MAIL.MAILUTILS(1)

📦
version 3.21 · 7 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

🌸 MAIL.MAILUTILS — the mail.mailutils girlies' guide (section 1 ofc) 🌸

okay bestie sit DOWN because this is the mail.mailutils manual page and it's literally about processing mail messages 💌 yeah, that mail. the GNU one. section 1, User Commands, we're in the big leagues now.

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

mail.mailutils [OPTION...] [address...]
mail.mailutils [OPTION...] [OPTION...] [file]
mail.mailutils [OPTION...] --file [OPTION...] [file]
mail.mailutils [OPTION...] --file=file [OPTION...]

four whole moods. pick your fighter 💅

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so. GNU mail. it processes mail messages, that's the whole job, she's booked and busy. 🎀

here's the tea: if -f or --file is given, mail operates on the mailbox named by the first argument, or the user's mbox if no argument is given. no argument? she's going to mbox, periodt. 🫶

📎 the attach-and-send girlies

  • -A, --attach=FILE — attach that FILE. yes, the whole file. no cap.
  • -a, --append=HEADER: VALUE — append the given header to the message being sent. just squish it right in there 💅
  • --[no-]alternative — force the multipart/alternative content type. make it alternative. or don't. she's flexible like that.
  • --attach-fd=FD — attach from file descriptor FD. fds are iconic, we love a file descriptor moment.
  • --content-filename=NAME — sets the Content-Disposition filename parameter for the next --attach option. note: NEXT one only, she's not doing retroactive work.
  • --content-name=NAME — sets the Content-Type name parameter for the next --attach option. again: next. not the one before. not all of them. the next one. 🎀
  • --content-type=TYPE — sets the content type for subsequent --attach options. plural. she's committed to the vibe from here on out.
  • -E, --exec=COMMAND — execute COMMAND. that's it, that's the whole thing, highkey powerful. 🔥
  • -e, --exist — return true if mail exists. a little yes/no queen.
  • --encoding=NAME — sets the encoding for subsequent --attach options. same energy as content-type, encoding edition ✨
  • -F, --byname — save messages according to sender. alphabetize the girlies, we love organization 🗂️
  • -H, --headers — write a header summary and exit. peek at the headers, then DIP. main character exit.
  • -i, --ignore — ignore interrupts. she does not hear you. 🙈
  • -M, --[no-]mime — compose MIME messages. (yes, -M shows up twice in the option list. we contain multitudes. the original said it, so I said it 💀)
  • -N, --nosum — do not display the initial header summary. skip the intro, go straight to the plot.
  • -n, --norc — do not read the system mailrc file. sorry system mailrc, not today 🚫
  • -p, --print, --read — print all mail to standard output. all of it. dump it, bestie, straight to stdout.
  • -q, --quit — cause interrupts to terminate the program. now the interrupts are LOUD and they END things. very finale energy.
  • -r, --return-address=ADDRESS — use ADDRESS as the return address when sending mail. so they know where to write back 💌
  • -s, --subject=SUBJ — send a message with the given SUBJECT. the subject line, the little headline, the hook 🎯
  • --[no-]skip-empty-attachments — skip attachments with empty body. empty body? not invited to the function. ✋
  • -t, --to — read recipients from the message header. the header already knows who's coming, let her handle it.
  • -u, --user=USER — operate on USER's mailbox. not yours, theirs. respectfully. 👑

🐛 Global debugging settings

  • --debug-level=LEVEL — set the Mailutils debugging level. turn the volume knob on the debug lore.
  • --[no-]debug-line-info — show source info with debugging messages. receipts included, iykyk 📍
  • -M, --mailer=MAILER — use the specified URL as the default mailer. (hi yes -M again, and this time she's a mailer, not a MIME. keeping both exactly as written, angel. 💀✨)

⚙️ Configuration handling

  • --config-file=FILE — load this configuration file; implies --no-config. sneakily also does the no-config thing. she's efficient.
  • --config-lint — check configuration file syntax and exit. lint o'clock. glow up your config 🔍
  • --config-verbose — verbosely log parsing of the configuration files. say it with your chest, config.
  • --no-config — do not load site and user configuration files. neither. none. bye 👋
  • --no-site-config — do not load the site-wide configuration file. just the site one gets the boot.
  • --no-user-config — do not load the user configuration file. just the user one gets the boot.
  • --set=PARAM=VALUE — set configuration parameter. param equals value, set it, slay.

📢 Informational options

  • --config-help — show configuration file summary. the tl;dr of your config 🎀
  • --show-config-options — show compilation options. tell me what she was built with 💅
  • -?, --help — give this help list. hi, this is her helping you, right now. that's the option. 😭
  • --usage — give a short usage message. the short version, for when you're in a rush fr fr.
  • -V, --version — print program version. which mail is this? find out 🦋
⭐ little note from the original that I am passing along verbatim in spirit: mandatory or optional arguments to long options are also mandatory or optional for any corresponding short options. same rules both ways, no exceptions, no favorites. periodt.

😭 REPORTING BUGS 😭

found a bug? tell the girlies (respectfully, with repro steps):

Copyright © 2007-2025 Free Software Foundation, inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html

This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

(that "NO WARRANTY" is in all caps for a reason bestie, she means it 💀 no cap, no warranty, none.)

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

the complete GNU mailutils documentation is maintained as a Texinfo manual. if the mailutils-doc package is installed, this command:

info mailutils

should give you access to the complete manual. (should! access! 💖)

you can also find this manual online in the GNU mailutils webpage: https://www.gnu.org/software/mailutils/manual/index.html.

🫶 pls note: this manpage was automatically generated by the Debian mailutils packagers. do not file bugs for its content to the GNU Mailutils upstream authors. wrong door, bestie, different building, be nice to them. 🎀

and that's the whole page, we ate and left absolutely no crumbs 🌈✨ this was the FSF edition, from August 2026 — love that for us, an icon, a legend, and she is the moment 💅👑

📦 where this page comes from