Mutt
Introduction
"All mail clients suck. This one just sucks less." -Michael Elkins, author of Mutt
Mutt is a small but very powerful text-based mail client for Unix operating systems. Originally based on the ELM mail client, Mutt got its name when features from other mail clients (namely PINE and MUSH) were added to it, creating a mixture of clients, or a "mutt."
According to the Mutt and IMAP homepage, "Mutt's IMAP support is an ongoing effort, still far from complete. Due to its untested nature, much of this support is lacking in the stable releases of Mutt (ie the 1.0 series). Nevertheless the stable series is quite functional - it's just missing some goodies."
Installation
./configure --with-mailpath={mail.metalab.unc.edu}inbox --enable-imap
make make install
Directions for Use
Mutt reads its configuration from a file in your home directory called .muttrc, much like Pine's .pinerc. It also accepts flags at the command line, like Pine. Its major options include:-a file Attach a file to your message using MIME. -b address Specify a blind-carbon-copy (BCC) recipient -c address Specify a carbon-copy (CC) recipient -e command Specify a configuration command to be run after processing of initialization files. -f mailbox Specify which mailbox to load. -F muttrc Specify an initialization file to read instead of ~/.muttrc -h Display help. -H draft Specify a draft file which contains header and body to use to send a message. -i include Specify a file to include into the body of a message. -m type specify a default mailbox type -n Causes Mutt to bypass the system configuration file. -p Resume a postponed message. -R Open a mailbox in read-only mode. -s subject Specify the subject of the message. -v Display the Mutt version number and compile-time definitions. -x Emulate the mailx compose mode. -y Start Mutt with a listing of all mailboxes specified by the mailboxes command. -z When used with -f, causes Mutt not to start if there are no messages in the mailbox. -Z Causes Mutt to open the first mailbox specified by the mailboxes command which contains new mail.
More Mutt Configuration
More common than command line flags is the .muttrc file. A rather complete and well-documented sample .muttrc is provided on mutt.org and should work well with little modification. Once you take a look at that, run Mutt:muttKeystroke commands are not the same as Pine. Here are a few to get you started:
c Open a mailbox ('!' to open INBOX) m Mail a new message j Scroll down one line k Scroll up one line r Reply $ Purge deleted messages q Quit
Problems
Two-fold:export TERM=vt100
Donald Sizemore and Matthew Knuppel
INLS183