1muttrc(5)                        User Manuals                        muttrc(5)
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NAME

6       muttrc - Configuration file for the Mutt Mail User Agent
7

DESCRIPTION

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
13       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
17       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
26       \ 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
31\\”  means  to insert a literal “\” into the line.  “\n” and “\r” have
32       their usual C meanings of linefeed and carriage-return, respectively.
33
34       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
38       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
42       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

COMMANDS

47       alias [-group name [...]] key address [, address [ ... ]]
48       unalias [ *  | key ]
49
50              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
59       group [-group name] [-rx EXPR [ ... ]] [-addr address [ ... ]]
60       ungroup [-group name ] [ * | [[-rx EXPR [ ... ]] [-addr address [ ... ]]]
61
62              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
73              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
77              Once defined, these address groups can be used  in  patterns  to
78              search for and limit the display to messages matching a group.
79
80       alternates [-group name] regexp [ , regexp [ ... ]]
81       unalternates [ *  | regexp [ , regexp [ ... ]] ]
82
83              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
91       alternative_order type[/subtype] [ ... ]
92       unalternative_order [ *  | type/subtype] [...]
93
94              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
101       auto_view type[/subtype] [ ... ]
102       unauto_view type[/subtype] [ ... ]
103
104              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
110       mime_lookup type[/subtype] [ ... ]
111       unmime_lookup type[/subtype] [ ... ]
112
113              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
119       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
124              Valid maps are: generic, alias, attach, browser, editor,  index,
125              compose, pager, pgp, postpone, mix.
126
127              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
131       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
136       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
141       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
149              iconv-hook iso-8859-1 8859-1
150
151       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
159       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
164              When  several  folder-hooks  match a given mail folder, they are
165              executed in the order given in the configuration file.
166
167       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
172       color object foreground background [  regexp ]
173       color index foreground background [  pattern ]
174       uncolor index pattern [ pattern ... ]
175
176              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,  header,  hdrdefault,
179              index,  indicator,  markers,  message,  normal, quoted, quotedN,
180              search, signature, status, tilde, tree, underline.  The body and
181              header objects allow you to restrict the colorization to a regu‐
182              lar expression.  The index object permits you to select  colored
183              messages by pattern.
184
185              Valid  colors include: white, black, green, magenta, blue, cyan,
186              yellow, red, default, colorN.
187
188       mono object attribute [ regexp ]
189       mono index attribute [ pattern ]
190
191              For terminals which don't support color, you  can  still  assign
192              attributes  to  objects.   Valid attributes include: none, bold,
193              underline, reverse, and standout.
194
195       [un]ignore pattern [ pattern ... ]
196              The ignore command permits you to specify  header  fields  which
197              you  usually  don't  wish  to  see.   Any header field whose tag
198              begins with an “ignored” pattern will be ignored.
199
200              The unignore command permits you to define exceptions  from  the
201              above mentioned list of ignored headers.
202
203       lists [-group name] regexp [ regexp ... ]
204       unlists regexp [ regexp ... ]
205       subscribe [-group name] regexp [ regexp ... ]
206       unsubscribe regexp [ regexp ... ]
207
208              Mutt  maintains  two  lists  of mailing list address patterns, a
209              list of subscribed mailing lists, and a list  of  known  mailing
210              lists.   All  subscribed  mailing lists are known.  Patterns use
211              regular expressions.
212
213              The lists command adds a mailing list address  to  the  list  of
214              known mailing lists.  The unlists command removes a mailing list
215              from the lists of known and subscribed mailing lists.  The  sub‐
216              scribe  command  adds  a  mailing list to the lists of known and
217              subscribed mailing lists.  The unsubscribe  command  removes  it
218              from  the list of subscribed mailing lists. The -group flag adds
219              all of the subsequent regular expressions to the named group.
220
221       mbox-hook [!]pattern mailbox
222              When mutt changes to a mail folder which matches pattern,  mail‐
223              box  will be used as the “mbox” folder, i.e., read messages will
224              be moved to that folder when the mail folder is left.
225
226              The first matching mbox-hook applies.
227
228       mailboxes filename [ filename ... ]
229       unmailboxes [ * | filename ... ]
230
231              The mailboxes specifies folders which can receive mail and which
232              will be checked for new messages.  When changing folders, press‐
233              ing space will cycle through folders with new mail.  The unmail‐
234              boxes  command  is  used  to remove a file name from the list of
235              folders which can receive mail.  If "*" is specified as the file
236              name, the list is emptied.
237
238       my_hdr string
239       unmy_hdr field
240
241              Using  my_hdr, you can define headers which will be added to the
242              messages you compose.  unmy_hdr  will  remove  the  given  user-
243              defined headers.
244
245       hdr_order header1 header2 [ ... ]
246              With  this  command, you can specify an order in which mutt will
247              attempt to present headers to you when viewing messages.
248
249       save-hook [!]pattern filename
250              When a message matches pattern, the default file name when  sav‐
251              ing it will be the given filename.
252
253       fcc-hook [!]pattern filename
254              When  an outgoing message matches pattern, the default file name
255              for storing a copy (fcc) will be the given filename.
256
257       fcc-save-hook [!]pattern filename
258              This command is an abbreviation for identical fcc-hook and save-
259              hook commands.
260
261       send-hook [!]pattern command
262              When  composing a message matching pattern, command is executed.
263              When multiple send-hooks match, they are executed in  the  order
264              in which they occur in the configuration file.
265
266       send2-hook [!]pattern command
267              Whenever  a message matching pattern is changed (either by edit‐
268              ing it or by using the compose menu), command is executed.  When
269              multiple  send2-hooks  match,  they are executed in the order in
270              which they occur in the configuration file.   Possible  applica‐
271              tions  include  setting  the $sendmail variable when a message's
272              from header is changed.
273
274              send2-hook execution is not triggered by  use  of  enter-command
275              from the compose menu.
276
277       reply-hook [!]pattern command
278              When  replying  to  a  message matching pattern, command is exe‐
279              cuted.  When multiple reply-hooks match, they  are  executed  in
280              the order in which they occur in the configuration file, but all
281              reply-hooks are matched and executed before send-hooks,  regard‐
282              less of their order in the configuration file.
283
284       crypt-hook pattern key-id
285              The  crypt-hook command provides a method by which you can spec‐
286              ify the ID of the public key to be used when encrypting messages
287              to  a certain recipient.  The meaning of "key ID" is to be taken
288              broadly: This can be a different e-mail address, a numerical key
289              ID, or even just an arbitrary search string.
290
291       push string
292              This command adds the named string to the keyboard buffer.
293
294       set [no|inv|&|?]variable[=value] [ ... ]
295       toggle variable [ ... ]
296       unset variable [ ... ]
297       reset variable [ ... ]
298
299              These  commands  are  used  to  set and manipulate configuration
300              variables.
301
302              Mutt knows four  basic  types  of  variables:  boolean,  number,
303              string  and  quadoption.   Boolean  variables can be set (true),
304              unset (false), or toggled. Number variables can  be  assigned  a
305              positive integer value.
306
307              String  variables consist of any number of printable characters.
308              Strings must be enclosed in quotes if  they  contain  spaces  or
309              tabs.   You  may also use the “C” escape sequences \n and \t for
310              newline and tab, respectively.
311
312              Quadoption variables are used to control whether or  not  to  be
313              prompted for certain actions, or to specify a default action.  A
314              value of yes will cause the action to be carried  out  automati‐
315              cally  as if you had answered yes to the question.  Similarly, a
316              value of no will cause the the action to be carried  out  as  if
317              you  had  answered  “no.” A value of ask-yes will cause a prompt
318              with a default answer of “yes” and ask-no will provide a default
319              answer of “no.”
320
321              The reset command resets all given variables to the compile time
322              defaults.  If you reset the special variable all, all  variables
323              will reset to their compile time defaults.
324
325       source filename
326              The given file will be evaluated as a configuration file.
327
328       spam pattern format
329              nospam pattern
330              These commands define spam-detection patterns from external spam
331              filters, so that mutt can sort,  limit,  and  search  on  ``spam
332              tags'' or ``spam attributes'', or display them in the index. See
333              the Mutt manual for details.
334
335       unhook [ *  | hook-type ]
336              This command will remove all hooks of a given type, or all hooks
337              when  “*”  is  used as an argument.  hook-type can be any of the
338              -hook commands documented above.
339

PATTERNS

341       In various places with mutt, including some of the above mentioned hook
342       commands, you can specify patterns to match messages.
343
344   Constructing Patterns
345       A simple pattern consists of an operator of the form “~character”, pos‐
346       sibly followed by a parameter against which mutt is supposed  to  match
347       the  object specified by this operator.  For some characters, the ~ may
348       be replaced by another character to alter the behavior  of  the  match.
349       These are described in the list of operators, below.
350
351       With some of these operators, the object to be matched consists of sev‐
352       eral e-mail addresses.  In these cases, the object  is  matched  if  at
353       least  one  of  these  e-mail  addresses matches. You can prepend a hat
354       (“^”) character to such a pattern to indicate that all  addresses  must
355       match in order to match the object.
356
357       You  can  construct  complex patterns by combining simple patterns with
358       logical operators.  Logical AND is specified  by  simply  concatenating
359       two  simple patterns, for instance “~C mutt-dev ~s bug”.  Logical OR is
360       specified by inserting a vertical bar (“|”) between two  patterns,  for
361       instance  “~C  mutt-dev | ~s bug”.  Additionally, you can negate a pat‐
362       tern by prepending a bang (“!”) character.  For logical  grouping,  use
363       braces (“()”). Example: “!(~t mutt|~c mutt) ~f elkins”.
364
365   Simple Patterns
366       Mutt understands the following simple patterns:
367
368       ~A          all messages
369       ~b EXPR     messages which contain EXPR in the message body.
370       =b STRING   messages  which contain STRING in the message body. If IMAP
371                   is enabled, searches for STRING on the server, rather  than
372                   downloading each message and searching it locally.
373       ~B EXPR     messages which contain EXPR in the whole message.
374       ~c EXPR     messages carbon-copied to EXPR
375       %c GROUP    messages carbon-copied to any member of GROUP
376       ~C EXPR     messages either to: or cc: EXPR
377       %C GROUP    messages either to: or cc: to any member of GROUP
378       ~d MIN-MAX  messages with “date-sent” in a Date range
379       ~D          deleted messages
380       ~e EXPR     messages which contain EXPR in the “Sender” field
381       %e GROUP    messages  which  contain  a member of GROUP in the “Sender”
382                   field
383       ~E          expired messages
384       ~f EXPR     messages originating from EXPR
385       %f GROUP    messages originating form any member of GROUP
386       ~F          flagged messages
387       ~g          PGP signed messages
388       ~G          PGP encrypted messages
389       ~h EXPR     messages which contain EXPR in the message header
390       ~H EXPR     messages with spam tags matching EXPR
391       ~i EXPR     messages which match EXPR in the “Message-ID” field
392       ~k          messages containing PGP key material
393       ~l          messages addressed to a  known  mailing  list  (defined  by
394                   either subscribe or list)
395       ~L EXPR     messages either originated or received by EXPR
396       %L GROUP    messages  either  originated  or  received by any member of
397                   GROUP
398       ~m MIN-MAX  message in the range MIN to MAX
399       ~n MIN-MAX  messages with a score in the range MIN to MAX
400       ~N          new messages
401       ~O          old messages
402       ~p          messages addressed to you (as defined by alternates)
403       ~P          messages from you (as defined by alternates)
404       ~Q          messages which have been replied to
405       ~r MIN-MAX  messages with “date-received” in a Date range
406       ~R          read messages
407       ~s EXPR     messages having EXPR in the “Subject” field.
408       ~S          superseded messages
409       ~t EXPR     messages addressed to EXPR
410       ~T          tagged messages
411       ~u          messages addressed to a subscribed mailing list (defined by
412                   subscribe commands)
413       ~U          unread messages
414       ~v          message is part of a collapsed thread.
415       ~V          cryptographically verified messages
416       ~x EXPR     messages  which  contain  EXPR  in the “References” or “In-
417                   Reply-To” field
418       ~X MIN-MAX  messages with MIN - MAX attachments
419       ~y EXPR     messages which contain EXPR in the “X-Label” field
420       ~z MIN-MAX  messages with a size in the range MIN to MAX
421       ~=          duplicated messages (see $duplicate_threads)
422       ~$          unreferenced message (requires threaded view)
423       ~(PATTERN)  messages in threads containing messages matching a  certain
424                   pattern,  e.g.  all  threads  containing messages from you:
425                   ~(~P)
426
427       In the above, EXPR is a regular expression.
428
429       With the ~d, ~m, ~n, ~r, ~X, and ~z operators,  you  can  also  specify
430       ranges in the forms <MAX, >MIN, MIN-, and -MAX.
431
432       With  the  ~z operator, the suffixes “K” and “M” are allowed to specify
433       kilobyte and megabyte respectively.
434
435   Matching dates
436       The ~d and ~r operators are used to match date ranges, which are inter‐
437       preted to be given in your local time zone.
438
439       A  date  is  of  the  form DD[/MM[/[cc]YY]], that is, a two-digit date,
440       optionally followed by a two-digit month, optionally followed by a year
441       specifications.  Omitted fields default to the current month and year.
442
443       Mutt  understands  either  two or four digit year specifications.  When
444       given a two-digit year, mutt will interpret  values  less  than  70  as
445       lying in the 21st century (i.e., “38” means 2038 and not 1938, and “00”
446       is interpreted as 2000), and values greater than  or  equal  to  70  as
447       lying in the 20th century.
448
449       Note  that  this  behavior  is Y2K compliant, but that mutt does have a
450       Y2.07K problem.
451
452       If a date range consists of a single date,  the  operator  in  question
453       will  match  that  precise  date.  If the date range consists of a dash
454       (“-”), followed by a date, this range will match any date before and up
455       to  the  date  given.  Similarly, a date followed by a dash matches the
456       date given and any later point of time.   Two  dates,  separated  by  a
457       dash, match any date which lies in the given range of time.
458
459       You  can  also  modify  any absolute date by giving an error range.  An
460       error range consists of one of the characters +, -, *,  followed  by  a
461       positive  number, followed by one of the unit characters y, m, w, or d,
462       specifying a unit of years, months, weeks, or days.   +  increases  the
463       maximum  date  matched  by  the given interval of time, - decreases the
464       minimum date matched by the given interval of time, and * increases the
465       maximum date and decreases the minimum date matched by the given inter‐
466       val of time.  It is possible to  give  multiple  error  margins,  which
467       cumulate.  Example: 1/1/2001-1w+2w*3d
468
469       You  can  also specify offsets relative to the current date.  An offset
470       is specified as one of the characters <, >, =, followed by  a  positive
471       number,  followed  by  one  of  the  unit  characters y, m, w, or d.  >
472       matches dates which are older than the specified  amount  of  time,  an
473       offset  which  begins with the character < matches dates which are more
474       recent than the specified amount of time, and an  offset  which  begins
475       with  the  character  =  matches points of time which are precisely the
476       given amount of time ago.
477

CONFIGURATION VARIABLES

479       abort_nosubject
480              Type: quadoption
481              Default: ask-yes
482
483              If set to yes, when composing messages and no subject  is  given
484              at  the  subject prompt, composition will be aborted.  If set to
485              no, composing messages with no  subject  given  at  the  subject
486              prompt will never be aborted.
487
488
489
490       abort_unmodified
491              Type: quadoption
492              Default: yes
493
494              If  set to yes, composition will automatically abort after edit‐
495              ing the message body if no changes are made to  the  file  (this
496              check  only happens after the first edit of the file).  When set
497              to no, composition will never be aborted.
498
499
500
501       alias_file
502              Type: path
503              Default: “~/.muttrc”
504
505              The default file in which to save aliases created by  the  <cre‐
506              ate-alias>  function.  Entries added to this file are encoded in
507              the character set specified by $config_charset if it is  set  or
508              the current character set otherwise.
509
510              Note:  Mutt  will  not  automatically source this file; you must
511              explicitly use the “source” command for it  to  be  executed  in
512              case this option points to a dedicated alias file.
513
514              The  default  for this option is the currently used muttrc file,
515              or “~/.muttrc” if no user muttrc was found.
516
517
518
519       alias_format
520              Type: string
521              Default: “%4n %2f %t %-10a   %r”
522
523              Specifies the format of the data displayed for the “alias” menu.
524              The following printf(3)-style sequences are available:
525              %a     alias name
526              %f     flags - currently, a “d” for an alias marked for deletion
527              %n     index number
528              %r     address which alias expands to
529              %t     character  which  indicates  if  the  alias is tagged for
530                     inclusion
531
532
533       allow_8bit
534              Type: boolean
535              Default: yes
536
537              Controls whether 8-bit data is converted to 7-bit  using  either
538              Quoted- Printable or Base64 encoding when sending mail.
539
540
541
542       allow_ansi
543              Type: boolean
544              Default: no
545
546              Controls whether ANSI color codes in messages (and color tags in
547              rich text messages) are to be interpreted.  Messages  containing
548              these codes are rare, but if this option is set, their text will
549              be colored accordingly. Note that this may override  your  color
550              choices,  and  even  present a security problem, since a message
551              could include a line like
552
553
554              [-- PGP output follows ...
555
556
557
558              and give it the same color as your attachment  color  (see  also
559              $crypt_timestamp).
560
561
562
563       arrow_cursor
564              Type: boolean
565              Default: no
566
567              When  set,  an arrow (“->”) will be used to indicate the current
568              entry in menus instead of highlighting the whole line.  On  slow
569              network  or  modem  links this will make response faster because
570              there is less that has to be redrawn on the screen  when  moving
571              to the next or previous entries in the menu.
572
573
574
575       ascii_chars
576              Type: boolean
577              Default: no
578
579              If  set,  Mutt  will  use plain ASCII characters when displaying
580              thread and attachment trees, instead of the default ACS  charac‐
581              ters.
582
583
584
585       askbcc
586              Type: boolean
587              Default: no
588
589              If set, Mutt will prompt you for blind-carbon-copy (Bcc) recipi‐
590              ents before editing an outgoing message.
591
592
593
594       askcc
595              Type: boolean
596              Default: no
597
598              If set, Mutt will prompt you  for  carbon-copy  (Cc)  recipients
599              before editing the body of an outgoing message.
600
601
602
603       assumed_charset
604              Type: string
605              Default: “”
606
607              This  variable  is  a colon-separated list of character encoding
608              schemes for  messages  without  character  encoding  indication.
609              Header  field  values and message body content without character
610              encoding indication would be assumed that they  are  written  in
611              one of this list.  By default, all the header fields and message
612              body without  any  charset  indication  are  assumed  to  be  in
613              “us-ascii”.
614
615              For example, Japanese users might prefer this:
616
617
618              set assumed_charset=”iso-2022-jp:euc-jp:shift_jis:utf-8”
619
620
621
622              However, only the first content is valid for the message body.
623
624
625
626       attach_charset
627              Type: string
628              Default: “”
629
630              This  variable  is  a colon-separated list of character encoding
631              schemes for text file attachments. Mutt  uses  this  setting  to
632              guess which encoding files being attached are encoded in to con‐
633              vert them to a proper character set given in $send_charset.
634
635              If unset, the value of $charset will be used instead.  For exam‐
636              ple,  the  following  configuration would work for Japanese text
637              handling:
638
639
640              set attach_charset=”iso-2022-jp:euc-jp:shift_jis:utf-8”
641
642
643
644              Note: for Japanese users, “iso-2022-*” must be put at  the  head
645              of the value as shown above if included.
646
647
648
649       attach_format
650              Type: string
651              Default: “%u%D%I %t%4n %T%.40d%> [%.7m/%.10M, %.6e%?C?, %C?, %s] ”
652
653              This  variable  describes  the  format of the “attachment” menu.
654              The following printf(3)-style sequences are understood:
655              %C     charset
656              %c     requires charset conversion (“n” or “c”)
657              %D     deleted flag
658              %d     description
659              %e     MIME content-transfer-encoding
660              %f     filename
661              %I     disposition (“I” for inline, “A” for attachment)
662              %m     major MIME type
663              %M     MIME subtype
664              %n     attachment number
665              %Q     “Q”, if MIME part qualifies for attachment counting
666              %s     size
667              %t     tagged flag
668              %T     graphic tree characters
669              %u     unlink (=to delete) flag
670              %X     number of qualifying MIME parts  in  this  part  and  its
671                     children (please see the “attachments” section for possi‐
672                     ble speed effects)
673              %>X    right justify the rest of the string and pad with charac‐
674                     ter “X”
675              %|X    pad to the end of the line with character “X”
676              %*X    soft-fill with character “X” as pad
677
678              For  an  explanation of “soft-fill”, see the $index_format docu‐
679              mentation.
680
681
682
683       attach_sep
684              Type: string
685              Default: “\n”
686
687              The separator to add between attachments when operating (saving,
688              printing, piping, etc) on a list of tagged attachments.
689
690
691
692       attach_split
693              Type: boolean
694              Default: yes
695
696              If  this  variable  is  unset, when operating (saving, printing,
697              piping, etc) on a list of tagged attachments, Mutt will concate‐
698              nate  the  attachments  and  will  operate  on  them as a single
699              attachment.  The  $attach_sep  separator  is  added  after  each
700              attachment.  When  set, Mutt will operate on the attachments one
701              by one.
702
703
704
705       attribution
706              Type: string
707              Default: “On %d, %n wrote:”
708
709              This is the string that will precede a message  which  has  been
710              included   in   a   reply.    For  a  full  listing  of  defined
711              printf(3)-like sequences see the section on $index_format.
712
713
714
715       auto_tag
716              Type: boolean
717              Default: no
718
719              When set, functions in the index menu  which  affect  a  message
720              will be applied to all tagged messages (if there are any).  When
721              unset, you must first use the <tag-prefix>  function  (bound  to
722              “;”  by  default)  to make the next function apply to all tagged
723              messages.
724
725
726
727       autoedit
728              Type: boolean
729              Default: no
730
731              When set along with $edit_headers, Mutt will  skip  the  initial
732              send-menu  (prompting  for subject and recipients) and allow you
733              to immediately begin editing the  body  of  your  message.   The
734              send-menu  may  still be accessed once you have finished editing
735              the body of your message.
736
737              Note: when this option is set, you cannot  use  send-hooks  that
738              depend  on  the recipients when composing a new (non-reply) mes‐
739              sage, as the initial list of recipients is empty.
740
741              Also see $fast_reply.
742
743
744
745       beep
746              Type: boolean
747              Default: yes
748
749              When this variable is set, mutt will beep when an error occurs.
750
751
752
753       beep_new
754              Type: boolean
755              Default: no
756
757              When this variable is set, mutt will beep whenever it  prints  a
758              message  notifying  you of new mail.  This is independent of the
759              setting of the $beep variable.
760
761
762
763       bounce
764              Type: quadoption
765              Default: ask-yes
766
767              Controls whether you will be asked to confirm bouncing messages.
768              If  set  to yes you don't get asked if you want to bounce a mes‐
769              sage. Setting this variable to no is not generally  useful,  and
770              thus not recommended, because you are unable to bounce messages.
771
772
773
774       bounce_delivered
775              Type: boolean
776              Default: yes
777
778              When  this variable is set, mutt will include Delivered-To head‐
779              ers when bouncing messages.  Postfix users  may  wish  to  unset
780              this variable.
781
782
783
784       braille_friendly
785              Type: boolean
786              Default: no
787
788              When  this  variable  is  set, mutt will place the cursor at the
789              beginning  of  the  current  line  in  menus,  even   when   the
790              $arrow_cursor variable is unset, making it easier for blind per‐
791              sons using Braille displays to follow these menus.   The  option
792              is  unset  by default because many visual terminals don't permit
793              making the cursor invisible.
794
795
796
797       certificate_file
798              Type: path
799              Default: “~/.mutt_certificates”
800
801              This variable specifies the  file  where  the  certificates  you
802              trust are saved. When an unknown certificate is encountered, you
803              are asked if you accept it or not. If you accept  it,  the  cer‐
804              tificate  can also be saved in this file and further connections
805              are automatically accepted.
806
807              You can also manually add CA  certificates  in  this  file.  Any
808              server  certificate that is signed with one of these CA certifi‐
809              cates is also automatically accepted.
810
811              Example:
812
813
814              set certificate_file=~/.mutt/certificates
815
816
817
818
819
820       charset
821              Type: string
822              Default: “”
823
824              Character set your terminal uses to display  and  enter  textual
825              data.  It is also the fallback for $send_charset.
826
827              Upon  startup  Mutt  tries to derive this value from environment
828              variables such as $LC_CTYPE or $LANG.
829
830              Note: It should only be set in case Mutt isn't abled  to  deter‐
831              mine the character set used correctly.
832
833
834
835       check_mbox_size
836              Type: boolean
837              Default: no
838
839              When  this  variable  is  set, mutt will use file size attribute
840              instead of access time when checking for new mail  in  mbox  and
841              mmdf folders.
842
843              This  variable  is  unset  by default and should only be enabled
844              when new mail detection for these folder types is unreliable  or
845              doesn't work.
846
847              Note that enabling this variable should happen before any “mail‐
848              boxes” directives occur in configuration files regarding mbox or
849              mmdf  folders  because  mutt  needs to determine the initial new
850              mail status of such a mailbox by performing a fast mailbox  scan
851              when  it  is defined.  Afterwards the new mail status is tracked
852              by file size changes.
853
854
855
856       check_new
857              Type: boolean
858              Default: yes
859
860              Note: this option only affects maildir and MH style mailboxes.
861
862              When set, Mutt will check for new mail delivered while the mail‐
863              box  is  open.  Especially with MH mailboxes, this operation can
864              take quite some time since it involves  scanning  the  directory
865              and  checking each file to see if it has already been looked at.
866              If this variable is unset, no check for new  mail  is  performed
867              while the mailbox is open.
868
869
870
871       collapse_unread
872              Type: boolean
873              Default: yes
874
875              When  unset,  Mutt will not collapse a thread if it contains any
876              unread messages.
877
878
879
880       compose_format
881              Type: string
882              Default: “-- Mutt: Compose  [Approx. msg size: %l   Atts: %a]%>-”
883
884              Controls the format of the status line displayed  in  the  “com‐
885              pose”  menu.   This string is similar to $status_format, but has
886              its own set of printf(3)-like sequences:
887              %a     total number of attachments
888              %h     local hostname
889              %l     approximate size (in bytes) of the current message
890              %v     Mutt version string
891
892              See the text  describing  the  $status_format  option  for  more
893              information on how to set $compose_format.
894
895
896
897       config_charset
898              Type: string
899              Default: “”
900
901              When  defined,  Mutt  will recode commands in rc files from this
902              encoding to the current character set as specified  by  $charset
903              and  aliases  written  to $alias_file from the current character
904              set.
905
906              Please note that if setting $charset it must be done before set‐
907              ting $config_charset.
908
909              Recoding  should be avoided as it may render unconvertable char‐
910              acters as question  marks  which  can  lead  to  undesired  side
911              effects (for example in regular expressions).
912
913
914
915       confirmappend
916              Type: boolean
917              Default: yes
918
919              When  set, Mutt will prompt for confirmation when appending mes‐
920              sages to an existing mailbox.
921
922
923
924       confirmcreate
925              Type: boolean
926              Default: yes
927
928              When set, Mutt will prompt for confirmation when saving messages
929              to a mailbox which does not yet exist before creating it.
930
931
932
933       connect_timeout
934              Type: number
935              Default: 30
936
937              Causes  Mutt  to  timeout a network connection (for IMAP, POP or
938              SMTP) after this many seconds if the connection is not  able  to
939              be  established.   A  negative value causes Mutt to wait indefi‐
940              nitely for the connection attempt to succeed.
941
942
943
944       content_type
945              Type: string
946              Default: “text/plain”
947
948              Sets the default Content-Type for the  body  of  newly  composed
949              messages.
950
951
952
953       copy
954              Type: quadoption
955              Default: yes
956
957              This  variable  controls  whether or not copies of your outgoing
958              messages will be saved for later references.  Also see  $record,
959              $save_name, $force_name and “fcc-hook”.
960
961
962
963       crypt_autoencrypt
964              Type: boolean
965              Default: no
966
967              Setting  this  variable will cause Mutt to always attempt to PGP
968              encrypt outgoing messages.  This is probably only useful in con‐
969              nection to the “send-hook” command.  It can be overridden by use
970              of the pgp menu, when encryption is not required or  signing  is
971              requested as well.  If $smime_is_default is set, then OpenSSL is
972              used instead to create S/MIME messages and settings can be over‐
973              ridden by use of the smime menu instead.  (Crypto only)
974
975
976
977       crypt_autopgp
978              Type: boolean
979              Default: yes
980
981              This  variable  controls  whether  or not mutt may automatically
982              enable  PGP   encryption/signing   for   messages.    See   also
983              $crypt_autoencrypt,     $crypt_replyencrypt,    $crypt_autosign,
984              $crypt_replysign and $smime_is_default.
985
986
987
988       crypt_autosign
989              Type: boolean
990              Default: no
991
992              Setting this variable will cause Mutt to always attempt to cryp‐
993              tographically sign outgoing messages.  This can be overridden by
994              use of the pgp menu, when signing is not required or  encryption
995              is  requested as well. If $smime_is_default is set, then OpenSSL
996              is used instead to create S/MIME messages and  settings  can  be
997              overridden  by  use  of  the smime menu instead of the pgp menu.
998              (Crypto only)
999
1000
1001
1002       crypt_autosmime
1003              Type: boolean
1004              Default: yes
1005
1006              This variable controls whether or  not  mutt  may  automatically
1007              enable   S/MIME   encryption/signing   for  messages.  See  also
1008              $crypt_autoencrypt,    $crypt_replyencrypt,     $crypt_autosign,
1009              $crypt_replysign and $smime_is_default.
1010
1011
1012
1013       crypt_replyencrypt
1014              Type: boolean
1015              Default: yes
1016
1017              If set, automatically PGP or OpenSSL encrypt replies to messages
1018              which are encrypted.  (Crypto only)
1019
1020
1021
1022       crypt_replysign
1023              Type: boolean
1024              Default: no
1025
1026              If set, automatically PGP or OpenSSL sign  replies  to  messages
1027              which are signed.
1028
1029              Note:  this  does  not  work  on messages that are encrypted and
1030              signed!  (Crypto only)
1031
1032
1033
1034       crypt_replysignencrypted
1035              Type: boolean
1036              Default: no
1037
1038              If set, automatically PGP or OpenSSL sign  replies  to  messages
1039              which  are  encrypted.  This  makes  sense  in  combination with
1040              $crypt_replyencrypt, because it allows you to sign all  messages
1041              which  are automatically encrypted.  This works around the prob‐
1042              lem noted in $crypt_replysign, that mutt is not able to find out
1043              whether an encrypted message is also signed.  (Crypto only)
1044
1045
1046
1047       crypt_timestamp
1048              Type: boolean
1049              Default: yes
1050
1051              If  set, mutt will include a time stamp in the lines surrounding
1052              PGP or S/MIME output, so spoofing such lines is more  difficult.
1053              If  you are using colors to mark these lines, and rely on these,
1054              you may unset this setting.  (Crypto only)
1055
1056
1057
1058       crypt_use_gpgme
1059              Type: boolean
1060              Default: no
1061
1062              This variable controls the use of the GPGME-enabled crypto back‐
1063              ends.   If  it is set and Mutt was built with gpgme support, the
1064              gpgme code for S/MIME and PGP will be used instead of the  clas‐
1065              sic  code.  Note that you need to set this option in .muttrc; it
1066              won't have any effect when used interactively.
1067
1068
1069
1070       crypt_use_pka
1071              Type: boolean
1072              Default: no
1073
1074              Controls      whether       mutt       uses       PKA       (see
1075              http://www.g10code.de/docs/pka-intro.de.pdf)   during  signature
1076              verification (only supported by the GPGME backend).
1077
1078
1079
1080       crypt_verify_sig
1081              Type: quadoption
1082              Default: yes
1083
1084              If “yes”, always attempt to verify PGP or S/MIME signatures.  If
1085              “ask-*”,  ask  whether  or  not  to  verify  the  signature.  If
1086              \Fi“no”,  never  attempt  to  verify  cryptographic  signatures.
1087              (Crypto only)
1088
1089
1090
1091       date_format
1092              Type: string
1093              Default: “!%a, %b %d, %Y at %I:%M:%S%p %Z”
1094
1095              This  variable  controls  the  format of the date printed by the
1096              “%d” sequence in $index_format.  This is  passed  to  the  strf‐
1097              time(3)  function  to process the date, see the man page for the
1098              proper syntax.
1099
1100              Unless the first character in the string is a  bang  (“!”),  the
1101              month  and  week  day names are expanded according to the locale
1102              specified in the variable $locale. If the first character in the
1103              string  is a bang, the bang is discarded, and the month and week
1104              day names in the rest of the string are expanded in the C locale
1105              (that is in US English).
1106
1107
1108
1109       default_hook
1110              Type: string
1111              Default: “~f %s !~P | (~P ~C %s)”
1112
1113              This  variable controls how “message-hook”, “reply-hook”, “send-
1114              hook”, “send2-hook”, “save-hook”, and “fcc-hook” will be  inter‐
1115              preted  if they are specified with only a simple regexp, instead
1116              of a matching pattern.  The hooks are  expanded  when  they  are
1117              declared,  so  a hook will be interpreted according to the value
1118              of this variable at the time the hook is declared.
1119
1120              The default value matches if the message is either from  a  user
1121              matching  the regular expression given, or if it is from you (if
1122              the from address matches “alternates”) and is to or cc'ed  to  a
1123              user matching the given regular expression.
1124
1125
1126
1127       delete
1128              Type: quadoption
1129              Default: ask-yes
1130
1131              Controls whether or not messages are really deleted when closing
1132              or synchronizing a mailbox.  If set to yes, messages marked  for
1133              deleting will automatically be purged without prompting.  If set
1134              to no, messages marked for deletion will be kept in the mailbox.
1135
1136
1137
1138       delete_untag
1139              Type: boolean
1140              Default: yes
1141
1142              If this option is set, mutt will  untag  messages  when  marking
1143              them  for  deletion.   This  applies  when you either explicitly
1144              delete a message, or when you save it to another folder.
1145
1146
1147
1148       digest_collapse
1149              Type: boolean
1150              Default: yes
1151
1152              If this option is set, mutt's received-attachments menu will not
1153              show  the subparts of individual messages in a multipart/digest.
1154              To see these subparts, press “v” on that menu.
1155
1156
1157
1158       display_filter
1159              Type: path
1160              Default: “”
1161
1162              When set, specifies a command used to filter messages.   When  a
1163              message  is  viewed  it  is  passed  as  standard input to $dis‐
1164              play_filter, and the filtered message is read from the  standard
1165              output.
1166
1167
1168
1169       dsn_notify
1170              Type: string
1171              Default: “”
1172
1173              This   variable  sets  the  request  for  when  notification  is
1174              returned.  The string consists of a  comma  separated  list  (no
1175              spaces!)  of  one  or  more  of  the  following: never, to never
1176              request notification, failure, to request notification on trans‐
1177              mission  failure,  delay, to be notified of message delays, suc‐
1178              cess, to be notified of successful transmission.
1179
1180              Example:
1181
1182
1183              set dsn_notify=”failure,delay”
1184
1185
1186
1187              Note: when using $sendmail for delivery, you should  not  enable
1188              this  unless you are either using Sendmail 8.8.x or greater or a
1189              MTA providing a sendmail(1)-compatible interface supporting  the
1190              -N   option   for   DSN.  For  SMTP  delivery,  DSN  support  is
1191              auto-detected so that it depends on the server whether DSN  will
1192              be used or not.
1193
1194
1195
1196       dsn_return
1197              Type: string
1198              Default: “”
1199
1200              This  variable  controls how much of your message is returned in
1201              DSN messages.  It may be set to either hdrs to return  just  the
1202              message header, or full to return the full message.
1203
1204              Example:
1205
1206
1207              set dsn_return=hdrs
1208
1209
1210
1211              Note:  when  using $sendmail for delivery, you should not enable
1212              this unless you are either using Sendmail 8.8.x or greater or  a
1213              MTA  providing a sendmail(1)-compatible interface supporting the
1214              -R  option  for  DSN.  For  SMTP  delivery,   DSN   support   is
1215              auto-detected  so that it depends on the server whether DSN will
1216              be used or not.
1217
1218
1219
1220       duplicate_threads
1221              Type: boolean
1222              Default: yes
1223
1224              This variable controls  whether  mutt,  when  $sort  is  set  to
1225              threads, threads messages with the same Message-Id together.  If
1226              it is set, it will indicate that it thinks they  are  duplicates
1227              of each other with an equals sign in the thread tree.
1228
1229
1230
1231       edit_headers
1232              Type: boolean
1233              Default: no
1234
1235              This  option allows you to edit the header of your outgoing mes‐
1236              sages along with the body of your message.
1237
1238              Note that changes made to the References: and Date: headers  are
1239              ignored for interoperability reasons.
1240
1241
1242
1243       editor
1244              Type: path
1245              Default: “”
1246
1247              This  variable  specifies  which  editor  is  used  by mutt.  It
1248              defaults to the value of the $VISUAL,  or  $EDITOR,  environment
1249              variable, or to the string “vi” if neither of those are set.
1250
1251
1252
1253       encode_from
1254              Type: boolean
1255              Default: no
1256
1257              When  set,  mutt will quoted-printable encode messages when they
1258              contain the string “From ” (note  the  trailing  space)  in  the
1259              beginning of a line.  This is useful to avoid the tampering cer‐
1260              tain mail delivery and transport agents tend to do with messages
1261              (in  order  to  prevent tools from misinterpreting the line as a
1262              mbox message separator).
1263
1264
1265
1266       envelope_from_address
1267              Type: e-mail address
1268              Default: “”
1269
1270              Manually sets the envelope sender for outgoing  messages.   This
1271              value is ignored if $use_envelope_from is unset.
1272
1273
1274
1275       escape
1276              Type: string
1277              Default: “~”
1278
1279              Escape character to use for functions in the built-in editor.
1280
1281
1282
1283       fast_reply
1284              Type: boolean
1285              Default: no
1286
1287              When  set,  the  initial  prompt  for recipients and subject are
1288              skipped when replying to messages, and the  initial  prompt  for
1289              subject is skipped when forwarding messages.
1290
1291              Note: this variable has no effect when the $autoedit variable is
1292              set.
1293
1294
1295
1296       fcc_attach
1297              Type: quadoption
1298              Default: yes
1299
1300              This variable controls whether or not  attachments  on  outgoing
1301              messages are saved along with the main body of your message.
1302
1303
1304
1305       fcc_clear
1306              Type: boolean
1307              Default: no
1308
1309              When  this  variable is set, FCCs will be stored unencrypted and
1310              unsigned, even when  the  actual  message  is  encrypted  and/or
1311              signed.  (PGP only)
1312
1313
1314
1315       folder
1316              Type: path
1317              Default: “~/Mail”
1318
1319              Specifies  the default location of your mailboxes.  A “+” or “=”
1320              at the beginning of a pathname will be expanded to the value  of
1321              this  variable.  Note that if you change this variable (from the
1322              default) value you need to make sure that the assignment  occurs
1323              before  you  use “+” or “=” for any other variables since expan‐
1324              sion takes place when handling the “mailboxes” command.
1325
1326
1327
1328       folder_format
1329              Type: string
1330              Default: “%2C %t %N %F %2l %-8.8u %-8.8g %8s %d %f”
1331
1332              This variable allows you to customize the file  browser  display
1333              to  your  personal taste.  This string is similar to $index_for‐
1334              mat, but has its own set of printf(3)-like sequences:
1335              %C     current file number
1336              %d     date/time folder was last modified
1337              %f     filename (“/” is appended to directory names, “@” to sym‐
1338                     bolic links and “*” to executable files)
1339              %F     file permissions
1340              %g     group name (or numeric gid, if missing)
1341              %l     number of hard links
1342              %N     N if folder has new mail, blank otherwise
1343              %s     size in bytes
1344              %t     “*” if the file is tagged, blank otherwise
1345              %u     owner name (or numeric uid, if missing)
1346              %>X    right justify the rest of the string and pad with charac‐
1347                     ter “X”
1348              %|X    pad to the end of the line with character “X”
1349              %*X    soft-fill with character “X” as pad
1350
1351              For an explanation of “soft-fill”, see the  $index_format  docu‐
1352              mentation.
1353
1354
1355
1356       followup_to
1357              Type: boolean
1358              Default: yes
1359
1360              Controls  whether or not the “Mail-Followup-To:” header field is
1361              generated when sending mail.  When set, Mutt will generate  this
1362              field  when  you are replying to a known mailing list, specified
1363              with the “subscribe” or “lists” commands.
1364
1365              This field has two purposes.  First, preventing you from receiv‐
1366              ing  duplicate  copies  of replies to messages which you send to
1367              mailing lists, and second, ensuring that you do get a reply sep‐
1368              arately  for  any  messages sent to known lists to which you are
1369              not subscribed.
1370
1371              The header will contain only the list's address  for  subscribed
1372              lists,  and both the list address and your own email address for
1373              unsubscribed lists.  Without this header, a group reply to  your
1374              message  sent to a subscribed list will be sent to both the list
1375              and your address, resulting in two copies of the same email  for
1376              you.
1377
1378
1379
1380       force_name
1381              Type: boolean
1382              Default: no
1383
1384              This  variable  is  similar to $save_name, except that Mutt will
1385              store a copy of your outgoing message by  the  username  of  the
1386              address you are sending to even if that mailbox does not exist.
1387
1388              Also see the $record variable.
1389
1390
1391
1392       forward_decode
1393              Type: boolean
1394              Default: yes
1395
1396              Controls  the  decoding of complex MIME messages into text/plain
1397              when forwarding a message.  The message header is  also  RFC2047
1398              decoded.  This variable is only used, if $mime_forward is unset,
1399              otherwise $mime_forward_decode is used instead.
1400
1401
1402
1403       forward_decrypt
1404              Type: boolean
1405              Default: yes
1406
1407              Controls the handling of encrypted messages  when  forwarding  a
1408              message.   When  set,  the outer layer of encryption is stripped
1409              off.  This variable is only used if  $mime_forward  is  set  and
1410              $mime_forward_decode is unset.  (PGP only)
1411
1412
1413
1414       forward_edit
1415              Type: quadoption
1416              Default: yes
1417
1418              This  quadoption  controls  whether or not the user is automati‐
1419              cally placed in the editor when forwarding messages.  For  those
1420              who  always  want to forward with no modification, use a setting
1421              of “no”.
1422
1423
1424
1425       forward_format
1426              Type: string
1427              Default: “[%a: %s]”
1428
1429              This variable controls the default  subject  when  forwarding  a
1430              message.  It uses the same format sequences as the $index_format
1431              variable.
1432
1433
1434
1435       forward_quote
1436              Type: boolean
1437              Default: no
1438
1439              When set, forwarded messages included in the main  body  of  the
1440              message  (when  $mime_forward  is  unset)  will  be quoted using
1441              $indent_string.
1442
1443
1444
1445       from
1446              Type: e-mail address
1447              Default: “”
1448
1449              When set, this variable contains a default from address.  It can
1450              be  overridden using “my_hdr” (including from a “send-hook”) and
1451              $reverse_name.  This variable is ignored if $use_from is unset.
1452
1453              This setting defaults to the contents of the  environment  vari‐
1454              able $EMAIL.
1455
1456
1457
1458       gecos_mask
1459              Type: regular expression
1460              Default: “^[^,]*”
1461
1462              A  regular expression used by mutt to parse the GECOS field of a
1463              password entry when expanding the alias.  The default value will
1464              return the string up to the first “,” encountered.  If the GECOS
1465              field contains a string  like  “lastname,  firstname”  then  you
1466              should set it to “.*”.
1467
1468              This  can  be  useful  if  you  see  the following behavior: you
1469              address an e-mail to user ID “stevef” whose full name is  “Steve
1470              Franklin”.     If   mutt   expands   “stevef”   to   “”Franklin”
1471              stevef@foo.bar” then you should set the $gecos_mask to a regular
1472              expression  that  will  match the whole name so mutt will expand
1473              “Franklin” to “Franklin, Steve”.
1474
1475
1476
1477       hdrs
1478              Type: boolean
1479              Default: yes
1480
1481              When unset, the header fields normally  added  by  the  “my_hdr”
1482              command  are  not  created.   This variable must be unset before
1483              composing a new message or replying in order to take effect.  If
1484              set,  the user defined header fields are added to every new mes‐
1485              sage.
1486
1487
1488
1489       header
1490              Type: boolean
1491              Default: no
1492
1493              When set, this variable causes Mutt to include the header of the
1494              message  you  are  replying  to into the edit buffer.  The $weed
1495              setting applies.
1496
1497
1498
1499       header_cache
1500              Type: path
1501              Default: “”
1502
1503              This variable points to the header cache database.  If  pointing
1504              to  a  directory  Mutt will contain a header cache database file
1505              per folder, if pointing to a file that file  will  be  a  single
1506              global header cache. By default it is unset so no header caching
1507              will be used.
1508
1509              Header caching can greatly improve speed when opening POP,  IMAP
1510              MH or Maildir folders, see “caching” for details.
1511
1512
1513
1514       header_cache_compress
1515              Type: boolean
1516              Default: yes
1517
1518              When  mutt is compiled with qdbm or tokyocabinet as header cache
1519              backend, this option determines whether  the  database  will  be
1520              compressed.  Compression results in database files roughly being
1521              one fifth of the usual  diskspace,  but  the  decompression  can
1522              result  in a slower opening of cached folder(s) which in general
1523              is still much faster than opening non header cached folders.
1524
1525
1526
1527       help
1528              Type: boolean
1529              Default: yes
1530
1531              When set, help lines describing the bindings for the major func‐
1532              tions  provided  by each menu are displayed on the first line of
1533              the screen.
1534
1535              Note: The binding will not be displayed correctly if  the  func‐
1536              tion  is  bound  to  a  sequence rather than a single keystroke.
1537              Also, the help line may not be updated if a binding  is  changed
1538              while  Mutt  is running.  Since this variable is primarily aimed
1539              at new users, neither of these should present a major problem.
1540
1541
1542
1543       hidden_host
1544              Type: boolean
1545              Default: no
1546
1547              When set, mutt will skip the host name part of  $hostname  vari‐
1548              able  when  adding  the domain part to addresses.  This variable
1549              does not affect the generation of Message-IDs, and it  will  not
1550              lead to the cut-off of first-level domains.
1551
1552
1553
1554       hide_limited
1555              Type: boolean
1556              Default: no
1557
1558              When  set,  mutt will not show the presence of messages that are
1559              hidden by limiting, in the thread tree.
1560
1561
1562
1563       hide_missing
1564              Type: boolean
1565              Default: yes
1566
1567              When set, mutt will not show the presence of missing messages in
1568              the thread tree.
1569
1570
1571
1572       hide_thread_subject
1573              Type: boolean
1574              Default: yes
1575
1576              When  set,  mutt  will  not  show the subject of messages in the
1577              thread tree that have the same subject as their parent or  clos‐
1578              est previously displayed sibling.
1579
1580
1581
1582       hide_top_limited
1583              Type: boolean
1584              Default: no
1585
1586              When  set,  mutt will not show the presence of messages that are
1587              hidden by limiting, at the top of threads in  the  thread  tree.
1588              Note  that  when  $hide_limited is set, this option will have no
1589              effect.
1590
1591
1592
1593       hide_top_missing
1594              Type: boolean
1595              Default: yes
1596
1597              When set, mutt will not show the presence of missing messages at
1598              the  top  of  threads  in  the  thread  tree.   Note  that  when
1599              $hide_missing is set, this option will have no effect.
1600
1601
1602
1603       history
1604              Type: number
1605              Default: 10
1606
1607              This variable controls the size (in  number  of  strings  remem‐
1608              bered)  of the string history buffer per category. The buffer is
1609              cleared each time the variable is set.
1610
1611
1612
1613       history_file
1614              Type: path
1615              Default: “~/.mutthistory”
1616
1617              The file in which Mutt will save its history.
1618
1619
1620
1621       honor_disposition
1622              Type: boolean
1623              Default: no
1624
1625              When set, Mutt will not display attachments with  a  disposition
1626              of “attachment” inline even if it could render the part to plain
1627              text. These MIME parts can only be viewed  from  the  attachment
1628              menu.
1629
1630              If unset, Mutt will render all MIME parts it can properly trans‐
1631              form to plain text.
1632
1633
1634
1635       honor_followup_to
1636              Type: quadoption
1637              Default: yes
1638
1639              This variable controls whether or not a Mail-Followup-To  header
1640              is honored when group-replying to a message.
1641
1642
1643
1644       hostname
1645              Type: string
1646              Default: “”
1647
1648              Specifies  the  fully-qualified  hostname  of the system mutt is
1649              running on containing the host's name  and  the  DNS  domain  it
1650              belongs  to. It is used as the domain part (after “@”) for local
1651              email addresses as well as Message-Id headers.
1652
1653              Its value is determined at startup as  follows:  If  the  node's
1654              name  as returned by the uname(3) function contains the hostname
1655              and the domain, these are used to construct $hostname. If  there
1656              is  no  domain  part  returned, Mutt will look for a “domain” or
1657              “search” line  in  /etc/resolv.conf  to  determine  the  domain.
1658              Optionally,  Mutt  can  be  compiled with a fixed domain name in
1659              which case a detected one is not used.
1660
1661              Also see $use_domain and $hidden_host.
1662
1663
1664
1665       ignore_linear_white_space
1666              Type: boolean
1667              Default: no
1668
1669              This option replaces linear-white-space between encoded-word and
1670              text  to  a  single space to prevent the display of MIME-encoded
1671              “Subject:” field from being divided into multiple lines.
1672
1673
1674
1675       ignore_list_reply_to
1676              Type: boolean
1677              Default: no
1678
1679              Affects the behavior of the <reply> function  when  replying  to
1680              messages  from  mailing  lists (as defined by the “subscribe” or
1681              “lists” commands).  When set, if the “Reply-To:” field is set to
1682              the  same  value  as  the  “To:”  field,  Mutt  assumes that the
1683              “Reply-To:” field was  set  by  the  mailing  list  to  automate
1684              responses  to the list, and will ignore this field.  To direct a
1685              response to the mailing list when this option is  set,  use  the
1686              <list-reply>  function;  <group-reply>  will  reply  to both the
1687              sender and the list.
1688
1689
1690
1691       imap_authenticators
1692              Type: string
1693              Default: “”
1694
1695              This is a colon-delimited list of  authentication  methods  mutt
1696              may  attempt  to  use  to log in to an IMAP server, in the order
1697              mutt should try them.  Authentication methods are either “login”
1698              or  the right side of an IMAP “AUTH=xxx” capability string, e.g.
1699              “digest-md5”, “gssapi” or “cram-md5”. This option is case-insen‐
1700              sitive.  If it's unset (the default) mutt will try all available
1701              methods, in order from most-secure to least-secure.
1702
1703              Example:
1704
1705
1706              set imap_authenticators=”gssapi:cram-md5:login”
1707
1708
1709
1710              Note: Mutt will only fall back to other  authentication  methods
1711              if  the  previous methods are unavailable. If a method is avail‐
1712              able but authentication fails, mutt will not connect to the IMAP
1713              server.
1714
1715
1716
1717       imap_check_subscribed
1718              Type: boolean
1719              Default: no
1720
1721              When  set,  mutt  will  fetch the set of subscribed folders from
1722              your server on connection, and add them to the set of  mailboxes
1723              it  polls  for  new  mail  just  as if you had issued individual
1724              “mailboxes” commands.
1725
1726
1727
1728       imap_delim_chars
1729              Type: string
1730              Default: “/.”
1731
1732              This contains the list of characters which  you  would  like  to
1733              treat as folder separators for displaying IMAP paths. In partic‐
1734              ular it helps in using the “=” shortcut for  your  folder  vari‐
1735              able.
1736
1737
1738
1739       imap_headers
1740              Type: string
1741              Default: “”
1742
1743              Mutt  requests  these  header  fields in addition to the default
1744              headers  (“Date:”,  “From:”,  “Subject:”,  “To:”,  “Cc:”,  “Mes‐
1745              sage-Id:”,   “References:”,  “Content-Type:”,  “Content-Descrip‐
1746              tion:”,  “In-Reply-To:”,  “Reply-To:”,  “Lines:”,  “List-Post:”,
1747              “X-Label:”)  from IMAP servers before displaying the index menu.
1748              You may want to add more headers for spam detection.
1749
1750              Note: This is a space separated list, items should be  uppercase
1751              and  not  contain the colon, e.g. “X-BOGOSITY X-SPAM-STATUS” for
1752              the “X-Bogosity:” and “X-Spam-Status:” header fields.
1753
1754
1755
1756       imap_idle
1757              Type: boolean
1758              Default: no
1759
1760              When set, mutt will attempt to use the IMAP  IDLE  extension  to
1761              check for new mail in the current mailbox. Some servers (dovecot
1762              was the inspiration for  this  option)  react  badly  to  mutt's
1763              implementation.  If  your connection seems to freeze up periodi‐
1764              cally, try unsetting this.
1765
1766
1767
1768       imap_keepalive
1769              Type: number
1770              Default: 900
1771
1772              This variable specifies the maximum amount of  time  in  seconds
1773              that  mutt  will  wait  before polling open IMAP connections, to
1774              prevent the server from closing them before  mutt  has  finished
1775              with  them. The default is well within the RFC-specified minimum
1776              amount of time (30 minutes) before a server  is  allowed  to  do
1777              this,  but  in  practice the RFC does get violated every now and
1778              then. Reduce this number if you find  yourself  getting  discon‐
1779              nected from your IMAP server due to inactivity.
1780
1781
1782
1783       imap_list_subscribed
1784              Type: boolean
1785              Default: no
1786
1787              This  variable configures whether IMAP folder browsing will look
1788              for only subscribed folders or all folders.  This can be toggled
1789              in the IMAP browser with the <toggle-subscribed> function.
1790
1791
1792
1793       imap_login
1794              Type: string
1795              Default: “”
1796
1797              Your login name on the IMAP server.
1798
1799              This variable defaults to the value of $imap_user.
1800
1801
1802
1803       imap_pass
1804              Type: string
1805              Default: “”
1806
1807              Specifies  the  password  for your IMAP account.  If unset, Mutt
1808              will  prompt  you  for  your  password  when  you   invoke   the
1809              <imap-fetch-mail> function or try to open an IMAP folder.
1810
1811              Warning:  you  should  only  use  this  option when you are on a
1812              fairly secure machine, because the superuser can read your  mut‐
1813              trc even if you are the only one who can read the file.
1814
1815
1816
1817       imap_passive
1818              Type: boolean
1819              Default: yes
1820
1821              When  set,  mutt will not open new IMAP connections to check for
1822              new mail.  Mutt will only check for new mail over existing  IMAP
1823              connections.  This is useful if you don't want to be prompted to
1824              user/password pairs on mutt invocation, or if opening  the  con‐
1825              nection is slow.
1826
1827
1828
1829       imap_peek
1830              Type: boolean
1831              Default: yes
1832
1833              When  set,  mutt will avoid implicitly marking your mail as read
1834              whenever you fetch a message from the server. This is  generally
1835              a  good  thing,  but  can  make  closing an IMAP folder somewhat
1836              slower. This option exists to appease speed freaks.
1837
1838
1839
1840       imap_pipeline_depth
1841              Type: number
1842              Default: 15
1843
1844              Controls the number of IMAP  commands  that  may  be  queued  up
1845              before  they  are  sent to the server. A deeper pipeline reduces
1846              the amount of time mutt must wait for the server, and  can  make
1847              IMAP servers feel much more responsive. But not all servers cor‐
1848              rectly handle pipelined commands, so if you  have  problems  you
1849              might want to try setting this variable to 0.
1850
1851              Note:  Changes  to  this variable have no effect on open connec‐
1852              tions.
1853
1854
1855
1856       imap_servernoise
1857              Type: boolean
1858              Default: yes
1859
1860              When set, mutt will  display  warning  messages  from  the  IMAP
1861              server  as  error messages. Since these messages are often harm‐
1862              less, or generated due to configuration problems on  the  server
1863              which are out of the users' hands, you may wish to suppress them
1864              at some point.
1865
1866
1867
1868       imap_user
1869              Type: string
1870              Default: “”
1871
1872              The name of the user whose mail you intend to access on the IMAP
1873              server.
1874
1875              This variable defaults to your user name on the local machine.
1876
1877
1878
1879       implicit_autoview
1880              Type: boolean
1881              Default: no
1882
1883              If  set  to  “yes”,  mutt will look for a mailcap entry with the
1884              “copiousoutput” flag set for every MIME  attachment  it  doesn't
1885              have an internal viewer defined for.  If such an entry is found,
1886              mutt will use the viewer defined in that entry  to  convert  the
1887              body part to text form.
1888
1889
1890
1891       include
1892              Type: quadoption
1893              Default: ask-yes
1894
1895              Controls  whether or not a copy of the message(s) you are reply‐
1896              ing to is included in your reply.
1897
1898
1899
1900       include_onlyfirst
1901              Type: boolean
1902              Default: no
1903
1904              Controls whether or not Mutt includes only the first  attachment
1905              of the message you are replying.
1906
1907
1908
1909       indent_string
1910              Type: string
1911              Default: “> ”
1912
1913              Specifies the string to prepend to each line of text quoted in a
1914              message to which you are replying.  You are strongly  encouraged
1915              not to change this value, as it tends to agitate the more fanat‐
1916              ical netizens.
1917
1918              The value of this option is ignored if $text_flowed is set,  too
1919              because  the  quoting  mechanism  is  strictly  defined for for‐
1920              mat=flowed.
1921
1922              This option is a format string, please see  the  description  of
1923              $index_format for supported printf(3)-style sequences.
1924
1925
1926
1927       index_format
1928              Type: string
1929              Default: “%4C %Z %{%b %d} %-15.15L (%?l?%4l&%4c?) %s”
1930
1931              This  variable allows you to customize the message index display
1932              to your personal taste.
1933
1934              “Format strings” are similar to the strings used in the C  func‐
1935              tion  printf(3)  to  format  output  (see  the man page for more
1936              details).  The following sequences are defined in Mutt:
1937              %a     address of the author
1938              %A     reply-to  address  (if  present;  otherwise:  address  of
1939                     author)
1940              %b     filename of the original message folder (think mailbox)
1941              %B     the list to which the letter was sent, or else the folder
1942                     name (%b).
1943              %c     number of characters (bytes) in the message
1944              %C     current message number
1945              %d     date and time of the message in the format  specified  by
1946                     $date_format converted to sender's time zone
1947              %D     date  and  time of the message in the format specified by
1948                     $date_format converted to the local time zone
1949              %e     current message number in thread
1950              %E     number of messages in current thread
1951              %f     sender  (address  +   real   name),   either   From:   or
1952                     Return-Path:
1953              %F     author name, or recipient name if the message is from you
1954              %H     spam attribute(s) of this message
1955              %i     message-id of the current message
1956              %l     number  of  lines  in  the  message  (does  not work with
1957                     maildir, mh, and possibly IMAP folders)
1958              %L     If an address in the “To:” or “Cc:” header field  matches
1959                     an address defined by the users “subscribe” command, this
1960                     displays ”To <list-name>”, otherwise the same as %F.
1961              %m     total number of message in the mailbox
1962              %M     number of hidden messages if the thread is collapsed.
1963              %N     message score
1964              %n     author's real name (or address if missing)
1965              %O     original save  folder  where  mutt  would  formerly  have
1966                     stashed  the  message: list name or recipient name if not
1967                     sent to a list
1968              %P     progress indicator for the built-in pager  (how  much  of
1969                     the file has been displayed)
1970              %s     subject of the message
1971              %S     status of the message (“N”/“D”/“d”/“!”/“r”/*)
1972              %t     “To:” field (recipients)
1973              %T     the appropriate character from the $to_chars string
1974              %u     user (login) name of the author
1975              %v     first name of the author, or the recipient if the message
1976                     is from you
1977              %X     number of attachments (please see the “attachments”  sec‐
1978                     tion for possible speed effects)
1979              %y     “X-Label:” field, if present
1980              %Y     “X-Label:”  field,  if  present, and (1) not at part of a
1981                     thread  tree,  (2)  at  the  top  of  a  thread,  or  (3)
1982                     “X-Label:”   is   different   from   preceding  message's
1983                     “X-Label:”.
1984              %Z     message status flags
1985              %{fmt} the date and time of the message is converted to sender's
1986                     time  zone, and “fmt” is expanded by the library function
1987                     strftime(3); a leading bang disables locales
1988              %[fmt] the date and time of the  message  is  converted  to  the
1989                     local  time  zone,  and  “fmt” is expanded by the library
1990                     function strftime(3); a leading bang disables locales
1991              %(fmt) the local date and time when the  message  was  received.
1992                     “fmt”  is expanded by the library function strftime(3); a
1993                     leading bang disables locales
1994              %<fmt> the current local time. “fmt” is expanded by the  library
1995                     function strftime(3); a leading bang disables locales.
1996              %>X    right justify the rest of the string and pad with charac‐
1997                     ter “X”
1998              %|X    pad to the end of the line with character “X”
1999              %*X    soft-fill with character “X” as pad
2000
2001              “Soft-fill” deserves some explanation:  Normal  right-justifica‐
2002              tion  will  print everything to the left of the “%>”, displaying
2003              padding and whatever lies to the right only if there's room.  By
2004              contrast, soft-fill gives priority to the right-hand side, guar‐
2005              anteeing space to display it and showing padding only if there's
2006              still  room.  If necessary, soft-fill will eat text leftwards to
2007              make room for rightward text.
2008
2009              Note that these expandos are  supported  in  “save-hook”,  “fcc-
2010              hook” and “fcc-save-hook”, too.
2011
2012
2013
2014       ispell
2015              Type: path
2016              Default: “/usr/bin/hunspell”
2017
2018              How to invoke ispell (GNU's spell-checking software).
2019
2020
2021
2022       keep_flagged
2023              Type: boolean
2024              Default: no
2025
2026              If  set,  read messages marked as flagged will not be moved from
2027              your spool mailbox to your $mbox mailbox, or as a  result  of  a
2028              “mbox-hook” command.
2029
2030
2031
2032       locale
2033              Type: string
2034              Default: “C”
2035
2036              The locale used by strftime(3) to format dates. Legal values are
2037              the strings your system accepts for the locale environment vari‐
2038              able $LC_TIME.
2039
2040
2041
2042       mail_check
2043              Type: number
2044              Default: 5
2045
2046              This variable configures how often (in seconds) mutt should look
2047              for new mail. Also see the $timeout variable.
2048
2049
2050
2051       mailcap_path
2052              Type: string
2053              Default: “”
2054
2055              This variable specifies which files to consult  when  attempting
2056              to display MIME bodies not directly supported by Mutt.
2057
2058
2059
2060       mailcap_sanitize
2061              Type: boolean
2062              Default: yes
2063
2064              If  set,  mutt  will  restrict  possible characters in mailcap %
2065              expandos to a well-defined set of safe characters.  This is  the
2066              safe  setting,  but  we  are not sure it doesn't break some more
2067              advanced MIME stuff.
2068
2069              DON'T CHANGE THIS SETTING UNLESS YOU ARE REALLY  SURE  WHAT  YOU
2070              ARE DOING!
2071
2072
2073
2074       maildir_header_cache_verify
2075              Type: boolean
2076              Default: yes
2077
2078              Check  for Maildir unaware programs other than mutt having modi‐
2079              fied maildir files when the header cache is in use.  This incurs
2080              one  stat(2)  per message every time the folder is opened (which
2081              can be very slow for NFS folders).
2082
2083
2084
2085       maildir_trash
2086              Type: boolean
2087              Default: no
2088
2089              If set, messages marked  as  deleted  will  be  saved  with  the
2090              maildir  trashed  flag  instead  of  unlinked.   Note: this only
2091              applies to maildir-style mailboxes.  Setting  it  will  have  no
2092              effect on other mailbox types.
2093
2094
2095
2096       mark_old
2097              Type: boolean
2098              Default: yes
2099
2100              Controls whether or not mutt marks new unread messages as old if
2101              you exit a mailbox without reading them.  With this option  set,
2102              the  next time you start mutt, the messages will show up with an
2103              “O” next to them in the index menu,  indicating  that  they  are
2104              old.
2105
2106
2107
2108       markers
2109              Type: boolean
2110              Default: yes
2111
2112              Controls  the display of wrapped lines in the internal pager. If
2113              set, a “+” marker is  displayed  at  the  beginning  of  wrapped
2114              lines.
2115
2116              Also see the $smart_wrap variable.
2117
2118
2119
2120       mask
2121              Type: regular expression
2122              Default: “!^\.[^.]”
2123
2124              A  regular  expression used in the file browser, optionally pre‐
2125              ceded by the not operator “!”.  Only  files  whose  names  match
2126              this mask will be shown. The match is always case-sensitive.
2127
2128
2129
2130       mbox
2131              Type: path
2132              Default: “~/mbox”
2133
2134              This   specifies  the  folder  into  which  read  mail  in  your
2135              $spoolfile folder will be appended.
2136
2137              Also see the $move variable.
2138
2139
2140
2141       mbox_type
2142              Type: folder magic
2143              Default: mbox
2144
2145              The default mailbox type used when creating new folders. May  be
2146              any of “mbox”, “MMDF”, “MH” and “Maildir”. This is overridden by
2147              the -m command-line option.
2148
2149
2150
2151       menu_context
2152              Type: number
2153              Default: 0
2154
2155              This variable controls the number of lines of context  that  are
2156              given when scrolling through menus. (Similar to $pager_context.)
2157
2158
2159
2160       menu_move_off
2161              Type: boolean
2162              Default: yes
2163
2164              When  unset, the bottom entry of menus will never scroll up past
2165              the bottom of the screen, unless there  are  less  entries  than
2166              lines.  When set, the bottom entry may move off the bottom.
2167
2168
2169
2170       menu_scroll
2171              Type: boolean
2172              Default: no
2173
2174              When  set,  menus  will be scrolled up or down one line when you
2175              attempt to move across a screen boundary.  If unset, the  screen
2176              is  cleared  and  the  next or previous page of the menu is dis‐
2177              played (useful for slow links to avoid many redraws).
2178
2179
2180
2181       message_cache_clean
2182              Type: boolean
2183              Default: no
2184
2185              If set, mutt will clean out obsolete entries  from  the  message
2186              cache  when  the mailbox is synchronized. You probably only want
2187              to set it every once in a while, since it can be a  little  slow
2188              (especially for large folders).
2189
2190
2191
2192       message_cachedir
2193              Type: path
2194              Default: “”
2195
2196              Set  this  to a directory and mutt will cache copies of messages
2197              from your IMAP and POP servers here.  You  are  free  to  remove
2198              entries at any time.
2199
2200              When  setting  this variable to a directory, mutt needs to fetch
2201              every remote message only once and can perform  regular  expres‐
2202              sion searches as fast as for local folders.
2203
2204              Also see the $message_cache_clean variable.
2205
2206
2207
2208       message_format
2209              Type: string
2210              Default: “%s”
2211
2212              This  is  the  string  displayed  in  the  “attachment” menu for
2213              attachments of type  message/rfc822.   For  a  full  listing  of
2214              defined  printf(3)-like sequences see the section on $index_for‐
2215              mat.
2216
2217
2218
2219       meta_key
2220              Type: boolean
2221              Default: no
2222
2223              If set, forces Mutt to interpret keystrokes with  the  high  bit
2224              (bit  8) set as if the user had pressed the Esc key and whatever
2225              key remains after having the high bit removed.  For example,  if
2226              the key pressed has an ASCII value of 0xf8, then this is treated
2227              as if the user had pressed Esc then “x”.  This  is  because  the
2228              result  of removing the high bit from 0xf8 is 0x78, which is the
2229              ASCII character “x”.
2230
2231
2232
2233       metoo
2234              Type: boolean
2235              Default: no
2236
2237              If unset, Mutt will remove your address  (see  the  “alternates”
2238              command) from the list of recipients when replying to a message.
2239
2240
2241
2242       mh_purge
2243              Type: boolean
2244              Default: no
2245
2246              When  unset,  mutt  will  mimic mh's behavior and rename deleted
2247              messages to ,<old file name> in mh  folders  instead  of  really
2248              deleting  them.  This  leaves the message on disk but makes pro‐
2249              grams reading the folder ignore it. If the variable is set,  the
2250              message files will simply be deleted.
2251
2252              This option is similar to $maildir_trash for Maildir folders.
2253
2254
2255
2256       mh_seq_flagged
2257              Type: string
2258              Default: “flagged”
2259
2260              The name of the MH sequence used for flagged messages.
2261
2262
2263
2264       mh_seq_replied
2265              Type: string
2266              Default: “replied”
2267
2268              The name of the MH sequence used to tag replied messages.
2269
2270
2271
2272       mh_seq_unseen
2273              Type: string
2274              Default: “unseen”
2275
2276              The name of the MH sequence used for unseen messages.
2277
2278
2279
2280       mime_forward
2281              Type: quadoption
2282              Default: no
2283
2284              When  set,  the message you are forwarding will be attached as a
2285              separate message/rfc822 MIME part instead  of  included  in  the
2286              main  body  of  the message.  This is useful for forwarding MIME
2287              messages so the receiver can properly view the message as it was
2288              delivered  to  you.  If  you like to switch between MIME and not
2289              MIME from mail  to  mail,  set  this  variable  to  “ask-no”  or
2290              “ask-yes”.
2291
2292              Also see $forward_decode and $mime_forward_decode.
2293
2294
2295
2296       mime_forward_decode
2297              Type: boolean
2298              Default: no
2299
2300              Controls  the  decoding of complex MIME messages into text/plain
2301              when forwarding a message while $mime_forward is set.  Otherwise
2302              $forward_decode is used instead.
2303
2304
2305
2306       mime_forward_rest
2307              Type: quadoption
2308              Default: yes
2309
2310              When  forwarding multiple attachments of a MIME message from the
2311              attachment menu, attachments which cannot be decoded in  a  rea‐
2312              sonable manner will be attached to the newly composed message if
2313              this option is set.
2314
2315
2316
2317       move
2318              Type: quadoption
2319              Default: no
2320
2321              Controls whether or not Mutt will move read messages  from  your
2322              spool  mailbox to your $mbox mailbox, or as a result of a “mbox-
2323              hook” command.
2324
2325
2326
2327       narrow_tree
2328              Type: boolean
2329              Default: no
2330
2331              This variable, when set, makes the thread tree narrower,  allow‐
2332              ing deeper threads to fit on the screen.
2333
2334
2335
2336       net_inc
2337              Type: number
2338              Default: 10
2339
2340              Operations  that  expect to transfer a large amount of data over
2341              the network will update their progress every $net_inc kilobytes.
2342              If set to 0, no progress messages will be displayed.
2343
2344              See also $read_inc, $write_inc and $net_inc.
2345
2346
2347
2348       pager
2349              Type: path
2350              Default: “builtin”
2351
2352              This  variable  specifies  which  pager you would like to use to
2353              view messages. The value “builtin” means  to  use  the  built-in
2354              pager,  otherwise  this  variable should specify the pathname of
2355              the external pager you would like to use.
2356
2357              Using an external pager may have some disadvantages:  Additional
2358              keystrokes  are  necessary because you can't call mutt functions
2359              directly from the pager, and screen resizes cause  lines  longer
2360              than the screen width to be badly formatted in the help menu.
2361
2362
2363
2364       pager_context
2365              Type: number
2366              Default: 0
2367
2368              This  variable  controls the number of lines of context that are
2369              given when displaying the next or previous page in the  internal
2370              pager.   By  default,  Mutt will display the line after the last
2371              one on the screen at the top of the next page (0 lines  of  con‐
2372              text).
2373
2374              This  variable  also  specifies  the amount of context given for
2375              search results. If positive,  this  many  lines  will  be  given
2376              before a match, if 0, the match will be top-aligned.
2377
2378
2379
2380       pager_format
2381              Type: string
2382              Default: “-%Z- %C/%m: %-20.20n   %s%*  -- (%P)”
2383
2384              This  variable controls the format of the one-line message “sta‐
2385              tus” displayed before each message in either the internal or  an
2386              external   pager.    The  valid  sequences  are  listed  in  the
2387              $index_format section.
2388
2389
2390
2391       pager_index_lines
2392              Type: number
2393              Default: 0
2394
2395              Determines the number of lines of a mini-index  which  is  shown
2396              when  in the pager.  The current message, unless near the top or
2397              bottom of the folder, will be roughly one third of the way  down
2398              this mini-index, giving the reader the context of a few messages
2399              before and after the message.  This is useful, for  example,  to
2400              determine  how  many  messages  remain to be read in the current
2401              thread.  One of the lines is reserved for the  status  bar  from
2402              the  index,  so  a  setting  of  6 will only show 5 lines of the
2403              actual index.  A value of 0 results in no index being shown.  If
2404              the  number  of  messages  in  the  current  folder is less than
2405              $pager_index_lines, then the index will only use as  many  lines
2406              as it needs.
2407
2408
2409
2410       pager_stop
2411              Type: boolean
2412              Default: no
2413
2414              When  set,  the internal-pager will not move to the next message
2415              when you are at the end of a message and invoke the  <next-page>
2416              function.
2417
2418
2419
2420       pgp_auto_decode
2421              Type: boolean
2422              Default: no
2423
2424              If  set,  mutt will automatically attempt to decrypt traditional
2425              PGP messages whenever the user performs an operation which ordi‐
2426              narily  would  result in the contents of the message being oper‐
2427              ated on.  For example, if the user  displays  a  pgp-traditional
2428              message which has not been manually checked with the <check-tra‐
2429              ditional-pgp> function, mutt will automatically check  the  mes‐
2430              sage for traditional pgp.
2431
2432
2433
2434       pgp_autoinline
2435              Type: boolean
2436              Default: no
2437
2438              This  option  controls  whether  Mutt generates old-style inline
2439              (traditional) PGP encrypted or  signed  messages  under  certain
2440              circumstances.   This  can be overridden by use of the pgp menu,
2441              when inline is not required.
2442
2443              Note that Mutt might automatically  use  PGP/MIME  for  messages
2444              which consist of more than a single MIME part.  Mutt can be con‐
2445              figured to ask before  sending  PGP/MIME  messages  when  inline
2446              (traditional) would not work.
2447
2448              Also see the $pgp_mime_auto variable.
2449
2450              Also  note  that  using  the  old-style  PGP  message  format is
2451              strongly deprecated.  (PGP only)
2452
2453
2454
2455       pgp_check_exit
2456              Type: boolean
2457              Default: yes
2458
2459              If set, mutt will check the exit code of the PGP subprocess when
2460              signing or encrypting.  A non-zero exit code means that the sub‐
2461              process failed.  (PGP only)
2462
2463
2464
2465       pgp_clearsign_command
2466              Type: string
2467              Default: “”
2468
2469              This format is used to create  an  old-style  “clearsigned”  PGP
2470              message.   Note  that  the use of this format is strongly depre‐
2471              cated.
2472
2473              This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
2474              possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (PGP only)
2475
2476
2477
2478       pgp_decode_command
2479              Type: string
2480              Default: “”
2481
2482              This  format strings specifies a command which is used to decode
2483              application/pgp attachments.
2484
2485              The PGP command formats have their  own  set  of  printf(3)-like
2486              sequences:
2487              %p     Expands  to  PGPPASSFD=0 when a pass phrase is needed, to
2488                     an empty string otherwise. Note: This may be used with  a
2489                     %? construct.
2490              %f     Expands to the name of a file containing a message.
2491              %s     Expands  to  the  name of a file containing the signature
2492                     part
2493                                of a multipart/signed attachment when  verify‐
2494                     ing it.
2495              %a     The value of $pgp_sign_as.
2496              %r     One or more key IDs.
2497
2498              For  examples  on how to configure these formats for the various
2499              versions of PGP which are floating around, see the pgp  and  gpg
2500              sample  configuration  files  in the samples/ subdirectory which
2501              has been installed on your system alongside  the  documentation.
2502              (PGP only)
2503
2504
2505
2506       pgp_decrypt_command
2507              Type: string
2508              Default: “”
2509
2510              This command is used to decrypt a PGP encrypted message.
2511
2512              This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
2513              possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (PGP only)
2514
2515
2516
2517       pgp_encrypt_only_command
2518              Type: string
2519              Default: “”
2520
2521              This command is used to encrypt a body part without signing it.
2522
2523              This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
2524              possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (PGP only)
2525
2526
2527
2528       pgp_encrypt_sign_command
2529              Type: string
2530              Default: “”
2531
2532              This command is used to both sign and encrypt a body part.
2533
2534              This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
2535              possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (PGP only)
2536
2537
2538
2539       pgp_entry_format
2540              Type: string
2541              Default: “%4n %t%f %4l/0x%k %-4a %2c %u”
2542
2543              This variable allows you to customize the PGP key selection menu
2544              to your personal taste. This string is similar to $index_format,
2545              but has its own set of printf(3)-like sequences:
2546              %n     number
2547              %k     key id
2548              %u     user id
2549              %a     algorithm
2550              %l     key length
2551              %f     flags
2552              %c     capabilities
2553              %t     trust/validity of the key-uid association
2554              %[<s>] date of the key where <s> is an strftime(3) expression
2555
2556              (PGP only)
2557
2558
2559
2560       pgp_export_command
2561              Type: string
2562              Default: “”
2563
2564              This command is used to export a public key from the user's  key
2565              ring.
2566
2567              This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
2568              possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (PGP only)
2569
2570
2571
2572       pgp_getkeys_command
2573              Type: string
2574              Default: “”
2575
2576              This command is invoked  whenever  mutt  will  need  public  key
2577              information.  Of the sequences supported by $pgp_decode_command,
2578              %r is the only printf(3)-like sequence used  with  this  format.
2579              (PGP only)
2580
2581
2582
2583       pgp_good_sign
2584              Type: regular expression
2585              Default: “”
2586
2587              If  you  assign a text to this variable, then a PGP signature is
2588              only considered verified if the output from  $pgp_verify_command
2589              contains  the  text. Use this variable if the exit code from the
2590              command is 0 even for bad signatures.  (PGP only)
2591
2592
2593
2594       pgp_ignore_subkeys
2595              Type: boolean
2596              Default: yes
2597
2598              Setting this variable will cause Mutt to ignore OpenPGP subkeys.
2599              Instead,  the  principal key will inherit the subkeys' capabili‐
2600              ties.  Unset this if you want to play interesting key  selection
2601              games.  (PGP only)
2602
2603
2604
2605       pgp_import_command
2606              Type: string
2607              Default: “”
2608
2609              This  command  is  used  to import a key from a message into the
2610              user's public key ring.
2611
2612              This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
2613              possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (PGP only)
2614
2615
2616
2617       pgp_list_pubring_command
2618              Type: string
2619              Default: “”
2620
2621              This  command  is  used  to list the public key ring's contents.
2622              The output format must be analogous to the one used by
2623
2624
2625              gpg --list-keys --with-colons.
2626
2627
2628
2629              This format is also generated by the pgpring utility which comes
2630              with mutt.
2631
2632              This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
2633              possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (PGP only)
2634
2635
2636
2637       pgp_list_secring_command
2638              Type: string
2639              Default: “”
2640
2641              This command is used to list the  secret  key  ring's  contents.
2642              The output format must be analogous to the one used by:
2643
2644
2645              gpg --list-keys --with-colons.
2646
2647
2648
2649              This format is also generated by the pgpring utility which comes
2650              with mutt.
2651
2652              This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
2653              possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (PGP only)
2654
2655
2656
2657       pgp_long_ids
2658              Type: boolean
2659              Default: no
2660
2661              If  set,  use 64 bit PGP key IDs, if unset use the normal 32 bit
2662              key IDs.  (PGP only)
2663
2664
2665
2666       pgp_mime_auto
2667              Type: quadoption
2668              Default: ask-yes
2669
2670              This option controls whether Mutt will prompt you for  automati‐
2671              cally  sending  a (signed/encrypted) message using PGP/MIME when
2672              inline (traditional) fails (for any reason).
2673
2674              Also note  that  using  the  old-style  PGP  message  format  is
2675              strongly deprecated.  (PGP only)
2676
2677
2678
2679       pgp_replyinline
2680              Type: boolean
2681              Default: no
2682
2683              Setting  this variable will cause Mutt to always attempt to cre‐
2684              ate an inline (traditional) message when replying to  a  message
2685              which is PGP encrypted/signed inline.  This can be overridden by
2686              use of the pgp menu, when inline is not required.   This  option
2687              does  not  automatically  detect  if the (replied-to) message is
2688              inline; instead it  relies  on  Mutt  internals  for  previously
2689              checked/flagged messages.
2690
2691              Note  that  Mutt  might  automatically use PGP/MIME for messages
2692              which consist of more than a single MIME part.  Mutt can be con‐
2693              figured  to  ask  before  sending  PGP/MIME messages when inline
2694              (traditional) would not work.
2695
2696              Also see the $pgp_mime_auto variable.
2697
2698              Also note  that  using  the  old-style  PGP  message  format  is
2699              strongly deprecated.  (PGP only)
2700
2701
2702
2703       pgp_retainable_sigs
2704              Type: boolean
2705              Default: no
2706
2707              If  set,  signed  and  encrypted messages will consist of nested
2708              multipart/signed and multipart/encrypted body parts.
2709
2710              This is useful for applications like encrypted and signed  mail‐
2711              ing  lists,  where  the outer layer (multipart/encrypted) can be
2712              easily  removed,  while  the  inner  multipart/signed  part   is
2713              retained.  (PGP only)
2714
2715
2716
2717       pgp_show_unusable
2718              Type: boolean
2719              Default: yes
2720
2721              If  set, mutt will display non-usable keys on the PGP key selec‐
2722              tion menu.  This includes keys which  have  been  revoked,  have
2723              expired,  or  have  been marked as “disabled” by the user.  (PGP
2724              only)
2725
2726
2727
2728       pgp_sign_as
2729              Type: string
2730              Default: “”
2731
2732              If you have more than one key pair, this option  allows  you  to
2733              specify  which  of  your private keys to use.  It is recommended
2734              that  you  use  the  keyid  form  to  specify  your  key   (e.g.
2735              0x00112233).  (PGP only)
2736
2737
2738
2739       pgp_sign_command
2740              Type: string
2741              Default: “”
2742
2743              This  command is used to create the detached PGP signature for a
2744              multipart/signed PGP/MIME body part.
2745
2746              This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
2747              possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (PGP only)
2748
2749
2750
2751       pgp_sort_keys
2752              Type: sort order
2753              Default: address
2754
2755              Specifies  how  the entries in the pgp menu are sorted. The fol‐
2756              lowing are legal values:
2757              address
2758                     sort alphabetically by user id
2759              keyid  sort alphabetically by key id
2760              date   sort by key creation date
2761              trust  sort by the trust of the key
2762
2763              If you prefer reverse order of the above values, prefix it  with
2764              “reverse-”.  (PGP only)
2765
2766
2767
2768       pgp_strict_enc
2769              Type: boolean
2770              Default: yes
2771
2772              If  set, Mutt will automatically encode PGP/MIME signed messages
2773              as quoted-printable.  Please note that unsetting  this  variable
2774              may lead to problems with non-verifyable PGP signatures, so only
2775              change this if you know what you are doing.  (PGP only)
2776
2777
2778
2779       pgp_timeout
2780              Type: number
2781              Default: 300
2782
2783              The number of seconds  after  which  a  cached  passphrase  will
2784              expire if not used.  (PGP only)
2785
2786
2787
2788       pgp_use_gpg_agent
2789              Type: boolean
2790              Default: no
2791
2792              If  set,  mutt will use a possibly-running gpg-agent(1) process.
2793              (PGP only)
2794
2795
2796
2797       pgp_verify_command
2798              Type: string
2799              Default: “”
2800
2801              This command is used to verify PGP signatures.
2802
2803              This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
2804              possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (PGP only)
2805
2806
2807
2808       pgp_verify_key_command
2809              Type: string
2810              Default: “”
2811
2812              This  command  is  used  to  verify key information from the key
2813              selection menu.
2814
2815              This is a format string, see the $pgp_decode_command command for
2816              possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (PGP only)
2817
2818
2819
2820       pipe_decode
2821              Type: boolean
2822              Default: no
2823
2824              Used in connection with the <pipe-message> command.  When unset,
2825              Mutt will pipe the messages without any preprocessing. When set,
2826              Mutt  will  weed headers and will attempt to decode the messages
2827              first.
2828
2829
2830
2831       pipe_sep
2832              Type: string
2833              Default: “\n”
2834
2835              The separator to add between messages  when  piping  a  list  of
2836              tagged messages to an external Unix command.
2837
2838
2839
2840       pipe_split
2841              Type: boolean
2842              Default: no
2843
2844              Used  in  connection  with the <pipe-message> function following
2845              <tag-prefix>.  If this variable is unset, when piping a list  of
2846              tagged messages Mutt will concatenate the messages and will pipe
2847              them all concatenated.  When set, Mutt will  pipe  the  messages
2848              one by one.  In both cases the messages are piped in the current
2849              sorted order, and the $pipe_sep separator is  added  after  each
2850              message.
2851
2852
2853
2854       pop_auth_try_all
2855              Type: boolean
2856              Default: yes
2857
2858              If  set,  Mutt  will  try  all available authentication methods.
2859              When unset, Mutt will only fall  back  to  other  authentication
2860              methods  if the previous methods are unavailable. If a method is
2861              available but authentication fails, Mutt will not connect to the
2862              POP server.
2863
2864
2865
2866       pop_authenticators
2867              Type: string
2868              Default: “”
2869
2870              This  is  a  colon-delimited list of authentication methods mutt
2871              may attempt to use to log in to an POP server, in the order mutt
2872              should  try  them.   Authentication  methods  are either “user”,
2873              “apop” or any SASL mechanism,  e.g.  “digest-md5”,  “gssapi”  or
2874              “cram-md5”.   This option is case-insensitive. If this option is
2875              unset (the default) mutt will  try  all  available  methods,  in
2876              order from most-secure to least-secure.
2877
2878              Example:
2879
2880
2881              set pop_authenticators=”digest-md5:apop:user”
2882
2883
2884
2885
2886
2887       pop_checkinterval
2888              Type: number
2889              Default: 60
2890
2891              This variable configures how often (in seconds) mutt should look
2892              for new mail in the currently selected mailbox if it  is  a  POP
2893              mailbox.
2894
2895
2896
2897       pop_delete
2898              Type: quadoption
2899              Default: ask-no
2900
2901              If  set,  Mutt will delete successfully downloaded messages from
2902              the POP server  when  using  the  <fetch-mail>  function.   When
2903              unset,  Mutt  will  download messages but also leave them on the
2904              POP server.
2905
2906
2907
2908       pop_host
2909              Type: string
2910              Default: “”
2911
2912              The name of your POP server for the <fetch-mail> function.   You
2913              can  also  specify  an  alternative port, username and password,
2914              i.e.:
2915
2916
2917              [pop[s]://][username[:password]@]popserver[:port]
2918
2919
2920
2921              where “[...]” denotes an optional part.
2922
2923
2924
2925       pop_last
2926              Type: boolean
2927              Default: no
2928
2929              If this variable is set, mutt will try to  use  the  “LAST”  POP
2930              command  for retrieving only unread messages from the POP server
2931              when using the <fetch-mail> function.
2932
2933
2934
2935       pop_pass
2936              Type: string
2937              Default: “”
2938
2939              Specifies the password for your POP  account.   If  unset,  Mutt
2940              will prompt you for your password when you open a POP mailbox.
2941
2942              Warning:  you  should  only  use  this  option when you are on a
2943              fairly secure machine, because the superuser can read your  mut‐
2944              trc even if you are the only one who can read the file.
2945
2946
2947
2948       pop_reconnect
2949              Type: quadoption
2950              Default: ask-yes
2951
2952              Controls  whether  or  not Mutt will try to reconnect to the POP
2953              server if the connection is lost.
2954
2955
2956
2957       pop_user
2958              Type: string
2959              Default: “”
2960
2961              Your login name on the POP server.
2962
2963              This variable defaults to your user name on the local machine.
2964
2965
2966
2967       post_indent_string
2968              Type: string
2969              Default: “”
2970
2971              Similar to the $attribution  variable,  Mutt  will  append  this
2972              string  after  the inclusion of a message which is being replied
2973              to.
2974
2975
2976
2977       postpone
2978              Type: quadoption
2979              Default: ask-yes
2980
2981              Controls whether or not messages are  saved  in  the  $postponed
2982              mailbox when you elect not to send immediately.
2983
2984              Also see the $recall variable.
2985
2986
2987
2988       postponed
2989              Type: path
2990              Default: “~/postponed”
2991
2992              Mutt  allows  you  to  indefinitely “postpone sending a message”
2993              which you are editing.  When you choose to postpone  a  message,
2994              Mutt saves it in the mailbox specified by this variable.
2995
2996              Also see the $postpone variable.
2997
2998
2999
3000       preconnect
3001              Type: string
3002              Default: “”
3003
3004              If  set,  a shell command to be executed if mutt fails to estab‐
3005              lish a connection to the server. This is useful for  setting  up
3006              secure  connections,  e.g. with ssh(1). If the command returns a
3007              nonzero status, mutt gives up opening the server. Example:
3008
3009
3010              set preconnect=”ssh -f -q -L 1234:mailhost.net:143 mailhost.net \
3011              sleep 20 < /dev/null > /dev/null”
3012
3013
3014
3015              Mailbox “foo” on “mailhost.net” can now be reached  as  “{local‐
3016              host:1234}foo”.
3017
3018              Note:  For  this  example to work, you must be able to log in to
3019              the remote machine without having to enter a password.
3020
3021
3022
3023       print
3024              Type: quadoption
3025              Default: ask-no
3026
3027              Controls whether or not Mutt really prints  messages.   This  is
3028              set to “ask-no” by default, because some people accidentally hit
3029              “p” often.
3030
3031
3032
3033       print_command
3034              Type: path
3035              Default: “lpr”
3036
3037              This specifies the command pipe that should  be  used  to  print
3038              messages.
3039
3040
3041
3042       print_decode
3043              Type: boolean
3044              Default: yes
3045
3046              Used  in  connection  with the <print-message> command.  If this
3047              option is set, the message is decoded before it is passed to the
3048              external command specified by $print_command.  If this option is
3049              unset, no processing will be applied to the message when  print‐
3050              ing  it.  The latter setting may be useful if you are using some
3051              advanced printer filter which is able to properly format  e-mail
3052              messages for printing.
3053
3054
3055
3056       print_split
3057              Type: boolean
3058              Default: no
3059
3060              Used  in  connection  with the <print-message> command.  If this
3061              option is set, the command specified by $print_command  is  exe‐
3062              cuted  once  for  each  message which is to be printed.  If this
3063              option is unset, the command specified by $print_command is exe‐
3064              cuted  only  once, and all the messages are concatenated, with a
3065              form feed as the message separator.
3066
3067              Those who use the enscript(1) program's mail-printing mode  will
3068              most likely want to set this option.
3069
3070
3071
3072       prompt_after
3073              Type: boolean
3074              Default: yes
3075
3076              If  you use an external $pager, setting this variable will cause
3077              Mutt to prompt you for a command when  the  pager  exits  rather
3078              than returning to the index menu.  If unset, Mutt will return to
3079              the index menu when the external pager exits.
3080
3081
3082
3083       query_command
3084              Type: path
3085              Default: “”
3086
3087              This specifies the command that mutt will use to  make  external
3088              address  queries.   The string should contain a “%s”, which will
3089              be substituted with  the  query  string  the  user  types.   See
3090              “query” for more information.
3091
3092
3093
3094       query_format
3095              Type: string
3096              Default: “%4c %t %-25.25a %-25.25n %?e?(%e)?”
3097
3098              This variable describes the format of the “query” menu. The fol‐
3099              lowing printf(3)-style sequences are understood:
3100              %a     destination address
3101              %c     current entry number
3102              %e     extra information *
3103              %n     destination name
3104              %t     “*” if current entry is tagged, a space otherwise
3105              %>X    right justify the rest of the string and pad with “X”
3106              %|X    pad to the end of the line with “X”
3107              %*X    soft-fill with character “X” as pad
3108
3109              For an explanation of “soft-fill”, see the  $index_format  docu‐
3110              mentation.
3111
3112              * = can be optionally printed if nonzero, see the $status_format
3113              documentation.
3114
3115
3116
3117       quit
3118              Type: quadoption
3119              Default: yes
3120
3121              This variable controls whether “quit” and “exit”  actually  quit
3122              from mutt.  If this option is set, they do quit, if it is unset,
3123              they have no effect, and if it is set to ask-yes or ask-no,  you
3124              are prompted for confirmation when you try to quit.
3125
3126
3127
3128       quote_regexp
3129              Type: regular expression
3130              Default: “^([ \t]*[|>:}#])+”
3131
3132              A  regular  expression  used  in the internal pager to determine
3133              quoted sections of text in the body of a  message.  Quoted  text
3134              may  be  filtered out using the <toggle-quoted> command, or col‐
3135              ored according to the “color quoted” family of directives.
3136
3137              Higher levels of quoting  may  be  colored  differently  (“color
3138              quoted1”,  “color  quoted2”,  etc.). The quoting level is deter‐
3139              mined by removing the last character from the matched  text  and
3140              recursively  reapplying the regular expression until it fails to
3141              produce a match.
3142
3143              Match detection  may  be  overridden  by  the  $smileys  regular
3144              expression.
3145
3146
3147
3148       read_inc
3149              Type: number
3150              Default: 10
3151
3152              If  set  to a value greater than 0, Mutt will display which mes‐
3153              sage it is currently on when reading a mailbox or when  perform‐
3154              ing  search  actions  such  as  search and limit. The message is
3155              printed after this many messages  have  been  read  or  searched
3156              (e.g.,  if  set  to  25, Mutt will print a message when it is at
3157              message 25, and then again when it gets to  message  50).   This
3158              variable is meant to indicate progress when reading or searching
3159              large mailboxes which may take some time.  When set to 0, only a
3160              single message will appear before the reading the mailbox.
3161
3162              Also  see  the  $write_inc, $net_inc and $time_inc variables and
3163              the “tuning” section of the manual  for  performance  considera‐
3164              tions.
3165
3166
3167
3168       read_only
3169              Type: boolean
3170              Default: no
3171
3172              If set, all folders are opened in read-only mode.
3173
3174
3175
3176       realname
3177              Type: string
3178              Default: “”
3179
3180              This variable specifies what “real” or “personal” name should be
3181              used when sending messages.
3182
3183              By default, this is the GECOS field from /etc/passwd.  Note that
3184              this variable will not be used when the user has set a real name
3185              in the $from variable.
3186
3187
3188
3189       recall
3190              Type: quadoption
3191              Default: ask-yes
3192
3193              Controls whether or not Mutt  recalls  postponed  messages  when
3194              composing a new message.
3195
3196              Setting  this  variable to is not generally useful, and thus not
3197              recommended.
3198
3199              Also see $postponed variable.
3200
3201
3202
3203       record
3204              Type: path
3205              Default: “~/sent”
3206
3207              This specifies the file into which your outgoing messages should
3208              be  appended.  (This is meant as the primary method for saving a
3209              copy of your messages, but another way to do this is  using  the
3210              “my_hdr”  command  to  create  a  “Bcc:”  field  with your email
3211              address in it.)
3212
3213              The value of  $record  is  overridden  by  the  $force_name  and
3214              $save_name variables, and the “fcc-hook” command.
3215
3216
3217
3218       reply_regexp
3219              Type: regular expression
3220              Default: “^(re([\[0-9\]+])*|aw):[ \t]*”
3221
3222              A  regular  expression  used  to  recognize  reply messages when
3223              threading and replying. The default  value  corresponds  to  the
3224              English ”Re:” and the German ”Aw:”.
3225
3226
3227
3228       reply_self
3229              Type: boolean
3230              Default: no
3231
3232              If  unset  and  you  are replying to a message sent by you, Mutt
3233              will assume that you want to reply to  the  recipients  of  that
3234              message rather than to yourself.
3235
3236              Also see the “alternates” command.
3237
3238
3239
3240       reply_to
3241              Type: quadoption
3242              Default: ask-yes
3243
3244              If  set,  when  replying to a message, Mutt will use the address
3245              listed in the Reply-to: header as the recipient  of  the  reply.
3246              If  unset,  it  will  use  the address in the From: header field
3247              instead.  This option is useful for reading a mailing list  that
3248              sets the Reply-To: header field to the list address and you want
3249              to send a private message to the author of a message.
3250
3251
3252
3253       resolve
3254              Type: boolean
3255              Default: yes
3256
3257              When set, the cursor will be automatically advanced to the  next
3258              (possibly  undeleted)  message  whenever a command that modifies
3259              the current message is executed.
3260
3261
3262
3263       reverse_alias
3264              Type: boolean
3265              Default: no
3266
3267              This variable controls whether or  not  Mutt  will  display  the
3268              “personal”  name from your aliases in the index menu if it finds
3269              an alias that matches the message's sender.  For example, if you
3270              have the following alias:
3271
3272
3273              alias juser abd30425@somewhere.net (Joe User)
3274
3275
3276
3277              and then you receive mail which contains the following header:
3278
3279
3280              From: abd30425@somewhere.net
3281
3282
3283
3284              It would be displayed in the index menu as “Joe User” instead of
3285              “abd30425@somewhere.net.”  This  is  useful  when  the  person's
3286              e-mail address is not human friendly.
3287
3288
3289
3290       reverse_name
3291              Type: boolean
3292              Default: no
3293
3294              It  may  sometimes  arrive  that  you  receive mail to a certain
3295              machine, move the messages to another machine, and reply to some
3296              the  messages  from there.  If this variable is set, the default
3297              From: line of the reply messages  is  built  using  the  address
3298              where  you  received  the  messages  you are replying to if that
3299              address matches your “alternates”.  If the variable is unset, or
3300              the  address that would be used doesn't match your “alternates”,
3301              the From: line will use your address on the current machine.
3302
3303              Also see the “alternates” command.
3304
3305
3306
3307       reverse_realname
3308              Type: boolean
3309              Default: yes
3310
3311              This variable fine-tunes the behavior of the $reverse_name  fea‐
3312              ture.   When  it is set, mutt will use the address from incoming
3313              messages as-is, possibly including eventual real names.  When it
3314              is  unset,  mutt will override any such real names with the set‐
3315              ting of the $realname variable.
3316
3317
3318
3319       rfc2047_parameters
3320              Type: boolean
3321              Default: no
3322
3323              When this variable is set, Mutt will decode RFC2047-encoded MIME
3324              parameters. You want to set this variable when mutt suggests you
3325              to save attachments to files named like:
3326
3327
3328              =?iso-8859-1?Q?file=5F=E4=5F991116=2Ezip?=
3329
3330
3331
3332              When this variable is set interactively,  the  change  won't  be
3333              active until you change folders.
3334
3335              Note  that  this use of RFC2047's encoding is explicitly prohib‐
3336              ited by the standard, but nevertheless encountered in the wild.
3337
3338              Also note that setting this parameter will not have  the  effect
3339              that  mutt  generates this kind of encoding.  Instead, mutt will
3340              unconditionally use the encoding specified in RFC2231.
3341
3342
3343
3344       save_address
3345              Type: boolean
3346              Default: no
3347
3348              If set, mutt will take the sender's full address when choosing a
3349              default  folder  for saving a mail. If $save_name or $force_name
3350              is set too, the selection of the Fcc folder will be  changed  as
3351              well.
3352
3353
3354
3355       save_empty
3356              Type: boolean
3357              Default: yes
3358
3359              When  unset,  mailboxes  which contain no saved messages will be
3360              removed when closed (the exception is $spoolfile which is  never
3361              removed).  If set, mailboxes are never removed.
3362
3363              Note:  This only applies to mbox and MMDF folders, Mutt does not
3364              delete MH and Maildir directories.
3365
3366
3367
3368       save_history
3369              Type: number
3370              Default: 0
3371
3372              This variable controls the size of the  history  (per  category)
3373              saved in the $history_file file.
3374
3375
3376
3377       save_name
3378              Type: boolean
3379              Default: no
3380
3381              This  variable  controls  how  copies  of  outgoing messages are
3382              saved.  When set, a check is made to see if a mailbox  specified
3383              by the recipient address exists (this is done by searching for a
3384              mailbox in the $folder directory with the username part  of  the
3385              recipient address).  If the mailbox exists, the outgoing message
3386              will be saved to that mailbox, otherwise the message is saved to
3387              the $record mailbox.
3388
3389              Also see the $force_name variable.
3390
3391
3392
3393       score
3394              Type: boolean
3395              Default: yes
3396
3397              When this variable is unset, scoring is turned off.  This can be
3398              useful to selectively disable scoring for certain  folders  when
3399              the $score_threshold_delete variable and related are used.
3400
3401
3402
3403       score_threshold_delete
3404              Type: number
3405              Default: -1
3406
3407              Messages which have been assigned a score equal to or lower than
3408              the value of this variable are automatically marked for deletion
3409              by  mutt.  Since mutt scores are always greater than or equal to
3410              zero, the default setting of this variable  will  never  mark  a
3411              message for deletion.
3412
3413
3414
3415       score_threshold_flag
3416              Type: number
3417              Default: 9999
3418
3419              Messages  which have been assigned a score greater than or equal
3420              to this variable's value are automatically marked ”flagged”.
3421
3422
3423
3424       score_threshold_read
3425              Type: number
3426              Default: -1
3427
3428              Messages which have been assigned a score equal to or lower than
3429              the  value  of this variable are automatically marked as read by
3430              mutt.  Since mutt scores are always greater  than  or  equal  to
3431              zero,  the  default  setting  of this variable will never mark a
3432              message read.
3433
3434
3435
3436       search_context
3437              Type: number
3438              Default: 0
3439
3440              For the pager, this variable specifies the number of lines shown
3441              before  search  results.  By  default,  search  results  will be
3442              top-aligned.
3443
3444
3445
3446       send_charset
3447              Type: string
3448              Default: “us-ascii:iso-8859-1:utf-8”
3449
3450              A colon-delimited list of character sets for outgoing  messages.
3451              Mutt will use the first character set into which the text can be
3452              converted exactly.  If your $charset  is  not  “iso-8859-1”  and
3453              recipients  may  not  understand  “UTF-8”,  it  is  advisable to
3454              include in the list an appropriate widely used standard  charac‐
3455              ter set (such as “iso-8859-2”, “koi8-r” or “iso-2022-jp”) either
3456              instead of or after “iso-8859-1”.
3457
3458              In case the text cannot be converted into one of these  exactly,
3459              mutt uses $charset as a fallback.
3460
3461
3462
3463       sendmail
3464              Type: path
3465              Default: “/usr/sbin/sendmail -oem -oi”
3466
3467              Specifies the program and arguments used to deliver mail sent by
3468              Mutt.  Mutt expects that the specified program interprets  addi‐
3469              tional arguments as recipient addresses.
3470
3471
3472
3473       sendmail_wait
3474              Type: number
3475              Default: 0
3476
3477              Specifies  the  number  of  seconds  to  wait  for the $sendmail
3478              process to finish before giving up and putting delivery  in  the
3479              background.
3480
3481              Mutt interprets the value of this variable as follows:
3482              >0     number  of  seconds to wait for sendmail to finish before
3483                     continuing
3484              0      wait forever for sendmail to finish
3485              <0     always put sendmail in the background without waiting
3486
3487              Note that if you specify a value other than 0, the output of the
3488              child process will be put in a temporary file.  If there is some
3489              error, you will be informed as to where to find the output.
3490
3491
3492
3493       shell
3494              Type: path
3495              Default: “”
3496
3497              Command to use when spawning a subshell.  By default, the user's
3498              login shell from /etc/passwd is used.
3499
3500
3501
3502       sig_dashes
3503              Type: boolean
3504              Default: yes
3505
3506              If  set,  a line containing “-- ” (note the trailing space) will
3507              be inserted before your $signature.  It is strongly  recommended
3508              that  you not unset this variable unless your signature contains
3509              just your name.  The reason for this is  because  many  software
3510              packages  use  “--  \n”  to detect your signature.  For example,
3511              Mutt has the ability to highlight the signature in  a  different
3512              color in the built-in pager.
3513
3514
3515
3516       sig_on_top
3517              Type: boolean
3518              Default: no
3519
3520              If set, the signature will be included before any quoted or for‐
3521              warded text.  It is strongly recommended that  you  do  not  set
3522              this variable unless you really know what you are doing, and are
3523              prepared to take some heat from netiquette guardians.
3524
3525
3526
3527       signature
3528              Type: path
3529              Default: “~/.signature”
3530
3531              Specifies the filename of your signature, which is  appended  to
3532              all outgoing messages.   If the filename ends with a pipe (“|”),
3533              it is assumed that filename is a shell command and input  should
3534              be read from its standard output.
3535
3536
3537
3538       simple_search
3539              Type: string
3540              Default: “~f %s | ~s %s”
3541
3542              Specifies  how  Mutt  should  expand a simple search into a real
3543              search pattern.  A simple search is one that  does  not  contain
3544              any  of  the  “~”  pattern  operators.   See “patterns” for more
3545              information on search patterns.
3546
3547              For example, if you simply type  “joe”  at  a  search  or  limit
3548              prompt, Mutt will automatically expand it to the value specified
3549              by this variable by replacing “%s”  with  the  supplied  string.
3550              For  the default value, “joe” would be expanded to: “~f joe | ~s
3551              joe”.
3552
3553
3554
3555       sleep_time
3556              Type: number
3557              Default: 1
3558
3559              Specifies time, in seconds, to pause  while  displaying  certain
3560              informational  messages,  while moving from folder to folder and
3561              after expunging messages from the current folder.   The  default
3562              is  to pause one second, so a value of zero for this option sup‐
3563              presses the pause.
3564
3565
3566
3567       smart_wrap
3568              Type: boolean
3569              Default: yes
3570
3571              Controls the display of lines longer than the  screen  width  in
3572              the  internal  pager.  If  set, long lines are wrapped at a word
3573              boundary.  If unset, lines are  simply  wrapped  at  the  screen
3574              edge. Also see the $markers variable.
3575
3576
3577
3578       smileys
3579              Type: regular expression
3580              Default: “(>From )|(:[-^]?[][)(><}{|/DP])”
3581
3582              The  pager  uses  this variable to catch some common false posi‐
3583              tives of $quote_regexp, most notably smileys and not consider  a
3584              line  quoted  text if it also matches $smileys. This mostly hap‐
3585              pens at the beginning of a line.
3586
3587
3588
3589       smime_ask_cert_label
3590              Type: boolean
3591              Default: yes
3592
3593              This flag controls whether you want to be asked to enter a label
3594              for  a  certificate about to be added to the database or not. It
3595              is set by default.  (S/MIME only)
3596
3597
3598
3599       smime_ca_location
3600              Type: path
3601              Default: “”
3602
3603              This variable contains the name of either a directory, or a file
3604              which  contains  trusted  certificates  for  use  with  OpenSSL.
3605              (S/MIME only)
3606
3607
3608
3609       smime_certificates
3610              Type: path
3611              Default: “”
3612
3613              Since for S/MIME there is no pubring/secring as with  PGP,  mutt
3614              has  to  handle storage and retrieval of keys by itself. This is
3615              very basic right now, and keys and certificates  are  stored  in
3616              two   different   directories,  both  named  as  the  hash-value
3617              retrieved from OpenSSL. There is an index  file  which  contains
3618              mailbox-address  keyid  pairs, and which can be manually edited.
3619              This option points to the location of the certificates.  (S/MIME
3620              only)
3621
3622
3623
3624       smime_decrypt_command
3625              Type: string
3626              Default: “”
3627
3628              This  format string specifies a command which is used to decrypt
3629              application/x-pkcs7-mime attachments.
3630
3631              The OpenSSL command formats have their own set of printf(3)-like
3632              sequences similar to PGP's:
3633              %f     Expands to the name of a file containing a message.
3634              %s     Expands  to  the  name of a file containing the signature
3635                     part
3636                                of a multipart/signed attachment when  verify‐
3637                     ing it.
3638              %k     The key-pair specified with $smime_default_key
3639              %c     One or more certificate IDs.
3640              %a     The algorithm used for encryption.
3641              %C     CA location:  Depending on whether $smime_ca_location
3642                                points to a directory or file, this expands to
3643                                “-CApath   $smime_ca_location”   or   “-CAfile
3644                     $smime_ca_location”.
3645
3646              For examples on how to configure these formats, see the smime.rc
3647              in  the  samples/  subdirectory which has been installed on your
3648              system alongside the documentation.  (S/MIME only)
3649
3650
3651
3652       smime_decrypt_use_default_key
3653              Type: boolean
3654              Default: yes
3655
3656              If set (default) this tells mutt to  use  the  default  key  for
3657              decryption.    Otherwise,    if   managing   multiple   certifi‐
3658              cate-key-pairs, mutt will try  to  use  the  mailbox-address  to
3659              determine the key to use. It will ask you to supply a key, if it
3660              can't find one.  (S/MIME only)
3661
3662
3663
3664       smime_default_key
3665              Type: string
3666              Default: “”
3667
3668              This is the default key-pair to use for signing.  This  must  be
3669              set to the keyid (the hash-value that OpenSSL generates) to work
3670              properly (S/MIME only)
3671
3672
3673
3674       smime_encrypt_command
3675              Type: string
3676              Default: “”
3677
3678              This command is used to create encrypted S/MIME messages.
3679
3680              This is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command  command
3681              for possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (S/MIME only)
3682
3683
3684
3685       smime_encrypt_with
3686              Type: string
3687              Default: “”
3688
3689              This  sets  the  algorithm  that  should be used for encryption.
3690              Valid choices are “des”, “des3”, “rc2-40”, “rc2-64”,  “rc2-128”.
3691              If unset, “3des” (TripleDES) is used.  (S/MIME only)
3692
3693
3694
3695       smime_get_cert_command
3696              Type: string
3697              Default: “”
3698
3699              This  command  is used to extract X509 certificates from a PKCS7
3700              structure.
3701
3702              This is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command  command
3703              for possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (S/MIME only)
3704
3705
3706
3707       smime_get_cert_email_command
3708              Type: string
3709              Default: “”
3710
3711              This  command  is  used to extract the mail address(es) used for
3712              storing X509 certificates, and  for  verification  purposes  (to
3713              check  whether the certificate was issued for the sender's mail‐
3714              box).
3715
3716              This is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command  command
3717              for possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (S/MIME only)
3718
3719
3720
3721       smime_get_signer_cert_command
3722              Type: string
3723              Default: “”
3724
3725              This  command  is used to extract only the signers X509 certifi‐
3726              cate from a S/MIME signature, so that  the  certificate's  owner
3727              may get compared to the email's “From:” field.
3728
3729              This  is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command command
3730              for possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (S/MIME only)
3731
3732
3733
3734       smime_import_cert_command
3735              Type: string
3736              Default: “”
3737
3738              This command is used to import a certificate via smime_keys.
3739
3740              This is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command  command
3741              for possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (S/MIME only)
3742
3743
3744
3745       smime_is_default
3746              Type: boolean
3747              Default: no
3748
3749              The   default   behavior   of   mutt   is  to  use  PGP  on  all
3750              auto-sign/encryption operations. To override and to use  OpenSSL
3751              instead  this  must  be  set.  However, this has no effect while
3752              replying, since mutt will automatically select the same applica‐
3753              tion  that was used to sign/encrypt the original message.  (Note
3754              that   this   variable   can   be   overridden   by    unsetting
3755              $crypt_autosmime.)  (S/MIME only)
3756
3757
3758
3759       smime_keys
3760              Type: path
3761              Default: “”
3762
3763              Since  for  S/MIME there is no pubring/secring as with PGP, mutt
3764              has to handle storage and retrieval  of  keys/certs  by  itself.
3765              This  is  very basic right now, and stores keys and certificates
3766              in two different  directories,  both  named  as  the  hash-value
3767              retrieved  from  OpenSSL.  There is an index file which contains
3768              mailbox-address keyid pair, and which can  be  manually  edited.
3769              This option points to the location of the private keys.  (S/MIME
3770              only)
3771
3772
3773
3774       smime_pk7out_command
3775              Type: string
3776              Default: “”
3777
3778              This command is used to extract PKCS7 structures of S/MIME  sig‐
3779              natures, in order to extract the public X509 certificate(s).
3780
3781              This  is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command command
3782              for possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (S/MIME only)
3783
3784
3785
3786       smime_sign_command
3787              Type: string
3788              Default: “”
3789
3790              This command is used to created S/MIME signatures of type multi‐
3791              part/signed, which can be read by all mail clients.
3792
3793              This  is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command command
3794              for possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (S/MIME only)
3795
3796
3797
3798       smime_sign_opaque_command
3799              Type: string
3800              Default: “”
3801
3802              This command is used to created S/MIME signatures of type appli‐
3803              cation/x-pkcs7-signature,  which  can  only  be  handled by mail
3804              clients supporting the S/MIME extension.
3805
3806              This is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command  command
3807              for possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (S/MIME only)
3808
3809
3810
3811       smime_timeout
3812              Type: number
3813              Default: 300
3814
3815              The  number  of  seconds  after  which  a cached passphrase will
3816              expire if not used.  (S/MIME only)
3817
3818
3819
3820       smime_verify_command
3821              Type: string
3822              Default: “”
3823
3824              This command is used to verify S/MIME signatures of type  multi‐
3825              part/signed.
3826
3827              This  is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command command
3828              for possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (S/MIME only)
3829
3830
3831
3832       smime_verify_opaque_command
3833              Type: string
3834              Default: “”
3835
3836              This command is used to verify S/MIME signatures of type  appli‐
3837              cation/x-pkcs7-mime.
3838
3839              This  is a format string, see the $smime_decrypt_command command
3840              for possible printf(3)-like sequences.  (S/MIME only)
3841
3842
3843
3844       smtp_authenticators
3845              Type: string
3846              Default: “”
3847
3848              This is a colon-delimited list of  authentication  methods  mutt
3849              may  attempt  to  use  to log in to an SMTP server, in the order
3850              mutt should try them.  Authentication methods are any SASL mech‐
3851              anism,  e.g.  “digest-md5”, “gssapi” or “cram-md5”.  This option
3852              is case-insensitive. If it is “unset” (the  default)  mutt  will
3853              try   all  available  methods,  in  order  from  most-secure  to
3854              least-secure.
3855
3856              Example:
3857
3858
3859              set smtp_authenticators=”digest-md5:cram-md5”
3860
3861
3862
3863
3864
3865       smtp_pass
3866              Type: string
3867              Default: “”
3868
3869              Specifies the password for your SMTP account.   If  unset,  Mutt
3870              will  prompt  you for your password when you first send mail via
3871              SMTP.  See $smtp_url to configure mutt to send mail via SMTP.
3872
3873              Warning: you should only use this  option  when  you  are  on  a
3874              fairly  secure machine, because the superuser can read your mut‐
3875              trc even if you are the only one who can read the file.
3876
3877
3878
3879       smtp_url
3880              Type: string
3881              Default: “”
3882
3883              Defines the SMTP smarthost where sent  messages  should  relayed
3884              for delivery. This should take the form of an SMTP URL, e.g.:
3885
3886
3887              smtp[s]://[user[:pass]@]host[:port]
3888
3889
3890
3891              where  “[...]”  denotes an optional part.  Setting this variable
3892              overrides the value of the $sendmail variable.
3893
3894
3895
3896       sort
3897              Type: sort order
3898              Default: date
3899
3900              Specifies how to sort messages in the “index” menu.  Valid  val‐
3901              ues are:
3902              ‐ date or date-sent
3903              ‐ date-received
3904              ‐ from
3905              ‐ mailbox-order (unsorted)
3906              ‐ score
3907              ‐ size
3908              ‐ spam
3909              ‐ subject
3910              ‐ threads
3911              ‐ to
3912
3913              You  may optionally use the “reverse-” prefix to specify reverse
3914              sorting order (example: “set sort=reverse-date-sent”).
3915
3916
3917
3918       sort_alias
3919              Type: sort order
3920              Default: alias
3921
3922              Specifies how the entries in the “alias” menu are  sorted.   The
3923              following are legal values:
3924              ‐ address (sort alphabetically by email address)
3925              ‐ alias (sort alphabetically by alias name)
3926              ‐ unsorted (leave in order specified in .muttrc)
3927
3928
3929       sort_aux
3930              Type: sort order
3931              Default: date
3932
3933              When  sorting by threads, this variable controls how threads are
3934              sorted in relation to other threads, and how the branches of the
3935              thread  trees  are  sorted.   This  can be set to any value that
3936              $sort can, except “threads” (in that case, mutt  will  just  use
3937              “date-sent”).   You can also specify the “last-” prefix in addi‐
3938              tion to the “reverse-”  prefix,  but  “last-”  must  come  after
3939              “reverse-”.   The  “last-”  prefix  causes messages to be sorted
3940              against its siblings by which has the last descendant, using the
3941              rest of $sort_aux as an ordering.  For instance,
3942
3943
3944              set sort_aux=last-date-received
3945
3946
3947
3948              would  mean  that if a new message is received in a thread, that
3949              thread becomes the last one displayed (or the first, if you have
3950              “set sort=reverse-threads”.)
3951
3952              Note:  For  reversed  $sort  order  $sort_aux  is reversed again
3953              (which is not the right thing to do, but kept to not  break  any
3954              existing configuration setting).
3955
3956
3957
3958       sort_browser
3959              Type: sort order
3960              Default: alpha
3961
3962              Specifies  how to sort entries in the file browser.  By default,
3963              the entries are sorted alphabetically.  Valid values:
3964              ‐ alpha (alphabetically)
3965              ‐ date
3966              ‐ size
3967              ‐ unsorted
3968
3969              You may optionally use the “reverse-” prefix to specify  reverse
3970              sorting order (example: “set sort_browser=reverse-date”).
3971
3972
3973
3974       sort_re
3975              Type: boolean
3976              Default: yes
3977
3978              This  variable  is  only  useful  when  sorting  by threads with
3979              $strict_threads unset.  In that case, it changes  the  heuristic
3980              mutt  uses  to  thread  messages by subject.  With $sort_re set,
3981              mutt will only attach a message as the child of another  message
3982              by  subject  if  the  subject of the child message starts with a
3983              substring matching the setting of $reply_regexp.  With  $sort_re
3984              unset,  mutt  will attach the message whether or not this is the
3985              case, as long as the non-$reply_regexp parts  of  both  messages
3986              are identical.
3987
3988
3989
3990       spam_separator
3991              Type: string
3992              Default: “,”
3993
3994              This  variable  controls what happens when multiple spam headers
3995              are matched: if unset, each successive header will overwrite any
3996              previous  matches value for the spam label. If set, each succes‐
3997              sive match will append to the previous,  using  this  variable's
3998              value as a separator.
3999
4000
4001
4002       spoolfile
4003              Type: path
4004              Default: “”
4005
4006              If  your spool mailbox is in a non-default place where Mutt can‐
4007              not find it, you can specify its location  with  this  variable.
4008              Mutt  will initially set this variable to the value of the envi‐
4009              ronment variable $MAIL or $MAILDIR if either is defined.
4010
4011
4012
4013       ssl_ca_certificates_file
4014              Type: path
4015              Default: “/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt”
4016
4017              This variable specifies a file containing  trusted  CA  certifi‐
4018              cates.   Any server certificate that is signed with one of these
4019              CA certificates is also automatically accepted.
4020
4021              Example:
4022
4023
4024              set ssl_ca_certificates_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt
4025
4026
4027
4028
4029
4030       ssl_client_cert
4031              Type: path
4032              Default: “”
4033
4034              The file containing a client certificate and its associated pri‐
4035              vate key.
4036
4037
4038
4039       ssl_force_tls
4040              Type: boolean
4041              Default: no
4042
4043              If  this variable is set, Mutt will require that all connections
4044              to remote servers be encrypted. Furthermore it will  attempt  to
4045              negotiate TLS even if the server does not advertise the capabil‐
4046              ity, since it would otherwise have to abort the connection  any‐
4047              way. This option supersedes $ssl_starttls.
4048
4049
4050
4051       ssl_min_dh_prime_bits
4052              Type: number
4053              Default: 0
4054
4055              This  variable  specifies  the minimum acceptable prime size (in
4056              bits) for use in any Diffie-Hellman key exchange. A value  of  0
4057              will use the default from the GNUTLS library.
4058
4059
4060
4061       ssl_starttls
4062              Type: quadoption
4063              Default: yes
4064
4065              If  set  (the  default),  mutt  will  attempt to use STARTTLS on
4066              servers advertising the capability. When unset,  mutt  will  not
4067              attempt to use STARTTLS regardless of the server's capabilities.
4068
4069
4070
4071       ssl_use_sslv3
4072              Type: boolean
4073              Default: yes
4074
4075              This  variable  specifies whether to attempt to use SSLv3 in the
4076              SSL authentication process.
4077
4078
4079
4080       ssl_use_tlsv1
4081              Type: boolean
4082              Default: yes
4083
4084              This variable specifies whether to attempt to use TLSv1  in  the
4085              SSL authentication process.
4086
4087
4088
4089       ssl_verify_dates
4090              Type: boolean
4091              Default: yes
4092
4093              If  set  (the  default),  mutt  will  not automatically accept a
4094              server certificate that is  either  not  yet  valid  or  already
4095              expired.  You should only unset this for particular known hosts,
4096              using the <account-hook> function.
4097
4098
4099
4100       ssl_verify_host
4101              Type: boolean
4102              Default: yes
4103
4104              If set (the default),  mutt  will  not  automatically  accept  a
4105              server  certificate whose host name does not match the host used
4106              in your folder URL. You should only unset  this  for  particular
4107              known hosts, using the <account-hook> function.
4108
4109
4110
4111       status_chars
4112              Type: string
4113              Default: “-*%A”
4114
4115              Controls  the  characters  used  by  the “%r” indicator in $sta‐
4116              tus_format. The first character is  used  when  the  mailbox  is
4117              unchanged. The second is used when the mailbox has been changed,
4118              and it needs to be resynchronized. The  third  is  used  if  the
4119              mailbox  is  in  read-only  mode,  or if the mailbox will not be
4120              written when exiting that mailbox (You  can  toggle  whether  to
4121              write  changes  to  a mailbox with the <toggle-write> operation,
4122              bound by default to “%”). The fourth is used  to  indicate  that
4123              the current folder has been opened in attach- message mode (Cer‐
4124              tain operations like composing a new mail, replying, forwarding,
4125              etc. are not permitted in this mode).
4126
4127
4128
4129       status_format
4130              Type: string
4131              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)---”
4132
4133              Controls  the format of the status line displayed in the “index”
4134              menu.  This string is similar to $index_format, but has its  own
4135              set of printf(3)-like sequences:
4136              %b     number of mailboxes with new mail *
4137              %d     number of deleted messages *
4138              %f     the full pathname of the current mailbox
4139              %F     number of flagged messages *
4140              %h     local hostname
4141              %l     size (in bytes) of the current mailbox *
4142              %L     size  (in bytes) of the messages shown (i.e., which match
4143                     the current limit) *
4144              %m     the number of messages in the mailbox *
4145              %M     the number of messages shown (i.e., which match the  cur‐
4146                     rent limit) *
4147              %n     number of new messages in the mailbox *
4148              %o     number of old unread messages *
4149              %p     number of postponed messages *
4150              %P     percentage of the way through the index
4151              %r     modified/read-only/won't-write/attach-message  indicator,
4152                     according to $status_chars
4153              %s     current sorting mode ($sort)
4154              %S     current aux sorting method ($sort_aux)
4155              %t     number of tagged messages *
4156              %u     number of unread messages *
4157              %v     Mutt version string
4158              %V     currently active limit pattern, if any *
4159              %>X    right justify the rest of the string and pad with “X”
4160              %|X    pad to the end of the line with “X”
4161              %*X    soft-fill with character “X” as pad
4162
4163              For an explanation of “soft-fill”, see the  $index_format  docu‐
4164              mentation.
4165
4166              * = can be optionally printed if nonzero
4167
4168              Some  of  the  above sequences can be used to optionally print a
4169              string if their value is nonzero.  For  example,  you  may  only
4170              want  to  see  the  number  of flagged messages if such messages
4171              exist, since zero is not particularly meaningful.  To optionally
4172              print  a  string based upon one of the above sequences, the fol‐
4173              lowing construct is used:
4174
4175              %?<sequence_char>?<optional_string>?
4176
4177              where sequence_char is a character from  the  table  above,  and
4178              optional_string   is  the  string  you  would  like  printed  if
4179              sequence_char is nonzero.   optional_string  may  contain  other
4180              sequences  as well as normal text, but you may not nest optional
4181              strings.
4182
4183              Here is an example illustrating how to optionally print the num‐
4184              ber of new messages in a mailbox:
4185
4186              %?n?%n new messages.?
4187
4188              You can also switch between two strings using the following con‐
4189              struct:
4190
4191              %?<sequence_char>?<if_string>&<else_string>?
4192
4193              If the value of sequence_char is  non-zero,  if_string  will  be
4194              expanded, otherwise else_string will be expanded.
4195
4196              You  can  force  the result of any printf(3)-like sequence to be
4197              lowercase by prefixing the sequence character with an underscore
4198              (“_”) sign.  For example, if you want to display the local host‐
4199              name in lowercase, you would use: “%_h”.
4200
4201              If you prefix the sequence character with a colon (“:”)  charac‐
4202              ter, mutt will replace any dots in the expansion by underscores.
4203              This might be helpful with IMAP folders that don't like dots  in
4204              folder names.
4205
4206
4207
4208       status_on_top
4209              Type: boolean
4210              Default: no
4211
4212              Setting this variable causes the “status bar” to be displayed on
4213              the first line of the screen rather than  near  the  bottom.  If
4214              $help is set, too it'll be placed at the bottom.
4215
4216
4217
4218       strict_threads
4219              Type: boolean
4220              Default: no
4221
4222              If  set,  threading  will only make use of the “In-Reply-To” and
4223              “References:” fields when you  $sort  by  message  threads.   By
4224              default,  messages with the same subject are grouped together in
4225              “pseudo threads.”. This may not always be desirable, such as  in
4226              a  personal  mailbox where you might have several unrelated mes‐
4227              sages with  the  subjects  like  “hi”  which  will  get  grouped
4228              together.  See  also $sort_re for a less drastic way of control‐
4229              ling this behavior.
4230
4231
4232
4233       suspend
4234              Type: boolean
4235              Default: yes
4236
4237              When unset, mutt won't stop when the user presses the terminal's
4238              susp key, usually “^Z”. This is useful if you run mutt inside an
4239              xterm using a command like “xterm -e mutt”.
4240
4241
4242
4243       text_flowed
4244              Type: boolean
4245              Default: no
4246
4247              When set, mutt will generate “format=flowed” bodies with a  con‐
4248              tent type of “text/plain; format=flowed”.  This format is easier
4249              to handle for some mailing software, and  generally  just  looks
4250              like  ordinary text.  To actually make use of this format's fea‐
4251              tures, you'll need support in your editor.
4252
4253              Note that $indent_string is ignored when this option is set.
4254
4255
4256
4257       thorough_search
4258              Type: boolean
4259              Default: no
4260
4261              Affects the ~b and ~h search  operations  described  in  section
4262              “patterns”.   If  set,  the headers and body/attachments of mes‐
4263              sages to be searched are decoded  before  searching.  If  unset,
4264              messages are searched as they appear in the folder.
4265
4266              Users  searching  attachments or for non-ASCII characters should
4267              set  this  value  because  decoding  also  includes  MIME  pars‐
4268              ing/decoding  and  possible character set conversions. Otherwise
4269              mutt will attempt to match against the raw message received (for
4270              example  quoted-printable encoded or with encoded headers) which
4271              may lead to incorrect search results.
4272
4273
4274
4275       thread_received
4276              Type: boolean
4277              Default: no
4278
4279              When set, mutt uses the date received rather than the date  sent
4280              to thread messages by subject.
4281
4282
4283
4284       tilde
4285              Type: boolean
4286              Default: no
4287
4288              When  set, the internal-pager will pad blank lines to the bottom
4289              of the screen with a tilde (“~”).
4290
4291
4292
4293       time_inc
4294              Type: number
4295              Default: 0
4296
4297              Along with $read_inc, $write_inc, and  $net_inc,  this  variable
4298              controls  the  frequency  with  which  progress updates are dis‐
4299              played. It suppresses updates less than  $time_inc  milliseconds
4300              apart.  This  can improve throughput on systems with slow termi‐
4301              nals, or when running mutt on a remote system.
4302
4303              Also see the “tuning” section of the manual for performance con‐
4304              siderations.
4305
4306
4307
4308       timeout
4309              Type: number
4310              Default: 600
4311
4312              When Mutt is waiting for user input either idling in menus or in
4313              an interactive prompt, Mutt would block until input is  present.
4314              Depending  on the context, this would prevent certain operations
4315              from working, like checking for new mail or keeping an IMAP con‐
4316              nection alive.
4317
4318              This  variable  controls how many seconds Mutt will at most wait
4319              until it aborts waiting for input, performs these operations and
4320              continues to wait for input.
4321
4322              A value of zero or less will cause Mutt to never time out.
4323
4324
4325
4326       tmpdir
4327              Type: path
4328              Default: “”
4329
4330              This  variable  allows  you to specify where Mutt will place its
4331              temporary files needed for displaying  and  composing  messages.
4332              If this variable is not set, the environment variable $TMPDIR is
4333              used.  If $TMPDIR is not set then “/tmp” is used.
4334
4335
4336
4337       to_chars
4338              Type: string
4339              Default: “ +TCFL”
4340
4341              Controls the character used to indicate mail addressed  to  you.
4342              The  first  character  is  the  one  used  when  the mail is not
4343              addressed to your address.  The second is used when you are  the
4344              only  recipient  of the message.  The third is when your address
4345              appears in the “To:” header field, but  you  are  not  the  only
4346              recipient  of  the  message.   The fourth character is used when
4347              your address is specified in the “Cc:” header field, but you are
4348              not the only recipient.  The fifth character is used to indicate
4349              mail that was sent by you.  The sixth character is used to indi‐
4350              cate when a mail was sent to a mailing-list you subscribe to.
4351
4352
4353
4354       tunnel
4355              Type: string
4356              Default: “”
4357
4358              Setting  this  variable will cause mutt to open a pipe to a com‐
4359              mand instead of a raw socket. You may be able to use this to set
4360              up  preauthenticated  connections to your IMAP/POP3/SMTP server.
4361              Example:
4362
4363
4364              set tunnel=”ssh -q mailhost.net /usr/local/libexec/imapd”
4365
4366
4367
4368              Note: For this example to work you must be able to log in to the
4369              remote machine without having to enter a password.
4370
4371              When  set,  Mutt  uses  the  tunnel  for all remote connections.
4372              Please see “account-hook” in the manual for how to use different
4373              tunnel commands per connection.
4374
4375
4376
4377       uncollapse_jump
4378              Type: boolean
4379              Default: no
4380
4381              When  set,  Mutt  will  jump to the next unread message, if any,
4382              when the current thread is uncollapsed.
4383
4384
4385
4386       use_8bitmime
4387              Type: boolean
4388              Default: no
4389
4390              Warning: do not set this variable unless you are using a version
4391              of sendmail which supports the -B8BITMIME flag (such as sendmail
4392              8.8.x) or you may not be able to send mail.
4393
4394              When set, Mutt will invoke $sendmail with  the  -B8BITMIME  flag
4395              when sending 8-bit messages to enable ESMTP negotiation.
4396
4397
4398
4399       use_domain
4400              Type: boolean
4401              Default: yes
4402
4403              When  set,  Mutt  will qualify all local addresses (ones without
4404              the “@host” portion) with the value of $hostname.  If unset,  no
4405              addresses will be qualified.
4406
4407
4408
4409       use_envelope_from
4410              Type: boolean
4411              Default: no
4412
4413              When  set, mutt will set the envelope sender of the message.  If
4414              $envelope_from_address is set, it will be  used  as  the  sender
4415              address.  If  unset, mutt will attempt to derive the sender from
4416              the “From:” header.
4417
4418              Note that this information is passed to sendmail  command  using
4419              the -f command line switch. Therefore setting this option is not
4420              useful if the $sendmail variable already contains -f or  if  the
4421              executable  pointed  to  by  $sendmail  doesn't  support  the -f
4422              switch.
4423
4424
4425
4426       use_from
4427              Type: boolean
4428              Default: yes
4429
4430              When set, Mutt will generate the “From:” header field when send‐
4431              ing  messages.  If unset, no “From:” header field will be gener‐
4432              ated unless the user explicitly sets one using the “my_hdr” com‐
4433              mand.
4434
4435
4436
4437       use_idn
4438              Type: boolean
4439              Default: yes
4440
4441              When set, Mutt will show you international domain names decoded.
4442              Note: You can use IDNs for addresses  even  if  this  is  unset.
4443              This variable only affects decoding.
4444
4445
4446
4447       use_ipv6
4448              Type: boolean
4449              Default: yes
4450
4451              When set, Mutt will look for IPv6 addresses of hosts it tries to
4452              contact.  If this option is unset, Mutt will restrict itself  to
4453              IPv4 addresses.  Normally, the default should work.
4454
4455
4456
4457       user_agent
4458              Type: boolean
4459              Default: yes
4460
4461              When  set, mutt will add a “User-Agent:” header to outgoing mes‐
4462              sages, indicating which version of mutt was used  for  composing
4463              them.
4464
4465
4466
4467       visual
4468              Type: path
4469              Default: “”
4470
4471              Specifies  the  visual editor to invoke when the “~v” command is
4472              given in the built-in editor.
4473
4474
4475
4476       wait_key
4477              Type: boolean
4478              Default: yes
4479
4480              Controls whether Mutt will ask you  to  press  a  key  after  an
4481              external   command   has   been   invoked  by  these  functions:
4482              <shell-escape>, <pipe-message>,  <pipe-entry>,  <print-message>,
4483              and <print-entry> commands.
4484
4485              It  is also used when viewing attachments with “auto_view”, pro‐
4486              vided that the corresponding mailcap entry has  a  needsterminal
4487              flag, and the external program is interactive.
4488
4489              When  set, Mutt will always ask for a key. When unset, Mutt will
4490              wait for a key only if the external command returned a  non-zero
4491              status.
4492
4493
4494
4495       weed
4496              Type: boolean
4497              Default: yes
4498
4499              When  set,  mutt  will weed headers when displaying, forwarding,
4500              printing, or replying to messages.
4501
4502
4503
4504       wrap
4505              Type: number
4506              Default: 0
4507
4508              When set to a positive value, mutt will wrap text at $wrap char‐
4509              acters.   When  set  to a negative value, mutt will wrap text so
4510              that there are $wrap characters of empty space on the right side
4511              of  the terminal. Setting it to zero makes mutt wrap at the ter‐
4512              minal width.
4513
4514
4515
4516       wrap_headers
4517              Type: number
4518              Default: 78
4519
4520              This option specifies the number of characters to use for  wrap‐
4521              ping  an  outgoing message's headers. Allowed values are between
4522              78 and 998 inclusive.
4523
4524              Note: This option usually shouldn't be changed.  RFC5233  recom‐
4525              mends  a  line length of 78 (the default), so please only change
4526              this setting when you know what you're doing.
4527
4528
4529
4530       wrap_search
4531              Type: boolean
4532              Default: yes
4533
4534              Controls whether searches wrap around the end.
4535
4536              When set, searches will wrap around the first  (or  last)  item.
4537              When unset, incremental searches will not wrap.
4538
4539
4540
4541       wrapmargin
4542              Type: number
4543              Default: 0
4544
4545              (DEPRECATED) Equivalent to setting $wrap with a negative value.
4546
4547
4548
4549       write_bcc
4550              Type: boolean
4551              Default: yes
4552
4553              Controls  whether mutt writes out the “Bcc:” header when prepar‐
4554              ing messages to be sent.  Exim users may wish to unset this.  If
4555              mutt  is  set to deliver directly via SMTP (see $smtp_url), this
4556              option does nothing: mutt will never write out the “Bcc:” header
4557              in this case.
4558
4559
4560
4561       write_inc
4562              Type: number
4563              Default: 10
4564
4565              When  writing  a  mailbox,  a  message  will  be  printed  every
4566              $write_inc messages to indicate progress.  If set to 0,  only  a
4567              single message will be displayed before writing a mailbox.
4568
4569              Also see the $read_inc, $net_inc and $time_inc variables and the
4570              “tuning” section of the manual for performance considerations.
4571
4572
4573

SEE ALSO

4575       iconv(1),   iconv(3),   mailcap(5),   maildir(5),   mbox(5),   mutt(1),
4576       printf(3), regex(7), strftime(3)
4577
4578       The Mutt Manual
4579
4580       The Mutt home page: http://www.mutt.org/
4581

AUTHOR

4583       Michael  Elkins,  and  others.   Use <mutt-dev@mutt.org> to contact the
4584       developers.
4585
4586
4587
4588Unix                            September 2002                       muttrc(5)
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