mailx(1)mailx(1)NAMEmailx - interactive mail message processing system
SYNOPSIS
Send mode
subject] address] number] address ...
Receive mode
user]
[filename]
Obsolescent
filename]
DESCRIPTION
provides a comfortable, flexible environment for sending and receiving
messages electronically. When reading mail, provides commands to
facilitate saving, deleting, and responding to messages. When sending
mail, allows editing, reviewing and other modification of the message
as it is created.
Incoming mail for each user is stored in a standard file called the
system mailbox for that user. When using to read messages, the system
mailbox is used unless an alternate mailbox file is specified by using
the option with or without a specific filename. As incoming messages
are read from the system mailbox, they are marked to be moved to a sec‐
ondary file for storage (unless specific action is taken) so that the
messages need not be seen again. This secondary file is called the
mbox and is usually located in the user's directory (see in the subsec‐
tion for a description of this file and other environment variables
used by Messages remain in this file until specifically removed.
Command-line options start with a hyphen and any other arguments are
assumed to be destinations (recipients).
Arguments containing multiple words must be enclosed in quotes.
If no recipients are specified, attempts to read messages from the sys‐
tem mailbox.
Recipient addresses specified on the command line must total less than
1024 characters in length. You may declare an or (see the section) to
specify a recipient address or list of addresses of up to 8191 charac‐
ters, and use that alias or group name (though each address in the list
must still be less than 1024 characters). If you wish to specify a
list of recipient addresses of greater length than this, have your sys‐
tem administrator declare an alias or group in the system alias file
and use that alias name instead.
Options
recognizes the following command-line options:
Test for presence of mail.
prints nothing and exits with a successful return
code if there is mail to read. Sometimes used in
login scripts such as to check for mail during
login.
Read messages from
filename instead of from the user's system mail‐
box. If filename is not specified, the secondary
mbox is used.
Note: When using the
option in do not specify a system mailbox (for
example, as the filename. According to the stan‐
dards, the option cannot be used to read the sys‐
tem mailbox messages. The behavior of in this
circumstance is undefined.
The behavior of
is also undefined in these circumstances:
· When the and options are used together in
the command line.
· When the or option is used multiple times in
the command line.
Record the message in a file named after the first recipient.
Overrides the environment variable, if set.
The number of network "hops" made so far.
This is provided for network software to prevent
infinite delivery loops.
Print header summary only.
Print complete header information only.
Ignore interrupts.
Also see the description of the environment
below.
Do not initialize from the system default
file.
Do not add MIME header lines
Mime Version, Content Type & Content Encoding to
the header information while sending mails.
Do not print initial header summary.
Pass address to network delivery software. All tilde
commands are disabled.
Set the Subject header field to
subject.
Read user's mailbox. Can be used only if read access
to user's mailbox is not read protected.
Convert UUCP-style addresses to Internet standards.
Overrides the environment variable.
Turn on debugging output.
Neither particularly interesting nor recommended.
When reading mail, operates in command mode. A header summary of the
first several messages is displayed, followed by a prompt indicating
that can accept regular commands (see the section). When sending mail,
operates in input mode. If no subject is specified on the command
line, a prompt for the subject is printed. As the message is typed,
reads the message and stores it in a temporary file. Commands can be
entered by beginning a line with the tilde escape character followed by
a single command letter and optional arguments. See the section for a
summary of these commands.
The behavior of at any given time is governed by a set of environment
variables; flags and valued parameters that are set and cleared by
using the and commands. See the subsection for a summary of these
parameters.
Recipients listed on the command line can be of three types: login
names, shell commands, or alias groups. Login names can be any network
address, including mixed network addressing. If the recipient name
begins with a pipe symbol the rest of the name is assumed to be a shell
command to pipe the message through. This provides an automatic inter‐
face with any program that reads the standard input, such as (see
lp(1)) for recording outgoing mail on paper. Alias groups are set by
the command (see the section) and are lists of recipients of any type.
Note: To send a message to an name that is prefixed with a plus (+)
symbol, the name with the plus (+) symbol must be placed within double
quotes ("), as specified below:
subject]
If the double quotes are not used, considers the name as a user-speci‐
fied file name beginning with a plus symbol, similar to the option
under
Regular commands are of the form
[command] [msglist ] [ arguments ]
If no command is specified in command mode, is assumed. In input mode,
commands are recognized by the escape character (tilde unless redefined
by the environment variable), and lines not treated as commands are
treated as input for the message.
Each message is assigned a sequential number, and there is always the
notion of a current message, marked by a in the header summary. Many
commands take an optional list of messages (msglist) to operate on,
which defaults to the current message. A msglist is a list of message
specifications separated by spaces. The message list can include:
n Message number n.
The current message.
The first undeleted message.
The last message.
All messages.
An inclusive range of message numbers,
n through m, where n is less than m.
user All messages from user.
All messages with
string in the subject line (uppercase-lowercase dif‐
ferences are ignored).
All messages of type
c, where c is one of:
deleted messages
new messages
old messages
read messages
unread messages
Note that the context of the command determines
whether this type of message specification makes
sense.
Other arguments are usually arbitrary strings whose usage depends on
the command involved.
File names, where expected, are expanded using normal shell conventions
(see sh(1)). Special characters are recognized by certain commands,
and are documented with the commands below.
At start-up time, reads commands from a system-wide file to initialize
certain parameters, then from a private start-up file for personalized
variables. Most regular commands are legal inside start-up files, the
most common use being to set up initial display options and alias
lists. The following commands are not legal in the start-up file: and
Any errors in the start-up file cause the remaining lines in the file
to be ignored.
COMMANDS
The following is a complete list of commands:
Escape to the shell.
See the description of the environment variable
below.
Null command (comment).
Useful in files.
Print the current message number.
Print a summary of commands.
newline Advance to next message and If this is the first
command entered, the first unread message is
printed. (To read the current message, use
Declare an alias for the given names.
The names are substituted when alias is used
as a recipient. Useful in the file.
Declares a list of alternate names for your login.
When responding to a message, these names
are removed from the list of recipients for
the response. With no arguments, prints the
current list of alternate names. See also
in the subsection.
Change directory. If directory is not specified, is
used.
Copy messages to the file without marking the mes‐
sages as saved.
Otherwise equivalent to the
command.
Save the specified messages in a file whose name
is derived
from the author of the message
to be saved, without marking
the messages as saved. Other‐
wise equivalent to the com‐
mand.
Delete messages from the
mailbox. If is set, the next
message after the last one
deleted is printed (see the
subsection). See also
Suppresses printing of the specified header
fields
when displaying mes‐
sages on the screen.
Examples of header
fields to ignore are
"status" and "cc." The
fields are included
when the message is
saved. The and com‐
mands override this
command.
Delete the specified messages from
the mailbox
and print the
next message
after the last
one deleted.
Roughly equiva‐
lent to a com‐
mand followed by
a command.
Echo the given string or strings
(similar to
− see echo(1)).
Edit the given messages.
The messages are
placed in a tem‐
porary file and
the variable is
used to get the
name of the edi‐
tor (see the
subsection).
Default editor
is ed (see
ed(1)).
Exit from without
changing
the mail‐
box. No
messages
are saved
in the
mbox (see
also
Quit from the current
file of messages and
read in the specified
file.
Sev‐
eral
spe‐
cial
char‐
ac‐
ters
are
rec‐
og‐
nized
when
used
as
file
names,
and
sub‐
sti‐
tu‐
tions
are
made
as
fol‐
lows:
the
cur‐
rent
mail‐
box.
the
mail‐
box
for user.
the
pre‐
vi‐
ous
file.
the
cur‐
rent mbox.
Default
file
is
the
cur‐
rent
mail‐
box.
Print the names of the
files in the
direc‐
tory
set
by
the
vari‐
able
(see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion).
Respond to a message
and record the
response in a file
whose
name
is
derived
from
the
author
of
the
mes‐
sage.
Over‐
rides
the
vari‐
able,
if
set.
See
also
the
and
com‐
mands
and
(see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion).
Respond to the first
message in the
msglist,
send‐
ing
the
mes‐
sage
to
the
author
of
each
mes‐
sage
in
the
msglist.
The
sub‐
ject
line
is
extracted
from
the
first
mes‐
sage
and
the
response
is
recorded
in
a
file
whose
name
is
derived
from
the
author
of
the
first
mes‐
sage.
See
also
the
and
com‐
mands
and
(see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion).
Print the header sum‐
mary for the specified
messages.
Declare an
alias for the
given names. The
names
are
sub‐
sti‐
tuted
when
alias
is
used
as
a
recip‐
i‐
ent.
Use‐
ful
in
the
file.
Prints the page
of headers
which includes
the message
specified. The
vari‐
able
sets
the
num‐
ber
of
head‐
ers
per
page
(see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion).
See
also
the
com‐
mand.
Prints a sum‐
mary of com‐
mands.
Holds
the
speci‐
fied
messages
in the mail‐
box.
mail-
com‐
mands
mail-
com‐
mands
Con‐
di‐
tional
exe‐
cu‐
tion,
where exe‐
cutes
the
accom‐
pa‐
ny‐
ing
mail-
com‐
mands,
up
to
an
or
if
the
pro‐
gram
is
in
send
mode,
and
causes
the
accom‐
pa‐
ny‐
ing
mail-
com‐
mands
to
be
exe‐
cuted
only
in
receive
mode.
Intended
for
use
in
files.
Sup‐
presses
print‐
ing
of
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
header
fields when
dis‐
play‐
ing
mes‐
sages
on
the
screen.
Exam‐
ples
of
header
fields
to
ignore
are
and
All
fields
are
included
when
the
mes‐
sage
is
saved.
The
and
com‐
mands
over‐
ride
this
com‐
mand.
Prints
all
com‐
mands
avail‐
able. No
expla‐
na‐
tion
is
given.
Mail
a
mes‐
sage
to
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
users.
Arrange
for
the
given
mes‐
sages
to
end
up
in
the
stan‐
dard mbox
save
file
when
ter‐
mi‐
nates
nor‐
mally.
See
in
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion
for
a
descrip‐
tion
of
this
file.
See
also
the
and
com‐
mands.
Go
to
next
mes‐
sage
match‐
ing mes‐
sage.
A
msglist
can
be
spec‐
i‐
fied,
but
in
this
case
the
first
valid
mes‐
sage
in
the
list
is
the
only
one
used.
This
is
use‐
ful
for
jump‐
ing
to
the
next
mes‐
sage
from
a
spe‐
cific
user
since
the
name
would
be
inter‐
preted
as
a
com‐
mand
in
the
absence
of
a
real
com‐
mand.
See
the
dis‐
cus‐
sion
of
msglists
above
for
a
descrip‐
tion
of
pos‐
si‐
ble
mes‐
sage
spec‐
i‐
fi‐
ca‐
tions.
Pipe
mes‐
sages
in msglist
through
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
com‐
mand.
Each
mes‐
sage
is
treated
as
if
it
were
read.
If
msglist
is
not
spec‐
i‐
fied,
the
cur‐
rent
mes‐
sage
is
used.
If
com‐
mand
is
not
spec‐
i‐
fied,
the
com‐
mand
spec‐
i‐
fied
by
the
cur‐
rent
value
of
the
vari‐
able
is
used.
If
msglist
is
spec‐
i‐
fied,
com‐
mand
must
also
be
spec‐
i‐
fied.
If
the
vari‐
able
is
set,
a
form
feed
char‐
ac‐
ter
is
inserted
after
each
mes‐
sage
(see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion).
Pre‐
serve
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
mes‐
sages
in
the mail‐
box.
Print
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
mes‐
sages
on
the
screen, includ‐
ing
all
header
fields.
Over‐
rides
sup‐
pres‐
sion
of
fields
by
the
com‐
mand.
Print
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
mes‐
sages. If
is
set,
mes‐
sages
longer
than
the
num‐
ber
of
lines
spec‐
i‐
fied
by
the
vari‐
able
are
paged
through
the
com‐
mand
spec‐
i‐
fied
by
the
vari‐
able.
The
default
com‐
mand
is
(see
pg(1)),
but
many
users
pre‐
fer
(see
more(1);
see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion).
Exit
from stor‐
ing
mes‐
sages
that
were
read
in
mbox
and
unread
mes‐
sages
in
the
user's
sys‐
tem
mail‐
box.
Mes‐
sages
that
have
been
explic‐
itly
saved
in
a
file
are
deleted.
Send
a
response
to
the
author
of
each
mes‐
sage
in
the msglist.
The
sub‐
ject
line
is
taken
from
the
first
mes‐
sage.
If
is
set
to
a
file
name,
the
response
is
saved
at
the
end
of
that
file
(see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion).
Reply
to
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
mes‐
sage, includ‐
ing
all
other
recip‐
i‐
ents
of
the
mes‐
sage.
If
is
set
to
a
file
name,
the
response
is
saved
at
the
end
of
that
file
(see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion).
Save
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
mes‐
sages
in
a
file
whose
name
is
derived
from the
author
of
the
first
mes‐
sage.
The
name
of
the
file
is
based
on
the
author's
name
with
all
net‐
work
address‐
ing
stripped
off.
See
also
the
and
com‐
mands
and
(see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion).
Save
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
mes‐
sages
in
the
given
file, file‐
name.
The
file
is
cre‐
ated
if
it
does
not
exist.
The
mes‐
sage
is
deleted
from
the
mail‐
box
when
ter‐
mi‐
nates
unless
is
set
(see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion
and
the
and
com‐
mands).
Note:
If
is
invoked
with
the
option,
the
com‐
mand
per‐
forms
the
same
func‐
tion
as
the
com‐
mand.
Define
a
vari‐
able
called name.
The
vari‐
able
can
be
given
a
null,
string,
or
numeric
value.
by
itself
prints
all
defined
vari‐
ables
and
their
val‐
ues
(see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion
for
detailed
descrip‐
tions
of
the
vari‐
ables).
Invoke
an
inter‐
ac‐
tive
shell
(see in
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion).
Print
the
size
in
char‐
ac‐
ters
of
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
mes‐
sages.
Read
com‐
mands
from
the
given
file
and
return
to
com‐
mand
mode.
Print
the
top
few
lines
of
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
mes‐
sages. If
the
vari‐
able
is
set,
it
is
inter‐
preted
as
the
num‐
ber
of
lines
to
print
(see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion).
The
default
is
5.
Touch
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
mes‐
sages. If
any
mes‐
sage
in
msglist
is
not
specif‐
i‐
cally
saved
in
a
file,
it
is
placed
in
the
mbox
upon
nor‐
mal
ter‐
mi‐
na‐
tion.
See
and
Print
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
mes‐
sages
on
the
screen,
includ‐
ing
all
header
fields. Over‐
rides
sup‐
pres‐
sion
of
fields
by
the
com‐
mand.
Print
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
mes‐
sages. If
is
set,
mes‐
sages
longer
than
the
num‐
ber
of
lines
spec‐
i‐
fied
by
the
vari‐
able
are
paged
through
the
com‐
mand
spec‐
i‐
fied
by
the
vari‐
able.
The
default
com‐
mand
is
but
many
users
pre‐
fer
(see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion).
Dis‐
card the
spec‐
i‐
fied
alias
names.
Restore
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
deleted
mes‐
sages. Restores
only
mes‐
sages
that
were
deleted
in
the
cur‐
rent
mail
ses‐
sion.
If
is
set,
the
last
mes‐
sage
of
those
restored
is
printed
(see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion
).
Cause
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
vari‐
ables
to
be
erased. If
the
vari‐
able
was
a
shell
vari‐
able
imported
from
the
exe‐
cu‐
tion
envi‐
ron‐
ment,
it
can‐
not
be
erased.
Prints
the
cur‐
rent
ver‐
sion
and
release
date.
Edit
the
given
mes‐
sages
with
a
screen
edi‐
tor. The
mes‐
sages
are
placed
in
a
tem‐
po‐
rary
file
and
the
vari‐
able
is
used
to
get
the
name
of
the
edi‐
tor
(see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion).
Write
the
given
mes‐
sages
on
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
file,
except
for
the
header
(the
"From
..."
line)
and
trail‐
ing
blank
line.
Oth‐
er‐
wise
equiv‐
a‐
lent
to
the
com‐
mand.
Exit
from with‐
out
chang‐
ing
the
mail‐
box.
No
mes‐
sages
are
saved
in
the
mbox
(see
also
Scroll
the
header
dis‐
play
for‐
ward
or
back‐
ward
one
screen-
full. The
num‐
ber
of
head‐
ers
dis‐
played
is
set
by
the
vari‐
able
(see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion).
TILDE
ESCAPES
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
com‐
mands
can
be
used
only
when
in
input
mode,
by
begin‐
ning
a
line
with
the
tilde
escape
char‐
ac‐
ter
See
(in
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion)
for
chang‐
ing
this
spe‐
cial
char‐
ac‐
ter.
Escape
to
the
shell.
Sim‐
u‐
late
end
of
file
(ter‐
mi‐
nate
mes‐
sage
input).
Per‐
form
the
com‐
mand-
level
request. Valid
only
when
send‐
ing
a
mes‐
sage
while
read‐
ing
mail.
Print
a
sum‐
mary
of
tilde
escapes.
Insert
the
auto‐
graph
string into
the
mes‐
sage
(see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion).
Insert
the
auto‐
graph
string into
the
mes‐
sage
(see
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion).
Add name
to
the
blind
car‐
bon
copy
(Bcc)
list.
Add name
to
the
car‐
bon
copy
(Cc)
list.
Read
in
the file.
See
(in
the
sub‐
sec‐
tion)
for
a
descrip‐
tion
of
this
file.
Invoke
the
edi‐
tor
on
the
par‐
tial
mes‐
sage. Also
see
the
envi‐
ron‐
ment
vari‐
able
descrip‐
tion
below.
For‐
ward
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
mes‐
sages. The
mes‐
sages
are
inserted
into
the
mes‐
sage
with‐
out
alter‐
ation.
Prompt
for
Sub‐
ject
line
and
To,
Cc,
and
Bcc
lists. If
the
field
is
dis‐
played
with
an
ini‐
tial
value,
it
can
be
edited
as
if
you
had
just
typed
it.
Insert
the
value
of
the
named
vari‐
able
into
the
text
of
the
mes‐
sage. For
exam‐
ple,
is
equiv‐
a‐
lent
to
Insert
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
mes‐
sages
into
the
let‐
ter, shift‐
ing
the
new
text
to
the
right
one
tab
stop.
Valid
only
when
send‐
ing
a
mes‐
sage
while
read‐
ing
mail.
Print
the
mes‐
sage
being
entered.
Quit
(ter‐
mi‐
nate)
input
mode
by
sim‐
u‐
lat‐
ing
an
inter‐
rupt. If
the
body
of
the
mes‐
sage
is
not
null,
the
par‐
tial
mes‐
sage
is
saved
in
See
the
descrip‐
tion
of
the
envi‐
ron‐
ment
vari‐
able
below
for
a
descrip‐
tion
of
this
file.
Add name
to
the
Reply-
To
list.
Read
in
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
file. If
the
argu‐
ment
begins
with
an
excla‐
ma‐
tion
point
the
rest
of
the
string
is
assumed
to
be
an
arbi‐
trary
shell
com‐
mand
and
is
exe‐
cuted,
with
the
stan‐
dard
out‐
put
inserted
into
the
mes‐
sage.
Set
the
sub‐
ject
line
to string.
Add
the
given names
to
the
To
list.
Invoke
a
pre‐
ferred
screen
edi‐
tor
on
the
par‐
tial
mes‐
sage. Also
see
the
envi‐
ron‐
ment
vari‐
able
descrip‐
tion
below.
Write
the
par‐
tial
mes‐
sage
onto
the
given
file,
with‐
out
the
header.
Exit
as
with except
the
mes‐
sage
is
not
saved
in
dead.let‐
ter.
Pipe
the
body
of
the
mes‐
sage
through
the
given com‐
mand.
If
com‐
mand
returns
a
suc‐
cess‐
ful
exit
sta‐
tus,
the
out‐
put
of
the
com‐
mand
replaces
the
mes‐
sage.
EXTER‐
NAL
INFLU‐
ENCES
Envi‐
ron‐
ment
Vari‐
ables
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
vari‐
ables
are
inter‐
nal
pro‐
gram
vari‐
ables.
They
can
be
imported
from
the
exe‐
cu‐
tion
envi‐
ron‐
ment
or
set
by
the
com‐
mand
at
any
time.
The
com‐
mand
can
be
used
to
erase
vari‐
ables.
All
net‐
work
names
whose
login
names
match
are
treated
as
iden‐
ti‐
cal. This
causes
the
msglist
mes‐
sage
spec‐
i‐
fi‐
ca‐
tions
to
behave
sim‐
i‐
larly.
Default
is
See
also
the
com‐
mand
and
the
vari‐
able.
Upon
ter‐
mi‐
na‐
tion,
append
mes‐
sages
to
the
end
of
the mbox
file
instead
of
insert‐
ing
them
at
the
begin‐
ning
of
the
file.
Default
is
Prompt
for
the
Bcc
list
after
the
mes‐
sage
is
entered. Default
is
Prompt
for
the
Cc
list
after
the
mes‐
sage
is
entered. Default
is
Prompt
for
a
sub‐
ject
if
it
is
not
spec‐
i‐
fied
on
the
com‐
mand
line
with
the option.
Enabled
by
default.
Enable
auto‐
matic
print‐
ing
of
mes‐
sages
after and
com‐
mands.
Default
is
Enable
spe‐
cial-
case
treat‐
ment
of
excla‐
ma‐
tion
points in
shell
escape
com‐
mand
lines
as
in
Default
is
Set
the
default
char‐
ac‐
ter
set. If
none
is
spec‐
i‐
fied,
will
attempt
to
use
the
value
of
to
look
up
the
sys‐
tem
default
for
the
user's
locale.
If
that
is
unsuc‐
cess‐
ful,
the
default
value
of
us-
ascii
will
be
used.
Set
the
default
com‐
mand
for
the com‐
mand.
No
default
value.
Con‐
vert UUCP
addresses
to
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
address
style.
The
only
valid
con‐
ver‐
sion
cur‐
rently
sup‐
ported
is
inter‐
net,
which
requires
a
mail
deliv‐
ery
pro‐
gram
con‐
form‐
ing
to
the
RFC822
stan‐
dard
for
elec‐
tronic
mail
address‐
ing.
Con‐
ver‐
sion
is
dis‐
abled
by
default.
See
also
and
the
com‐
mand-
line
option.
Pipe
mes‐
sages
hav‐
ing
more
than num‐
ber
lines
through
the
com‐
mand
spec‐
i‐
fied
by
the
value
of
the
vari‐
able
by
default
(see
pg(1)).
Dis‐
abled
by
default.
The
name
of
the
file
in
which
to
save
par‐
tial
let‐
ters in
case
of
untimely
inter‐
rupt
or
deliv‐
ery
errors.
Default
is
Enable
ver‐
bose
diag‐
nos‐
tics
for
debug‐
ging. Mes‐
sages
are
not
deliv‐
ered.
Default
is
When
pro‐
cess‐
ing
input
from
a
ter‐
mi‐
nal, inter‐
pret
an
ASCII
period
char‐
ac‐
ter
on
a
line
by
itself
as
end-
of-
file.
Default
is
The
com‐
mand
to
run
when
the or
com‐
mand
is
used.
Default
is
(see
ed(1)).
Set
the
default
encod‐
ing
to
be
used
when
8-bit
char‐
ac‐
ters
are
present. Allow‐
able
val‐
ues
are
quoted-
print‐
able,
base64
and
8bit.
The
short-
hand
q-p
is
also
accept‐
able
for
quoted-
print‐
able.
The
default
value
will
be
deter‐
mined
based
upon
the
value
of
A
value
of
8bit
means
not
to
encode.
Sub‐
sti‐
tute c
for
the
escape
char‐
ac‐
ter.
The
direc‐
tory
for
sav‐
ing
stan‐
dard
mail
files. User
spec‐
i‐
fied
file
names
begin‐
ning
with
a
plus
(+)
are
expanded
by
pre‐
ced‐
ing
the
file
name
with
this
direc‐
tory
name
to
obtain
the
real
file
name.
If
direc‐
tory
does
not
start
with
a
slash
is
used
as
a
pre‐
fix.
There
is
no
default
for
the
vari‐
able.
See
also
below.
Enable
print‐
ing
of
the
header
sum‐
mary
when
enter‐
ing
Enabled
by
default.
Pre‐
serve
all
mes‐
sages
that
are
read
in
the
sys‐
tem
mail‐
box instead
of
putting
them
in
the
stan‐
dard
mbox
save
file.
Default
is
Ignore
inter‐
rupts
while
enter‐
ing
mes‐
sages. Use‐
ful
when
com‐
mu‐
ni‐
cat‐
ing
over
noisy
dial-
up
lines.
Default
is
Ignore
end-
of-
file
dur‐
ing
mes‐
sage
input. Input
must
be
ter‐
mi‐
nated
by
a
period
on
a
line
by
itself
or
by
the
com‐
mand.
Default
is
See
also
above.
When
the mail‐
box
is
empty,
trun‐
cate
it
to
zero
length
instead
of
remov‐
ing
it.
Dis‐
abled
by
default.
Keep
mes‐
sages
that
have
been
saved
in
other
files in
the
sys‐
tem
mail‐
box
instead
of
delet‐
ing
them.
Default
is
The
name
of
the
file
to
save
mes‐
sages
which
have
been
read. The
com‐
mand
over‐
rides
this
func‐
tion,
as
does
sav‐
ing
the
mes‐
sage
explic‐
itly
in
another
file.
Default
is
Usu‐
ally,
when
a
group
(alias)
con‐
tain‐
ing
the
sender
is
expanded, the
sender
is
removed
from
the
expan‐
sion.
Set‐
ting
this
option
causes
the
sender
to
be
included
in
the
group.
Default
is
To
add
or
dis‐
able
MIME
header
when
send‐
ing
mail. value
can
be
or
The
com‐
mand
(and
options)
to
use
when
list‐
ing
con‐
tents
of
the direc‐
tory.
The
default
is
To
dis‐
able
the
usage
of
meta‐
mail
to
read
MIME
mes‐
sages, set
the
value
to
By
default
the
vari‐
able
is
not
set.
When
respond‐
ing
to
a
mes‐
sage that
was
orig‐
i‐
nally
sent
to
sev‐
eral
recip‐
i‐
ents,
the
other
recip‐
i‐
ent
addresses
are
nor‐
mally
forced
to
be
rel‐
a‐
tive
to
the
orig‐
i‐
nat‐
ing
author's
machine
for
the
response.
This
flag
dis‐
ables
alter‐
ation
of
the
recip‐
i‐
ents'
addresses,
improv‐
ing
effi‐
ciency
in
a
net‐
work
where
all
machines
can
send
directly
to
all
other
machines
(that
is,
one
hop
away).
Cause
the
files
used
to
record
out‐
go‐
ing
mes‐
sages
to
be
located in
the
direc‐
tory
spec‐
i‐
fied
by
the
vari‐
able.
Default
is
See
above
and
the
and
com‐
mands.
Used
with
the com‐
mand
to
insert
a
form
feed
after
each
mes‐
sage
sent
through
the
pipe.
Default
is
The
com‐
mand
to
use
as
a
fil‐
ter
for
pag‐
i‐
nat‐
ing
out‐
put. This
can
also
be
used
to
spec‐
ify
the
pager
com‐
mand-
line
options
(for
exam‐
ple,
).
Default
is
but
many
users
pre‐
fer
(see
pg(1)
and
more(1)).
Set
the
com‐
mand-
mode
prompt
to string.
Default
is
Refrain
from
print‐
ing
the
open‐
ing
mes‐
sage
and
ver‐
sion
when
enter‐
ing Default
is
Record
all
out‐
go‐
ing
mail
in file‐
name.
Dis‐
abled
by
default.
See
also
above.
Spec‐
ify
address
to
which
responses
are
to
be
sent.
Enable
sav‐
ing
of
mes‐
sages
in on
inter‐
rupt
or
deliv‐
ery
error.
See
for
a
descrip‐
tion
of
this
file.
Enabled
by
default.
Set
the
num‐
ber
of
lines
in
a
screen-
full
of
head‐
ers
for
the com‐
mand.
Alter‐
nate
com‐
mand
for
deliv‐
er‐
ing
mes‐
sages. Default
is
(see
mail(1)).
Wait
for
back‐
ground
mailer
to
fin‐
ish
before
return‐
ing. Default
is
The
name
of
a
pre‐
ferred
com‐
mand
inter‐
preter. Default
is
the
user's
login
pro‐
gram
(see
passwd(4),
shells(4),
and
chsh(1)).
Note:
in
the
unusual
case
that
a
user's
login
pro‐
gram
is
a
script
file
from
which
is
exe‐
cuted,
rather
than
a
shell,
then
requires
that
the
user
explic‐
itly
set
in
his
or
her
file.
When
dis‐
play‐
ing
the
header
sum‐
mary
and
the
mes‐
sage
is
from
you, print
the
recip‐
i‐
ent's
name
instead
of
the
author's
name.
The
vari‐
able
that
is
inserted
into
the
text
of
a
mes‐
sage
when
the (auto‐
graph)
com‐
mand
is
given.
No
default
(see
also
in
the
sec‐
tion).
The
vari‐
able
inserted
into
the
text
of
a
mes‐
sage
when
the com‐
mand
is
given.
No
default
(see
also
in
the
sec‐
tion).
When is
set,
var‐
i‐
ous
com‐
mands
use
the
line
instead
of
the
default
line.
The
num‐
ber
of
lines
of
header
to
print
with
the com‐
mand.
Default
is
5.
The
name
of
a
pre‐
ferred
screen
edi‐
tor. Default
is
(see
vi(1)).
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
are
envi‐
ron‐
ment
vari‐
ables
taken
from
the
exe‐
cu‐
tion
envi‐
ron‐
ment
and
are
not
alter‐
able
within
The
user's
home
direc‐
tory. This
is
usu‐
ally
the
cur‐
rent
direc‐
tory
imme‐
di‐
ately
after
login.
The
name
of
the
ini‐
tial
mail‐
box
file
to
be
read. By
default,
the
mail‐
box
is
set
to
This
envi‐
ron‐
ment
vari‐
able
over‐
rides
the
default
set‐
ting
and
causes
to
open
the
mail‐
box
spec‐
i‐
fied
by
the
envi‐
ron‐
ment
vari‐
able.
The
name
of
the
mailer
start-
up
file. Default
is
and influ‐
ence
when
the
com‐
mand
inter‐
preter
(see
the
envi‐
ron‐
ment
vari‐
able)
is
invoked.
To
deter‐
mine
the
behav‐
ior
of
and
see
the
cor‐
re‐
spond‐
ing
shell
man‐
page
for
the
appli‐
ca‐
ble
com‐
mand
inter‐
preter.
deter‐
mines
the
for‐
mat
and
con‐
tents of
the
date
and
time
strings
dis‐
played.
If
is
not
spec‐
i‐
fied
in
the
envi‐
ron‐
ment,
or
is
set
to
the
empty
string,
the
value
of
is
used
as
a
default.
If
is
not
spec‐
i‐
fied
or
is
set
to
the
empty
string,
a
default
of
"C"
(see
lang(5))
is
used
instead
of
If
any
inter‐
na‐
tion‐
al‐
iza‐
tion
vari‐
able
con‐
tains
an
invalid
set‐
ting,
behaves
as
if
all
inter‐
na‐
tion‐
al‐
iza‐
tion
vari‐
ables
are
set
to
"C".
See
env‐
i‐
ron(5).
When
set,
the envi‐
ron‐
ment
vari‐
able
spec‐
i‐
fies
a
direc‐
tory
to
be
used
for
tem‐
po‐
rary
files,
over‐
rid‐
ing
the
default
direc‐
tory
Inter‐
na‐
tional
Code
Set
Sup‐
port
Sin‐
gle-
and
multi‐
byte
char‐
ac‐
ter
code
sets
are
sup‐
ported
within
mail
text.
Head‐
ers
are
restricted
to
char‐
ac‐
ters
from
the
7-bit
USASCII
char‐
ac‐
ter
code
set
(see
ascii(5)).
WARN‐
INGS
Where
com‐
mand
is
shown
as
valid,
argu‐
ments
are
not
always
allowed.
Exper‐
i‐
men‐
ta‐
tion
is
rec‐
om‐
mended.
Inter‐
nal
vari‐
ables
imported
from
the
exe‐
cu‐
tion
envi‐
ron‐
ment
can‐
not
be
The
full
inter‐
net
address‐
ing
is
not
fully
sup‐
ported
by
The
new
inter‐
na‐
tion‐
al‐
iza‐
tion
stan‐
dards
need
some
time
to
set‐
tle
down.
the
stan‐
dard
mail
deliv‐
ery
pro‐
gram,
treats
a
line
con‐
sist‐
ing
solely
of
a
dot
as
the
end
of
the
mes‐
sage.
Using
two
sep‐
a‐
rate
mail
pro‐
grams
to
access
the
same
mail
file
simul‐
ta‐
ne‐
ously
(usu‐
ally
inad‐
ver‐
tently
from
two
sep‐
a‐
rate
win‐
dows)
can
cause
unpre‐
dictable
results.
Argu‐
ments
con‐
tain‐
ing
mul‐
ti‐
ple
words
must
be
enclosed
in
quotes.
Oth‐
er‐
wise
they
may
be
inter‐
preted
incor‐
rectly.
FILES
Post
office
direc‐
tory (mode
775,
group
ID
Sys‐
tem
mail‐
box
for user
(mode
660,
owned
by
user,
group
ID
Per‐
sonal
start-
up
file
Global
start-
up
file
Sec‐
ondary
stor‐
age
file
Tem‐
po‐
rary
files
SEE
ALSO
chsh(1),
echo(1),
ed(1),
lp(1),
ls(1),
mail(1),
more(1),
pg(1),
sh(1),
vi(1),
passwd(4),
shells(4),
ascii(5),
env‐
i‐
ron(5),
lang(5).
STAN‐
DARDS
CON‐
FOR‐
MANCE
For
more
infor‐
ma‐
tion
about
also
refer
to
the
sec‐
tion
in
the
UNIX
95
stan‐
dard
doc‐
u‐
ment
spec‐
i‐
fi‐
ca‐
tion.
mailx(1)
