The following is the config files for the suite of programs I use to read mail in Mutt. Each section will
have a description about the program and file. The users name will be referred to as "pantz". These config file
for Mutt have been tested on mutt version 1.5.9i. The whole setup was done on a Debian Linux machine.
Fetchmail is a program that can retrieve mail from a POP, IMAP, ETRN, or ODMR-capable server. You use
this program to retrieve your mail from the server. It is your MRA mail retrieval agent.
Set it as service to run as a daemon to check mail. Usually if it was installed as a package
then there is a script in /etc/init.d that takes care of this. It just needs to be turned on.
If not you just execute it and it runs as a daemon. Any subsequent time it is run it just checks
your mail.
The file .fetchmailrc goes in your home directory. An example of one is below.
# time period to check mail
set daemon 120
# where to keep a log of fetching mail (if you want)
set logfile /home/pantz/fetchmail.log
# server that has your mail and protocol to use to get it
poll 192.168.1.1 proto POP3
# mail account username, password, and local system username to deliver mail
# put the word "ssl" after the second "pantz" below if you want to connect with ssl
user "pantz" pass blah1234 is "pantz"
# get all mail on server
fetchall
# don't keep it on the server. delete it.
nokeep
# send it to procmail (mail delivery agent - MDA) for delivery
mda "/usr/bin/procmail -d %T";
Next is our mail delivery agent (MDA) Procmail. Procmail's lot in life is to process email. It
is a whole scripting language setup to just process mail. Below are some examples and also just
the basics you need to get your email from fetchmail into a file for viewing with fetchmail. You have to
set the different variables for your specific setup.
The file .procmailrc goes in your home dir. An example of one is below.
#########################################
######## .procmail rules ##############
#########################################
### System variables
DROPPRIVS=yes
LINEBUF=8192
PATH=$HOME/bin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin
SHELL="/bin/sh"
### De-bugging logs
#VERBOSE=yes
#LOGABSTRACT=all
LOGFILE=$HOME/procmail.log
### Macros
#SUBJ=`formail -zx Subject:`
### Mail Folders
# Define different files to put the emails in using variables.
# MAILDIR is a variable that tells procmail what directory our mail folders are in.
MAILDIR =$HOME/Mail
INBOX =$MAILDIR/inbox
SAVE =$MAILDIR/save
SPAM =$MAILDIR/spam
ARCHIVE =$MAILDIR/archive
############################################
######### Procmail Filters #################
############################################
### Check for duplicate email's. If it finds one just kill it.
### Keeps a Message ID cache in a file using the program formail.
:0 Wh:dup
| formail -D 8192 $MAILDIR/procmailrc.msgid.cache
###The :0 means the start of a new recipe.
###The second : tells procmail to use a lockfile while executing the actions in this
###recipe - otherwise, if you were to get 2 emails at once, they might both try and
###write to the file at once (and your mailbox could get corrupted).
###The next line specifies a folder to file the mail into - in this case, a file called inbox
### Most basic setup is just take the mail from fetchmail and put it in your inbox.
:0:
${INBOX}
### Another setup is to send a copy of all emails to the archive file
### then play a sound and put a copy in the inbox file.
### In Mutt there is a send-hook that copies all sent mail to the same (archive) file.
#:0
# {
# :0 c
# ${ARCHIVE}
# :0 c
# | play -v 3 /home/pantz/sounds/c813.wav
# :0
# ${INBOX}
# }
#### Examples ####
### Look if email is to a specific email address and from a certain person or domain.
### If so drop it into a certain mail file.
### If this mail matches mail coming in then play a wav sound and put a copy in the personal and inbox mail files.
#:0
# * ^(To:|Cc:).*(pantz@blahblahblah\.blahblah\.blah\.org)
# * ^From:.*(@domain1.org|@domain2.com|[email protected]|[email protected])
# {
# :0 c
# ${PERSONAL}
# :0 c
# | play /home/pantz/sounds/picarddoorchime.wav
# :0
# ${INBOX}
# }
### Look for a certain word in a subject line. Play a certian sound and put it in the inbox file.
#:0 D
# * ^Subject:.*(DOWN|PROBLEM|CRITICAL)
# {
# :0 c
# | play -v 4 /home/pantz/sounds/redalert.wav
# :0
# ${INBOX}
# }
### Basic bogofilter setup is if mail is found to be spam
### put it in the spam folder and stop. All other messages are
### considered good so put a copy in the archive and then the
### inbox.
### Below is the cron line for bogofilter spam databases
### */40 * * * * rm /home/pantz/wordlist.db;bogofilter -s < /home/pantz/Mail/spam;bogofilter -n < /home/pantz/Mail/archive
#:0
#{
# :0fw
# | /usr/bin/bogofilter -p -e
# :0
# * ^X-Bogosity:.(Spam|Yes)
# ${SPAM}
# :0
# * ^X-Bogosity:.(Ham|Unsure|No)
# {
# :0 c
# ${ARCHIVE}
# :0
# ${INBOX}
# }
#}
### Using bogofilter to check for spam (if its installed).
### Check for incoming mail that matches your email address(s).
### Send a copy to bogofiter. If it comes back marked as spam
### then send it to the spam folder and stop. If not anything
### not matching the "From" or "Subject" filter lines are copied
### to the archive folder. A sound is played and the message is
### put into the inbox.
#:0
# * ^(To:|Cc:).*(pantz@|pantz2@)
# {
# :0fw
# | /usr/bin/bogofilter -p -e
# :0
# * ^X-Bogosity:.(Spam|Yes)
# ${SPAM}
# :0
# * ^X-Bogosity:.(Ham|Unsure|No)
# {
# :0 Dc
# * !^From:.*(pantz@blahblahblah\.blahblah\.blah\.org)
# * !^Subject:.*(REBOOT|3DM|UP|RECOVERY|Statistics)
# ${ARCHIVE}
# :0 c
# | play /home/pantz/sounds/exclaim.wav
# :0
# ${INBOX}
# }
# }
### Cron line to teach bogofilter good and bad.
### */40 * * * * rm /home/pantz/wordlist.db;bogofilter -s < /home/pantz/Mail/spam;bogofilter -n < /home/pantz/Mail/archive
Mutt is your mail user agent. This is what you going to use to view your email.
The setup below is just my preference on how I like to use mutt. Adjust the settings to taste.
The file .muttrc must go in your home directory. An example of the file is below.
# System configuration file for Mutt
# Set terminal to back background white text.
#######################################################
### Pager
#######################################################
ignore *
unignore X-Bogosity date From: to cc subject reply-to
# Order to display the headers in
hdr_order X-Bogosity From: Reply-To: To: Cc: Date: Subject:
#######################################################
### Macros
#######################################################
# imitate the old search-body function
macro index \eb '/~b ' 'search in message bodies'
# simluate the old url menu
macro index \cb |urlview\n 'call urlview to extract URLs out of a message'
macro pager \cb |urlview\n 'call urlview to extract URLs out of a message'
# change mailbox and other keys bound to actions
macro index <f5> 'c =inbox^M'
macro pager <f5> 'c =inbox^M'
macro index <f6> 'c =archive^M'
macro pager <f6> 'c =archive^M'
macro index <f7> 'c =save^M'
macro pager <f7> 'c =save^M'
macro index <f8> 'c =spam^M'
macro pager <f8> 'c =spam^M'
macro generic <f12> '!fetchmail^M' # run fetchmail to get mail. NOW!
macro pager <f12> '!fetchmail^M' # run fetchmail to get mail. NOW!
macro index d '<delete-message>$' # delete message immediately then refresh view.
macro pager d '<delete-message>$' # delete message immediately then refresh view.
macro attach s <save-entry><bol>/home/pantz/tmp/ #directory to save attachments
#######################################################
### Headers
#######################################################
# Default From: line
my_hdr From: [email protected] (Mr Pantz)
my_hdr Reply-To: [email protected] (Mr Pantz)
#my_hdr Errors-To: [email protected]
#my_hdr X-Header0: ***** Cool header 1 *****
#my_hdr X-Header1: **** Cool header 2 ****
#Fun with Outlook users. Pop a funny warning box, set highest priority, set date 3 days back.
#my_hdr X-Message-Flag: OUTLOOK WARNING!! Install Linux
#my_hdr Reply-By: `date --date="-3 days"`
#my_hdr X-MSMail-Priority: High
#######################################################
### Colors
#######################################################
color quoted yellow default
color quoted1 cyan default
color quoted2 magenta default
color quoted3 green default
color quoted4 red default
color signature blue default
color normal white black
color status brightgreen blue
color indicator brightyellow black
color error red black
color tree yellow black
color attachment blue default # MIME attachments or PGP expression
color index cyan black (joseph)
color index green default ~T # Tagged
color index red default ~D # Deleted
color header green black .*
color header brightred black (^From\:|^Reply-To\:)
color header brightyellow black (^To\:|^cc\:|^Cc\:)
color body magenta default "(ftp|http)://[^ ]+" # point out URLs
color body magenta default [-a-z_0-9.]+@[-a-z_0-9.]+ # e-mail addresses
color body brightyellow default " [;=:8]-*[])>]" # :-) etc...
color body brightblue default " [;=:8]-*[(<|/\]" # :-( etc...
color body brightgreen default "^(gpg: )?Good signature"
color body brightgreen default "^(gpg: )?encrypted"
color body brightred default "^(gpg: )?Bad signature"
color body red default "^(gpg: )?warning:"
color body red default "^(gpg: ).*failed:"
color message magenta default # info messages
color search brightyellow red # search matches
color tilde brightmagenta default # ~ at bottom of msg
color markers red default # + at beginning of wrapped lines
color hdrdefault cyan default # default header lines
color bold red default # hiliting bold patterns in body
color underline green default # hiliting underlined patterns in body
#######################################################
### Options
#######################################################
bind editor <BackSpace> backspace
push <show-version>
source ~/Mail/addressbook # email address book location
mailboxes ~/Mail/inbox # inbox file location
auto_view text/html # Autoview attachments
unset abort_nosubject
unset abort_unmodified
set allow_8bit
set alias_file="~/Mail/addressbook" # same as email address file
set ascii_chars
unset arrow_cursor
set autoedit
unset beep
unset beep_new
unset bounce_delivered
set check_new
unset confirmappend
set copy
set delete
#set editor = "vi -c 'set textwidth=72'" # uncomment if you use vi
set editor = "nano -s ispell -r 80" # set the editor you will use to edit email
set envelope_from
set fast_reply
unset fcc_attach
set folder="~/Mail" # set the directory where your mail files are kept
set forward_decode
set forward_format="Fwd: %s"
set help
set hostname="yourhostsname.domain.lan"
unset implicit_autoview # Autoview attachments
set include
set indent_string=">"
set index_format="%3C %Z %(%D) %-27.27L (%4c) %s"
set ispell="clear;aspell -e -c"
set mailcap_path=~/.mailcap:/etc/mailcap # program list to open attachments
set mailcap_sanitize
set mail_check=2
unset markers
unset mark_old
unset metoo
set menu_scroll
set mime_forward_decode #decoding of complex MIME messages into text/plain when forwarding a message
set mime_forward_rest # attachments which cannot be decoded in a reasonably will be attached to a new message
set pager="builtin"
set pager_format=""
set pager_index_lines=10
set pager_stop
unset postpone
set postponed="~/Mail/postponed" # file for postponed email
set print=ask-no
set read_inc=2
set reply_to
unset reply_self
set sig_dashes
unset sig_on_top
set smart_wrap
set sort_aux=date-received
set sort=threads
set status_format="--FOLDER: %f --SIZE: %l%?L? (%L)? --MESSAGES: %?m?%m total?%?M?, %M shown?%?n?, %n new?%?t?, %t tagged?%?d?, %d marked for deletion? %>--"
set sort_re
set status_on_top
unset strict_threads
unset suspend
set tilde
set timeout=2
set thorough_search
unset user_agent
unset wait_key
unset write_bcc
#######################################################
### Hooks
#######################################################
#send-hook . "set signature=~/Mail/signature" # uncomment to use a signature file
#send-hook . 'unset pgp_autoencrypt pgp_autosign'
send-hook . 'set record="~/Mail/archive"' # mail sent by me gets copied to archive file
#send-hook friend1@here\.org 'set record="~/Mail/archive_personal"' # certain sent mail gets copied to other files
#send-hook '~s "spam complaint"' 'set record=spam' # if subject says "spam complaint" copy to file spam
#send-hook (majordomo|mdom|request|subscribe)@ 'set signature=""' # list's don't need a signature
## if going to a certain email address when replying set reply info to different info
send-hook 'person@blah\.example\.com' 'my_hdr From: Firstname Lastname '
send-hook 'person@blah\.example\.com' 'my_hdr Reply-To: Firstname Lastname '
#folder-hook archive push 'D~r>14d!~F\n' # Delete mail 14 days or older
#######################################################
### GPG Hooks
#######################################################
#send-hook friend1@here\.org 'set pgp_autosign'
#pgp-hook friend1@here\.org FB373AFE
## The following options are only valid if you have
## compiled in PGP support
#my_hdr X-GPG-Key-Server: http://pgp.mit.edu
#my_hdr X-GPG-Key-FingerPrint: DA2F 6D5F 052B 0180 6E12 F62D 85E6 9276 59CC E5B6
#set pgp_decode_command="gpg %?p?--passphrase-fd 0? --no-verbose --batch --output - %f"
#set pgp_verify_command="gpg --no-verbose --batch --output - --verify %s %f"
#set pgp_decrypt_command="gpg --passphrase-fd 0 --no-verbose --batch --output - %f"
#set pgp_sign_command="gpg --no-verbose --batch --output - --passphrase-fd 0 --armor --detach-sign --textmode %?a?-u %a? %f"
#set pgp_clearsign_command="gpg --no-verbose --batch --output - --passphrase-fd 0 --armor --textmode --clearsign %?a?-u %a? %f"
#set pgp_encrypt_only_command="/usr/lib/mutt/pgpewrap gpg --batch --quiet --no-verbose --output - --encrypt --textmode --armor --always-trust --encrypt-to 59CCE5B6 -- -r
%r -- %f"
#set pgp_encrypt_sign_command="/usr/lib/mutt/pgpewrap gpg --passphrase-fd 0 --batch --quiet --no-verbose --textmode --output - --encrypt --sign %?a?-u %a? --armor
--always-trust --encrypt-to 59CCE5B6 -- -r %r -- %f"
#set pgp_import_command="gpg --no-verbose --import -v %f"
#set pgp_export_command="gpg --no-verbose --export --armor %r"
#set pgp_verify_key_command="gpg --no-verbose --batch --fingerprint --check-sigs %r"
#set pgp_list_pubring_command="gpg --no-verbose --batch --with-colons --list-keys %r"
#set pgp_list_secring_command="gpg --no-verbose --batch --with-colons --list-secret-keys %r"
#unset pgp_retainable_sigs
#set pgp_ignore_subkeys
#set pgp_verify_sig=yes
#set pgp_create_traditional=no
#set pgp_autosign=no
#set pgp_autoencrypt=no
#set pgp_sign_as=59CCE5B6
#set pgp_replysignencrypted
#set pgp_replyencrypt=yes
#set pgp_replysign=yes
#set pgp_timeout=3600
#set pgp_good_sign="^gpg: Good signature from"
A mailcap file is a configuration file that maps MIME types to external viewers.
An example would be mapping MIME type image/gif to the image viewer "qiv". This is
needed for you to be able to open attachemnts with the correct program from inside
mutt.
The file .mailcap goes in your home dir. An example of one is below.
# This is a simple example mailcap file.
# Lines starting with '#' are comments.
# This maps all types of audio data (audio/basic, audio/x-aiff,
# etc.) to the viewer 'showaudio'. Note that '%s' means 'put the
# datafile name here when the viewer is executed'.
audio/*; showaudio %s
# This maps all types of images (image/gif, image/jpeg, etc.)
# to the viewer 'xv'.
image/*; qiv %s
# This maps MPEG video data to the viewer 'mpeg_play'.
video/mpeg; mplayer %s
# This maps all types of video *other than MPEG* to the viewer
# 'genericmovie'.
video/*; mplayer %s
# keep adding as you like
application/postscript; ghostview %s
application/x-dvi; xdvi %s
text/html; lynx %s; nametemplate=%s.html
application/msword;abiword %s
image/x-eps;xpdf '%s' -caption "PS/PDF Viewer" ;test=test "$DISPLAY" != ""
Here is the email addresses file for mutt. Just put in the alias for the person (what you will type in mutt to send them mail).
Then their name and email address in the format below.
The file addresses can go anywhere on your system your user has access to the file. I suggest your home directory. An example of it is below.
# Aliases file format:
# alias joe Joe Blow
#
#
alias homekim Kim Johnson <[email protected]>
alias homeroger Roger Chen <[email protected]>
Now we need a way to send out email. We are going to use Postfix as our mail transfer agent. It's an easy one file setup.
Configure and drop in the .cf file and start up postfix. Don't forget to set your relayhost in the file. Hint: that's your ISP's
outgoing mail server. If you try to use your server to sendout the mail it is likey to get blocked by blacklists if your using a
residential account.
The file main.cf for Postfix resides in the /etc/postfix directory. So put it there.
biff = no
recipient_delimiter = +
command_directory = /usr/sbin
daemon_directory = /usr/lib/postfix
program_directory = /usr/lib/postfix
inet_interfaces = 127.0.0.1
### No one needs to know what we run. So We'll give them this.
mail_name = Mail Daemon
smtpd_banner = $mail_name. All Spam Is Reported. ESMTP
### Who delivers the mail (never root for security).
setgid_group = postdrop
### If the user does not exist, send mail to this user
luser_relay = root
### The myorigin parameter specifies the domain that appears in mail that is posted on this machine.
append_dot_mydomain = no
append_at_myorigin = yes
#If you don't want postfix getting it's hostname from the current host you can set it.
#myhostname = host.domain.tld
# If your comming from an home ISP you might need to change this to the hostname they give you.
myorigin = someisp.net
### alias's
alias_maps = hash:/etc/aliases
alias_database = hash:/etc/aliases
### The mydestination parameter specifies what domains this machine will deliver locally, instead
### of forwarding to another machine. The default is to receive mail for the machine itself.
mydestination = localhost.localdomain, ,localhost
### Relay Host this mail server should send its mail to. Possibly your ISP's mail server. The smarthost.
relayhost = smtp.yourisp.com
### External Networks to accept RELAYED mail from.
mynetworks = 127.0.0.0/8
### Where to send mail that is delivered locally.
mailbox_command = procmail -a "$EXTENSION"
### How much of the message in bytes will be bounced back to the sender.
bounce_size_limit = 2000
### No limit on mailbox size.
mailbox_size_limit = 0
### Limit sent/recieved emails to 100 Megs "(header+body+attachment)x(mime-encoding) <= 100 meg"
message_size_limit = 102400000
### How long do messages stay in the queue before being sent back to the sender. (in days)
### By default, postfix attempts to resend the message every (1000 secs)x(# attempts)x(days).
maximal_queue_lifetime = 4h
### Parrallel delivery force (local=2 and dest=20 are aggressive)
local_destination_concurrency_limit = 20
default_destination_concurrency_limit = 20
### Max flow rate (1 sec delay per 50 emails/sec over the number of emails delivered/sec)
in_flow_delay = 1s
###Clients must send a HELO (or EHLO) command at the beginning of an SMTP session.
smtpd_helo_required = yes
strict_rfc821_envelopes = yes
### No one needs to ask our server who is on it. If you do, you get smacked with the tarpit and then an error 450.
disable_vrfy_command = yes
Extra notes and hints
#bash alias I use to start fetchmail. Then start and send mutt to the inbox.
#Put in ~/.bashrc
alias m='clear;fetchmail;mutt -f =inbox'
---------------------
Some useful mutt keys
---------------------
d - Delete highlighted message
F1 - Help
Y - Send message
$ - Refresh screen (sync mailbox) after action
? - Command help
o - Sort messages in index mode
g - Group reply
t - Tag a message
; - Perform a action on a tagged message (like delete tagged). Try t then ; then d.
e - Edit a mail message (attachement) after you've edited it before
/ - Search text in the index (names,subject)
<esc> b - Search in body of message
Reddit!
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