mailx(1)

Synopsis

Description

Many of the remote features of mailx work only if the Basic Networking Utilities are installed on your system. For details, see the Section 1bnu manual pages in Section 1bnu manual pages and the Section 1Mbnu manual pages in Section 1Mbnu manual pages.

Incoming mail is stored in a standard file for each user, called the mailbox for that user. When mailx is called to read messages, the mailbox is the default place to find them. As messages are read, they are marked to be moved to a secondary file for storage, unless specific action is taken, so that the messages need not be seen again. This secondary file is called the mbox and is normally located in the user's HOME directory (see the description of MBOX in ``Environment variables'' for a description of this file). Messages can be saved in other secondary files named by the user. Messages remain in a secondary file until forcibly removed. mailx has been made message store-aware through its use of the C client API (see Message store programming in Message store programming). The default mailbox location is found in the message store configuration, specified by the file /etc/default/mail.

mailx supports the Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) standard in two ways: it supports the creation of multipart and text/enriched messages, and supports the reading of MIME messages by automatically invoking the metamail(1) program when necessary.

mailx is an IMAP client. The Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) allows mailx to access remote message stores. You may specify the IMAP server using the -R option to mailx. See ``Notices'' for important notes about IMAP.

The user can access a secondary file by using the -f option of the mailx command. Messages in the secondary file can then be read or otherwise processed using the same commands as in the primary mailbox. This gives rise to the notion of a current mailbox.

On the command line, options start with a dash (-) and any other arguments are taken to be destinations (recipients). If no recipients are specified, mailx attempts to read messages from the mailbox. Command-line options are:

-B

Unbuffer both input and output.

-d

Turn on debugging output.

-e

Test for presence of mail. mailx prints nothing and exits with a successful return code if there is mail to read.

-f [file]

Read messages from file instead of mailbox. If no file is specified, the mbox is used.

-F

Record the message in a file named after the first recipient. Overrides the record variable, if set (see ``Environment variables'').

-h number

The number of network ``hops'' made so far. This is provided for network software to avoid infinite delivery loops. This option and its argument is passed to the delivery program.

-H

Print header summary only.

-i

Ignore interrupts. See also the description of ignore in ``Environment variables''.

-I

Include the newsgroup and ``Article-Id:'' header lines when printing mail messages. (If present, the ``Message-Id:'' header will be saved instead of the ``Article-Id:'' header.) This option requires the -f option to be specified.

-n

Do not initialize from the system default mailx.rc file.

-N

Do not print initial header summary.

-r address

Use address as the return address when invoking the delivery program. All tilde commands are disabled. This option and its argument is passed to the delivery program.

-R hostname

Read mail from remote host hostname. This creates an IMAP connection to hostname, in online mode only. When accessing mail remotely, mailx will display the location of the mailbox as ``INBOX''. This name has special meaning to the C client interface (see Message store programming in Message store programming) and allows the path and filename of the mailbox to be determined by the message store configuration files on the remote host. See also the description of REMOTEHOST in ``Environment variables''.

-s subject

Set the ``Subject'' header field to subject.

-T file

``Message-Id:'' (or ``Article-Id:'') header lines are recorded in file after the message is read. This option will also set the -I option.

-t

Read the ``To:'', ``Cc:'' and ``Bcc:'' headers found on standard input to determine the list of recipients.

-u user

Read user's mailbox. This is only effective if user's mailbox is not read protected. The -u option cannot be used in conjunction with -R. In addition, -u will override the use of the REMOTEHOST variable in .mailrc.

-U

Convert UUCP-style addresses to Internet standards. Overrides the conv environment variable.

-V

Print the mailx version number and exit.

-~

Enable tilde escape commands when input is not coming from a terminal.

Only one invocation of mailx is permitted to modify the mailbox at a time; other invocations are permitted to read the mail but will not update the mailbox.

At any time, the behavior of mailx is governed by a set of environment variables. These are flags and valued parameters which are set and cleared via the set and unset commands. See ``Environment variables'' for a summary of these parameters.

Recipients listed on the command line may be of three types: login names, shell commands, or alias groups. Login names may be any network address, including mixed network addressing. If mail is found to be undeliverable, an attempt is made to return it to the sender's mailbox.

If the recipient name begins with a pipe symbol (|), the rest of the name is taken to be a shell command to pipe the message through. This provides an automatic interface with any program that reads the standard input, such as lp(1) for recording outgoing mail on paper. Alias groups are set by the alias command (see ``Commands'') and are lists of recipients of any type.

Regular commands are of the form

[command] [msglist] [arguments]

If no command is specified in command mode, next is assumed. In input mode, commands are recognized by the escape character, and lines not treated as commands are taken as input for the message.

Each message is assigned a sequential number, and there is at any time the notion of a current message, marked by a right angle bracket (>) in the header summary. Many commands take an optional list of messages (msglist) to operate on. The default for msglist is the current message. Applying a command on a message makes the message the current message. Applying a command on a list of messages makes the last message on the list the current message. When deleting a message, the message after the deleted message becomes the current message. If the deleted message is the last message, the message before the deleted message becomes the current message.

A msglist is a list of message identifiers separated by spaces, which may include:

n

Message number n.

.

The current message.

^

The first undeleted message.

$

The last message.

All messages.

n-m

An inclusive range of message numbers.

user

All messages from user.

/string

All messages with string in the subject line (case ignored). To include white spaces, /string must be enclosed in double quotes (for example, "/this is the string"). For a msglist consisting of multiple /string (for example, /string1 /string2), you will get an error of the form No applicable messages from {/string1, /string2} if the search for all the strings fails.

If at least one of the strings is found, you do not get an error message.

:c

All messages of type c, where c is one of:

d

deleted messages

n

new messages

o

old messages

r

read messages

s

saved messages

u

unread messages

Note that the context of the command determines whether this type of message specification makes sense.

At start-up time, mailx tries to execute commands from the optional system-wide file (/etc/mail/mailx.rc) to initialize certain parameters, then from a private start-up file ($HOME/.mailrc) for personalized variables. With the exceptions noted, regular commands are legal inside start-up files. The most common use of a start-up file is to set up initial display options and alias lists. The following commands are not legal in the start-up file: !, bedit, bvisual, Copy, edit, followup, Followup, hold, mail, preserve, reply, Reply, shell, and visual. An error in the start-up file causes the remaining lines in the file to be ignored. The .mailrc file is optional, and must be constructed locally.

Commands

# comment

Null command (comment). This may be useful in .mailrc files.

=

Print the current message number.

?

Prints a summary of commands, paged through the command specified by the PAGER variable. The default command is pg -e; see pg(1) and ``Environment variables''.

alias alias name ...
group alias name ...

Declare an alias for the given names. The names are substituted when alias is used as a recipient. Useful in the .mailrc file. See also the unalias command.

alternates name ...

Declares a list of alternate names for your login. When responding to a message, these names are removed from the list of recipients for the response. With no arguments, alternates prints the current list of alternate names. See also the description of allnet in ``Environment variables''.

Bprint [msglist]

Equivalent to Print, except that non-text content may also be printed.

bprint [msglist]

Equivalent to print, except that non-text content may also be printed.

btop [msglist]

Equivalent to top, except that non-text content may also be printed.

bedit [msglist]

Equivalent to edit, except that non-text content may also be edited.

bvisual [msglist]

Equivalent to visual, except that non-text content may also be edited.

cd [directory]
chdir [directory]

Change directory. If directory is not specified, $HOME is used.

copy [file]
copy [msglist] file

Copy messages to the file without marking the messages as saved. Otherwise equivalent to the save command.

Copy [msglist]

Save the specified messages in a file whose name is derived from the author of the message to be saved, without marking the messages as saved. Otherwise equivalent to the Save command.

delete [msglist]

Delete messages from the mailbox. If autoprint is set, the next message after the last one deleted is printed (see ``Environment variables'').

discard [header-field ...]
ignore [header-field ...]

Note that ignore/discard has been superseded by retain; if both a retained header list and an ignored header list exist, the ignored header list will be ignored. Suppresses printing of the specified header fields when displaying messages on the screen. Examples of header fields to ignore are ``status'' and ``cc''. The fields are included when the message is saved. The Print and Type commands override this command. If no header is specified, the current list of header fields being ignored will be printed. See also the undiscard and unignore commands.

dp [msglist]
dt [msglist]

Delete the specified messages from the mailbox and print the next message after the last one deleted. It is roughly equivalent to a delete command followed by a print command. If the last undeleted message is deleted, and the reversedp variable is not set, it is equivalent to a delete command. If the reversedp variable is set, the next undeleted message from the end is printed.

echo string ...

Echo the given strings (like echo(1)).

edit [msglist]

Edit the given messages. The messages are placed in a temporary file and the EDITOR variable is used to get the name of the editor (see ``Environment variables''). Default editor is ed(1).

exit
xit

Exit from mailx, without changing the mailbox. No messages are saved in the mbox (see also quit).

file [file]
folder [file]

Quit from the current file of messages and read in the specified file. Several special characters are recognized when used as file names, with the following substitutions:

%

the current mailbox

%user

the mailbox for user

#

the previous file

&

the current mbox

Default file is the current mailbox.

If no file is specified, the current file name is printed.

folders

Print the names of the files in the directory set by the folder variable (see ``Environment variables'').

followup [message]
followupall [message]

Respond to a message, recording the response in a file whose name is derived from the author of the message. Overrides the record variable, if set. The followupall command is not affected by the flipf variable (see ``Environment variables''). See also the Followup, Save, and Copy commands and outfolder (see ``Environment variables'').

Followup [msglist]
Followupall [message]

Respond to the first message in the msglist, sending the message to the author of each message in the msglist. The subject line is taken from the first message and the response is recorded in a file whose name is derived from the author of the first message. The Followupall command is not affected by the flipf variable (see ``Environment variables''). See also the followup, Save, and Copy commands and outfolder.

forward [msglist] [name]
Forward [msglist] [name ...]

Forward a message to the specified users. The message is treated as if it were read. If no message list is given, the current message is forwarded. With forward, the subject line is taken from the first message. The forwarded message is surrounded with the forwardbegin, forwardprefix and forwardend strings (or their defaults).

from [msglist]

Prints the header summary for the specified messages.

group alias name ...
alias alias name ...

Declare an alias for the given names. The names are substituted when alias is used as a recipient. Useful in the .mailrc file. See also the unalias command.

headers [message]

Prints the page of headers which includes the message specified. The screen variable sets the number of headers per page (see ``Environment variables''). See also the z command.

Headers [message]

Prints the headers which would be printed by the headers command, printing one line per header field. This command is typically used by other programs, not a user.

help

Prints a summary of commands.

hold [msglist]
preserve [msglist]

Holds the specified messages in the mailbox.

if s | r | t
mail-commands
else
mail-commands
endif

Conditional execution, where s executes following mail-commands, up to an else or endif, if the program is in send mode, r causes the mail-commands to be executed only in receive mode, and t causes the mail-commands to be executed only if the input is coming from a terminal. Useful in the .mailrc file.

ignore [header-field ...]
discard [header-field ...]

Note that ignore/discard has been superseded by retain; if both a retained header list and an ignored header list exist, the ignored header list will be ignored. Suppresses printing of the specified header fields when displaying messages on the screen. Examples of header fields to ignore are ``status'' and ``cc''. All fields are included when the message is saved. The Print and Type commands override this command. If no header is specified, the current list of header fields being ignored will be printed. See also the undiscard and unignore commands.

inc
newmail

Incorporate new mail messages that arrive while you are reading the system mailbox. The new messages are added to the message list in the current mail session. This command does not commit changes made during the session, and prior messages are not renumbered. If newmail (see ``Environment variables'') is specified, new mail will be looked for before each prompt.

list

Prints all commands available. No explanation is given.

mail name ...
mailall name ...

Mail a message to the specified users. The mailall command is not affected by the flipm variable (see ``Environment variables'').

Mail name
Mailrecord name

Mail a message to the specified user and record a copy of it in a file named after that user. The Mailrecord command is not affected by the flipm variable (see ``Environment variables'').

mbox [msglist]

Arrange for the given messages to end up in the standard mbox save file when mailx terminates normally. See the description of MBOX in ``Environment variables'' for details of of this file. See also the exit and quit commands.

New[msglist]
Unread [msglist]
unread [msglist]

Mark each message as not having been read. Each message in msglist will be treated as if it had never been seen before.

newmail
inc

Incorporate new mail messages that arrive while you are reading the system mailbox. The new messages are added to the message list in the current mail session. This command does not commit changes made during the session, and prior messages are not renumbered. If newmail (see ``Environment variables'') is specified, new mail will be looked for before each prompt.

next [message]

Go to next message matching message. A msglist may be specified, but in this case the first valid message in the list is the only one used. This is useful for jumping to the next message from a specific user, since the name would be taken as a command in the absence of a real command. See the discussion of msglists for a description of possible message specifications.

Pipe [msglist] [shell-command]

Pipe the message through the given shell-command, suppressing the fields specified by the ignore command. The message is treated as if it were read. If no arguments are given, the current message is piped through the command specified by the value of the cmd variable. If the page variable is set, a form feed character is inserted after each message (see ``Environment variables'').

pipe [msglist] [shell-command]
| [msglist] [shell-command]

Pipe the message through the given shell-command. The message is treated as if it were read. If no arguments are given, the current message is piped through the command specified by the value of the cmd variable. If the page variable is set, a form feed character is inserted after each message (see ``Environment variables'').

preserve [msglist]
hold [msglist]

Preserve the specified messages in the mailbox.

Print [msglist]
Type [msglist]

Print the specified messages on the screen, including all header fields. Overrides suppression of fields by the ignore command.

print [msglist]
type [msglist]
bprint [msglist]

Print the specified messages. If crt is set, the messages longer than the number of lines specified by the crt variable are paged through the command specified by the PAGER variable. The default command is pg -e (see ``Environment variables''). Unless it is suppressed by the ignore command, the pseudo-header field ``Message:'' is printed before each message.

If the mail message is in Multi-Purpose Internet Message Extensions (MIME) format and contains something other than a text message, or contains text in character set other than that associated with your current locale, the message will be piped to the metamail(1) program for parsing. (If the variable NOMETAMAIL is set, metamail will not be invoked. The metamail command used can be changed using the variable metamail_cmd. See ``Environment variables''. The character set associated with your current locale may be overridden by using the variable MM_CHARSET.

quit

Exit from mailx, storing messages that were read in mbox and unread messages in the mailbox. Messages that have been explicitly saved in a file are deleted.

Reply [msglist]
Respond [msglist]
replysender [message]

Send a response to the author of each message in the msglist. The subject line is taken from the first message. If record is set to a file name, the response is saved at the end of that file (see ``Environment variables''). The Replysender command is not affected by the flipr variable.

reply [message]
respond [message]
replyall [message]
respondall [message]

Reply to the specified message, including all other recipients of the message. If record is set to a file name, the response is saved at the end of that file (see ``Environment variables''). The replyall/respondall command is not affected by the flipr variable.

retain header-field ...

Add the list of header fields named to the retained list. Only the header fields in the retain list are shown on your terminal when you print a message. All other header fields are suppressed. Examples of header fields to retain are ``from'', ``to'', ``cc'', ``bcc'' and ``subject''. The Type and Print commands can be used to print a message in its entirety. If retain is executed with no arguments, it lists the current set of retained fields. See also the unretain command.

Save [msglist]

Save the specified messages in a file whose name is derived from the author of the first message. The name of the file is taken to be the author's name with all network addressing stripped off. See also the Copy, followup, and Followup commands and the outfolder (which is described in ``Environment variables'').

save [file]
save [msglist] file

Save the specified messages in the given file. The file is created if it does not exist. The file defaults to mbox. The message is deleted from the mailbox when mailx terminates unless keepsave is set (see also ``Environment variables'' and the exit and quit commands).

set
set name
set name=string
set name=number

Define a variable called name. The variable may be given a null, string, or numeric value. Set by itself prints all internally defined variables and their values. (Variables imported from the execution environment, that is, a shell variable, will not be shown.) See ``Environment variables'' for detailed descriptions of the mailx variables.

shell [shell-command]
![shell-command]

Escape to the shell. If no command is specified, invoke an interactive shell (see also SHELL in ``Environment variables'').

showheaders [msglist] header ...

Show the given headers for the given message list. If no message list is given, the current message is examined. This command is typically used by other programs, not a user.

size [msglist]

Print the size in characters of the specified messages.

source file

Read commands from the given file and return to command mode.

top [msglist]

Print the top few lines of the specified messages. If the toplines variable is set, it is taken as the number of lines to print (see ``Environment variables''). The default is 5.

touch [msglist]

Touch the specified messages. If any message in msglist is not specifically saved in a file, it is placed in the mbox, or the file specified in the MBOX environment variable, upon normal termination. See exit and quit.

Type [msglist]
Print [msglist]

Print the specified messages on the screen, including all header fields. Overrides suppression of fields by the ignore command.

type [msglist]
print [msglist]

Print the specified messages. If crt is set, the messages longer than the number of lines specified by the crt variable are paged through the command specified by the PAGER variable. The default command is pg -e (see ``Environment variables'').

unalias alias ...

Remove an alias for the given names (see alias). Takes a list of names defined by alias commands and discards the remembered groups of users. The group names no longer have any significance.

undelete [msglist]

Restore the specified deleted messages. Will only restore messages deleted in the current mail session. If autoprint is set, the last message of those restored is printed (see ``Environment variables'').

undiscard header-field ...
unignore header-field ...

Remove the specified header fields from the list being ignored (see ignore).

Unread [msglist]
unread [msglist]
New[msglist]

Mark each message as not having been read. Each message in msglist will be treated as if it had never been seen before.

unretain header-field ...

Remove the specified header fields from the list being retained (see retain).

unset name ...

Causes the specified variables to be erased. If the variable was imported from the execution environment (that is, a shell variable) then it cannot be erased.

version

Prints the current version.

visual [msglist]

Edit the given messages with a screen editor. The messages are placed in a temporary file and the VISUAL variable is used to get the name of the editor (see ``Environment variables'').

write [msglist] file

Write the given messages on the specified file, minus the header and trailing blank line. Otherwise equivalent to the save command.

xit
exit

Exit from mailx, without changing the mailbox. No messages are saved in the mbox (see also quit).

z[+ | -]

Scroll the header display forward or backward one screen-full. The number of headers displayed is set by the screen variable (see ``Environment variables'').

Tilde escapes

~!shell-command

Escape to the shell.

~.

Simulate end of file (terminate message input).

~:mail-command
~_mail-command

Perform the command-level request.

~?

Print a summary of tilde escapes, paged through the command specified by the PAGER variable. The default command is pg -e (see ``Environment variables'').

~?+

Show 8-bit mode mapping. A table is presented on the screen showing how characters would look with the 8th-bit turned on (see ~*+ and ~*-).

~A

Insert the autograph string ``Sign'' into the message (see ``Environment variables'').

~a

Insert the autograph string ``sign'' into the message (see ``Environment variables'').

~bnames ...

Add the names to the blind carbon copy (Bcc) list. This is like the carbon copy (Cc) list, except that the names in the Bcc list are not shown in the header of the mail message.

~cnames ...

Add the names to the carbon copy (Cc) list.

~d

Read in the dead.letter file. See DEAD in ``Environment variables'' for a description of this file.

~e

Invoke the editor on the partial message. See also EDITOR in ``Environment variables''.

~f[msglist]

Forward the specified messages, or the current message being read if no msglist is given. Valid only when sending a message while reading mail. The messages are inserted into the message without alteration, as opposed to the ~m escape. This command escape will insert message headers into the message with field selection affected by the discard, ignore and retain commands. See also forwardbracket, forwardprefix, forwardbegin and forwardend in ``Environment variables''.

~F[msglist]

This will be the equivalent of the ~f command, except that all headers will be included in the message, regardless of previous discard, ignore and retain commands. Valid only when sending a message while reading mail.

~h

Prompt for the message header lines: Subject, To, Cc, and Bcc lists. If the field is displayed with an initial value, you may edit the text as if you had just typed it by backspacing over it and retyping.

~istring

Insert the value of the named variable into the text of the message. For example, ~A is equivalent to ~i Sign. Environment variables set and exported in the shell are also accessible by ~i.

~m[msglist]

Insert the specified messages, or the current message being read if no msglist is given, into the letter, shifting the new text to the right one tab stop. If indentprefix (see ``Environment variables'') is specified, that string will be used instead of a single tab stop. Valid only when sending a message while reading mail. This command escape will insert message headers into the message with field selection affected by the discard, ignore and retain commands.

~M[msglist]

This will be the equivalent of the ~m command, except that all headers will be included in the message, regardless of previous discard, ignore and retain commands. Valid only when sending a message while reading mail.

~p

Print the message being entered. If crt is set, and the message is greater than crt lines long, then the message is paged through the command specified by the PAGER variable. The default command is pg -e (see ``Environment variables'').

~q
~Q

Quit from input mode by simulating an interrupt. If the body of the message is not empty, the partial message is saved in dead.letter. See DEAD in ``Environment variables'' for a description of this file.

~R

Mark the message for return receipt. This inserts a ``Default-Options'' header with the /receipt value. If the recipient system supports this option, a return receipt will be received.

~rfile
~<file
~<!shell-command

Read in the specified file. If the argument begins with an exclamation point (!), the rest of the string is taken as an arbitrary shell command and is executed, with the standard output inserted into the message.

~sstring ...

Set the subject line to string.

~tnames ...

Add the given names to the To list.

~Tb

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and toggle bold mode (turn bold on or off).

~Tf

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and toggle fixed mode (turn fixed mode on or off).

~Ti

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and toggle italic mode (turn italic/reverse-video on or off).

~Tj

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and alter justification, in particular:.

~Tjl

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and make subsequent text flush-left.

~Tjc

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and center subsequent text.

~Tjr

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and make subsequent text flush-right.

~Tn

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and force newline (hard line break).

~Tu

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and toggle underline mode (turn underline on or off).

~Tv

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and toggle nofill (verbatim) mode (turn nofill on or off).

~T>

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and indent left margin.

~T>R

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and unindent right margin.

~T>s

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and increase smaller text.

~T>l

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and increase larger text.

~T<

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and unindent left margin.

~T<R

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and indent right margin.

~T>s

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and decrease smaller text.

~T>l

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and decrease larger text.

~TQ

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and toggle quotation (excerpt) mode.

~Tz

Convert existing text to the MIME type text/enriched and add the contents of ~/.signature as a text/enriched nofill signature.

~v

Invoke a screen editor on the partial message. The name of the editor is specified by VISUAL (see ``Environment variables'').

~wfile

Write the message text into the given file, without the header. If the file already exists, it is not changed unless POSIX2 is set in the current environment; if POSIX2 is set, then the message text is appended to the file.

~x

Exit as with ~q, but do not save the message in the dead.letter file.

~|shell-command
~**

Convert the message to a MIME multipart message and add non-text data (pictures, sounds, and so on) as a new MIME part.

~*Z

Convert the message to a MIME multipart message and add the contents of ~/.SIGNATURE as a NON-TEXT (MIME-format) signature. The file must contain proper MIME headers and a body.

~*+

Enter 8-bit mode for the easy entry of non-ASCII characters. All characters on a subsequent lines will have the eighth bit added before being stored in the message.

~*-

Leave 8-bit mode (return to ASCII).

~*^

Toggle ``Upside-down'' (right-to-left) mode. All characters on a subsequent lines will be reversed before being stored in the message.

~*S

Toggle Semitic mode (both right-to-left and eight-bit modes are toggled).

~^shell-command

Pipe the body of the message through the given shell-command. If the shell-command returns a successful exit status, the output of the command replaces the message.

Environment variables

HOME=directory

The user's home directory.

MAIL=file

The name of the initial mailbox file to read. By default, mailx determines the location of the mailbox through the message store configuration. However, setting the MAIL variable overrides this, and causes mailx to open the mailbox specified by file. If you wish mailx to use the message store, do not set the MAIL variable.

MAILRC=file

The name of the start-up file. Default is $HOME/.mailrc.

REMOTEHOST=hostname

Causes mailx to read mail from the remote host specified by hostname. This creates an IMAP connection to hostname in online mode only. When accessing mail remotely, mailx will display the location of the mailbox as ``INBOX''. This name has special meaning to the C client interface (see Message store programming in Message store programming) and allows the path and filename of the mailbox to be determined by the message store configuration files on the remote host. REMOTEHOST may be set via the .mailrc file. However, it may not be set by the set command, nor may it be set in the execution environment. An alternative way to specify the remote host is by using the -R option on the command line when invoking mailx.

add_date

A ``Date:'' header is created on all outgoing messages. Enabled by default.

add_headers

Additional headers to be added to outgoing messages. This may be used to create headers such as ``Organization:'' or ``Reply-To:''. The character sequences ``\t'' and ``\n'' will be converted into tab and newline, respectively. Care should be taken to ensure that the headers are properly formed ``Name: Value'' headers.

allnet

All network names whose user name component (login name) match are treated as identical. This will be the last component of a bang-style address, or the first component of a domain-style address. This causes the msglist message specifications to behave similarly. If allnet is set to uucp, then the system name must match as well. Default is noallnet. See also the alternates command and the metoo variable.

append

Upon termination, append messages to the end of the mbox file instead of prepending them. Default is noappend.

askatend

If set, the prompts for Cc and Bcc lists will be performed after the message has been entered instead of after the Subject is entered. See also askcc and askbcc.

askcc

Prompt for the Cc list after the Subject is entered. Default is noaskcc. See also askatend.

askbcc

Prompt for the Bcc list after the Subject is entered. Default is noaskbcc. See also askatend.

asksub
ask

Prompt for subject if it is not specified on the command line with the -s option. Enabled by default.

autoedit

Automatically edit a message, as in ~e, after prompting for the subject, To list, Cc list and Bcc list. The variable autoedit is looked for after the variable autovedit. Default is noautoedit.

autoprint

Enable automatic printing of messages after delete and undelete commands. Default is noautoprint.

autosign=string

The specified signature string is automatically appended to the body of each message that is sent. The value is echoed to the screen as it is appended. No default (see also ~i in ``Tilde escapes'').

autoSign=string

The specified signature string is automatically appended to the body of each message that is sent. No default. The variable inserted into the text of a message when the ~A command is given. No default (see also ~i in ``Tilde escapes'').

autovedit

Automatically edit a message, as in ~v, after prompting for the subject, To list, Cc list and Bcc list. The variable autovedit is looked for before the variable autoedit. Default is noautovedit.

bang

Enable the special-casing of exclamation points (!) in shell escape command lines as in vi(1). Default is nobang.

cmd=shell-command

Set the default command for the pipe command. No default value.

binaryokay

Non-text messages will be permitted to be printed with the print, Print, type, Type, top and Top commands, and editted with the edit and visual commands.

charsetlist=charset,pathname,charset,pathname, ...

A comma-separated list of pairs of strings, where charset specifies the MIME character set name, and pathname is the full pathname to the dynamically linked library (DLL) that handles encoding and decoding for that charset. UnixWare 7 provides a DLL for conversion between EUC, the internal encoding used for Japanese, and ISO-2022-JP, the RFC 1468 compliant encoding which should be used for internet messages with Japanese characters. Therefore by default the charsetlist variable is set in the system-wide mailx.rc file as:

   charsetlist="ISO-2022-JP,/etc/mail/charset/jis.dll"

conv=conversion

Convert UUCP addresses to the address style specified by conversion, which can be either of the following:

internet

uucp(1bnu) address paths (bang-style) are converted into domain-style. For example, the address mach1!mach2!user becomes ``user@mach2.UUCP''. This requires a mail delivery program conforming to the RFC822 standard for electronic mail addressing. The default /bin/mail is such a program. This is optional because some information is necessarily lost (for example, the route by which it got here) and if the host in not in the routing tables, the mail cannot be delivered.

optimize

Remove cycles and loops in uucp(1bnu) address paths (typically generated by the reply command). For example, the address mach1!mach2!mach1!user becomes mach1!user and mach1!mach1!user becomes mach1!user. No rerouting is performed as mailx has no knowledge of UUCP routes or connections.

Conversion is disabled by default. See also the -U command-line option.

crt=number

Pipe messages having more than number lines through the command specified by the value of the PAGER variable (pg -e by default). Disabled by default. If number is left off, it will default to 0, meaning that all messages will be passed through the pager.

DEAD=file

The name of the file in which to save partial letters in case of untimely interrupt. Default is $HOME/dead.letter. If POSIX2 is set in the current environment, file is overwritten; otherwise, the message is appended to file.

debug

Enable verbose diagnostics for debugging. Messages are not delivered. Default is nodebug.

dot

Take a period on a line by itself during input from a terminal as end-of-file. Default is nodot.

editheaders

Include message headers in the text to be edited by the ~e and ~v commands. Enabled by default.

EDITOR=shell-command

The command to run when the bedit, edit or ~e command is used. Default is ed(1).

escape=c

Substitute c for the ``~'' escape character. Takes effect with next message sent.

flipf

Swap the meanings of the Followup and the followup commands.

flipm

Swap the meanings of the Mail and the mail commands.

flipr

Swap the meanings of the Reply (Respond) and the reply (respond) commands.

folder=directory

The directory for saving standard mail files. User-specified file names beginning with a plus (+) are expanded by preceding the file name with this directory name to obtain the real file name. If directory does not start with a slash (/), $HOME is prepended to it. In order to use the plus (+) construct on a mailx command line, folder must be an exported sh(1) environment variable. The default folder is the current setting of the HOME environment variable. If POSIX2 is set in the current environment, there is no default for the folder variable. See also outfolder.

forwardbegin=string

Use the specified string above the text of forwarding messages. See the forward and Forward commands. Default is ---- begin forwarded message ----.

forwardbracket

Use the forwardbegin, forwardprefix and forwardend strings (or their defaults) with the ~f and ~F commands as well as the forward and Forward commands.

forwardend=string

Use the specified string after the text of forwarded messages. See the forward and Forward commands. Default is ---- end of forwarded message ----.

forwardprefix=string

Use the specified string instead of the two characters ``> '' when forwarding messages. See the forward and Forward commands.

from

A ``From:'' header is created on all outgoing messages, and the ``Reply-To:'' or ``From:'' headers will be examined to determine the return address when replying to a message. (These headers will only be treated as valid if they contain a domain-style address.) Enabled by default.

header

Enable printing of the header summary when entering mailx. Enabled by default.

hold

Preserve all messages that are read in the mailbox instead of putting them in the standard mbox save file. Default is nohold.

ignore

Ignore interrupts while entering messages. Handy for noisy dial-up lines. Default is noignore.

ignoreeof

Ignore end-of-file during message input. Input must be terminated by a period (.) on a line by itself (if dot is enabled) or by the ~. command. Default is noignoreeof. See also dot.

indentprefix=string

Use the specified string instead of a single tab character when inserting messages into a letter. See the ~m command.

iprompt=string

While in input mode, the specified string is displayed as a prompt for each line of input.

keep

When the mailbox is empty, truncate it to zero length instead of removing it. Disabled by default.

keepsave

Keep messages that have been saved in other files in the mailbox instead of deleting them. Default is nokeepsave.

LC_MESSAGES=localename

Both the user messages and the legal strings for confirmation prompts are determined by this variable. The LANG, and LC_ALL variables also have an effect (see the description of LANG in the environ(5) manual page for details).

LISTER=shell-command

The command (and options) to use when listing the contents of the folder directory. The default is ls(1).

MAILX_HEAD=string

The specified string is included at the beginning of the body of each message that is sent.

MAILX_TAIL=string

The specified string is included at the end of the body of each message that is sent.

MBOX=file

The name of the file to save messages which have been read. The xit command overrides this function, as does saving the message explicitly in another file. Default is $HOME/mbox. If $HOME/mbox is a directory, then $HOME/mbox/mbox will be used instead.

metamail_cmd

The command to use for printing MIME messages. Default is metamail -m mailx. If paging is enabled with the crt variable, the -p option will be added to the command. Also added will be a filename holding the message.

metoo

If your login appears as a recipient when responding or when doing alias expansion of more than one name, do not delete it from the list. Default is nometoo.

mime-intro

When a multi-part MIME message is created, a short blurb is placed before the first section which indicates that the message is in MIME format. This message will not be visible to people reading the message with a MIME-compatible mail reader. You may change the blurb by setting the mime-intro variable. (The sequences ``\n'' and ``\t'' will be expanded into newlines and tabs, respectively.)

MM_CHARSET

If this variable is set, it overrides the character set (charset) currently associated with the active locale. Note that if MM_CHARSET is not set (which is the normal case), mailx determines the charset using nl_langinfo(3C); all you have to do is set your locale. If mailx cannot find a charset for its locale in either MM_CHARSET or by using nl_langinfo, then the default of ``us-ascii'' is used.

mprefix=string

Use the specified string instead of a single tab character when inserting messages into a letter. (Note that this variable is being replaced by the indentprefix string.)

mustbang

All mail addresses are forced into bang format.

netprecedence

When mailx compares addresses for allnet and metoo processing, as well as removing duplicates, the addresses are normalized into an internal format before comparison. In order to do this, the relative precedences of the various networking characters must be taken into consideration. The netprecedence variable consists of a list of networking characters, each followed by the letter ``l'' or ``r'', depending on if that networking character is left associative or right associative, respectively. The default is ``@r!l%r''.

newmail

Look for new mail before each prompt. Enabled by default.

no

When used as a prefix to a variable name, has the effect of unsetting the variable, just like using the unset command.

NOMETAMAIL

If set, a Multi-Purpose Internet Message Extensions (MIME) message will not be passed through the program metamail(1).

onehop

When responding to a message that was originally sent to several recipients, the other recipient addresses are normally forced to be relative to the originating author's machine for the response. This flag disables alteration of the recipients' addresses, improving efficiency in a network where all machines can send directly to all other machines (that is, one hop away).

outfolder

Causes the files used to record outgoing messages to be located in the directory specified by the folder variable unless the path name is absolute. Default is nooutfolder. See folder, record, and the Save, Copy, followup, and Followup commands.

page

Used with the pipe command to insert a form feed after each message sent through the pipe. Default is nopage.

PAGER=shell-command

The command to use as a filter for paginating output. This can also be used to specify the options to be used. If not set, the default is pg -e. If set to an empty string, the default is cat(1).

POSIX2

If set, mailx conforms to the POSIX 1003.2 definition. See the descriptions of DEAD=file, folder=directory, and ~wfile. POSIX2 is unset by the /etc/mail/mailx.rc startup file.

postmark=string

The specified string is included in the comment field of the ``From:'' header of messages that you send. The string is usually set to your name. See from and translate. If the string includes an ``@'', it will be used for the entire ``From:'' header.

prompt=string

Set the command mode prompt to string. Default is ``? ''.

quiet

Refrain from printing the opening message and version when entering mailx. Default is noquiet.

record=file

Record all outgoing mail in file. Disabled by default. See also outfolder. If you have the record and outfolder variables set but the folder variable not set, messages are saved in +file instead of file.

reversedp

When using the dt or dp commands, if the last undeleted message is deleted, the next undeleted message from the end is printed.

save

Enable saving of messages in dead.letter on interrupt or delivery error. See DEAD for a description of this file. Enabled by default.

screen=number

Sets the number of lines in a screen-full of headers for the headers command. It must be a positive number.

sendmail=shell-command

Alternate command for delivering messages. The default is /usr/lib/sendmail.

sendwait

Wait for background mailer to finish before returning. Default is nosendwait.

SHELL=shell-command

The name of a preferred command interpreter. Typically inherited from the environment, the shell is normally the one you always use. Otherwise defaults to sh(1).

showto

When displaying the header summary and the message is from you, print the recipient's name instead of the author's name.

sign=string

The string inserted into the text of a message when the ~a (autograph) command is given. No default (see also ~i in ``Tilde escapes'').

Sign=string

The string inserted into the text of a message when the ~A command is given. No default (see also ~i in ``Tilde escapes'').

toplines=number

The number of lines of header to print with the top command. Default is 5.

translate=shell-command

The name of a command used to translate mail addresses. The program will receive mail addresses as arguments. The program should produce, on standard output, lines containing the following data, in this order:

1. The postmark for the sender (see postmark).

2. Translated mail addresses, one per line, corresponding to the program's arguments. Each translated address will replace the corresponding address in the mail message being sent.

   A line containing only ``y'' or ``n''. If the line contains ``y'', the user will be asked to confirm that the message should be sent.

The translate program will be invoked for each mail message sent. If the program exists with a non-zero exit status, or fails to produce enough output, the message will not be sent.

VISUAL=shell-command

The name of a preferred screen editor. Default is vi(1).

Files

$HOME/.mailrc

Personal start-up file.

$HOME/mbox

Secondary storage file.

$HOME/dead.letter

Undeliverable messages file.

$HOME/.maildef

User-specific message store configuration file.

/usr/share/lib/mailx/locale/mailx.help*

Help message files.

/etc/default/mail

System-wide message store configuration file.

/etc/mail/mailx.rc

Optional global start-up file.

/tmp/R[emqsx]*

Temporary files.

/usr/lib/locale/locale/LC_MESSAGES/uxemail

Language-specific message file (see the description of LANG on the environ(5) manual page).

References

Message store programming in Message store programming

Notices

Where shell-command is shown as valid, arguments are not always allowed. Experimentation is recommended.

Internal variables imported from the execution environment cannot be unset.

mailx cannot make an IMAP connection to a remote host when the user is root, because IMAP does not allow root login for security reasons. If the user is root, the message No new mail might be displayed even when there is mail on the remote host.

When mailx is run as an IMAP client, the ``From'' line of a displayed message shows the date instead of the correct sender.

Mail folders cannot be configured as hard or symbolic links. The message store system will reject them for security reasons.

If you read or delete messages and then quit from mailx, the New mail has arrived message is displayed even if you do not have new mail.

If a user attempts to save a message to a file with multiple hard links or a symbolic link, the save fails with an error like the following:

   "filename" notify [TRYCREATE] Must create mailbox before copy
   UX:mailx: ERROR: Cannot write filename: No such file or directory