1aerc(1)                     General Commands Manual                    aerc(1)
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NAME

6       aerc - the world's best email client
7

SYNOPSIS

9       aerc [-v] [mailto:...]
10
11       For a guided tutorial, use :help tutorial from aerc, or man aerc-tuto‐
12       rial from your terminal.
13

OPTIONS

15       -v
16           Prints the installed version of aerc and exits.
17
18       mailto:...
19           Opens the composer with the address in the "to" field. If aerc is
20           already running, the composer is started in this instance, other‐
21           wise aerc will be started.
22

RUNTIME COMMANDS

24       To execute a command, press ':' to bring up the command interface. Com‐
25       mands may also be bound to keys, see aerc-config(5) for details. In
26       some contexts, such as the terminal emulator, '<c-x>' is used to bring
27       up the command interface.
28
29       Different commands work in different contexts, depending on the kind of
30       tab you have selected.
31
32       Aerc stores a history of commands, which can be cycled through in com‐
33       mand mode. Pressing the up key cycles backwards in history, while
34       pressing down cycles forwards.
35
36   GLOBAL COMMANDS
37       These commands work in any context.
38
39       cd <directory>
40           Changes aerc's current working directory.
41
42       change-tab [+|-]<tab name or index>
43           Changes the focus to the tab with the given name. If a number is
44           given, it's treated as an index. If + or - is specified, the number
45           is interpreted as a delta from the selected tab.
46
47       exec <command...>
48           Executes an arbitrary command in the background. Aerc will set the
49           environment variables $account and $folder when the command is exe‐
50           cuted from an Account tab or an opened message.
51
52           Note: commands executed in this way are not executed with the
53           shell.
54
55       pwd
56           Displays aerc's current working directory in the status bar.
57
58       set <category>.<option> <value>
59           Changes the value of a configuration parameter at runtime. The cat‐
60           egory is the name of the [heading] for the config option you wish
61           to change, and the option is the name of the config option. For ex‐
62           ample, to change this option:
63
64           [ui]
65                index-format=before
66
67           Use :set ui.index-format after.
68
69       term [command...]
70           Opens a new terminal tab with a shell running in the current work‐
71           ing directory, or the specified command.
72
73       move-tab [+|-]<index>
74           Moves the selected tab to the given index. If + or - is specified,
75           the number is interpreted as a delta from the selected tab.
76
77       prev-tab [n], next-tab [n]
78           Cycles to the previous or next tab in the list, repeating n times
79           (default: 1).
80
81       pin-tab
82           Moves the current tab to the left of all non-pinned tabs and dis‐
83           plays the pinned-tab-marker (default: `) to the left of the tab ti‐
84           tle.
85
86       unpin-tab
87           Removes the pinned-tab-marker from the current tab and returns the
88           tab to its previous location.
89
90       prompt <prompt> <command...>
91           Displays the prompt on the status bar, waits for user input, then
92           appends that input as the last argument to the command and executes
93           it. The input is passed as one argument to the command, unless it
94           is empty, in which case no extra argument is added.
95
96       choose -o <key> <text> <command> [-o <key> <text> <command>]...
97           Prompts the user to choose from various options.
98
99       quit
100           Exits aerc.
101
102   MESSAGE COMMANDS
103       These commands are valid in any context that has a selected message
104       (e.g. the message list, the message in the message viewer, etc).
105
106       archive <scheme>
107           Moves the selected message to the archive. The available schemes
108           are:
109
110           flat: No special structure, all messages in the archive directory
111
112           year: Messages are stored in folders per year
113
114           month: Messages are stored in folders per year and subfolders per
115           month
116
117       copy <target>
118           Copies the selected message to the target folder.
119
120       delete
121           Deletes the selected message.
122
123       recall [-f]
124           Opens the selected message for re-editing. Messages can only be re‐
125           called from the postpone directory. The original message is
126           deleted.
127
128           -f: Open the message for re-editing even if it is not in the post‐
129           pone directory. The original message will be deleted only if it is
130           in the postpone directory.
131
132       forward [-A] [-T <template-file>] [address...]
133           Opens the composer to forward the selected message to another re‐
134           cipient.
135
136           -A: Forward the message as an RFC 2822 attachment.
137
138           -T <template-file>
139               Use the specified template file for creating the initial mes‐
140               sage body. Unless -A is specified, this defaults to what is set
141               as forwards in the [templates] section of aerc.conf.
142
143       move <target>
144           Moves the selected message to the target folder.
145
146       pipe [-bmp] <cmd>
147           Downloads and pipes the selected message into the given shell com‐
148           mand, and opens a new terminal tab to show the result. By default,
149           the selected message part is used in the message viewer and the
150           full message is used in the message list.
151
152           Operates on multiple messages when they are marked. When piping
153           multiple messages, aerc will write them with mbox format separa‐
154           tors.
155
156           -b: Run the command in the background instead of opening a terminal
157           tab
158
159           -m: Pipe the full message
160
161           -p: Pipe just the selected message part, if applicable
162
163       reply [-aq] [-T <template-file>]
164           Opens the composer to reply to the selected message.
165
166           -a: Reply all
167
168           -q: Insert a quoted version of the selected message into the reply
169           editor
170
171           -T <template-file>
172               Use the specified template file for creating the initial mes‐
173               sage body. If -q is specified, defaults to what is set as
174               quoted-reply in the [templates] section of aerc.conf.
175
176       read [-t]
177           Marks the marked or selected messages as read.
178
179           -t: Toggle the messages between read and unread.
180
181       unread [-t]
182           Marks the marked or selected messages as unread.
183
184           -t: Toggle the messages between read and unread.
185
186       flag [-t] [-a | -x <flag>]
187           Sets (enables) a certain flag on the marked or selected messages.
188
189           -t: Toggle the flag instead of setting (enabling) it.
190
191           -a: Mark message as answered/unanswered.
192
193           -x <flag>: Mark message with specific flag.
194
195           The available flags are (adapted from RFC 3501, section 2.3.2):
196
197           Seen
198               Message has been read
199
200           Answered
201               Message has been answered
202
203           Flagged
204               Message is flagged for urgent/special attention
205
206       unflag [-t] <flag>
207           Operates exactly like flag, defaulting to unsetting (disabling)
208           flags.
209
210       modify-labels <[+-]label>...
211           Modify message labels (e.g. notmuch tags). Labels prefixed with a
212           '+' are added, those prefixed with a '-' removed. As a convenience,
213           labels without either operand add the specified label.
214
215           Example: `modify-labels +inbox -spam unread` adds the labels inbox
216           and unread and removes spam
217
218       unsubscribe
219           Attempt to automatically unsubscribe the user from the mailing list
220           through use of the List-Unsubscribe header. If supported, aerc may
221           open a compose window pre-filled with the unsubscribe information
222           or open the unsubscribe URL in a web browser.
223
224   MESSAGE LIST COMMANDS
225       clear [-s]
226           Clears the current search or filter criteria.
227
228           By default, the selected message will be kept. To clear the se‐
229           lected message and move cursor to the top of the message list, use
230           the -s flag.
231
232           -s
233               Selects the message at the top of the message list after clear‐
234               ing.
235
236       cf <folder>
237           Change the folder shown in the message list.
238
239       compose [-H] [<body>] [-T <template-file>]
240           Open the compose window to send a new email. The new email will be
241           sent with the current account's outgoing transport configuration.
242           For details on configuring outgoing mail delivery consult aerc-con‐
243           fig(5).
244
245           -H <header>
246               Add the specified header to the message, e.g. 'compose -H "X-
247               Custom: custom value"'
248           -T <template-file>
249               Use the specified template file for creating the initial mes‐
250               sage body.
251
252       filter [options] <terms...>
253           Similar to search, but filters the displayed messages to only the
254           search results. See the documentation for search for more details.
255
256       mkdir <name>
257           Creates a new folder for this account and changes to that folder.
258
259           This is not supported on the 'notmuch' backend.
260
261       rmdir [-f]
262           Removes the current folder.
263
264           By default, it will fail if the directory is non-empty (see -f).
265
266           -f
267               Remove the directory even if it contains messages.
268
269           This is not supported on the 'notmuch' backend.
270
271           Some programs that sync maildirs may recover deleted directories
272           (e.g. offlineimap).  These can either be specially configured to
273           properly handle directory deletion, or special commands need to be
274           run to delete directories (e.g. 'offlineimap --delete-folder').
275
276           It is possible, with a slow connection and the 'imap' backend, that
277           new messages arrive in the directory before they show up - using
278           'rmdir' at this moment would delete the directory and such new mes‐
279           sages before the user sees them.
280
281       next <n>[%], prev <n>[%]
282           Selects the next (or previous) message in the message list. If
283           specified as a percentage, the percentage is applied to the number
284           of messages shown on screen and the cursor advances that far.
285
286       next-folder <n>, prev-folder <n>
287           Cycles to the next (or previous) folder shown in the sidebar, re‐
288           peated n times (default: 1).
289
290       expand-folder, collapse-folder
291           Expands or collapses the current folder when the directory tree is
292           enabled.
293
294       next-result, prev-result
295           Selects the next or previous search result.
296
297       search
298           Searches the current folder. The search syntax is dependent on the
299           underlying backend. Refer to aerc-search(1) for details
300
301       select <n>
302           Selects the nth message in the message list (and scrolls it into
303           view if necessary).
304
305       sort [[-r] <criterion>]...
306           Sorts the message list by the given criteria. -r sorts the immedi‐
307           ately following criterion in reverse order.
308
309           Available criteria:
310
311       ┌──────────┬───────────────────────────┐
312Criterion Description        
313       ├──────────┼───────────────────────────┤
314       │arrival   │ Date and time of the mes‐ │
315       │          │ sages arrival             │
316       ├──────────┼───────────────────────────┤
317       │cc        │   Addresses in the "cc"   │
318       │          │   field                   │
319       ├──────────┼───────────────────────────┤
320       │date      │ Date and time of the mes‐ │
321       │          │ sage                      │
322       ├──────────┼───────────────────────────┤
323       │from      │  Addresses in the "from"  │
324       │          │  field                    │
325       ├──────────┼───────────────────────────┤
326       │read      │ Presence of the read flag │
327       ├──────────┼───────────────────────────┤
328       │size      │    Size of the message    │
329       ├──────────┼───────────────────────────┤
330       │subject   │  Subject of the message   │
331       ├──────────┼───────────────────────────┤
332       │to        │   Addresses in the "to"   │
333       │          │   field                   │
334       └──────────┴───────────────────────────┘
335       toggle-threads
336           Toggles between message threading and the normal message list.
337
338       view
339           Opens the message viewer to display the selected message.
340
341   MESSAGE VIEW COMMANDS
342       close
343           Closes the message viewer.
344
345       next <n>[%], prev <n>[%]
346           Selects the next (or previous) message in the message list. If
347           specified as a percentage, the percentage is applied to the number
348           of messages shown on screen and the cursor advances that far.
349
350       next-part, prev-part
351           Cycles between message parts being shown. The list of message parts
352           is shown at the bottom of the message viewer.
353
354       open [args...]
355           Saves the current message part in a temporary file and opens it
356           with the system handler. Any given args are forwarded to the open
357           handler
358
359       save [-fpa] <path>
360           Saves the current message part to the given path. If the path is
361           not an absolute path, general.default-save-path will be prepended
362           to the path given. If path ends in a trailing slash or if a folder
363           exists on disc or if -a is specified, aerc assumes it to be a di‐
364           rectory. When passed a directory :save infers the filename from the
365           mail part if possible, or if that fails, uses "aerc_$DATE".
366
367           -f: Overwrite the destination whether or not it exists
368
369           -p: Create any directories in the path that do not exist
370
371           -a: Save all attachments. Individual filenames cannot be specified.
372
373       mark [-atv]
374           Marks messages. Commands will execute on all marked messages in‐
375           stead of the highlighted one if applicable. The flags below can be
376           combined as needed.
377
378           -a: Apply to all messages in the current folder
379
380           -t: toggle the mark state instead of marking a message
381
382           -v: Enter / leave visual mark mode
383
384       unmark [-at]
385           Unmarks messages. The flags below can be combined as needed.
386
387           -a: Apply to all messages in the current folder
388
389           -t: toggle the mark state instead of unmarking a message
390
391   MESSAGE COMPOSE COMMANDS
392       abort
393           Close the composer without sending, discarding the message in
394           progress.
395
396       attach <path>
397           Attaches the file at the given path to the email.
398
399       attach-key
400           Attaches the public key for the configured account to the email.
401
402       detach [path]
403           Detaches the file with the given path from the composed email. If
404           no path is specified, detaches the first attachment instead.
405
406       cc [addresses], bcc [addresses]
407           Sets the Cc or Bcc header to the given addresses. If an editor for
408           the header is not currently visible in the compose window, a new
409           one will be added.
410
411       edit
412           (Re-) opens your text editor to edit the message in progress.
413
414       next-field, prev-field
415           Cycles between input fields in the compose window.
416
417       postpone
418           Saves the current state of the message to the postpone folder for
419           the current account.
420
421       save [-p] <path>
422           Saves the selected message part to the specified path. If -p is se‐
423           lected, aerc will create any missing directories in the specified
424           path. If the path specified is a directory or ends in /, aerc will
425           use the attachment filename if available or a generated name if
426           not.
427
428       send
429           Sends the message using this accounts default outgoing transport
430           configuration. For details on configuring outgoing mail delivery
431           consult aerc-config(5).
432
433       header [-f] <field> [value]
434           Add a new email header. If the header already exists, -f must be
435           specified to replace the given value.
436
437       toggle-headers
438           Toggles the visibility of the message headers.
439
440   TERMINAL COMMANDS
441       close
442           Closes the terminal.
443

LOGGING

445       Aerc does not log by default, but collecting log output can be useful
446       for troubleshooting and reporting issues. Redirecting stdout when in‐
447       voking aerc will write log messages to that file:
448
449           $ aerc > log
450

SEE ALSO

452       aerc-config(5) aerc-imap(5) aerc-smtp(5) aerc-maildir(5) aerc-send‐
453       mail(5) aerc-tutorial(7)
454

AUTHORS

456       Originally created by Drew DeVault <sir@cmpwn.com> and maintained by
457       Robin Jarry <robin@jarry.cc> who is assisted by other open source con‐
458       tributors. For more information about aerc development, see
459       https://sr.ht/~rjarry/aerc/.
460
461
462
463                                  2022-06-18                           aerc(1)
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