getmail(1)

📦
version 6.20.2 · 4 versions
, in epel 10, fedora 43, fedora 44, nixos 26.05, nixpkgs unstable, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

✨ NAME ✨

okay so bestie, meet getmail — she pulls your messages from one or more POP3, IMAP4, or SDPS mailboxes and drops them into a maildir, an mboxrd-format mbox file, or an external MDA. no cap, that's literally her whole job and she ate. 💖

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

getmail [OPTION] ...

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so like. getmail can retrieve messages from POP3, IMAP4, and SDPS mailboxes. SSL-wrapped POP3 and IMAP? also supported, we love a secure queen. 💅 and both single-user and domain (multi-drop) mailboxes are supported, so she's flexible like that.

she also has built-in support for delivering to maildirs, mboxrd-format mbox files, and external MDAs. built in!! no extra plugin nonsense required. iconic behavior honestly. 🎀

👑 OPTIONS 👑

  • --version — shows the program's version number and then dips out, bye 👋
  • -h, --help — shows a short usage summary and exits. it's giving "just the basics, bestie"
  • -gDIR, --getmaildir=DIR — go look in DIR for the config/data files. that's where the good stuff lives 🍓
  • -rFILE, --rcfile=FILE — load configuration from FILE. and yes, you can hand her this one multiple times, she'll take all of them 💖
  • --dump — dump the configuration and exit. it's a debugging thing, it's for the girlies who need to see the receipts 🔍
  • --trace — print extended trace information. warning: extremely verbose, like she will not stop talking, prepare yourself 😭
  • -iFOLDER, --idle=FOLDER — keeps the connection alive and listens for new messages in FOLDER. but heads up, this flag will only work if a single rc file is given, and it will only work on IMAP connections where the server supports IMAP4 IDLE (RFC 2177). no exceptions, she's strict about this one 💀

The following options override any in the configuration file(s). periodt, they win. 💅

  • -v, --verbose — operate more verbosely. can be given multiple times, so stack 'em if you want her extra chatty 🗣️
  • -q, --quiet — do not print informational messages. she's being mysterious on purpose 🙈
  • -d, --delete — delete messages from the server after retrieving. gone. poof. ✨
  • -l, --dont-delete — do not delete messages from the server after retrieving. they stay, safe and sound 🫶
  • -a, --all — retrieve all messages, every single one, no skipping 🌈
  • -n, --new — retrieve only unread messages. fresh ones only, we don't do reruns ⭐

💜 AUTHOR 💜

Written by Charles Cazabon and others. shoutout to the whole crew 🫶

🚨 REPORTING BUGS 🚨

Report bugs to <https://github.com/getmail6/getmail6/issues> — take it straight to the source, bestie.

IMPORTANT: include the output of getmail [options] --dump with any bug report. like fr fr, they need the receipts or they literally cannot help you. 😭

Copyright © 1998-2026 Charles Cazabon and others.

This is free software; see the file COPYING for copying conditions.

There is NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. none. zero. nada. she's free and she's honest about it 💀

🌟 SEE ALSO 🌟

The full documentation for getmail is maintained in HTML and plaintext formats. See the included files for details. iykyk 📖

and that's the whole vibe check bestie 💖 this was getmail 6, dated 2026 — catch you in the man pages, mwah 💅✨

📦 where this page comes from