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6. Reference

6.1 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.

-a      attach a file to a message
-c      specify a carbon-copy (Cc) address
-F      specify an alternate file to read initialization commands
-f      specify a mailbox to load
-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
-n      do not read the system Muttrc
-m      specify a default mailbox type
-p      recall a postponed message
-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 ] 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''.

6.2 Configuration Commands

The following are the commands understood by mutt.

6.3 Configuration variables

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.

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.

alias_file

Type: string
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.

alias_format

Type: string
Default: "%2n %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
%n      index number
%r      address which alias expands to
%t      character which indicates if the alias is tagged for inclusion (*/ )

allow_8bit

Type: boolean
Default: set

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

alternates

Type: string
Default: none

A regexp that allows you to specify alternate addresses where you receive mail. This affects Mutt's idea about messages from you and addressed to you.

arrow_cursor

Type: boolean
Default: unset

When set, an arrow (``->'') will be used to indicate the current entry in menus instead of hiliting 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.

ascii_chars

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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

askbcc

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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

askcc

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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

attach_sep

Type: string
Default: newline

The separator to add between attachments when piping or saving a list of tagged attachments to an external Unix command.

attach_split

Type: boolean
Default: set

Used in connection with the pipe-entry and save-entry commands and the ``tag-prefix'' operator in the attachment menu. If this variable is unset, when piping or saving a list of tagged attachments Mutt will concatenate the attachments and will pipe or save them as a single file. The attach_sep separator will be added after each message. When set, Mutt will pipe or save the messages one by one. In both cases the the messages are processed in the displayed order.

attribution

Type: format 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 escape sequences see the section on $hdr_format.

autoedit

Type: boolean
Default: unset

When set, Mutt will skip the initial send-menu and allow you to immediately begin editing the body of your message when replying to another message. The send-menu may still be accessed once you have finished editing the body of your message.

If the $edit_hdrs variable is also set, the initial prompts in the send-menu are always skipped, even when composing a new message.

auto_tag

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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.

beep

Type: boolean
Default: set

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

beep_new

Type boolean
Default: unset

Whe 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.

charset

Type: string
Default: iso-8859-1

Character set your terminal uses to display and enter textual data. This information is required to properly label outgoing messages which contain 8-bit characters so that receiving parties can display your messages in the correct character set.

check_new

Type: boolean
Default: set

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.

confirmappend

Type: boolean
Default: set

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

confirmcreate

Type: boolean
Default: set

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

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.

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 $hdr_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).

default_hook

Type: string
Default: "~f %s | (~P (~c %s | ~t %s))"

This variable controls how send-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.

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.

dsn_notify

Type: string
Default: none

Note: you should not enable this unless you are using Sendmail 8.8.x or greater.

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"

dsn_return

Type: string Default: none

Note: you should not enable this unless you are using Sendmail 8.8.x or greater.

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

edit_hdrs

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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

Also see edit_headers.

editor

Type: String
Default: value of environment variable $VISUAL, $EDITOR, or "vi"

This variable specifies which editor to use when composing messages.

escape

Type: string
Default: ~

Escape character to use for functions in the builtin editor.

fast_reply

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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.

fcc_attach

Type: boolean
Default: set

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

folder

Type: String
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.

force_name

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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.

forw_decode

Type: boolean
Default: unset

Controls the decoding of complex MIME messages into text/plain when forwarding a message. If mime_fwd is unset, then the message header is also RFC2047 decoded (this cannot be done when forwarding a message as a message/rfc822 attachment because it would violate the MIME spec, which states that you must only use US-ASCII in the header).

forw_format

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

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

forw_quote

Type: boolean
Default: unset

When set forwarded messages included in the main body of the message (when mime_fwd is unset) will be quoted using indent_str.

hdr_format

Type: format string
Default: "%4C %Z %{%b %d} %-15.15L (%4l) %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
%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''
%f      entire From: line (address + real name)
%F      author name, or recipient name if the message is from you
%i      message-id of the current message
%l      number of lines in the message
%L      list-from function
%m      total number of message in the mailbox
%N      message score
%n      author's real name (or address if missing)
%s      subject of the message
%S      status of the message (N/D/!/*/r)
%t      `to:' field (recipients)
%T      the appropriate character from the $to_chars string
%u      user (login) name of the author
%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 system call 
        ``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 system call
        ``strftime''; a leading bang disables locales
%(fmt)  the local date and time when the message was received.
        ``fmt'' is expanded by the system call ``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"

See also: $to_chars.

hdrs

Type: boolean
Default: set

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 (except when sending in batch mode).

header

Type: boolean
Default: unset

When set, this variable causes Mutt to include the full header of the message you are replying to into the edit buffer.

help

Type: boolean
Default: set

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.

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.

hostname

Type: string
Default: varies

Specifies the hostname to use after the ``@'' in local e-mail addresses. This overrides the compile time definition obtained from /etc/resolv.conf.

ignore_list_reply_to

Type: boolean
Default: unset

Affects the behaviour of the reply function when replying to messages from mailing lists. 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.

in_reply_to

Type: format string
Default: "%i; from \"%n\" on %{!%a, %b %d, %Y at %I:%M:%S%p}"

This specifies the format of the In-Reply-To: header field added when replying to a message. For a full listing of defined escape sequences see the section on $hdr_format.

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.

indent_str

Type: format 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.

ispell

Type: string
Default: "ispell"

How to invoke ispell (GNU's spell-checking software).

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.

mailcap_path

Type: string
Default: $MAILCAPS or ~/.mailcap:/usr/local/share/mailcap:/etc/mailcap:/usr/etc/mailcap:/usr/local/etc/mailcap

This variable specifies which files to consult when attempting to display MIME bodies not directly supported by Mutt.

mark_old

Type: Boolean
Default: set

Controls whether or not Mutt makes the distinction between new messages and old unread messages. By default, Mutt will mark new messages as old if you exit a mailbox without reading them. 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. In order to make Mutt treat all unread messages as new only, you can unset this variable.

markers

Type: boolean
Default: set

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.

mask

Type: string
Default: "^(\.\.$|[^.])"

A regular expression used in the file browser. Files whose names don't match this mask will not be shown.

mbox

Type: String
Default: +inbox

This specifies the folder into which read mail in your spoolfile folder will be appended.

mbox_type

Type: String
Default: mbox

The default mailbox type used when creating new folders. May be any of mbox, MMDF, MH and Maildir.

metoo

Type: boolean
Default: unset

If unset, Mutt will remove your address from the list of recipients when replying to a message. If you are replying to a message sent by you, Mutt will also assume that you want to reply to the recipients of that message rather than to yourself.

menu_scroll

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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).

meta_key

Type: Boolean
Default: unset

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 0xf4, then this is treated as if the user had pressed ESC then ``x''. This is because the result of removing the high bit from ``0xf4'' is ``0x74'', which is the ASCII character ``x''.

mime_fwd

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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.

Also see forw_decode.

move

Type: quadoption
Default: ask-no

Controls whether you will be asked to confirm moving read messages from your spool mailbox to your $mbox mailbox, or as a result of a mbox-hook command.

msg_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 escape sequences see the section on hdr_format.

pager

Type: string
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.

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).

pager_format

Type: format string
Default: "-%S- %C/%m: %-20.20n %s"

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 hdr_format section.

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.

pager_stop

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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.

pgp_autoencrypt

Type: boolean
Default: unset

Setting this variable will cause Mutt to always attempt to PGP/MIME 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.

pgp_autosign

Type: boolean
Default: unset

Setting this variable will cause Mutt to always attempt to PGP/MIME sign outgoing messages. This can be overridden by use of the pgp-menu, when signing is not required or encryption is requested as well.

pgp_default_version

Type: string
Default: pgp2 (or pgp5, if PGP 2.* is not installed)

Set this to pgp2 (PGP 2.*), or pgp5 (PGP 5.*) depending on the version, you are using primary. This variable is directly used, but it is the default for the variables $pgp_receive_version, $pgp_send_version, and $pgp_key_version.

pgp_encryptself

Type: boolean
Default: set

If set, the PGP +encrypttoself flag is used when encrypting messages.

pgp_key_version

Type: string
Default: ``default''

This variable determines, which PGP version used for key ring operations like extracting keys from messages and extracting keys from your keyring. If you set this to default, the default defined in $pgp_default_version is used. Set this to pgp2 (PGP 2.*), or pgp5 (PGP 5.*) if you want a different PGP version for key operations.

pgp_long_ids

Type: boolean
Default: unset

If set, use 64 bit PGP key IDs. Unset uses the normal 32 bit Key IDs.

pgp_receive_version

Type: string
Default: ``default''

This variable determines, which PGP version used for decrypting messages and verifying signatures. If you set this to default, the default defined in $pgp_default_version will be used. Set this to pgp2 (PGP 2.*), or pgp5 (PGP 5.*) if you want a different PGP version for receiving operations.

pgp_replyencrypt

Type: boolean
Default: unset

If set, automatically PGP encrypt replies to messages which are encrypted.

pgp_replysign

Type: boolean
Default: unset

If set, automatically PGP sign replies to messages which are signed.

Note: this does not work on messages, that are encrypted and signed!

pgp_send_version

Type: string
Default: ``default''

This variable determines, which PGP version used for composing new messages like encrypting and signing. If you set this to default, the default defined in $pgp_default_version will be used. Set this to pgp2 (PGP 2.*), or pgp5 (PGP 5.*) if you want a different PGP version for sendig operations.

pgp_sign_as

Type: string
Default: unset

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., ``0xABCDEFGH'').

pgp_sign_micalg

Type: string
Default: pgp-md5

This variable contains the default message integrity check algorithm. Valid values are ``pgp-md5'', ``pgp-sha1'', and ``pgp-rmd160''. If you select a signing key using the sign as option on the compose menu, mutt will automagically figure out the correct value to insert here, but it does not know about the user's default key.

So if you are using an RSA key for signing, set this variable to ``pgp-md5'', if you use a PGP 5 DSS key for signing, say ``pgp-sha1'' here. The value of this variable will show up in the micalg parameter of MIME headers when creating RFC 2015 signatures.

pgp_strict_enc

Type: boolean
Default: set

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_timeout

Type: number
Default: 500

The number of seconds after which a cached passphrase will expire if not used.

pgp_v2

Type: string
Default: system dependent

This variable allows you to override the compile time definition of where the PGP 2.* binary resides on your system.

pgp_v2_language

Type: string
Default: en

Sets the language, which PGP 2.* should use. If you use language.txt from the mutt doc directory, you can try the languages "mutt" (english) or "muttde" (german) to reduce the noice produced by pgp.

pgp_v2_pubring

Type: string
Default: $PGPPATH/pubring.pgp or ~/.pgp/pubring.pgp if $PGPPATH isn't set.

Points to the PGP 2.* public keyring.

pgp_v2_secring

Type: string
Default: $PGPPATH/secring.pgp or ~/.pgp/secring.pgp if $PGPPATH isn't set.

Points to the PGP 2.* secret keyring.

pgp_v5

Type: string
Default: system dependent

This variable allows you to override the compile time definition of where the PGP 5.* binary resides on your system.

pgp_v5_language

Type: string
Default: en

Sets the language, which PGP 5.* should use. If you use language50.txt from the mutt doc directory, you can try the languages "mutt" (english) to reduce the noice produced by pgp.

pgp_v5_pubring

Type: string
Default: $PGPPATH/pubring.pkr or ~/.pgp/pubring.pkr if $PGPPATH isn't set.

Points to the PGP 5.* public keyring.

pgp_v5_secring

Type: string
Default: $PGPPATH/secring.skr or ~/.pgp/secring.skr if $PGPPATH isn't set.

Points to the PGP 5.* secret keyring.

pipe_decode

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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.

pipe_sep

Type: string
Default: newline

The separator to add between messages when piping a list of tagged messages to an external Unix command.

pipe_split

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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 the messages are piped in the current sorted order, and the $pipe_sep separator is added after each message.

pop_delete

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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.

pop_host

Type: string
Default: none

The name or address of your POP3 server.

pop_pass

Type: string
Default: unset

Specifies the password for you POP 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.

pop_port

Type: number
Default: 110

This variable specifies which port your POP server is listening on.

pop_user

Type: string
Default: login name on local system

Your login name on the POP3 server.

post_indent_str

Type: format string
Default: none

Similar to the $attribution variable, Mutt will append this string after the inclusion of a message which is being replied to.

postpone

Type: quadoption
Default: ask-yes

Controls whether or not messages are saved in the $postponed mailbox when you elect not to send immediately.

postponed

Type: string
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 folder specified by this variable. Also see the $postpone variable.

print

Type: quadoption
Default: ask-no

Controls whether or not Mutt asks for confirmation before printing. This is useful for people (like me) who accidentally hit ``p'' often.

print_cmd

Type: string
Default: lpr

This specifies the command pipe that should be used to print messages.

prompt_after

Type: boolean
Default: set

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.

quote_regexp

Type: string
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.

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. The message is printed after read_inc messages have been read (e.g., if set to 25, Mutt will print a message when it reads message 25, and then again when it gets to message 50). This variable is meant to indicate progress when reading 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.

read_only

Type: boolean
Default: unset

If set, all folders are opened in read-only mode.

realname

Type: string
Default: GCOS field from /etc/passwd

This variable specifies what "real" or "personal" name should be used when sending messages.

recall

Type: quadoption
Default: ask-yes

Controls whether or not you are prompted to recall postponed messages when composing a new message. Also see postponed

record

Type: string
Default: none

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.

references

Type: number
Default: 10

If set to a value greater than 0, Mutt will trim the reference list in the References: field to at most that number of entries when replying. If set to 0, all entries are included.

reply_regexp

Type: string
Default: "^(re|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:".

reply_to

Type: quadoption
Default: ask-yes

If set, Mutt will ask you if you want to use the address listed in the Reply-To: header field when replying to a message. If you answer no, 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.

resolve

Type: boolean
Default: set

When set, the cursor will be automatically advanced to the next (possibly undeleted) message whenever a command that modifies the current message is executed.

reverse_alias

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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 Compu$erve addresses).

reverse_name

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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 the variable is unset, the From: line will use your address on the current machine.

save_address

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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.

save_empty

Type: boolean
Default: set

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.

save_name

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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.

sendmail

Type: string
Default: /usr/lib/sendmail -t -oi -oem

Specifies the program and arguments used to deliver mail sent by Mutt. Mutt expects that the specified program will read the message header for recipients. Also see sendmail_bounce.

sendmail_bounce

Type: string
Default: /usr/lib/sendmail -oi -oem

Specifies the program and arguments to use when sending mail with recipients listed on the command line rather than in the message header. This is necessary when bouncing a message where you do not want to deliver the message to the original recipients, but to another address.

shell

Type: string
Default: retrieved from passwd file

Command to use when spawning a subshell.

sig_dashes

Type: boolean
Default: set

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.

signature

Type: string
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.

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 searching 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

smart_wrap

Type: boolean
Default: set

Controls the display of lines longer then 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.

sort

Type: string
Default: date-sent

Specifies how to sort messages in the index menu. Valid values are

You may optionally use the reverse- prefix to specify reverse sorting order (example: set sort=reverse-date-sent).

sort_alias

Type: string
Default: alias

Specifies how the entries in the `alias' menu are sorted. The following are legal values:

alias           sort alphabetically by alias name
address         sort alphabetically by email address
unsorted        leave in order specified in .muttrc

sort_aux

Type: string
Default: date-sent

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 wll 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.)

sort_browser

Type: string

Specifies how to sort entries in the file browser. By default, the entries are sorted alphabetically. Valid values:

You may optionally use the reverse- prefix to specify reverse sorting order (example: set sort_browser=reverse-date).

spoolfile

Type: string
Default: most likely /var/mail/$USER or /usr/spool/mail/$USER

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.

sort_re

Type: boolean Default: set

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.

status_chars

Type: string
Default: "-*%"

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 "%").

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 $hdr_format, but has its own set of printf()-like sequences:

%b      number of mailboxes with new mail *
%d      number of deleted messages *
%h      local hostname
%f      the full pathname of the current mailbox
%F      number of flagged messages *
%l      size (in bytes) of the current mailbox *
%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 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

%>X     right justify the rest of the string and pad with "X"
%|X     pad to the end of the line with "X"

* = 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 contruct is used

        %?<sequence_char>?<optional_string>?

where sequece_char is a character from the table above, and optional_string is the string you would like printed if status_char is nonzero. optional_string may contain other sequence 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.?

status_on_top

Type: boolean
Default: unset

Setting this variable causes the status bar to be displayed on the first line of the screen rather than near the bottom.

strict_threads

Type: boolean
Default: unset

If set, threading will only make use of the ``In-Reply-To'' and ``References'' fields when sorting 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.

suspend

Type: boolean
Default: set

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.

thorough_search

Type: boolean
Default: unset

Affects the ~b and ~h search operations described in section Searching 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.

tilde

Type: boolean
Default: unset

When set, the internal-pager will pad blank lines to the bottom of the screen with a tilde (~).

timeout

Type: number
Default: 600

This variable controls the number of seconds Mutt will wait for a key to be pressed in the main menu before timing out and checking for new mail. A value of zero or less will cause Mutt not to ever time out.

tmpdir

Type: string
Default: /tmp

This variable allows you to specify where Mutt will place its temporary files needed for displaying and composing messages.

to_chars

Type: string
Default: " +TCF"

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.

use_8bitmime

Type: boolean
Default: unset

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.

use_domain

Type: boolean
Default: set

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.

use_from

Type: boolean
Default: set

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.

use_mailcap

Type: quad-option
Default: ask

If set to ``yes'', always try to use a mailcap entry to display a MIME part that Mutt can't understand what to do with. If ``ask'', prompt as to whether to display as text or to use a mailcap entry. If ``no'', always view unsupported MIME types as text.

Note: For compatibility with metamail, Mutt will also look at the environment variable MM_NOASK. Setting this to 1 is equivalent to setting use_mailcap to ``yes''. Otherwise, the value of MM_NOASK is interpreted as a comma-separated list of type names (without white space) for which the corresponding mailcap entries will be used to display MIME parts without prompting the user for confirmation.

verify_sig

Type: quad-option
Default: yes

If ``yes'', always attempt to verify PGP/MIME signatures. If ``ask'', ask whether or not to verify the signature. If ``no'', never attempt to verify PGP/MIME signatures.

visual

Type: string
Default: $VISUAL

Specifies the visual editor to invoke when the ~v command is given in the builtin editor.

wait_key

Type: boolean
Default: set

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 autoview, 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.

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.

6.4 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.

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).

bottom-page                L   move to the bottom of the page
current-bottom     not bound   move current entry to bottom of page
current-middle     not bound   move current entry to middle of page
current-top        not bound   move current entry to top of page
enter-command              :   enter a muttrc command
exit                       q   exit this menu
first-entry                =   move to the first entry
half-down                  ]   scroll down 1/2 page
half-up                    [   scroll up 1/2 page
help                       ?   this screen
jump                  number   jump to an index number
last-entry                 *   move to the last entry
middle-page                M   move to the middle of the page
next-entry                 j   move to the next entry
next-line                  >   scroll down one line
next-page                  z   move to the next page
previous-entry             k   move to the previous entry
previous-line              <   scroll up one line
previous-page              Z   move to the previous page
refresh                   ^L   clear and redraw the screen
search                     /   search for a regular expression
search-next                n   search for next match
search-opposite    not bound   search for next match in opposite direction
search-reverse         ESC /   search backwards for a regular expression
select-entry             RET   select the current entry
shell-escape               !   run a program in a subshell
tag-entry                  t   toggle the tag on the current entry
tag-prefix                 ;   apply next command to tagged entries
top-page                   H   move to the top of the page

index

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
clear-flag                 W   clear a status flag from a message
copy-message               C   copy a message to a file/mailbox
create-alias               a   create an alias from a message sender
decode-copy            ESC C   decode a message and copy it to a file/mailbox
decode-save            ESC s   decode a message and save it to a file/mailbox
delete-message             d   delete the current entry
delete-pattern             D   delete messages matching a pattern
delete-subthread       ESC d   delete all messages in subthread
delete-thread             ^D   delete all messages in thread
display-address            @   display full address of sender
display-headers            h   display message with full headers
display-message          RET   display a message
exit                       x   exit without saving changes
extract-keys              ^K   extract PGP public keys
fetch-mail                 G   retrieve mail from POP server
flag-message               F   toggle a message's 'important' flag
forget-passphrase         ^F   wipe PGP passphrase from memory
forward-message            f   forward a message with comments
group-reply                g   reply to all recipients
limit                      l   show only messages matching a pattern
list-reply                 L   reply to specified mailing list
mail                       m   compose a new mail message
mail-key               ESC k   mail a PGP public key
next-new                 TAB   jump to the next new message
next-subthread         ESC n   jump to the next subthread
next-thread               ^N   jump to the next thread
next-undeleted             j   move to the next undeleted message
next-unread        not bound   jump to the next unread message
pipe-message               |   pipe message/attachment to a shell command
previous-new         ESC TAB   jump to the previous new message
previous-page              Z   move to the previous page
previous-subthread     ESC p   jump to previous subthread
previous-thread           ^P   jump to previous thread
previous-undeleted         k   move to the last undelete message
previous-unread    not bound   jump to the previous unread message
print-message              p   print the current entry
quit                       q   save changes to mailbox and quit
read-subthread         ESC r   mark the current subthread as read
read-thread               ^R   mark the current thread as read
recall-message             R   recall a postponed message
reply                      r   reply to a message
save-message               s   save message/attachment to a file
set-flag                   w   set a status flag on a message
show-version               V   show the Mutt version number and date
sort-mailbox               o   sort messages
sort-reverse               O   sort messages in reverse order
sync-mailbox               $   save changes to mailbox
tag-pattern                T   tag messages matching a pattern
tag-thread             ESC t   tag/untag all messages in the current thread
toggle-new                 N   toggle a message's 'new' flag
toggle-write               %   toggle whether the mailbox will be rewritten
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
untag-pattern             ^T   untag messages matching a pattern
view-attachments           v   show MIME attachments

pager

bottom                     $   jump to the bottom of the message
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
copy-message               C   copy a message to a file/mailbox
create-alias               a   create an alias from a message sender
decode-copy            ESC C   decode a message and copy it to a file/mailbox
decode-save            ESC s   decode a message and save it to a file/mailbox
delete-message             d   delete the current entry
delete-subthread       ESC d   delete all messages in subthread
delete-thread             ^D   delete all messages in thread
display-address            @   display full address of sender
display-headers            h   display message with full headers
enter-command              :   enter a muttrc command
exit                       i   return to the main-menu
extract-keys              ^K   extract PGP public keys
flag-message               F   toggle a message's 'important' flag
forget-passphrase         ^F   wipe PGP passphrase from memory
forward-message            f   forward a message with comments
group-reply                g   reply to all recipients
half-up            not bound   move up one-half page
half-down          not bound   move down one-half page
help                       ?   this screen
list-reply                 L   reply to specified mailing list
mail                       m   compose a new mail message
mail-key               ESC k   mail a PGP public key
mark-as-new                N   toggle a message's 'new' flag
next-line                RET   scroll down one line
next-message               J   move to the next entry
next-new                 TAB   jump to the next new message
next-page                      move to the next page
next-subthread         ESC n   jump to the next subthread
next-thread               ^N   jump to the next thread
next-undeleted             j   move to the next undeleted message
next-unread        not bound   jump to the next unread message
pipe-message               |   pipe message/attachment to a shell command
previous-line      BackSpace   scroll up one line
previous-message           K   move to the previous entry
previous-new       not bound   jump to the previous new message
previous-page              -   move to the previous page
previous-subthread     ESC p   jump to previous subthread
previous-thread           ^P   jump to previous thread
previous-undeleted         k   move to the last undelete message
previous-unread    not bound   jump to the previous unread message
print-message              p   print the current entry
quit                       Q   save changes to mailbox and quit
read-subthread         ESC r   mark the current subthread as read
read-thread               ^R   mark the current thread as read
recall-message             R   recall a postponed message
redraw-screen             ^L   clear and redraw the screen
reply                      r   reply to a message
save-message               s   save message/attachment to a file
search                     /   search for a regular expression
search-next                n   search for next match
search-opposite    not bound   search for next match in opposite direction
search-reverse         ESC /   search backwards for a regular expression
search-toggle              \   toggle search pattern coloring
shell-escape               !   invoke a command in a subshell
show-version               V   show the Mutt version number and date
skip-quoted                S   skip beyond quoted text          
tag-message                t   tag a message
toggle-quoted              T   toggle display of quoted text
top                        ^   jump to the top of the message
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

alias

search                     /   search for a regular expression
search-next                n   search for next match
search-reverse         ESC /   search backwards for a regular expression

attach

bounce-message             b   remail a message to another user
decode-copy            ESC C   decode a message and copy it to a file/mailbox
decode-save            ESC s   decode a message and save it to a file/mailbox
display-headers            h   display message with full headers
extract-keys              ^K   extract PGP public keys
forward-message            f   forward a message with comments
group-reply                g   reply to all recipients
list-reply                 L   reply to specified mailing list
pipe-entry                 |   pipe message/attachment to a shell command
print-entry                p   print the current entry
reply                      r   reply to a message
save-entry                 s   save message/attachment to a file
view-attach              RET   view attachment using mailcap entry if necessary
view-mailcap               m   force viewing of attachment using mailcap
view-text                  T   view attachment as text

compose

attach-file                a   attach a file(s) to this message
attach-key             ESC k   attach a PGP public key
copy-file                  C   save message/attachment to a file
detach-file                D   delete the current entry
display-headers            h   display message with full headers
edit-bcc                   b   edit the BCC list
edit-cc                    c   edit the CC list
edit-description           d   edit attachment description
edit-encoding             ^E   edit attachment trasfer-encoding
edit-fcc                   f   enter a file to save a copy of this message in
edit-from              ESC f   edit the from: field
edit-file               ^X e   edit the file to be attached
edit-headers               E   edit the message with headers
edit-message               e   edit the message
edit-mime                  m   edit attachment using mailcap entry
edit-reply-to              r   edit the Reply-To field
edit-subject               s   edit the subject of this message
edit-to                    t   edit the TO list
edit-type                 ^T   edit attachment type
filter-entry               F   filter attachment through a shell command
forget-passphrase         ^F   wipe PGP passphrase from memory
ispell                     i   run ispell on the message
new-mime                   n   compose new attachment using mailcap entry
pgp-menu                   p   show PGP options
pipe-entry                 |   pipe message/attachment to a shell command
postpone-message           P   save this message to send later
print-entry                l   print the current entry
rename-file                R   rename/move an attached file
send-message               y   send the message
toggle-unlink              u   toggle whether to delete file after sending it
view-attach              RET   view attachment using mailcap entry if necessary

postponed

delete-entry               d   delete the current entry
undelete-entry             u   undelete the current entry

browser

change-dir                 c   change directories
check-new                TAB   check mailboxes for new mail
enter-mask                 m   enter a file mask
search                     /   search for a regular expression
search-next                n   search for next match
search-reverse         ESC /   search backwards for a regular expression
select-new                 N   select a new file in this directory
sort                       o   sort messages
sort-reverse               O   sort messages in reverse order

pgp

view-name                  %   view the key's user id
verify-key                 c   verify a PGP public key

editor

backspace          BackSpace   delete the char in front of the cursor
backward-char             ^B   move the cursor one character to the left
bol                       ^A   jump to the beginning of the line
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
history-down       not bound   scroll up through the history list
history-up         not bound   scroll up through the history list
kill-eol                  ^K   delete chars from cursor to end of line
kill-line                 ^U   delete all chars on the line
kill-word                 ^W   delete the word in front of the cursor


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