'\" t .\" -*- nroff -*- .\" .\" .\" Copyright (C) 2015-2024 Richard Russon .\" .\" This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify .\" it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by .\" the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or .\" (at your option) any later version. .\" .\" This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, .\" but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of .\" MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the .\" GNU General Public License for more details. .\" .\" You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License .\" along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software .\" Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA. .\" .TH neomutt 1 2026-01-05 Unix "User Manuals" .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- .SH NAME .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- neomutt \- The NeoMutt Mail User Agent (MUA) . .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- .SH SYNTAX .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- .SY neomutt .RB [ \-Enx ] .RB [ \-e\~\c .IR command ] .RB [ \-F\~\c .IR config ] .RB [ \-H\~\c .IR draft ] .RB [ \-i\~\c .IR include ] .RB [ \-b\~\c .IR address ] .RB [ \-c\~\c .IR address ] .RB [ \-s\~\c .IR subject ] .RB [ \-a\~\c .IR file ]\~.\|.\|.\& .RB [ \-\- ] .IR address \~.\|.\|. .YS . .SY neomutt .RB [ \-nx ] .RB [ \-e\~\c .IR command ] .RB [ \-F\~\c .IR config ] .RB [ \-b\~\c .IR address ] .RB [ \-c\~\c .IR address ] .RB [ \-s\~\c .IR subject ] .RB [ \-a\~\c .IR file ]\~.\|.\|.\& .RB [ \-\- ] .IR address \~.\|.\|.\& .BI <\~ message .YS . .SY neomutt .RB [ \-nRy ] .RB [ \-e\~\c .IR command ] .RB [ \-F\~\c .IR config ] .RB [ \-f\~\c .IR mailbox ] .RB [ \-m\~\c .IR type ] .YS . .SY neomutt .RB [ \-n ] .RB [ \-e\~\c .IR command ] .RB [ \-F\~\c .IR config ] .BI \-A\~ alias .YS . .SY neomutt .RB [ \-n ] .RB [ \-e\~\c .IR command ] .RB [ \-F\~\c .IR config ] .B \-B .YS . .SY neomutt .RB [ \-n ] .RB [ \-e\~\c .IR command ] .RB [ \-F\~\c .IR config ] .B \-D .RB [ \-S ] .RB [ \-O ] .YS . .SY neomutt .RB [ \-n ] .RB [ \-e\~\c .IR command ] .RB [ \-F\~\c .IR config ] .BI \-d\~ level .BI \-l\~ file .YS . .SY neomutt .RB [ \-n ] .RB [ \-e\~\c .IR command ] .RB [ \-F\~\c .IR config ] .B \-G .YS . .SY neomutt .RB [ \-n ] .RB [ \-e\~\c .IR command ] .RB [ \-F\~\c .IR config ] .BI \-g\~ server .YS . .SY neomutt .RB [ \-n ] .RB [ \-e\~\c .IR command ] .RB [ \-F\~\c .IR config ] .B \-p .YS . .SY neomutt .RB [ \-n ] .RB [ \-e\~\c .IR command ] .RB [ \-F\~\c .IR config ] .BI \-Q\~ variable .RB [ \-O ] .YS . .SY neomutt .RB [ \-n ] .RB [ \-e\~\c .IR command ] .RB [ \-F\~\c .IR config ] .B \-Z .YS . .SY neomutt .RB [ \-n ] .RB [ \-e\~\c .IR command ] .RB [ \-F\~\c .IR config ] .B \-z .RB [ \-f\~\c .IR mailbox ] .YS . .SY neomutt .BR \-v [ v ] .YS . .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- .SH DESCRIPTION .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- NeoMutt is a small but very powerful text based program for reading and sending electronic mail under Unix operating systems, including support for color terminals, MIME, OpenPGP, and a threaded sorting mode. . .PP .B Note: This manual page gives a brief overview of NeoMutt's command line options. You should find a copy of the full manual in \fI/usr/share/doc/neomutt\fP, in plain text, HTML, and/or PDF format. . .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- .SH OPTIONS .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- .TP .B \-\- Special argument forces NeoMutt to stop option parsing and treat remaining arguments as \fIaddress\fPes even if they start with a dash . .TP .BI \-A " alias" Print an expanded version of the given \fIalias\fP to stdout and exit . .TP .BI \-a " file" Attach one or more \fIfile\fPs to a message (must be the last option). Add any addresses after the \(aq\fB\-\-\fP\(aq argument, e.g.: .RS .IP .EX .BI "neomutt \-a " "image.jpg " "\-\- " "address1" .BI "neomutt \-a " "image.jpg *.png " "\-\- " "address1 address2" .EE .RE . .TP .BI \-b " address" Specify a blind carbon copy (Bcc) recipient . .TP .B \-C Enable cryptographic operations in the cases in which they're disabled by default. Those include: .RS .PD 0 .IP \(bu 3 Batch mode. .IP \(bu Sending a postponed message. .IP \(bu Resending a message. .PD .RE . .TP .BI \-c " address" Specify a carbon copy (Cc) recipient . .TP .B \-D Dump all configuration variables as .RB \(aq name = value \(aq pairs to stdout . .TP .B \-D\ \-D .B \-DD Like \fB\-D\fP, but only show the config that has changed . .TP .B \-D\ \-O Like \fB\-D\fP, but show one-liner documentation . .TP .B \-D\ \-S Like \fB\-D\fP, but hide the value of sensitive variables . .TP .BI \-d " level" Log debugging output to a file (default is \(dq\fI~/.neomuttdebug0\fP\(dq). The \fIlevel\fP can range from 1\(en5 and affects verbosity (a value of 2 is recommended) .IP Using this option along with \fB\-l\fP is useful to log the early startup process (before reading any configuration and hence $debug_level and $debug_file) . .TP .B \-E Edit \fIdraft\fP (\fB\-H\fP) or \fIinclude\fP (\fB\-i\fP) file during message composition . .TP .BI \-e " command" Specify a \fIcommand\fP to be run after reading the config files . .TP .BI \-F " config" Specify an alternative initialization file to read, see \fIFILES\fP section below for a list of regular configuration files . .TP .BI \-f " mailbox" Specify a \fImailbox\fP (as defined with \fBmailboxes\fP command) to load . .TP .B \-G Start NeoMutt with a listing of subscribed newsgroups . .TP .BI \-g " server" Like \fB\-G\fP, but start at specified news \fIserver\fP . .TP .BI \-H " draft" Specify a \fIdraft\fP file which contains header and body to use to send a message. If \fIdraft\fP is \*(lq\fB\-\fP\*(rq, then data is read from stdin. The draft file is expected to contain just an RFC822 email \(em headers and a body. Although it is not an mbox file, if an mbox "\fBFrom\~\fP" line is present, it will be silently discarded. Draft files are processed the same in interactive and batch mode; they are not passed through untouched. For example, encrypted draft files will be decrypted. . .TP .B \-h Print this help message and exit . .TP .BI \-i " include" Specify an \fIinclude\fP file to be embedded in the body of a message . .TP .BI \-l " file" Specify a \fIfile\fP for debugging output (default \(dq\fI~/.neomuttdebug0\fP\(dq) .IP This overrules $debug_file setting and NeoMutt keeps up to five debug logs .RI "({ " file " | $debug_file | " ~/.neomuttdebug " }[" 0 - 4 ]) before override the oldest file . .TP .BI \-m " type" Specify a default mailbox format \fItype\fP for newly created folders .IP The \fItype\fP is either MH, MMDF, Maildir or mbox (case-insensitive) . .TP .B \-n Do not read the system-wide configuration file . .TP .B \-p Resume a prior postponed message, if any . .TP .BI \-Q " variable" Query a configuration \fIvariable\fP and print its value to stdout (after the config has been read and any commands executed). Add \-O for one-liner documentation. . .TP .B \-R Open mailbox in read-only mode . .TP .BI \-s " subject" Specify a \fIsubject\fP (must be enclosed in quotes if it has spaces) . .TP .B \-v Print the NeoMutt version and compile-time definitions and exit . .TP .B \-vv Print the NeoMutt license and copyright information and exit . .TP .B \-y Start NeoMutt with a listing of all defined mailboxes . .TP .B \-Z Open the first mailbox with new message or exit immediately with exit code 1 if none is found in all defined mailboxes . .TP .B \-z Open the first or specified (\fB\-f\fP) mailbox if it holds any message or exit immediately with exit code 1 otherwise . .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- .SH ENVIRONMENT .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- .TP .SM .B EDITOR Specifies the editor to use if \fIVISUAL\fP is unset. Defaults to the \fBVi\fP editor if unset. . .TP .SM .B EGDSOCKET For OpenSSL since version 0.9.5, files, mentioned at \fIRANDFILE\fP below, can be Entropy Gathering Daemon (EGD) sockets. Also, and if exists, \fI~/.entropy\fP and \fI/tmp/entropy\fP will be used to initialize SSL library functions. Specified sockets must be owned by the user and have permission of 600 (octal number representing). . .TP .SM .B EMAIL The user's email address. . .TP .SM .B HOME Full path of the user's home directory. . .TP .SM .B MAIL Full path of the user's spool mailbox. . .TP .SM .B MAILCAPS Path to search for mailcap files. If unset, a RFC1524 compliant search path that is extended with NeoMutt related paths (at position two and three): .\" .RS .\" .IP .RI \(dq \ "$HOME/\:.mailcap" \:: \ "/usr/share/neomutt/\:mailcap" \:: \ "/etc/\:mailcap" \:: \ "/etc/\:mailcap" \:: \ "/usr/\:etc/\:mailcap" \:: \ "/usr/\:local/\:etc/\:mailcap" \(dq .\" .RE .\" .IP will be used instead. . .TP .SM .B MAILDIR Full path of the user's spool mailbox if \fIMAIL\fP is unset. Commonly used when the spool mailbox is a .BR maildir (5) folder. . .TP .SM .B MM_NOASK If this variable is set, mailcap are always used without prompting first. . .TP .SM .B NNTPSERVER Similar to configuration variable $news_server, specifies the domain name or address of the default NNTP server to connect. If unset, \fI/etc/nntpserver\fP is used but can be overridden by command line option \fB\-g\fP. . .TP .SM .B RANDFILE Like configuration variable $entropy_file, defines a path to a file which includes random data that is used to initialize SSL library functions. If unset, \fI~/.rnd\fP is used. DO NOT store important data in the specified file. . .TP .SM .B REPLYTO When set, specifies the default Reply-To address. . .TP .SM .B TEXTDOMAINDIR Defines an absolute path corresponding to \fI/usr/share/locale\fP that will be recognised by GNU .BR gettext (1) and used for Native Language Support (NLS) if enabled. . .TP .SM .B TMPDIR Directory in which temporary files are created. Defaults to \fI/tmp\fP if unset. Configuration variable $tmp_dir takes precedence over this one. . .TP .SM .B VISUAL Specifies the editor to use when composing messages. . .TP .SM .B XDG_CONFIG_DIRS Specifies a X Desktop Group (XDG) compliant location for the system-wide configuration file, as described in \fIFILES\fP section below. This variable defaults to \fI/etc/xdg\fP. Bypass loading with command line option \fB\-n\fP. . .TP .SM .B XDG_CONFIG_HOME Specifies a XDG compliant location for the user-specific configuration file, as described in \fIFILES\fP section below. This variable defaults to \fI$HOME/.config\fP. Can be overridden by command line option \fB\-F\fP. . .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- .SH FILES .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- .SS "\s-1Configuration files\s0" .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- NeoMutt will read just the first found configuration file of system-wide and user-specific category, from the list below and in that order. . .PP But it allows building of a recursive configuration by using the \fBsource\fP command. . .PP .na .TS allbox tab(|); cb cb cb r lxi lxi . \0#N|system-wide|user-specific 1|T{ \%$XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/\:neomutt/\:neomuttrc T}|T{ \%$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/\:neomutt/\:neomuttrc T} 2|T{ \%$XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/\:neomutt/\:Muttrc \fB*\fP\fR)\fP T}|T{ \%$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/\:neomutt/\:muttrc T} 3|T{ \%/etc/\:neomuttrc T}|T{ \%$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/\:mutt/\:neomuttrc T} 4|T{ \%/etc/\:Muttrc \fB*\fP\fR)\fP T}|T{ \%$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/\:mutt/\:muttrc T} 5|T{ \%/usr/share/neomutt/\:neomuttrc T}|T{ \%~/\:.neomutt/\:neomuttrc T} 6|T{ \%/usr/share/neomutt/\:Muttrc \fB*\fP\fR)\fP T}|T{ \%~/\:.neomutt/\:muttrc T} .T& r c li . 7|\(em|~/.mutt/neomuttrc 8|\(em|~/.mutt/muttrc 9|\(em|~/.neomuttrc 10|\(em|~/.muttrc .T& l s s . \0\fB*\fP) Note the case of the filename .TE .ad . .SS "\s-1Other relevant files\s0" .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- Unless otherwise stated, NeoMutt will process all grouped files in the order (from top to bottom) as they are specified in that listing. . .TP .I ~/.mailcap .TQ .I /etc/mailcap User-specific and system-wide definitions for handling non-text MIME types, look at environment variable \fBMAILCAPS\fP above for additional search locations. . .TP .I ~/.neomuttdebug0 User's default debug log file. For further details or customising file path see command line options \fB\-d\fP and \fB\-l\fP above. . .TP .I /etc/mime.types .TQ .I /etc/mime.types .TQ .I /usr/share/neomutt/mime.types .TQ .I ~/.mime.types Description files for simple plain text mapping between MIME types and filename extensions. NeoMutt parses these files in the stated order while processing attachments to determine their MIME type. . .TP .IR /usr/share/doc/neomutt/manual. { html , pdf , txt } The full NeoMutt manual in HTML, PDF or plain text format. . .TP .IR /tmp/neomutt- XXXX-XXXX-XXXX Temporary files created by NeoMutt. For custom locations look at description of the environment variable \fBTMPDIR\fP above. Notice that the suffix \fI-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX\fP is just a placeholder for, e.g.\& hostname, user name/ID, process ID and/or other random data. . .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- .SH BUGS .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- See issue tracker at . . .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- .SH NO WARRANTIES .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. . .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- .SH SEE ALSO .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- .\" sorted by category and name .BR gettext (1), .BR msmtp (1), .BR notmuch (1), .BR sendmail (1), .BR smail (1), .BR RAND_egd (3), .BR curses (3), .BR ncurses (3), .BR mailcap (5), .BR maildir (5), .BR mbox (5), .BR neomuttrc (5). . .PP For further NeoMutt information: .RS 4 .TP \(bu the full manual, see \fIFILES\fP section above .TQ \(bu the home page, .RE . .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- .SH AUTHOR .\" -------------------------------------------------------------------- Richard Russon and friends. Use to contact the developers. .