1muttrc(5) User Manuals muttrc(5)
2
6 muttrc - Configuration file for the Mutt Mail User Agent
7
9 A mutt configuration file consists of a series of “commands”. Each
10 line of the file may contain one or more commands. When multiple com‐
11 mands are used, they must be separated by a semicolon (“;”).
12 The hash mark, or pound sign (“#”), is used as a “comment” character.
14 You can use it to annotate your initialization file. All text after the
15 comment character to the end of the line is ignored.
16 Single quotes (“'”) and double quotes (“"”) can be used to quote
18 strings which contain spaces or other special characters. The differ‐
19 ence between the two types of quotes is similar to that of many popular
20 shell programs, namely that a single quote is used to specify a literal
21 string (one that is not interpreted for shell variables or quoting with
22 a backslash [see next paragraph]), while double quotes indicate a
23 string which should be evaluated. For example, backticks are evaluated
24 inside of double quotes, but not single quotes.
25 \ quotes the next character, just as in shells such as bash and zsh.
27 For example, if want to put quotes (“"”) inside of a string, you can
28 use “\” to force the next character to be a literal instead of inter‐
29 preted character.
30 “\\” means to insert a literal “\” into the line. “\n” and “\r” have
32 their usual C meanings of linefeed and carriage-return, respectively.
33 A “\” at the end of a line can be used to split commands over multiple
35 lines, provided that the split points don't appear in the middle of
36 command names.
37 It is also possible to substitute the output of a Unix command in an
39 initialization file. This is accomplished by enclosing the command in
40 backticks (`command`).
41 UNIX environment variables can be accessed like the way it is done in
43 shells like sh and bash: Prepend the name of the variable by a dollar
44 (“$”) sign.
45
47 alias [-group name [...]] key address [, address [ ... ]]
48 unalias [ * | key ]
49 alias defines an alias key for the given addresses. Each address
51 will be resolved into either an email address (user@example.com)
52 or a named email address (User Name <user@example.com>). The
53 address may be specified in either format, or in the format
54 “user@example.com (User Name)”. unalias removes the alias cor‐
55 responding to the given key or all aliases when “*” is used as
56 an argument. The optional -group argument to alias causes the
57 aliased address(es) to be added to the named group.
58 group [-group name] [-rx EXPR [ ... ]] [-addr address [ ... ]]
60 ungroup [-group name ] [ * | [[-rx EXPR [ ... ]] [-addr address [ ... ]]]
61 group is used to directly add either addresses or regular
63 expressions to the specified group or groups. The different cat‐
64 egories of arguments to the group command can be in any order.
65 The flags -rx and -addr specify what the following strings (that
66 cannot begin with a hyphen) should be interpreted as: either a
67 regular expression or an email address, respectively. ungroup
68 is used to remove addresses or regular expressions from the
69 specified group or groups. The syntax is similar to the group
70 command, however the special character * can be used to empty a
71 group of all of its contents.
72 These address groups can also be created implicitly by the
74 alias, lists, subscribe and alternates commands by specifying
75 the optional -group option.
76 Once defined, these address groups can be used in patterns to
78 search for and limit the display to messages matching a group.
79 alternates [-group name] regexp [ regexp [ ... ]]
81 unalternates [ * | regexp [ regexp [ ... ]] ]
82 alternates is used to inform mutt about alternate addresses
84 where you receive mail; you can use regular expressions to spec‐
85 ify alternate addresses. This affects mutt's idea about mes‐
86 sages from you, and messages addressed to you. unalternates
87 removes a regular expression from the list of known alternates.
88 The -group flag causes all of the subsequent regular expressions
89 to be added to the named group.
90 alternative_order type[/subtype] [ ... ]
92 unalternative_order [ * | type/subtype] [...]
93 alternative_order command permits you to define an order of
95 preference which is used by mutt to determine which part of a
96 multipart/alternative body to display. A subtype of “*” matches
97 any subtype, as does an empty subtype. unalternative_order
98 removes entries from the ordered list or deletes the entire list
99 when “*” is used as an argument.
100 auto_view type[/subtype] [ ... ]
102 unauto_view type[/subtype] [ ... ]
103 This commands permits you to specify that mutt should automati‐
105 cally convert the given MIME types to text/plain when displaying
106 messages. For this to work, there must be a mailcap(5) entry
107 for the given MIME type with the copiousoutput flag set. A sub‐
108 type of “*” matches any subtype, as does an empty subtype.
109 mime_lookup type[/subtype] [ ... ]
111 unmime_lookup type[/subtype] [ ... ]
112 This command permits you to define a list of "data" MIME content
114 types for which mutt will try to determine the actual file type
115 from the file name, and not use a mailcap(5) entry given for the
116 original MIME type. For instance, you may add the applica‐
117 tion/octet-stream MIME type to this list.
118 bind map1,map2,... key function
120 This command binds the given key for the given map or maps to
121 the given function. Multiple maps may be specified by separating
122 them with commas (no whitespace is allowed).
123 Valid maps are: generic, alias, attach, browser, editor, index,
125 compose, pager, pgp, postpone, mix.
126 For more information on keys and functions, please consult the
128 Mutt Manual. Note that the function name is to be specified
129 without angle brackets.
130 account-hook [!]regexp command
132 This hook is executed whenever you access a remote mailbox. Use‐
133 ful to adjust configuration settings to different IMAP or POP
134 servers.
135 charset-hook alias charset
137 This command defines an alias for a character set. This is use‐
138 ful to properly display messages which are tagged with a charac‐
139 ter set name not known to mutt.
140 iconv-hook charset local-charset
142 This command defines a system-specific name for a character set.
143 This is useful when your system's iconv(3) implementation does
144 not understand MIME character set names (such as iso-8859-1),
145 but instead insists on being fed with implementation-specific
146 character set names (such as 8859-1). In this specific case,
147 you'd put this into your configuration file:
148 iconv-hook iso-8859-1 8859-1
150 message-hook [!]pattern command
152 Before mutt displays (or formats for replying or forwarding) a
153 message which matches the given pattern (or, when it is preceded
154 by an exclamation mark, does not match the pattern), the given
155 command is executed. When multiple message-hooks match, they
156 are executed in the order in which they occur in the configu‐
157 ration file.
158 folder-hook [!]regexp command
160 When mutt enters a folder which matches regexp (or, when regexp
161 is preceded by an exclamation mark, does not match regexp), the
162 given command is executed.
163 When several folder-hooks match a given mail folder, they are
165 executed in the order given in the configuration file.
166 macro map key sequence [ description ]
168 This command binds the given sequence of keys to the given key
169 in the given map or maps. For valid maps, see bind. To specify
170 multiple maps, put only a comma between the maps.
171 color object foreground background [ regexp ]
173 color index foreground background [ pattern ]
174 uncolor index pattern [ pattern ... ]
175 If your terminal supports color, these commands can be used to
177 assign foreground/background combinations to certain objects.
178 Valid objects are: attachment, body, bold, error, header, hdrde‐
179 fault, index, indicator, markers, message, normal, prompt,
180 quoted, quotedN, search, signature, status, tilde, tree, under‐
181 line. If the sidebar is enabled the following objects are also
182 valid: sidebar_divider, sidebar_flagged, sidebar_highlight,
183 sidebar_indicator, sidebar_new, sidebar_spoolfile. The body and
184 header objects allow you to restrict the colorization to a regu‐
185 lar expression. The index object permits you to select colored
186 messages by pattern.
187 Valid colors include: white, black, green, magenta, blue, cyan,
189 yellow, red, default, colorN.
190 mono object attribute [ regexp ]
192 mono index attribute [ pattern ]
193 For terminals which don't support color, you can still assign
195 attributes to objects. Valid attributes include: none, bold,
196 underline, reverse, and standout.
197 [un]ignore pattern [ pattern ... ]
199 The ignore command permits you to specify header fields which
200 you usually don't wish to see. Any header field whose tag
201 begins with an “ignored” pattern will be ignored.
202 The unignore command permits you to define exceptions from the
204 above mentioned list of ignored headers.
205 lists [-group name] regexp [ regexp ... ]
207 unlists regexp [ regexp ... ]
208 subscribe [-group name] regexp [ regexp ... ]
209 unsubscribe regexp [ regexp ... ]
210 Mutt maintains two lists of mailing list address patterns, a
212 list of subscribed mailing lists, and a list of known mailing
213 lists. All subscribed mailing lists are known. Patterns use
214 regular expressions.
215 The lists command adds a mailing list address to the list of
217 known mailing lists. The unlists command removes a mailing list
218 from the lists of known and subscribed mailing lists. The sub‐
219 scribe command adds a mailing list to the lists of known and
220 subscribed mailing lists. The unsubscribe command removes it
221 from the list of subscribed mailing lists. The -group flag adds
222 all of the subsequent regular expressions to the named group.
223 mbox-hook [!]regexp mailbox
225 When mutt changes to a mail folder which matches regexp, mailbox
226 will be used as the “mbox” folder, i.e., read messages will be
227 moved to that folder when the mail folder is left.
228 The first matching mbox-hook applies.
230 mailboxes filename [ filename ... ]
232 unmailboxes [ * | filename ... ]
233 The mailboxes specifies folders which can receive mail and which
235 will be checked for new messages. When changing folders, press‐
236 ing space will cycle through folders with new mail. The unmail‐
237 boxes command is used to remove a file name from the list of
238 folders which can receive mail. If "*" is specified as the file
239 name, the list is emptied.
240 my_hdr string
242 unmy_hdr field
243 Using my_hdr, you can define headers which will be added to the
245 messages you compose. unmy_hdr will remove the given user-
246 defined headers.
247 hdr_order header1 header2 [ ... ]
249 With this command, you can specify an order in which mutt will
250 attempt to present headers to you when viewing messages.
251 save-hook [!]pattern filename
253 When a message matches pattern, the default file name when sav‐
254 ing it will be the given filename.
255 fcc-hook [!]pattern filename
257 When an outgoing message matches pattern, the default file name
258 for storing a copy (fcc) will be the given filename.
259 fcc-save-hook [!]pattern filename
261 This command is an abbreviation for identical fcc-hook and save-
262 hook commands.
263 send-hook [!]pattern command
265 When composing a message matching pattern, command is executed.
266 When multiple send-hooks match, they are executed in the order
267 in which they occur in the configuration file.
268 send2-hook [!]pattern command
270 Whenever a message matching pattern is changed (either by edit‐
271 ing it or by using the compose menu), command is executed. When
272 multiple send2-hooks match, they are executed in the order in
273 which they occur in the configuration file. Possible applica‐
274 tions include setting the $sendmail variable when a message's
275 from header is changed.
276 send2-hook execution is not triggered by use of enter-command
278 from the compose menu.
279 reply-hook [!]pattern command
281 When replying to a message matching pattern, command is exe‐
282 cuted. When multiple reply-hooks match, they are executed in
283 the order in which they occur in the configuration file, but all
284 reply-hooks are matched and executed before send-hooks, regard‐
285 less of their order in the configuration file.
286 crypt-hook regexp key-id
288 The crypt-hook command provides a method by which you can spec‐
289 ify the ID of the public key to be used when encrypting messages
290 to a certain recipient. The meaning of "key ID" is to be taken
291 broadly: This can be a different e-mail address, a numerical key
292 ID, or even just an arbitrary search string. You may use multi‐
293 ple crypt-hooks with the same regexp; multiple matching crypt-
294 hooks result in the use of multiple key-ids for a recipient.
295 open-hook regexp "command"
297 close-hook regexp "command"
298 append-hook regexp "command"
299 These commands provide a way to handle compressed folders. The
301 given regexp specifies which folders are taken as compressed
302 (e.g. "\\.gz$"). The commands tell Mutt how to uncompress a
303 folder (open-hook), compress a folder (close-hook) or append a
304 compressed mail to a compressed folder (append-hook). The com‐
305 mand string is the printf(3) like format string, and it should
306 accept two parameters: %f, which is replaced with the (com‐
307 pressed) folder name, and %t which is replaced with the name of
308 the temporary folder to which to write.
309 push string
311 This command adds the named string to the keyboard buffer.
312 set [no|inv|&|?]variable[=value] [ ... ]
314 toggle variable [ ... ]
315 unset variable [ ... ]
316 reset variable [ ... ]
317 These commands are used to set and manipulate configuration
319 variables.
320 Mutt knows four basic types of variables: boolean, number,
322 string and quadoption. Boolean variables can be set (true),
323 unset (false), or toggled. Number variables can be assigned a
324 positive integer value.
325 String variables consist of any number of printable characters.
327 Strings must be enclosed in quotes if they contain spaces or
328 tabs. You may also use the “C” escape sequences \n and \t for
329 newline and tab, respectively.
330 Quadoption variables are used to control whether or not to be
332 prompted for certain actions, or to specify a default action. A
333 value of yes will cause the action to be carried out automati‐
334 cally as if you had answered yes to the question. Similarly, a
335 value of no will cause the the action to be carried out as if
336 you had answered “no.” A value of ask-yes will cause a prompt
337 with a default answer of “yes” and ask-no will provide a default
338 answer of “no.”
339 The reset command resets all given variables to the compile time
341 defaults. If you reset the special variable all, all variables
342 will reset to their compile time defaults.
343 source filename
345 The given file will be evaluated as a configuration file.
346 spam pattern format
348 nospam pattern
349 These commands define spam-detection patterns from external spam
351 filters, so that mutt can sort, limit, and search on ``spam
352 tags'' or ``spam attributes'', or display them in the index. See
353 the Mutt manual for details.
354 subjectrx pattern replacement
356 unsubjectrx [ * | pattern ]
357 subjectrx specifies a regular expression pattern which, if
359 detected in a message subject, causes the subject to be replaced
360 with the replacement value. The replacement is subject to sub‐
361 stitutions in the same way as for the spam command: %L for the
362 text to the left of the match, %R for text to the right of the
363 match, and %1 for the first subgroup in the match (etc). If you
364 simply want to erase the match, set it to “%L%R”. Any number of
365 subjectrx commands may coexist.
366 Note this well: the replacement value replaces the entire sub‐
368 ject, not just the match!
369 unsubjectrx removes a given subjectrx from the substitution
371 list. If * is used as the pattern, all substitutions will be
372 removed.
373 unhook [ * | hook-type ]
375 This command will remove all hooks of a given type, or all hooks
376 when “*” is used as an argument. hook-type can be any of the
377 -hook commands documented above.
378 mailto_allow header-field [ ... ]
380 unmailto_allow [ * | header-field ... ]
381 These commands allow the user to modify the list of allowed
383 header fields in a mailto: URL that Mutt will include in the the
384 generated message. By default the list contains only subject
385 and body, as specified by RFC2368.
386
388 In various places with mutt, including some of the above mentioned hook
389 commands, you can specify patterns to match messages.
390 Constructing Patterns
392 A simple pattern consists of an operator of the form “~character”, pos‐
393 sibly followed by a parameter against which mutt is supposed to match
394 the object specified by this operator. For some characters, the ~ may
395 be replaced by another character to alter the behavior of the match.
396 These are described in the list of operators, below.
397 With some of these operators, the object to be matched consists of sev‐
399 eral e-mail addresses. In these cases, the object is matched if at
400 least one of these e-mail addresses matches. You can prepend a hat
401 (“^”) character to such a pattern to indicate that all addresses must
402 match in order to match the object.
403 You can construct complex patterns by combining simple patterns with
405 logical operators. Logical AND is specified by simply concatenating
406 two simple patterns, for instance “~C mutt-dev ~s bug”. Logical OR is
407 specified by inserting a vertical bar (“|”) between two patterns, for
408 instance “~C mutt-dev | ~s bug”. Additionally, you can negate a pat‐
409 tern by prepending a bang (“!”) character. For logical grouping, use
410 braces (“()”). Example: “!(~t mutt|~c mutt) ~f elkins”.
411 Simple Patterns
413 Mutt understands the following simple patterns:
414 ~A all messages
416 ~b EXPR messages which contain EXPR in the message body.
417 =b STRING If IMAP is enabled, like ~b but searches for STRING on the
418 server, rather than downloading each message and searching
419 it locally.
420 ~B EXPR messages which contain EXPR in the whole message.
421 =B STRING If IMAP is enabled, like ~B but searches for STRING on the
422 server, rather than downloading each message and searching
423 it locally.
424 ~c EXPR messages carbon-copied to EXPR
425 %c GROUP messages carbon-copied to any member of GROUP
426 ~C EXPR messages either to: or cc: EXPR
427 %C GROUP messages either to: or cc: to any member of GROUP
428 ~d MIN-MAX messages with “date-sent” in a Date range
429 ~D deleted messages
430 ~e EXPR messages which contain EXPR in the “Sender” field
431 %e GROUP messages which contain a member of GROUP in the “Sender”
432 field
433 ~E expired messages
434 ~f EXPR messages originating from EXPR
435 %f GROUP messages originating from any member of GROUP
436 ~F flagged messages
437 ~g PGP signed messages
438 ~G PGP encrypted messages
439 ~h EXPR messages which contain EXPR in the message header
440 =h STRING If IMAP is enabled, like ~h but searches for STRING on the
441 server, rather than downloading each message and searching
442 it locally. STRING must be of the form “header: substring”
443 ~H EXPR messages with spam tags matching EXPR
444 ~i EXPR messages which match EXPR in the “Message-ID” field
445 ~k messages containing PGP key material
446 ~l messages addressed to a known mailing list (defined by
447 either subscribe or list)
448 ~L EXPR messages either originated or received by EXPR
449 %L GROUP messages either originated or received by any member of
450 GROUP
451 ~m MIN-MAX message in the range MIN to MAX
452 ~M EXPR messages which contain a mime Content-Type matching EXPR
453 ~n MIN-MAX messages with a score in the range MIN to MAX
454 ~N new messages
455 ~O old messages
456 ~p messages addressed to you (as defined by alternates)
457 ~P messages from you (as defined by alternates)
458 ~Q messages which have been replied to
459 ~r MIN-MAX messages with “date-received” in a Date range
460 ~R read messages
461 ~s EXPR messages having EXPR in the “Subject” field.
462 ~S superseded messages
463 ~t EXPR messages addressed to EXPR
464 ~T tagged messages
465 ~u messages addressed to a subscribed mailing list (defined by
466 subscribe commands)
467 ~U unread messages
468 ~v message is part of a collapsed thread.
469 ~V cryptographically verified messages
470 ~x EXPR messages which contain EXPR in the “References” or “In-
471 Reply-To” field
472 ~X MIN-MAX messages with MIN - MAX attachments
473 ~y EXPR messages which contain EXPR in the “X-Label” field
474 ~z MIN-MAX messages with a size in the range MIN to MAX
475 ~= duplicated messages (see $duplicate_threads)
476 ~$ unreferenced message (requires threaded view)
477 ~(PATTERN) messages in threads containing messages matching a certain
478 pattern, e.g. all threads containing messages from you:
479 ~(~P)
480 ~<(PATTERN) messages whose immediate parent matches PATTERN, e.g.
481 replies to your messages: ~<(~P)
482 ~>(PATTERN) messages having an immediate child matching PATTERN, e.g.
483 messages you replied to: ~>(~P)
484 In the above, EXPR is a regular expression.
486 With the ~d, ~m, ~n, ~r, ~X, and ~z operators, you can also specify
488 ranges in the forms <MAX, >MIN, MIN-, and -MAX.
489 With the ~z operator, the suffixes “K” and “M” are allowed to specify
491 kilobyte and megabyte respectively.
492 The ~b, ~B, ~h, ~M, and ~X operators require reading each message in,
494 which can be much slower.
495 You can force Mutt to treat EXPR as a simple string instead of a regu‐
497 lar expression by using = instead of ~ in the pattern name.
498 Matching dates
500 The ~d and ~r operators are used to match date ranges, which are inter‐
501 preted to be given in your local time zone.
502 A date is of the form DD[/MM[/[cc]YY]], that is, a two-digit date,
504 optionally followed by a two-digit month, optionally followed by a year
505 specifications. Omitted fields default to the current month and year.
506 Mutt understands either two or four digit year specifications. When
508 given a two-digit year, mutt will interpret values less than 70 as
509 lying in the 21st century (i.e., “38” means 2038 and not 1938, and “00”
510 is interpreted as 2000), and values greater than or equal to 70 as
511 lying in the 20th century.
512 Note that this behavior is Y2K compliant, but that mutt does have a
514 Y2.07K problem.
515 If a date range consists of a single date, the operator in question
517 will match that precise date. If the date range consists of a dash
518 (“-”), followed by a date, this range will match any date before and up
519 to the date given. Similarly, a date followed by a dash matches the
520 date given and any later point of time. Two dates, separated by a
521 dash, match any date which lies in the given range of time.
522 You can also modify any absolute date by giving an error range. An
524 error range consists of one of the characters +, -, *, followed by a
525 positive number, followed by one of the unit characters y, m, w, or d,
526 specifying a unit of years, months, weeks, or days. + increases the
527 maximum date matched by the given interval of time, - decreases the
528 minimum date matched by the given interval of time, and * increases the
529 maximum date and decreases the minimum date matched by the given inter‐
530 val of time. It is possible to give multiple error margins, which
531 cumulate. Example: 1/1/2001-1w+2w*3d
532 You can also specify offsets relative to the current date. An offset
534 is specified as one of the characters <, >, =, followed by a positive
535 number, followed by one of the unit characters y, m, w, or d. >
536 matches dates which are older than the specified amount of time, an
537 offset which begins with the character < matches dates which are more
538 recent than the specified amount of time, and an offset which begins
539 with the character = matches points of time which are precisely the
540 given amount of time ago.
541
543 abort_noattach
544 Type: quadoption
545 Default: no
546 When the body of the message matches $abort_noattach_regexp and
548 there are no attachments, this quadoption controls whether to
549 abort sending the message.
550 abort_noattach_regexp
554 Type: regular expression
555 Default: “attach”
556 Specifies a regular expression to match against the body of the
558 message, to determine if an attachment was mentioned but mistak‐
559 enly forgotten. If it matches, $abort_noattach will be con‐
560 sulted to determine if message sending will be aborted.
561 Like other regular expressions in Mutt, the search is case sen‐
563 sitive if the pattern contains at least one upper case letter,
564 and case insensitive otherwise.
565 abort_nosubject
569 Type: quadoption
570 Default: ask-yes
571 If set to yes, when composing messages and no subject is given
573 at the subject prompt, composition will be aborted. If set to
574 no, composing messages with no subject given at the subject
575 prompt will never be aborted.
576 abort_unmodified
580 Type: quadoption
581 Default: yes
582 If set to yes, composition will automatically abort after edit‐
584 ing the message body if no changes are made to the file (this
585 check only happens after the first edit of the file). When set
586 to no, composition will never be aborted.
587 alias_file
591 Type: path
592 Default: “~/.muttrc”
593 The default file in which to save aliases created by the <cre‐
595 ate-alias> function. Entries added to this file are encoded in
596 the character set specified by $config_charset if it is set or
597 the current character set otherwise.
598 Note: Mutt will not automatically source this file; you must
600 explicitly use the “source” command for it to be executed in
601 case this option points to a dedicated alias file.
602 The default for this option is the currently used muttrc file,
604 or “~/.muttrc” if no user muttrc was found.
605 alias_format
609 Type: string
610 Default: “%4n %2f %t %-10a %r”
611 Specifies the format of the data displayed for the “alias” menu.
613 The following printf(3)-style sequences are available:
614 %a alias name
615 %f flags - currently, a “d” for an alias marked for deletion
616 %n index number
617 %r address which alias expands to
618 %t character which indicates if the alias is tagged for
619 inclusion
620 allow_8bit
623 Type: boolean
624 Default: yes
625 Controls whether 8-bit data is converted to 7-bit using either
627 Quoted- Printable or Base64 encoding when sending mail.
628 allow_ansi
632 Type: boolean
633 Default: no
634 Controls whether ANSI color codes in messages (and color tags in
636 rich text messages) are to be interpreted. Messages containing
637 these codes are rare, but if this option is set, their text will
638 be colored accordingly. Note that this may override your color
639 choices, and even present a security problem, since a message
640 could include a line like
641 [-- PGP output follows ...
644 and give it the same color as your attachment color (see also
647 $crypt_timestamp).
648 arrow_cursor
652 Type: boolean
653 Default: no
654 When set, an arrow (“->”) will be used to indicate the current
656 entry in menus instead of highlighting the whole line. On slow
657 network or modem links this will make response faster because
658 there is less that has to be redrawn on the screen when moving
659 to the next or previous entries in the menu.
660 ascii_chars
664 Type: boolean
665 Default: no
666 If set, Mutt will use plain ASCII characters when displaying
668 thread and attachment trees, instead of the default ACS charac‐
669 ters.
670 askbcc
674 Type: boolean
675 Default: no
676 If set, Mutt will prompt you for blind-carbon-copy (Bcc) recipi‐
678 ents before editing an outgoing message.
679 askcc
683 Type: boolean
684 Default: no
685 If set, Mutt will prompt you for carbon-copy (Cc) recipients
687 before editing the body of an outgoing message.
688 assumed_charset
692 Type: string
693 Default: “”
694 This variable is a colon-separated list of character encoding
696 schemes for messages without character encoding indication.
697 Header field values and message body content without character
698 encoding indication would be assumed that they are written in
699 one of this list. By default, all the header fields and message
700 body without any charset indication are assumed to be in
701 “us-ascii”.
702 For example, Japanese users might prefer this:
704 set assumed_charset=”iso-2022-jp:euc-jp:shift_jis:utf-8”
707 However, only the first content is valid for the message body.
710 attach_charset
714 Type: string
715 Default: “”
716 This variable is a colon-separated list of character encoding
718 schemes for text file attachments. Mutt uses this setting to
719 guess which encoding files being attached are encoded in to con‐
720 vert them to a proper character set given in $send_charset.
721 If unset, the value of $charset will be used instead. For exam‐
723 ple, the following configuration would work for Japanese text
724 handling:
725 set attach_charset=”iso-2022-jp:euc-jp:shift_jis:utf-8”
728 Note: for Japanese users, “iso-2022-*” must be put at the head
731 of the value as shown above if included.
732 attach_format
736 Type: string
737 Default: “%u%D%I %t%4n %T%.40d%> [%.7m/%.10M, %.6e%?C?, %C?, %s] ”
738 This variable describes the format of the “attachment” menu.
740 The following printf(3)-style sequences are understood:
741 %C charset
742 %c requires charset conversion (“n” or “c”)
743 %D deleted flag
744 %d description (if none, falls back to %F)
745 %e MIME content-transfer-encoding
746 %F filename in content-disposition header (if none, falls
747 back to %f)
748 %f filename
749 %I disposition (“I” for inline, “A” for attachment)
750 %m major MIME type
751 %M MIME subtype
752 %n attachment number
753 %Q “Q”, if MIME part qualifies for attachment counting
754 %s size
755 %t tagged flag
756 %T graphic tree characters
757 %u unlink (=to delete) flag
758 %X number of qualifying MIME parts in this part and its
759 children (please see the “attachments” section for possi‐
760 ble speed effects)
761 %>X right justify the rest of the string and pad with charac‐
762 ter “X”
763 %|X pad to the end of the line with character “X”
764 %*X soft-fill with character “X” as pad
765 For an explanation of “soft-fill”, see the $index_format docu‐
767 mentation.
768 attach_sep
772 Type: string
773 Default: “\n”
774 The separator to add between attachments when operating (saving,
776 printing, piping, etc) on a list of tagged attachments.
777 attach_split
781 Type: boolean
782 Default: yes
783 If this variable is unset, when operating (saving, printing,
785 piping, etc) on a list of tagged attachments, Mutt will concate‐
786 nate the attachments and will operate on them as a single
787 attachment. The $attach_sep separator is added after each
788 attachment. When set, Mutt will operate on the attachments one
789 by one.
790 attribution
794 Type: string
795 Default: “On %d, %n wrote:”
796 This is the string that will precede a message which has been
798 included in a reply. For a full listing of defined
799 printf(3)-like sequences see the section on $index_format.
800 attribution_locale
804 Type: string
805 Default: “”
806 The locale used by strftime(3) to format dates in the attribu‐
808 tion string. Legal values are the strings your system accepts
809 for the locale environment variable $LC_TIME.
810 This variable is to allow the attribution date format to be cus‐
812 tomized by recipient or folder using hooks. By default, Mutt
813 will use your locale environment, so there is no need to set
814 this except to override that default.
815 auto_tag
819 Type: boolean
820 Default: no
821 When set, functions in the index menu which affect a message
823 will be applied to all tagged messages (if there are any). When
824 unset, you must first use the <tag-prefix> function (bound to
825 “;” by default) to make the next function apply to all tagged
826 messages.
827 autoedit
831 Type: boolean
832 Default: no
833 When set along with $edit_headers, Mutt will skip the initial
835 send-menu (prompting for subject and recipients) and allow you
836 to immediately begin editing the body of your message. The
837 send-menu may still be accessed once you have finished editing
838 the body of your message.
839 Note: when this option is set, you cannot use send-hooks that
841 depend on the recipients when composing a new (non-reply) mes‐
842 sage, as the initial list of recipients is empty.
843 Also see $fast_reply.
845 beep
849 Type: boolean
850 Default: yes
851 When this variable is set, mutt will beep when an error occurs.
853 beep_new
857 Type: boolean
858 Default: no
859 When this variable is set, mutt will beep whenever it prints a
861 message notifying you of new mail. This is independent of the
862 setting of the $beep variable.
863 bounce
867 Type: quadoption
868 Default: ask-yes
869 Controls whether you will be asked to confirm bouncing messages.
871 If set to yes you don't get asked if you want to bounce a mes‐
872 sage. Setting this variable to no is not generally useful, and
873 thus not recommended, because you are unable to bounce messages.
874 bounce_delivered
878 Type: boolean
879 Default: yes
880 When this variable is set, mutt will include Delivered-To head‐
882 ers when bouncing messages. Postfix users may wish to unset
883 this variable.
884 braille_friendly
888 Type: boolean
889 Default: no
890 When this variable is set, mutt will place the cursor at the
892 beginning of the current line in menus, even when the
893 $arrow_cursor variable is unset, making it easier for blind per‐
894 sons using Braille displays to follow these menus. The option
895 is unset by default because many visual terminals don't permit
896 making the cursor invisible.
897 browser_abbreviate_mailboxes
901 Type: boolean
902 Default: yes
903 When this variable is set, mutt will abbreviate mailbox names in
905 the browser mailbox list, using '~' and '=' shortcuts.
906 The default ”alpha” setting of $sort_browser uses locale-based
908 sorting (using strcoll(3)), which ignores some punctuation.
909 This can lead to some situations where the order doesn't make
910 intuitive sense. In those cases, it may be desirable to unset
911 this variable.
912 certificate_file
916 Type: path
917 Default: “~/.mutt_certificates”
918 This variable specifies the file where the certificates you
920 trust are saved. When an unknown certificate is encountered, you
921 are asked if you accept it or not. If you accept it, the cer‐
922 tificate can also be saved in this file and further connections
923 are automatically accepted.
924 You can also manually add CA certificates in this file. Any
926 server certificate that is signed with one of these CA certifi‐
927 cates is also automatically accepted.
928 Example:
930 set certificate_file=~/.mutt/certificates
933 change_folder_next
938 Type: boolean
939 Default: no
940 When this variable is set, the <change-folder> function mailbox
942 suggestion will start at the next folder in your “mailboxes”
943 list, instead of starting at the first folder in the list.
944 charset
948 Type: string
949 Default: “”
950 Character set your terminal uses to display and enter textual
952 data. It is also the fallback for $send_charset.
953 Upon startup Mutt tries to derive this value from environment
955 variables such as $LC_CTYPE or $LANG.
956 Note: It should only be set in case Mutt isn't able to determine
958 the character set used correctly.
959 check_mbox_size
963 Type: boolean
964 Default: no
965 When this variable is set, mutt will use file size attribute
967 instead of access time when checking for new mail in mbox and
968 mmdf folders.
969 This variable is unset by default and should only be enabled
971 when new mail detection for these folder types is unreliable or
972 doesn't work.
973 Note that enabling this variable should happen before any “mail‐
975 boxes” directives occur in configuration files regarding mbox or
976 mmdf folders because mutt needs to determine the initial new
977 mail status of such a mailbox by performing a fast mailbox scan
978 when it is defined. Afterwards the new mail status is tracked
979 by file size changes.
980 check_new
984 Type: boolean
985 Default: yes
986 Note: this option only affects maildir and MH style mailboxes.
988 When set, Mutt will check for new mail delivered while the mail‐
990 box is open. Especially with MH mailboxes, this operation can
991 take quite some time since it involves scanning the directory
992 and checking each file to see if it has already been looked at.
993 If this variable is unset, no check for new mail is performed
994 while the mailbox is open.
995 collapse_unread
999 Type: boolean
1000 Default: yes
1001 When unset, Mutt will not collapse a thread if it contains any
1003 unread messages.
1004 compose_format
1008 Type: string
1009 Default: “-- Mutt: Compose [Approx. msg size: %l Atts: %a]%>-”
1010 Controls the format of the status line displayed in the “com‐
1012 pose” menu. This string is similar to $status_format, but has
1013 its own set of printf(3)-like sequences:
1014 %a total number of attachments
1015 %h local hostname
1016 %l approximate size (in bytes) of the current message
1017 %v Mutt version string
1018 See the text describing the $status_format option for more
1020 information on how to set $compose_format.
1021 config_charset
1025 Type: string
1026 Default: “”
1027 When defined, Mutt will recode commands in rc files from this
1029 encoding to the current character set as specified by $charset
1030 and aliases written to $alias_file from the current character
1031 set.
1032 Please note that if setting $charset it must be done before set‐
1034 ting $config_charset.
1035 Recoding should be avoided as it may render unconvertable char‐
1037 acters as question marks which can lead to undesired side
1038 effects (for example in regular expressions).
1039 confirmappend
1043 Type: boolean
1044 Default: yes
1045 When set, Mutt will prompt for confirmation when appending mes‐
1047 sages to an existing mailbox.
1048 confirmcreate
1052 Type: boolean
1053 Default: yes
1054 When set, Mutt will prompt for confirmation when saving messages
1056 to a mailbox which does not yet exist before creating it.
1057 connect_timeout
1061 Type: number
1062 Default: 30
1063 Causes Mutt to timeout a network connection (for IMAP, POP or
1065 SMTP) after this many seconds if the connection is not able to
1066 be established. A negative value causes Mutt to wait indefi‐
1067 nitely for the connection attempt to succeed.
1068 content_type
1072 Type: string
1073 Default: “text/plain”
1074 Sets the default Content-Type for the body of newly composed
1076 messages.
1077 copy
1081 Type: quadoption
1082 Default: yes
1083 This variable controls whether or not copies of your outgoing
1085 messages will be saved for later references. Also see $record,
1086 $save_name, $force_name and “fcc-hook”.
1087 crypt_autoencrypt
1091 Type: boolean
1092 Default: no
1093 Setting this variable will cause Mutt to always attempt to PGP
1095 encrypt outgoing messages. This is probably only useful in con‐
1096 nection to the “send-hook” command. It can be overridden by use
1097 of the pgp menu, when encryption is not required or signing is
1098 requested as well. If $smime_is_default is set, then OpenSSL is
1099 used instead to create S/MIME messages and settings can be over‐
1100 ridden by use of the smime menu instead. (Crypto only)
1101 crypt_autopgp
1105 Type: boolean
1106 Default: yes
1107 This variable controls whether or not mutt may automatically
1109 enable PGP encryption/signing for messages. See also
1110 $crypt_autoencrypt, $crypt_replyencrypt, $crypt_autosign,
1111 $crypt_replysign and $smime_is_default.
1112 crypt_autosign
1116 Type: boolean
1117 Default: no
1118 Setting this variable will cause Mutt to always attempt to cryp‐
1120 tographically sign outgoing messages. This can be overridden by
1121 use of the pgp menu, when signing is not required or encryption
1122 is requested as well. If $smime_is_default is set, then OpenSSL
1123 is used instead to create S/MIME messages and settings can be
1124 overridden by use of the smime menu instead of the pgp menu.
1125 (Crypto only)
1126 crypt_autosmime
1130 Type: boolean
1131 Default: yes
1132 This variable controls whether or not mutt may automatically
1134 enable S/MIME encryption/signing for messages. See also
1135 $crypt_autoencrypt, $crypt_replyencrypt, $crypt_autosign,
1136 $crypt_replysign and $smime_is_default.
1137 crypt_confirmhook
1141 Type: boolean
1142 Default: yes
1143 If set, then you will be prompted for confirmation of keys when
1145 using the crypt-hook command. If unset, no such confirmation
1146 prompt will be presented. This is generally considered unsafe,
1147 especially where typos are concerned.
1148 crypt_opportunistic_encrypt
1152 Type: boolean
1153 Default: no
1154 Setting this variable will cause Mutt to automatically enable
1156 and disable encryption, based on whether all message recipient
1157 keys can be located by Mutt.
1158 When this option is enabled, Mutt will enable/disable encryption
1160 each time the TO, CC, and BCC lists are edited. If $edit_head‐
1161 ers is set, Mutt will also do so each time the message is
1162 edited.
1163 While this is set, encryption can't be manually enabled/dis‐
1165 abled. The pgp or smime menus provide a selection to temporar‐
1166 ily disable this option for the current message.
1167 If $crypt_autoencrypt or $crypt_replyencrypt enable encryption
1169 for a message, this option will be disabled for that message.
1170 It can be manually re-enabled in the pgp or smime menus.
1171 (Crypto only)
1172 crypt_replyencrypt
1176 Type: boolean
1177 Default: yes
1178 If set, automatically PGP or OpenSSL encrypt replies to messages
1180 which are encrypted. (Crypto only)
1181 crypt_replysign
1185 Type: boolean
1186 Default: no
1187 If set, automatically PGP or OpenSSL sign replies to messages
1189 which are signed.
1190 Note: this does not work on messages that are encrypted and
1192 signed! (Crypto only)
1193 crypt_replysignencrypted
1197 Type: boolean
1198 Default: no
1199 If set, automatically PGP or OpenSSL sign replies to messages
1201 which are encrypted. This makes sense in combination with
1202 $crypt_replyencrypt, because it allows you to sign all messages
1203 which are automatically encrypted. This works around the prob‐
1204 lem noted in $crypt_replysign, that mutt is not able to find out
1205 whether an encrypted message is also signed. (Crypto only)
1206 crypt_timestamp
1210 Type: boolean
1211 Default: yes
1212 If set, mutt will include a time stamp in the lines surrounding
1214 PGP or S/MIME output, so spoofing such lines is more difficult.
1215 If you are using colors to mark these lines, and rely on these,
1216 you may unset this setting. (Crypto only)
1217 crypt_use_gpgme
1221 Type: boolean
1222 Default: no
1223 This variable controls the use of the GPGME-enabled crypto back‐
1225 ends. If it is set and Mutt was built with gpgme support, the
1226 gpgme code for S/MIME and PGP will be used instead of the clas‐
1227 sic code. Note that you need to set this option in .muttrc; it
1228 won't have any effect when used interactively.
1229 Note that the GPGME backend does not support creating old-style
1231 inline (traditional) PGP encrypted or signed messages (see
1232 $pgp_autoinline).
1233 crypt_use_pka
1237 Type: boolean
1238 Default: no
1239 Controls whether mutt uses PKA (see
1241 http://www.g10code.de/docs/pka-intro.de.pdf) during signature
1242 verification (only supported by the GPGME backend).
1243 crypt_verify_sig
1247 Type: quadoption
1248 Default: yes
1249 If “yes”, always attempt to verify PGP or S/MIME signatures. If
1251 “ask-*”, ask whether or not to verify the signature. If “no”,
1252 never attempt to verify cryptographic signatures. (Crypto only)
1253 date_format
1257 Type: string
1258 Default: “!%a, %b %d, %Y at %I:%M:%S%p %Z”
1259 This variable controls the format of the date printed by the
1261 “%d” sequence in $index_format. This is passed to the strf‐
1262 time(3) function to process the date, see the man page for the
1263 proper syntax.
1264 Unless the first character in the string is a bang (“!”), the
1266 month and week day names are expanded according to the locale.
1267 If the first character in the string is a bang, the bang is dis‐
1268 carded, and the month and week day names in the rest of the
1269 string are expanded in the C locale (that is in US English).
1270 default_hook
1274 Type: string
1275 Default: “~f %s !~P | (~P ~C %s)”
1276 This variable controls how “message-hook”, “reply-hook”, “send-
1278 hook”, “send2-hook”, “save-hook”, and “fcc-hook” will be inter‐
1279 preted if they are specified with only a simple regexp, instead
1280 of a matching pattern. The hooks are expanded when they are
1281 declared, so a hook will be interpreted according to the value
1282 of this variable at the time the hook is declared.
1283 The default value matches if the message is either from a user
1285 matching the regular expression given, or if it is from you (if
1286 the from address matches “alternates”) and is to or cc'ed to a
1287 user matching the given regular expression.
1288 delete
1292 Type: quadoption
1293 Default: ask-yes
1294 Controls whether or not messages are really deleted when closing
1296 or synchronizing a mailbox. If set to yes, messages marked for
1297 deleting will automatically be purged without prompting. If set
1298 to no, messages marked for deletion will be kept in the mailbox.
1299 delete_untag
1303 Type: boolean
1304 Default: yes
1305 If this option is set, mutt will untag messages when marking
1307 them for deletion. This applies when you either explicitly
1308 delete a message, or when you save it to another folder.
1309 digest_collapse
1313 Type: boolean
1314 Default: yes
1315 If this option is set, mutt's received-attachments menu will not
1317 show the subparts of individual messages in a multipart/digest.
1318 To see these subparts, press “v” on that menu.
1319 display_filter
1323 Type: path
1324 Default: “”
1325 When set, specifies a command used to filter messages. When a
1327 message is viewed it is passed as standard input to $dis‐
1328 play_filter, and the filtered message is read from the standard
1329 output.
1330 dotlock_program
1334 Type: path
1335 Default: “/usr/bin/mutt_dotlock”
1336 Contains the path of the mutt_dotlock(8) binary to be used by
1338 mutt.
1339 dsn_notify
1343 Type: string
1344 Default: “”
1345 This variable sets the request for when notification is
1347 returned. The string consists of a comma separated list (no
1348 spaces!) of one or more of the following: never, to never
1349 request notification, failure, to request notification on trans‐
1350 mission failure, delay, to be notified of message delays, suc‐
1351 cess, to be notified of successful transmission.
1352 Example:
1354 set dsn_notify=”failure,delay”
1357 Note: when using $sendmail for delivery, you should not enable
1360 this unless you are either using Sendmail 8.8.x or greater or a
1361 MTA providing a sendmail(1)-compatible interface supporting the
1362 -N option for DSN. For SMTP delivery, DSN support is
1363 auto-detected so that it depends on the server whether DSN will
1364 be used or not.
1365 dsn_return
1369 Type: string
1370 Default: “”
1371 This variable controls how much of your message is returned in
1373 DSN messages. It may be set to either hdrs to return just the
1374 message header, or full to return the full message.
1375 Example:
1377 set dsn_return=hdrs
1380 Note: when using $sendmail for delivery, you should not enable
1383 this unless you are either using Sendmail 8.8.x or greater or a
1384 MTA providing a sendmail(1)-compatible interface supporting the
1385 -R option for DSN. For SMTP delivery, DSN support is
1386 auto-detected so that it depends on the server whether DSN will
1387 be used or not.
1388 duplicate_threads
1392 Type: boolean
1393 Default: yes
1394 This variable controls whether mutt, when $sort is set to
1396 threads, threads messages with the same Message-Id together. If
1397 it is set, it will indicate that it thinks they are duplicates
1398 of each other with an equals sign in the thread tree.
1399 edit_headers
1403 Type: boolean
1404 Default: no
1405 This option allows you to edit the header of your outgoing mes‐
1407 sages along with the body of your message.
1408 Although the compose menu may have localized header labels, the
1410 labels passed to your editor will be standard RFC 2822 headers,
1411 (e.g. To:, Cc:, Subject:). Headers added in your editor must
1412 also be RFC 2822 headers, or one of the pseudo headers listed in
1413 “edit-header”. Mutt will not understand localized header
1414 labels, just as it would not when parsing an actual email.
1415 Note that changes made to the References: and Date: headers are
1417 ignored for interoperability reasons.
1418 editor
1422 Type: path
1423 Default: “”
1424 This variable specifies which editor is used by mutt. It
1426 defaults to the value of the $VISUAL, or $EDITOR, environment
1427 variable, or to the string “vi” if neither of those are set.
1428 The $editor string may contain a %s escape, which will be
1430 replaced by the name of the file to be edited. If the %s escape
1431 does not appear in $editor, a space and the name to be edited
1432 are appended.
1433 The resulting string is then executed by running
1435 sh -c 'string'
1438 where string is the expansion of $editor described above.
1441 encode_from
1445 Type: boolean
1446 Default: no
1447 When set, mutt will quoted-printable encode messages when they
1449 contain the string “From ” (note the trailing space) in the
1450 beginning of a line. This is useful to avoid the tampering cer‐
1451 tain mail delivery and transport agents tend to do with messages
1452 (in order to prevent tools from misinterpreting the line as a
1453 mbox message separator).
1454 entropy_file
1458 Type: path
1459 Default: “”
1460 The file which includes random data that is used to initialize
1462 SSL library functions.
1463 envelope_from_address
1467 Type: e-mail address
1468 Default: “”
1469 Manually sets the envelope sender for outgoing messages. This
1471 value is ignored if $use_envelope_from is unset.
1472 error_history
1476 Type: number
1477 Default: 30
1478 This variable controls the size (in number of strings remem‐
1480 bered) of the error messages displayed by mutt. These can be
1481 shown with the <error-history> function. The history is cleared
1482 each time this variable is set.
1483 escape
1487 Type: string
1488 Default: “~”
1489 Escape character to use for functions in the built-in editor.
1491 fast_reply
1495 Type: boolean
1496 Default: no
1497 When set, the initial prompt for recipients and subject are
1499 skipped when replying to messages, and the initial prompt for
1500 subject is skipped when forwarding messages.
1501 Note: this variable has no effect when the $autoedit variable is
1503 set.
1504 fcc_attach
1508 Type: quadoption
1509 Default: yes
1510 This variable controls whether or not attachments on outgoing
1512 messages are saved along with the main body of your message.
1513 fcc_clear
1517 Type: boolean
1518 Default: no
1519 When this variable is set, FCCs will be stored unencrypted and
1521 unsigned, even when the actual message is encrypted and/or
1522 signed. (PGP only)
1523 flag_safe
1527 Type: boolean
1528 Default: no
1529 If set, flagged messages cannot be deleted.
1531 folder
1535 Type: path
1536 Default: “~/Mail”
1537 Specifies the default location of your mailboxes. A “+” or “=”
1539 at the beginning of a pathname will be expanded to the value of
1540 this variable. Note that if you change this variable (from the
1541 default) value you need to make sure that the assignment occurs
1542 before you use “+” or “=” for any other variables since expan‐
1543 sion takes place when handling the “mailboxes” command.
1544 folder_format
1548 Type: string
1549 Default: “%2C %t %N %F %2l %-8.8u %-8.8g %8s %d %f”
1550 This variable allows you to customize the file browser display
1552 to your personal taste. This string is similar to $index_for‐
1553 mat, but has its own set of printf(3)-like sequences:
1554 %C current file number
1555 %d date/time folder was last modified
1556 %D date/time folder was last modified using $date_format.
1557 %f filename (“/” is appended to directory names, “@” to sym‐
1558 bolic links and “*” to executable files)
1559 %F file permissions
1560 %g group name (or numeric gid, if missing)
1561 %l number of hard links
1562 %m number of messages in the mailbox *
1563 %n number of unread messages in the mailbox *
1564 %N N if mailbox has new mail, blank otherwise
1565 %s size in bytes
1566 %t “*” if the file is tagged, blank otherwise
1567 %u owner name (or numeric uid, if missing)
1568 %>X right justify the rest of the string and pad with charac‐
1569 ter “X”
1570 %|X pad to the end of the line with character “X”
1571 %*X soft-fill with character “X” as pad
1572 For an explanation of “soft-fill”, see the $index_format docu‐
1574 mentation.
1575 * = can be optionally printed if nonzero
1577 %m, %n, and %N only work for monitored mailboxes. %m requires
1579 $mail_check_stats to be set. %n requires $mail_check_stats to
1580 be set (except for IMAP mailboxes).
1581 followup_to
1585 Type: boolean
1586 Default: yes
1587 Controls whether or not the “Mail-Followup-To:” header field is
1589 generated when sending mail. When set, Mutt will generate this
1590 field when you are replying to a known mailing list, specified
1591 with the “subscribe” or “lists” commands.
1592 This field has two purposes. First, preventing you from receiv‐
1594 ing duplicate copies of replies to messages which you send to
1595 mailing lists, and second, ensuring that you do get a reply sep‐
1596 arately for any messages sent to known lists to which you are
1597 not subscribed.
1598 The header will contain only the list's address for subscribed
1600 lists, and both the list address and your own email address for
1601 unsubscribed lists. Without this header, a group reply to your
1602 message sent to a subscribed list will be sent to both the list
1603 and your address, resulting in two copies of the same email for
1604 you.
1605 force_name
1609 Type: boolean
1610 Default: no
1611 This variable is similar to $save_name, except that Mutt will
1613 store a copy of your outgoing message by the username of the
1614 address you are sending to even if that mailbox does not exist.
1615 Also see the $record variable.
1617 forward_attribution_intro
1621 Type: string
1622 Default: “----- Forwarded message from %f -----”
1623 This is the string that will precede a message which has been
1625 forwarded in the main body of a message (when $mime_forward is
1626 unset). For a full listing of defined printf(3)-like sequences
1627 see the section on $index_format. See also $attribution_locale.
1628 forward_attribution_trailer
1632 Type: string
1633 Default: “----- End forwarded message -----”
1634 This is the string that will follow a message which has been
1636 forwarded in the main body of a message (when $mime_forward is
1637 unset). For a full listing of defined printf(3)-like sequences
1638 see the section on $index_format. See also $attribution_locale.
1639 forward_decode
1643 Type: boolean
1644 Default: yes
1645 Controls the decoding of complex MIME messages into text/plain
1647 when forwarding a message. The message header is also RFC2047
1648 decoded. This variable is only used, if $mime_forward is unset,
1649 otherwise $mime_forward_decode is used instead.
1650 forward_decrypt
1654 Type: boolean
1655 Default: yes
1656 Controls the handling of encrypted messages when forwarding a
1658 message. When set, the outer layer of encryption is stripped
1659 off. This variable is only used if $mime_forward is set and
1660 $mime_forward_decode is unset. (PGP only)
1661 forward_edit
1665 Type: quadoption
1666 Default: yes
1667 This quadoption controls whether or not the user is automati‐
1669 cally placed in the editor when forwarding messages. For those
1670 who always want to forward with no modification, use a setting
1671 of “no”.
1672 forward_format
1676 Type: string
1677 Default: “[%a: %s]”
1678 This variable controls the default subject when forwarding a
1680 message. It uses the same format sequences as the $index_format
1681 variable.
1682 forward_quote
1686 Type: boolean
1687 Default: no
1688 When set, forwarded messages included in the main body of the
1690 message (when $mime_forward is unset) will be quoted using
1691 $indent_string.
1692 from
1696 Type: e-mail address
1697 Default: “”
1698 When set, this variable contains a default from address. It can
1700 be overridden using “my_hdr” (including from a “send-hook”) and
1701 $reverse_name. This variable is ignored if $use_from is unset.
1702 This setting defaults to the contents of the environment vari‐
1704 able $EMAIL.
1705 gecos_mask
1709 Type: regular expression
1710 Default: “^[^,]*”
1711 A regular expression used by mutt to parse the GECOS field of a
1713 password entry when expanding the alias. The default value will
1714 return the string up to the first “,” encountered. If the GECOS
1715 field contains a string like “lastname, firstname” then you
1716 should set it to “.*”.
1717 This can be useful if you see the following behavior: you
1719 address an e-mail to user ID “stevef” whose full name is “Steve
1720 Franklin”. If mutt expands “stevef” to “”Franklin”
1721 stevef@foo.bar” then you should set the $gecos_mask to a regular
1722 expression that will match the whole name so mutt will expand
1723 “Franklin” to “Franklin, Steve”.
1724 hdrs
1728 Type: boolean
1729 Default: yes
1730 When unset, the header fields normally added by the “my_hdr”
1732 command are not created. This variable must be unset before
1733 composing a new message or replying in order to take effect. If
1734 set, the user defined header fields are added to every new mes‐
1735 sage.
1736 header
1740 Type: boolean
1741 Default: no
1742 When set, this variable causes Mutt to include the header of the
1744 message you are replying to into the edit buffer. The $weed
1745 setting applies.
1746 header_cache
1750 Type: path
1751 Default: “”
1752 This variable points to the header cache database. If pointing
1754 to a directory Mutt will contain a header cache database file
1755 per folder, if pointing to a file that file will be a single
1756 global header cache. By default it is unset so no header caching
1757 will be used.
1758 Header caching can greatly improve speed when opening POP, IMAP
1760 MH or Maildir folders, see “caching” for details.
1761 header_cache_compress
1765 Type: boolean
1766 Default: yes
1767 When mutt is compiled with qdbm, tokyocabinet, or kyotocabinet
1769 as header cache backend, this option determines whether the
1770 database will be compressed. Compression results in database
1771 files roughly being one fifth of the usual diskspace, but the
1772 decompression can result in a slower opening of cached folder(s)
1773 which in general is still much faster than opening non header
1774 cached folders.
1775 header_cache_pagesize
1779 Type: string
1780 Default: “16384”
1781 When mutt is compiled with either gdbm or bdb4 as the header
1783 cache backend, this option changes the database page size. Too
1784 large or too small values can waste space, memory, or CPU time.
1785 The default should be more or less optimal for most use cases.
1786 header_color_partial
1790 Type: boolean
1791 Default: no
1792 When set, color header regexps behave like color body regexps:
1794 color is applied to the exact text matched by the regexp. When
1795 unset, color is applied to the entire header.
1796 One use of this option might be to apply color to just the
1798 header labels.
1799 See “color” for more details.
1801 help
1805 Type: boolean
1806 Default: yes
1807 When set, help lines describing the bindings for the major func‐
1809 tions provided by each menu are displayed on the first line of
1810 the screen.
1811 Note: The binding will not be displayed correctly if the func‐
1813 tion is bound to a sequence rather than a single keystroke.
1814 Also, the help line may not be updated if a binding is changed
1815 while Mutt is running. Since this variable is primarily aimed
1816 at new users, neither of these should present a major problem.
1817 hidden_host
1821 Type: boolean
1822 Default: no
1823 When set, mutt will skip the host name part of $hostname vari‐
1825 able when adding the domain part to addresses. This variable
1826 does not affect the generation of Message-IDs, and it will not
1827 lead to the cut-off of first-level domains.
1828 hide_limited
1832 Type: boolean
1833 Default: no
1834 When set, mutt will not show the presence of messages that are
1836 hidden by limiting, in the thread tree.
1837 hide_missing
1841 Type: boolean
1842 Default: yes
1843 When set, mutt will not show the presence of missing messages in
1845 the thread tree.
1846 hide_thread_subject
1850 Type: boolean
1851 Default: yes
1852 When set, mutt will not show the subject of messages in the
1854 thread tree that have the same subject as their parent or clos‐
1855 est previously displayed sibling.
1856 hide_top_limited
1860 Type: boolean
1861 Default: no
1862 When set, mutt will not show the presence of messages that are
1864 hidden by limiting, at the top of threads in the thread tree.
1865 Note that when $hide_limited is set, this option will have no
1866 effect.
1867 hide_top_missing
1871 Type: boolean
1872 Default: yes
1873 When set, mutt will not show the presence of missing messages at
1875 the top of threads in the thread tree. Note that when
1876 $hide_missing is set, this option will have no effect.
1877 history
1881 Type: number
1882 Default: 10
1883 This variable controls the size (in number of strings remem‐
1885 bered) of the string history buffer per category. The buffer is
1886 cleared each time the variable is set.
1887 history_file
1891 Type: path
1892 Default: “~/.mutthistory”
1893 The file in which Mutt will save its history.
1895 Also see $save_history.
1897 history_remove_dups
1901 Type: boolean
1902 Default: no
1903 When set, all of the string history will be scanned for dupli‐
1905 cates when a new entry is added. Duplicate entries in the $his‐
1906 tory_file will also be removed when it is periodically com‐
1907 pacted.
1908 honor_disposition
1912 Type: boolean
1913 Default: no
1914 When set, Mutt will not display attachments with a disposition
1916 of “attachment” inline even if it could render the part to plain
1917 text. These MIME parts can only be viewed from the attachment
1918 menu.
1919 If unset, Mutt will render all MIME parts it can properly trans‐
1921 form to plain text.
1922 honor_followup_to
1926 Type: quadoption
1927 Default: yes
1928 This variable controls whether or not a Mail-Followup-To header
1930 is honored when group-replying to a message.
1931 hostname
1935 Type: string
1936 Default: “”
1937 Specifies the fully-qualified hostname of the system mutt is
1939 running on containing the host's name and the DNS domain it
1940 belongs to. It is used as the domain part (after “@”) for local
1941 email addresses as well as Message-Id headers.
1942 Its value is determined at startup as follows: the node's host‐
1944 name is first determined by the uname(3) function. The domain
1945 is then looked up using the gethostname(2) and getaddrinfo(3)
1946 functions. If those calls are unable to determine the domain,
1947 the full value returned by uname is used. Optionally, Mutt can
1948 be compiled with a fixed domain name in which case a detected
1949 one is not used.
1950 Also see $use_domain and $hidden_host.
1952 idn_decode
1956 Type: boolean
1957 Default: yes
1958 When set, Mutt will show you international domain names decoded.
1960 Note: You can use IDNs for addresses even if this is unset.
1961 This variable only affects decoding. (IDN only)
1962 idn_encode
1966 Type: boolean
1967 Default: yes
1968 When set, Mutt will encode international domain names using IDN.
1970 Unset this if your SMTP server can handle newer (RFC 6531) UTF-8
1971 encoded domains. (IDN only)
1972 ignore_linear_white_space
1976 Type: boolean
1977 Default: no
1978 This option replaces linear-white-space between encoded-word and
1980 text to a single space to prevent the display of MIME-encoded
1981 “Subject:” field from being divided into multiple lines.
1982 ignore_list_reply_to
1986 Type: boolean
1987 Default: no
1988 Affects the behavior of the <reply> function when replying to
1990 messages from mailing lists (as defined by the “subscribe” or
1991 “lists” commands). When set, if the “Reply-To:” field is set to
1992 the same value as the “To:” field, Mutt assumes that the
1993 “Reply-To:” field was set by the mailing list to automate
1994 responses to the list, and will ignore this field. To direct a
1995 response to the mailing list when this option is set, use the
1996 <list-reply> function; <group-reply> will reply to both the
1997 sender and the list.
1998 imap_authenticators
2002 Type: string
2003 Default: “”
2004 This is a colon-delimited list of authentication methods mutt
2006 may attempt to use to log in to an IMAP server, in the order
2007 mutt should try them. Authentication methods are either “login”
2008 or the right side of an IMAP “AUTH=xxx” capability string, e.g.
2009 “digest-md5”, “gssapi” or “cram-md5”. This option is case-insen‐
2010 sitive. If it's unset (the default) mutt will try all available
2011 methods, in order from most-secure to least-secure.
2012 Example:
2014 set imap_authenticators=”gssapi:cram-md5:login”
2017 Note: Mutt will only fall back to other authentication methods
2020 if the previous methods are unavailable. If a method is avail‐
2021 able but authentication fails, mutt will not connect to the IMAP
2022 server.
2023 imap_check_subscribed
2027 Type: boolean
2028 Default: no
2029 When set, mutt will fetch the set of subscribed folders from
2031 your server on connection, and add them to the set of mailboxes
2032 it polls for new mail just as if you had issued individual
2033 “mailboxes” commands.
2034 imap_delim_chars
2038 Type: string
2039 Default: “/.”
2040 This contains the list of characters which you would like to
2042 treat as folder separators for displaying IMAP paths. In partic‐
2043 ular it helps in using the “=” shortcut for your folder vari‐
2044 able.
2045 imap_headers
2049 Type: string
2050 Default: “”
2051 Mutt requests these header fields in addition to the default
2053 headers (“Date:”, “From:”, “Subject:”, “To:”, “Cc:”, “Mes‐
2054 sage-Id:”, “References:”, “Content-Type:”, “Content-Descrip‐
2055 tion:”, “In-Reply-To:”, “Reply-To:”, “Lines:”, “List-Post:”,
2056 “X-Label:”) from IMAP servers before displaying the index menu.
2057 You may want to add more headers for spam detection.
2058 Note: This is a space separated list, items should be uppercase
2060 and not contain the colon, e.g. “X-BOGOSITY X-SPAM-STATUS” for
2061 the “X-Bogosity:” and “X-Spam-Status:” header fields.
2062 imap_idle
2066 Type: boolean
2067 Default: no
2068 When set, mutt will attempt to use the IMAP IDLE extension to
2070 check for new mail in the current mailbox. Some servers (dovecot
2071 was the inspiration for this option) react badly to mutt's
2072 implementation. If your connection seems to freeze up periodi‐
2073 cally, try unsetting this.
2074 imap_keepalive
2078 Type: number
2079 Default: 300
2080 This variable specifies the maximum amount of time in seconds
2082 that mutt will wait before polling open IMAP connections, to
2083 prevent the server from closing them before mutt has finished
2084 with them. The default is well within the RFC-specified minimum
2085 amount of time (30 minutes) before a server is allowed to do
2086 this, but in practice the RFC does get violated every now and
2087 then. Reduce this number if you find yourself getting discon‐
2088 nected from your IMAP server due to inactivity.
2089 imap_list_subscribed
2093 Type: boolean
2094 Default: no
2095 This variable configures whether IMAP folder browsing will look
2097 for only subscribed folders or all folders. This can be toggled
2098 in the IMAP browser with the <toggle-subscribed> function.
2099 imap_login
2103 Type: string
2104 Default: “”
2105 Your login name on the IMAP server.
2107 This variable defaults to the value of $imap_user.
2109 imap_pass
2113 Type: string
2114 Default: “”
2115 Specifies the password for your IMAP account. If unset, Mutt
2117 will prompt you for your password when you invoke the
2118 <imap-fetch-mail> function or try to open an IMAP folder.
2119 Warning: you should only use this option when you are on a
2121 fairly secure machine, because the superuser can read your mut‐
2122 trc even if you are the only one who can read the file.
2123 imap_passive
2127 Type: boolean
2128 Default: yes
2129 When set, mutt will not open new IMAP connections to check for
2131 new mail. Mutt will only check for new mail over existing IMAP
2132 connections. This is useful if you don't want to be prompted to
2133 user/password pairs on mutt invocation, or if opening the con‐
2134 nection is slow.
2135 imap_peek
2139 Type: boolean
2140 Default: yes
2141 When set, mutt will avoid implicitly marking your mail as read
2143 whenever you fetch a message from the server. This is generally
2144 a good thing, but can make closing an IMAP folder somewhat
2145 slower. This option exists to appease speed freaks.
2146 imap_pipeline_depth
2150 Type: number
2151 Default: 15
2152 Controls the number of IMAP commands that may be queued up
2154 before they are sent to the server. A deeper pipeline reduces
2155 the amount of time mutt must wait for the server, and can make
2156 IMAP servers feel much more responsive. But not all servers cor‐
2157 rectly handle pipelined commands, so if you have problems you
2158 might want to try setting this variable to 0.
2159 Note: Changes to this variable have no effect on open connec‐
2161 tions.
2162 imap_poll_timeout
2166 Type: number
2167 Default: 15
2168 This variable specifies the maximum amount of time in seconds
2170 that mutt will wait for a response when polling IMAP connections
2171 for new mail, before timing out and closing the connection. Set
2172 to 0 to disable timing out.
2173 imap_servernoise
2177 Type: boolean
2178 Default: yes
2179 When set, mutt will display warning messages from the IMAP
2181 server as error messages. Since these messages are often harm‐
2182 less, or generated due to configuration problems on the server
2183 which are out of the users' hands, you may wish to suppress them
2184 at some point.
2185 imap_user
2189 Type: string
2190 Default: “”
2191 The name of the user whose mail you intend to access on the IMAP
2193 server.
2194 This variable defaults to your user name on the local machine.
2196 implicit_autoview
2200 Type: boolean
2201 Default: no
2202 If set to “yes”, mutt will look for a mailcap entry with the
2204 “copiousoutput” flag set for every MIME attachment it doesn't
2205 have an internal viewer defined for. If such an entry is found,
2206 mutt will use the viewer defined in that entry to convert the
2207 body part to text form.
2208 include
2212 Type: quadoption
2213 Default: ask-yes
2214 Controls whether or not a copy of the message(s) you are reply‐
2216 ing to is included in your reply.
2217 include_onlyfirst
2221 Type: boolean
2222 Default: no
2223 Controls whether or not Mutt includes only the first attachment
2225 of the message you are replying.
2226 indent_string
2230 Type: string
2231 Default: “> ”
2232 Specifies the string to prepend to each line of text quoted in a
2234 message to which you are replying. You are strongly encouraged
2235 not to change this value, as it tends to agitate the more fanat‐
2236 ical netizens.
2237 The value of this option is ignored if $text_flowed is set,
2239 because the quoting mechanism is strictly defined for for‐
2240 mat=flowed.
2241 This option is a format string, please see the description of
2243 $index_format for supported printf(3)-style sequences.
2244 index_format
2248 Type: string
2249 Default: “%4C %Z %{%b %d} %-15.15L (%?l?%4l&%4c?) %s”
2250 This variable allows you to customize the message index display
2252 to your personal taste.
2253 “Format strings” are similar to the strings used in the C func‐
2255 tion printf(3) to format output (see the man page for more
2256 details). For an explanation of the %? construct, see the $sta‐
2257 tus_format description. The following sequences are defined in
2258 Mutt:
2259 %a address of the author
2260 %A reply-to address (if present; otherwise: address of
2261 author)
2262 %b filename of the original message folder (think mailbox)
2263 %B the list to which the letter was sent, or else the folder
2264 name (%b).
2265 %c number of characters (bytes) in the message
2266 %C current message number
2267 %d date and time of the message in the format specified by
2268 $date_format converted to sender's time zone
2269 %D date and time of the message in the format specified by
2270 $date_format converted to the local time zone
2271 %e current message number in thread
2272 %E number of messages in current thread
2273 %f sender (address + real name), either From: or
2274 Return-Path:
2275 %F author name, or recipient name if the message is from you
2276 %H spam attribute(s) of this message
2277 %i message-id of the current message
2278 %l number of lines in the message (does not work with
2279 maildir, mh, and possibly IMAP folders)
2280 %L If an address in the “To:” or “Cc:” header field matches
2281 an address defined by the users “subscribe” command, this
2282 displays ”To <list-name>”, otherwise the same as %F.
2283 %m total number of message in the mailbox
2284 %M number of hidden messages if the thread is collapsed.
2285 %N message score
2286 %n author's real name (or address if missing)
2287 %O original save folder where mutt would formerly have
2288 stashed the message: list name or recipient name if not
2289 sent to a list
2290 %P progress indicator for the built-in pager (how much of
2291 the file has been displayed)
2292 %r comma separated list of “To:” recipients
2293 %R comma separated list of “Cc:” recipients
2294 %s subject of the message
2295 %S single character status of the message
2296 (“N”/“O”/“D”/“d”/“!”/“r”/“*”)
2297 %t “To:” field (recipients)
2298 %T the appropriate character from the $to_chars string
2299 %u user (login) name of the author
2300 %v first name of the author, or the recipient if the message
2301 is from you
2302 %X number of attachments (please see the “attachments” sec‐
2303 tion for possible speed effects)
2304 %y “X-Label:” field, if present
2305 %Y “X-Label:” field, if present, and [4m(1) not at part of a
2306 thread tree, [4m(2) at the top of a thread, or [4m(3)
2307 “X-Label:” is different from preceding message's
2308 “X-Label:”.
2309 %Z a three character set of message status flags. the first
2310 character is new/read/replied flags
2311 (“n”/“o”/“r”/“O”/“N”). the second is deleted or encryp‐
2312 tion flags (“D”/“d”/“S”/“P”/“s”/“K”). the third is
2313 either tagged/flagged (“*”/“!”), or one of the characters
2314 listed in $to_chars.
2315 %{fmt} the date and time of the message is converted to sender's
2316 time zone, and “fmt” is expanded by the library function
2317 strftime(3); a leading bang disables locales
2318 %[fmt] the date and time of the message is converted to the
2319 local time zone, and “fmt” is expanded by the library
2320 function strftime(3); a leading bang disables locales
2321 %(fmt) the local date and time when the message was received.
2322 “fmt” is expanded by the library function strftime(3); a
2323 leading bang disables locales
2324 %<fmt> the current local time. “fmt” is expanded by the library
2325 function strftime(3); a leading bang disables locales.
2326 %>X right justify the rest of the string and pad with charac‐
2327 ter “X”
2328 %|X pad to the end of the line with character “X”
2329 %*X soft-fill with character “X” as pad
2330 “Soft-fill” deserves some explanation: Normal right-justifica‐
2332 tion will print everything to the left of the “%>”, displaying
2333 padding and whatever lies to the right only if there's room. By
2334 contrast, soft-fill gives priority to the right-hand side, guar‐
2335 anteeing space to display it and showing padding only if there's
2336 still room. If necessary, soft-fill will eat text leftwards to
2337 make room for rightward text.
2338 Note that these expandos are supported in “save-hook”, “fcc-
2340 hook” and “fcc-save-hook”, too.
2341 ispell
2345 Type: path
2346 Default: “/usr/bin/hunspell”
2347 How to invoke ispell (GNU's spell-checking software).
2349 keep_flagged
2353 Type: boolean
2354 Default: no
2355 If set, read messages marked as flagged will not be moved from
2357 your spool mailbox to your $mbox mailbox, or as a result of a
2358 “mbox-hook” command.
2359 mail_check
2363 Type: number
2364 Default: 5
2365 This variable configures how often (in seconds) mutt should look
2367 for new mail. Also see the $timeout variable.
2368 mail_check_recent
2372 Type: boolean
2373 Default: yes
2374 When set, Mutt will only notify you about new mail that has been
2376 received since the last time you opened the mailbox. When
2377 unset, Mutt will notify you if any new mail exists in the mail‐
2378 box, regardless of whether you have visited it recently.
2379 When $mark_old is set, Mutt does not consider the mailbox to
2381 contain new mail if only old messages exist.
2382 mail_check_stats
2386 Type: boolean
2387 Default: no
2388 When set, mutt will periodically calculate message statistics of
2390 a mailbox while polling for new mail. It will check for unread,
2391 flagged, and total message counts. Because this operation is
2392 more performance intensive, it defaults to unset, and has a sep‐
2393 arate option, $mail_check_stats_interval, to control how often
2394 to update these counts.
2395 mail_check_stats_interval
2399 Type: number
2400 Default: 60
2401 When $mail_check_stats is set, this variable configures how
2403 often (in seconds) mutt will update message counts.
2404 mailcap_path
2408 Type: string
2409 Default: “”
2410 This variable specifies which files to consult when attempting
2412 to display MIME bodies not directly supported by Mutt.
2413 mailcap_sanitize
2417 Type: boolean
2418 Default: yes
2419 If set, mutt will restrict possible characters in mailcap %
2421 expandos to a well-defined set of safe characters. This is the
2422 safe setting, but we are not sure it doesn't break some more
2423 advanced MIME stuff.
2424 DON'T CHANGE THIS SETTING UNLESS YOU ARE REALLY SURE WHAT YOU
2426 ARE DOING!
2427 maildir_header_cache_verify
2431 Type: boolean
2432 Default: yes
2433 Check for Maildir unaware programs other than mutt having modi‐
2435 fied maildir files when the header cache is in use. This incurs
2436 one stat(2) per message every time the folder is opened (which
2437 can be very slow for NFS folders).
2438 maildir_trash
2442 Type: boolean
2443 Default: no
2444 If set, messages marked as deleted will be saved with the
2446 maildir trashed flag instead of unlinked. Note: this only
2447 applies to maildir-style mailboxes. Setting it will have no
2448 effect on other mailbox types.
2449 maildir_check_cur
2453 Type: boolean
2454 Default: no
2455 If set, mutt will poll both the new and cur directories of a
2457 maildir folder for new messages. This might be useful if other
2458 programs interacting with the folder (e.g. dovecot) are moving
2459 new messages to the cur directory. Note that setting this
2460 option may slow down polling for new messages in large folders,
2461 since mutt has to scan all cur messages.
2462 mark_macro_prefix
2466 Type: string
2467 Default: “'”
2468 Prefix for macros created using mark-message. A new macro auto‐
2470 matically generated with <mark-message>a will be composed from
2471 this prefix and the letter a.
2472 mark_old
2476 Type: boolean
2477 Default: yes
2478 Controls whether or not mutt marks new unread messages as old if
2480 you exit a mailbox without reading them. With this option set,
2481 the next time you start mutt, the messages will show up with an
2482 “O” next to them in the index menu, indicating that they are
2483 old.
2484 markers
2488 Type: boolean
2489 Default: yes
2490 Controls the display of wrapped lines in the internal pager. If
2492 set, a “+” marker is displayed at the beginning of wrapped
2493 lines.
2494 Also see the $smart_wrap variable.
2496 mask
2500 Type: regular expression
2501 Default: “!^\.[^.]”
2502 A regular expression used in the file browser, optionally pre‐
2504 ceded by the not operator “!”. Only files whose names match
2505 this mask will be shown. The match is always case-sensitive.
2506 mbox
2510 Type: path
2511 Default: “~/mbox”
2512 This specifies the folder into which read mail in your
2514 $spoolfile folder will be appended.
2515 Also see the $move variable.
2517 mbox_type
2521 Type: folder magic
2522 Default: mbox
2523 The default mailbox type used when creating new folders. May be
2525 any of “mbox”, “MMDF”, “MH” and “Maildir”. This is overridden by
2526 the -m command-line option.
2527 menu_context
2531 Type: number
2532 Default: 0
2533 This variable controls the number of lines of context that are
2535 given when scrolling through menus. (Similar to $pager_context.)
2536 menu_move_off
2540 Type: boolean
2541 Default: yes
2542 When unset, the bottom entry of menus will never scroll up past
2544 the bottom of the screen, unless there are less entries than
2545 lines. When set, the bottom entry may move off the bottom.
2546 menu_scroll
2550 Type: boolean
2551 Default: no
2552 When set, menus will be scrolled up or down one line when you
2554 attempt to move across a screen boundary. If unset, the screen
2555 is cleared and the next or previous page of the menu is dis‐
2556 played (useful for slow links to avoid many redraws).
2557 message_cache_clean
2561 Type: boolean
2562 Default: no
2563 If set, mutt will clean out obsolete entries from the message
2565 cache when the mailbox is synchronized. You probably only want
2566 to set it every once in a while, since it can be a little slow
2567 (especially for large folders).
2568 message_cachedir
2572 Type: path
2573 Default: “”
2574 Set this to a directory and mutt will cache copies of messages
2576 from your IMAP and POP servers here. You are free to remove
2577 entries at any time.
2578 When setting this variable to a directory, mutt needs to fetch
2580 every remote message only once and can perform regular expres‐
2581 sion searches as fast as for local folders.
2582 Also see the $message_cache_clean variable.
2584 message_format
2588 Type: string
2589 Default: “%s”
2590 This is the string displayed in the “attachment” menu for
2592 attachments of type message/rfc822. For a full listing of
2593 defined printf(3)-like sequences see the section on $index_for‐
2594 mat.
2595 meta_key
2599 Type: boolean
2600 Default: no
2601 If set, forces Mutt to interpret keystrokes with the high bit
2603 (bit 8) set as if the user had pressed the Esc key and whatever
2604 key remains after having the high bit removed. For example, if
2605 the key pressed has an ASCII value of 0xf8, then this is treated
2606 as if the user had pressed Esc then “x”. This is because the
2607 result of removing the high bit from 0xf8 is 0x78, which is the
2608 ASCII character “x”.
2609 metoo
2613 Type: boolean
2614 Default: no
2615 If unset, Mutt will remove your address (see the “alternates”
2617 command) from the list of recipients when replying to a message.
2618 mh_purge
2622 Type: boolean
2623 Default: no
2624 When unset, mutt will mimic mh's behavior and rename deleted
2626 messages to ,<old file name> in mh folders instead of really
2627 deleting them. This leaves the message on disk but makes pro‐
2628 grams reading the folder ignore it. If the variable is set, the
2629 message files will simply be deleted.
2630 This option is similar to $maildir_trash for Maildir folders.
2632 mh_seq_flagged
2636 Type: string
2637 Default: “flagged”
2638 The name of the MH sequence used for flagged messages.
2640 mh_seq_replied
2644 Type: string
2645 Default: “replied”
2646 The name of the MH sequence used to tag replied messages.
2648 mh_seq_unseen
2652 Type: string
2653 Default: “unseen”
2654 The name of the MH sequence used for unseen messages.
2656 mime_forward
2660 Type: quadoption
2661 Default: no
2662 When set, the message you are forwarding will be attached as a
2664 separate message/rfc822 MIME part instead of included in the
2665 main body of the message. This is useful for forwarding MIME
2666 messages so the receiver can properly view the message as it was
2667 delivered to you. If you like to switch between MIME and not
2668 MIME from mail to mail, set this variable to “ask-no” or
2669 “ask-yes”.
2670 Also see $forward_decode and $mime_forward_decode.
2672 mime_forward_decode
2676 Type: boolean
2677 Default: no
2678 Controls the decoding of complex MIME messages into text/plain
2680 when forwarding a message while $mime_forward is set. Otherwise
2681 $forward_decode is used instead.
2682 mime_forward_rest
2686 Type: quadoption
2687 Default: yes
2688 When forwarding multiple attachments of a MIME message from the
2690 attachment menu, attachments which cannot be decoded in a rea‐
2691 sonable manner will be attached to the newly composed message if
2692 this option is set.
2693 mime_type_query_command
2697 Type: string
2698 Default: “”
2699 This specifies a command to run, to determine the mime type of a
2701 new attachment when composing a message. Unless
2702 $mime_type_query_first is set, this will only be run if the
2703 attachment's extension is not found in the mime.types file.
2704 The string may contain a “%s”, which will be substituted with
2706 the attachment filename. Mutt will add quotes around the string
2707 substituted for “%s” automatically according to shell quoting
2708 rules, so you should avoid adding your own. If no “%s” is found
2709 in the string, Mutt will append the attachment filename to the
2710 end of the string.
2711 The command should output a single line containing the attach‐
2713 ment's mime type.
2714 Suggested values are “xdg-mime query filetype” or “file -bi”.
2716 mime_type_query_first
2720 Type: boolean
2721 Default: no
2722 When set, the $mime_type_query_command will be run before the
2724 mime.types lookup.
2725 mix_entry_format
2729 Type: string
2730 Default: “%4n %c %-16s %a”
2731 This variable describes the format of a remailer line on the
2733 mixmaster chain selection screen. The following printf(3)-like
2734 sequences are supported:
2735 %n The running number on the menu.
2736 %c Remailer capabilities.
2737 %s The remailer's short name.
2738 %a The remailer's e-mail address.
2739 mixmaster
2742 Type: path
2743 Default: “mixmaster”
2744 This variable contains the path to the Mixmaster binary on your
2746 system. It is used with various sets of parameters to gather
2747 the list of known remailers, and to finally send a message
2748 through the mixmaster chain.
2749 move
2753 Type: quadoption
2754 Default: no
2755 Controls whether or not Mutt will move read messages from your
2757 spool mailbox to your $mbox mailbox, or as a result of a “mbox-
2758 hook” command.
2759 narrow_tree
2763 Type: boolean
2764 Default: no
2765 This variable, when set, makes the thread tree narrower, allow‐
2767 ing deeper threads to fit on the screen.
2768 net_inc
2772 Type: number
2773 Default: 10
2774 Operations that expect to transfer a large amount of data over
2776 the network will update their progress every $net_inc kilobytes.
2777 If set to 0, no progress messages will be displayed.
2778 See also $read_inc, $write_inc and $net_inc.
2780 new_mail_command
2784 Type: path
2785 Default: “”
2786 If set, Mutt will call this command after a new message is
2788 received. See the $status_format documentation for the values
2789 that can be formatted into this command.
2790 pager
2794 Type: path
2795 Default: “builtin”
2796 This variable specifies which pager you would like to use to
2798 view messages. The value “builtin” means to use the built-in
2799 pager, otherwise this variable should specify the pathname of
2800 the external pager you would like to use.
2801 Using an external pager may have some disadvantages: Additional
2803 keystrokes are necessary because you can't call mutt functions
2804 directly from the pager, and screen resizes cause lines longer
2805 than the screen width to be badly formatted in the help menu.
2806 pager_context
2810 Type: number
2811 Default: 0
2812 This variable controls the number of lines of context that are
2814 given when displaying the next or previous page in the internal
2815 pager. By default, Mutt will display the line after the last
2816 one on the screen at the top of the next page (0 lines of con‐
2817 text).
2818 This variable also specifies the amount of context given for
2820 search results. If positive, this many lines will be given
2821 before a match, if 0, the match will be top-aligned.
2822 pager_format
2826 Type: string
2827 Default: “-%Z- %C/%m: %-20.20n %s%* -- (%P)”
2828 This variable controls the format of the one-line message “sta‐
2830 tus” displayed before each message in either the internal or an
2831 external pager. The valid sequences are listed in the
2832 $index_format section.
2833 pager_index_lines
2837 Type: number
2838 Default: 0
2839 Determines the number of lines of a mini-index which is shown
2841 when in the pager. The current message, unless near the top or
2842 bottom of the folder, will be roughly one third of the way down
2843 this mini-index, giving the reader the context of a few messages
2844 before and after the message. This is useful, for example, to
2845 determine how many messages remain to be read in the current
2846 thread. One of the lines is reserved for the status bar from
2847 the index, so a setting of 6 will only show 5 lines of the
2848 actual index. A value of 0 results in no index being shown. If
2849 the number of messages in the current folder is less than
2850 $pager_index_lines, then the index will only use as many lines
2851 as it needs.
2852 pager_stop
2856 Type: boolean
2857 Default: no
2858 When set, the internal-pager will not move to the next message
2860 when you are at the end of a message and invoke the <next-page>
2861 function.
2862 pgp_auto_decode
2866 Type: boolean
2867 Default: no
2868 If set, mutt will automatically attempt to decrypt traditional
2870 PGP messages whenever the user performs an operation which ordi‐
2871 narily would result in the contents of the message being oper‐
2872 ated on. For example, if the user displays a pgp-traditional
2873 message which has not been manually checked with the <check-tra‐
2874 ditional-pgp> function, mutt will automatically check the mes‐
2875 sage for traditional pgp.
2876 pgp_autoinline
2880 Type: boolean
2881 Default: no
2882 This option controls whether Mutt generates old-style inline
2884 (traditional) PGP encrypted or signed messages under certain
2885 circumstances. This can be overridden by use of the pgp menu,
2886 when inline is not required. The GPGME backend does not support
2887 this option.
2888 Note that Mutt might automatically use PGP/MIME for messages
2890 which consist of more than a single MIME part. Mutt can be con‐
2891 figured to ask before sending PGP/MIME messages when inline
2892 (traditional) would not work.
2893 Also see the $pgp_mime_auto variable.
2895 Also note that using the old-style PGP message format is
2897 strongly deprecated. (PGP only)
2898 pgp_check_exit
2902 Type: boolean
2903 Default: yes
2904 If set, mutt will check the exit code of the PGP subprocess when
2906 signing or encrypting. A non-zero exit code means that the sub‐
2907 process failed. (PGP only)
2908 pgp_check_gpg_decrypt_status_fd
2912 Type: boolean
2913 Default: yes
2914 If set, mutt will check the status file descriptor output of
2916 $pgp_decrypt_command and $pgp_decode_command for GnuPG status
2917 codes indicating successful decryption. This will check for the
2918 presence of DECRYPTION_OKAY, absence of DECRYPTION_FAILED, and
2919 that all PLAINTEXT occurs between the BEGIN_DECRYPTION and
2920 END_DECRYPTION status codes.
2921 If unset, mutt will instead match the status fd output against
2923 $pgp_decryption_okay. (PGP only)
2924 pgp_clearsign_command
2928 Type: string
2929 Default: “”
2930 This format is used to create an old-style “clearsigned” PGP
2932 message. Note that the use of this format is strongly depre‐
2933 cated.
2934 This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
2936 possible printf(3)-like sequences. (PGP only)
2937 pgp_decode_command
2941 Type: string
2942 Default: “”
2943 This format strings specifies a command which is used to decode
2945 application/pgp attachments.
2946 The PGP command formats have their own set of printf(3)-like
2948 sequences:
2949 %p Expands to PGPPASSFD=0 when a pass phrase is needed, to
2950 an empty string otherwise. Note: This may be used with a
2951 %? construct.
2952 %f Expands to the name of a file containing a message.
2953 %s Expands to the name of a file containing the signature
2954 part
2955 of a multipart/signed attachment when verify‐
2956 ing it.
2957 %a The value of $pgp_sign_as if set, otherwise the value of
2958 $pgp_default_key.
2959 %r One or more key IDs (or fingerprints if available).
2960 For examples on how to configure these formats for the various
2962 versions of PGP which are floating around, see the pgp and gpg
2963 sample configuration files in the samples/ subdirectory which
2964 has been installed on your system alongside the documentation.
2965 (PGP only)
2966 pgp_decrypt_command
2970 Type: string
2971 Default: “”
2972 This command is used to decrypt a PGP encrypted message.
2974 This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
2976 possible printf(3)-like sequences. (PGP only)
2977 pgp_decryption_okay
2981 Type: regular expression
2982 Default: “”
2983 If you assign text to this variable, then an encrypted PGP mes‐
2985 sage is only considered successfully decrypted if the output
2986 from $pgp_decrypt_command contains the text. This is used to
2987 protect against a spoofed encrypted message, with multi‐
2988 part/encrypted headers but containing a block that is not actu‐
2989 ally encrypted. (e.g. simply signed and ascii armored text).
2990 Note that if $pgp_check_gpg_decrypt_status_fd is set, this vari‐
2992 able is ignored. (PGP only)
2993 pgp_default_key
2997 Type: string
2998 Default: “”
2999 This is the default key-pair to use for PGP operations. It will
3001 be used for encryption (see $postpone_encrypt and
3002 $pgp_self_encrypt).
3003 It will also be used for signing unless $pgp_sign_as is set.
3005 The (now deprecated) pgp_self_encrypt_as is an alias for this
3007 variable, and should no longer be used. (PGP only)
3008 pgp_encrypt_only_command
3012 Type: string
3013 Default: “”
3014 This command is used to encrypt a body part without signing it.
3016 This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
3018 possible printf(3)-like sequences. (PGP only)
3019 pgp_encrypt_sign_command
3023 Type: string
3024 Default: “”
3025 This command is used to both sign and encrypt a body part.
3027 This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
3029 possible printf(3)-like sequences. (PGP only)
3030 pgp_entry_format
3034 Type: string
3035 Default: “%4n %t%f %4l/0x%k %-4a %2c %u”
3036 This variable allows you to customize the PGP key selection menu
3038 to your personal taste. This string is similar to $index_format,
3039 but has its own set of printf(3)-like sequences:
3040 %n number
3041 %k key id
3042 %u user id
3043 %a algorithm
3044 %l key length
3045 %f flags
3046 %c capabilities
3047 %t trust/validity of the key-uid association
3048 %[<s>] date of the key where <s> is an strftime(3) expression
3049 (PGP only)
3051 pgp_export_command
3055 Type: string
3056 Default: “”
3057 This command is used to export a public key from the user's key
3059 ring.
3060 This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
3062 possible printf(3)-like sequences. (PGP only)
3063 pgp_getkeys_command
3067 Type: string
3068 Default: “”
3069 This command is invoked whenever Mutt needs to fetch the public
3071 key associated with an email address. Of the sequences sup‐
3072 ported by $pgp_decode_command, %r is the only printf(3)-like
3073 sequence used with this format. Note that in this case, %r
3074 expands to the email address, not the public key ID (the key ID
3075 is unknown, which is why Mutt is invoking this command). (PGP
3076 only)
3077 pgp_good_sign
3081 Type: regular expression
3082 Default: “”
3083 If you assign a text to this variable, then a PGP signature is
3085 only considered verified if the output from $pgp_verify_command
3086 contains the text. Use this variable if the exit code from the
3087 command is 0 even for bad signatures. (PGP only)
3088 pgp_ignore_subkeys
3092 Type: boolean
3093 Default: yes
3094 Setting this variable will cause Mutt to ignore OpenPGP subkeys.
3096 Instead, the principal key will inherit the subkeys' capabili‐
3097 ties. Unset this if you want to play interesting key selection
3098 games. (PGP only)
3099 pgp_import_command
3103 Type: string
3104 Default: “”
3105 This command is used to import a key from a message into the
3107 user's public key ring.
3108 This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
3110 possible printf(3)-like sequences. (PGP only)
3111 pgp_list_pubring_command
3115 Type: string
3116 Default: “”
3117 This command is used to list the public key ring's contents.
3119 The output format must be analogous to the one used by
3120 gpg --list-keys --with-colons --with-fingerprint
3123 This format is also generated by the pgpring utility which comes
3126 with mutt.
3127 Note: gpg's fixed-list-mode option should not be used. It pro‐
3129 duces a different date format which may result in mutt showing
3130 incorrect key generation dates.
3131 This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
3133 possible printf(3)-like sequences. (PGP only)
3134 pgp_list_secring_command
3138 Type: string
3139 Default: “”
3140 This command is used to list the secret key ring's contents.
3142 The output format must be analogous to the one used by:
3143 gpg --list-keys --with-colons --with-fingerprint
3146 This format is also generated by the pgpring utility which comes
3149 with mutt.
3150 Note: gpg's fixed-list-mode option should not be used. It pro‐
3152 duces a different date format which may result in mutt showing
3153 incorrect key generation dates.
3154 This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
3156 possible printf(3)-like sequences. (PGP only)
3157 pgp_long_ids
3161 Type: boolean
3162 Default: yes
3163 If set, use 64 bit PGP key IDs, if unset use the normal 32 bit
3165 key IDs. NOTE: Internally, Mutt has transitioned to using fin‐
3166 gerprints (or long key IDs as a fallback). This option now only
3167 controls the display of key IDs in the key selection menu and a
3168 few other places. (PGP only)
3169 pgp_mime_auto
3173 Type: quadoption
3174 Default: ask-yes
3175 This option controls whether Mutt will prompt you for automati‐
3177 cally sending a (signed/encrypted) message using PGP/MIME when
3178 inline (traditional) fails (for any reason).
3179 Also note that using the old-style PGP message format is
3181 strongly deprecated. (PGP only)
3182 pgp_replyinline
3186 Type: boolean
3187 Default: no
3188 Setting this variable will cause Mutt to always attempt to cre‐
3190 ate an inline (traditional) message when replying to a message
3191 which is PGP encrypted/signed inline. This can be overridden by
3192 use of the pgp menu, when inline is not required. This option
3193 does not automatically detect if the (replied-to) message is
3194 inline; instead it relies on Mutt internals for previously
3195 checked/flagged messages.
3196 Note that Mutt might automatically use PGP/MIME for messages
3198 which consist of more than a single MIME part. Mutt can be con‐
3199 figured to ask before sending PGP/MIME messages when inline
3200 (traditional) would not work.
3201 Also see the $pgp_mime_auto variable.
3203 Also note that using the old-style PGP message format is
3205 strongly deprecated. (PGP only)
3206 pgp_retainable_sigs
3210 Type: boolean
3211 Default: no
3212 If set, signed and encrypted messages will consist of nested
3214 multipart/signed and multipart/encrypted body parts.
3215 This is useful for applications like encrypted and signed mail‐
3217 ing lists, where the outer layer (multipart/encrypted) can be
3218 easily removed, while the inner multipart/signed part is
3219 retained. (PGP only)
3220 pgp_self_encrypt
3224 Type: boolean
3225 Default: yes
3226 When set, PGP encrypted messages will also be encrypted using
3228 the key in $pgp_default_key. (PGP only)
3229 pgp_show_unusable
3233 Type: boolean
3234 Default: yes
3235 If set, mutt will display non-usable keys on the PGP key selec‐
3237 tion menu. This includes keys which have been revoked, have
3238 expired, or have been marked as “disabled” by the user. (PGP
3239 only)
3240 pgp_sign_as
3244 Type: string
3245 Default: “”
3246 If you have a different key pair to use for signing, you should
3248 set this to the signing key. Most people will only need to set
3249 $pgp_default_key. It is recommended that you use the keyid form
3250 to specify your key (e.g. 0x00112233). (PGP only)
3251 pgp_sign_command
3255 Type: string
3256 Default: “”
3257 This command is used to create the detached PGP signature for a
3259 multipart/signed PGP/MIME body part.
3260 This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
3262 possible printf(3)-like sequences. (PGP only)
3263 pgp_sort_keys
3267 Type: sort order
3268 Default: address
3269 Specifies how the entries in the pgp menu are sorted. The fol‐
3271 lowing are legal values:
3272 address
3273 sort alphabetically by user id
3274 keyid sort alphabetically by key id
3275 date sort by key creation date
3276 trust sort by the trust of the key
3277 If you prefer reverse order of the above values, prefix it with
3279 “reverse-”. (PGP only)
3280 pgp_strict_enc
3284 Type: boolean
3285 Default: yes
3286 If set, Mutt will automatically encode PGP/MIME signed messages
3288 as quoted-printable. Please note that unsetting this variable
3289 may lead to problems with non-verifyable PGP signatures, so only
3290 change this if you know what you are doing. (PGP only)
3291 pgp_timeout
3295 Type: number
3296 Default: 300
3297 The number of seconds after which a cached passphrase will
3299 expire if not used. (PGP only)
3300 pgp_use_gpg_agent
3304 Type: boolean
3305 Default: no
3306 If set, mutt will use a possibly-running gpg-agent(1) process.
3308 Note that as of version 2.1, GnuPG no longer exports
3309 GPG_AGENT_INFO, so mutt no longer verifies if the agent is run‐
3310 ning. (PGP only)
3311 pgp_verify_command
3315 Type: string
3316 Default: “”
3317 This command is used to verify PGP signatures.
3319 This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
3321 possible printf(3)-like sequences. (PGP only)
3322 pgp_verify_key_command
3326 Type: string
3327 Default: “”
3328 This command is used to verify key information from the key
3330 selection menu.
3331 This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
3333 possible printf(3)-like sequences. (PGP only)
3334 pipe_decode
3338 Type: boolean
3339 Default: no
3340 Used in connection with the <pipe-message> command. When unset,
3342 Mutt will pipe the messages without any preprocessing. When set,
3343 Mutt will weed headers and will attempt to decode the messages
3344 first.
3345 pipe_sep
3349 Type: string
3350 Default: “\n”
3351 The separator to add between messages when piping a list of
3353 tagged messages to an external Unix command.
3354 pipe_split
3358 Type: boolean
3359 Default: no
3360 Used in connection with the <pipe-message> function following
3362 <tag-prefix>. If this variable is unset, when piping a list of
3363 tagged messages Mutt will concatenate the messages and will pipe
3364 them all concatenated. When set, Mutt will pipe the messages
3365 one by one. In both cases the messages are piped in the current
3366 sorted order, and the $pipe_sep separator is added after each
3367 message.
3368 pop_auth_try_all
3372 Type: boolean
3373 Default: yes
3374 If set, Mutt will try all available authentication methods.
3376 When unset, Mutt will only fall back to other authentication
3377 methods if the previous methods are unavailable. If a method is
3378 available but authentication fails, Mutt will not connect to the
3379 POP server.
3380 pop_authenticators
3384 Type: string
3385 Default: “”
3386 This is a colon-delimited list of authentication methods mutt
3388 may attempt to use to log in to an POP server, in the order mutt
3389 should try them. Authentication methods are either “user”,
3390 “apop” or any SASL mechanism, e.g. “digest-md5”, “gssapi” or
3391 “cram-md5”. This option is case-insensitive. If this option is
3392 unset (the default) mutt will try all available methods, in
3393 order from most-secure to least-secure.
3394 Example:
3396 set pop_authenticators=”digest-md5:apop:user”
3399 pop_checkinterval
3404 Type: number
3405 Default: 60
3406 This variable configures how often (in seconds) mutt should look
3408 for new mail in the currently selected mailbox if it is a POP
3409 mailbox.
3410 pop_delete
3414 Type: quadoption
3415 Default: ask-no
3416 If set, Mutt will delete successfully downloaded messages from
3418 the POP server when using the <fetch-mail> function. When
3419 unset, Mutt will download messages but also leave them on the
3420 POP server.
3421 pop_host
3425 Type: string
3426 Default: “”
3427 The name of your POP server for the <fetch-mail> function. You
3429 can also specify an alternative port, username and password,
3430 i.e.:
3431 [pop[s]://][username[:password]@]popserver[:port]
3434 where “[...]” denotes an optional part.
3437 pop_last
3441 Type: boolean
3442 Default: no
3443 If this variable is set, mutt will try to use the “LAST” POP
3445 command for retrieving only unread messages from the POP server
3446 when using the <fetch-mail> function.
3447 pop_pass
3451 Type: string
3452 Default: “”
3453 Specifies the password for your POP account. If unset, Mutt
3455 will prompt you for your password when you open a POP mailbox.
3456 Warning: you should only use this option when you are on a
3458 fairly secure machine, because the superuser can read your mut‐
3459 trc even if you are the only one who can read the file.
3460 pop_reconnect
3464 Type: quadoption
3465 Default: ask-yes
3466 Controls whether or not Mutt will try to reconnect to the POP
3468 server if the connection is lost.
3469 pop_user
3473 Type: string
3474 Default: “”
3475 Your login name on the POP server.
3477 This variable defaults to your user name on the local machine.
3479 post_indent_string
3483 Type: string
3484 Default: “”
3485 Similar to the $attribution variable, Mutt will append this
3487 string after the inclusion of a message which is being replied
3488 to.
3489 postpone
3493 Type: quadoption
3494 Default: ask-yes
3495 Controls whether or not messages are saved in the $postponed
3497 mailbox when you elect not to send immediately.
3498 Also see the $recall variable.
3500 postponed
3504 Type: path
3505 Default: “~/postponed”
3506 Mutt allows you to indefinitely “postpone sending a message”
3508 which you are editing. When you choose to postpone a message,
3509 Mutt saves it in the mailbox specified by this variable.
3510 Also see the $postpone variable.
3512 postpone_encrypt
3516 Type: boolean
3517 Default: no
3518 When set, postponed messages that are marked for encryption will
3520 be self-encrypted. Mutt will first try to encrypt using the
3521 value specified in $pgp_default_key or $smime_default_key. If
3522 those are not set, it will try the deprecated $post‐
3523 pone_encrypt_as. (Crypto only)
3524 postpone_encrypt_as
3528 Type: string
3529 Default: “”
3530 This is a deprecated fall-back variable for $postpone_encrypt.
3532 Please use $pgp_default_key or $smime_default_key. (Crypto
3533 only)
3534 preconnect
3538 Type: string
3539 Default: “”
3540 If set, a shell command to be executed if mutt fails to estab‐
3542 lish a connection to the server. This is useful for setting up
3543 secure connections, e.g. with ssh(1). If the command returns a
3544 nonzero status, mutt gives up opening the server. Example:
3545 set preconnect=”ssh -f -q -L 1234:mailhost.net:143 mailhost.net \
3548 sleep 20 < /dev/null > /dev/null”
3549 Mailbox “foo” on “mailhost.net” can now be reached as “{local‐
3552 host:1234}foo”.
3553 Note: For this example to work, you must be able to log in to
3555 the remote machine without having to enter a password.
3556 print
3560 Type: quadoption
3561 Default: ask-no
3562 Controls whether or not Mutt really prints messages. This is
3564 set to “ask-no” by default, because some people accidentally hit
3565 “p” often.
3566 print_command
3570 Type: path
3571 Default: “lpr”
3572 This specifies the command pipe that should be used to print
3574 messages.
3575 print_decode
3579 Type: boolean
3580 Default: yes
3581 Used in connection with the <print-message> command. If this
3583 option is set, the message is decoded before it is passed to the
3584 external command specified by $print_command. If this option is
3585 unset, no processing will be applied to the message when print‐
3586 ing it. The latter setting may be useful if you are using some
3587 advanced printer filter which is able to properly format e-mail
3588 messages for printing.
3589 print_split
3593 Type: boolean
3594 Default: no
3595 Used in connection with the <print-message> command. If this
3597 option is set, the command specified by $print_command is exe‐
3598 cuted once for each message which is to be printed. If this
3599 option is unset, the command specified by $print_command is exe‐
3600 cuted only once, and all the messages are concatenated, with a
3601 form feed as the message separator.
3602 Those who use the enscript(1) program's mail-printing mode will
3604 most likely want to set this option.
3605 prompt_after
3609 Type: boolean
3610 Default: yes
3611 If you use an external $pager, setting this variable will cause
3613 Mutt to prompt you for a command when the pager exits rather
3614 than returning to the index menu. If unset, Mutt will return to
3615 the index menu when the external pager exits.
3616 query_command
3620 Type: path
3621 Default: “”
3622 This specifies the command Mutt will use to make external
3624 address queries. The string may contain a “%s”, which will be
3625 substituted with the query string the user types. Mutt will add
3626 quotes around the string substituted for “%s” automatically
3627 according to shell quoting rules, so you should avoid adding
3628 your own. If no “%s” is found in the string, Mutt will append
3629 the user's query to the end of the string. See “query” for more
3630 information.
3631 query_format
3635 Type: string
3636 Default: “%4c %t %-25.25a %-25.25n %?e?(%e)?”
3637 This variable describes the format of the “query” menu. The fol‐
3639 lowing printf(3)-style sequences are understood:
3640 %a destination address
3641 %c current entry number
3642 %e extra information *
3643 %n destination name
3644 %t “*” if current entry is tagged, a space otherwise
3645 %>X right justify the rest of the string and pad with “X”
3646 %|X pad to the end of the line with “X”
3647 %*X soft-fill with character “X” as pad
3648 For an explanation of “soft-fill”, see the $index_format docu‐
3650 mentation.
3651 * = can be optionally printed if nonzero, see the $status_format
3653 documentation.
3654 quit
3658 Type: quadoption
3659 Default: yes
3660 This variable controls whether “quit” and “exit” actually quit
3662 from mutt. If this option is set, they do quit, if it is unset,
3663 they have no effect, and if it is set to ask-yes or ask-no, you
3664 are prompted for confirmation when you try to quit.
3665 quote_regexp
3669 Type: regular expression
3670 Default: “^([ \t]*[|>:}#])+”
3671 A regular expression used in the internal pager to determine
3673 quoted sections of text in the body of a message. Quoted text
3674 may be filtered out using the <toggle-quoted> command, or col‐
3675 ored according to the “color quoted” family of directives.
3676 Higher levels of quoting may be colored differently (“color
3678 quoted1”, “color quoted2”, etc.). The quoting level is deter‐
3679 mined by removing the last character from the matched text and
3680 recursively reapplying the regular expression until it fails to
3681 produce a match.
3682 Match detection may be overridden by the $smileys regular
3684 expression.
3685 read_inc
3689 Type: number
3690 Default: 10
3691 If set to a value greater than 0, Mutt will display which mes‐
3693 sage it is currently on when reading a mailbox or when perform‐
3694 ing search actions such as search and limit. The message is
3695 printed after this many messages have been read or searched
3696 (e.g., if set to 25, Mutt will print a message when it is at
3697 message 25, and then again when it gets to message 50). This
3698 variable is meant to indicate progress when reading or searching
3699 large mailboxes which may take some time. When set to 0, only a
3700 single message will appear before the reading the mailbox.
3701 Also see the $write_inc, $net_inc and $time_inc variables and
3703 the “tuning” section of the manual for performance considera‐
3704 tions.
3705 read_only
3709 Type: boolean
3710 Default: no
3711 If set, all folders are opened in read-only mode.
3713 realname
3717 Type: string
3718 Default: “”
3719 This variable specifies what “real” or “personal” name should be
3721 used when sending messages.
3722 By default, this is the GECOS field from /etc/passwd. Note that
3724 this variable will not be used when the user has set a real name
3725 in the $from variable.
3726 recall
3730 Type: quadoption
3731 Default: ask-yes
3732 Controls whether or not Mutt recalls postponed messages when
3734 composing a new message.
3735 Setting this variable to yes is not generally useful, and thus
3737 not recommended. Note that the <recall-message> function can be
3738 used to manually recall postponed messages.
3739 Also see $postponed variable.
3741 record
3745 Type: path
3746 Default: “~/sent”
3747 This specifies the file into which your outgoing messages should
3749 be appended. (This is meant as the primary method for saving a
3750 copy of your messages, but another way to do this is using the
3751 “my_hdr” command to create a “Bcc:” field with your email
3752 address in it.)
3753 The value of $record is overridden by the $force_name and
3755 $save_name variables, and the “fcc-hook” command.
3756 reflow_space_quotes
3760 Type: boolean
3761 Default: yes
3762 This option controls how quotes from format=flowed messages are
3764 displayed in the pager and when replying (with $text_flowed
3765 unset). When set, this option adds spaces after each level of
3766 quote marks, turning ”>>>foo” into ”> > > foo”.
3767 Note: If $reflow_text is unset, this option has no effect.
3769 Also, this option does not affect replies when $text_flowed is
3770 set.
3771 reflow_text
3775 Type: boolean
3776 Default: yes
3777 When set, Mutt will reformat paragraphs in text/plain parts
3779 marked format=flowed. If unset, Mutt will display paragraphs
3780 unaltered from how they appear in the message body. See RFC3676
3781 for details on the format=flowed format.
3782 Also see $reflow_wrap, and $wrap.
3784 reflow_wrap
3788 Type: number
3789 Default: 78
3790 This variable controls the maximum paragraph width when refor‐
3792 matting text/plain parts when $reflow_text is set. When the
3793 value is 0, paragraphs will be wrapped at the terminal's right
3794 margin. A positive value sets the paragraph width relative to
3795 the left margin. A negative value set the paragraph width rela‐
3796 tive to the right margin.
3797 Also see $wrap.
3799 reply_regexp
3803 Type: regular expression
3804 Default: “^(re([\[0-9\]+])*|aw):[ \t]*”
3805 A regular expression used to recognize reply messages when
3807 threading and replying. The default value corresponds to the
3808 English ”Re:” and the German ”Aw:”.
3809 reply_self
3813 Type: boolean
3814 Default: no
3815 If unset and you are replying to a message sent by you, Mutt
3817 will assume that you want to reply to the recipients of that
3818 message rather than to yourself.
3819 Also see the “alternates” command.
3821 reply_to
3825 Type: quadoption
3826 Default: ask-yes
3827 If set, when replying to a message, Mutt will use the address
3829 listed in the Reply-to: header as the recipient of the reply.
3830 If unset, it will use the address in the From: header field
3831 instead. This option is useful for reading a mailing list that
3832 sets the Reply-To: header field to the list address and you want
3833 to send a private message to the author of a message.
3834 resolve
3838 Type: boolean
3839 Default: yes
3840 When set, the cursor will be automatically advanced to the next
3842 (possibly undeleted) message whenever a command that modifies
3843 the current message is executed.
3844 resume_draft_files
3848 Type: boolean
3849 Default: no
3850 If set, draft files (specified by -H on the command line) are
3852 processed similarly to when resuming a postponed message.
3853 Recipients are not prompted for; send-hooks are not evaluated;
3854 no alias expansion takes place; user-defined headers and signa‐
3855 tures are not added to the message.
3856 resume_edited_draft_files
3860 Type: boolean
3861 Default: yes
3862 If set, draft files previously edited (via -E -H on the command
3864 line) will have $resume_draft_files automatically set when they
3865 are used as a draft file again.
3866 The first time a draft file is saved, mutt will add a header,
3868 X-Mutt-Resume-Draft to the saved file. The next time the draft
3869 file is read in, if mutt sees the header, it will set
3870 $resume_draft_files.
3871 This option is designed to prevent multiple signatures,
3873 user-defined headers, and other processing effects from being
3874 made multiple times to the draft file.
3875 reverse_alias
3879 Type: boolean
3880 Default: no
3881 This variable controls whether or not Mutt will display the
3883 “personal” name from your aliases in the index menu if it finds
3884 an alias that matches the message's sender. For example, if you
3885 have the following alias:
3886 alias juser abd30425@somewhere.net (Joe User)
3889 and then you receive mail which contains the following header:
3892 From: abd30425@somewhere.net
3895 It would be displayed in the index menu as “Joe User” instead of
3898 “abd30425@somewhere.net.” This is useful when the person's
3899 e-mail address is not human friendly.
3900 reverse_name
3904 Type: boolean
3905 Default: no
3906 It may sometimes arrive that you receive mail to a certain
3908 machine, move the messages to another machine, and reply to some
3909 the messages from there. If this variable is set, the default
3910 From: line of the reply messages is built using the address
3911 where you received the messages you are replying to if that
3912 address matches your “alternates”. If the variable is unset, or
3913 the address that would be used doesn't match your “alternates”,
3914 the From: line will use your address on the current machine.
3915 Also see the “alternates” command.
3917 reverse_realname
3921 Type: boolean
3922 Default: yes
3923 This variable fine-tunes the behavior of the $reverse_name fea‐
3925 ture. When it is set, mutt will use the address from incoming
3926 messages as-is, possibly including eventual real names. When it
3927 is unset, mutt will override any such real names with the set‐
3928 ting of the $realname variable.
3929 rfc2047_parameters
3933 Type: boolean
3934 Default: no
3935 When this variable is set, Mutt will decode RFC2047-encoded MIME
3937 parameters. You want to set this variable when mutt suggests you
3938 to save attachments to files named like:
3939 =?iso-8859-1?Q?file=5F=E4=5F991116=2Ezip?=
3942 When this variable is set interactively, the change won't be
3945 active until you change folders.
3946 Note that this use of RFC2047's encoding is explicitly prohib‐
3948 ited by the standard, but nevertheless encountered in the wild.
3949 Also note that setting this parameter will not have the effect
3951 that mutt generates this kind of encoding. Instead, mutt will
3952 unconditionally use the encoding specified in RFC2231.
3953 save_address
3957 Type: boolean
3958 Default: no
3959 If set, mutt will take the sender's full address when choosing a
3961 default folder for saving a mail. If $save_name or $force_name
3962 is set too, the selection of the Fcc folder will be changed as
3963 well.
3964 save_empty
3968 Type: boolean
3969 Default: yes
3970 When unset, mailboxes which contain no saved messages will be
3972 removed when closed (the exception is $spoolfile which is never
3973 removed). If set, mailboxes are never removed.
3974 Note: This only applies to mbox and MMDF folders, Mutt does not
3976 delete MH and Maildir directories.
3977 save_history
3981 Type: number
3982 Default: 0
3983 This variable controls the size of the history (per category)
3985 saved in the $history_file file.
3986 save_name
3990 Type: boolean
3991 Default: no
3992 This variable controls how copies of outgoing messages are
3994 saved. When set, a check is made to see if a mailbox specified
3995 by the recipient address exists (this is done by searching for a
3996 mailbox in the $folder directory with the username part of the
3997 recipient address). If the mailbox exists, the outgoing message
3998 will be saved to that mailbox, otherwise the message is saved to
3999 the $record mailbox.
4000 Also see the $force_name variable.
4002 score
4006 Type: boolean
4007 Default: yes
4008 When this variable is unset, scoring is turned off. This can be
4010 useful to selectively disable scoring for certain folders when
4011 the $score_threshold_delete variable and related are used.
4012 score_threshold_delete
4016 Type: number
4017 Default: -1
4018 Messages which have been assigned a score equal to or lower than
4020 the value of this variable are automatically marked for deletion
4021 by mutt. Since mutt scores are always greater than or equal to
4022 zero, the default setting of this variable will never mark a
4023 message for deletion.
4024 score_threshold_flag
4028 Type: number
4029 Default: 9999
4030 Messages which have been assigned a score greater than or equal
4032 to this variable's value are automatically marked ”flagged”.
4033 score_threshold_read
4037 Type: number
4038 Default: -1
4039 Messages which have been assigned a score equal to or lower than
4041 the value of this variable are automatically marked as read by
4042 mutt. Since mutt scores are always greater than or equal to
4043 zero, the default setting of this variable will never mark a
4044 message read.
4045 search_context
4049 Type: number
4050 Default: 0
4051 For the pager, this variable specifies the number of lines shown
4053 before search results. By default, search results will be
4054 top-aligned.
4055 send_charset
4059 Type: string
4060 Default: “us-ascii:iso-8859-1:utf-8”
4061 A colon-delimited list of character sets for outgoing messages.
4063 Mutt will use the first character set into which the text can be
4064 converted exactly. If your $charset is not “iso-8859-1” and
4065 recipients may not understand “UTF-8”, it is advisable to
4066 include in the list an appropriate widely used standard charac‐
4067 ter set (such as “iso-8859-2”, “koi8-r” or “iso-2022-jp”) either
4068 instead of or after “iso-8859-1”.
4069 In case the text cannot be converted into one of these exactly,
4071 mutt uses $charset as a fallback.
4072 sendmail
4076 Type: path
4077 Default: “/usr/sbin/sendmail -oem -oi”
4078 Specifies the program and arguments used to deliver mail sent by
4080 Mutt. Mutt expects that the specified program interprets addi‐
4081 tional arguments as recipient addresses. Mutt appends all
4082 recipients after adding a -- delimiter (if not already present).
4083 Additional flags, such as for $use_8bitmime, $use_envelope_from,
4084 $dsn_notify, or $dsn_return will be added before the delimiter.
4085 sendmail_wait
4089 Type: number
4090 Default: 0
4091 Specifies the number of seconds to wait for the $sendmail
4093 process to finish before giving up and putting delivery in the
4094 background.
4095 Mutt interprets the value of this variable as follows:
4097 >0 number of seconds to wait for sendmail to finish before
4098 continuing
4099 0 wait forever for sendmail to finish
4100 <0 always put sendmail in the background without waiting
4101 Note that if you specify a value other than 0, the output of the
4103 child process will be put in a temporary file. If there is some
4104 error, you will be informed as to where to find the output.
4105 shell
4109 Type: path
4110 Default: “”
4111 Command to use when spawning a subshell. By default, the user's
4113 login shell from /etc/passwd is used.
4114 sidebar_delim_chars
4118 Type: string
4119 Default: “/.”
4120 This contains the list of characters which you would like to
4122 treat as folder separators for displaying paths in the sidebar.
4123 Local mail is often arranged in directories: `dir1/dir2/mail‐
4125 box'.
4126 set sidebar_delim_chars='/'
4129 IMAP mailboxes are often named: `folder1.folder2.mailbox'.
4132 set sidebar_delim_chars='.'
4135 See also: $sidebar_short_path, $sidebar_folder_indent, $side‐
4138 bar_indent_string.
4139 sidebar_divider_char
4143 Type: string
4144 Default: “|”
4145 This specifies the characters to be drawn between the sidebar
4147 (when visible) and the other Mutt panels. ASCII and Unicode
4148 line-drawing characters are supported.
4149 sidebar_folder_indent
4153 Type: boolean
4154 Default: no
4155 Set this to indent mailboxes in the sidebar.
4157 See also: $sidebar_short_path, $sidebar_indent_string, $side‐
4159 bar_delim_chars.
4160 sidebar_format
4164 Type: string
4165 Default: “%B%* %n”
4166 This variable allows you to customize the sidebar display. This
4168 string is similar to $index_format, but has its own set of
4169 printf(3)-like sequences:
4170 %B Name of the mailbox
4171 %S * Size of mailbox (total number of messages)
4172 %N * Number of unread messages in the mailbox
4173 %n N if mailbox has new mail, blank otherwise
4174 %F * Number of Flagged messages in the mailbox
4175 %! “!” : one flagged message; “!!” : two flagged messages;
4176 “n!” : n flagged messages (for n > 2). Otherwise prints
4177 nothing.
4178 %d * @ Number of deleted messages
4179 %L * @ Number of messages after limiting
4180 %t * @ Number of tagged messages
4181 %>X right justify the rest of the string and pad with “X”
4182 %|X pad to the end of the line with “X”
4183 %*X soft-fill with character “X” as pad
4184 * = Can be optionally printed if nonzero @ = Only applicable to
4186 the current folder
4187 In order to use %S, %N, %F, and %!, $mail_check_stats must be
4189 set. When thus set, a suggested value for this option is
4190 ”%B%?F? [%F]?%* %?N?%N/?%S”.
4191 sidebar_indent_string
4195 Type: string
4196 Default: “ ”
4197 This specifies the string that is used to indent mailboxes in
4199 the sidebar. It defaults to two spaces.
4200 See also: $sidebar_short_path, $sidebar_folder_indent, $side‐
4202 bar_delim_chars.
4203 sidebar_new_mail_only
4207 Type: boolean
4208 Default: no
4209 When set, the sidebar will only display mailboxes containing
4211 new, or flagged, mail.
4212 See also: sidebar_whitelist.
4214 sidebar_next_new_wrap
4218 Type: boolean
4219 Default: no
4220 When set, the <sidebar-next-new> command will not stop and the
4222 end of the list of mailboxes, but wrap around to the beginning.
4223 The <sidebar-prev-new> command is similarly affected, wrapping
4224 around to the end of the list.
4225 sidebar_short_path
4229 Type: boolean
4230 Default: no
4231 By default the sidebar will show the mailbox's path, relative to
4233 the $folder variable. Setting sidebar_shortpath=yes will shorten
4234 the names relative to the previous name. Here's an example:
4235 shortpath=no
4236 shortpath=yes shortpath=yes, folderindent=yes,
4237 indentstr=”..”
4238 fruit fruit fruit
4239 fruit.apple
4240 apple ..apple
4241 fruit.banana
4242 banana ..banana
4243 fruit.cherry
4244 cherry ..cherry
4245 See also: $sidebar_delim_chars, $sidebar_folder_indent, $side‐
4247 bar_indent_string.
4248 sidebar_sort_method
4252 Type: sort order
4253 Default: order
4254 Specifies how to sort entries in the file browser. By default,
4256 the entries are sorted alphabetically. Valid values:
4257 ‐ alpha (alphabetically)
4258 ‐ count (all message count)
4259 ‐ flagged (flagged message count)
4260 ‐ name (alphabetically)
4261 ‐ new (unread message count)
4262 ‐ path (alphabetically)
4263 ‐ unread (unread message count)
4264 ‐ unsorted
4265 You may optionally use the “reverse-” prefix to specify reverse
4267 sorting order (example: “set sort_browser=reverse-date”).
4268 sidebar_visible
4272 Type: boolean
4273 Default: no
4274 This specifies whether or not to show sidebar. The sidebar shows
4276 a list of all your mailboxes.
4277 See also: $sidebar_format, $sidebar_width
4279 sidebar_width
4283 Type: number
4284 Default: 30
4285 This controls the width of the sidebar. It is measured in
4287 screen columns. For example: sidebar_width=20 could display 20
4288 ASCII characters, or 10 Chinese characters.
4289 sig_dashes
4293 Type: boolean
4294 Default: yes
4295 If set, a line containing “-- ” (note the trailing space) will
4297 be inserted before your $signature. It is strongly recommended
4298 that you not unset this variable unless your signature contains
4299 just your name. The reason for this is because many software
4300 packages use “-- \n” to detect your signature. For example,
4301 Mutt has the ability to highlight the signature in a different
4302 color in the built-in pager.
4303 sig_on_top
4307 Type: boolean
4308 Default: no
4309 If set, the signature will be included before any quoted or for‐
4311 warded text. It is strongly recommended that you do not set
4312 this variable unless you really know what you are doing, and are
4313 prepared to take some heat from netiquette guardians.
4314 signature
4318 Type: path
4319 Default: “~/.signature”
4320 Specifies the filename of your signature, which is appended to
4322 all outgoing messages. If the filename ends with a pipe (“|”),
4323 it is assumed that filename is a shell command and input should
4324 be read from its standard output.
4325 simple_search
4329 Type: string
4330 Default: “~f %s | ~s %s”
4331 Specifies how Mutt should expand a simple search into a real
4333 search pattern. A simple search is one that does not contain
4334 any of the “~” pattern operators. See “patterns” for more
4335 information on search patterns.
4336 For example, if you simply type “joe” at a search or limit
4338 prompt, Mutt will automatically expand it to the value specified
4339 by this variable by replacing “%s” with the supplied string.
4340 For the default value, “joe” would be expanded to: “~f joe | ~s
4341 joe”.
4342 sleep_time
4346 Type: number
4347 Default: 1
4348 Specifies time, in seconds, to pause while displaying certain
4350 informational messages, while moving from folder to folder and
4351 after expunging messages from the current folder. The default
4352 is to pause one second, so a value of zero for this option sup‐
4353 presses the pause.
4354 smart_wrap
4358 Type: boolean
4359 Default: yes
4360 Controls the display of lines longer than the screen width in
4362 the internal pager. If set, long lines are wrapped at a word
4363 boundary. If unset, lines are simply wrapped at the screen
4364 edge. Also see the $markers variable.
4365 smileys
4369 Type: regular expression
4370 Default: “(>From )|(:[-^]?[][)(><}{|/DP])”
4371 The pager uses this variable to catch some common false posi‐
4373 tives of $quote_regexp, most notably smileys and not consider a
4374 line quoted text if it also matches $smileys. This mostly hap‐
4375 pens at the beginning of a line.
4376 smime_ask_cert_label
4380 Type: boolean
4381 Default: yes
4382 This flag controls whether you want to be asked to enter a label
4384 for a certificate about to be added to the database or not. It
4385 is set by default. (S/MIME only)
4386 smime_ca_location
4390 Type: path
4391 Default: “”
4392 This variable contains the name of either a directory, or a file
4394 which contains trusted certificates for use with OpenSSL.
4395 (S/MIME only)
4396 smime_certificates
4400 Type: path
4401 Default: “”
4402 Since for S/MIME there is no pubring/secring as with PGP, mutt
4404 has to handle storage and retrieval of keys by itself. This is
4405 very basic right now, and keys and certificates are stored in
4406 two different directories, both named as the hash-value
4407 retrieved from OpenSSL. There is an index file which contains
4408 mailbox-address keyid pairs, and which can be manually edited.
4409 This option points to the location of the certificates. (S/MIME
4410 only)
4411 smime_decrypt_command
4415 Type: string
4416 Default: “”
4417 This format string specifies a command which is used to decrypt
4419 application/x-pkcs7-mime attachments.
4420 The OpenSSL command formats have their own set of printf(3)-like
4422 sequences similar to PGP's:
4423 %f Expands to the name of a file containing a message.
4424 %s Expands to the name of a file containing the signature
4425 part
4426 of a multipart/signed attachment when verify‐
4427 ing it.
4428 %k The key-pair specified with $smime_default_key
4429 %c One or more certificate IDs.
4430 %a The algorithm used for encryption.
4431 %d The message digest algorithm specified with
4432 $smime_sign_digest_alg.
4433 %C CA location: Depending on whether $smime_ca_location
4434 points to a directory or file, this expands to
4435 “-CApath $smime_ca_location” or “-CAfile
4436 $smime_ca_location”.
4437 For examples on how to configure these formats, see the smime.rc
4439 in the samples/ subdirectory which has been installed on your
4440 system alongside the documentation. (S/MIME only)
4441 smime_decrypt_use_default_key
4445 Type: boolean
4446 Default: yes
4447 If set (default) this tells mutt to use the default key for
4449 decryption. Otherwise, if managing multiple certifi‐
4450 cate-key-pairs, mutt will try to use the mailbox-address to
4451 determine the key to use. It will ask you to supply a key, if it
4452 can't find one. (S/MIME only)
4453 smime_default_key
4457 Type: string
4458 Default: “”
4459 This is the default key-pair to use for S/MIME operations, and
4461 must be set to the keyid (the hash-value that OpenSSL generates)
4462 to work properly.
4463 It will be used for encryption (see $postpone_encrypt and
4465 $smime_self_encrypt).
4466 It will be used for decryption unless
4468 $smime_decrypt_use_default_key is unset.
4469 It will also be used for signing unless $smime_sign_as is set.
4471 The (now deprecated) smime_self_encrypt_as is an alias for this
4473 variable, and should no longer be used. (S/MIME only)
4474 smime_encrypt_command
4478 Type: string
4479 Default: “”
4480 This command is used to create encrypted S/MIME messages.
4482 This is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command command
4484 for possible printf(3)-like sequences. (S/MIME only)
4485 smime_encrypt_with
4489 Type: string
4490 Default: “aes256”
4491 This sets the algorithm that should be used for encryption.
4493 Valid choices are “aes128”, “aes192”, “aes256”, “des”, “des3”,
4494 “rc2-40”, “rc2-64”, “rc2-128”. (S/MIME only)
4495 smime_get_cert_command
4499 Type: string
4500 Default: “”
4501 This command is used to extract X509 certificates from a PKCS7
4503 structure.
4504 This is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command command
4506 for possible printf(3)-like sequences. (S/MIME only)
4507 smime_get_cert_email_command
4511 Type: string
4512 Default: “”
4513 This command is used to extract the mail address(es) used for
4515 storing X509 certificates, and for verification purposes (to
4516 check whether the certificate was issued for the sender's mail‐
4517 box).
4518 This is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command command
4520 for possible printf(3)-like sequences. (S/MIME only)
4521 smime_get_signer_cert_command
4525 Type: string
4526 Default: “”
4527 This command is used to extract only the signers X509 certifi‐
4529 cate from a S/MIME signature, so that the certificate's owner
4530 may get compared to the email's “From:” field.
4531 This is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command command
4533 for possible printf(3)-like sequences. (S/MIME only)
4534 smime_import_cert_command
4538 Type: string
4539 Default: “”
4540 This command is used to import a certificate via smime_keys.
4542 This is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command command
4544 for possible printf(3)-like sequences. (S/MIME only)
4545 smime_is_default
4549 Type: boolean
4550 Default: no
4551 The default behavior of mutt is to use PGP on all
4553 auto-sign/encryption operations. To override and to use OpenSSL
4554 instead this must be set. However, this has no effect while
4555 replying, since mutt will automatically select the same applica‐
4556 tion that was used to sign/encrypt the original message. (Note
4557 that this variable can be overridden by unsetting
4558 $crypt_autosmime.) (S/MIME only)
4559 smime_keys
4563 Type: path
4564 Default: “”
4565 Since for S/MIME there is no pubring/secring as with PGP, mutt
4567 has to handle storage and retrieval of keys/certs by itself.
4568 This is very basic right now, and stores keys and certificates
4569 in two different directories, both named as the hash-value
4570 retrieved from OpenSSL. There is an index file which contains
4571 mailbox-address keyid pair, and which can be manually edited.
4572 This option points to the location of the private keys. (S/MIME
4573 only)
4574 smime_pk7out_command
4578 Type: string
4579 Default: “”
4580 This command is used to extract PKCS7 structures of S/MIME sig‐
4582 natures, in order to extract the public X509 certificate(s).
4583 This is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command command
4585 for possible printf(3)-like sequences. (S/MIME only)
4586 smime_self_encrypt
4590 Type: boolean
4591 Default: yes
4592 When set, S/MIME encrypted messages will also be encrypted using
4594 the certificate in $smime_default_key. (S/MIME only)
4595 smime_sign_as
4599 Type: string
4600 Default: “”
4601 If you have a separate key to use for signing, you should set
4603 this to the signing key. Most people will only need to set
4604 $smime_default_key. (S/MIME only)
4605 smime_sign_command
4609 Type: string
4610 Default: “”
4611 This command is used to created S/MIME signatures of type multi‐
4613 part/signed, which can be read by all mail clients.
4614 This is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command command
4616 for possible printf(3)-like sequences. NOTE: %c and %k will
4617 default to $smime_sign_as if set, otherwise $smime_default_key.
4618 (S/MIME only)
4619 smime_sign_digest_alg
4623 Type: string
4624 Default: “sha256”
4625 This sets the algorithm that should be used for the signature
4627 message digest. Valid choices are “md5”, “sha1”, “sha224”,
4628 “sha256”, “sha384”, “sha512”. (S/MIME only)
4629 smime_sign_opaque_command
4633 Type: string
4634 Default: “”
4635 This command is used to created S/MIME signatures of type appli‐
4637 cation/x-pkcs7-signature, which can only be handled by mail
4638 clients supporting the S/MIME extension.
4639 This is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command command
4641 for possible printf(3)-like sequences. (S/MIME only)
4642 smime_timeout
4646 Type: number
4647 Default: 300
4648 The number of seconds after which a cached passphrase will
4650 expire if not used. (S/MIME only)
4651 smime_verify_command
4655 Type: string
4656 Default: “”
4657 This command is used to verify S/MIME signatures of type multi‐
4659 part/signed.
4660 This is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command command
4662 for possible printf(3)-like sequences. (S/MIME only)
4663 smime_verify_opaque_command
4667 Type: string
4668 Default: “”
4669 This command is used to verify S/MIME signatures of type appli‐
4671 cation/x-pkcs7-mime.
4672 This is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command command
4674 for possible printf(3)-like sequences. (S/MIME only)
4675 smtp_authenticators
4679 Type: string
4680 Default: “”
4681 This is a colon-delimited list of authentication methods mutt
4683 may attempt to use to log in to an SMTP server, in the order
4684 mutt should try them. Authentication methods are any SASL mech‐
4685 anism, e.g. “digest-md5”, “gssapi” or “cram-md5”. This option
4686 is case-insensitive. If it is “unset” (the default) mutt will
4687 try all available methods, in order from most-secure to
4688 least-secure.
4689 Example:
4691 set smtp_authenticators=”digest-md5:cram-md5”
4694 smtp_pass
4699 Type: string
4700 Default: “”
4701 Specifies the password for your SMTP account. If unset, Mutt
4703 will prompt you for your password when you first send mail via
4704 SMTP. See $smtp_url to configure mutt to send mail via SMTP.
4705 Warning: you should only use this option when you are on a
4707 fairly secure machine, because the superuser can read your mut‐
4708 trc even if you are the only one who can read the file.
4709 smtp_url
4713 Type: string
4714 Default: “”
4715 Defines the SMTP smarthost where sent messages should relayed
4717 for delivery. This should take the form of an SMTP URL, e.g.:
4718 smtp[s]://[user[:pass]@]host[:port]
4721 where “[...]” denotes an optional part. Setting this variable
4724 overrides the value of the $sendmail variable.
4725 sort
4729 Type: sort order
4730 Default: date
4731 Specifies how to sort messages in the “index” menu. Valid val‐
4733 ues are:
4734 ‐ date or date-sent
4735 ‐ date-received
4736 ‐ from
4737 ‐ mailbox-order (unsorted)
4738 ‐ score
4739 ‐ size
4740 ‐ spam
4741 ‐ subject
4742 ‐ threads
4743 ‐ to
4744 You may optionally use the “reverse-” prefix to specify reverse
4746 sorting order (example: “set sort=reverse-date-sent”).
4747 sort_alias
4751 Type: sort order
4752 Default: alias
4753 Specifies how the entries in the “alias” menu are sorted. The
4755 following are legal values:
4756 ‐ address (sort alphabetically by email address)
4757 ‐ alias (sort alphabetically by alias name)
4758 ‐ unsorted (leave in order specified in .muttrc)
4759 sort_aux
4762 Type: sort order
4763 Default: date
4764 When sorting by threads, this variable controls how threads are
4766 sorted in relation to other threads, and how the branches of the
4767 thread trees are sorted. This can be set to any value that
4768 $sort can, except “threads” (in that case, mutt will just use
4769 “date-sent”). You can also specify the “last-” prefix in addi‐
4770 tion to the “reverse-” prefix, but “last-” must come after
4771 “reverse-”. The “last-” prefix causes messages to be sorted
4772 against its siblings by which has the last descendant, using the
4773 rest of $sort_aux as an ordering. For instance,
4774 set sort_aux=last-date-received
4777 would mean that if a new message is received in a thread, that
4780 thread becomes the last one displayed (or the first, if you have
4781 “set sort=reverse-threads”.)
4782 Note: For reversed $sort order $sort_aux is reversed again
4784 (which is not the right thing to do, but kept to not break any
4785 existing configuration setting).
4786 sort_browser
4790 Type: sort order
4791 Default: alpha
4792 Specifies how to sort entries in the file browser. By default,
4794 the entries are sorted alphabetically. Valid values:
4795 ‐ alpha (alphabetically)
4796 ‐ count
4797 ‐ date
4798 ‐ size
4799 ‐ unread
4800 ‐ unsorted
4801 You may optionally use the “reverse-” prefix to specify reverse
4803 sorting order (example: “set sort_browser=reverse-date”).
4804 sort_re
4808 Type: boolean
4809 Default: yes
4810 This variable is only useful when sorting by threads with
4812 $strict_threads unset. In that case, it changes the heuristic
4813 mutt uses to thread messages by subject. With $sort_re set,
4814 mutt will only attach a message as the child of another message
4815 by subject if the subject of the child message starts with a
4816 substring matching the setting of $reply_regexp. With $sort_re
4817 unset, mutt will attach the message whether or not this is the
4818 case, as long as the non-$reply_regexp parts of both messages
4819 are identical.
4820 spam_separator
4824 Type: string
4825 Default: “,”
4826 This variable controls what happens when multiple spam headers
4828 are matched: if unset, each successive header will overwrite any
4829 previous matches value for the spam label. If set, each succes‐
4830 sive match will append to the previous, using this variable's
4831 value as a separator.
4832 spoolfile
4836 Type: path
4837 Default: “”
4838 If your spool mailbox is in a non-default place where Mutt can‐
4840 not find it, you can specify its location with this variable.
4841 Mutt will initially set this variable to the value of the envi‐
4842 ronment variable $MAIL or $MAILDIR if either is defined.
4843 ssl_ca_certificates_file
4847 Type: path
4848 Default: “/etc/ssl/certs/ca-bundle.crt”
4849 This variable specifies a file containing trusted CA certifi‐
4851 cates. Any server certificate that is signed with one of these
4852 CA certificates is also automatically accepted. (GnuTLS only)
4853 Example:
4855 set ssl_ca_certificates_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt
4858 ssl_client_cert
4863 Type: path
4864 Default: “”
4865 The file containing a client certificate and its associated pri‐
4867 vate key.
4868 ssl_force_tls
4872 Type: boolean
4873 Default: no
4874 If this variable is set, Mutt will require that all connections
4876 to remote servers be encrypted. Furthermore it will attempt to
4877 negotiate TLS even if the server does not advertise the capabil‐
4878 ity, since it would otherwise have to abort the connection any‐
4879 way. This option supersedes $ssl_starttls.
4880 ssl_min_dh_prime_bits
4884 Type: number
4885 Default: 0
4886 This variable specifies the minimum acceptable prime size (in
4888 bits) for use in any Diffie-Hellman key exchange. A value of 0
4889 will use the default from the GNUTLS library. (GnuTLS only)
4890 ssl_starttls
4894 Type: quadoption
4895 Default: yes
4896 If set (the default), mutt will attempt to use STARTTLS on
4898 servers advertising the capability. When unset, mutt will not
4899 attempt to use STARTTLS regardless of the server's capabilities.
4900 ssl_use_sslv2
4904 Type: boolean
4905 Default: no
4906 This variable specifies whether to attempt to use SSLv2 in the
4908 SSL authentication process. Note that SSLv2 and SSLv3 are now
4909 considered fundamentally insecure and are no longer recommended.
4910 (OpenSSL only)
4911 ssl_use_sslv3
4915 Type: boolean
4916 Default: no
4917 This variable specifies whether to attempt to use SSLv3 in the
4919 SSL authentication process. Note that SSLv2 and SSLv3 are now
4920 considered fundamentally insecure and are no longer recommended.
4921 ssl_use_tlsv1
4925 Type: boolean
4926 Default: yes
4927 This variable specifies whether to attempt to use TLSv1.0 in the
4929 SSL authentication process.
4930 ssl_use_tlsv1_1
4934 Type: boolean
4935 Default: yes
4936 This variable specifies whether to attempt to use TLSv1.1 in the
4938 SSL authentication process.
4939 ssl_use_tlsv1_2
4943 Type: boolean
4944 Default: yes
4945 This variable specifies whether to attempt to use TLSv1.2 in the
4947 SSL authentication process.
4948 ssl_usesystemcerts
4952 Type: boolean
4953 Default: yes
4954 If set to yes, mutt will use CA certificates in the system-wide
4956 certificate store when checking if a server certificate is
4957 signed by a trusted CA. (OpenSSL only)
4958 ssl_verify_dates
4962 Type: boolean
4963 Default: yes
4964 If set (the default), mutt will not automatically accept a
4966 server certificate that is either not yet valid or already
4967 expired. You should only unset this for particular known hosts,
4968 using the <account-hook> function.
4969 ssl_verify_host
4973 Type: boolean
4974 Default: yes
4975 If set (the default), mutt will not automatically accept a
4977 server certificate whose host name does not match the host used
4978 in your folder URL. You should only unset this for particular
4979 known hosts, using the <account-hook> function.
4980 ssl_verify_partial_chains
4984 Type: boolean
4985 Default: no
4986 This option should not be changed from the default unless you
4988 understand what you are doing.
4989 Setting this variable to yes will permit verifying partial cer‐
4991 tification chains, i. e. a certificate chain where not the root,
4992 but an intermediate certificate CA, or the host certificate, are
4993 marked trusted (in $certificate_file), without marking the root
4994 signing CA as trusted.
4995 (OpenSSL 1.0.2b and newer only).
4997 ssl_ciphers
5001 Type: string
5002 Default: “@SYSTEM”
5003 Contains a colon-seperated list of ciphers to use when using
5005 SSL. For OpenSSL, see ciphers(1) for the syntax of the string.
5006 For GnuTLS, this option will be used in place of ”NORMAL” at the
5008 start of the priority string. See gnutls_priority_init(3) for
5009 the syntax and more details. (Note: GnuTLS version 2.1.7 or
5010 higher is required.)
5011 status_chars
5015 Type: string
5016 Default: “-*%A”
5017 Controls the characters used by the “%r” indicator in $sta‐
5019 tus_format. The first character is used when the mailbox is
5020 unchanged. The second is used when the mailbox has been changed,
5021 and it needs to be resynchronized. The third is used if the
5022 mailbox is in read-only mode, or if the mailbox will not be
5023 written when exiting that mailbox (You can toggle whether to
5024 write changes to a mailbox with the <toggle-write> operation,
5025 bound by default to “%”). The fourth is used to indicate that
5026 the current folder has been opened in attach- message mode (Cer‐
5027 tain operations like composing a new mail, replying, forwarding,
5028 etc. are not permitted in this mode).
5029 status_format
5033 Type: string
5034 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)---”
5035 Controls the format of the status line displayed in the “index”
5037 menu. This string is similar to $index_format, but has its own
5038 set of printf(3)-like sequences:
5039 %b number of mailboxes with new mail *
5040 %d number of deleted messages *
5041 %f the full pathname of the current mailbox
5042 %F number of flagged messages *
5043 %h local hostname
5044 %l size (in bytes) of the current mailbox *
5045 %L size (in bytes) of the messages shown (i.e., which match
5046 the current limit) *
5047 %m the number of messages in the mailbox *
5048 %M the number of messages shown (i.e., which match the cur‐
5049 rent limit) *
5050 %n number of new messages in the mailbox *
5051 %o number of old unread messages *
5052 %p number of postponed messages *
5053 %P percentage of the way through the index
5054 %r modified/read-only/won't-write/attach-message indicator,
5055 according to $status_chars
5056 %R number of read messages *
5057 %s current sorting mode ($sort)
5058 %S current aux sorting method ($sort_aux)
5059 %t number of tagged messages *
5060 %u number of unread messages *
5061 %v Mutt version string
5062 %V currently active limit pattern, if any *
5063 %>X right justify the rest of the string and pad with “X”
5064 %|X pad to the end of the line with “X”
5065 %*X soft-fill with character “X” as pad
5066 For an explanation of “soft-fill”, see the $index_format docu‐
5068 mentation.
5069 * = can be optionally printed if nonzero
5071 Some of the above sequences can be used to optionally print a
5073 string if their value is nonzero. For example, you may only
5074 want to see the number of flagged messages if such messages
5075 exist, since zero is not particularly meaningful. To optionally
5076 print a string based upon one of the above sequences, the fol‐
5077 lowing construct is used:
5078 %?<sequence_char>?<optional_string>?
5080 where sequence_char is a character from the table above, and
5082 optional_string is the string you would like printed if
5083 sequence_char is nonzero. optional_string may contain other
5084 sequences as well as normal text, but you may not nest optional
5085 strings.
5086 Here is an example illustrating how to optionally print the num‐
5088 ber of new messages in a mailbox:
5089 %?n?%n new messages.?
5091 You can also switch between two strings using the following con‐
5093 struct:
5094 %?<sequence_char>?<if_string>&<else_string>?
5096 If the value of sequence_char is non-zero, if_string will be
5098 expanded, otherwise else_string will be expanded.
5099 You can force the result of any printf(3)-like sequence to be
5101 lowercase by prefixing the sequence character with an underscore
5102 (“_”) sign. For example, if you want to display the local host‐
5103 name in lowercase, you would use: “%_h”.
5104 If you prefix the sequence character with a colon (“:”) charac‐
5106 ter, mutt will replace any dots in the expansion by underscores.
5107 This might be helpful with IMAP folders that don't like dots in
5108 folder names.
5109 status_on_top
5113 Type: boolean
5114 Default: no
5115 Setting this variable causes the “status bar” to be displayed on
5117 the first line of the screen rather than near the bottom. If
5118 $help is set, too it'll be placed at the bottom.
5119 strict_threads
5123 Type: boolean
5124 Default: no
5125 If set, threading will only make use of the “In-Reply-To” and
5127 “References:” fields when you $sort by message threads. By
5128 default, messages with the same subject are grouped together in
5129 “pseudo threads.”. This may not always be desirable, such as in
5130 a personal mailbox where you might have several unrelated mes‐
5131 sages with the subjects like “hi” which will get grouped
5132 together. See also $sort_re for a less drastic way of control‐
5133 ling this behavior.
5134 suspend
5138 Type: boolean
5139 Default: yes
5140 When unset, mutt won't stop when the user presses the terminal's
5142 susp key, usually “^Z”. This is useful if you run mutt inside an
5143 xterm using a command like “xterm -e mutt”.
5144 text_flowed
5148 Type: boolean
5149 Default: no
5150 When set, mutt will generate “format=flowed” bodies with a con‐
5152 tent type of “text/plain; format=flowed”. This format is easier
5153 to handle for some mailing software, and generally just looks
5154 like ordinary text. To actually make use of this format's fea‐
5155 tures, you'll need support in your editor.
5156 Note that $indent_string is ignored when this option is set.
5158 thorough_search
5162 Type: boolean
5163 Default: yes
5164 Affects the ~b and ~h search operations described in section
5166 “patterns”. If set, the headers and body/attachments of mes‐
5167 sages to be searched are decoded before searching. If unset,
5168 messages are searched as they appear in the folder.
5169 Users searching attachments or for non-ASCII characters should
5171 set this value because decoding also includes MIME pars‐
5172 ing/decoding and possible character set conversions. Otherwise
5173 mutt will attempt to match against the raw message received (for
5174 example quoted-printable encoded or with encoded headers) which
5175 may lead to incorrect search results.
5176 thread_received
5180 Type: boolean
5181 Default: no
5182 When set, mutt uses the date received rather than the date sent
5184 to thread messages by subject.
5185 tilde
5189 Type: boolean
5190 Default: no
5191 When set, the internal-pager will pad blank lines to the bottom
5193 of the screen with a tilde (“~”).
5194 time_inc
5198 Type: number
5199 Default: 0
5200 Along with $read_inc, $write_inc, and $net_inc, this variable
5202 controls the frequency with which progress updates are dis‐
5203 played. It suppresses updates less than $time_inc milliseconds
5204 apart. This can improve throughput on systems with slow termi‐
5205 nals, or when running mutt on a remote system.
5206 Also see the “tuning” section of the manual for performance con‐
5208 siderations.
5209 timeout
5213 Type: number
5214 Default: 600
5215 When Mutt is waiting for user input either idling in menus or in
5217 an interactive prompt, Mutt would block until input is present.
5218 Depending on the context, this would prevent certain operations
5219 from working, like checking for new mail or keeping an IMAP con‐
5220 nection alive.
5221 This variable controls how many seconds Mutt will at most wait
5223 until it aborts waiting for input, performs these operations and
5224 continues to wait for input.
5225 A value of zero or less will cause Mutt to never time out.
5227 tmpdir
5231 Type: path
5232 Default: “”
5233 This variable allows you to specify where Mutt will place its
5235 temporary files needed for displaying and composing messages.
5236 If this variable is not set, the environment variable $TMPDIR is
5237 used. If $TMPDIR is not set then “/tmp” is used.
5238 to_chars
5242 Type: string
5243 Default: “ +TCFL”
5244 Controls the character used to indicate mail addressed to you.
5246 The first character is the one used when the mail is not
5247 addressed to your address. The second is used when you are the
5248 only recipient of the message. The third is when your address
5249 appears in the “To:” header field, but you are not the only
5250 recipient of the message. The fourth character is used when
5251 your address is specified in the “Cc:” header field, but you are
5252 not the only recipient. The fifth character is used to indicate
5253 mail that was sent by you. The sixth character is used to indi‐
5254 cate when a mail was sent to a mailing-list you subscribe to.
5255 trash
5259 Type: path
5260 Default: “”
5261 If set, this variable specifies the path of the trash folder
5263 where the mails marked for deletion will be moved, instead of
5264 being irremediably purged.
5265 NOTE: When you delete a message in the trash folder, it is
5267 really deleted, so that you have a way to clean the trash.
5268 ts_icon_format
5272 Type: string
5273 Default: “M%?n?AIL&ail?”
5274 Controls the format of the icon title, as long as “$ts_enabled”
5276 is set. This string is identical in formatting to the one used
5277 by “$status_format”.
5278 ts_enabled
5282 Type: boolean
5283 Default: no
5284 Controls whether mutt tries to set the terminal status line and
5286 icon name. Most terminal emulators emulate the status line in
5287 the window title.
5288 ts_status_format
5292 Type: string
5293 Default: “Mutt with %?m?%m messages&no messages?%?n? [%n NEW]?”
5294 Controls the format of the terminal status line (or window
5296 title), provided that “$ts_enabled” has been set. This string is
5297 identical in formatting to the one used by “$status_format”.
5298 tunnel
5302 Type: string
5303 Default: “”
5304 Setting this variable will cause mutt to open a pipe to a com‐
5306 mand instead of a raw socket. You may be able to use this to set
5307 up preauthenticated connections to your IMAP/POP3/SMTP server.
5308 Example:
5309 set tunnel=”ssh -q mailhost.net /usr/local/libexec/imapd”
5312 Note: For this example to work you must be able to log in to the
5315 remote machine without having to enter a password.
5316 When set, Mutt uses the tunnel for all remote connections.
5318 Please see “account-hook” in the manual for how to use different
5319 tunnel commands per connection.
5320 uncollapse_jump
5324 Type: boolean
5325 Default: no
5326 When set, Mutt will jump to the next unread message, if any,
5328 when the current thread is uncollapsed.
5329 uncollapse_new
5333 Type: boolean
5334 Default: yes
5335 When set, Mutt will automatically uncollapse any collapsed
5337 thread that receives a new message. When unset, collapsed
5338 threads will remain collapsed. the presence of the new message
5339 will still affect index sorting, though.
5340 use_8bitmime
5344 Type: boolean
5345 Default: no
5346 Warning: do not set this variable unless you are using a version
5348 of sendmail which supports the -B8BITMIME flag (such as sendmail
5349 8.8.x) or you may not be able to send mail.
5350 When set, Mutt will invoke $sendmail with the -B8BITMIME flag
5352 when sending 8-bit messages to enable ESMTP negotiation.
5353 use_domain
5357 Type: boolean
5358 Default: yes
5359 When set, Mutt will qualify all local addresses (ones without
5361 the “@host” portion) with the value of $hostname. If unset, no
5362 addresses will be qualified.
5363 use_envelope_from
5367 Type: boolean
5368 Default: no
5369 When set, mutt will set the envelope sender of the message. If
5371 $envelope_from_address is set, it will be used as the sender
5372 address. If unset, mutt will attempt to derive the sender from
5373 the “From:” header.
5374 Note that this information is passed to sendmail command using
5376 the -f command line switch. Therefore setting this option is not
5377 useful if the $sendmail variable already contains -f or if the
5378 executable pointed to by $sendmail doesn't support the -f
5379 switch.
5380 use_from
5384 Type: boolean
5385 Default: yes
5386 When set, Mutt will generate the “From:” header field when send‐
5388 ing messages. If unset, no “From:” header field will be gener‐
5389 ated unless the user explicitly sets one using the “my_hdr” com‐
5390 mand.
5391 use_ipv6
5395 Type: boolean
5396 Default: yes
5397 When set, Mutt will look for IPv6 addresses of hosts it tries to
5399 contact. If this option is unset, Mutt will restrict itself to
5400 IPv4 addresses. Normally, the default should work.
5401 user_agent
5405 Type: boolean
5406 Default: yes
5407 When set, mutt will add a “User-Agent:” header to outgoing mes‐
5409 sages, indicating which version of mutt was used for composing
5410 them.
5411 visual
5415 Type: path
5416 Default: “”
5417 Specifies the visual editor to invoke when the “~v” command is
5419 given in the built-in editor.
5420 wait_key
5424 Type: boolean
5425 Default: yes
5426 Controls whether Mutt will ask you to press a key after an
5428 external command has been invoked by these functions:
5429 <shell-escape>, <pipe-message>, <pipe-entry>, <print-message>,
5430 and <print-entry> commands.
5431 It is also used when viewing attachments with “auto_view”, pro‐
5433 vided that the corresponding mailcap entry has a needsterminal
5434 flag, and the external program is interactive.
5435 When set, Mutt will always ask for a key. When unset, Mutt will
5437 wait for a key only if the external command returned a non-zero
5438 status.
5439 weed
5443 Type: boolean
5444 Default: yes
5445 When set, mutt will weed headers when displaying, forwarding,
5447 printing, or replying to messages.
5448 wrap
5452 Type: number
5453 Default: 0
5454 When set to a positive value, mutt will wrap text at $wrap char‐
5456 acters. When set to a negative value, mutt will wrap text so
5457 that there are $wrap characters of empty space on the right side
5458 of the terminal. Setting it to zero makes mutt wrap at the ter‐
5459 minal width.
5460 Also see $reflow_wrap.
5462 wrap_headers
5466 Type: number
5467 Default: 78
5468 This option specifies the number of characters to use for wrap‐
5470 ping an outgoing message's headers. Allowed values are between
5471 78 and 998 inclusive.
5472 Note: This option usually shouldn't be changed. RFC5233 recom‐
5474 mends a line length of 78 (the default), so please only change
5475 this setting when you know what you're doing.
5476 wrap_search
5480 Type: boolean
5481 Default: yes
5482 Controls whether searches wrap around the end.
5484 When set, searches will wrap around the first (or last) item.
5486 When unset, incremental searches will not wrap.
5487 wrapmargin
5491 Type: number
5492 Default: 0
5493 (DEPRECATED) Equivalent to setting $wrap with a negative value.
5495 write_bcc
5499 Type: boolean
5500 Default: yes
5501 Controls whether mutt writes out the “Bcc:” header when prepar‐
5503 ing messages to be sent. Exim users may wish to unset this. If
5504 mutt is set to deliver directly via SMTP (see $smtp_url), this
5505 option does nothing: mutt will never write out the “Bcc:” header
5506 in this case.
5507 write_inc
5511 Type: number
5512 Default: 10
5513 When writing a mailbox, a message will be printed every
5515 $write_inc messages to indicate progress. If set to 0, only a
5516 single message will be displayed before writing a mailbox.
5517 Also see the $read_inc, $net_inc and $time_inc variables and the
5519 “tuning” section of the manual for performance considerations.
5520
5524 iconv(1), iconv(3), mailcap(5), maildir(5), mbox(5), mutt(1),
5525 printf(3), regex(7), strftime(3)
5526 The Mutt Manual
5528 The Mutt home page: http://www.mutt.org/
5530
5532 Michael Elkins, and others. Use <mutt-dev@mutt.org> to contact the
5533 developers.
5534Unix September 2002 muttrc(5)