

If you have told mutt to PGP encrypt a message, it will guide you through a key
selection process when you try to send the message. Mutt will not ask you any
questions about keys which have a certified user ID matching one of the message
recipients' mail addresses. However, there may be situations in which there are
several keys, weakly certified user ID fields, or where no matching keys can be
found.

In these cases, you are dropped into a menu with a list of keys from which you
can select one. When you quit this menu, or mutt can't find any matching keys,
you are prompted for a user ID. You can, as usually, abort this prompt using ^
G. When you do so, mutt will return to the compose screen.

Once you have successfully finished the key selection, the message will be
encrypted using the selected public keys, and sent out.

Most fields of the entries in the key selection menu (see also
$pgp_entry_format) have obvious meanings. But some explanations on the
capabilities, flags, and validity fields are in order.

The flags sequence (%f) will expand to one of the flags in Table 2.10, "PGP key
menu flags".

Table 2.10. PGP key menu flags

┌────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│Flag│                   Description                    │
├────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│R   │The key has been revoked and can't be used.       │
├────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│X   │The key is expired and can't be used.             │
├────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│d   │You have marked the key as disabled.              │
├────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│c   │There are unknown critical self-signature packets.│
└────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘


The capabilities field (%c) expands to a two-character sequence representing a
key's capabilities. The first character gives the key's encryption
capabilities: A minus sign (-) means that the key cannot be used for
encryption. A dot (.) means that it's marked as a signature key in one of the
user IDs, but may also be used for encryption. The letter e indicates that this
key can be used for encryption.

The second character indicates the key's signing capabilities. Once again, a ``
-'' implies ``not for signing'', ``.'' implies that the key is marked as an
encryption key in one of the user-ids, and ``s'' denotes a key which can be
used for signing.

Finally, the validity field (%t) indicates how well-certified a user-id is. A
question mark (?) indicates undefined validity, a minus character (-) marks an
untrusted association, a space character means a partially trusted association,
and a plus character (+) indicates complete validity.

4.3. Sending anonymous messages via mixmaster.

You may also have configured mutt to co-operate with Mixmaster, an anonymous
remailer. Mixmaster permits you to send your messages anonymously using a chain
of remailers. Mixmaster support in mutt is for mixmaster version 2.04 (beta 45
appears to be the latest) and 2.03. It does not support earlier versions or the
later so-called version 3 betas, of which the latest appears to be called
2.9b23.

To use it, you'll have to obey certain restrictions. Most important, you cannot
use the Cc and Bcc headers. To tell Mutt to use mixmaster, you have to select a
remailer chain, using the mix function on the compose menu.

The chain selection screen is divided into two parts. In the (larger) upper
part, you get a list of remailers you may use. In the lower part, you see the
currently selected chain of remailers.

You can navigate in the chain using the chain-prev and chain-next functions,
which are by default bound to the left and right arrows and to the h and l keys
(think vi keyboard bindings). To insert a remailer at the current chain
position, use the insert function. To append a remailer behind the current
chain position, use select-entry or append. You can also delete entries from
the chain, using the corresponding function. Finally, to abandon your changes,
leave the menu, or accept them pressing (by default) the Return key.

Note that different remailers do have different capabilities, indicated in the
%c entry of the remailer menu lines (see $mix_entry_format). Most important is
the ``middleman'' capability, indicated by a capital ``M'': This means that the
remailer in question cannot be used as the final element of a chain, but will
only forward messages to other mixmaster remailers. For details on the other
capabilities, please have a look at the mixmaster documentation.

4.4. Sending format=flowed messages

4.4.1. Concept

format=flowed-style messages (or f=f for short) are text/plain messages that
consist of paragraphs which a receiver's mail client may reformat to its own
needs which mostly means to customize line lengths regardless of what the
sender sent. Technically this is achieved by letting lines of a ``flowable''
paragraph end in spaces.

While for text-mode clients like mutt it's the best way to assume only a
standard 80x25 character cell terminal, it may be desired to let the receiver
decide completely how to view a message.

4.4.2. Mutt support

Mutt only supports setting the required format=flowed MIME parameter on
outgoing messages if the $text_flowed variable is set. It does not add the
trailing spaces nor does it provide any other feature related to composing f=f
messages (like reformatting non-f=f parts of a reply to f=f before calling the
editor).

After editing the initial message text and before entering the compose menu,
mutt properly space-stuffes the message. Space-stuffing is required by RfC3676
defining format=flowed and means to prepend a space to:

  ● all lines starting with a space

  ● lines starting with the word ``From'' followed by space

  ● all lines starting with ``>'' which is not intended to be a quote character

All leading spaces are to be removed by receiving clients to restore the
original message.

Note that mutt only support space-stuffing for the first two types of lines but
not for the third: It is impossible to safely detect whether a leading >
character starts a quote or not.

4.4.3. Editor considerations

As mutt provides no additional features to compose f=f messages, it's
completely up to the user and his editor to produce proper messages. Please
consider your editor's documentation if you intend to send f=f messages.

Please note that when editing messages from the compose menu several times
before really sending a mail, it's up to the user to ensure that the message is
properly space-stuffed.

For example, vim provides the w flag for its formatoptions setting to assist in
creating f=f messages, see :help fo-table for details.

5. Forwarding and Bouncing Mail

Bouncing and forwarding let you send an existing message to recipients that you
specify. Bouncing a message uses the $sendmail command to send a copy to
alternative addresses as if they were the message's original recipients.
Forwarding a message, on the other hand, allows you to modify the message
before it is resent (for example, by adding your own comments). The default key
bindings are shown in Table 2.11, "Message forwarding/bouncing keys".

Table 2.11. Message forwarding/bouncing keys

┌───┬────────┬───────────────────────┐
│Key│Function│      Description      │
├───┼────────┼───────────────────────┤
│f  │forward │forward message        │
├───┼────────┼───────────────────────┤
│b  │bounce  │bounce (remail) message│
└───┴────────┴───────────────────────┘


Forwarding can be done by including the original message in the new message's
body (surrounded by indicating lines) or including it as a MIME attachment,
depending on the value of the $mime_forward variable. Decoding of attachments,
like in the pager, can be controlled by the $forward_decode and
$mime_forward_decode variables, respectively. The desired forwarding format may
depend on the content, therefore $mime_forward is a quadoption which, for
example, can be set to ``ask-no''.

The inclusion of headers is controlled by the current setting of the $weed
variable, unless $mime_forward is set.

Editing the message to forward follows the same procedure as sending or
replying to a message does.

6. Postponing Mail

At times it is desirable to delay sending a message that you have already begun
to compose. When the postpone-message function is used in the compose menu, the
body of your message and attachments are stored in the mailbox specified by the
$postponed variable. This means that you can recall the message even if you
exit Mutt and then restart it at a later time.

Once a message is postponed, there are several ways to resume it. From the
command line you can use the ``-p'' option, or if you compose a new message
from the index or pager you will be prompted if postponed messages exist. If
multiple messages are currently postponed, the postponed menu will pop up and
you can select which message you would like to resume.

Note: If you postpone a reply to a message, the reply setting of the message is
only updated when you actually finish the message and send it. Also, you must
be in the same folder with the message you replied to for the status of the
message to be updated.

See also the $postpone quad-option.

Chapter 3. Configuration

Table of Contents

1. Syntax of Initialization Files
2. Address groups
3. Defining/Using aliases
4. Changing the default key bindings
5. Defining aliases for character sets
6. Setting variables based upon mailbox
7. Keyboard macros
8. Using color and mono video attributes
9. Ignoring (weeding) unwanted message headers
10. Alternative addresses
11. Mailing lists
12. Using Multiple spool mailboxes
13. Monitoring incoming mail
14. User defined headers
15. Defining the order of headers when viewing messages
16. Specify default save mailbox
17. Specify default Fcc: mailbox when composing
18. Specify default save filename and default Fcc: mailbox at once
19. Change settings based upon message recipients
20. Change settings before formatting a message
21. Choosing the cryptographic key of the recipient
22. Adding key sequences to the keyboard buffer
23. Executing functions
24. Message Scoring
25. Spam detection
26. Setting and Querying Variables

    26.1. Commands
    26.2. User-defined variables

27. Reading initialization commands from another file
28. Removing hooks
29. Format Strings

    29.1. Basic usage
    29.2. Filters

While the default configuration (or ``preferences'') make Mutt usable right out
of the box, it is often desirable to tailor Mutt to suit your own tastes. When
Mutt is first invoked, it will attempt to read the ``system'' configuration
file (defaults set by your local system administrator), unless the ``-n''
command line option is specified. This file is typically /usr/local/share/mutt/
Muttrc or /etc/Muttrc. Mutt will next look for a file named .muttrc in your
home directory. If this file does not exist and your home directory has a
subdirectory named .mutt, mutt try to load a file named .mutt/muttrc.

.muttrc is the file where you will usually place your commands to configure
Mutt.

In addition, mutt supports version specific configuration files that are parsed
instead of the default files as explained above. For instance, if your system
has a Muttrc-0.88 file in the system configuration directory, and you are
running version 0.88 of mutt, this file will be sourced instead of the Muttrc
file. The same is true of the user configuration file, if you have a file
.muttrc-0.88.6 in your home directory, when you run mutt version 0.88.6, it
will source this file instead of the default .muttrc file. The version number
is the same which is visible using the ``-v'' command line switch or using the
show-version key (default: V) from the index menu.

1. Syntax of Initialization Files

An initialization file consists of a series of commands. Each line of the file
may contain one or more commands. When multiple commands are used, they must be
separated by a semicolon (;).

set realname='Mutt user' ; ignore x-

The hash mark, or pound sign (``#''), is used as a ``comment'' character. You
can use it to annotate your initialization file. All text after the comment
character to the end of the line is ignored. For example,

my_hdr X-Disclaimer: Why are you listening to me? # This is a comment

Single quotes (') and double quotes (") can be used to quote strings which
contain spaces or other special characters. The difference between the two
types of quotes is similar to that of many popular shell programs, namely that
a single quote is used to specify a literal string (one that is not interpreted
for shell variables or quoting with a backslash [see next paragraph]), while
double quotes indicate a string for which should be evaluated. For example,
backtics are evaluated inside of double quotes, but not for single quotes.

\ quotes the next character, just as in shells such as bash and zsh. For
example, if want to put quotes ``"'' inside of a string, you can use ``\'' to
force the next character to be a literal instead of interpreted character.

set realname="Michael \"MuttDude\" Elkins"

``\\'' means to insert a literal ``\'' into the line. ``\n'' and ``\r'' have
their usual C meanings of linefeed and carriage-return, respectively.

A \ at the end of a line can be used to split commands over multiple lines,
provided that the split points don't appear in the middle of command names.

It is also possible to substitute the output of a Unix command in an
initialization file. This is accomplished by enclosing the command in
backquotes (``). For example,

my_hdr X-Operating-System: `uname -a`

The output of the Unix command ``uname -a'' will be substituted before the line
is parsed. Note that since initialization files are line oriented, only the
first line of output from the Unix command will be substituted.

Both environment variables and mutt variables can be accessed by prepending
``$'' to the name of the variable. For example,

set record=+sent_on_$HOSTNAME

will cause mutt to save outgoing messages to a folder named ``sent_on_kremvax''
if the environment variable HOSTNAME is set to ``kremvax.'' (See $record for
details.)

Mutt expands the variable when it is assigned, not when it is used. If the
value of a variable on the right-hand side of an assignment changes after the
assignment, the variable on the left-hand side will not be affected.

The commands understood by mutt are explained in the next paragraphs. For a
complete list, see the command reference.

2. Address groups

Usage: group [ -groupname [ ... ] ] [ -rxEXPR [ ... ] ] [ -addrEXPR [ ... ] ]

group is used to directly add either addresses or regular expressions to the
specified group or groups. The different categories of arguments to the group
command can be in any order. The flags -rx and -addr specify what the following
strings (that cannot begin with a hyphen) should be interpreted as: either a
regular expression or an email address, respectively.

These address groups can also be created implicitely by the alias, lists,
subscribe and alternates commands by specifying the optional -group option.

Once defined, these address groups can be used in patterns to search for and
limit the display to messages matching a group.

Usage: ungroup [ -groupname [ ... ] ] [ * | [ [ -rxEXPR [ ... ] ] [ -addrEXPR [
... ] ] ]

ungroup is used to remove addresses or regular expressions from the specified
group or groups. The syntax is similar to the group command, however the
special character * can be used to empty a group of all of its contents.

3. Defining/Using aliases

Usage: alias [ -groupname [ ... ] ] keyaddress [ , address, ... ]

It's usually very cumbersome to remember or type out the address of someone you
are communicating with. Mutt allows you to create ``aliases'' which map a short
string to a full address.

Note: if you want to create an alias for more than one address, you must
separate the addresses with a comma (``,'').

The optional -group argument to alias causes the aliased address(es) to be
added to the named group.

To remove an alias or aliases (``*'' means all aliases):

unalias [ * | key... ]

alias muttdude me@cs.hmc.edu (Michael Elkins)
alias theguys manny, moe, jack

Unlike other mailers, Mutt doesn't require aliases to be defined in a special
file. The alias command can appear anywhere in a configuration file, as long as
this file is sourced. Consequently, you can have multiple alias files, or you
can have all aliases defined in your muttrc.

On the other hand, the create-alias function can use only one file, the one
pointed to by the $alias_file variable (which is ~/.muttrc by default). This
file is not special either, in the sense that Mutt will happily append aliases
to any file, but in order for the new aliases to take effect you need to
explicitly source this file too.

For example:

source /usr/local/share/Mutt.aliases
source ~/.mail_aliases
set alias_file=~/.mail_aliases

To use aliases, you merely use the alias at any place in mutt where mutt
prompts for addresses, such as the To: or Cc: prompt. You can also enter
aliases in your editor at the appropriate headers if you have the $edit_headers
variable set.

In addition, at the various address prompts, you can use the tab character to
expand a partial alias to the full alias. If there are multiple matches, mutt
will bring up a menu with the matching aliases. In order to be presented with
the full list of aliases, you must hit tab with out a partial alias, such as at
the beginning of the prompt or after a comma denoting multiple addresses.

In the alias menu, you can select as many aliases as you want with the
select-entry key (default: RET), and use the exit key (default: q) to return to
the address prompt.

4. Changing the default key bindings

Usage: bindmapkeyfunction

This command allows you to change the default key bindings (operation invoked
when pressing a key).

map specifies in which menu the binding belongs. Multiple maps may be specified
by separating them with commas (no additional whitespace is allowed). The
currently defined maps are:

generic

    This is not a real menu, but is used as a fallback for all of the other
    menus except for the pager and editor modes. If a key is not defined in
    another menu, Mutt will look for a binding to use in this menu. This allows
    you to bind a key to a certain function in multiple menus instead of having
    multiple bind statements to accomplish the same task.

alias

    The alias menu is the list of your personal aliases as defined in your
    muttrc. It is the mapping from a short alias name to the full email address
    (es) of the recipient(s).

attach

    The attachment menu is used to access the attachments on received messages.

browser

    The browser is used for both browsing the local directory structure, and
    for listing all of your incoming mailboxes.

editor

    The editor is the line-based editor the user enters text data.

index

    The index is the list of messages contained in a mailbox.

compose

    The compose menu is the screen used when sending a new message.

pager

    The pager is the mode used to display message/attachment data, and help
    listings.

pgp

    The pgp menu is used to select the OpenPGP keys used for encrypting
    outgoing messages.

postpone

    The postpone menu is similar to the index menu, except is used when
    recalling a message the user was composing, but saved until later.

key is the key (or key sequence) you wish to bind. To specify a control
character, use the sequence \Cx, where x is the letter of the control character
(for example, to specify control-A use ``\Ca''). Note that the case of x as
well as \C is ignored, so that \CA, \Ca, \cA and \ca are all equivalent. An
alternative form is to specify the key as a three digit octal number prefixed
with a ``\'' (for example \177 is equivalent to \c?). In addition, key may be a
symbolic name as shown in Table 3.1, "Symbolic key names".

Table 3.1. Symbolic key names

┌─────────────┬───────────────────┐
│Symbolic name│      Meaning      │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│\t           │tab                │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<tab>        │tab                │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<backtab>    │backtab / shift-tab│
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│\r           │carriage return    │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│\n           │newline            │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│\e           │escape             │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<esc>        │escape             │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<up>         │up arrow           │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<down>       │down arrow         │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<left>       │left arrow         │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<right>      │right arrow        │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<pageup>     │Page Up            │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<pagedown>   │Page Down          │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<backspace>  │Backspace          │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<delete>     │Delete             │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<insert>     │Insert             │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<enter>      │Enter              │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<return>     │Return             │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<home>       │Home               │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<end>        │End                │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<space>      │Space bar          │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<f1>         │function key 1     │
├─────────────┼───────────────────┤
│<f10>        │function key 10    │
└─────────────┴───────────────────┘


key does not need to be enclosed in quotes unless it contains a space (`` '').

function specifies which action to take when key is pressed. For a complete
list of functions, see the reference. The special function noop unbinds the
specified key sequence.

5. Defining aliases for character sets


Usage: charset-hook alias charset
Usage: iconv-hook charset local-charset

The charset-hook command defines an alias for a character set. This is useful
to properly display messages which are tagged with a character set name not
known to mutt.

The iconv-hook command defines a system-specific name for a character set. This
is helpful when your systems character conversion library insists on using
strange, system-specific names for character sets.

6. Setting variables based upon mailbox

Usage: folder-hook [!]regexpcommand

It is often desirable to change settings based on which mailbox you are
reading. The folder-hook command provides a method by which you can execute any
configuration command. regexp is a regular expression specifying in which
mailboxes to execute command before loading. If a mailbox matches multiple
folder-hook's, they are executed in the order given in the muttrc.

Note: if you use the ``!'' shortcut for $spoolfile at the beginning of the
pattern, you must place it inside of double or single quotes in order to
distinguish it from the logical not operator for the expression.

Note that the settings are not restored when you leave the mailbox. For
example, a command action to perform is to change the sorting method based upon
the mailbox being read:

folder-hook mutt set sort=threads

However, the sorting method is not restored to its previous value when reading
a different mailbox. To specify a default command, use the pattern ``.'':

folder-hook . set sort=date-sent

7. Keyboard macros

Usage: macromenukeysequence [ description ]

Macros are useful when you would like a single key to perform a series of
actions. When you press key in menu menu, Mutt will behave as if you had typed
sequence. So if you have a common sequence of commands you type, you can create
a macro to execute those commands with a single key.

menu is the map which the macro will be bound. Multiple maps may be specified
by separating multiple menu arguments by commas. Whitespace may not be used in
between the menu arguments and the commas separating them.

key and sequence are expanded by the same rules as the key bindings. There are
some additions however. The first is that control characters in sequence can
also be specified as ^x. In order to get a caret (`^'') you need to use ^^.
Secondly, to specify a certain key such as up or to invoke a function directly,
you can use the format <key name> and <function name>. For a listing of key
names see the section on key bindings. Functions are listed in the reference.

The advantage with using function names directly is that the macros will work
regardless of the current key bindings, so they are not dependent on the user
having particular key definitions. This makes them more robust and portable,
and also facilitates defining of macros in files used by more than one user
(e.g., the system Muttrc).

Optionally you can specify a descriptive text after sequence, which is shown in
the help screens.

Note: Macro definitions (if any) listed in the help screen(s), are silently
truncated at the screen width, and are not wrapped.

8. Using color and mono video attributes


Usage: color object foreground background [ regexp ]
Usage: color index foreground background pattern
Usage: uncolor index pattern [ pattern ... ]

If your terminal supports color, you can spice up Mutt by creating your own
color scheme. To define the color of an object (type of information), you must
specify both a foreground color and a background color (it is not possible to
only specify one or the other).

object can be one of:

  ● attachment

  ● body (match regexp in the body of messages)

  ● bold (hiliting bold patterns in the body of messages)

  ● error (error messages printed by Mutt)

  ● header (match regexp in the message header)

  ● hdrdefault (default color of the message header in the pager)

  ● index (match pattern in the message index)

  ● indicator (arrow or bar used to indicate the current item in a menu)

  ● markers (the ``+'' markers at the beginning of wrapped lines in the pager)

  ● message (informational messages)

  ● normal

  ● quoted (text matching $quote_regexp in the body of a message)

  ● quoted1, quoted2, ..., quotedN (higher levels of quoting)

  ● search (hiliting of words in the pager)

  ● signature

  ● status (mode lines used to display info about the mailbox or message)

  ● tilde (the ``~'' used to pad blank lines in the pager)

  ● tree (thread tree drawn in the message index and attachment menu)

  ● underline (hiliting underlined patterns in the body of messages)

foreground and background can be one of the following:

  ● white

  ● black

  ● green

  ● magenta

  ● blue

  ● cyan

  ● yellow

  ● red

  ● default

  ● colorx

foreground can optionally be prefixed with the keyword bright to make the
foreground color boldfaced (e.g., brightred).

If your terminal supports it, the special keyword default can be used as a
transparent color. The value brightdefault is also valid. If Mutt is linked
against the S-Lang library, you also need to set the COLORFGBG environment
variable to the default colors of your terminal for this to work; for example
(for Bourne-like shells):

set COLORFGBG="green;black"
export COLORFGBG

Note: The S-Lang library requires you to use the lightgray and brown keywords
instead of white and yellow when setting this variable.

Note: The uncolor command can be applied to the index object only. It removes
entries from the list. You must specify the same pattern specified in the color
command for it to be removed. The pattern ``*'' is a special token which means
to clear the color index list of all entries.

Mutt also recognizes the keywords color0, color1, ..., colorN-1 (N being the
number of colors supported by your terminal). This is useful when you remap the
colors for your display (for example by changing the color associated with
color2 for your xterm), since color names may then lose their normal meaning.

If your terminal does not support color, it is still possible change the video
attributes through the use of the ``mono'' command:


Usage: mono <object> <attribute> [ regexp ]
Usage: mono index attribute pattern
Usage: unmono index pattern [ pattern ... ]

where attribute is one of the following:

  ● none

  ● bold

  ● underline

  ● reverse

  ● standout

9. Ignoring (weeding) unwanted message headers

Usage: [un]ignorepattern [ pattern ... ]

Messages often have many header fields added by automatic processing systems,
or which may not seem useful to display on the screen. This command allows you
to specify header fields which you don't normally want to see.

You do not need to specify the full header field name. For example, ``ignore
content-'' will ignore all header fields that begin with the pattern
``content-''. ``ignore *'' will ignore all headers.

To remove a previously added token from the list, use the ``unignore'' command.
The ``unignore'' command will make Mutt display headers with the given pattern.
For example, if you do ``ignore x-'' it is possible to ``unignore x-mailer''.

``unignore *'' will remove all tokens from the ignore list.

For example:

# Sven's draconian header weeding
ignore *
unignore from date subject to cc
unignore organization organisation x-mailer: x-newsreader: x-mailing-list:
unignore posted-to:

10. Alternative addresses

Usage: [un]alternates [ -groupname [ ... ] ] regexp [ regexp ... ]

With various functions, mutt will treat messages differently, depending on
whether you sent them or whether you received them from someone else. For
instance, when replying to a message that you sent to a different party, mutt
will automatically suggest to send the response to the original message's
recipients -- responding to yourself won't make much sense in many cases. (See
$reply_to.)

Many users receive e-mail under a number of different addresses. To fully use
mutt's features here, the program must be able to recognize what e-mail
addresses you receive mail under. That's the purpose of the alternates command:
It takes a list of regular expressions, each of which can identify an address
under which you receive e-mail.

As addresses are matched using regular expressions and not exact strict
comparisons, you should make sure you specify your addresses as precise as
possible to avoid mismatches. For example, if you specify:

alternates user@example

mutt will consider ``some-user@example'' as being your address, too which may
not be desired. As a solution, in such cases addresses should be specified as:

alternates '^user@example$'

The -group flag causes all of the subsequent regular expressions to be added to
the named group.

The unalternates command can be used to write exceptions to alternates
patterns. If an address matches something in an alternates command, but you
nonetheless do not think it is from you, you can list a more precise pattern
under an unalternates command.

To remove a regular expression from the alternates list, use the unalternates
command with exactly the same regexp. Likewise, if the regexp for an alternates
command matches an entry on the unalternates list, that unalternates entry will
be removed. If the regexp for unalternates is ``*'', all entries on alternates
will be removed.

11. Mailing lists


Usage: [un]lists [ -group name [ ... ] ] regexp [ regexp ... ]
Usage: [un]subscribe [ -group name [ ... ] ] regexp [ regexp ... ]

Mutt has a few nice features for handling mailing lists. In order to take
advantage of them, you must specify which addresses belong to mailing lists,
and which mailing lists you are subscribed to. Once you have done this, the
list-reply function will work for all known lists. Additionally, when you send
a message to a subscribed list, mutt will add a Mail-Followup-To header to tell
other users' mail user agents not to send copies of replies to your personal
address. Note that the Mail-Followup-To header is a non-standard extension
which is not supported by all mail user agents. Adding it is not bullet-proof
against receiving personal CCs of list messages. Also note that the generation
of the Mail-Followup-To header is controlled by the $followup_to configuration
variable.

More precisely, Mutt maintains lists of patterns for the addresses of known and
subscribed mailing lists. Every subscribed mailing list is known. To mark a
mailing list as known, use the ``lists'' command. To mark it as subscribed, use
``subscribe''.

You can use regular expressions with both commands. To mark all messages sent
to a specific bug report's address on mutt's bug tracking system as list mail,
for instance, you could say ``subscribe [0-9]*@bugs.guug.de''. Often, it's
sufficient to just give a portion of the list's e-mail address.

Specify as much of the address as you need to to remove ambiguity. For example,
if you've subscribed to the Mutt mailing list, you will receive mail addressed
to mutt-users@mutt.org. So, to tell Mutt that this is a mailing list, you could
add ``lists mutt-users@'' to your initialization file. To tell mutt that you
are subscribed to it, add ``subscribe mutt-users'' to your initialization file
instead. If you also happen to get mail from someone whose address is
mutt-users@example.com, you could use ``lists ^mutt-users@mutt\\.org$'' or
``subscribe ^mutt-users@mutt\\.org$'' to match only mail from the actual list.

The -group flag adds all of the subsequent regular expressions to the named
group.

The ``unlists'' command is used to remove a token from the list of known and
subscribed mailing-lists. Use ``unlists *'' to remove all tokens.

To remove a mailing list from the list of subscribed mailing lists, but keep it
on the list of known mailing lists, use ``unsubscribe''.

12. Using Multiple spool mailboxes

Usage: mbox-hook [!]patternmailbox

This command is used to move read messages from a specified mailbox to a
different mailbox automatically when you quit or change folders. pattern is a
regular expression specifying the mailbox to treat as a ``spool'' mailbox and
mailbox specifies where mail should be saved when read.

Unlike some of the other hook commands, only the first matching pattern is used
(it is not possible to save read mail in more than a single mailbox).

13. Monitoring incoming mail

Usage: [un]mailboxesfolder [ folder ... ]

This command specifies folders which can receive mail and which will be checked
for new messages. By default, the main menu status bar displays how many of
these folders have new messages.

folder can either be a local file or directory (Mbox/Mmdf or Maildir/Mh). If
Mutt was built with POP and/or IMAP support, folder can also be a POP/IMAP
folder URL. The URL syntax is described in Section 1.2, "URL syntax", POP and
IMAP are described in Section 3, "POP3 Support" and Section 4, "IMAP Support"
respectively.

When changing folders, pressing space will cycle through folders with new mail.

Pressing TAB in the directory browser will bring up a menu showing the files
specified by the mailboxes command, and indicate which contain new messages.
Mutt will automatically enter this mode when invoked from the command line with
the -y option.

The ``unmailboxes'' command is used to remove a token from the list of folders
which receive mail. Use ``unmailboxes *'' to remove all tokens.

Note: the folders in the mailboxes command are resolved when the command is
executed, so if these names contain shortcut characters (such as ``='' and ``!
''), any variable definition that affect these characters (like $folder and
$spoolfile) should be executed before the mailboxes command. If none of these
shorcuts are used, a local path should be absolute as otherwise mutt tries to
find it within the current working directory from where mutt was started which
may not always be desired.

For local folders, new mail is detected by comparing access and/or modification
times of files and folders. The interval in which Mutt checks for new mail is
defined by $mail_check.

Special care is required with Mbox and Mmdf folders as Mutt assumes such a
folder has new mail if it wasn't accessed after it was last modified. Utilities
like biff or frm or any other program which accesses the mailbox might cause
Mutt to never detect new mail for that mailbox if they do not properly reset
the access time. Backup tools are another common reason for updated access
times.

14. User defined headers

Usage: my_hdrstringunmy_hdrfield [ field ... ]

The ``my_hdr'' command allows you to create your own header fields which will
be added to every message you send.

For example, if you would like to add an ``Organization:'' header field to all
of your outgoing messages, you can put the command

"my_hdr Organization: A Really Big Company, Anytown, USA"

in your .muttrc.

Note: space characters are not allowed between the keyword and the colon
(``:''). The standard for electronic mail (RFC822) says that space is illegal
there, so Mutt enforces the rule.

If you would like to add a header field to a single message, you should either
set the $edit_headers variable, or use the edit-headers function (default:
``E'') in the send-menu so that you can edit the header of your message along
with the body.

To remove user defined header fields, use the ``unmy_hdr'' command. You may
specify an asterisk (``*'') to remove all header fields, or the fields to
remove. For example, to remove all ``To'' and ``Cc'' header fields, you could
use:

"unmy_hdr to cc"

15. Defining the order of headers when viewing messages

Usage: hdr_orderheader1header2header3

With this command, you can specify an order in which mutt will attempt to
present headers to you when viewing messages.

``unhdr_order *'' will clear all previous headers from the order list, thus
removing the header order effects set by the system-wide startup file.

hdr_order From Date: From: To: Cc: Subject:

16. Specify default save mailbox

Usage: save-hook [!]patternmailbox

This command is used to override the default mailbox used when saving messages.
mailbox will be used as the default if the message matches pattern, see Message
Matching in Hooks for information on the exact format.

To provide more flexibility and good defaults, Mutt applies the expandos of
$index_format to mailbox after it was expanded.

Examples:

# default: save all to ~/Mail/<author name>
save-hook . ~/Mail/%F
# save from me@turing.cs.hmc.edu/me@cs.hmc.edu to $folder/elinks
save-hook me@(turing\\.)?cs\\.hmc\\.edu$ +elkins
# save from aol.com to $folder/spam
save-hook aol\\.com$ +spam

Also see the fcc-save-hook command.

17. Specify default Fcc: mailbox when composing

Usage: fcc-hook [!]patternmailbox

This command is used to save outgoing mail in a mailbox other than $record.
Mutt searches the initial list of message recipients for the first matching
regexp and uses mailbox as the default Fcc: mailbox. If no match is found the
message will be saved to $record mailbox.

To provide more flexibility and good defaults, Mutt applies the expandos of
$index_format to mailbox after it was expanded.

See Message Matching in Hooks for information on the exact format of pattern.

Example: fcc-hook [@.]aol\\.com$ +spammers

The above will save a copy of all messages going to the aol.com domain to the
`+spammers' mailbox by default. Also see the fcc-save-hook command.

18. Specify default save filename and default Fcc: mailbox at once

Usage: fcc-save-hook [!]patternmailbox

This command is a shortcut, equivalent to doing both a fcc-hook and a save-hook
with its arguments, including %-expansion on mailbox according to $index_format
.

19. Change settings based upon message recipients


Usage: reply-hook [!]pattern command
Usage: send-hook [!]pattern command
Usage: send2-hook [!]pattern command

These commands can be used to execute arbitrary configuration commands based
upon recipients of the message. pattern is a regular expression matching the
desired address. command is executed when regexp matches recipients of the
message.

reply-hook is matched against the message you are replyingto, instead of the
message you are sending. send-hook is matched against all messages, both new
and replies. Note:reply-hooks are matched before the send-hook, regardless of
the order specified in the user's configuration file.

send2-hook is matched every time a message is changed, either by editing it, or
by using the compose menu to change its recipients or subject. send2-hook is
executed after send-hook, and can, e.g., be used to set parameters such as the
$sendmail variable depending on the message's sender address.

For each type of send-hook or reply-hook, when multiple matches occur, commands
are executed in the order they are specified in the muttrc (for that type of
hook).

See Message Matching in Hooks for information on the exact format of pattern.

Example: send-hook mutt "set mime_forward signature=''"

Another typical use for this command is to change the values of the
$attribution, $signature and $locale variables in order to change the language
of the attributions and signatures based upon the recipients.

Note: the send-hook's are only executed ONCE after getting the initial list of
recipients. Adding a recipient after replying or editing the message will NOT
cause any send-hook to be executed. Also note that my_hdr commands which modify
recipient headers, or the message's subject, don't have any effect on the
current message when executed from a send-hook.

20. Change settings before formatting a message

Usage: message-hook [!]patterncommand

This command can be used to execute arbitrary configuration commands before
viewing or formatting a message based upon information about the message.
command is executed if the pattern matches the message to be displayed. When
multiple matches occur, commands are executed in the order they are specified
in the muttrc.

See Message Matching in Hooks for information on the exact format of pattern.

Example:

message-hook ~A 'set pager=builtin'
message-hook '~f freshmeat-news' 'set pager="less \"+/^  subject: .*\""'

21. Choosing the cryptographic key of the recipient

Usage: crypt-hookpatternkeyid

When encrypting messages with PGP or OpenSSL, you may want to associate a
certain key with a given e-mail address automatically, either because the
recipient's public key can't be deduced from the destination address, or
because, for some reasons, you need to override the key Mutt would normally
use. The crypt-hook command provides a method by which you can specify the ID
of the public key to be used when encrypting messages to a certain recipient.

The meaning of "key id" is to be taken broadly in this context: You can either
put a numerical key ID here, an e-mail address, or even just a real name.

22. Adding key sequences to the keyboard buffer

Usage: pushstring

This command adds the named string to the keyboard buffer. The string may
contain control characters, key names and function names like the sequence
string in the macro command. You may use it to automatically run a sequence of
commands at startup, or when entering certain folders. For example, the
following command will automatically collapse all threads when entering a
folder:

folder-hook . 'push <collapse-all>'

23. Executing functions

Usage: execfunction [ function ... ]

This command can be used to execute any function. Functions are listed in the
function reference. ``exec function'' is equivalent to ``push <function>''.

24. Message Scoring


Usage: score pattern value
Usage: unscore pattern [ pattern ... ]

The score commands adds value to a message's score if pattern matches it.
pattern is a string in the format described in the patterns section (note: For
efficiency reasons, patterns which scan information not available in the index,
such as ~b, ~B or ~h, may not be used). value is a positive or negative
integer. A message's final score is the sum total of all matching score
entries. However, you may optionally prefix value with an equal sign (=) to
cause evaluation to stop at a particular entry if there is a match. Negative
final scores are rounded up to 0.

The unscore command removes score entries from the list. You must specify the
same pattern specified in the score command for it to be removed. The pattern
``*'' is a special token which means to clear the list of all score entries.

25. Spam detection


Usage: spam pattern format
Usage: nospam pattern

Mutt has generalized support for external spam-scoring filters. By defining
your spam patterns with the spam and nospam commands, you can limit, search,
and sort your mail based on its spam attributes, as determined by the external
filter. You also can display the spam attributes in your index display using
the %H selector in the $index_format variable. (Tip: try %?H?[%H] ? to display
spam tags only when they are defined for a given message.)

Your first step is to define your external filter's spam patterns using the
spam command. pattern should be a regular expression that matches a header in a
mail message. If any message in the mailbox matches this regular expression, it
will receive a ``spam tag'' or ``spam attribute'' (unless it also matches a
nospam pattern -- see below.) The appearance of this attribute is entirely up
to you, and is governed by the format parameter. format can be any static text,
but it also can include back-references from the pattern expression. (A regular
expression ``back-reference'' refers to a sub-expression contained within
parentheses.) %1 is replaced with the first back-reference in the regex, %2
with the second, etc.

If you're using multiple spam filters, a message can have more than one
spam-related header. You can define spam patterns for each filter you use. If a
message matches two or more of these patterns, and the $spam_separator variable
is set to a string, then the message's spam tag will consist of all the format
strings joined together, with the value of $spam_separator separating them.

For example, suppose I use DCC, SpamAssassin, and PureMessage. I might define
these spam settings:

spam "X-DCC-.*-Metrics:.*(....)=many"         "90+/DCC-%1"
spam "X-Spam-Status: Yes"                     "90+/SA"
spam "X-PerlMX-Spam: .*Probability=([0-9]+)%" "%1/PM"
set spam_separator=", "

If I then received a message that DCC registered with ``many'' hits under the
``Fuz2'' checksum, and that PureMessage registered with a 97% probability of
being spam, that message's spam tag would read 90+/DCC-Fuz2, 97/PM. (The four
characters before ``=many'' in a DCC report indicate the checksum used -- in
this case, ``Fuz2''.)

If the $spam_separator variable is unset, then each spam pattern match
supersedes the previous one. Instead of getting joined format strings, you'll
get only the last one to match.

The spam tag is what will be displayed in the index when you use %H in the
$index_format variable. It's also the string that the ~H pattern-matching
expression matches against for search and limit functions. And it's what
sorting by spam attribute will use as a sort key.

That's a pretty complicated example, and most people's actual environments will
have only one spam filter. The simpler your configuration, the more effective
mutt can be, especially when it comes to sorting.

Generally, when you sort by spam tag, mutt will sort lexically -- that is, by
ordering strings alphanumerically. However, if a spam tag begins with a number,
mutt will sort numerically first, and lexically only when two numbers are equal
in value. (This is like UNIX's sort -n.) A message with no spam attributes at
all -- that is, one that didn't match any of your spam patterns -- is sorted at
lowest priority. Numbers are sorted next, beginning with 0 and ranging upward.
Finally, non-numeric strings are sorted, with ``a'' taking lower priority than
``z''. Clearly, in general, sorting by spam tags is most effective when you can
coerce your filter to give you a raw number. But in case you can't, mutt can
still do something useful.

The nospam command can be used to write exceptions to spam patterns. If a
header pattern matches something in a spam command, but you nonetheless do not
want it to receive a spam tag, you can list a more precise pattern under a
nospam command.

If the pattern given to nospam is exactly the same as the pattern on an
existing spam list entry, the effect will be to remove the entry from the spam
list, instead of adding an exception. Likewise, if the pattern for a spam
command matches an entry on the nospam list, that nospam entry will be removed.
If the pattern for nospam is ``*'', all entries on both lists will be removed.
This might be the default action if you use spam and nospam in conjunction with
a folder-hook.

You can have as many spam or nospam commands as you like. You can even do your
own primitive spam detection within mutt -- for example, if you consider all
mail from MAILER-DAEMON to be spam, you can use a spam command like this:

spam "^From: .*MAILER-DAEMON"       "999"

26. Setting and Querying Variables

26.1. Commands

The following commands are available to manipulate and query variables:


Usage: set [no|inv]variable[=value] [ variable ... ]
Usage: toggle variable [variable ... ]
Usage: unset variable [variable ... ]
Usage: reset variable [variable ... ]

This command is used to set (and unset) configuration variables. There are four
basic types of variables: boolean, number, string and quadoption. boolean
variables can be set (true) or unset (false). number variables can be assigned
a positive integer value.

string variables consist of any number of printable characters. strings must be
enclosed in quotes if they contain spaces or tabs. You may also use the ``C''
escape sequences \n and \t for newline and tab, respectively.

quadoption variables are used to control whether or not to be prompted for
certain actions, or to specify a default action. A value of yes will cause the
action to be carried out automatically as if you had answered yes to the
question. Similarly, a value of no will cause the action to be carried out as
if you had answered ``no.'' A value of ask-yes will cause a prompt with a
default answer of ``yes'' and ask-no will provide a default answer of ``no.''

Prefixing a variable with ``no'' will unset it. Example: set noaskbcc.

For boolean variables, you may optionally prefix the variable name with inv to
toggle the value (on or off). This is useful when writing macros. Example: set
invsmart_wrap.

The toggle command automatically prepends the inv prefix to all specified
variables.

The unset command automatically prepends the no prefix to all specified
variables.

Using the enter-command function in the index menu, you can query the value of
a variable by prefixing the name of the variable with a question mark:

set ?allow_8bit

The question mark is actually only required for boolean and quadoption
variables.

The reset command resets all given variables to the compile time defaults
(hopefully mentioned in this manual). If you use the command set and prefix the
variable with ``&'' this has the same behavior as the reset command.

With the reset command there exists the special variable ``all'', which allows
you to reset all variables to their system defaults.

26.2. User-defined variables

26.2.1. Introduction

Along with the variables listed in the Configuration variables section, mutt
supports user-defined variables with names starting with my_ as in, for
example, my_cfgdir.

The set command creates a custom $my_ variable and changes its value. The unset
and reset commands remove the variable entirely.

Since user-defined variables are expanded in the same way that environment
variables are (except for the shell-escape command), this feature can be used
to make configuration files more readable.

26.2.2. Examples

The following example defines and uses the variable my_cfgdir to abbreviate the
calls of the source command:

set my_cfgdir = $HOME/mutt/config

source $my_cfgdir/hooks
source $my_cfgdir/macros
# more source commands...

A custom variable can also be used in macros to backup the current value of
another variable. In the following example, the value of the $delete is changed
temporarily while its original value is saved as my_delete. After the macro has
executed all commands, the original value of $delete is restored.

macro pager ,x '\
<enter-command>set my_delete=$delete<enter>\
<enter-command>set delete=yes<enter>\
...\
<enter-command>set delete=$my_delete<enter>'

Since mutt expands such values already when parsing the configuration file(s),
the value of $my_delete in the last example would be the value of $delete
exactly as it was at that point during parsing the configuration file. If
another statement would change the value for $delete later in the same or
another file, it would have no effect on $my_delete. However, the expansion can
be deferred to runtime, as shown in the next example, when escaping the dollar
sign.

macro pager <PageDown> "\
<enter-command> set my_old_pager_stop=\$pager_stop pager_stop<Enter>\
<next-page>\
<enter-command> set pager_stop=\$my_old_pager_stop<Enter>\
<enter-command> unset my_old_pager_stop<Enter>"

Note that there is a space between <enter-command> and the set configuration
command, preventing mutt from recording the macro's commands into its history.

27. Reading initialization commands from another file

Usage: sourcefilename

This command allows the inclusion of initialization commands from other files.
For example, I place all of my aliases in ~/.mail_aliases so that I can make my
~/.muttrc readable and keep my aliases private.

If the filename begins with a tilde (``~''), it will be expanded to the path of
your home directory.

If the filename ends with a vertical bar (|), then filename is considered to be
an executable program from which to read input (eg. source ~/bin/myscript|).

28. Removing hooks

Usage: unhook [ * | hook-type ]

This command permits you to flush hooks you have previously defined. You can
either remove all hooks by giving the ``*'' character as an argument, or you
can remove all hooks of a specific type by saying something like unhook
send-hook.

29. Format Strings

29.1. Basic usage

Format strings are a general concept you'll find in several locations through
the mutt configuration, especially in the $index_format", $pager_format",
$status_format", and other ``*_format'' variables. These can be very
straightforward, and it's quite possible you already know how to use them.

The most basic format string element is a percent symbol followed by another
character. For example, %s represents a message's Subject: header in the
$index_format" variable. The ``expandos'' available are documented with each
format variable, but there are general modifiers available with all formatting
expandos, too. Those are our concern here.

Some of the modifers are borrowed right out of C (though you might know them
from Perl, Python, shell, or another langugage). These are the [-]m.n
modifiers, as in %-12.12s. As with such programming languages, these modifiers
allow you to specify the minumum and maximum size of the resulting string, as
well as its justification. If the ``-'' sign follows the percent, the string
will be left-justified instead of right-justified. If there's a number
immediately following that, it's the minimum amount of space the formatted
string will occupy -- if it's naturally smaller than that, it will be padded
out with spaces. If a decimal point and another number follow, that's the
maximum space allowable -- the string will not be permitted to exceed that
width, no matter its natural size. Each of these three elements is optional, so
that all these are legal format strings: %-12s%4c%.15F%-12.15L

Mutt adds some other modifiers to format strings. If you use an equals symbol
(=) as a numeric prefix (like the minus above), it will force the string to be
centered within its minimum space range. For example, %=14y will reserve 14
characters for the %y expansion -- that's the X-Label: header, in
$index_format. If the expansion results in a string less than 14 characters, it
will be centered in a 14-character space. If the X-Label for a message were
"test", that expansion would look like `` test ''.

There are two very little-known modifiers that affect the way that an expando
is replaced. If there is an underline (``_'') character between any format
modifiers (as above) and the expando letter, it will expands in all lower case.
And if you use a colon (``:''), it will replace all decimal points with
underlines.

29.2. Filters

Any format string ending in a vertical bar (``|'') will be expanded and piped
through the first word in the string, using spaces as separator. The string
returned will be used for display. If the returned string ends in %, it will be
passed through the formatter a second time. This allows the filter to generate
a replacement format string including % expandos.

All % expandos in a format string are expanded before the script is called so
that:

set status_format="script.sh '%r %f (%L)'|"

will make mutt expand %r, %f and %L before calling the script. The example also
shows that arguments can be quoted: the script will receive the expanded string
between the single quotes as the only argument.

A practical example is the mutt_xtitle script installed in the
share/examples/mutt/ subdirectory of the mutt documentation: it can be used as
filter for $status_format to set the current terminal's title, if supported.


Chapter 4. Advanced Usage

Table of Contents

1. Regular Expressions
2. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging

    2.1. Pattern Modifier
    2.2. Simple Patterns
    2.3. Complex Patterns
    2.4. Searching by Date

3. Using Tags
4. Using Hooks

    4.1. Message Matching in Hooks

5. External Address Queries
6. Mailbox Formats
7. Mailbox Shortcuts
8. Handling Mailing Lists
9. Editing threads

    9.1. Linking threads
    9.2. Breaking threads

10. Delivery Status Notification (DSN) Support
11. Start a WWW Browser on URLs (EXTERNAL)

1. Regular Expressions

All string patterns in Mutt including those in more complex patterns must be
specified using regular expressions (regexp) in the ``POSIX extended'' syntax
(which is more or less the syntax used by egrep and GNU awk). For your
convenience, we have included below a brief description of this syntax.

The search is case sensitive if the pattern contains at least one upper case
letter, and case insensitive otherwise. Note that ``\'' must be quoted if used
for a regular expression in an initialization command: ``\\''.

A regular expression is a pattern that describes a set of strings. Regular
expressions are constructed analogously to arithmetic expressions, by using
various operators to combine smaller expressions.

Note that the regular expression can be enclosed/delimited by either " or '
which is useful if the regular expression includes a white-space character. See
Syntax of Initialization Files for more information on " and ' delimiter
processing. To match a literal " or ' you must preface it with \ (backslash).

The fundamental building blocks are the regular expressions that match a single
character. Most characters, including all letters and digits, are regular
expressions that match themselves. Any metacharacter with special meaning may
be quoted by preceding it with a backslash.

The period ``.'' matches any single character. The caret ``^'' and the dollar
sign ``$'' are metacharacters that respectively match the empty string at the
beginning and end of a line.

A list of characters enclosed by ``['' and ``]'' matches any single character
in that list; if the first character of the list is a caret ``^'' then it
matches any character not in the list. For example, the regular expression
[0123456789] matches any single digit. A range of ASCII characters may be
specified by giving the first and last characters, separated by a hyphen ``-''.
Most metacharacters lose their special meaning inside lists. To include a
literal ``]'' place it first in the list. Similarly, to include a literal ``^''
place it anywhere but first. Finally, to include a literal hyphen ``-'' place
it last.

Certain named classes of characters are predefined. Character classes consist
of ``[:'', a keyword denoting the class, and ``:]''. The following classes are
defined by the POSIX standard:

[:alnum:]

    Alphanumeric characters.

[:alpha:]

    Alphabetic characters.

[:blank:]

    Space or tab characters.

[:cntrl:]

    Control characters.

[:digit:]

    Numeric characters.

[:graph:]

    Characters that are both printable and visible. (A space is printable, but
    not visible, while an ``a'' is both.)

[:lower:]

    Lower-case alphabetic characters.

[:print:]

    Printable characters (characters that are not control characters.)

[:punct:]

    Punctuation characters (characters that are not letter, digits, control
    characters, or space characters).

[:space:]

    Space characters (such as space, tab and formfeed, to name a few).

[:upper:]

    Upper-case alphabetic characters.

[:xdigit:]

    Characters that are hexadecimal digits.

A character class is only valid in a regular expression inside the brackets of
a character list. Note that the brackets in these class names are part of the
symbolic names, and must be included in addition to the brackets delimiting the
bracket list. For example, [[:digit:]] is equivalent to [0-9].

Two additional special sequences can appear in character lists. These apply to
non-ASCII character sets, which can have single symbols (called collating
elements) that are represented with more than one character, as well as several
characters that are equivalent for collating or sorting purposes:

Collating Symbols

    A collating symbol is a multi-character collating element enclosed in
    ``[.'' and ``.]''. For example, if ``ch'' is a collating element, then
    [[.ch.]] is a regexp that matches this collating element, while [ch] is a
    regexp that matches either ``c'' or ``h''.

Equivalence Classes

    An equivalence class is a locale-specific name for a list of characters
    that are equivalent. The name is enclosed in ``[='' and ``=]''. For
    example, the name ``e'' might be used to represent all of ``è'' ``é'' and
    ``e''. In this case, [[=e=]] is a regexp that matches any of ``è'', ``é''
    and ``e''.

A regular expression matching a single character may be followed by one of
several repetition operators:

?

    The preceding item is optional and matched at most once.

*

    The preceding item will be matched zero or more times.

+

    The preceding item will be matched one or more times.

{n}

    The preceding item is matched exactly n times.

{n,}

    The preceding item is matched n or more times.

{,m}

    The preceding item is matched at most m times.

{n,m}

    The preceding item is matched at least n times, but no more than m times.

Two regular expressions may be concatenated; the resulting regular expression
matches any string formed by concatenating two substrings that respectively
match the concatenated subexpressions.

Two regular expressions may be joined by the infix operator ``|''; the
resulting regular expression matches any string matching either subexpression.

Repetition takes precedence over concatenation, which in turn takes precedence
over alternation. A whole subexpression may be enclosed in parentheses to
override these precedence rules.

Note: If you compile Mutt with the GNU rx package, the following operators may
also be used in regular expressions:

\\y

    Matches the empty string at either the beginning or the end of a word.

\\B

    Matches the empty string within a word.

\\<

    Matches the empty string at the beginning of a word.

\\>

    Matches the empty string at the end of a word.

\\w

    Matches any word-constituent character (letter, digit, or underscore).

\\W

    Matches any character that is not word-constituent.

\\`

    Matches the empty string at the beginning of a buffer (string).

\\'

    Matches the empty string at the end of a buffer.

Please note however that these operators are not defined by POSIX, so they may
or may not be available in stock libraries on various systems.

2. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging

Many of Mutt's commands allow you to specify a pattern to match (limit,
tag-pattern, delete-pattern, etc.). Table 4.1, "Pattern modifiers" shows
several ways to select messages.

Table 4.1. Pattern modifiers

┌─────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Pattern │                            Description                            │
│modifier │                                                                   │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~A       │all messages                                                       │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~b EXPR  │messages which contain EXPR in the message body                    │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│         │messages which contain STRING in the message body. If IMAP is      │
│=b STRING│enabled, searches for STRING on the server, rather than downloading│
│         │each message and searching it locally.                             │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~B EXPR  │messages which contain EXPR in the whole message                   │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~c EXPR  │messages carbon-copied to EXPR                                     │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│%c GROUP │messages carbon-copied to any member of GROUP                      │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~C EXPR  │message is either to: or cc: EXPR                                  │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│%C GROUP │message is either to: or cc: to any member of GROUP                │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~d [MIN]-│messages with ``date-sent'' in a Date range                        │
│[MAX]    │                                                                   │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~D       │deleted messages                                                   │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~e EXPR  │message which contains EXPR in the ``Sender'' field                │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│%e GROUP │message which contain a member of GROUP in the ``Sender'' field    │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~E       │expired messages                                                   │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~F       │flagged messages                                                   │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~f EXPR  │messages originating from EXPR                                     │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│%f GROUP │messages originating from any member of GROUP                      │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~g       │cryptographically signed messages                                  │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~G       │cryptographically encrypted messages                               │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~h EXPR  │messages which contain EXPR in the message header                  │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~H EXPR  │messages with a spam attribute matching EXPR                       │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~i EXPR  │message which match EXPR in the ``Message-ID'' field               │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~k       │message contains PGP key material                                  │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~L EXPR  │message is either originated or received by EXPR                   │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│%L GROUP │message is either originated or received by any member of GROUP    │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~l       │message is addressed to a known mailing list                       │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~m [MIN]-│message in the range MIN to MAX *)                                 │
│[MAX]    │                                                                   │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~n [MIN]-│messages with a score in the range MIN to MAX *)                   │
│[MAX]    │                                                                   │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~N       │new messages                                                       │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~O       │old messages                                                       │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~p       │message is addressed to you (consults alternates)                  │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~P       │message is from you (consults alternates)                          │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~Q       │messages which have been replied to                                │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~r [MIN]-│messages with ``date-received'' in a Date range                    │
│[MAX]    │                                                                   │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~R       │read messages                                                      │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~s EXPR  │messages having EXPR in the ``Subject'' field.                     │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~S       │superseded messages                                                │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~t EXPR  │messages addressed to EXPR                                         │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~T       │tagged messages                                                    │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~u       │message is addressed to a subscribed mailing list                  │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~U       │unread messages                                                    │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~v       │message is part of a collapsed thread.                             │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~V       │cryptographically verified messages                                │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~x EXPR  │messages which contain EXPR in the `References' field              │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~X [MIN]-│messages with MIN to MAX attachments *)                            │
│[MAX]    │                                                                   │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~y EXPR  │messages which contain EXPR in the `X-Label' field                 │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~z [MIN]-│messages with a size in the range MIN to MAX *)                    │
│[MAX]    │                                                                   │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~=       │duplicated messages (see $duplicate_threads)                       │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~$       │unreferenced messages (requires threaded view)                     │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│~        │messages in threads containing messages matching a certain pattern,│
│(PATTERN)│e.g. all threads containing messages from you: ~(~P)               │
└─────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘


Where EXPR is a regular expression. Special attention has to be made when using
regular expressions inside of patterns. Specifically, Mutt's parser for these
patterns will strip one level of backslash (\), which is normally used for
quoting. If it is your intention to use a backslash in the regular expression,
you will need to use two backslashes instead (\\). You can force mutt to treat
EXPR as a simple string instead of a regular expression by using = instead of ~
in the pattern name. For example, =b *.* will find all messages that contain
the literal string '*.*'. Simple string matches are less powerful than regular
expressions but can be considerably faster. This is especially true for IMAP
folders, because string matches can be performed on the server instead of by
fetching every message. IMAP treats =h specially: it must be of the form
"header: substring" and will not partially match header names. The substring
part may be omitted if you simply wish to find messages containing a particular
header without regard to its value.

*) The forms <[MAX], >[MIN], [MIN]- and -[MAX] are allowed, too.

2.1. Pattern Modifier

Note that patterns matching 'lists' of addresses (notably c,C,p,P and t) match
if there is at least one match in the whole list. If you want to make sure that
all elements of that list match, you need to prefix your pattern with ^. This
example matches all mails which only has recipients from Germany.

^~C \.de$

2.2. Simple Patterns

Mutt supports two versions of so called ``simple searches'' which are issued if
the query entered for searching, limiting and similar operations does not seem
to be a valid pattern (i.e. it does not contain one of these characters: ``~'',
``='' or ``%''). If the query is supposed to contain one of these special
characters, they must be escaped by prepending a backslash (``\'').

The first type is by checking whether the query string equals a keyword
case-insensitively from Table 4.2, "Simple search keywords": If that is the
case, Mutt will use the shown pattern modifier instead. If a keyword would
conflict with your search keyword, you need to turn it into a regular
expression to avoid matching the keyword table. For example, if you want to
find all messages matching ``flag'' (using $simple_search, see below but not
meaning flagged messages) simply search for ``[f]lag''.

Table 4.2. Simple search keywords

┌───────┬─────────────────┐
│Keyword│Pattern modifier │
├───────┼─────────────────┤
│all    │~A               │
├───────┼─────────────────┤
│.      │~A               │
├───────┼─────────────────┤
│^      │~A               │
├───────┼─────────────────┤
│del    │~D               │
├───────┼─────────────────┤
│flag   │~F               │
├───────┼─────────────────┤
│new    │~N               │
├───────┼─────────────────┤
│old    │~O               │
├───────┼─────────────────┤
│repl   │~Q               │
├───────┼─────────────────┤
│read   │~R               │
├───────┼─────────────────┤
│tag    │~T               │
├───────┼─────────────────┤
│unread │~U               │
└───────┴─────────────────┘


The second type of simple search is to build a complex search pattern using
$simple_search as a template. Mutt will insert your query properly quoted and
search for the composed complex query.

2.3. Complex Patterns

Logical AND is performed by specifying more than one criterion. For example:

~t mutt ~f elkins

would select messages which contain the word ``mutt'' in the list of recipients
and that have the word ``elkins'' in the ``From'' header field.

Mutt also recognizes the following operators to create more complex search
patterns:

  ● ! -- logical NOT operator

  ● | -- logical OR operator

  ● () -- logical grouping operator

Here is an example illustrating a complex search pattern. This pattern will
select all messages which do not contain ``mutt'' in the ``To'' or ``Cc'' field
and which are from ``elkins''.

!(~t mutt|~c mutt) ~f elkins

Here is an example using white space in the regular expression (note the ' and
" delimiters). For this to match, the mail's subject must match the ``^Junk
+From +Me$'' and it must be from either ``Jim +Somebody'' or ``Ed
+SomeoneElse'':

 '~s "^Junk +From +Me$" ~f ("Jim +Somebody"|"Ed +SomeoneElse")'

Note that if a regular expression contains parenthesis, or a vertical bar ("|
"), you must enclose the expression in double or single quotes since those
characters are also used to separate different parts of Mutt's pattern
language. For example,

~f "me@(mutt\.org|cs\.hmc\.edu)"

Without the quotes, the parenthesis wouldn't end. This would be seperated to
two OR'd patterns: ~f me@(mutt\.org and cs\.hmc\.edu). They are never what you
want.

2.4. Searching by Date

Mutt supports two types of dates, absolute and relative.

Absolute. Dates must be in DD/MM/YY format (month and year are optional,
defaulting to the current month and year). An example of a valid range of dates
is:

Limit to messages matching: ~d 20/1/95-31/10

If you omit the minimum (first) date, and just specify ``-DD/MM/YY'', all
messages before the given date will be selected. If you omit the maximum
(second) date, and specify ``DD/MM/YY-'', all messages after the given date
will be selected. If you specify a single date with no dash (``-''), only
messages sent on the given date will be selected.

Error Margins. You can add error margins to absolute dates. An error margin is
a sign (+ or -), followed by a digit, followed by one of the units in Table
4.3, "Date units". As a special case, you can replace the sign by a ``*''
character, which is equivalent to giving identical plus and minus error
margins.

Table 4.3. Date units

┌────┬────────────┐
│Unit│Description │
├────┼────────────┤
│y   │Years       │
├────┼────────────┤
│m   │Months      │
├────┼────────────┤
│w   │Weeks       │
├────┼────────────┤
│d   │Days        │
└────┴────────────┘


Example: To select any messages two weeks around January 15, 2001, you'd use
the following pattern:


Limit to messages matching: ~d 15/1/2001*2w

Relative. This type of date is relative to the current date, and may be
specified as:

  ● >offset (messages older than offset units)

  ● <offset (messages newer than offset units)

  ● =offset (messages exactly offset units old)

offset is specified as a positive number with one of the units from Table 4.3,
"Date units".

Example: to select messages less than 1 month old, you would use

Limit to messages matching: ~d <1m

Note: all dates used when searching are relative to the local time zone, so
unless you change the setting of your $index_format to include a %[...] format,
these are not the dates shown in the main index.

3. Using Tags

Sometimes it is desirable to perform an operation on a group of messages all at
once rather than one at a time. An example might be to save messages to a
mailing list to a separate folder, or to delete all messages with a given
subject. To tag all messages matching a pattern, use the tag-pattern function,
which is bound to ``shift-T'' by default. Or you can select individual messages
by hand using the ``tag-message'' function, which is bound to ``t'' by default.
See patterns for Mutt's pattern matching syntax.

Once you have tagged the desired messages, you can use the ``tag-prefix''
operator, which is the ``;'' (semicolon) key by default. When the
``tag-prefix'' operator is used, the next operation will be applied to all
tagged messages if that operation can be used in that manner. If the $auto_tag
variable is set, the next operation applies to the tagged messages
automatically, without requiring the ``tag-prefix''.

In macros or push commands, you can use the ``tag-prefix-cond'' operator. If
there are no tagged messages, mutt will "eat" the rest of the macro to abort
it's execution. Mutt will stop "eating" the macro when it encounters the
``end-cond'' operator; after this operator the rest of the macro will be
executed as normal.

4. Using Hooks

A hook is a concept borrowed from the EMACS editor which allows you to execute
arbitrary commands before performing some operation. For example, you may wish
to tailor your configuration based upon which mailbox you are reading, or to
whom you are sending mail. In the Mutt world, a hook consists of a regular
expression or pattern along with a configuration option/command. See

  ● folder-hook

  ● send-hook

  ● message-hook

  ● save-hook

  ● mbox-hook

  ● fcc-hook

  ● fcc-save-hook

for specific details on each type of hook available.

Note: if a hook changes configuration settings, these changes remain effective
until the end of the current mutt session. As this is generally not desired, a
default hook needs to be added before all other hooks to restore configuration
defaults. Here is an example with send-hook and the my_hdr directive:

send-hook . 'unmy_hdr From:'
send-hook ~C'^b@b\.b$' my_hdr from: c@c.c

4.1. Message Matching in Hooks

Hooks that act upon messages (message-hook, reply-hook, send-hook, send2-hook,
save-hook, fcc-hook) are evaluated in a slightly different manner. For the
other types of hooks, a regular expression is sufficient. But in dealing with
messages a finer grain of control is needed for matching since for different
purposes you want to match different criteria.

Mutt allows the use of the search pattern language for matching messages in
hook commands. This works in exactly the same way as it would when limiting or
searching the mailbox, except that you are restricted to those operators which
match information mutt extracts from the header of the message (i.e., from, to,
cc, date, subject, etc.).

For example, if you wanted to set your return address based upon sending mail
to a specific address, you could do something like:

send-hook '~t ^me@cs\.hmc\.edu$' 'my_hdr From: Mutt User <user@host>'

which would execute the given command when sending mail to me@cs.hmc.edu.

However, it is not required that you write the pattern to match using the full
searching language. You can still specify a simple regular expression like the
other hooks, in which case Mutt will translate your pattern into the full
language, using the translation specified by the $default_hook variable. The
pattern is translated at the time the hook is declared, so the value of
$default_hook that is in effect at that time will be used.

5. External Address Queries

Mutt supports connecting to external directory databases such as LDAP, ph/qi,
bbdb, or NIS through a wrapper script which connects to mutt using a simple
interface. Using the $query_command variable, you specify the wrapper command
to use. For example:

set query_command = "mutt_ldap_query.pl '%s'"

The wrapper script should accept the query on the command-line. It should
return a one line message, then each matching response on a single line, each
line containing a tab separated address then name then some other optional
information. On error, or if there are no matching addresses, return a non-zero
exit code and a one line error message.

An example multiple response output:

Searching database ... 20 entries ... 3 matching:
me@cs.hmc.edu           Michael Elkins  mutt dude
blong@fiction.net       Brandon Long    mutt and more
roessler@does-not-exist.org        Thomas Roessler mutt pgp

There are two mechanisms for accessing the query function of mutt. One is to do
a query from the index menu using the query function (default: Q). This will
prompt for a query, then bring up the query menu which will list the matching
responses. From the query menu, you can select addresses to create aliases, or
to mail. You can tag multiple addresses to mail, start a new query, or have a
new query appended to the current responses.

The other mechanism for accessing the query function is for address completion,
similar to the alias completion. In any prompt for address entry, you can use
the complete-query function (default: ^T) to run a query based on the current
address you have typed. Like aliases, mutt will look for what you have typed
back to the last space or comma. If there is a single response for that query,
mutt will expand the address in place. If there are multiple responses, mutt
will activate the query menu. At the query menu, you can select one or more
addresses to be added to the prompt.

6. Mailbox Formats

Mutt supports reading and writing of four different mailbox formats: mbox,
MMDF, MH and Maildir. The mailbox type is autodetected, so there is no need to
use a flag for different mailbox types. When creating new mailboxes, Mutt uses
the default specified with the $mbox_type variable.

mbox. This is the most widely used mailbox format for UNIX. All messages are
stored in a single file. Each message has a line of the form:

From me@cs.hmc.edu Fri, 11 Apr 1997 11:44:56 PST

to denote the start of a new message (this is often referred to as the
``From_'' line).

MMDF. This is a variant of the mbox format. Each message is surrounded by lines
containing ``^A^A^A^A'' (four control-A's).

MH. A radical departure from mbox and MMDF, a mailbox consists of a directory
and each message is stored in a separate file. The filename indicates the
message number (however, this is may not correspond to the message number Mutt
displays). Deleted messages are renamed with a comma (,) prepended to the
filename. Note: Mutt detects this type of mailbox by looking for either
.mh_sequences or .xmhcache (needed to distinguish normal directories from MH
mailboxes).

Maildir. The newest of the mailbox formats, used by the Qmail MTA (a
replacement for sendmail). Similar to MH, except that it adds three
subdirectories of the mailbox: tmp, new and cur. Filenames for the messages are
chosen in such a way they are unique, even when two programs are writing the
mailbox over NFS, which means that no file locking is needed.

7. Mailbox Shortcuts

There are a number of built in shortcuts which refer to specific mailboxes.
These shortcuts can be used anywhere you are prompted for a file or mailbox
path.

  ● ! -- refers to your $spoolfile (incoming) mailbox

  ● > -- refers to your $mbox file

  ● < -- refers to your $record file

  ● ^ -- refers to the current mailbox

  ● - or !! -- refers to the file you've last visited

  ● ~ -- refers to your home directory

  ● = or + -- refers to your $folder directory

  ● @alias -- refers to the default save folder as determined by the address of
    the alias

8. Handling Mailing Lists

Mutt has a few configuration options that make dealing with large amounts of
mail easier. The first thing you must do is to let Mutt know what addresses you
consider to be mailing lists (technically this does not have to be a mailing
list, but that is what it is most often used for), and what lists you are
subscribed to. This is accomplished through the use of the lists and subscribe
commands in your muttrc.

Now that Mutt knows what your mailing lists are, it can do several things, the
first of which is the ability to show the name of a list through which you
received a message (i.e., of a subscribed list) in the index menu display. This
is useful to distinguish between personal and list mail in the same mailbox. In
the $index_format variable, the escape ``%L'' will return the string ``To
<list>'' when ``list'' appears in the ``To'' field, and ``Cc <list>'' when it
appears in the ``Cc'' field (otherwise it returns the name of the author).

Often times the ``To'' and ``Cc'' fields in mailing list messages tend to get
quite large. Most people do not bother to remove the author of the message they
are reply to from the list, resulting in two or more copies being sent to that
person. The ``list-reply'' function, which by default is bound to ``L'' in the
index menu and pager, helps reduce the clutter by only replying to the known
mailing list addresses instead of all recipients (except as specified by
Mail-Followup-To, see below).

Mutt also supports the Mail-Followup-To header. When you send a message to a
list of recipients which includes one or several subscribed mailing lists, and
if the $followup_to option is set, mutt will generate a Mail-Followup-To header
which contains all the recipients to whom you send this message, but not your
address. This indicates that group-replies or list-replies (also known as
``followups'') to this message should only be sent to the original recipients
of the message, and not separately to you - you'll receive your copy through
one of the mailing lists you are subscribed to.

Conversely, when group-replying or list-replying to a message which has a
Mail-Followup-To header, mutt will respect this header if the
$honor_followup_to configuration variable is set. Using list-reply will in this
case also make sure that the reply goes to the mailing list, even if it's not
specified in the list of recipients in the Mail-Followup-To.

Note that, when header editing is enabled, you can create a Mail-Followup-To
header manually. Mutt will only auto-generate this header if it doesn't exist
when you send the message.

The other method some mailing list admins use is to generate a ``Reply-To''
field which points back to the mailing list address rather than the author of
the message. This can create problems when trying to reply directly to the
author in private, since most mail clients will automatically reply to the
address given in the ``Reply-To'' field. Mutt uses the $reply_to variable to
help decide which address to use. If set to ask-yes or ask-no, you will be
prompted as to whether or not you would like to use the address given in the
``Reply-To'' field, or reply directly to the address given in the ``From''
field. When set to yes, the ``Reply-To'' field will be used when present.

The ``X-Label:'' header field can be used to further identify mailing lists or
list subject matter (or just to annotate messages individually). The
$index_format variable's ``%y'' and ``%Y'' escapes can be used to expand
``X-Label:'' fields in the index, and Mutt's pattern-matcher can match regular
expressions to ``X-Label:'' fields with the ``~y'' selector. ``X-Label:'' is
not a standard message header field, but it can easily be inserted by procmail
and other mail filtering agents.

Lastly, Mutt has the ability to sort the mailbox into threads. A thread is a
group of messages which all relate to the same subject. This is usually
organized into a tree-like structure where a message and all of its replies are
represented graphically. If you've ever used a threaded news client, this is
the same concept. It makes dealing with large volume mailing lists easier
because you can easily delete uninteresting threads and quickly find topics of
value.

9. Editing threads

Mutt has the ability to dynamically restructure threads that are broken either
by misconfigured software or bad behavior from some correspondents. This allows
to clean your mailboxes formats) from these annoyances which make it hard to
follow a discussion.

9.1. Linking threads

Some mailers tend to "forget" to correctly set the "In-Reply-To:" and
"References:" headers when replying to a message. This results in broken
discussions because Mutt has not enough information to guess the correct
threading. You can fix this by tagging the reply, then moving to the parent
message and using the ``link-threads'' function (bound to & by default). The
reply will then be connected to this "parent" message.

You can also connect multiple children at once, tagging them and using the
tag-prefix command (';') or the auto_tag option.

9.2. Breaking threads

On mailing lists, some people are in the bad habit of starting a new discussion
by hitting "reply" to any message from the list and changing the subject to a
totally unrelated one. You can fix such threads by using the ``break-thread''
function (bound by default to #), which will turn the subthread starting from
the current message into a whole different thread.

10. Delivery Status Notification (DSN) Support

RFC1894 defines a set of MIME content types for relaying information about the
status of electronic mail messages. These can be thought of as ``return
receipts.''

To support DSN, there are two variables. $dsn_notify is used to request
receipts for different results (such as failed message, message delivered,
etc.). $dsn_return requests how much of your message should be returned with
the receipt (headers or full message).

When using $sendmail for mail delivery, you need to use either Berkeley
sendmail 8.8.x (or greater) a MTA supporting DSN command line options
compatible to Sendmail: The -N and -R options can be used by the mail client to
make requests as to what type of status messages should be returned. Please
consider your MTA documentation whether DSN is supported.

For SMTP delivery using $smtp_url, it depends on the capabilities announced by
the server whether mutt will attempt to request DSN or not.

11. Start a WWW Browser on URLs (EXTERNAL)

If a message contains URLs (unified resource locator = address in the WWW space
like http://www.mutt.org/), it is efficient to get a menu with all the URLs and
start a WWW browser on one of them. This functionality is provided by the
external urlview program which can be retrieved at ftp://ftp.mutt.org/mutt/
contrib/ and the configuration commands:

macro index \cb |urlview\n
macro pager \cb |urlview\n

Chapter 5. Mutt's MIME Support

Table of Contents

1. Using MIME in Mutt

    1.1. Viewing MIME messages in the pager
    1.2. The Attachment Menu
    1.3. The Compose Menu

2. MIME Type configuration with mime.types
3. MIME Viewer configuration with mailcap

    3.1. The Basics of the mailcap file
    3.2. Secure use of mailcap
    3.3. Advanced mailcap Usage
    3.4. Example mailcap files

4. MIME Autoview
5. MIME Multipart/Alternative
6. Attachment Searching and Counting
7. MIME Lookup

Quite a bit of effort has been made to make Mutt the premier text-mode MIME
MUA. Every effort has been made to provide the functionality that the
discerning MIME user requires, and the conformance to the standards wherever
possible. When configuring Mutt for MIME, there are two extra types of
configuration files which Mutt uses. One is the mime.types file, which contains
the mapping of file extensions to IANA MIME types. The other is the mailcap
file, which specifies the external commands to use for handling specific MIME
types.

1. Using MIME in Mutt

There are three areas/menus in Mutt which deal with MIME, they are the pager
(while viewing a message), the attachment menu and the compose menu.

1.1. Viewing MIME messages in the pager

When you select a message from the index and view it in the pager, Mutt decodes
the message to a text representation. Mutt internally supports a number of MIME
types, including text/plain, text/enriched, message/rfc822, and message/news.
In addition, the export controlled version of Mutt recognizes a variety of PGP
MIME types, including PGP/MIME and application/pgp.

Mutt will denote attachments with a couple lines describing them. These lines
are of the form:

[-- Attachment #1: Description --]
[-- Type: text/plain, Encoding: 7bit, Size: 10000 --]

Where the Description is the description or filename given for the attachment,
and the Encoding is one of 7bit/8bit/quoted-printable/base64/binary.

If Mutt cannot deal with a MIME type, it will display a message like:

[-- image/gif is unsupported (use 'v' to view this part) --]

1.2. The Attachment Menu

The default binding for view-attachments is `v', which displays the attachment
menu for a message. The attachment menu displays a list of the attachments in a
message. From the attachment menu, you can save, print, pipe, delete, and view
attachments. You can apply these operations to a group of attachments at once,
by tagging the attachments and by using the ``tag-prefix'' operator. You can
also reply to the current message from this menu, and only the current
attachment (or the attachments tagged) will be quoted in your reply. You can
view attachments as text, or view them using the mailcap viewer definition.

Finally, you can apply the usual message-related functions (like resend-message
, and the reply and forward functions) to attachments of type message/rfc822.

See the help on the attachment menu for more information.

1.3. The Compose Menu

The compose menu is the menu you see before you send a message. It allows you
to edit the recipient list, the subject, and other aspects of your message. It
also contains a list of the attachments of your message, including the main
body. From this menu, you can print, copy, filter, pipe, edit, compose, review,
and rename an attachment or a list of tagged attachments. You can also
modifying the attachment information, notably the type, encoding and
description.

Attachments appear as follows:

- 1 [text/plain, 7bit, 1K]           /tmp/mutt-euler-8082-0 <no description>
  2 [applica/x-gunzip, base64, 422K] ~/src/mutt-0.85.tar.gz <no description>

The '-' denotes that Mutt will delete the file after sending (or postponing, or
canceling) the message. It can be toggled with the toggle-unlink command
(default: u). The next field is the MIME content-type, and can be changed with
the edit-type command (default: ^T). The next field is the encoding for the
attachment, which allows a binary message to be encoded for transmission on
7bit links. It can be changed with the edit-encoding command (default: ^E). The
next field is the size of the attachment, rounded to kilobytes or megabytes.
The next field is the filename, which can be changed with the rename-file
command (default: R). The final field is the description of the attachment, and
can be changed with the edit-description command (default: d).

2. MIME Type configuration with mime.types

When you add an attachment to your mail message, Mutt searches your personal
mime.types file at ${HOME}/.mime.types, and then the system mime.types file at
/usr/local/share/mutt/mime.types or /etc/mime.types

The mime.types file consist of lines containing a MIME type and a space
separated list of extensions. For example:

application/postscript          ps eps
application/pgp                 pgp
audio/x-aiff                    aif aifc aiff

A sample mime.types file comes with the Mutt distribution, and should contain
most of the MIME types you are likely to use.

If Mutt can not determine the mime type by the extension of the file you
attach, it will look at the file. If the file is free of binary information,
Mutt will assume that the file is plain text, and mark it as text/plain. If the
file contains binary information, then Mutt will mark it as application/
octet-stream. You can change the MIME type that Mutt assigns to an attachment
by using the edit-type command from the compose menu (default: ^T). The MIME
type is actually a major mime type followed by the sub-type, separated by a '/
'. 6 major types: application, text, image, video, audio, and model have been
approved after various internet discussions. Mutt recognizes all of these if
the appropriate entry is found in the mime.types file. It also recognizes other
major mime types, such as the chemical type that is widely used in the
molecular modeling community to pass molecular data in various forms to various
molecular viewers. Non-recognized mime types should only be used if the
recipient of the message is likely to be expecting such attachments.

3. MIME Viewer configuration with mailcap

Mutt supports RFC 1524 MIME Configuration, in particular the Unix specific
format specified in Appendix A of RFC 1524. This file format is commonly
referred to as the mailcap format. Many MIME compliant programs utilize the
mailcap format, allowing you to specify handling for all MIME types in one
place for all programs. Programs known to use this format include Netscape,
XMosaic, lynx and metamail.

In order to handle various MIME types that Mutt can not handle internally, Mutt
parses a series of external configuration files to find an external handler.
The default search string for these files is a colon delimited list containing
the following files:

 1. $HOME/.mailcap

 2. $PKGDATADIR/mailcap

 3. $SYSCONFDIR/mailcap

 4. /etc/mailcap

 5. /usr/etc/mailcap

 6. /usr/local/etc/mailcap

where $HOME is your home directory. The $PKGDATADIR and the $SYSCONFDIR
directories depend on where mutt is installed: the former is the default for
shared data, the latter for system configuration files.

The default search path can be obtained by running the following command:

mutt -nF /dev/null -Q mailcap_path

In particular, the metamail distribution will install a mailcap file, usually
as /usr/local/etc/mailcap, which contains some baseline entries.

3.1. The Basics of the mailcap file

A mailcap file consists of a series of lines which are comments, blank, or
definitions.

A comment line consists of a # character followed by anything you want.

A blank line is blank.

A definition line consists of a content type, a view command, and any number of
optional fields. Each field of a definition line is divided by a semicolon ';'
character.

The content type is specified in the MIME standard type/subtype method. For
example, text/plain, text/html, image/gif, etc. In addition, the mailcap format
includes two formats for wildcards, one using the special '*' subtype, the
other is the implicit wild, where you only include the major type. For example,
image/*, or video, will match all image types and video types, respectively.

The view command is a Unix command for viewing the type specified. There are
two different types of commands supported. The default is to send the body of
the MIME message to the command on stdin. You can change this behavior by using
%s as a parameter to your view command. This will cause Mutt to save the body
of the MIME message to a temporary file, and then call the view command with
the %s replaced by the name of the temporary file. In both cases, Mutt will
turn over the terminal to the view program until the program quits, at which
time Mutt will remove the temporary file if it exists.

So, in the simplest form, you can send a text/plain message to the external
pager more on stdin:

text/plain; more

Or, you could send the message as a file:

text/plain; more %s

Perhaps you would like to use lynx to interactively view a text/html message:

text/html; lynx %s

In this case, lynx does not support viewing a file from stdin, so you must use
the %s syntax. Note:Some older versions of lynx contain a bug where they will
check the mailcap file for a viewer for text/html. They will find the line
which calls lynx, and run it. This causes lynx to continuously spawn itself to
view the object.

On the other hand, maybe you don't want to use lynx interactively, you just
want to have it convert the text/html to text/plain, then you can use:

text/html; lynx -dump %s | more

Perhaps you wish to use lynx to view text/html files, and a pager on all other
text formats, then you would use the following:

text/html; lynx %s
text/*; more

This is the simplest form of a mailcap file.

3.2. Secure use of mailcap

The interpretation of shell meta-characters embedded in MIME parameters can
lead to security problems in general. Mutt tries to quote parameters in
expansion of %s syntaxes properly, and avoids risky characters by substituting
them, see the $mailcap_sanitize variable.

Although mutt's procedures to invoke programs with mailcap seem to be safe,
there are other applications parsing mailcap, maybe taking less care of it.
Therefore you should pay attention to the following rules:

Keep the %-expandos away from shell quoting. Don't quote them with single or
double quotes. Mutt does this for you, the right way, as should any other
program which interprets mailcap. Don't put them into backtick expansions. Be
highly careful with eval statements, and avoid them if possible at all. Trying
to fix broken behavior with quotes introduces new leaks - there is no
alternative to correct quoting in the first place.

If you have to use the %-expandos' values in context where you need quoting or
backtick expansions, put that value into a shell variable and reference the
shell variable where necessary, as in the following example (using $charset
inside the backtick expansion is safe, since it is not itself subject to any
further expansion):

text/test-mailcap-bug; cat %s; copiousoutput; test=charset=%{charset} \
        && test "`echo $charset | tr '[A-Z]' '[a-z]'`" != iso-8859-1

3.3. Advanced mailcap Usage

3.3.1. Optional Fields

In addition to the required content-type and view command fields, you can add
semi-colon ';' separated fields to set flags and other options. Mutt recognizes
the following optional fields:

copiousoutput

    This flag tells Mutt that the command passes possibly large amounts of text
    on stdout. This causes Mutt to invoke a pager (either the internal pager or
    the external pager defined by the pager variable) on the output of the view
    command. Without this flag, Mutt assumes that the command is interactive.
    One could use this to replace the pipe to more in the lynx -dump example in
    the Basic section:

    text/html; lynx -dump %s ; copiousoutput

    This will cause lynx to format the text/html output as text/plain and Mutt
    will use your standard pager to display the results.

needsterminal

    Mutt uses this flag when viewing attachments with auto_view, in order to
    decide whether it should honor the setting of the $wait_key variable or
    not. When an attachment is viewed using an interactive program, and the
    corresponding mailcap entry has a needsterminal flag, Mutt will use
    $wait_key and the exit status of the program to decide if it will ask you
    to press a key after the external program has exited. In all other
    situations it will not prompt you for a key.

compose=<command>

    This flag specifies the command to use to create a new attachment of a
    specific MIME type. Mutt supports this from the compose menu.

composetyped=<command>

    This flag specifies the command to use to create a new attachment of a
    specific MIME type. This command differs from the compose command in that
    mutt will expect standard MIME headers on the data. This can be used to
    specify parameters, filename, description, etc. for a new attachment. Mutt
    supports this from the compose menu.

print=<command>

    This flag specifies the command to use to print a specific MIME type. Mutt
    supports this from the attachment and compose menus.

edit=<command>

    This flag specifies the command to use to edit a specific MIME type. Mutt
    supports this from the compose menu, and also uses it to compose new
    attachments. Mutt will default to the defined editor for text attachments.

nametemplate=<template>

    This field specifies the format for the file denoted by %s in the command
    fields. Certain programs will require a certain file extension, for
    instance, to correctly view a file. For instance, lynx will only interpret
    a file as text/html if the file ends in .html. So, you would specify lynx
    as a text/html viewer with a line in the mailcap file like:

    text/html; lynx %s; nametemplate=%s.html

test=<command>

    This field specifies a command to run to test whether this mailcap entry
    should be used. The command is defined with the command expansion rules
    defined in the next section. If the command returns 0, then the test
    passed, and Mutt uses this entry. If the command returns non-zero, then the
    test failed, and Mutt continues searching for the right entry. Note:the
    content-type must match before Mutt performs the test. For example:

    text/html; netscape -remote 'openURL(%s)' ; test=RunningX
    text/html; lynx %s

    In this example, Mutt will run the program RunningX which will return 0 if
    the X Window manager is running, and non-zero if it isn't. If RunningX
    returns 0, then Mutt will call netscape to display the text/html object. If
    RunningX doesn't return 0, then Mutt will go on to the next entry and use
    lynx to display the text/html object.

3.3.2. Search Order

When searching for an entry in the mailcap file, Mutt will search for the most
useful entry for its purpose. For instance, if you are attempting to print an
image/gif, and you have the following entries in your mailcap file, Mutt will
search for an entry with the print command:

image/*;        xv %s
image/gif;      ; print= anytopnm %s | pnmtops | lpr; \
                nametemplate=%s.gif

Mutt will skip the image/* entry and use the image/gif entry with the print
command.

In addition, you can use this with auto_view to denote two commands for viewing
an attachment, one to be viewed automatically, the other to be viewed
interactively from the attachment menu. In addition, you can then use the test
feature to determine which viewer to use interactively depending on your
environment.

text/html;      netscape -remote 'openURL(%s)' ; test=RunningX
text/html;      lynx %s; nametemplate=%s.html
text/html;      lynx -dump %s; nametemplate=%s.html; copiousoutput

For auto_view, Mutt will choose the third entry because of the copiousoutput
tag. For interactive viewing, Mutt will run the program RunningX to determine
if it should use the first entry. If the program returns non-zero, Mutt will
use the second entry for interactive viewing.

3.3.3. Command Expansion

The various commands defined in the mailcap files are passed to the /bin/sh
shell using the system() function. Before the command is passed to /bin/sh -c,
it is parsed to expand various special parameters with information from Mutt.
The keywords Mutt expands are:

%s

    As seen in the basic mailcap section, this variable is expanded to a
    filename specified by the calling program. This file contains the body of
    the message to view/print/edit or where the composing program should place
    the results of composition. In addition, the use of this keyword causes
    Mutt to not pass the body of the message to the view/print/edit program on
    stdin.

%t

    Mutt will expand %t to the text representation of the content type of the
    message in the same form as the first parameter of the mailcap definition
    line, ie text/html or image/gif.

%{<parameter>}

    Mutt will expand this to the value of the specified parameter from the
    Content-Type: line of the mail message. For instance, if Your mail message
    contains:

    Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

    then Mutt will expand %{charset} to iso-8859-1. The default metamail
    mailcap file uses this feature to test the charset to spawn an xterm using
    the right charset to view the message.

\%

    This will be replaced by a %

Mutt does not currently support the %F and %n keywords specified in RFC 1524.
The main purpose of these parameters is for multipart messages, which is
handled internally by Mutt.

3.4. Example mailcap files

This mailcap file is fairly simple and standard:

# I'm always running X :)
video/*;        xanim %s > /dev/null
image/*;        xv %s > /dev/null

# I'm always running netscape (if my computer had more memory, maybe)
text/html;      netscape -remote 'openURL(%s)'

This mailcap file shows quite a number of examples:

# Use xanim to view all videos   Xanim produces a header on startup,
# send that to /dev/null so I don't see it
video/*;        xanim %s > /dev/null

# Send html to a running netscape by remote
text/html;      netscape -remote 'openURL(%s)'; test=RunningNetscape

# If I'm not running netscape but I am running X, start netscape on the
# object
text/html;      netscape %s; test=RunningX

# Else use lynx to view it as text
text/html;      lynx %s

# This version would convert the text/html to text/plain
text/html;      lynx -dump %s; copiousoutput

# I use enscript to print text in two columns to a page
text/*;         more %s; print=enscript -2Gr %s

# Netscape adds a flag to tell itself to view jpegs internally
image/jpeg;xv %s; x-mozilla-flags=internal

# Use xv to view images if I'm running X
# In addition, this uses the \ to extend the line and set my editor
# for images
image/*;xv %s; test=RunningX; \
        edit=xpaint %s

# Convert images to text using the netpbm tools
image/*;  (anytopnm %s | pnmscale -xysize 80 46 | ppmtopgm | pgmtopbm |
pbmtoascii -1x2 ) 2>&1 ; copiousoutput

# Send excel spreadsheets to my NT box
application/ms-excel; open.pl %s

4. MIME Autoview

In addition to explicitly telling Mutt to view an attachment with the MIME
viewer defined in the mailcap file, Mutt has support for automatically viewing
MIME attachments while in the pager.

To work, you must define a viewer in the mailcap file which uses the
copiousoutput option to denote that it is non-interactive. Usually, you also
use the entry to convert the attachment to a text representation which you can
view in the pager.

You then use the auto_view muttrc command to list the content-types that you
wish to view automatically.

For instance, if you set auto_view to:

auto_view text/html application/x-gunzip \
  application/postscript image/gif application/x-tar-gz

Mutt could use the following mailcap entries to automatically view attachments
of these types.

text/html;      lynx -dump %s; copiousoutput; nametemplate=%s.html
image/*;        anytopnm %s | pnmscale -xsize 80 -ysize 50 | ppmtopgm | \
                pgmtopbm | pbmtoascii ; copiousoutput
application/x-gunzip;   gzcat; copiousoutput
application/x-tar-gz; gunzip -c %s | tar -tf - ; copiousoutput
application/postscript; ps2ascii %s; copiousoutput

``unauto_view'' can be used to remove previous entries from the autoview list.
This can be used with message-hook to autoview messages based on size, etc.
``unauto_view *'' will remove all previous entries.

5. MIME Multipart/Alternative

Mutt has some heuristics for determining which attachment of a multipart/
alternative type to display. First, mutt will check the alternative_order list
to determine if one of the available types is preferred. The alternative_order
list consists of a number of mimetypes in order, including support for implicit
and explicit wildcards, for example:

alternative_order text/enriched text/plain text application/postscript image/*

Next, mutt will check if any of the types have a defined auto_view, and use
that. Failing that, Mutt will look for any text type. As a last attempt, mutt
will look for any type it knows how to handle.

To remove a MIME type from the alternative_order list, use the
unalternative_order command.

6. Attachment Searching and Counting

If you ever lose track of attachments in your mailboxes, Mutt's
attachment-counting and -searching support might be for you. You can make your
message index display the number of qualifying attachments in each message, or
search for messages by attachment count. You also can configure what kinds of
attachments qualify for this feature with the attachments and unattachments
commands.

In order to provide this information, mutt needs to fully MIME-parse all
messages affected first. This can slow down operation especially for remote
mail folders such as IMAP because all messages have to be downloaded first
regardless whether the user really wants to view them or not.

The syntax is:

attachments   {+|-}disposition mime-type
unattachments {+|-}disposition mime-type
attachments   ?

Disposition is the attachment's Content-disposition type -- either "inline" or
"attachment". You can abbreviate this to I or A.

Disposition is prefixed by either a + symbolor a - symbol. If it's a +, you're
saying that you want to allow this disposition and MIME type to qualify. If
it's a -, you're saying that this disposition and MIME type is an exception to
previous + rules. There are examples below of how this is useful.

Mime-type is, unsurprisingly, the MIME type of the attachment you want to
affect. A MIME type is always of the format "major/minor", where "major"
describes the broad category of document you're looking at, and "minor"
describes the specific type within that category. The major part of mim-type
must be literal text (or the special token "*"), but the minor part may be a
regular expression. (Therefore, "*/.*" matches any MIME type.)

The MIME types you give to the attachments directive are a kind of pattern.
When you use the attachments directive, the patterns you specify are added to a
list. When you use unattachments, the pattern is removed from the list. The
patterns are not expanded and matched to specific MIME types at this time --
they're just text in a list. They're only matched when actually evaluating a
message.

Some examples might help to illustrate. The examples that are not commented out
define the default configuration of the lists.

## Removing a pattern from a list removes that pattern literally. It
## does not remove any type matching the pattern.
##
##  attachments   +A */.*
##  attachments   +A image/jpeg
##  unattachments +A */.*
##
## This leaves "attached" image/jpeg files on the allowed attachments
## list. It does not remove all items, as you might expect, because the
## second */.* is not a matching expression at this time.
##
## Remember: "unattachments" only undoes what "attachments" has done!
## It does not trigger any matching on actual messages.


## Qualify any MIME part with an "attachment" disposition, EXCEPT for
## text/x-vcard and application/pgp parts. (PGP parts are already known
## to mutt, and can be searched for with ~g, ~G, and ~k.)
##
## I've added x-pkcs7 to this, since it functions (for S/MIME)
## analogously to PGP signature attachments. S/MIME isn't supported
## in a stock mutt build, but we can still treat it specially here.
##
attachments   +A */.*
attachments   -A text/x-vcard application/pgp.*
attachments   -A application/x-pkcs7-.*

## Discount all MIME parts with an "inline" disposition, unless they're
## text/plain. (Why inline a text/plain part unless it's external to the
## message flow?)
##
attachments   +I text/plain

## These two lines make Mutt qualify MIME containers.  (So, for example,
## a message/rfc822 forward will count as an attachment.)  The first
## line is unnecessary if you already have "attach-allow */.*", of
## course.  These are off by default!  The MIME elements contained
## within a message/* or multipart/* are still examined, even if the
## containers themseves don't qualify.
##
#attachments  +A message/.* multipart/.*
#attachments  +I message/.* multipart/.*

## You probably don't really care to know about deleted attachments.
attachments   -A message/external-body
attachments   -I message/external-body

"attachments ?" will list your current settings in Muttrc format, so that it
can be pasted elsewhere.

7. MIME Lookup

Mutt's mime_lookup list specifies a list of mime-types that should not be
treated according to their mailcap entry. This option is designed to deal with
binary types such as application/octet-stream. When an attachment's mime-type
is listed in mime_lookup, then the extension of the filename will be compared
to the list of extensions in the mime.types file. The mime-type associated with
this extension will then be used to process the attachment according to the
rules in the mailcap file and according to any other configuration options
(such as auto_view) specified. Common usage would be:

mime_lookup application/octet-stream application/X-Lotus-Manuscript

In addition, the unmime_lookup command may be used to disable this feature for
any particular mime-type if it had been set, for example, in a global muttrc.

Chapter 6. Optional features

Table of Contents

1. General notes

    1.1. Enabling/disabling features
    1.2. URL syntax

2. SSL/TLS Support
3. POP3 Support
4. IMAP Support

    4.1. The Folder Browser
    4.2. Authentication

5. SMTP Support
6. Managing multiple accounts
7. Local caching

    7.1. Header caching
    7.2. Body caching
    7.3. Maintenance

8. Exact address generation

1. General notes

1.1. Enabling/disabling features

Mutt supports several of optional features which can be enabled or disabled at
compile-time by giving the configure script certain arguments. These are listed
in the ``Optional features'' section of the configure --help output.

Which features are enabled or disabled can later be determined from the output
of mutt -v. If a compile option starts with ``+'' it is enabled and disabled if
prefixed with ``-''. For example, if mutt was compiled using GnuTLS for
encrypted communication instead of OpenSSL, mutt -v would contain:

-USE_SSL_OPENSSL +USE_SSL_GNUTLS

1.2. URL syntax

Mutt optionally supports the IMAP, POP3 and SMTP protocols which require to
access servers using URLs. The canonical syntax for specifying URLs in mutt is
(an item enclosed in [] means it is optional and may be omitted):

proto[s]://[username[:password]@]server[:port]/[path]

proto is the communication protocol: imap for IMAP, pop for POP3 and smtp for
SMTP. If ``s'' for ``secure communication'' is appended, mutt will attempt to
establish an encrypted communication using SSL or TLS. If no explicit port is
given, mutt will use the system's default for the given protocol.

Since all protocols by mutt support authentication, the username may be given
directly in the URL instead of using the pop_user or imap_user variables. A
password can be given, too but is not recommended if the URL is specified in a
configuration file on disk.

The optional path is only relevant for IMAP.

For IMAP for example, you can select an alternative port by specifying it with
the server: imap://imapserver:port/INBOX. You can also specify different
username for each folder: imap://username@imapserver[:port]/INBOX or imap://
username2@imapserver[:port]/path/to/folder. Replacing imap:// by imaps:// would
make mutt attempt to conect using SSL or TLS on a different port to encrypt the
communication.

2. SSL/TLS Support

If mutt is compiled with IMAP, POP3 and/or SMTP support, it can also be
compiled with support for SSL or TLS using either OpenSSL or GnuTLS ( by
running the configure script with the --enable-ssl=... option for OpenSSL or
--enable-gnutls=... for GnuTLS). Mutt can then attempt to encrypt communication
with remote servers if these protocols are suffixed with ``s'' for ``secure
communication''.

3. POP3 Support

If Mutt was compiled with POP3 support (by running the configure script with
the --enable-pop flag), it has the ability to work with mailboxes located on a
remote POP3 server and fetch mail for local browsing.

Remote POP3 servers can be accessed using URLs with the pop protocol for
unencrypted and pops for encrypted communication, see Section 1.2, "URL syntax"
for details.

Polling for new mail is more expensive over POP3 than locally. For this reason
the frequency at which Mutt will check for mail remotely can be controlled by
the $pop_checkinterval variable, which defaults to every 60 seconds.

Another way to access your POP3 mail is the fetch-mail function (default: G).
It allows to connect to $pop_host, fetch all your new mail and place it in the
local $spoolfile. After this point, Mutt runs exactly as if the mail had always
been local.

Note: If you only need to fetch all messages to a local mailbox you should
consider using a specialized program, such as fetchmail, getmail or similar.

4. IMAP Support

If Mutt was compiled with IMAP support (by running the configure script with
the --enable-imap flag), it has the ability to work with folders located on a
remote IMAP server.

You can access the remote inbox by selecting the folder by its URL (see Section
1.2, "URL syntax" for details) using the imap or imaps protocol. Alternatively,
a pine-compatible notation is also supported, ie {[username@]imapserver[:port]
[/ssl]}path/to/folder

Note that not all servers use ``/'' as the hierarchy separator. Mutt should
correctly notice which separator is being used by the server and convert paths
accordingly.

When browsing folders on an IMAP server, you can toggle whether to look at only
the folders you are subscribed to, or all folders with the toggle-subscribed
command. See also the $imap_list_subscribed variable.

Polling for new mail on an IMAP server can cause noticeable delays. So, you'll
want to carefully tune the $mail_check and $timeout variables. Personally I use

set mail_check=90
set timeout=15

with relatively good results over my slow modem line.

Note that if you are using mbox as the mail store on UW servers prior to
v12.250, the server has been reported to disconnect a client if another client
selects the same folder.

4.1. The Folder Browser

As of version 1.2, mutt supports browsing mailboxes on an IMAP server. This is
mostly the same as the local file browser, with the following differences:

  ● In lieu of file permissions, mutt displays the string "IMAP", possibly
    followed by the symbol "+", indicating that the entry contains both
    messages and subfolders. On Cyrus-like servers folders will often contain
    both messages and subfolders.

  ● For the case where an entry can contain both messages and subfolders, the
    selection key (bound to enter by default) will choose to descend into the
    subfolder view. If you wish to view the messages in that folder, you must
    use view-file instead (bound to space by default).

  ● You can create, delete and rename mailboxes with the create-mailbox,
    delete-mailbox, and rename-mailbox commands (default bindings: C, d and r,
    respectively). You may also subscribe and unsubscribe to mailboxes
    (normally these are bound to s and u, respectively).

4.2. Authentication

Mutt supports four authentication methods with IMAP servers: SASL, GSSAPI,
CRAM-MD5, and LOGIN (there is a patch by Grant Edwards to add NTLM
authentication for you poor exchange users out there, but it has yet to be
integrated into the main tree). There is also support for the pseudo-protocol
ANONYMOUS, which allows you to log in to a public IMAP server without having an
account. To use ANONYMOUS, simply make your username blank or "anonymous".

SASL is a special super-authenticator, which selects among several protocols
(including GSSAPI, CRAM-MD5, ANONYMOUS, and DIGEST-MD5) the most secure method
available on your host and the server. Using some of these methods (including
DIGEST-MD5 and possibly GSSAPI), your entire session will be encrypted and
invisible to those teeming network snoops. It is the best option if you have
it. To use it, you must have the Cyrus SASL library installed on your system
and compile mutt with the --with-sasl flag.

Mutt will try whichever methods are compiled in and available on the server, in
the following order: SASL, ANONYMOUS, GSSAPI, CRAM-MD5, LOGIN.

There are a few variables which control authentication:

  ● $imap_user - controls the username under which you request authentication
    on the IMAP server, for all authenticators. This is overridden by an
    explicit username in the mailbox path (ie by using a mailbox name of the
    form {user@host}).

  ● $imap_pass - a password which you may preset, used by all authentication
    methods where a password is needed.

  ● $imap_authenticators - a colon-delimited list of IMAP authentication
    methods to try, in the order you wish to try them. If specified, this
    overrides mutt's default (attempt everything, in the order listed above).

5. SMTP Support

Besides supporting traditional mail delivery through a sendmail-compatible
program, mutt supports delivery through SMTP if it was configured and built
with --enable-smtp.

If the configuration variable $smtp_url is set, mutt will contact the given
SMTP server to deliver messages; if it is unset, mutt will use the program
specified by $sendmail.

For details on the URL syntax, please see Section 1.2, "URL syntax".

The built-in SMTP support supports encryption (the smtps protocol using SSL or
TLS) as well as SMTP authentication using SASL. The authentication mechanisms
for SASL are specified in $smtp_authenticators defaulting to an empty list
which makes mutt try all available methods from most-secure to least-secure.

6. Managing multiple accounts

If you happen to have accounts on multiple IMAP, POP and/or SMTP servers, you
may find managing all the authentication settings inconvenient and error-prone.
The account-hook command may help. This hook works like folder-hook but is
invoked whenever you access a remote mailbox (including inside the folder
browser), not just when you open the mailbox.

Some examples:

account-hook . 'unset imap_user; unset imap_pass; unset tunnel'
account-hook imap://host1/ 'set imap_user=me1 imap_pass=foo'
account-hook imap://host2/ 'set tunnel="ssh host2 /usr/libexec/imapd"'
account-hook smtp://user@host3/ 'set tunnel="ssh host3 /usr/libexec/smtpd"'

7. Local caching

Mutt contains two types of local caching: (1) the so-called ``header caching''
and (2) the so-called ``body caching'' which are both described in this
section.

Header caching is optional as it depends on external libraries, body caching is
always enabled if mutt is compiled with POP and/or IMAP support as these use it
(body caching requires no external library).

7.1. Header caching

Mutt provides optional support for caching message headers for the following
types of folders: IMAP, POP, Maildir and MH. Header caching greatly improves
speed because for remote folders, headers usually only need to be downloaded
once. For Maildir and MH, reading the headers from a single file is much faster
than looking at possibly thousands of single files (since Maildir and MH use
one file per message.)

Header caching can be enabled via the configure script and the --enable-hcache
option. It's not turned on by default because external database libraries are
required: one of qdbm, gdbm or bdb must be present.

If enabled, $header_cache can be used to either point to a file or a directory.
If set to point to a file, one database file for all folders will be used
(which may result in lower performance), but one file per folder if it points
to a directory.

For the one-file-per-folder case, database files for remote folders will be
named according to their URL while database files for local folders will be
named by the MD5 checksums of their path. These database files may be safely
removed if a system is short on space. You can compute the name of the header
cache file for a particular local folder through a command like the following:

$ printf '%s' '/path/to/folder' | md5sum

The md5sum command may also be named md5, depending on your operating system.

7.2. Body caching

Both cache methods can be combined using the same directory for storage (and
for IMAP/POP even provide meaningful file names) which simplifies manual
maintenance tasks.

In addition to caching message headers only, mutt can also cache whole message
bodies. This results in faster display of messages for POP and IMAP folders
because messages usually have to be downloaded only once.

For configuration, the variable $message_cachedir must point to a directory.
There, mutt will create a hierarchy of subdirectories named like:
proto:user@hostname where proto is either ``pop'' or ``imap.'' Within there for
each folder, mutt stores messages in single files (just like Maildir) so that
with manual symlink creation these cache directories can be examined with mutt
as read-only Maildir folders.

All files can be removed as needed if the consumed disk space becomes an issue
as mutt will silently fetch missing items again.

7.3. Maintenance

Mutt does not (yet) support maintenance features for header cache database
files so that files have to be removed in case they grow too big. It depends on
the database library used for header caching whether disk space freed by
removing messages is re-used.

For body caches, mutt can keep the local cache in sync with the remote mailbox
if the $message_cache_clean variable is set. Cleaning means to remove messages
from the cache which are no longer present in the mailbox which only happens
when other mail clients or instances of mutt using a different body cache
location delete messages (Mutt itself removes deleted messages from the cache
when syncing a mailbox). As cleaning can take a noticeable amount of time, it
should not be set in general but only occasionally.

8. Exact address generation

Mutt supports the ``Name <user@host>'' address syntax for reading and writing
messages, the older ``user@host (Name)'' syntax is only supported when reading
messages. The --enable-exact-address switch can be given to configure to build
it with write-support for the latter syntax. EXACT_ADDRESS in the output of
mutt -v indicates whether it's supported.

Chapter 7. Performance tuning

Table of Contents

1. Reading and writing mailboxes
2. Reading messages from remote folders
3. Searching and limiting

1. Reading and writing mailboxes

Mutt's performance when reading mailboxes can be improved in two ways:

 1. For remote folders (IMAP and POP) as well as folders using one-file-per
    message storage (Maildir and MH), mutt's performance can be greatly
    improved using header caching. Using a single database per folder may
    further increase performance.

 2. Mutt provides the $read_inc and $write_inc variables to specify at which
    rate to update progress counters. If these values are too low, mutt may
    spend more time on updating the progress counter than it spends on actually
    reading/writing folders.

    For example, when opening a maildir folder with a few thousand messages,
    the default value for $read_inc may be too low. It can be tuned on on a
    folder-basis using folder-hooks:

    # use very high $read_inc to speed up reading hcache'd maildirs
    folder-hook . 'set read_inc=1000'
    # use lower value for reading slower remote IMAP folders
    folder-hook ^imap 'set read_inc=100'
    # use even lower value for reading even slower remote POP folders
    folder-hook ^pop 'set read_inc=1'

These settings work on a per-message basis. However, as messages may greatly
differ in size and certain operations are much faster than others, even
per-folder settings of the increment variables may not be desirable as they
produce either too few or too much progress updates. Thus, Mutt allows to limit
the number of progress updates per second it'll actually send to the terminal
using the $time_inc variable.

2. Reading messages from remote folders

Reading messages from remote folders such as IMAP an POP can be slow especially
for large mailboxes since mutt only caches a very limited number of recently
viewed messages (usually 10) per session (so that it will be gone for the next
session.)

To improve performance and permanently cache whole messages, please refer to
mutt's so-called body caching for details.

3. Searching and limiting

When searching mailboxes either via a search or a limit action, for some
patterns mutt distinguishes between regular expression and string searches. For
regular expressions, patterns are prefixed with ``~'' and with ``='' for string
searches.

Even though a regular expression search is fast, it's several times slower than
a pure string search which is noticable especially on large folders. As a
consequence, a string search should be used instead of a regular expression
search if the user already knows enough about the search pattern.

For example, when limiting a large folder to all messages sent to or by an
author, it's much faster to search for the initial part of an e-mail address
via =Luser@ instead of ~Luser@. This is especially true for searching message
bodies since a larger amount of input has to be searched.

Please note that string search is an exact case-sensitive search while a
regular expression search with only lower-case letters performs a
case-insensitive search.

Chapter 8. Reference

Table of Contents

1. Command line options
2. Configuration Commands
3. Configuration variables

    3.1. abort_nosubject
    3.2. abort_unmodified
    3.3. alias_file
    3.4. alias_format
    3.5. allow_8bit
    3.6. allow_ansi
    3.7. arrow_cursor
    3.8. ascii_chars
    3.9. askbcc
    3.10. askcc
    3.11. assumed_charset
    3.12. attach_charset
    3.13. attach_format
    3.14. attach_sep
    3.15. attach_split
    3.16. attribution
    3.17. autoedit
    3.18. auto_tag
    3.19. beep
    3.20. beep_new
    3.21. bounce
    3.22. bounce_delivered
    3.23. braille_friendly
    3.24. check_mbox_size
    3.25. charset
    3.26. check_new
    3.27. collapse_unread
    3.28. uncollapse_jump
    3.29. compose_format
    3.30. config_charset
    3.31. confirmappend
    3.32. confirmcreate
    3.33. connect_timeout
    3.34. content_type
    3.35. copy
    3.36. crypt_use_gpgme
    3.37. crypt_use_pka
    3.38. crypt_autopgp
    3.39. crypt_autosmime
    3.40. date_format
    3.41. default_hook
    3.42. delete
    3.43. delete_untag
    3.44. digest_collapse
    3.45. display_filter
    3.46. dotlock_program
    3.47. dsn_notify
    3.48. dsn_return
    3.49. duplicate_threads
    3.50. edit_headers
    3.51. editor
    3.52. encode_from
    3.53. envelope_from_address
    3.54. escape
    3.55. fast_reply
    3.56. fcc_attach
    3.57. fcc_clear
    3.58. folder
    3.59. folder_format
    3.60. followup_to
    3.61. force_name
    3.62. forward_decode
    3.63. forward_edit
    3.64. forward_format
    3.65. forward_quote
    3.66. from
    3.67. gecos_mask
    3.68. hdrs
    3.69. header
    3.70. help
    3.71. hidden_host
    3.72. hide_limited
    3.73. hide_missing
    3.74. hide_thread_subject
    3.75. hide_top_limited
    3.76. hide_top_missing
    3.77. history
    3.78. history_file
    3.79. honor_followup_to
    3.80. hostname
    3.81. ignore_linear_white_space
    3.82. ignore_list_reply_to
    3.83. imap_authenticators
    3.84. imap_check_subscribed
    3.85. imap_delim_chars
    3.86. imap_headers
    3.87. imap_idle
    3.88. imap_keepalive
    3.89. imap_list_subscribed
    3.90. imap_login
    3.91. imap_pass
    3.92. imap_passive
    3.93. imap_peek
    3.94. imap_servernoise
    3.95. imap_user
    3.96. implicit_autoview
    3.97. include
    3.98. include_onlyfirst
    3.99. indent_string
    3.100. index_format
    3.101. ispell
    3.102. keep_flagged
    3.103. locale
    3.104. mail_check
    3.105. mailcap_path
    3.106. mailcap_sanitize
    3.107. header_cache
    3.108. maildir_header_cache_verify
    3.109. header_cache_pagesize
    3.110. header_cache_compress
    3.111. maildir_trash
    3.112. mark_old
    3.113. markers
    3.114. mask
    3.115. mbox
    3.116. mbox_type
    3.117. metoo
    3.118. menu_context
    3.119. menu_move_off
    3.120. menu_scroll
    3.121. meta_key
    3.122. mh_purge
    3.123. mh_seq_flagged
    3.124. mh_seq_replied
    3.125. mh_seq_unseen
    3.126. mime_forward
    3.127. mime_forward_decode
    3.128. mime_forward_rest
    3.129. mix_entry_format
    3.130. mixmaster
    3.131. move
    3.132. message_cachedir
    3.133. message_cache_clean
    3.134. message_format
    3.135. narrow_tree
    3.136. net_inc
    3.137. pager
    3.138. pager_context
    3.139. pager_format
    3.140. pager_index_lines
    3.141. pager_stop
    3.142. crypt_autosign
    3.143. crypt_autoencrypt
    3.144. pgp_ignore_subkeys
    3.145. crypt_replyencrypt
    3.146. crypt_replysign
    3.147. crypt_replysignencrypted
    3.148. crypt_timestamp
    3.149. pgp_use_gpg_agent
    3.150. crypt_verify_sig
    3.151. smime_is_default
    3.152. smime_ask_cert_label
    3.153. smime_decrypt_use_default_key
    3.154. pgp_entry_format
    3.155. pgp_good_sign
    3.156. pgp_check_exit
    3.157. pgp_long_ids
    3.158. pgp_retainable_sigs
    3.159. pgp_autoinline
    3.160. pgp_replyinline
    3.161. pgp_show_unusable
    3.162. pgp_sign_as
    3.163. pgp_strict_enc
    3.164. pgp_timeout
    3.165. pgp_sort_keys
    3.166. pgp_mime_auto
    3.167. pgp_auto_decode
    3.168. pgp_decode_command
    3.169. pgp_getkeys_command
    3.170. pgp_verify_command
    3.171. pgp_decrypt_command
    3.172. pgp_clearsign_command
    3.173. pgp_sign_command
    3.174. pgp_encrypt_sign_command
    3.175. pgp_encrypt_only_command
    3.176. pgp_import_command
    3.177. pgp_export_command
    3.178. pgp_verify_key_command
    3.179. pgp_list_secring_command
    3.180. pgp_list_pubring_command
    3.181. forward_decrypt
    3.182. smime_timeout
    3.183. smime_encrypt_with
    3.184. smime_keys
    3.185. smime_ca_location
    3.186. smime_certificates
    3.187. smime_decrypt_command
    3.188. smime_verify_command
    3.189. smime_verify_opaque_command
    3.190. smime_sign_command
    3.191. smime_sign_opaque_command
    3.192. smime_encrypt_command
    3.193. smime_pk7out_command
    3.194. smime_get_cert_command
    3.195. smime_get_signer_cert_command
    3.196. smime_import_cert_command
    3.197. smime_get_cert_email_command
    3.198. smime_default_key
    3.199. ssl_client_cert
    3.200. ssl_force_tls
    3.201. ssl_starttls
    3.202. certificate_file
    3.203. ssl_usesystemcerts
    3.204. entropy_file
    3.205. ssl_use_sslv2
    3.206. ssl_use_sslv3
    3.207. ssl_use_tlsv1
    3.208. ssl_min_dh_prime_bits
    3.209. ssl_ca_certificates_file
    3.210. pipe_split
    3.211. pipe_decode
    3.212. pipe_sep
    3.213. pop_authenticators
    3.214. pop_auth_try_all
    3.215. pop_checkinterval
    3.216. pop_delete
    3.217. pop_host
    3.218. pop_last
    3.219. pop_reconnect
    3.220. pop_user
    3.221. pop_pass
    3.222. post_indent_string
    3.223. postpone
    3.224. postponed
    3.225. preconnect
    3.226. print
    3.227. print_command
    3.228. print_decode
    3.229. print_split
    3.230. prompt_after
    3.231. query_command
    3.232. query_format
    3.233. quit
    3.234. quote_regexp
    3.235. read_inc
    3.236. read_only
    3.237. realname
    3.238. recall
    3.239. record
    3.240. reply_regexp
    3.241. reply_self
    3.242. reply_to
    3.243. resolve
    3.244. reverse_alias
    3.245. reverse_name
    3.246. reverse_realname
    3.247. rfc2047_parameters
    3.248. save_address
    3.249. save_empty
    3.250. save_history
    3.251. save_name
    3.252. score
    3.253. score_threshold_delete
    3.254. score_threshold_flag
    3.255. score_threshold_read
    3.256. send_charset
    3.257. sendmail
    3.258. sendmail_wait
    3.259. shell
    3.260. sig_dashes
    3.261. sig_on_top
    3.262. signature
    3.263. simple_search
    3.264. smart_wrap
    3.265. smileys
    3.266. sleep_time
    3.267. smtp_authenticators
    3.268. smtp_pass
    3.269. smtp_url
    3.270. sort
    3.271. sort_alias
    3.272. sort_aux
    3.273. sort_browser
    3.274. sort_re
    3.275. spam_separator
    3.276. spoolfile
    3.277. status_chars
    3.278. status_format
    3.279. status_on_top
    3.280. strict_threads
    3.281. suspend
    3.282. text_flowed
    3.283. thread_received
    3.284. thorough_search
    3.285. tilde
    3.286. time_inc
    3.287. timeout
    3.288. tmpdir
    3.289. to_chars
    3.290. tunnel
    3.291. use_8bitmime
    3.292. use_domain
    3.293. use_envelope_from
    3.294. use_from
    3.295. use_idn
    3.296. use_ipv6
    3.297. user_agent
    3.298. visual
    3.299. wait_key
    3.300. weed
    3.301. wrap
    3.302. wrap_search
    3.303. wrapmargin
    3.304. write_inc
    3.305. write_bcc

4. Functions

    4.1. generic
    4.2. index
    4.3. pager
    4.4. alias
    4.5. query
    4.6. attach
    4.7. compose
    4.8. postpone
    4.9. browser
    4.10. pgp
    4.11. smime
    4.12. mix
    4.13. editor

1. Command line options

Running mutt with no arguments will make Mutt attempt to read your spool
mailbox. However, it is possible to read other mailboxes and to send messages
from the command line as well.

Table 8.1. Command line options

┌──────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│Option│                             Description                              │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-A    │expand an alias                                                       │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-a    │attach a file to a message                                            │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-b    │specify a blind carbon-copy (BCC) address                             │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-c    │specify a carbon-copy (Cc) address                                    │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-D    │print the value of all mutt variables to stdout                       │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-e    │specify a config command to be run after initialization files are read│
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-f    │specify a mailbox to load                                             │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-F    │specify an alternate file to read initialization commands             │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-h    │print help on command line options                                    │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-H    │specify a draft file from which to read a header and body             │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-i    │specify a file to include in a message composition                    │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-m    │specify a default mailbox type                                        │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-n    │do not read the system Muttrc                                         │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-p    │recall a postponed message                                            │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-Q    │query a configuration variable                                        │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-R    │open mailbox in read-only mode                                        │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-s    │specify a subject (enclose in quotes if it contains spaces)           │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-v    │show version number and compile-time definitions                      │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-x    │simulate the mailx(1) compose mode                                    │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-y    │show a menu containing the files specified by the mailboxes command   │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-z    │exit immediately if there are no messages in the mailbox              │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│-Z    │open the first folder with new message,exit immediately if none       │
└──────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘


To read messages in a mailbox

mutt [ -nz ] [ -F muttrc ] [ -m type ] [ -f mailbox ]

To compose a new message

mutt [ -n ] [ -F muttrc ] [ -a file ] [ -c address ] [ -i filename ] [ -s
subject ] [ [ file ... ] -- ] address [ address ... ]

Mutt also supports a ``batch'' mode to send prepared messages. Simply redirect
input from the file you wish to send. For example,

mutt -s "data set for run #2" professor@bigschool.edu < ~/run2.dat

This command will send a message to ``professor@bigschool.edu'' with a subject
of ``data set for run #2''. In the body of the message will be the contents of
the file ``~/run2.dat''.

All files passed with -a file will be attached as a MIME part to the message.
To attach several files, use ``--'' to separate files and recipient addresses:
mutt -a *.png -- some@one.org

2. Configuration Commands

The following are the commands understood by mutt.

  ● account-hookpatterncommand

  ● alias [ -groupname [ ... ] ] keyaddress [ , address, ... ]

  ● unalias [ * | key ... ]

  ● alternates [ -groupname [ ... ] ] regexp [ regexp ... ]

  ● unalternates [ * | regexp ... ]

  ● alternative-ordermimetype [ mimetype ... ]

  ● unalternative-ordermimetype [ mimetype ... ]

  ● auto_viewmimetype [ mimetype ... ]

  ● unauto_viewmimetype [ mimetype ... ]

  ● bindmapkeyfunction

  ● charset-hookaliascharset

  ● iconv-hookcharsetlocal-charset

  ● colorobjectforegroundbackground [ regexp ]

  ● uncolorindexpattern [ pattern ... ]

  ● execfunction [ function ... ]

  ● fcc-hookpatternmailbox

  ● fcc-save-hookpatternmailbox

  ● folder-hookpatterncommand

  ● hdr_orderheader [ header ... ]

  ● unhdr_orderheader [ header ... ]

  ● ignorepattern [ pattern ... ]

  ● unignorepattern [ pattern ... ]

  ● lists [ -groupname [ ... ] ] regexp [ regexp ... ]

  ● unlistsregexp [ regexp ... ]

  ● macromenukeysequence [ description ]

  ● mailboxesfilename [ filename ... ]

  ● mbox-hookpatternmailbox

  ● message-hookpatterncommand

  ● mime_lookupmimetype [ mimetype ... ]

  ● unmime_lookupmimetype [ mimetype ... ]

  ● monoobject attribute [ regexp ]

  ● unmonoindexpattern [ pattern ... ]

  ● my_hdrstring

  ● unmy_hdrfield [ field ... ]

  ● crypt-hookpatternkey-id

  ● pushstring

  ● resetvariable [variable ... ]

  ● save-hookregexpfilename

  ● scorepatternvalue

  ● unscorepattern [ pattern ... ]

  ● reply-hookpatterncommand

  ● send-hookpatterncommand

  ● send2-hookpatterncommand

  ● set [no|inv]variable[=value] [ variable ... ]

  ● unsetvariable [variable ... ]

  ● sourcefilename

  ● spampatternformat

  ● nospampattern

  ● subscribe [ -groupname [ ... ] ] regexp [ regexp ... ]

  ● unsubscriberegexp [ regexp ... ]

  ● togglevariable [variable ... ]

  ● unhookhook-type

3. Configuration variables

3.1. abort_nosubject

Type: quadoption
Default: ask-yes

If set to yes, when composing messages and no subject is given at the subject
prompt, composition will be aborted. If set to no, composing messages with no
subject given at the subject prompt will never be aborted.

3.2. abort_unmodified

Type: quadoption
Default: yes

If set to yes, composition will automatically abort after editing the message
body if no changes are made to the file (this check only happens after the
first edit of the file). When set to no, composition will never be aborted.

3.3. alias_file

Type: path
Default: "~/.muttrc"

The default file in which to save aliases created by the ``create-alias''
function.

Note: Mutt will not automatically source this file; you must explicitly use the
``source'' command for it to be executed.

The default for this option is the currently used muttrc file, or ``~/.muttrc''
if no user muttrc was found.

3.4. alias_format

Type: string
Default: "%4n %2f %t %-10a %r"

Specifies the format of the data displayed for the `alias' menu. The following
printf(3)-style sequences are available:

%a

    alias name

%f

    flags - currently, a "d" for an alias marked for deletion

%n

    index number

%r

    address which alias expands to

%t

    character which indicates if the alias is tagged for inclusion

3.5. allow_8bit

Type: boolean
Default: yes

Controls whether 8-bit data is converted to 7-bit using either Quoted-
Printable or Base64 encoding when sending mail.

3.6. allow_ansi

Type: boolean
Default: no

Controls whether ANSI color codes in messages (and color tags in rich text
messages) are to be interpreted. Messages containing these codes are rare, but
if this option is set, their text will be colored accordingly. Note that this
may override your color choices, and even present a security problem, since a
message could include a line like "[-- PGP output follows ..." and give it the
same color as your attachment color.

3.7. arrow_cursor

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set, an arrow (``->'') will be used to indicate the current entry in menus
instead of highlighting the whole line. On slow network or modem links this
will make response faster because there is less that has to be redrawn on the
screen when moving to the next or previous entries in the menu.

3.8. ascii_chars

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set, Mutt will use plain ASCII characters when displaying thread and
attachment trees, instead of the default ACS characters.

3.9. askbcc

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set, Mutt will prompt you for blind-carbon-copy (Bcc) recipients before
editing an outgoing message.

3.10. askcc

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set, Mutt will prompt you for carbon-copy (Cc) recipients before editing the
body of an outgoing message.

3.11. assumed_charset

Type: string
Default: ""

This variable is a colon-separated list of character encoding schemes for
messages without character encoding indication. Header field values and message
body content without character encoding indication would be assumed that they
are written in one of this list. By default, all the header fields and message
body without any charset indication are assumed to be in "us-ascii".

For example, Japanese users might prefer this:

set assumed_charset="iso-2022-jp:euc-jp:shift_jis:utf-8"

However, only the first content is valid for the message body.

3.12. attach_charset

Type: string
Default: ""

This variable is a colon-separated list of character encoding schemes for text
file attachments. If unset, $charset value will be used instead. For example,
the following configuration would work for Japanese text handling:

set attach_charset="iso-2022-jp:euc-jp:shift_jis:utf-8"

Note: "iso-2022-*" must be put at the head of the value as shown above if
included.

3.13. attach_format

Type: string
Default: "%u%D%I %t%4n %T%.40d%> [%.7m/%.10M, %.6e%?C?, %C?, %s] "

This variable describes the format of the `attachment' menu. The following
printf-style sequences are understood:

%C

    charset

%c

    requires charset conversion (n or c)

%D

    deleted flag

%d

    description

%e

    MIME content-transfer-encoding

%f

    filename

%I

    disposition (I=inline, A=attachment)

%m

    major MIME type

%M

    MIME subtype

%n

    attachment number

%Q

    "Q", if MIME part qualifies for attachment counting

%s

    size

%t

    tagged flag

%T

    graphic tree characters

%u

    unlink (=to delete) flag

%X

    number of qualifying MIME parts in this part and its children (please see
    the ``attachments'' section for possible speed effects)

%>X

    right justify the rest of the string and pad with character "X"

%|X

    pad to the end of the line with character "X"

%*X

    soft-fill with character "X" as pad

For an explanation of `soft-fill', see the ``$index_format'' documentation.

3.14. attach_sep

Type: string
Default: "\n"

The separator to add between attachments when operating (saving, printing,
piping, etc) on a list of tagged attachments.

3.15. attach_split

Type: boolean
Default: yes

If this variable is unset, when operating (saving, printing, piping, etc) on a
list of tagged attachments, Mutt will concatenate the attachments and will
operate on them as a single attachment. The ``$attach_sep'' separator is added
after each attachment. When set, Mutt will operate on the attachments one by
one.

3.16. attribution

Type: string
Default: "On %d, %n wrote:"

This is the string that will precede a message which has been included in a
reply. For a full listing of defined printf()-like sequences see the section on
``$index_format''.

3.17. autoedit

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set along with ``$edit_headers'', Mutt will skip the initial send-menu and
allow you to immediately begin editing the body of your message. The send-menu
may still be accessed once you have finished editing the body of your message.

Also see ``$fast_reply''.

3.18. auto_tag

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set, functions in the index menu which affect a message will be applied to
all tagged messages (if there are any). When unset, you must first use the
tag-prefix function (default: ";") to make the next function apply to all
tagged messages.

3.19. beep

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When this variable is set, mutt will beep when an error occurs.

3.20. beep_new

Type: boolean
Default: no

When this variable is set, mutt will beep whenever it prints a message
notifying you of new mail. This is independent of the setting of the ``$beep''
variable.

3.21. bounce

Type: quadoption
Default: ask-yes

Controls whether you will be asked to confirm bouncing messages. If set to yes
you don't get asked if you want to bounce a message. Setting this variable to
no is not generally useful, and thus not recommended, because you are unable to
bounce messages.

3.22. bounce_delivered

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When this variable is set, mutt will include Delivered-To headers when bouncing
messages. Postfix users may wish to unset this variable.

3.23. braille_friendly

Type: boolean
Default: no

When this variable is set, mutt will place the cursor at the beginning of the
current line in menus, even when the arrow_cursor variable is unset, making it
easier for blind persons using Braille displays to follow these menus. The
option is disabled by default because many visual terminals don't permit making
the cursor invisible.

3.24. check_mbox_size

Type: boolean
Default: no

When this variable is set, mutt will use file size attribute instead of access
time when checking for new mail.

3.25. charset

Type: string
Default: ""

Character set your terminal uses to display and enter textual data. It is also
the fallback for $send_charset.

3.26. check_new

Type: boolean
Default: yes

Note: this option only affects maildir and MH style mailboxes.

When set, Mutt will check for new mail delivered while the mailbox is open.
Especially with MH mailboxes, this operation can take quite some time since it
involves scanning the directory and checking each file to see if it has already
been looked at. If check_new is unset, no check for new mail is performed while
the mailbox is open.

3.27. collapse_unread

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When unset, Mutt will not collapse a thread if it contains any unread messages.

3.28. uncollapse_jump

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set, Mutt will jump to the next unread message, if any, when the current
thread is uncollapsed.

3.29. compose_format

Type: string
Default: "-- Mutt: Compose [Approx. msg size: %l Atts: %a]%>-"

Controls the format of the status line displayed in the Compose menu. This
string is similar to ``$status_format'', but has its own set of printf()-like
sequences:

%a

    total number of attachments

%h

    local hostname

%l

    approximate size (in bytes) of the current message

%v

    Mutt version string

See the text describing the ``$status_format'' option for more information on
how to set ``$compose_format''.

3.30. config_charset

Type: string
Default: ""

When defined, Mutt will recode commands in rc files from this encoding.

3.31. confirmappend

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When set, Mutt will prompt for confirmation when appending messages to an
existing mailbox.

3.32. confirmcreate

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When set, Mutt will prompt for confirmation when saving messages to a mailbox
which does not yet exist before creating it.

3.33. connect_timeout

Type: number
Default: 30

Causes Mutt to timeout a network connection (for IMAP or POP) after this many
seconds if the connection is not able to be established. A negative value
causes Mutt to wait indefinitely for the connection to succeed.

3.34. content_type

Type: string
Default: "text/plain"

Sets the default Content-Type for the body of newly composed messages.

3.35. copy

Type: quadoption
Default: yes

This variable controls whether or not copies of your outgoing messages will be
saved for later references. Also see ``$record'', ``$save_name'', ``$force_name
'' and ``fcc-hook''.

3.36. crypt_use_gpgme

Type: boolean
Default: no

This variable controls the use of the GPGME-enabled crypto backends. If it is
set and Mutt was built with gpgme support, the gpgme code for S/MIME and PGP
will be used instead of the classic code. Note that you need to set this option
in .muttrc; it won't have any effect when used interactively.

3.37. crypt_use_pka

Type: boolean
Default: no

(http://www.g10code.de/docs/pka-intro.de.pdf) during signature verification
(only supported by the GPGME backend).

3.38. crypt_autopgp

Type: boolean
Default: yes

This variable controls whether or not mutt may automatically enable PGP
encryption/signing for messages. See also ``$crypt_autoencrypt'', ``
$crypt_replyencrypt'', ``$crypt_autosign'', ``$crypt_replysign'' and ``
$smime_is_default''.

3.39. crypt_autosmime

Type: boolean
Default: yes

This variable controls whether or not mutt may automatically enable S/MIME
encryption/signing for messages. See also ``$crypt_autoencrypt'', ``
$crypt_replyencrypt'', ``$crypt_autosign'', ``$crypt_replysign'' and ``
$smime_is_default''.

3.40. date_format

Type: string
Default: "!%a, %b %d, %Y at %I:%M:%S%p %Z"

This variable controls the format of the date printed by the ``%d'' sequence in
``$index_format''. This is passed to the strftime call to process the date. See
the man page for strftime(3) for the proper syntax.

Unless the first character in the string is a bang (``!''), the month and week
day names are expanded according to the locale specified in the variable ``
$locale''. If the first character in the string is a bang, the bang is
discarded, and the month and week day names in the rest of the string are
expanded in the C locale (that is in US English).

3.41. default_hook

Type: string
Default: "~f %s !~P | (~P ~C %s)"

This variable controls how message-hooks, reply-hooks, send-hooks, send2-hooks,
save-hooks, and fcc-hooks will be interpreted if they are specified with only a
simple regexp, instead of a matching pattern. The hooks are expanded when they
are declared, so a hook will be interpreted according to the value of this
variable at the time the hook is declared. The default value matches if the
message is either from a user matching the regular expression given, or if it
is from you (if the from address matches ``alternates'') and is to or cc'ed to
a user matching the given regular expression.

3.42. delete

Type: quadoption
Default: ask-yes

Controls whether or not messages are really deleted when closing or
synchronizing a mailbox. If set to yes, messages marked for deleting will
automatically be purged without prompting. If set to no, messages marked for
deletion will be kept in the mailbox.

3.43. delete_untag

Type: boolean
Default: yes

If this option is set, mutt will untag messages when marking them for deletion.
This applies when you either explicitly delete a message, or when you save it
to another folder.

3.44. digest_collapse

Type: boolean
Default: yes

If this option is set, mutt's received-attachments menu will not show the
subparts of individual messages in a multipart/digest. To see these subparts,
press 'v' on that menu.

3.45. display_filter

Type: path
Default: ""

When set, specifies a command used to filter messages. When a message is viewed
it is passed as standard input to $display_filter, and the filtered message is
read from the standard output.

3.46. dotlock_program

Type: path
Default: "/usr/local/bin/mutt_dotlock"

Contains the path of the mutt_dotlock (8) binary to be used by mutt.

3.47. dsn_notify

Type: string
Default: ""

This variable sets the request for when notification is returned. The string
consists of a comma separated list (no spaces!) of one or more of the
following: never, to never request notification, failure, to request
notification on transmission failure, delay, to be notified of message delays,
success, to be notified of successful transmission.

Example: set dsn_notify="failure,delay"

Note: when using $sendmail for delivery, you should not enable this unless you
are either using Sendmail 8.8.x or greater or a MTA providing a sendmail(1)
-compatible interface supporting the -N option for DSN. For SMTP delivery, it
depends on the server whether DSN is supported or not.

3.48. dsn_return

Type: string
Default: ""

This variable controls how much of your message is returned in DSN messages. It
may be set to either hdrs to return just the message header, or full to return
the full message.

Example: set dsn_return=hdrs

Note: when using $sendmail for delivery, you should not enable this unless you
are either using Sendmail 8.8.x or greater or a MTA providing a sendmail(1)
-compatible interface supporting the -R option for DSN. For SMTP delivery, it
depends on the server whether DSN is supported or not.

3.49. duplicate_threads

Type: boolean
Default: yes

This variable controls whether mutt, when sorting by threads, threads messages
with the same message-id together. If it is set, it will indicate that it
thinks they are duplicates of each other with an equals sign in the thread
diagram.

3.50. edit_headers

Type: boolean
Default: no

This option allows you to edit the header of your outgoing messages along with
the body of your message.

Note that changes made to the References: and Date: headers are ignored for
interoperability reasons.

3.51. editor

Type: path
Default: ""

This variable specifies which editor is used by mutt. It defaults to the value
of the VISUAL, or EDITOR, environment variable, or to the string "vi" if
neither of those are set.

3.52. encode_from

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set, mutt will quoted-printable encode messages when they contain the
string "From " in the beginning of a line. Useful to avoid the tampering
certain mail delivery and transport agents tend to do with messages.

3.53. envelope_from_address

Type: e-mail address
Default: ""

Manually sets the envelope sender for outgoing messages. This value is ignored
if ``$use_envelope_from'' is unset.

3.54. escape

Type: string
Default: "~"

Escape character to use for functions in the builtin editor.

3.55. fast_reply

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set, the initial prompt for recipients and subject are skipped when
replying to messages, and the initial prompt for subject is skipped when
forwarding messages.

Note: this variable has no effect when the ``$autoedit'' variable is set.

3.56. fcc_attach

Type: boolean
Default: yes

This variable controls whether or not attachments on outgoing messages are
saved along with the main body of your message.

3.57. fcc_clear

Type: boolean
Default: no

When this variable is set, FCCs will be stored unencrypted and unsigned, even
when the actual message is encrypted and/or signed. (PGP only)

3.58. folder

Type: path
Default: "~/Mail"

Specifies the default location of your mailboxes. A `+' or `=' at the beginning
of a pathname will be expanded to the value of this variable. Note that if you
change this variable from the default value you need to make sure that the
assignment occurs before you use `+' or `=' for any other variables since
expansion takes place during the `set' command.

3.59. folder_format

Type: string
Default: "%2C %t %N %F %2l %-8.8u %-8.8g %8s %d %f"

This variable allows you to customize the file browser display to your personal
taste. This string is similar to ``$index_format'', but has its own set of
printf()-like sequences:

%C

    current file number

%d

    date/time folder was last modified

%f

    filename

%F

    file permissions

%g

    group name (or numeric gid, if missing)

%l

    number of hard links

%N

    N if folder has new mail, blank otherwise

%s

    size in bytes

%t

    * if the file is tagged, blank otherwise

%u

    owner name (or numeric uid, if missing)

%>X

    right justify the rest of the string and pad with character "X"

%|X

    pad to the end of the line with character "X"

%*X

    soft-fill with character "X" as pad

For an explanation of `soft-fill', see the ``$index_format'' documentation.

3.60. followup_to

Type: boolean
Default: yes

Controls whether or not the Mail-Followup-To header field is generated when
sending mail. When set, Mutt will generate this field when you are replying to
a known mailing list, specified with the ``subscribe'' or ``lists'' commands.

This field has two purposes. First, preventing you from receiving duplicate
copies of replies to messages which you send to mailing lists, and second,
ensuring that you do get a reply separately for any messages sent to known
lists to which you are not subscribed. The header will contain only the list's
address for subscribed lists, and both the list address and your own email
address for unsubscribed lists. Without this header, a group reply to your
message sent to a subscribed list will be sent to both the list and your
address, resulting in two copies of the same email for you.

3.61. force_name

Type: boolean
Default: no

This variable is similar to ``$save_name'', except that Mutt will store a copy
of your outgoing message by the username of the address you are sending to even
if that mailbox does not exist.

Also see the ``$record'' variable.

3.62. forward_decode

Type: boolean
Default: yes

Controls the decoding of complex MIME messages into text/plain when forwarding
a message. The message header is also RFC2047 decoded. This variable is only
used, if ``$mime_forward'' is unset, otherwise ``$mime_forward_decode'' is used
instead.

3.63. forward_edit

Type: quadoption
Default: yes

This quadoption controls whether or not the user is automatically placed in the
editor when forwarding messages. For those who always want to forward with no
modification, use a setting of ``no''.

3.64. forward_format

Type: string
Default: "[%a: %s]"

This variable controls the default subject when forwarding a message. It uses
the same format sequences as the ``$index_format'' variable.

3.65. forward_quote

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set forwarded messages included in the main body of the message (when ``
$mime_forward'' is unset) will be quoted using ``$indent_string''.

3.66. from

Type: e-mail address
Default: ""

When set, this variable contains a default from address. It can be overridden
using my_hdr (including from send-hooks) and ``$reverse_name''. This variable
is ignored if ``$use_from'' is unset.

Defaults to the contents of the environment variable EMAIL.

3.67. gecos_mask

Type: regular expression
Default: "^[^,]*"

A regular expression used by mutt to parse the GECOS field of a password entry
when expanding the alias. By default the regular expression is set to "^[^,]*"
which will return the string up to the first "," encountered. If the GECOS
field contains a string like "lastname, firstname" then you should set the
gecos_mask=".*".

This can be useful if you see the following behavior: you address a e-mail to
user ID stevef whose full name is Steve Franklin. If mutt expands stevef to
"Franklin" stevef@foo.bar then you should set the gecos_mask to a regular
expression that will match the whole name so mutt will expand "Franklin" to
"Franklin, Steve".

3.68. hdrs

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When unset, the header fields normally added by the ``my_hdr'' command are not
created. This variable must be unset before composing a new message or replying
in order to take effect. If set, the user defined header fields are added to
every new message.

3.69. header

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set, this variable causes Mutt to include the header of the message you
are replying to into the edit buffer. The ``$weed'' setting applies.

3.70. help

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When set, help lines describing the bindings for the major functions provided
by each menu are displayed on the first line of the screen.

Note: The binding will not be displayed correctly if the function is bound to a
sequence rather than a single keystroke. Also, the help line may not be updated
if a binding is changed while Mutt is running. Since this variable is primarily
aimed at new users, neither of these should present a major problem.

3.71. hidden_host

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set, mutt will skip the host name part of ``$hostname'' variable when
adding the domain part to addresses. This variable does not affect the
generation of Message-IDs, and it will not lead to the cut-off of first-level
domains.

3.72. hide_limited

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set, mutt will not show the presence of messages that are hidden by
limiting, in the thread tree.

3.73. hide_missing

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When set, mutt will not show the presence of missing messages in the thread
tree.

3.74. hide_thread_subject

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When set, mutt will not show the subject of messages in the thread tree that
have the same subject as their parent or closest previously displayed sibling.

3.75. hide_top_limited

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set, mutt will not show the presence of messages that are hidden by
limiting, at the top of threads in the thread tree. Note that when
$hide_limited is set, this option will have no effect.

3.76. hide_top_missing

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When set, mutt will not show the presence of missing messages at the top of
threads in the thread tree. Note that when $hide_missing is set, this option
will have no effect.

3.77. history

Type: number
Default: 10

This variable controls the size (in number of strings remembered) of the string
history buffer. The buffer is cleared each time the variable is set.

3.78. history_file

Type: path
Default: "~/.mutthistory"

The file in which Mutt will save its history.

3.79. honor_followup_to

Type: quadoption
Default: yes

This variable controls whether or not a Mail-Followup-To header is honored when
group-replying to a message.

3.80. hostname

Type: string
Default: ""

Specifies the fully-qualified hostname of the system mutt is running on
containing the host's name and the DNS domain it belongs to. It is used as the
domain part (after ``@'') for local email addresses as well as Message-Id
headers.

Its value is determined at startup as follows: If the node's name as returned
by the uname(3) function contains the hostname and the domain, these are used
to construct $hostname. If there is no domain part returned, Mutt will look for
a ``domain'' or ``search'' line in /etc/resolv.conf to determine the domain.
Optionally, Mutt can be compiled with a fixed domain name in which case a
detected one is not used.

Also see ``$use_domain'' and ``$hidden_host''.

3.81. ignore_linear_white_space

Type: boolean
Default: no

This option replaces linear-white-space between encoded-word and *text to a
single space to prevent the display of MIME-encoded ``Subject'' field from
being divided into multiple lines.

3.82. ignore_list_reply_to

Type: boolean
Default: no

Affects the behaviour of the reply function when replying to messages from
mailing lists (as defined by the ``subscribe'' or ``lists'' commands). When
set, if the ``Reply-To:'' field is set to the same value as the ``To:'' field,
Mutt assumes that the ``Reply-To:'' field was set by the mailing list to
automate responses to the list, and will ignore this field. To direct a
response to the mailing list when this option is set, use the list-reply
function; group-reply will reply to both the sender and the list.

3.83. imap_authenticators

Type: string
Default: ""

This is a colon-delimited list of authentication methods mutt may attempt to
use to log in to an IMAP server, in the order mutt should try them.
Authentication methods are either 'login' or the right side of an IMAP 'AUTH=
xxx' capability string, eg 'digest-md5', 'gssapi' or 'cram-md5'. This parameter
is case-insensitive. If this parameter is unset (the default) mutt will try all
available methods, in order from most-secure to least-secure.

Example: set imap_authenticators="gssapi:cram-md5:login"

Note: Mutt will only fall back to other authentication methods if the previous
methods are unavailable. If a method is available but authentication fails,
mutt will not connect to the IMAP server.

3.84. imap_check_subscribed

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set, mutt will fetch the set of subscribed folders from your server on
connection, and add them to the set of mailboxes it polls for new mail. See
also the ``mailboxes'' command.

3.85. imap_delim_chars

Type: string
Default: "/."

This contains the list of characters which you would like to treat as folder
separators for displaying IMAP paths. In particular it helps in using the '='
shortcut for your folder variable.

3.86. imap_headers

Type: string
Default: ""

Mutt requests these header fields in addition to the default headers ("DATE
FROM SUBJECT TO CC MESSAGE-ID REFERENCES CONTENT-TYPE CONTENT-DESCRIPTION
IN-REPLY-TO REPLY-TO LINES X-LABEL") from IMAP servers before displaying the
index menu. You may want to add more headers for spam detection. Note: This is
a space separated list.

3.87. imap_idle

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set, mutt will attempt to use the IMAP IDLE extension to check for new
mail in the current mailbox. Some servers (dovecot was the inspiration for this
option) react badly to mutt's implementation. If your connection seems to
freeze up periodically, try unsetting this.

3.88. imap_keepalive

Type: number
Default: 900

This variable specifies the maximum amount of time in seconds that mutt will
wait before polling open IMAP connections, to prevent the server from closing
them before mutt has finished with them. The default is well within the
RFC-specified minimum amount of time (30 minutes) before a server is allowed to
do this, but in practice the RFC does get violated every now and then. Reduce
this number if you find yourself getting disconnected from your IMAP server due
to inactivity.

3.89. imap_list_subscribed

Type: boolean
Default: no

This variable configures whether IMAP folder browsing will look for only
subscribed folders or all folders. This can be toggled in the IMAP browser with
the toggle-subscribed function.

3.90. imap_login

Type: string
Default: ""

Your login name on the IMAP server.

This variable defaults to the value of imap_user.

3.91. imap_pass

Type: string
Default: ""

Specifies the password for your IMAP account. If unset, Mutt will prompt you
for your password when you invoke the fetch-mail function. Warning: you should
only use this option when you are on a fairly secure machine, because the
superuser can read your muttrc even if you are the only one who can read the
file.

3.92. imap_passive

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When set, mutt will not open new IMAP connections to check for new mail. Mutt
will only check for new mail over existing IMAP connections. This is useful if
you don't want to be prompted to user/password pairs on mutt invocation, or if
opening the connection is slow.

3.93. imap_peek

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When set, mutt will avoid implicitly marking your mail as read whenever you
fetch a message from the server. This is generally a good thing, but can make
closing an IMAP folder somewhat slower. This option exists to appease speed
freaks.

3.94. imap_servernoise

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When set, mutt will display warning messages from the IMAP server as error
messages. Since these messages are often harmless, or generated due to
configuration problems on the server which are out of the users' hands, you may
wish to suppress them at some point.

3.95. imap_user

Type: string
Default: ""

The name of the user whose mail you intend to access on the IMAP server.

This variable defaults to your user name on the local machine.

3.96. implicit_autoview

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set to ``yes'', mutt will look for a mailcap entry with the copiousoutput
flag set for every MIME attachment it doesn't have an internal viewer defined
for. If such an entry is found, mutt will use the viewer defined in that entry
to convert the body part to text form.

3.97. include

Type: quadoption
Default: ask-yes

Controls whether or not a copy of the message(s) you are replying to is
included in your reply.

3.98. include_onlyfirst

Type: boolean
Default: no

Controls whether or not Mutt includes only the first attachment of the message
you are replying.

3.99. indent_string

Type: string
Default: "> "

Specifies the string to prepend to each line of text quoted in a message to
which you are replying. You are strongly encouraged not to change this value,
as it tends to agitate the more fanatical netizens.

This option is a format string, please see the description of ``$index_format''
for supported printf()-style sequences.

3.100. index_format

Type: string
Default: "%4C %Z %{%b %d} %-15.15L (%?l?%4l&%4c?) %s"

This variable allows you to customize the message index display to your
personal taste.

``Format strings'' are similar to the strings used in the ``C'' function printf
to format output (see the man page for more detail). The following sequences
are defined in Mutt:

%a

    address of the author

%A

    reply-to address (if present; otherwise: address of author)

%b

    filename of the original message folder (think mailBox)

%B

    the list to which the letter was sent, or else the folder name (%b).

%c

    number of characters (bytes) in the message

%C

    current message number

%d

    date and time of the message in the format specified by ``date_format''
    converted to sender's time zone

%D

    date and time of the message in the format specified by ``date_format''
    converted to the local time zone

%e

    current message number in thread

%E

    number of messages in current thread

%f

    sender (address + real name), either From: or Return-Path:

%F

    author name, or recipient name if the message is from you

%H

    spam attribute(s) of this message

%i

    message-id of the current message

%l

    number of lines in the message (does not work with maildir, mh, and
    possibly IMAP folders)

%L

    If an address in the To or CC header field matches an address defined by
    the users ``subscribe'' command, this displays "To <list-name>", otherwise
    the same as %F.

%m

    total number of message in the mailbox

%M

    number of hidden messages if the thread is collapsed.

%N

    message score

%n

    author's real name (or address if missing)

%O

    (_O_riginal save folder) Where mutt would formerly have stashed the
    message: list name or recipient name if no list

%P

    progress indicator for the builtin pager (how much of the file has been
    displayed)

%s

    subject of the message

%S

    status of the message (N/D/d/!/r/*)

%t

    `to:' field (recipients)

%T

    the appropriate character from the $to_chars string

%u

    user (login) name of the author

%v

    first name of the author, or the recipient if the message is from you

%X

    number of attachments (please see the ``attachments'' section for possible
    speed effects)

%y

    `x-label:' field, if present

%Y

    `x-label' field, if present, and (1) not at part of a thread tree, (2) at
    the top of a thread, or (3) `x-label' is different from preceding message's
    `x-label'.

%Z

    message status flags

%{fmt}

    the date and time of the message is converted to sender's time zone, and
    ``fmt'' is expanded by the library function ``strftime''; a leading bang
    disables locales

%[fmt]

    the date and time of the message is converted to the local time zone, and
    ``fmt'' is expanded by the library function ``strftime''; a leading bang
    disables locales

%(fmt)

    the local date and time when the message was received. ``fmt'' is expanded
    by the library function ``strftime''; a leading bang disables locales

%<fmt>

    the current local time. ``fmt'' is expanded by the library function
    ``strftime''; a leading bang disables locales.

%>X

    right justify the rest of the string and pad with character "X"

%|X

    pad to the end of the line with character "X"

%*X

    soft-fill with character "X" as pad

`Soft-fill' deserves some explanation. Normal right-justification will print
everything to the left of the %>, displaying padding and the whatever lies to
the right only if there's room. By contrast, soft-fill gives priority to the
right-hand side, guaranteeing space to display it and showing padding only if
there's still room. If necessary, soft-fill will eat text leftwards to make
room for rightward text.

Note that these expandos are supported in ``save-hook'', ``fcc-hook'' and ``
fcc-save-hook'', too.

See also: ``$to_chars''.

3.101. ispell

Type: path
Default: "ispell"

How to invoke ispell (GNU's spell-checking software).

3.102. keep_flagged

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set, read messages marked as flagged will not be moved from your spool
mailbox to your ``$mbox'' mailbox, or as a result of a ``mbox-hook'' command.

3.103. locale

Type: string
Default: "C"

The locale used by strftime(3) to format dates. Legal values are the strings
your system accepts for the locale variable LC_TIME.

3.104. mail_check

Type: number
Default: 5

This variable configures how often (in seconds) mutt should look for new mail.
Also see the ``$timeout'' variable.

3.105. mailcap_path

Type: string
Default: ""

This variable specifies which files to consult when attempting to display MIME
bodies not directly supported by Mutt.

3.106. mailcap_sanitize

Type: boolean
Default: yes

If set, mutt will restrict possible characters in mailcap % expandos to a
well-defined set of safe characters. This is the safe setting, but we are not
sure it doesn't break some more advanced MIME stuff.

DON'T CHANGE THIS SETTING UNLESS YOU ARE REALLY SURE WHAT YOU ARE DOING!

3.107. header_cache

Type: path
Default: ""

The header_cache variable points to the header cache database. If header_cache
points to a directory it will contain a header cache database per folder. If
header_cache points to a file that file will be a single global header cache.
By default it is unset so no header caching will be used.

3.108. maildir_header_cache_verify

Type: boolean
Default: yes

Check for Maildir unaware programs other than mutt having modified maildir
files when the header cache is in use. This incurs one stat(2) per message
every time the folder is opened.

3.109. header_cache_pagesize

Type: string
Default: "16384"

When mutt is compiled with either gdbm or bdb4 as the header cache backend,
this option changes the database page size. Too large or too small values can
waste space, memory, or CPU time. The default should be more or less optimal
for most use cases.

3.110. header_cache_compress

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When mutt is compiled with qdbm as header cache backend, this option determines
whether the database will be compressed. Compression results in database files
roughly being one fifth of the usual diskspace, but the uncompression can
result in a slower opening of cached folder(s).

3.111. maildir_trash

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set, messages marked as deleted will be saved with the maildir (T)rashed
flag instead of unlinked. NOTE: this only applies to maildir-style mailboxes.
Setting it will have no effect on other mailbox types.

3.112. mark_old

Type: boolean
Default: yes

Controls whether or not mutt marks newunread messages as old if you exit a
mailbox without reading them. With this option set, the next time you start
mutt, the messages will show up with an "O" next to them in the index menu,
indicating that they are old.

3.113. markers

Type: boolean
Default: yes

Controls the display of wrapped lines in the internal pager. If set, a ``+''
marker is displayed at the beginning of wrapped lines. Also see the ``
$smart_wrap'' variable.

3.114. mask

Type: regular expression
Default: "!^\.[^.]"

A regular expression used in the file browser, optionally preceded by the not
operator ``!''. Only files whose names match this mask will be shown. The match
is always case-sensitive.

3.115. mbox

Type: path
Default: "~/mbox"

This specifies the folder into which read mail in your ``$spoolfile'' folder
will be appended.

3.116. mbox_type

Type: folder magic
Default: mbox

The default mailbox type used when creating new folders. May be any of mbox,
MMDF, MH and Maildir.

3.117. metoo

Type: boolean
Default: no

If unset, Mutt will remove your address (see the ``alternates'' command) from
the list of recipients when replying to a message.

3.118. menu_context

Type: number
Default: 0

This variable controls the number of lines of context that are given when
scrolling through menus. (Similar to ``$pager_context''.)

3.119. menu_move_off

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When unset, the bottom entry of menus will never scroll up past the bottom of
the screen, unless there are less entries than lines. When set, the bottom
entry may move off the bottom.

3.120. menu_scroll

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set, menus will be scrolled up or down one line when you attempt to move
across a screen boundary. If unset, the screen is cleared and the next or
previous page of the menu is displayed (useful for slow links to avoid many
redraws).

3.121. meta_key

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set, forces Mutt to interpret keystrokes with the high bit (bit 8) set as if
the user had pressed the ESC key and whatever key remains after having the high
bit removed. For example, if the key pressed has an ASCII value of 0xf8, then
this is treated as if the user had pressed ESC then ``x''. This is because the
result of removing the high bit from ``0xf8'' is ``0x78'', which is the ASCII
character ``x''.

3.122. mh_purge

Type: boolean
Default: no

When unset, mutt will mimic mh's behaviour and rename deleted messages to ,<old
file name> in mh folders instead of really deleting them. If the variable is
set, the message files will simply be deleted.

3.123. mh_seq_flagged

Type: string
Default: "flagged"

The name of the MH sequence used for flagged messages.

3.124. mh_seq_replied

Type: string
Default: "replied"

The name of the MH sequence used to tag replied messages.

3.125. mh_seq_unseen

Type: string
Default: "unseen"

The name of the MH sequence used for unseen messages.

3.126. mime_forward

Type: quadoption
Default: no

When set, the message you are forwarding will be attached as a separate MIME
part instead of included in the main body of the message. This is useful for
forwarding MIME messages so the receiver can properly view the message as it
was delivered to you. If you like to switch between MIME and not MIME from mail
to mail, set this variable to ask-no or ask-yes.

Also see ``$forward_decode'' and ``$mime_forward_decode''.

3.127. mime_forward_decode

Type: boolean
Default: no

Controls the decoding of complex MIME messages into text/plain when forwarding
a message while ``$mime_forward'' is set. Otherwise ``$forward_decode'' is used
instead.

3.128. mime_forward_rest

Type: quadoption
Default: yes

When forwarding multiple attachments of a MIME message from the recvattach
menu, attachments which cannot be decoded in a reasonable manner will be
attached to the newly composed message if this option is set.

3.129. mix_entry_format

Type: string
Default: "%4n %c %-16s %a"

This variable describes the format of a remailer line on the mixmaster chain
selection screen. The following printf-like sequences are supported:

%n

    The running number on the menu.

%c

    Remailer capabilities.

%s

    The remailer's short name.

%a

    The remailer's e-mail address.

3.130. mixmaster

Type: path
Default: "mixmaster"

This variable contains the path to the Mixmaster binary on your system. It is
used with various sets of parameters to gather the list of known remailers, and
to finally send a message through the mixmaster chain.

3.131. move

Type: quadoption
Default: ask-no

Controls whether or not Mutt will move read messages from your spool mailbox to
your ``$mbox'' mailbox, or as a result of a ``mbox-hook'' command.

3.132. message_cachedir

Type: path
Default: ""

Set this to a directory and mutt will cache copies of messages from your IMAP
and POP servers here. You are free to remove entries at any time, for instance
if stale entries accumulate because you have deleted messages with another mail
client.

3.133. message_cache_clean

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set, mutt will clean out obsolete entries from the cache when the mailbox is
synchronized. You probably only want to set it every once in a while, since it
can be a little slow.

3.134. message_format

Type: string
Default: "%s"

This is the string displayed in the ``attachment'' menu for attachments of type
message/rfc822. For a full listing of defined printf()-like sequences see the
section on ``$index_format''.

3.135. narrow_tree

Type: boolean
Default: no

This variable, when set, makes the thread tree narrower, allowing deeper
threads to fit on the screen.

3.136. net_inc

Type: number
Default: 10

Operations that expect to transfer a large amount of data over the network will
update their progress every net_inc kilobytes. If set to 0, no progress
messages will be displayed.

See also ``$read_inc'' and ``$write_inc''.

3.137. pager

Type: path
Default: "builtin"

This variable specifies which pager you would like to use to view messages.
builtin means to use the builtin pager, otherwise this variable should specify
the pathname of the external pager you would like to use.

Using an external pager may have some disadvantages: Additional keystrokes are
necessary because you can't call mutt functions directly from the pager, and
screen resizes cause lines longer than the screen width to be badly formatted
in the help menu.

3.138. pager_context

Type: number
Default: 0

This variable controls the number of lines of context that are given when
displaying the next or previous page in the internal pager. By default, Mutt
will display the line after the last one on the screen at the top of the next
page (0 lines of context).

3.139. pager_format

Type: string
Default: "-%Z- %C/%m: %-20.20n %s%* -- (%P)"

This variable controls the format of the one-line message ``status'' displayed
before each message in either the internal or an external pager. The valid
sequences are listed in the ``$index_format'' section.

3.140. pager_index_lines

Type: number
Default: 0

Determines the number of lines of a mini-index which is shown when in the
pager. The current message, unless near the top or bottom of the folder, will
be roughly one third of the way down this mini-index, giving the reader the
context of a few messages before and after the message. This is useful, for
example, to determine how many messages remain to be read in the current
thread. One of the lines is reserved for the status bar from the index, so a
pager_index_lines of 6 will only show 5 lines of the actual index. A value of 0
results in no index being shown. If the number of messages in the current
folder is less than pager_index_lines, then the index will only use as many
lines as it needs.

3.141. pager_stop

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set, the internal-pager will not move to the next message when you are at
the end of a message and invoke the next-page function.

3.142. crypt_autosign

Type: boolean
Default: no

Setting this variable will cause Mutt to always attempt to cryptographically
sign outgoing messages. This can be overridden by use of the pgp-menu, when
signing is not required or encryption is requested as well. If ``
$smime_is_default'' is set, then OpenSSL is used instead to create S/MIME
messages and settings can be overridden by use of the smime-menu. (Crypto only)

3.143. crypt_autoencrypt

Type: boolean
Default: no

Setting this variable will cause Mutt to always attempt to PGP encrypt outgoing
messages. This is probably only useful in connection to the send-hook command.
It can be overridden by use of the pgp-menu, when encryption is not required or
signing is requested as well. IF ``$smime_is_default'' is set, then OpenSSL is
used instead to create S/MIME messages and settings can be overridden by use of
the smime-menu. (Crypto only)

3.144. pgp_ignore_subkeys

Type: boolean
Default: yes

Setting this variable will cause Mutt to ignore OpenPGP subkeys. Instead, the
principal key will inherit the subkeys' capabilities. Unset this if you want to
play interesting key selection games. (PGP only)

3.145. crypt_replyencrypt

Type: boolean
Default: yes

If set, automatically PGP or OpenSSL encrypt replies to messages which are
encrypted. (Crypto only)

3.146. crypt_replysign

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set, automatically PGP or OpenSSL sign replies to messages which are signed.

Note: this does not work on messages that are encrypted and signed! (Crypto
only)

3.147. crypt_replysignencrypted

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set, automatically PGP or OpenSSL sign replies to messages which are
encrypted. This makes sense in combination with ``$crypt_replyencrypt'',
because it allows you to sign all messages which are automatically encrypted.
This works around the problem noted in ``$crypt_replysign'', that mutt is not
able to find out whether an encrypted message is also signed. (Crypto only)

3.148. crypt_timestamp

Type: boolean
Default: yes

If set, mutt will include a time stamp in the lines surrounding PGP or S/MIME
output, so spoofing such lines is more difficult. If you are using colors to
mark these lines, and rely on these, you may unset this setting. (Crypto only)

3.149. pgp_use_gpg_agent

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set, mutt will use a possibly-running gpg-agent process. (PGP only)

3.150. crypt_verify_sig

Type: quadoption
Default: yes

If ``yes'', always attempt to verify PGP or S/MIME signatures. If ``ask'', ask
whether or not to verify the signature. If ``no'', never attempt to verify
cryptographic signatures. (Crypto only)

3.151. smime_is_default

Type: boolean
Default: no

The default behaviour of mutt is to use PGP on all auto-sign/encryption
operations. To override and to use OpenSSL instead this must be set. However,
this has no effect while replying, since mutt will automatically select the
same application that was used to sign/encrypt the original message. (Note that
this variable can be overridden by unsetting $crypt_autosmime.) (S/MIME only)

3.152. smime_ask_cert_label

Type: boolean
Default: yes

This flag controls whether you want to be asked to enter a label for a
certificate about to be added to the database or not. It is set by default. (S/
MIME only)

3.153. smime_decrypt_use_default_key

Type: boolean
Default: yes

If set (default) this tells mutt to use the default key for decryption.
Otherwise, if manage multiple certificate-key-pairs, mutt will try to use the
mailbox-address to determine the key to use. It will ask you to supply a key,
if it can't find one. (S/MIME only)

3.154. pgp_entry_format

Type: string
Default: "%4n %t%f %4l/0x%k %-4a %2c %u"

This variable allows you to customize the PGP key selection menu to your
personal taste. This string is similar to ``$index_format'', but has its own
set of printf()-like sequences:

%n

    number

%k

    key id

%u

    user id

%a

    algorithm

%l

    key length

%f

    flags

%c

    capabilities

%t

    trust/validity of the key-uid association

%[<s>]

    date of the key where <s> is an strftime(3) expression

(PGP only)

3.155. pgp_good_sign

Type: regular expression
Default: ""

If you assign a text to this variable, then a PGP signature is only considered
verified if the output from $pgp_verify_command contains the text. Use this
variable if the exit code from the command is 0 even for bad signatures. (PGP
only)

3.156. pgp_check_exit

Type: boolean
Default: yes

If set, mutt will check the exit code of the PGP subprocess when signing or
encrypting. A non-zero exit code means that the subprocess failed. (PGP only)

3.157. pgp_long_ids

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set, use 64 bit PGP key IDs. Unset uses the normal 32 bit Key IDs. (PGP
only)

3.158. pgp_retainable_sigs

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set, signed and encrypted messages will consist of nested multipart/signed
and multipart/encrypted body parts.

This is useful for applications like encrypted and signed mailing lists, where
the outer layer (multipart/encrypted) can be easily removed, while the inner
multipart/signed part is retained. (PGP only)

3.159. pgp_autoinline

Type: boolean
Default: no

This option controls whether Mutt generates old-style inline (traditional) PGP
encrypted or signed messages under certain circumstances. This can be
overridden by use of the pgp-menu, when inline is not required.

Note that Mutt might automatically use PGP/MIME for messages which consist of
more than a single MIME part. Mutt can be configured to ask before sending PGP/
MIME messages when inline (traditional) would not work. See also: ``
$pgp_mime_auto''.

Also note that using the old-style PGP message format is stronglydeprecated.
(PGP only)

3.160. pgp_replyinline

Type: boolean
Default: no

Setting this variable will cause Mutt to always attempt to create an inline
(traditional) message when replying to a message which is PGP encrypted/signed
inline. This can be overridden by use of the pgp-menu, when inline is not
required. This option does not automatically detect if the (replied-to) message
is inline; instead it relies on Mutt internals for previously checked/flagged
messages.

Note that Mutt might automatically use PGP/MIME for messages which consist of
more than a single MIME part. Mutt can be configured to ask before sending PGP/
MIME messages when inline (traditional) would not work. See also: ``
$pgp_mime_auto''.

Also note that using the old-style PGP message format is stronglydeprecated.
(PGP only)

3.161. pgp_show_unusable

Type: boolean
Default: yes

If set, mutt will display non-usable keys on the PGP key selection menu. This
includes keys which have been revoked, have expired, or have been marked as
``disabled'' by the user. (PGP only)

3.162. pgp_sign_as

Type: string
Default: ""

If you have more than one key pair, this option allows you to specify which of
your private keys to use. It is recommended that you use the keyid form to
specify your key (e.g., ``0x00112233''). (PGP only)

3.163. pgp_strict_enc

Type: boolean
Default: yes

If set, Mutt will automatically encode PGP/MIME signed messages as
quoted-printable. Please note that unsetting this variable may lead to problems
with non-verifyable PGP signatures, so only change this if you know what you
are doing. (PGP only)

3.164. pgp_timeout

Type: number
Default: 300

The number of seconds after which a cached passphrase will expire if not used.
(PGP only)

3.165. pgp_sort_keys

Type: sort order
Default: address

Specifies how the entries in the `pgp keys' menu are sorted. The following are
legal values:

address

    sort alphabetically by user id

keyid

    sort alphabetically by key id

date

    sort by key creation date

trust

    sort by the trust of the key

If you prefer reverse order of the above values, prefix it with `reverse-'.
(PGP only)

3.166. pgp_mime_auto

Type: quadoption
Default: ask-yes

This option controls whether Mutt will prompt you for automatically sending a
(signed/encrypted) message using PGP/MIME when inline (traditional) fails (for
any reason).

Also note that using the old-style PGP message format is stronglydeprecated.
(PGP only)

3.167. pgp_auto_decode

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set, mutt will automatically attempt to decrypt traditional PGP messages
whenever the user performs an operation which ordinarily would result in the
contents of the message being operated on. For example, if the user displays a
pgp-traditional message which has not been manually checked with the
check-traditional-pgp function, mutt will automatically check the message for
traditional pgp.

3.168. pgp_decode_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This format strings specifies a command which is used to decode application/pgp
attachments.

The PGP command formats have their own set of printf-like sequences:

%p

    Expands to PGPPASSFD=0 when a pass phrase is needed, to an empty string
    otherwise. Note: This may be used with a %? construct.

%f

    Expands to the name of a file containing a message.

%s

    Expands to the name of a file containing the signature part of a multipart/
    signed attachment when verifying it.

%a

    The value of $pgp_sign_as.

%r

    One or more key IDs.

For examples on how to configure these formats for the various versions of PGP
which are floating around, see the pgp*.rc and gpg.rc files in the
share/examples/mutt/ subdirectory which has been installed on your system
alongside the documentation. (PGP only)

3.169. pgp_getkeys_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is invoked whenever mutt will need public key information. %r is
the only printf-like sequence used with this format. (PGP only)

3.170. pgp_verify_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to verify PGP signatures. (PGP only)

3.171. pgp_decrypt_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to decrypt a PGP encrypted message. (PGP only)

3.172. pgp_clearsign_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This format is used to create a old-style "clearsigned" PGP message. Note that
the use of this format is stronglydeprecated. (PGP only)

3.173. pgp_sign_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to create the detached PGP signature for a multipart/
signed PGP/MIME body part. (PGP only)

3.174. pgp_encrypt_sign_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to both sign and encrypt a body part. (PGP only)

3.175. pgp_encrypt_only_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to encrypt a body part without signing it. (PGP only)

3.176. pgp_import_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to import a key from a message into the user's public key
ring. (PGP only)

3.177. pgp_export_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to export a public key from the user's key ring. (PGP
only)

3.178. pgp_verify_key_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to verify key information from the key selection menu.
(PGP only)

3.179. pgp_list_secring_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to list the secret key ring's contents. The output format
must be analogous to the one used by gpg --list-keys --with-colons.

This format is also generated by the pgpring utility which comes with mutt.
(PGP only)

3.180. pgp_list_pubring_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to list the public key ring's contents. The output format
must be analogous to the one used by gpg --list-keys --with-colons.

This format is also generated by the pgpring utility which comes with mutt.
(PGP only)

3.181. forward_decrypt

Type: boolean
Default: yes

Controls the handling of encrypted messages when forwarding a message. When
set, the outer layer of encryption is stripped off. This variable is only used
if ``$mime_forward'' is set and ``$mime_forward_decode'' is unset. (PGP only)

3.182. smime_timeout

Type: number
Default: 300

The number of seconds after which a cached passphrase will expire if not used.
(S/MIME only)

3.183. smime_encrypt_with

Type: string
Default: ""

This sets the algorithm that should be used for encryption. Valid choices are
"des", "des3", "rc2-40", "rc2-64", "rc2-128". If unset "3des" (TripleDES) is
used. (S/MIME only)

3.184. smime_keys

Type: path
Default: ""

Since there is no pubring/secring as with PGP, mutt has to handle storage ad
retrieval of keys/certs by itself. This is very basic right now, and stores
keys and certificates in two different directories, both named as the
hash-value retrieved from OpenSSL. There is an index file which contains
mailbox-address keyid pair, and which can be manually edited. This one points
to the location of the private keys. (S/MIME only)

3.185. smime_ca_location

Type: path
Default: ""

This variable contains the name of either a directory, or a file which contains
trusted certificates for use with OpenSSL. (S/MIME only)

3.186. smime_certificates

Type: path
Default: ""

Since there is no pubring/secring as with PGP, mutt has to handle storage and
retrieval of keys by itself. This is very basic right now, and keys and
certificates are stored in two different directories, both named as the
hash-value retrieved from OpenSSL. There is an index file which contains
mailbox-address keyid pairs, and which can be manually edited. This one points
to the location of the certificates. (S/MIME only)

3.187. smime_decrypt_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This format string specifies a command which is used to decrypt application/
x-pkcs7-mime attachments.

The OpenSSL command formats have their own set of printf-like sequences similar
to PGP's:

%f

    Expands to the name of a file containing a message.

%s

    Expands to the name of a file containing the signature part of a multipart/
    signed attachment when verifying it.

%k

    The key-pair specified with $smime_default_key

%c

    One or more certificate IDs.

%a

    The algorithm used for encryption.

%C

    CA location: Depending on whether $smime_ca_location points to a directory
    or file, this expands to "-CApath $smime_ca_location" or "-CAfile
    $smime_ca_location".

For examples on how to configure these formats, see the smime.rc in the 
share/examples/mutt/ subdirectory which has been installed on your system
alongside the documentation. (S/MIME only)

3.188. smime_verify_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to verify S/MIME signatures of type multipart/signed. (S/
MIME only)

3.189. smime_verify_opaque_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to verify S/MIME signatures of type application/
x-pkcs7-mime. (S/MIME only)

3.190. smime_sign_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to created S/MIME signatures of type multipart/signed,
which can be read by all mail clients. (S/MIME only)

3.191. smime_sign_opaque_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to created S/MIME signatures of type application/
x-pkcs7-signature, which can only be handled by mail clients supporting the S/
MIME extension. (S/MIME only)

3.192. smime_encrypt_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to create encrypted S/MIME messages. (S/MIME only)

3.193. smime_pk7out_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to extract PKCS7 structures of S/MIME signatures, in order
to extract the public X509 certificate(s). (S/MIME only)

3.194. smime_get_cert_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to extract X509 certificates from a PKCS7 structure. (S/
MIME only)

3.195. smime_get_signer_cert_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to extract only the signers X509 certificate from a S/MIME
signature, so that the certificate's owner may get compared to the email's
'From'-field. (S/MIME only)

3.196. smime_import_cert_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to import a certificate via smime_keys. (S/MIME only)

3.197. smime_get_cert_email_command

Type: string
Default: ""

This command is used to extract the mail address(es) used for storing X509
certificates, and for verification purposes (to check whether the certificate
was issued for the sender's mailbox). (S/MIME only)

3.198. smime_default_key

Type: string
Default: ""

This is the default key-pair to use for signing. This must be set to the keyid
(the hash-value that OpenSSL generates) to work properly (S/MIME only)

3.199. ssl_client_cert

Type: path
Default: ""

The file containing a client certificate and its associated private key.

3.200. ssl_force_tls

Type: boolean
Default: no

If this variable is set, Mutt will require that all connections to remote
servers be encrypted. Furthermore it will attempt to negotiate TLS even if the
server does not advertise the capability, since it would otherwise have to
abort the connection anyway. This option supersedes ``$ssl_starttls''.

3.201. ssl_starttls

Type: quadoption
Default: yes

If set (the default), mutt will attempt to use STARTTLS on servers advertising
the capability. When unset, mutt will not attempt to use STARTTLS regardless of
the server's capabilities.

3.202. certificate_file

Type: path
Default: "~/.mutt_certificates"

This variable specifies the file where the certificates you trust are saved.
When an unknown certificate is encountered, you are asked if you accept it or
not. If you accept it, the certificate can also be saved in this file and
further connections are automatically accepted.

You can also manually add CA certificates in this file. Any server certificate
that is signed with one of these CA certificates are also automatically
accepted.

Example: set certificate_file=~/.mutt/certificates

3.203. ssl_usesystemcerts

Type: boolean
Default: yes

If set to yes, mutt will use CA certificates in the system-wide certificate
store when checking if server certificate is signed by a trusted CA.

3.204. entropy_file

Type: path
Default: ""

The file which includes random data that is used to initialize SSL library
functions.

3.205. ssl_use_sslv2

Type: boolean
Default: yes

This variables specifies whether to attempt to use SSLv2 in the SSL
authentication process.

3.206. ssl_use_sslv3

Type: boolean
Default: yes

This variables specifies whether to attempt to use SSLv3 in the SSL
authentication process.

3.207. ssl_use_tlsv1

Type: boolean
Default: yes

This variables specifies whether to attempt to use TLSv1 in the SSL
authentication process.

3.208. ssl_min_dh_prime_bits

Type: number
Default: 0

This variable specifies the minimum acceptable prime size (in bits) for use in
any Diffie-Hellman key exchange. A value of 0 will use the default from the
GNUTLS library.

3.209. ssl_ca_certificates_file

Type: path
Default: ""

This variable specifies a file containing trusted CA certificates. Any server
certificate that is signed with one of these CA certificates are also
automatically accepted.

Example: set ssl_ca_certificates_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt

3.210. pipe_split

Type: boolean
Default: no

Used in connection with the pipe-message command and the ``tag- prefix''
operator. If this variable is unset, when piping a list of tagged messages Mutt
will concatenate the messages and will pipe them as a single folder. When set,
Mutt will pipe the messages one by one. In both cases the messages are piped in
the current sorted order, and the ``$pipe_sep'' separator is added after each
message.

3.211. pipe_decode

Type: boolean
Default: no

Used in connection with the pipe-message command. When unset, Mutt will pipe
the messages without any preprocessing. When set, Mutt will weed headers and
will attempt to PGP/MIME decode the messages first.

3.212. pipe_sep

Type: string
Default: "\n"

The separator to add between messages when piping a list of tagged messages to
an external Unix command.

3.213. pop_authenticators

Type: string
Default: ""

This is a colon-delimited list of authentication methods mutt may attempt to
use to log in to an POP server, in the order mutt should try them.
Authentication methods are either 'user', 'apop' or any SASL mechanism, eg
'digest-md5', 'gssapi' or 'cram-md5'. This parameter is case-insensitive. If
this parameter is unset (the default) mutt will try all available methods, in
order from most-secure to least-secure.

Example: set pop_authenticators="digest-md5:apop:user"

3.214. pop_auth_try_all

Type: boolean
Default: yes

If set, Mutt will try all available methods. When unset, Mutt will only fall
back to other authentication methods if the previous methods are unavailable.
If a method is available but authentication fails, Mutt will not connect to the
POP server.

3.215. pop_checkinterval

Type: number
Default: 60

This variable configures how often (in seconds) mutt should look for new mail
in the currently selected mailbox if it is a POP mailbox.

3.216. pop_delete

Type: quadoption
Default: ask-no

If set, Mutt will delete successfully downloaded messages from the POP server
when using the fetch-mail function. When unset, Mutt will download messages but
also leave them on the POP server.

3.217. pop_host

Type: string
Default: ""

The name of your POP server for the fetch-mail function. You can also specify
an alternative port, username and password, ie:

[pop[s]://][username[:password]@]popserver[:port]

3.218. pop_last

Type: boolean
Default: no

If this variable is set, mutt will try to use the "LAST" POP command for
retrieving only unread messages from the POP server when using the fetch-mail
function.

3.219. pop_reconnect

Type: quadoption
Default: ask-yes

Controls whether or not Mutt will try to reconnect to POP server if the
connection is lost.

3.220. pop_user

Type: string
Default: ""

Your login name on the POP server.

This variable defaults to your user name on the local machine.

3.221. pop_pass

Type: string
Default: ""

Specifies the password for your POP account. If unset, Mutt will prompt you for
your password when you open POP mailbox. Warning: you should only use this
option when you are on a fairly secure machine, because the superuser can read
your muttrc even if you are the only one who can read the file.

3.222. post_indent_string

Type: string
Default: ""

Similar to the ``$attribution'' variable, Mutt will append this string after
the inclusion of a message which is being replied to.

3.223. postpone

Type: quadoption
Default: ask-yes

Controls whether or not messages are saved in the ``$postponed'' mailbox when
you elect not to send immediately. Also see the ``$recall'' variable.

3.224. postponed

Type: path
Default: "~/postponed"

Mutt allows you to indefinitely ``postpone sending a message'' which you are
editing. When you choose to postpone a message, Mutt saves it in the mailbox
specified by this variable. Also see the ``$postpone'' variable.

3.225. preconnect

Type: string
Default: ""

If set, a shell command to be executed if mutt fails to establish a connection
to the server. This is useful for setting up secure connections, e.g. with ssh
(1). If the command returns a nonzero status, mutt gives up opening the server.
Example:

preconnect="ssh -f -q -L 1234:mailhost.net:143 mailhost.net sleep 20 < /dev/
null > /dev/null"

Mailbox 'foo' on mailhost.net can now be reached as '{localhost:1234}foo'.

NOTE: For this example to work, you must be able to log in to the remote
machine without having to enter a password.

3.226. print

Type: quadoption
Default: ask-no

Controls whether or not Mutt really prints messages. This is set to ask-no by
default, because some people accidentally hit ``p'' often (like me).

3.227. print_command

Type: path
Default: "lpr"

This specifies the command pipe that should be used to print messages.

3.228. print_decode

Type: boolean
Default: yes

Used in connection with the print-message command. If this option is set, the
message is decoded before it is passed to the external command specified by
$print_command. If this option is unset, no processing will be applied to the
message when printing it. The latter setting may be useful if you are using
some advanced printer filter which is able to properly format e-mail messages
for printing.

3.229. print_split

Type: boolean
Default: no

Used in connection with the print-message command. If this option is set, the
command specified by $print_command is executed once for each message which is
to be printed. If this option is unset, the command specified by $print_command
is executed only once, and all the messages are concatenated, with a form feed
as the message separator.

Those who use the enscript(1) program's mail-printing mode will most likely
want to set this option.

3.230. prompt_after

Type: boolean
Default: yes

If you use an external ``$pager'', setting this variable will cause Mutt to
prompt you for a command when the pager exits rather than returning to the
index menu. If unset, Mutt will return to the index menu when the external
pager exits.

3.231. query_command

Type: path
Default: ""

This specifies the command that mutt will use to make external address queries.
The string should contain a %s, which will be substituted with the query string
the user types. See ``query'' for more information.

3.232. query_format

Type: string
Default: "%4c %t %-25.25a %-25.25n %?e?(%e)?"

This variable describes the format of the `query' menu. The following
printf-style sequences are understood:

%a

    destination address

%c

    current entry number

%e

    extra information *

%n

    destination name

%t

    ``*'' if current entry is tagged, a space otherwise

%>X

    right justify the rest of the string and pad with "X"

%|X

    pad to the end of the line with "X"

%*X

    soft-fill with character "X" as pad

For an explanation of `soft-fill', see the ``$index_format'' documentation.

* = can be optionally printed if nonzero, see the ``$status_format''
documentation.

3.233. quit

Type: quadoption
Default: yes

This variable controls whether ``quit'' and ``exit'' actually quit from mutt.
If it set to yes, they do quit, if it is set to no, they have no effect, and if
it is set to ask-yes or ask-no, you are prompted for confirmation when you try
to quit.

3.234. quote_regexp

Type: regular expression
Default: "^([ \t]*[|>:}#])+"

A regular expression used in the internal-pager to determine quoted sections of
text in the body of a message.

Note: In order to use the quotedx patterns in the internal pager, you need to
set this to a regular expression that matches exactly the quote characters at
the beginning of quoted lines.

3.235. read_inc

Type: number
Default: 10

If set to a value greater than 0, Mutt will display which message it is
currently on when reading a mailbox or when performing search actions such as
search and limit. The message is printed after read_inc messages have been read
or searched (e.g., if set to 25, Mutt will print a message when it is at
message 25, and then again when it gets to message 50). This variable is meant
to indicate progress when reading or searching large mailboxes which may take
some time. When set to 0, only a single message will appear before the reading
the mailbox.

Also see the ``$write_inc'' variable and the ``Tuning'' section of the manual
for performance considerations.

3.236. read_only

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set, all folders are opened in read-only mode.

3.237. realname

Type: string
Default: ""

This variable specifies what "real" or "personal" name should be used when
sending messages.

By default, this is the GECOS field from /etc/passwd. Note that this variable
will not be used when the user has set a real name in the $from variable.

3.238. recall

Type: quadoption
Default: ask-yes

Controls whether or not Mutt recalls postponed messages when composing a new
message. Also see ``$postponed''.

Setting this variable to ``yes'' is not generally useful, and thus not
recommended.

3.239. record

Type: path
Default: "~/sent"

This specifies the file into which your outgoing messages should be appended.
(This is meant as the primary method for saving a copy of your messages, but
another way to do this is using the ``my_hdr'' command to create a Bcc: field
with your email address in it.)

The value of $record is overridden by the ``$force_name'' and ``$save_name''
variables, and the ``fcc-hook'' command.

3.240. reply_regexp

Type: regular expression
Default: "^(re([\[0-9\]+])*|aw):[ \t]*"

A regular expression used to recognize reply messages when threading and
replying. The default value corresponds to the English "Re:" and the German
"Aw:".

3.241. reply_self

Type: boolean
Default: no

If unset and you are replying to a message sent by you, Mutt will assume that
you want to reply to the recipients of that message rather than to yourself.

3.242. reply_to

Type: quadoption
Default: ask-yes

If set, when replying to a message, Mutt will use the address listed in the
Reply-to: header as the recipient of the reply. If unset, it will use the
address in the From: header field instead. This option is useful for reading a
mailing list that sets the Reply-To: header field to the list address and you
want to send a private message to the author of a message.

3.243. resolve

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When set, the cursor will be automatically advanced to the next (possibly
undeleted) message whenever a command that modifies the current message is
executed.

3.244. reverse_alias

Type: boolean
Default: no

This variable controls whether or not Mutt will display the "personal" name
from your aliases in the index menu if it finds an alias that matches the
message's sender. For example, if you have the following alias:

alias juser abd30425@somewhere.net (Joe User)


and then you receive mail which contains the following header:

From: abd30425@somewhere.net


It would be displayed in the index menu as ``Joe User'' instead of
``abd30425@somewhere.net.'' This is useful when the person's e-mail address is
not human friendly (like CompuServe addresses).

3.245. reverse_name

Type: boolean
Default: no

It may sometimes arrive that you receive mail to a certain machine, move the
messages to another machine, and reply to some the messages from there. If this
variable is set, the default From: line of the reply messages is built using
the address where you received the messages you are replying to if that address
matches your alternates. If the variable is unset, or the address that would be
used doesn't match your alternates, the From: line will use your address on the
current machine.

3.246. reverse_realname

Type: boolean
Default: yes

This variable fine-tunes the behaviour of the reverse_name feature. When it is
set, mutt will use the address from incoming messages as-is, possibly including
eventual real names. When it is unset, mutt will override any such real names
with the setting of the realname variable.

3.247. rfc2047_parameters

Type: boolean
Default: no

When this variable is set, Mutt will decode RFC-2047-encoded MIME parameters.
You want to set this variable when mutt suggests you to save attachments to
files named like this: =?iso-8859-1?Q?file=5F=E4=5F991116=2Ezip?=

When this variable is set interactively, the change doesn't have the desired
effect before you have changed folders.

Note that this use of RFC 2047's encoding is explicitly, prohibited by the
standard, but nevertheless encountered in the wild. Also note that setting this
parameter will not have the effect that mutt generates this kind of encoding.
Instead, mutt will unconditionally use the encoding specified in RFC 2231.

3.248. save_address

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set, mutt will take the sender's full address when choosing a default folder
for saving a mail. If ``$save_name'' or ``$force_name'' is set too, the
selection of the fcc folder will be changed as well.

3.249. save_empty

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When unset, mailboxes which contain no saved messages will be removed when
closed (the exception is ``$spoolfile'' which is never removed). If set,
mailboxes are never removed.

Note: This only applies to mbox and MMDF folders, Mutt does not delete MH and
Maildir directories.

3.250. save_history

Type: number
Default: 0

This variable controls the size of the history saved in the ``$history_file''
file.

3.251. save_name

Type: boolean
Default: no

This variable controls how copies of outgoing messages are saved. When set, a
check is made to see if a mailbox specified by the recipient address exists
(this is done by searching for a mailbox in the ``$folder'' directory with the
username part of the recipient address). If the mailbox exists, the outgoing
message will be saved to that mailbox, otherwise the message is saved to the ``
$record'' mailbox.

Also see the ``$force_name'' variable.

3.252. score

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When this variable is unset, scoring is turned off. This can be useful to
selectively disable scoring for certain folders when the ``
$score_threshold_delete'' variable and friends are used.

3.253. score_threshold_delete

Type: number
Default: -1

Messages which have been assigned a score equal to or lower than the value of
this variable are automatically marked for deletion by mutt. Since mutt scores
are always greater than or equal to zero, the default setting of this variable
will never mark a message for deletion.

3.254. score_threshold_flag

Type: number
Default: 9999

Messages which have been assigned a score greater than or equal to this
variable's value are automatically marked "flagged".

3.255. score_threshold_read

Type: number
Default: -1

Messages which have been assigned a score equal to or lower than the value of
this variable are automatically marked as read by mutt. Since mutt scores are
always greater than or equal to zero, the default setting of this variable will
never mark a message read.

3.256. send_charset

Type: string
Default: "us-ascii:iso-8859-1:utf-8"

A colon-delimited list of character sets for outgoing messages. Mutt will use
the first character set into which the text can be converted exactly. If your
``$charset'' is not iso-8859-1 and recipients may not understand UTF-8, it is
advisable to include in the list an appropriate widely used standard character
set (such as iso-8859-2, koi8-r or iso-2022-jp) either instead of or after
"iso-8859-1".

In case the text cannot be converted into one of these exactly, mutt uses ``
$charset'' as a fallback.

3.257. sendmail

Type: path
Default: "/usr/sbin/sendmail -oem -oi"

Specifies the program and arguments used to deliver mail sent by Mutt. Mutt
expects that the specified program interprets additional arguments as recipient
addresses.

3.258. sendmail_wait

Type: number
Default: 0

Specifies the number of seconds to wait for the ``$sendmail'' process to finish
before giving up and putting delivery in the background.

Mutt interprets the value of this variable as follows:

>0

    number of seconds to wait for sendmail to finish before continuing

0

    wait forever for sendmail to finish

<0

    always put sendmail in the background without waiting

Note that if you specify a value other than 0, the output of the child process
will be put in a temporary file. If there is some error, you will be informed
as to where to find the output.

3.259. shell

Type: path
Default: ""

Command to use when spawning a subshell. By default, the user's login shell
from /etc/passwd is used.

3.260. sig_dashes

Type: boolean
Default: yes

If set, a line containing ``-- '' will be inserted before your ``$signature''.
It is strongly recommended that you not unset this variable unless your
``signature'' contains just your name. The reason for this is because many
software packages use ``-- \n'' to detect your signature. For example, Mutt has
the ability to highlight the signature in a different color in the builtin
pager.

3.261. sig_on_top

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set, the signature will be included before any quoted or forwarded text. It
is strongly recommended that you do not set this variable unless you really
know what you are doing, and are prepared to take some heat from netiquette
guardians.

3.262. signature

Type: path
Default: "~/.signature"

Specifies the filename of your signature, which is appended to all outgoing
messages. If the filename ends with a pipe (``|''), it is assumed that filename
is a shell command and input should be read from its stdout.

3.263. simple_search

Type: string
Default: "~f %s | ~s %s"

Specifies how Mutt should expand a simple search into a real search pattern. A
simple search is one that does not contain any of the ~ operators. See ``
patterns'' for more information on search patterns.

For example, if you simply type joe at a search or limit prompt, Mutt will
automatically expand it to the value specified by this variable. For the
default value it would be:

~f joe | ~s joe

3.264. smart_wrap

Type: boolean
Default: yes

Controls the display of lines longer than the screen width in the internal
pager. If set, long lines are wrapped at a word boundary. If unset, lines are
simply wrapped at the screen edge. Also see the ``$markers'' variable.

3.265. smileys

Type: regular expression
Default: "(>From )|(:[-^]?[][)(><}{|/DP])"

The pager uses this variable to catch some common false positives of ``
$quote_regexp'', most notably smileys in the beginning of a line

3.266. sleep_time

Type: number
Default: 1

Specifies time, in seconds, to pause while displaying certain informational
messages, while moving from folder to folder and after expunging messages from
the current folder. The default is to pause one second, so a value of zero for
this option suppresses the pause.

3.267. smtp_authenticators

Type: string
Default: ""

This is a colon-delimited list of authentication methods mutt may attempt to
use to log in to an SMTP server, in the order mutt should try them.
Authentication methods are any SASL mechanism, eg ``digest-md5'', ``gssapi'' or
``cram-md5''. This parameter is case-insensitive. If this parameter is unset
(the default) mutt will try all available methods, in order from most-secure to
least-secure.

Example: set smtp_authenticators="digest-md5:cram-md5"

3.268. smtp_pass

Type: string
Default: ""

Specifies the password for your SMTP account. If unset, Mutt will prompt you
for your password when you first send mail via SMTP. See ``smtp_url'' to
configure mutt to send mail via SMTP. Warning: you should only use this option
when you are on a fairly secure machine, because the superuser can read your
muttrc even if you are the only one who can read the file.

3.269. smtp_url

Type: string
Default: ""

Defines the SMTP ``smart'' host where sent messages should relayed for
delivery. This should take the form of an SMTP URL, eg:

smtp[s]://[user[:pass]@]host[:port]/

Setting this variable overrides the value of the ``$sendmail'' variable.

3.270. sort

Type: sort order
Default: date

Specifies how to sort messages in the index menu. Valid values are:

   date or date-sent
   date-received
   from
   mailbox-order (unsorted)
   score
   size
   spam
   subject
   threads
   to


You may optionally use the reverse- prefix to specify reverse sorting order
(example: set sort=reverse-date-sent).

3.271. sort_alias

Type: sort order
Default: alias

Specifies how the entries in the `alias' menu are sorted. The following are
legal values:

   address (sort alphabetically by email address)
   alias (sort alphabetically by alias name)
   unsorted (leave in order specified in .muttrc)


3.272. sort_aux

Type: sort order
Default: date

When sorting by threads, this variable controls how threads are sorted in
relation to other threads, and how the branches of the thread trees are sorted.
This can be set to any value that ``$sort'' can, except threads (in that case,
mutt will just use date-sent). You can also specify the last- prefix in
addition to the reverse- prefix, but last- must come after reverse-. The last-
prefix causes messages to be sorted against its siblings by which has the last
descendant, using the rest of sort_aux as an ordering. For instance, set
sort_aux=last- date-received would mean that if a new message is received in a
thread, that thread becomes the last one displayed (or the first, if you have
set sort=reverse-threads.) Note: For reversed ``$sort'' order $sort_aux is
reversed again (which is not the right thing to do, but kept to not break any
existing configuration setting).

3.273. sort_browser

Type: sort order
Default: alpha

Specifies how to sort entries in the file browser. By default, the entries are
sorted alphabetically. Valid values:

   alpha (alphabetically)
   date
   size
   unsorted


You may optionally use the reverse- prefix to specify reverse sorting order
(example: set sort_browser=reverse-date).

3.274. sort_re

Type: boolean
Default: yes

This variable is only useful when sorting by threads with ``$strict_threads''
unset. In that case, it changes the heuristic mutt uses to thread messages by
subject. With sort_re set, mutt will only attach a message as the child of
another message by subject if the subject of the child message starts with a
substring matching the setting of ``$reply_regexp''. With sort_re unset, mutt
will attach the message whether or not this is the case, as long as the non-``
$reply_regexp'' parts of both messages are identical.

3.275. spam_separator

Type: string
Default: ","

``spam_separator'' controls what happens when multiple spam headers are
matched: if unset, each successive header will overwrite any previous matches
value for the spam label. If set, each successive match will append to the
previous, using ``spam_separator'' as a separator.

3.276. spoolfile

Type: path
Default: ""

If your spool mailbox is in a non-default place where Mutt cannot find it, you
can specify its location with this variable. Mutt will automatically set this
variable to the value of the environment variable $MAIL if it is not set.

3.277. status_chars

Type: string
Default: "-*%A"

Controls the characters used by the "%r" indicator in ``$status_format''. The
first character is used when the mailbox is unchanged. The second is used when
the mailbox has been changed, and it needs to be resynchronized. The third is
used if the mailbox is in read-only mode, or if the mailbox will not be written
when exiting that mailbox (You can toggle whether to write changes to a mailbox
with the toggle-write operation, bound by default to "%"). The fourth is used
to indicate that the current folder has been opened in attach- message mode
(Certain operations like composing a new mail, replying, forwarding, etc. are
not permitted in this mode).

3.278. status_format

Type: string
Default: "-%r-Mutt: %f [Msgs:%?M?%M/?%m%?n? New:%n?%?o? Old:%o?%?d? Del:%d?%?F?
Flag:%F?%?t? Tag:%t?%?p? Post:%p?%?b? Inc:%b?%?l? %l?]---(%s/%S)-%>-(%P)---"

Controls the format of the status line displayed in the index menu. This string
is similar to ``$index_format'', but has its own set of printf()-like
sequences:

%b

    number of mailboxes with new mail *

%d

    number of deleted messages *

%f

    the full pathname of the current mailbox

%F

    number of flagged messages *

%h

    local hostname

%l

    size (in bytes) of the current mailbox *

%L

    size (in bytes) of the messages shown (i.e., which match the current limit)
    *

%m

    the number of messages in the mailbox *

%M

    the number of messages shown (i.e., which match the current limit) *

%n

    number of new messages in the mailbox *

%o

    number of old unread messages *

%p

    number of postponed messages *

%P

    percentage of the way through the index

%r

    modified/read-only/won't-write/attach-message indicator, according to
    $status_chars

%s

    current sorting mode ($sort)

%S

    current aux sorting method ($sort_aux)

%t

    number of tagged messages *

%u

    number of unread messages *

%v

    Mutt version string

%V

    currently active limit pattern, if any *

%>X

    right justify the rest of the string and pad with "X"

%|X

    pad to the end of the line with "X"

%*X

    soft-fill with character "X" as pad

For an explanation of `soft-fill', see the ``$index_format'' documentation.

* = can be optionally printed if nonzero

Some of the above sequences can be used to optionally print a string if their
value is nonzero. For example, you may only want to see the number of flagged
messages if such messages exist, since zero is not particularly meaningful. To
optionally print a string based upon one of the above sequences, the following
construct is used:

%?<sequence_char>?<optional_string>?

where sequence_char is a character from the table above, and optional_string is
the string you would like printed if sequence_char is nonzero. optional_string
may contain other sequences as well as normal text, but you may not nest
optional strings.

Here is an example illustrating how to optionally print the number of new
messages in a mailbox: %?n?%n new messages.?

You can also switch between two strings using the following construct:

%?<sequence_char>?<if_string>&<else_string>?

If the value of sequence_char is non-zero, if_string will be expanded,
otherwise else_string will be expanded.

You can force the result of any printf-like sequence to be lowercase by
prefixing the sequence character with an underscore (_) sign. For example, if
you want to display the local hostname in lowercase, you would use: %_h

If you prefix the sequence character with a colon (:) character, mutt will
replace any dots in the expansion by underscores. This might be helpful with
IMAP folders that don't like dots in folder names.

3.279. status_on_top

Type: boolean
Default: no

Setting this variable causes the ``status bar'' to be displayed on the first
line of the screen rather than near the bottom.

3.280. strict_threads

Type: boolean
Default: no

If set, threading will only make use of the ``In-Reply-To'' and ``References''
fields when you ``$sort'' by message threads. By default, messages with the
same subject are grouped together in ``pseudo threads.''. This may not always
be desirable, such as in a personal mailbox where you might have several
unrelated messages with the subject ``hi'' which will get grouped together. See
also ``$sort_re'' for a less drastic way of controlling this behaviour.

3.281. suspend

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When unset, mutt won't stop when the user presses the terminal's susp key,
usually ``control-Z''. This is useful if you run mutt inside an xterm using a
command like xterm -e mutt.

3.282. text_flowed

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set, mutt will generate text/plain; format=flowed attachments. This format
is easier to handle for some mailing software, and generally just looks like
ordinary text. To actually make use of this format's features, you'll need
support in your editor.

Note that $indent_string is ignored when this option is set.

3.283. thread_received

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set, mutt uses the date received rather than the date sent to thread
messages by subject.

3.284. thorough_search

Type: boolean
Default: no

Affects the ~b and ~h search operations described in section ``patterns''
above. If set, the headers and attachments of messages to be searched are
decoded before searching. If unset, messages are searched as they appear in the
folder.

3.285. tilde

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set, the internal-pager will pad blank lines to the bottom of the screen
with a tilde (~).

3.286. time_inc

Type: number
Default: 0

Along with ``read_inc'', ``write_inc'', and ``net_inc'', this variable controls
the frequency with which progress updates are displayed. It suppresses updates
less than ``time_inc'' milliseconds apart. This can improve throughput on
systems with slow terminals, or when running mutt on a remote system.

3.287. timeout

Type: number
Default: 600

When Mutt is waiting for user input either idleing in menus or in an
interactive prompt, Mutt would block until input is present. Depending on the
context, this would prevent certain operations from working, like checking for
new mail or keeping an IMAP connection alive.

This variable controls how many seconds Mutt will at most wait until it aborts
waiting for input, performs these operations and continues to wait for input.

A value of zero or less will cause Mutt to never time out.

3.288. tmpdir

Type: path
Default: ""

This variable allows you to specify where Mutt will place its temporary files
needed for displaying and composing messages. If this variable is not set, the
environment variable TMPDIR is used. If TMPDIR is not set then "/tmp" is used.

3.289. to_chars

Type: string
Default: " +TCFL"

Controls the character used to indicate mail addressed to you. The first
character is the one used when the mail is NOT addressed to your address
(default: space). The second is used when you are the only recipient of the
message (default: +). The third is when your address appears in the TO header
field, but you are not the only recipient of the message (default: T). The
fourth character is used when your address is specified in the CC header field,
but you are not the only recipient. The fifth character is used to indicate
mail that was sent by you. The sixth character is used to indicate when a mail
was sent to a mailing-list you subscribe to (default: L).

3.290. tunnel

Type: string
Default: ""

Setting this variable will cause mutt to open a pipe to a command instead of a
raw socket. You may be able to use this to set up preauthenticated connections
to your IMAP/POP3 server. Example:

tunnel="ssh -q mailhost.net /usr/local/libexec/imapd"

NOTE: For this example to work you must be able to log in to the remote machine
without having to enter a password.

3.291. use_8bitmime

Type: boolean
Default: no

Warning: do not set this variable unless you are using a version of sendmail
which supports the -B8BITMIME flag (such as sendmail 8.8.x) or you may not be
able to send mail.

When set, Mutt will invoke ``$sendmail'' with the -B8BITMIME flag when sending
8-bit messages to enable ESMTP negotiation.

3.292. use_domain

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When set, Mutt will qualify all local addresses (ones without the @host
portion) with the value of ``$hostname''. If unset, no addresses will be
qualified.

3.293. use_envelope_from

Type: boolean
Default: no

When set, mutt will set the envelope sender of the message. If ``
$envelope_from_address'' is set, it will be used as the sender address. If not,
mutt will attempt to derive the sender from the "From:" header.

Note that this information is passed to sendmail command using the "-f" command
line switch. Therefore setting this option is not useful if the ``$sendmail''
variable already contains "-f" or if the executable pointed to by $sendmail
doesn't support the "-f" switch.

3.294. use_from

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When set, Mutt will generate the `From:' header field when sending messages. If
unset, no `From:' header field will be generated unless the user explicitly
sets one using the ``my_hdr'' command.

3.295. use_idn

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When set, Mutt will show you international domain names decoded. Note: You can
use IDNs for addresses even if this is unset. This variable only affects
decoding.

3.296. use_ipv6

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When set, Mutt will look for IPv6 addresses of hosts it tries to contact. If
this option is unset, Mutt will restrict itself to IPv4 addresses. Normally,
the default should work.

3.297. user_agent

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When set, mutt will add a "User-Agent" header to outgoing messages, indicating
which version of mutt was used for composing them.

3.298. visual

Type: path
Default: ""

Specifies the visual editor to invoke when the ~v command is given in the
builtin editor.

3.299. wait_key

Type: boolean
Default: yes

Controls whether Mutt will ask you to press a key after shell- escape,
pipe-message, pipe-entry, print-message, and print-entry commands.

It is also used when viewing attachments with ``auto_view'', provided that the
corresponding mailcap entry has a needsterminal flag, and the external program
is interactive.

When set, Mutt will always ask for a key. When unset, Mutt will wait for a key
only if the external command returned a non-zero status.

3.300. weed

Type: boolean
Default: yes

When set, mutt will weed headers when displaying, forwarding, printing, or
replying to messages.

3.301. wrap

Type: number
Default: 0

When set to a positive value, mutt will wrap text at $wrap characters. When set
to a negative value, mutt will wrap text so that there are $wrap characters of
empty space on the right side of the terminal.

3.302. wrap_search

Type: boolean
Default: yes

Controls whether searches wrap around the end of the mailbox.

When set, searches will wrap around the first (or last) message. When unset,
searches will not wrap.

3.303. wrapmargin

Type: number
Default: 0

(DEPRECATED) Equivalent to setting wrap with a negative value.

3.304. write_inc

Type: number
Default: 10

When writing a mailbox, a message will be printed every write_inc messages to
indicate progress. If set to 0, only a single message will be displayed before
writing a mailbox.

Also see the ``$read_inc'' variable.

3.305. write_bcc

Type: boolean
Default: yes

Controls whether mutt writes out the Bcc header when preparing messages to be
sent. Exim users may wish to unset this. If mutt is set to deliver directly via
SMTP (see ``$smtp_url''), this option does nothing: mutt will never write out
the BCC header in this case.

4. Functions

The following is the list of available functions listed by the mapping in which
they are available. The default key setting is given, and an explanation of
what the function does. The key bindings of these functions can be changed with
the bind command.

4.1. generic

The generic menu is not a real menu, but specifies common functions (such as
movement) available in all menus except for pager and editor. Changing settings
for this menu will affect the default bindings for all menus (except as noted).

Table 8.2. Default generic function bindings

┌───────────────┬───────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────┐
│   Function    │Default key│                Description                │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│top-page       │H          │move to the top of the page                │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-entry     │j          │move to the next entry                     │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│previous-entry │k          │move to the previous entry                 │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│bottom-page    │L          │move to the bottom of the page             │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│refresh        │^L         │clear and redraw the screen                │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│middle-page    │M          │move to the middle of the page             │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│search-next    │n          │search for next match                      │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│exit           │q          │exit this menu                             │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│tag-entry      │t          │tag the current entry                      │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-page      │z          │move to the next page                      │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│previous-page  │Z          │move to the previous page                  │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│last-entry     │*          │move to the last entry                     │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│first-entry    │=          │move to the first entry                    │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│enter-command  │:          │enter a muttrc command                     │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-line      │>          │scroll down one line                       │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│previous-line  │<          │scroll up one line                         │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│half-up        │[          │scroll up 1/2 page                         │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│half-down      │]          │scroll down 1/2 page                       │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│help           │?          │this screen                                │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│tag-prefix     │;          │apply next function to tagged messages     │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│tag-prefix-cond│not bound  │apply next function ONLY to tagged messages│
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│end-cond       │not bound  │end of conditional execution (noop)        │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│shell-escape   │!          │invoke a command in a subshell             │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│select-entry   │RET        │select the current entry                   │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│search         │/          │search for a regular expression            │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│search-reverse │ESC /      │search backwards for a regular expression  │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│search-opposite│not bound  │search for next match in opposite direction│
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│jump           │not bound  │jump to an index number                    │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│current-top    │not bound  │move entry to top of screen                │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│current-middle │not bound  │move entry to middle of screen             │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│current-bottom │not bound  │move entry to bottom of screen             │
├───────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│what-key       │not bound  │display the keycode for a key press        │
└───────────────┴───────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────┘


4.2. index

Table 8.3. Default index function bindings

┌────────────────────────┬─────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────┐
│        Function        │ Default │               Description                │
│                        │   key   │                                          │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│create-alias            │a        │create an alias from a message sender     │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│bounce-message          │b        │remail a message to another user          │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│break-thread            │#        │break the thread in two                   │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│change-folder           │c        │open a different folder                   │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│change-folder-readonly  │ESC c    │open a different folder in read only mode │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-unread-mailbox     │not bound│open next mailbox with new mail           │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│collapse-thread         │ESC v    │collapse/uncollapse current thread        │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│collapse-all            │ESC V    │collapse/uncollapse all threads           │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│copy-message            │C        │copy a message to a file/mailbox          │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│decode-copy             │ESC C    │make decoded (text/plain) copy            │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│decode-save             │ESC s    │make decoded copy (text/plain) and delete │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│delete-message          │d        │delete the current entry                  │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│delete-pattern          │D        │delete messages matching a pattern        │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│delete-thread           │^D       │delete all messages in thread             │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│delete-subthread        │ESC d    │delete all messages in subthread          │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit                    │e        │edit the raw message                      │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit-type               │^E       │edit attachment content type              │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│forward-message         │f        │forward a message with comments           │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│flag-message            │F        │toggle a message's 'important' flag       │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│group-reply             │g        │reply to all recipients                   │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│fetch-mail              │G        │retrieve mail from POP server             │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│imap-fetch-mail         │not bound│force retrieval of mail from IMAP server  │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│display-toggle-weed     │h        │display message and toggle header weeding │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-undeleted          │j        │move to the next undeleted message        │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│previous-undeleted      │k        │move to the previous undeleted message    │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│limit                   │l        │show only messages matching a pattern     │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│link-threads            │&        │link tagged message to the current one    │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│list-reply              │L        │reply to specified mailing list           │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│mail                    │m        │compose a new mail message                │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│toggle-new              │N        │toggle a message's 'new' flag             │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│toggle-write            │%        │toggle whether the mailbox will be        │
│                        │         │rewritten                                 │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-thread             │^N       │jump to the next thread                   │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-subthread          │ESC n    │jump to the next subthread                │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│query                   │Q        │query external program for addresses      │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│quit                    │q        │save changes to mailbox and quit          │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│reply                   │r        │reply to a message                        │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│show-limit              │ESC l    │show currently active limit pattern       │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│sort-mailbox            │o        │sort messages                             │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│sort-reverse            │O        │sort messages in reverse order            │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│print-message           │p        │print the current entry                   │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│previous-thread         │^P       │jump to previous thread                   │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│previous-subthread      │ESC p    │jump to previous subthread                │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│recall-message          │R        │recall a postponed message                │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│read-thread             │^R       │mark the current thread as read           │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│read-subthread          │ESC r    │mark the current subthread as read        │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│resend-message          │ESC e    │use the current message as a template for │
│                        │         │a new one                                 │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│save-message            │s        │save message/attachment to a file         │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│tag-pattern             │T        │tag messages matching a pattern           │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│tag-subthread           │not bound│tag the current subthread                 │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│tag-thread              │ESC t    │tag the current thread                    │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│untag-pattern           │^T       │untag messages matching a pattern         │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│undelete-message        │u        │undelete the current entry                │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│undelete-pattern        │U        │undelete messages matching a pattern      │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│undelete-subthread      │ESC u    │undelete all messages in subthread        │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│undelete-thread         │^U       │undelete all messages in thread           │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│view-attachments        │v        │show MIME attachments                     │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│show-version            │V        │show the Mutt version number and date     │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│set-flag                │w        │set a status flag on a message            │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│clear-flag              │W        │clear a status flag from a message        │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│display-message         │RET      │display a message                         │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│buffy-list              │.        │list mailboxes with new mail              │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│sync-mailbox            │$        │save changes to mailbox                   │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│display-address         │@        │display full address of sender            │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│pipe-message            │|        │pipe message/attachment to a shell command│
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-new                │not bound│jump to the next new message              │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-new-then-unread    │TAB      │jump to the next new or unread message    │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│previous-new            │not bound│jump to the previous new message          │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│previous-new-then-unread│ESC TAB  │jump to the previous new or unread message│
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-unread             │not bound│jump to the next unread message           │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│previous-unread         │not bound│jump to the previous unread message       │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│parent-message          │P        │jump to parent message in thread          │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│extract-keys            │^K       │extract supported public keys             │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│forget-passphrase       │^F       │wipe passphrase(s) from memory            │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│check-traditional-pgp   │ESC P    │check for classic PGP                     │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│mail-key                │ESC k    │mail a PGP public key                     │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│decrypt-copy            │not bound│make decrypted copy                       │
├────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│decrypt-save            │not bound│make decrypted copy and delete            │
└────────────────────────┴─────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────┘


4.3. pager

Table 8.4. Default pager function bindings

┌──────────────────────┬─────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│       Function       │ Default │                Description                 │
│                      │   key   │                                            │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│break-thread          │#        │break the thread in two                     │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│create-alias          │a        │create an alias from a message sender       │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│bounce-message        │b        │remail a message to another user            │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│change-folder         │c        │open a different folder                     │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│change-folder-readonly│ESC c    │open a different folder in read only mode   │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-unread-mailbox   │not bound│open next mailbox with new mail             │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│copy-message          │C        │copy a message to a file/mailbox            │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│decode-copy           │ESC C    │make decoded (text/plain) copy              │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│delete-message        │d        │delete the current entry                    │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│delete-thread         │^D       │delete all messages in thread               │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│delete-subthread      │ESC d    │delete all messages in subthread            │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit                  │e        │edit the raw message                        │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit-type             │^E       │edit attachment content type                │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│forward-message       │f        │forward a message with comments             │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│flag-message          │F        │toggle a message's 'important' flag         │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│group-reply           │g        │reply to all recipients                     │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│imap-fetch-mail       │not bound│force retrieval of mail from IMAP server    │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│display-toggle-weed   │h        │display message and toggle header weeding   │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-undeleted        │j        │move to the next undeleted message          │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-entry            │J        │move to the next entry                      │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│previous-undeleted    │k        │move to the previous undeleted message      │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│previous-entry        │K        │move to the previous entry                  │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│link-threads          │&        │link tagged message to the current one      │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│list-reply            │L        │reply to specified mailing list             │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│redraw-screen         │^L       │clear and redraw the screen                 │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│mail                  │m        │compose a new mail message                  │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│mark-as-new           │N        │toggle a message's 'new' flag               │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│search-next           │n        │search for next match                       │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-thread           │^N       │jump to the next thread                     │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-subthread        │ESC n    │jump to the next subthread                  │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│print-message         │p        │print the current entry                     │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│previous-thread       │^P       │jump to previous thread                     │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│previous-subthread    │ESC p    │jump to previous subthread                  │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│quit                  │Q        │save changes to mailbox and quit            │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│exit                  │q        │exit this menu                              │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│reply                 │r        │reply to a message                          │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│recall-message        │R        │recall a postponed message                  │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│read-thread           │^R       │mark the current thread as read             │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│read-subthread        │ESC r    │mark the current subthread as read          │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│resend-message        │ESC e    │use the current message as a template for a │
│                      │         │new one                                     │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│save-message          │s        │save message/attachment to a file           │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│skip-quoted           │S        │skip beyond quoted text                     │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│decode-save           │ESC s    │make decoded copy (text/plain) and delete   │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│tag-message           │t        │tag the current entry                       │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│toggle-quoted         │T        │toggle display of quoted text               │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│undelete-message      │u        │undelete the current entry                  │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│undelete-subthread    │ESC u    │undelete all messages in subthread          │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│undelete-thread       │^U       │undelete all messages in thread             │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│view-attachments      │v        │show MIME attachments                       │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│show-version          │V        │show the Mutt version number and date       │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│search-toggle         │\\       │toggle search pattern coloring              │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│display-address       │@        │display full address of sender              │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-new              │not bound│jump to the next new message                │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│pipe-message          │|        │pipe message/attachment to a shell command  │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│help                  │?        │this screen                                 │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-page             │Space    │move to the next page                       │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│previous-page         │-        │move to the previous page                   │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│top                   │^        │jump to the top of the message              │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│sync-mailbox          │$        │save changes to mailbox                     │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│shell-escape          │!        │invoke a command in a subshell              │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│enter-command         │:        │enter a muttrc command                      │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│buffy-list            │.        │list mailboxes with new mail                │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│search                │/        │search for a regular expression             │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│search-reverse        │ESC /    │search backwards for a regular expression   │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│search-opposite       │not bound│search for next match in opposite direction │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-line             │RET      │scroll down one line                        │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│jump                  │not bound│jump to an index number                     │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│next-unread           │not bound│jump to the next unread message             │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│previous-new          │not bound│jump to the previous new message            │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│previous-unread       │not bound│jump to the previous unread message         │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│half-up               │not bound│scroll up 1/2 page                          │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│half-down             │not bound│scroll down 1/2 page                        │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│previous-line         │not bound│scroll up one line                          │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│bottom                │not bound│jump to the bottom of the message           │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│parent-message        │P        │jump to parent message in thread            │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│check-traditional-pgp │ESC P    │check for classic PGP                       │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│mail-key              │ESC k    │mail a PGP public key                       │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│extract-keys          │^K       │extract supported public keys               │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│forget-passphrase     │^F       │wipe passphrase(s) from memory              │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│decrypt-copy          │not bound│make decrypted copy                         │
├──────────────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│decrypt-save          │not bound│make decrypted copy and delete              │
└──────────────────────┴─────────┴────────────────────────────────────────────┘


4.4. alias

Table 8.5. Default alias function bindings

┌──────────────┬───────────┬──────────────────────────┐
│   Function   │Default key│       Description        │
├──────────────┼───────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│delete-entry  │d          │delete the current entry  │
├──────────────┼───────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│undelete-entry│u          │undelete the current entry│
└──────────────┴───────────┴──────────────────────────┘


4.5. query

Table 8.6. Default query function bindings

┌────────────┬───────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Function  │Default key│                Description                │
├────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│create-alias│a          │create an alias from a message sender      │
├────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│mail        │m          │compose a new mail message                 │
├────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│query       │Q          │query external program for addresses       │
├────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│query-append│A          │append new query results to current results│
└────────────┴───────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────┘


4.6. attach

Table 8.7. Default attach function bindings

┌─────────────────────┬──────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│      Function       │ Default  │                Description                 │
│                     │   key    │                                            │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│bounce-message       │b         │remail a message to another user            │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│display-toggle-weed  │h         │display message and toggle header weeding   │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit-type            │^E        │edit attachment content type                │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│print-entry          │p         │print the current entry                     │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│save-entry           │s         │save message/attachment to a file           │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│pipe-entry           │|         │pipe message/attachment to a shell command  │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│view-mailcap         │m         │force viewing of attachment using mailcap   │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│reply                │r         │reply to a message                          │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│resend-message       │ESC e     │use the current message as a template for a │
│                     │          │new one                                     │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│group-reply          │g         │reply to all recipients                     │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│list-reply           │L         │reply to specified mailing list             │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│forward-message      │f         │forward a message with comments             │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│view-text            │T         │view attachment as text                     │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│view-attach          │RET       │view attachment using mailcap entry if      │
│                     │          │necessary                                   │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│delete-entry         │d         │delete the current entry                    │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│undelete-entry       │u         │undelete the current entry                  │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│collapse-parts       │v         │Toggle display of subparts                  │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│check-traditional-pgp│ESC P     │check for classic PGP                       │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│extract-keys         │^K        │extract supported public keys               │
├─────────────────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│forget-passphrase    │^F        │wipe passphrase(s) from memory              │
└─────────────────────┴──────────┴────────────────────────────────────────────┘


4.7. compose

Table 8.8. Default compose function bindings

┌───────────────────┬──────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│     Function      │ Default  │                 Description                  │
│                   │   key    │                                              │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│attach-file        │a         │attach file(s) to this message                │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│attach-message     │A         │attach message(s) to this message             │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit-bcc           │b         │edit the BCC list                             │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit-cc            │c         │edit the CC list                              │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│copy-file          │C         │save message/attachment to a file             │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│detach-file        │D         │delete the current entry                      │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│toggle-disposition │^D        │toggle disposition between inline/attachment  │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit-description   │d         │edit attachment description                   │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit-message       │e         │edit the message                              │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit-headers       │E         │edit the message with headers                 │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit-file          │^X e      │edit the file to be attached                  │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit-encoding      │^E        │edit attachment transfer-encoding             │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit-from          │ESC f     │edit the from field                           │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit-fcc           │f         │enter a file to save a copy of this message in│
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│filter-entry       │F         │filter attachment through a shell command     │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│get-attachment     │G         │get a temporary copy of an attachment         │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│display-toggle-weed│h         │display message and toggle header weeding     │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ispell             │i         │run ispell on the message                     │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│print-entry        │l         │print the current entry                       │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit-mime          │m         │edit attachment using mailcap entry           │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│new-mime           │n         │compose new attachment using mailcap entry    │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│postpone-message   │P         │save this message to send later               │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit-reply-to      │r         │edit the Reply-To field                       │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│rename-file        │R         │rename/move an attached file                  │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit-subject       │s         │edit the subject of this message              │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit-to            │t         │edit the TO list                              │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│edit-type          │^T        │edit attachment content type                  │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│write-fcc          │w         │write the message to a folder                 │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│toggle-unlink      │u         │toggle whether to delete file after sending it│
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│toggle-recode      │not bound │toggle recoding of this attachment            │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│update-encoding    │U         │update an attachment's encoding info          │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│view-attach        │RET       │view attachment using mailcap entry if        │
│                   │          │necessary                                     │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│send-message       │y         │send the message                              │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│pipe-entry         │|         │pipe message/attachment to a shell command    │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│attach-key         │ESC k     │attach a PGP public key                       │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│pgp-menu           │p         │show PGP options                              │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│forget-passphrase  │^F        │wipe passphrase(s) from memory                │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│smime-menu         │S         │show S/MIME options                           │
├───────────────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│mix                │M         │send the message through a mixmaster remailer │
│                   │          │chain                                         │
└───────────────────┴──────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────┘


4.8. postpone

Table 8.9. Default postpone function bindings

┌──────────────┬───────────┬──────────────────────────┐
│   Function   │Default key│       Description        │
├──────────────┼───────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│delete-entry  │d          │delete the current entry  │
├──────────────┼───────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│undelete-entry│u          │undelete the current entry│
└──────────────┴───────────┴──────────────────────────┘


4.9. browser

Table 8.10. Default browser function bindings

┌─────────────────┬───────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│    Function     │Default key│                  Description                  │
├─────────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│change-dir       │c          │change directories                             │
├─────────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│display-filename │@          │display the currently selected file's name     │
├─────────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│enter-mask       │m          │enter a file mask                              │
├─────────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│sort             │o          │sort messages                                  │
├─────────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│sort-reverse     │O          │sort messages in reverse order                 │
├─────────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│select-new       │N          │select a new file in this directory            │
├─────────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│check-new        │not bound  │check mailboxes for new mail                   │
├─────────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│toggle-mailboxes │TAB        │toggle whether to browse mailboxes or all files│
├─────────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│view-file        │Space      │view file                                      │
├─────────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│buffy-list       │.          │list mailboxes with new mail                   │
├─────────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│create-mailbox   │C          │create a new mailbox (IMAP only)               │
├─────────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│delete-mailbox   │d          │delete the current mailbox (IMAP only)         │
├─────────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│rename-mailbox   │r          │rename the current mailbox (IMAP only)         │
├─────────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│subscribe        │s          │subscribe to current mailbox (IMAP only)       │
├─────────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│unsubscribe      │u          │unsubscribe from current mailbox (IMAP only)   │
├─────────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│toggle-subscribed│T          │toggle view all/subscribed mailboxes (IMAP     │
│                 │           │only)                                          │
└─────────────────┴───────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────────┘


4.10. pgp

Table 8.11. Default pgp function bindings

┌──────────┬───────────┬───────────────────────┐
│ Function │Default key│      Description      │
├──────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────┤
│verify-key│c          │verify a PGP public key│
├──────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────┤
│view-name │%          │view the key's user id │
└──────────┴───────────┴───────────────────────┘


4.11. smime

Table 8.12. Default smime function bindings

┌──────────┬───────────┬───────────────────────┐
│ Function │Default key│      Description      │
├──────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────┤
│verify-key│c          │verify a PGP public key│
├──────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────┤
│view-name │%          │view the key's user id │
└──────────┴───────────┴───────────────────────┘


4.12. mix

Table 8.13. Default mix function bindings

┌──────────┬───────────┬────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Function │Default key│              Description               │
├──────────┼───────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤
│accept    │RET        │Accept the chain constructed            │
├──────────┼───────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤
│append    │a          │Append a remailer to the chain          │
├──────────┼───────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤
│insert    │i          │Insert a remailer into the chain        │
├──────────┼───────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤
│delete    │d          │Delete a remailer from the chain        │
├──────────┼───────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤
│chain-prev│left       │Select the previous element of the chain│
├──────────┼───────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤
│chain-next│right      │Select the next element of the chain    │
└──────────┴───────────┴────────────────────────────────────────┘


4.13. editor

Table 8.14. Default editor function bindings

┌───────────────┬───────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│   Function    │Default key│                   Description                   │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│bol            │^A         │jump to the beginning of the line                │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│backward-char  │^B         │move the cursor one character to the left        │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│backward-word  │ESC b      │move the cursor to the beginning of the word     │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│capitalize-word│ESC c      │capitalize the word                              │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│downcase-word  │ESC l      │convert the word to lower case                   │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│upcase-word    │ESC u      │convert the word to upper case                   │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│delete-char    │^D         │delete the char under the cursor                 │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│eol            │^E         │jump to the end of the line                      │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│forward-char   │^F         │move the cursor one character to the right       │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│forward-word   │ESC f      │move the cursor to the end of the word           │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│backspace      │Backspace  │delete the char in front of the cursor           │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│kill-eol       │^K         │delete chars from cursor to end of line          │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│kill-eow       │ESC d      │delete chars from the cursor to the end of the   │
│               │           │word                                             │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│kill-line      │^U         │delete all chars on the line                     │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│quote-char     │^V         │quote the next typed key                         │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│kill-word      │^W         │delete the word in front of the cursor           │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│complete       │TAB        │complete filename or alias                       │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│complete-query │^T         │complete address with query                      │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│buffy-cycle    │Space      │cycle among incoming mailboxes                   │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│history-up     │not bound  │scroll up through the history list               │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│history-down   │not bound  │scroll down through the history list             │
├───────────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│transpose-chars│not bound  │transpose character under cursor with previous   │
└───────────────┴───────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘


Chapter 9. Miscellany

Table of Contents

1. Acknowledgements
2. About this document

1. Acknowledgements

Kari Hurtta <kari.hurtta@fmi.fi> co-developed the original MIME parsing code
back in the ELM-ME days.

The following people have been very helpful to the development of Mutt:

Vikas Agnihotri <vikasa@writeme.com>,
Francois Berjon <Francois.Berjon@aar.alcatel-alsthom.fr>,
Aric Blumer <aric@fore.com>,
John Capo <jc@irbs.com>,
David Champion <dgc@uchicago.edu>,
Brendan Cully <brendan@kublai.com>,
Liviu Daia <daia@stoilow.imar.ro>,
Thomas E. Dickey <dickey@herndon4.his.com>,
David DeSimone <fox@convex.hp.com>,
Nickolay N. Dudorov <nnd@wint.itfs.nsk.su>,
Ruslan Ermilov <ru@freebsd.org>,
Edmund Grimley Evans <edmundo@rano.org>,
Michael Finken <finken@conware.de>,
Sven Guckes <guckes@math.fu-berlin.de>,
Lars Hecking <lhecking@nmrc.ie>,
Mark Holloman <holloman@nando.net>,
Andreas Holzmann <holzmann@fmi.uni-passau.de>,
Marco d'Itri <md@linux.it>,
Björn Jacke <bjacke@suse.com>,
Byrial Jensen <byrial@image.dk>,
David Jeske <jeske@igcom.net>,
Christophe Kalt <kalt@hugo.int-evry.fr>,
Tommi Komulainen <Tommi.Komulainen@iki.fi>,
Felix von Leitner (a.k.a ``Fefe'') <leitner@math.fu-berlin.de>,
Brandon Long <blong@fiction.net>,
Jimmy Mäkelä <jmy@flashback.net>,
Lars Marowsky-Bree <lmb@pointer.in-minden.de>,
Thomas ``Mike'' Michlmayr <mike@cosy.sbg.ac.at>,
Andrew W. Nosenko <awn@bcs.zp.ua>,
David O'Brien <obrien@Nuxi.cs.ucdavis.edu>,
Clint Olsen <olsenc@ichips.intel.com>,
Park Myeong Seok <pms@romance.kaist.ac.kr>,
Thomas Parmelan <tom@ankh.fr.eu.org>,
Ollivier Robert <roberto@keltia.freenix.fr>,
Thomas Roessler <roessler@does-not-exist.org>,
Roland Rosenfeld <roland@spinnaker.de>,
TAKIZAWA Takashi <taki@luna.email.ne.jp>,
Allain Thivillon <Allain.Thivillon@alma.fr>,
Gero Treuner <gero@70t.de>,
Vsevolod Volkov <vvv@lucky.net>,
Ken Weinert <kenw@ihs.com>

2. About this document

This document was written in DocBook, and then rendered using the Gnome XSLT
toolkit.

