getmail_fetch(1)

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

💌 getmail_fetch — the manual page, bestie edition

okay so hi!! you found getmail_fetch(1), which lives in the User Commands section of the manual. this is the tea: it grabs your mail for you. no config file drama, no state, just vibes and messages. let's get into it 💖

✨ NAME ✨

getmail_fetch — pull messages out of one or more POP3 or POP3-over-SSL mailboxes and drop them into a maildir, an mboxrd-format mbox file, or hand them off to an external MDA 🫶

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

getmail_fetch [OPTIONS] SERVER USERNAME PASSWORD DESTINATION

that's it. four little arguments and a bag of options. iconic honestly.

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

getmail_fetch goes and fetches your messages from POP3 or POP3-over-SSL mailboxes, then delivers them to a maildir, an mboxrd, or an external MDA. slay.

This command is intended primarily for scripting, which is why it's so chill about everything — it does not require a client-side configuration file, and it does not record any state. no memory, no baggage, main character energy fr fr. ✨

Now, the way it reads the DESTINATION argument is honestly giving choose-your-own-adventure:

  • If it starts with a dot or a slash and ends with a slash, it's treated as a path to a maildir. 📁
  • If it starts with a dot or a slash and does not end with a slash, it's treated as a path to an mboxrd file. 📄
  • If it starts with a pipe, it's treated as a path to an external MDA command. 📬
⚠️ bestie, listen: for that pipe case — you can include arguments in the string by separating them with whitespace, but untrusted data must not be used in constructing this string. like, do not do that. that's the whole warning. 💀

💅 OPTIONS 💅

  • --version — shows the program's version number and dips. 👋
  • -h, --help — shows a short usage summary and exits. quick lil recap, no notes.
  • -v, --verbose — outputs information messages while it's running, so you can watch the whole thing go down. 👀
  • -q, --quiet — only speaks up on error. silent but deadly (affectionate). 🤫
  • -mFILE, --message=FILE — reads a well-formatted RFC822 message from FILE and delivers it prior to connecting to the POP server. early bird behavior. 🐦
  • -pPORT, --port=PORT — use port PORT instead of the default. the defaults are POP3: 110, POP3-over-SSL: 995. 🔌
  • -d, --delete — deletes messages from the server after delivery. gone, deleted, no trace. 💀✨
  • -tTIMEOUT, --timeout=TIMEOUT — use a timeout of TIMEOUT seconds instead of the default 180. patience is a virtue but it has a limit. ⏳
  • -a, --apop — uses APOP authentication. 🎀
  • -s, --ssl — uses POP3-over-SSL. secure queen behavior. 🔒👑

🎀 AUTHOR 🎀

Written by Charles Cazabon and others. we stan. 👑

🙈 REPORTING BUGS 🙈

Found a bug? Report it to <https://github.com/getmail6/getmail6/issues> — go go go.

🚨 IMPORTANT: include the output of getmail [options] --dump with any bug report. like actually. they need it. it's giving "required", because it is. 💖

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. fr fr, no warranty at all. 😭

⭐ 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 page, bestie!! this was getmail 6, dated 2026, and it's the getmail_fetch(1) manual page. go forth and fetch responsibly. mwah 💋✨🫶

📦 where this page comes from