muttrc - Configuration file for the Mutt Mail User Agent


DESCRIPTION

       A  mutt  configuration  file consists of a series of "com­
       mands".  Each line of the file may  contain  one  or  more
       commands.   When  multiple commands are used, they must be
       separated by a semicolon (";").

       The hash mark, or pound sign ("#"), is used as a "comment"
       character.  You can use it to annotate your initialization
       file. All text after the comment character to the  end  of
       the line is ignored.

       Single quotes ("'") and double quotes (""") can be used to
       quote strings which contain spaces or other special  char­
       acters.  The difference between the two types of quotes is
       similar to that of many  popular  shell  programs,  namely
       that  a  single  quote is used to specify a literal string
       (one that is not interpreted for shell variables or  quot­
       ing  with  a backslash [see next paragraph]), while double
       quotes indicate a string for which  should  be  evaluated.
       For  example,  backtics  are  evaluated  inside  of double
       quotes, but not for single quotes.

       \ quotes the next character, just as  in  shells  such  as
       bash  and  zsh.   For example, if want to put quotes (""")
       inside of a string, you can use  "\"  to  force  the  next
       character  to  be a literal instead of interpreted charac­
       ter.

       "\\" means to insert a literal "\" into  the  line.   "\n"
       and  "\r" have their usual C meanings of linefeed and car­
       riage-return, respectively.

       A "\" at the end of a line can be used to  split  commands
       over  multiple lines, provided that the split points don't
       appear in the middle of command names.

       It is also possible to substitute the  output  of  a  Unix
       command  in  an initialization file.  This is accomplished
       by enclosing the command in backquotes (`command`).

       UNIX environments can be accessed like the way it is  done
       in  shells like sh and bash: Prepend the name of the envi­
       ronment by a dollar ("$") sign.


COMMANDS

       alias key address [, address [ ... ]]
       unalias key

              alias defines an alias key for the given addresses.
              unalias  removes  the  alias  corresponding  to the


       alternative_order type[/subtype] [ ... ]
              This command permits you  to  define  an  order  of
              preference which is used by mutt to determine which
              part of a multipart/alternative body to display.  A
              subtype  of  "*"  matches  any  subtype, as does an
              empty subtype.

       auto_view type[/subtype] [ ... ]
              This commands permits  you  to  specify  that  mutt
              should  automatically  convert the given MIME types
              to text/plain when displaying messages.   For  this
              to  work,  there must be a mailcap(5) entry for the
              given MIME type with the copiousoutput flag set.  A
              subtype  of  "*"  matches  any  subtype, as does an
              empty subtype.

       bind map key function
              This command binds the given key for the given  map
              to the given function.

              Valid  maps  are:  generic, alias, attach, browser,
              editor, index, compose, pager, pgp, postpone,  mix.

              For  more information on keys and functions, please
              consult the Mutt Manual.

       charset-hook alias charset
              This command defines an alias for a character  set.
              This  is  useful to properly display messages which
              are tagged with a character set name not  known  to
              mutt.

       folder-hook [!]regexp command
              When mutt enters a folder which matches regexp (or,
              when regexp is preceded  by  an  exclamation  mark,
              does  not  match regexp), the given command is exe­
              cuted.

              When  several  folder-hooks  match  a  given   mail
              folder, they are executed in the order given in the
              configuration file.

       macro map key sequence [ description ]
              This command binds the given sequence  of  keys  to
              the  given  key  in the given map.  For valid maps,
              see bind.

       color object foreground background [  regexp ]
       color index foreground background [  pattern ]
       uncolor index pattern [ pattern ... ]

              If your terminal supports color, these commands can

              to certain objects.  Valid objects are: attachment,
              body,  bold,  header, hdrdefault, index, indicator,
              markers, message, normal, quoted, quotedN,  search,
              signature,  status,  tilde,  tree,  underline.  The
              body and header objects allow you to  restrict  the
              colorization  to  a  regular expression.  The index
              object permits you to select  colored  messages  by
              pattern.

              Valid colors include: white, black, green, magenta,
              blue, cyan, yellow, red, default, colorN.

       mono object attribute [ regexp ]
       mono index attribute [ pattern ]

              For terminals which don't support  color,  you  can
              still   assign   attributes   to   objects.   Valid
              attributes include: none, bold, underline, reverse,
              and standout.

       [un]ignore pattern [ pattern ... ]
              The  ignore  command  permits you to specify header
              fields which you usually don't wish  to  see.   Any
              header  field  whose  tag  begins with an "ignored"
              pattern will be ignored.

              The unignore command permits you to  define  excep­
              tions  from  the  above  mentioned  list of ignored
              headers.

       lists address [ address ... ]
       unlists address [ address ... ]
       subscribe address [ address ... ]
       unsubscribe address [ address ... ]

              Mutt maintains two lists of mailing list addresses,
              a  list  of subscribed mailing lists, and a list of
              known mailing lists.  All subscribed mailing  lists
              are  known.   A mail address matches a mailing list
              if it begins with the given address.  For  example,
              the   lists   pattern   "mutt-"  will  match  mutt-
              dev@mutt.org and mutt-users@mutt.org.

              The lists command adds a mailing  list  address  to
              the  list of known mailing lists.  The unlists com­
              mand removes a mailig list from the lists of  known
              and  subscribed  mailing lists.  The subscribe com­
              mand adds a mailing list to the lists of known  and
              subscribed  mailing lists.  The unsubscribe command
              removes it from  the  list  of  subscribed  mailing
              lists.

              When  mutt  changes  to a mail folder which matches
              pattern, mailbox will be used as the "mbox" folder,
              i.e.,  read  messages  will be moved to that folder
              when the mail folder is left.

              The first matchig mbox-hook applies.

       mailboxes filename [ filename ... ]
              This command specifies folders  which  can  receive
              mail  and  which  will be checked for new messages.
              When changing folders, pressing  space  will  cycle
              through folders with new mail.

       my_hdr string
       unmy_hdr field

              Using  my_hdr, you can define headers which will be
              added to the messages you compose.   unmy_hdr  will
              remove the given user-defined headers.

       hdr_order header1 header2 [ ... ]
              With  this  command,  you  can  specify an order in
              which mutt will attempt to present headers  to  you
              when viewing messages.

       save-hook [!]pattern filename
              When  a  message  matches pattern, the default file
              name when saving it will be the given filename.

       fcc-hook [!]pattern filename
              When  an  outgoing  message  matches  pattern,  the
              default  file name for storing a copy (fcc) will be
              the given filename.

       fcc-save-hook [!]pattern filename
              This command is an abbreviation for identical  fcc-
              hook and save-hook commands.

       send-hook [!]pattern command
              When  composing a message matching pattern, command
              is executed.  When multiple send-hooks match,  they
              are  executed  in  the order in which they occur in
              the configuration file.

       pgp-hook pattern key-id
              The pgp-hook command provides a method by which you
              can  specify  the  ID  of the public key to be used
              when encrypting messages to a certain recipient.

       push string
              This command adds the named string to the  keyboard
              buffer.

       toggle variable [ ... ]
       unset variable [ ... ]
       reset variable [ ... ]

              These  commands are used to set and manipulate con­
              figuration varibles.

              Mutt knows four basic types of variables:  boolean,
              number,  string  and quadoption.  Boolean variables
              can be set (true), unset (false), or toggled.  Num­
              ber  variables  can  be assigned a positive integer
              value.

              String variables consist of any number of printable
              characters.   Strings must be enclosed in quotes if
              they contain spaces or tabs.  You may also use  the
              "C" escape sequences \n and \t for newline and tab,
              respectively.

              Quadoption variables are used to control whether or
              not to be prompted for certain actions, or to spec­
              ify a default action.  A value of  yes  will  cause
              the  action  to  be carried out automatically as if
              you had answered yes to the question.  Similarly, a
              value of no will cause the the action to be carried
              out as if you had answered "no." A value of ask-yes
              will  cause a prompt with a default answer of "yes"
              and ask-no will provide a default answer of "no."

              The reset command resets all given variables to the
              compile  time  defaults.   If you reset the special
              variabe all, all variables will reset to their sys­
              tem defaults.

       source filename
              The given file will be evaluated as a configuration
              file.

       unhook [ *  | hook-type ]
              This command will remove all hooks of a given type,
              or  all  hooks  when  "*"  is  used as an argument.
              hook-type can be any of the  -hook  commands  docu­
              mented above.


PATTERNS

       In  various places with mutt, including some of the above­
       mentioned hook commands, you can specify patterns to match
       messages.

   Constructing Patterns
       A  simple  pattern  consists  of  an  operator of the form
       "~character", possibly followed  by  a  parameter  against
       which  mutt  is supposed to match the obeject specified by


       With some of these operators, the  object  to  be  matched
       consists of several e-mail addresses.  In these cases, the
       object  is  matched  if  at  least  one  of  these  e-mail
       addresses  matches.  You can prepend a hat ("^") character
       to such a pattern to  indicate  that  all  addresses  must
       match in order to match the object.

       You  can  construct  complex  patterns by combining simple
       patterns with logical operators.  Logical AND is specified
       by  simply concatenating two simple patterns, for instance
       "~C mutt-dev ~s bug".  Logical OR is specified by  insert­
       ing  a  vertical  bar  ("|")  between  two  patterns,  for
       instance "~C mutt-dev | ~s bug".   Additionally,  you  can
       negate  a  pattern  by  prepending a bang ("!") character.
       For logical grouping, use braces  ("()").  Example:  "!(~t
       mutt|~c mutt) ~f elkins".

   Simple Patterns
       Mutt understands the following simple patterns:

       ~A           all messages
       ~b EXPR      messages which contain EXPR in the message body
       ~B EXPR      messages which contain EXPR in the whole message
       ~c EXPR      messages carbon-copied to EXPR
       ~C EXPR      message is either to: or cc: EXPR
       ~D           deleted messages
       ~d MIN-MAX   messages with "date-sent" in a Date range
       ~E           expired messages
       ~e EXPR      message which contains EXPR in the "Sender" field
       ~F           flagged messages
       ~f EXPR      messages originating from EXPR
       ~g           PGP signed messages
       ~G           PGP encrypted messages
       ~h EXPR      messages which contain EXPR in the message header
       ~k           message contains PGP key material
       ~i EXPR      message which match EXPR in the "Message-ID" field
       ~L EXPR      message is either originated or received by EXPR
       ~l           message is addressed to a known mailing list
       ~m MIN-MAX   message in the range MIN to MAX
       ~n MIN-MAX   messages with a score in the range MIN to MAX
       ~N           new messages
       ~O           old messages
       ~p           message is addressed to you (consults $alternates)
       ~P           message is from you (consults $alternates)
       ~Q           messages which have been replied to
       ~R           read messages
       ~r MIN-MAX   messages with "date-received" in a Date range
       ~S           superseded messages
       ~s EXPR      messages having EXPR in the "Subject" field.
       ~T           tagged messages
       ~t EXPR      messages addressed to EXPR

       ~v           message is part of a collapsed thread.
       ~x EXPR      messages which contain EXPR in the "References" field
       ~z MIN-MAX   messages with a size in the range MIN to MAX

       In the above, EXPR is a regular expression.

       With  the  ~m,  ~n, and ~z operators, you can also specify
       ranges in the forms <MAX, >MIN, MIN-, and -MAX.

   Matching dates
       The ~d and ~r operators are used  to  match  date  ranges,
       which are interpreted to be given in your local time zone.

       A date is of the form DD[/MM[/[cc]YY]], that  is,  a  two-
       digit  date,  optionally  followed  by  a two-digit month,
       optionally followed by  a  year  specifications.   Omitted
       fields default to the current month and year.

       Mutt  understands either two or four digit year specifica­
       tions.  When given a two-digit year, mutt  will  interpret
       values  less  than  70 as lying in the 21st century (i.e.,
       "38" means 2038 and not 1938, and "00" is  interpreted  as
       2000),  and values greater than or equal to 70 as lying in
       the 20th century.

       Note that this behaviour is Y2K compliant, but  that  mutt
       does have a Y2.07K problem.

       If a date range consists of a single date, the operator in
       question will match that precise date.  If the date  range
       consists  of  a dash ("-"), followed by a date, this range
       will match any date before and up to the date given.  Sim­
       ilarly,  a  date followed by a dash matches the date given
       and any later point of time.  Two dates,  separated  by  a
       dash,  match  any  date  which  lies in the given range of
       time.

       You can also specify offsets relative to the current date.
       An  offset  is specified as one of the characters <, >, =,
       followed by a positive number, followed by one of the unit
       characters  y,  m,  w,  or  d, specifying a unit of years,
       months, weeks, or days.  An offset which begins  with  the
       character  > matches dates which are older than the speci­
       fied amount of time, an offset which begins with the char­
       acter < matches dates which are more recent than the spec­
       ified amount of time, and an offset which begins with  the
       character = matches points of time which are precisely the
       given amount of time ago.


CONFIGURATION VARIABLES

       abort_nosubject
              Type: quadoption
              Default: ask-yes

              ject  is  given  at the subject prompt, composition
              will be aborted.  If set to no, composing  messages
              with  no  subject  given at the subject prompt will
              never be aborted.

       abort_unmodified
              Type: quadoption
              Default: yes

              If set to yes, composition will automatically abort
              after  editing  the  message body if no changes are
              made to the file (this check only happens after the
              first  edit of the file).  When set to no, composi­
              tion will never be aborted.

       alias_file
              Type: path
              Default: "~/.muttrc"

              The default file in which to save  aliases  created
              by the "create-alias" function.

              Note: Mutt will not automatically source this file;
              you must explicitly use the "source" command for it
              to be executed.

       alias_format
              Type: string
              Default: "%4n %t %-10a   %r"

              Specifies  the format of the data displayed for the
              `alias'  menu.    The   following   printf(3)-style
              sequences are available:

              %a      alias name
              %n      index number
              %r      address which alias expands to
              %t      character which indicates if the alias is
                      tagged for inclusion

              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              Controls  whether  8-bit data is converted to 7-bit
              using either Quoted- Printable or  Base64  encoding
              when sending mail.

       alternates
              Type: regular expression
              Default: ""

              A  regexp  that  allows  you  to  specify alternate
              addresses where you  receive  mail.   This  affects
              Mutt's  idea  about messages from you and addressed
              to you.

       arrow_cursor
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              When set, an arrow ("->") will be used to  indicate
              the  current entry in menus instead of hiliting the
              whole line.  On slow network or  modem  links  this
              will  make  response  faster  because there is less
              that has to be redrawn on the screen when moving to
              the next or previous entries in the menu.

       ascii_chars
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              If  set,  Mutt will use plain ASCII characters when
              displaying thread and attachment trees, instead  of
              the default ACS characters.

       askbcc
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              If  set, Mutt will prompt you for blind-carbon-copy
              (Bcc) recipients before editing  an  outgoing  mes­
              sage.

              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              If  set,  Mutt will prompt you for carbon-copy (Cc)
              recipients before editing the body of  an  outgoing
              message.

       attach_format
              Type: string
              Default: "%u%D%I %t%4n %T%.40d%> [%.7m/%.10M, %.6e%?C?, %C?, %s] "

              This  variable describes the format of the `attach­
              ment' menu.  The following  printf-style  sequences
              are understood:

              %D      deleted flag
              %d      description
              %e      MIME content-transfer-encoding
              %f      filename
              %I      disposition (I=inline, A=attachment)
              %m      major MIME type
              %M      MIME subtype
              %n      attachment number
              %s      size
              %t      tagged flag
              %u      unlink (=to delete) flag
              %>X     right justify the rest of the
                      string and pad with character "X"
              %|X     pad to the end of the line with
                      character "X"

       attach_sep
              Type: string
              Default: "\n"

              The separator to add between attachments when oper­
              ating (saving, printing, piping, etc) on a list  of
              tagged attachments.

       attach_split
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              printing, piping, etc) on a list of tagged  attach­
              ments,  Mutt  will  concatenate the attachments and
              will operate on them as a  single  attachment.  The
              "attach_sep"  separator is added after each attach­
              ment. When set, Mutt will operate  on  the  attach­
              ments one by one.

       attribution
              Type: string
              Default: "On %d, %n wrote:"

              This  is  the  string  that  will precede a message
              which has been included in a  reply.   For  a  full
              listing of defined escape sequences see the section
              on "index_format".

       autoedit
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              When set, Mutt will skip the initial send-menu  and
              allow  you to immediately begin editing the body of
              your message when replying to another message.  The
              send-menu  may still be accessed once you have fin­
              ished editing the body of your message.

              If the "edit_headers" variable  is  also  set,  the
              initial   prompts   in  the  send-menu  are  always
              skipped, even when composing a new message.

       auto_tag
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              When set, functions in the index menu which  affect
              a  message  will  be applied to all tagged messages
              (if there are any).  When unset, you must first use
              the  tag-prefix function (default: ";") to make the
              next function apply to all tagged messages.

       beep
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              When this variable is set, mutt will beep  when  an


       beep_new
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              When  this variable is set, mutt will beep whenever
              it prints a message  notifying  you  of  new  mail.
              This  is  independent  of the setting of the "beep"
              variable.

       bounce_delivered
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              When this variable is set, mutt will include Deliv­
              ered-To  headers  when  bouncing messages.  Postfix
              users may wish to unset this variable.

       charset
              Type: string
              Default: "iso-8859-1"

              Character set your terminal  uses  to  display  and
              enter textual data.

       check_new
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              Note: this option only affects maildir and MH style
              mailboxes.

              When set, Mutt will check for  new  mail  delivered
              while  the  mailbox  is  open.   Especially with MH
              mailboxes, this operation can take quite some  time
              since it involves scanning the directory and check­
              ing each file to see if it has already been  looked
              at.   If  check_new is unset, no check for new mail
              is performed while the mailbox is open.

       collapse_unread
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              contains any unread messages.

       uncollapse_jump
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              When  set,  Mutt  will jump to the next unread mes­
              sage, if any, when the  current  thread  is  uncol­
              lapsed.

       confirmappend
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              When  set,  Mutt  will prompt for confirmation when
              appending messages to an existing mailbox.

       confirmcreate
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              When set, Mutt will prompt  for  confirmation  when
              saving  messages  to  a  mailbox which does not yet
              exist before creating it.

       copy
              Type: quadoption
              Default: yes

              This variable controls whether  or  not  copies  of
              your outgoing messages will be saved for later ref­
              erences.    Also   see    "record",    "save_name",
              "force_name" and "fcc-hook".

       date_format
              Type: string
              Default: "!%a, %b %d, %Y at %I:%M:%S%p %Z"

              This  variable  controls  the  format  of  the date
              printed by the  "%d"  sequence  in  "index_format".
              This  is passed to the strftime call to process the
              date. See the man  page  for  strftime(3)  for  the
              proper syntax.

              ("!"), the month and week day  names  are  expanded
              according  to  the locale specified in the variable
              "locale". If the first character in the string is a
              bang, the bang is discarded, and the month and week
              day names in the rest of the string are expanded in
              the C locale (that is in US English).

       default_hook
              Type: string
              Default: "~f %s !~P | (~P ~C %s)"

              This  variable controls how send-hooks, save-hooks,
              and fcc-hooks will be interpreted if they are spec­
              ified  with  only  a  simple  regexp,  instead of a
              matching pattern.  The hooks are expanded when they
              are declared, so a hook will be interpreted accord­
              ing to the value of this variable at the  time  the
              hook is declared.  The default value matches if the
              message is either from a user matching the  regular
              expression given, or if it is from you (if the from
              address matches "alternates") and is to or cc'ed to
              a user matching the given regular expression.

       delete
              Type: quadoption
              Default: ask-yes

              Controls whether or not messages are really deleted
              when closing or synchronizing a mailbox.  If set to
              yes,  messages  marked  for deleting will automati­
              cally be purged without prompting.  If set  to  no,
              messages  marked  for  deletion will be kept in the
              mailbox.

       delete_untag
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              If this option is set,  mutt  will  untag  messages
              when  marking them for deletion.  This applies when
              you either explicitly delete a message, or when you
              save it to another folder.

              Contains the path of the mutt_dotlock (8) binary to
              be used by mutt.

              Type: string
              Default: ""

              Note: you should not enable  this  unless  you  are
              using Sendmail 8.8.x or greater.

              This  variable  sets the request for when notifica­
              tion is returned.  The string consists of  a  comma
              separated  list  (no spaces!) of one or more of the
              following: never, to  never  request  notification,
              failure,  to  request  notification on transmission
              failure, delay, to be notified of  message  delays,
              success, to be notified of successful transmission.

              Example: set dsn_notify="failure,delay"

       dsn_return
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              Note: you should not enable  this  unless  you  are
              using Sendmail 8.8.x or greater.

              This  variable controls how much of your message is
              returned in DSN messages.  It may be set to  either
              hdrs  to return just the message header, or full to
              return the full message.

              Example: set dsn_return=hdrs

       edit_headers
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              This option allows you to edit the header  of  your
              outgoing  messages along with the body of your mes­
              sage.

       editor
              Type: path
              Default: ""

              This variable specifies which  editor  is  used  by
              mutt.   It  defaults  to the value of the EDITOR or
              VISUAL environment variable, or to the string "vi".

              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              When  set,  mutt  will quoted-printable encode mes­
              sages when they contain the string "From "  in  the
              beginning of a line.  Useful to avoid the tampering
              certain mail delivery and transport agents tend  to
              do with messages.

       envelope_from
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              When  set,  mutt  will  try to derive the message's
              envelope sender from the "From:" header.  Note that
              this  information  is  passed  to  sendmail command
              using the "-f" command line switch,  so  don't  set
              this  option  if you are using that switch in send­
              mail yourself, or if the sendmail on  your  machine
              doesn't support that command line switch.

       escape
              Type: string
              Default: "~"

              Escape  character  to  use  for  functions  in  the
              builtin editor.

       fast_reply
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              When set, the initial  prompt  for  recipients  and
              subject  are skipped when replying to messages, and
              the initial prompt for subject is skipped when for­
              warding messages.

              Note:   this   variable  has  no  effect  when  the
              "autoedit" variable is set.

       fcc_attach
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              This variable controls whether or  not  attachments

              body of your message.

       fcc_clear
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              When this variable is  set,  FCCs  will  be  stored
              unencrypted and unsigned, even when the actual mes­
              sage is encrypted and/or signed.

       folder
              Type: path
              Default: "~/Mail"

              Specifies the default location of  your  mailboxes.
              A `+' or `=' at the beginning of a pathname will be
              expanded to the value of this variable.  Note  that
              if  you change this variable from the default value
              you need to make sure that  the  assignment  occurs
              before  you  use `+' or `=' for any other variables
              since expansion takes place during the  `set'  com­
              mand.

       folder_format
              Type: string
              Default: "%2C %t %N %F %2l %-8.8u %-8.8g %8s %d %f"

              This  variable  allows  you  to  customize the file
              browser  display  to  your  personal  taste.   This
              string  is  similar  to "index_format", but has its
              own set of printf()-like sequences:

              %C      current file number
              %d      date/time folder was last modified
              %f      filename
              %F      file permissions
              %g      group name (or numeric gid, if missing)
              %l      number of hard links
              %N      N if folder has new mail, blank otherwise
              %s      size in bytes
              %t      * if the file is tagged, blank otherwise
              %u      owner name (or numeric uid, if missing)
              %>X     right justify the rest of the string and pad
                      with character "X"


       followup_to
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              Controls whether or not the Mail-Followup-To header
              field  is  generated  when sending mail.  When set,
              Mutt will generate this field when you are replying
              to  a  known mailing list, specified with the "sub­
              scribe" or "lists" commands.

              This field has two purposes.  First, preventing you
              from  receiving duplicate copies of replies to mes­
              sages which you send  to  mailing  lists.   Second,
              ensuring that you do get a reply separately for any
              messages sent to known lists to which you  are  not
              subscribed.   The  header  will  contain  only  the
              list's address for subscribed lists, and  both  the
              list  address and your own email address for unsub­
              scribed lists.  Without this header, a group  reply
              to  your  message sent to a subscribed list will be
              sent to both the list and your  address,  resulting
              in two copies of the same email for you.

       force_name
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              This  variable  is  similar  to "save_name", except
              that Mutt will store a copy of your  outgoing  mes­
              sage by the username of the address you are sending
              to even if that mailbox does not exist.

              Also see the "record" variable.

       forward_decode
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              Controls the decoding of complex MIME messages into
              text/plain  when forwarding a message.  The message
              header is also RFC2047 decoded.  This  variable  is
              only  used,  if  "mime_forward" is unset, otherwise
              "mime_forward_decode" is used instead.

              Type: string
              Default: "[%a: %s]"

              This variable controls  the  default  subject  when
              forwarding  a  message.   It  uses  the same format
              sequences as the "index_format" variable.

       forward_quote
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              When set forwarded messages included  in  the  main
              body  of the message (when "mime_forward" is unset)
              will be quoted using "indent_string".

       from
              Type: e-mail address
              Default: ""

              When set, this variable  contains  a  default  from
              address.    It   can  be  overridden  using  my_hdr
              (including from send-hooks) and "reverse_name".

       gecos_mask
              Type: regular expression
              Default: "^[^,]*"

              A regular expression used  by  mutt  to  parse  the
              GECOS  field of a password entry when expanding the
              alias.  By default the regular expression is set to
              "^[^,]*"  which  will  return  the string up to the
              first "," encountered.  If the GECOS field contains
              a string like "lastname, firstname" then you should
              set the gecos_mask=".*".

              This can be useful if you see the following  behav­
              ior:  you  address a e-mail to user ID stevef whose
              full name  is  Steve  Franklin.   If  mutt  expands
              stevef to "Franklin" stevef@foo.bar then you should
              set the gecos_mask to  a  regular  expression  that
              will  match  the  whole  name  so  mutt will expand
              "Franklin" to "Franklin, Steve".

       hdrs
              Type: boolean


              When unset, the header fields normally added by the
              "my_hdr"  command  are  not created.  This variable
              must be unset before composing  a  new  message  or
              replying in order to take effect.  If set, the user
              defined header fields are added to every  new  mes­
              sage.

       header
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              When  set, this variable causes Mutt to include the
              header of the message you are replying to into  the
              edit buffer.  The "weed" setting applies.

       help
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              When  set,  help  lines describing the bindings for
              the major functions provided by each menu are  dis­
              played on the first line of the screen.

              Note:  The  binding will not be displayed correctly
              if the function is bound to a sequence rather  than
              a single keystroke.  Also, the help line may not be
              updated if a binding is changed while Mutt is  run­
              ning.   Since  this  variable is primarily aimed at
              new users, neither of these should present a  major
              problem.

       hidden_host
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              When  set,  mutt  will  skip  the host name part of
              "hostname" variable when adding the domain part  to
              addresses.   This variable does not affect the gen­
              eration of Message-IDs, and it will not lead to the
              cut-off of first-level domains.

       history
              Type: number
              Default: 10

              strings remembered) of the string  history  buffer.
              The  buffer  is  cleared  each time the variable is
              set.

       honor_followup_to
              Type: quadoption
              Default: yes

              This variable controls whether or not  a  Mail-Fol­
              lowup-To header is honored when group-replying to a
              message.

       hostname
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              Specifies the hostname to  use  after  the  "@"  in
              local e-mail addresses.  This overrides the compile
              time definition obtained from /etc/resolv.conf.

       ignore_list_reply_to
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              Affects the behaviour of the  reply  function  when
              replying to messages from mailing lists.  When set,
              if the "Reply-To:" field is set to the  same  value
              as  the  "To:" field, Mutt assumes that the "Reply-
              To:" field was set by the mailing list to  automate
              responses  to the list, and will ignore this field.
              To direct a response to the mailing list when  this
              option  is set, use the list-reply function; group-
              reply will reply to both the sender and the list.

       imap_checkinterval
              Type: number
              Default: 60

              This variable configures  how  often  (in  seconds)
              IMAP should look for new mail.

       imap_force_ssl
              Type: boolean


              If  this  variable is set, Mutt will always use SSL
              when connecting to IMAP servers.

       imap_list_subscribed
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              This variable configures whether IMAP folder brows­
              ing  will  look  for only subscribed folders or all
              folders.  This can be toggled in the  IMAP  browser
              with the toggle-subscribed command.

       imap_user
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              Your login name on the IMAP server.

              This  variable  defaults  to  your user name on the
              local machine.

       imap_cramkey
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              Sets your CRAM secret, for use  with  the  CRAM-MD5
              IMAP authentication method (this is the IMAP equiv­
              elent of APOP). This method will be attempted auto­
              matically  if the server supports it, in preference
              to the less secure  login  technique.  If  you  use
              CRAM-MD5, you do not need to set imap_pass.

       imap_pass
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              Specifies  the  password for your IMAP account.  If
              unset, Mutt will prompt you for your password  when
              you  invoke  the fetch-mail function.  Warning: you
              should only use this  option  when  you  are  on  a
              fairly  secure  machine,  because the superuser can
              read your muttrc even if you are the only  one  who
              can read the file.

              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              When  set,  mutt will not open new IMAP connections
              to check for new mail.  Mutt will  only  check  for
              new  mail  over existing IMAP connections.  This is
              useful  if  you  don't  want  to  be  prompted   to
              user/password pairs on mutt invocation, or if open­
              ing the connection is slow.

       imap_servernoise
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              When set, mutt will display warning  messages  from
              the IMAP server as error messages. Since these mes­
              sages are often harmless, or generated due to  con­
              figuration  problems on the server which are out of
              the users' hands, you may wish to suppress them  at
              some point.

       imap_home_namespace
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              You  normally  want  to  see  your personal folders
              alongside your INBOX in the IMAP  browser.  If  you
              see  something  else,  you may set this variable to
              the IMAP path to your folders.

       imap_preconnect
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              If set, a shell command  to  be  executed  if  mutt
              fails to establish a connection to the server. This
              is useful for setting up secure  connections,  e.g.
              with ssh(1). If the command returns a  nonzero sta­
              tus, mutt gives up opening the server. Example:

              imap_preconnect="ssh -f -q -L 1234:mailhost.net:143
              mailhost.net sleep 20 < /dev/null > /dev/null"

              Mailbox 'foo' on mailhost.net can now be reached as
              '{localhost:1234}foo'.

              NOTE: For this example to work, you must be able to

              enter a password.

       implicit_autoview
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              If set to "yes", mutt will look  for  a  a  mailcap
              entry  with  the  copiousoutput  flag set for every
              MIME attachment it doesn't have an internal  viewer
              defined  for.  If such an entry is found, mutt will
              use the viewer defined in that entry to convert the
              body part to text form.

       include
              Type: quadoption
              Default: ask-yes

              Controls  whether  or  not a copy of the message(s)
              you are replying to is included in your reply.

       indent_string
              Type: string
              Default: "> "

              Specifies the string to prepend  to  each  line  of
              text quoted in a message to which you are replying.
              You are strongly  encouraged  not  to  change  this
              value,  as  it  tends to agitate the more fanatical
              netizens.

       in_reply_to
              Type: string
              Default: "%i; from %a on %{!%a, %b %d, %Y at %I:%M:%S%p %Z}"

              This specifies the format of the In-Reply-To header
              field  added when replying to a message.  For a ful
              llisting of defined escape sequences, see the  sec­
              tion on index_format.

              Note: Don't use any sequences in this format string
              which may include  8-bit  characters.   Using  such
              escape sequences may lead to bad headers.

              Type: string
              Default: "%4C %Z %{%b %d} %-15.15L (%4l) %s"

              This  variable  allows you to customize the message
              index display to your personal taste.

              "Format strings" are similar to the strings used in
              the  "C"  function printf to format output (see the
              man page for more detail).  The following sequences
              are defined in Mutt:

              %a      address of the author
              %b      filename of the original message
                      folder (think mailBox)
              %B      the list to which the letter was sent,
                      or else the folder name (%b).
              %c      number of characters (bytes) in the message
              %C      current message number
              %d      date and time of the message in the format
                      specified by "date_format" converted to
                      sender's time zone
              %D      date and time of the message in the format
                      specified by "date_format" converted to
                      the local time zone
              %f      entire From: line (address + real name)
              %F      author name, or recipient name if the
                      message is from you
              %i      message-id of the current message
              %l      number of lines in the message
              %L      list-from function
              %m      total number of message in the mailbox
              %M      number of hidden messages if the thread
                      is collapsed.
              %N      message score
              %n      author's real name (or address if missing)
              %O      (_O_riginal save folder)  Where
                      mutt would formerly have stashed the
                      message: list name or recipient name
                      if no list
              %s      subject of the message
              %S      status of the message (N/D/d/!/r/*)
              %t      `to:' field (recipients)
              %T      the appropriate character from the
                      to_chars string
              %u      user (login) name of the author
              %v      first name of the author, or the
                      recipient if the message is from you
              %Z      message status flags
              %{fmt}  the date and time of the message is
                      converted to sender's time zone, and

                      function "strftime"; a leading bang
                      disables locales
              %[fmt]  the date and time of the message is
                      converted to the local time zone, and
                      "fmt" is expanded by the library
                      function "strftime"; a leading bang
                      disables locales
              %(fmt)  the local date and time when the
                      message was received.
                      "fmt" is expanded by the library
                      function "strftime";
                      a leading bang disables locales
              %<fmt>  the current local time.
                      "fmt" is expanded by the library
                      function "strftime";
                      a leading bang disables locales.
              %>X     right justify the rest of the string
                      and pad with character "X"
              %|X     pad to the end of the line with
                      character "X"

              See also: "to_chars".

       ispell
              Type: path
              Default: "/usr/bin/ispell"

              How  to  invoke  ispell (GNU's spell-checking soft­
              ware).

       locale
              Type: string
              Default: "C"

              The locale used by  strftime(3)  to  format  dates.
              Legal  values  are  the strings your system accepts
              for the locale variable LC_TIME.

       mail_check
              Type: number
              Default: 5

              This variable configures  how  often  (in  seconds)
              mutt should look for new mail.

              Type: string
              Default: ""

              This variable specifies which files to consult when
              attempting to display MIME bodies not directly sup­
              ported by Mutt.

       mailcap_sanitize
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              If  set,  mutt will restrict possible characters in
              mailcap % expandos to a well-defined  set  of  safe
              characters.   This  is the safe setting, but we are
              not sure it doesn't break some more  advanced  MIME
              stuff.

              DON'T  CHANGE  THIS  SETTING  UNLESS YOU ARE REALLY
              SURE WHAT YOU ARE DOING!

       mark_old
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              Controls whether or not Mutt makes the  distinction
              between  new  messages and old unread messages.  By
              default, Mutt will mark new messages as old if  you
              exit a mailbox without reading them.  The next time
              you start Mutt, the messages will show up  with  an
              "O" next to them in the index menu, indicating that
              they are old.  In order  to  make  Mutt  treat  all
              unread  messages  as  new  only, you can unset this
              variable.

       markers
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              Controls the display of wrapped lines in the inter­
              nal pager. If set, a "+" marker is displayed at the
              beginning  of   wrapped   lines.   Also   see   the
              "smart_wrap" variable.

       mask
              Type: regular expression


              A  regular  expression  used  in  the file browser,
              optionally preceded by the not operator "!".   Only
              files  whose  names  match this mask will be shown.
              The match is always case-sensitive.

       mbox
              Type: path
              Default: "~/mbox"

              This specifies the folder into which read  mail  in
              your "spoolfile" folder will be appended.

       mbox_type
              Type: folder magic
              Default: mbox

              The  default  mailbox  type  used when creating new
              folders. May be any of mbox, MMDF, MH and  Maildir.

       metoo
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              If  unset,  Mutt  will remove your address from the
              list of recipients when replying to a message.

       menu_scroll
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              When set, menus will be scrolled  up  or  down  one
              line  when  you  attempt  to  move  across a screen
              boundary.  If unset, the screen is cleared and  the
              next  or  previous  page  of  the menu is displayed
              (useful for slow links to avoid many redraws).

       meta_key
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              If set, forces Mutt to  interpret  keystrokes  with
              the high bit (bit 8) set as if the user had pressed

              the  high  bit  removed.   For  example, if the key
              pressed has an ASCII value of 0xf4,  then  this  is
              treated  as  if  the user had pressed ESC then "x".
              This is because the result of removing the high bit
              from "0xf4" is "0x74", which is the ASCII character
              "x".

       mh_purge
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              When unset, mutt  will  mimic  mh's  behaviour  and
              rename  deleted  messages to ,<old file name> in mh
              folders instead of really deleting  them.   If  the
              variable  is  set, the message files will simply be
              deleted.

       mime_forward
              Type: quadoption
              Default: no

              When set, the message you are  forwarding  will  be
              attached   as  a  separate  MIME  part  instead  of
              included in the main body of the message.  This  is
              useful for forwarding MIME messages so the receiver
              can properly view the message as it  was  delivered
              to  you. If you like to switch between MIME and not
              MIME from mail to mail, set this variable to ask-no
              or ask-yes.

              Also    see    "forward_decode"    and   "mime_for­
              ward_decode".

       mime_forward_decode
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              Controls the decoding of complex MIME messages into
              text/plain   when   forwarding   a   message  while
              "mime_forward" is set.  Otherwise  "forward_decode"
              is used instead.

       mime_forward_rest
              Type: quadoption
              Default: yes

              sage from the recvattach  menu,  attachments  which
              cannot  be  decoded  in a reasonable manner will be
              attached to the  newly  composed  message  if  this
              option is set.

       mix_entry_format
              Type: string
              Default: "%4n %c %-16s %a"

              This  variable  describes  the format of a remailer
              line on the mixmaster chain selection screen.   The
              following printf-like sequences are supported:

              %n      The running number on the menu.
              %c             Remailer capabilities.
              %s             The remailer's short name.
              %a             The remailer's e-mail address.

       mixmaster
              Type: path
              Default: "mixmaster"

              This  variable  contains  the path to the Mixmaster
              binary on your system.  It  is  used  with  various
              sets  of  parameters  to  gather  the list of known
              remailers, and to finally send  a  message  through
              the mixmaster chain.

       move
              Type: quadoption
              Default: ask-no

              Controls  whether you will be asked to confirm mov­
              ing read messages from your spool mailbox  to  your
              "mbox"  mailbox,  or  as  a result of a "mbox-hook"
              command.

       message_format
              Type: string
              Default: "%s"

              menu for attachments of type message/rfc822.  For a
              full listing of defined escape  sequences  see  the
              section on "index_format".

       pager
              Type: path
              Default: "builtin"

              This  variable specifies which pager you would like
              to use to view messages.  builtin means to use  the
              builtin pager, otherwise this variable should spec­
              ify the pathname of the external  pager  you  would
              like to use.

              Using  an  external  pager  may have some disadvan­
              tages: Additional keystrokes are necessary  because
              you  can't  call  mutt  functions directly from the
              pager, and screen resizes cause lines  longer  than
              the  screen width to be badly formatted in the help
              menu.

       pager_context
              Type: number
              Default: 0

              This variable controls the number of lines of  con­
              text  that  are  given  when displaying the next or
              previous page in the internal pager.   By  default,
              Mutt  will  display  the line after the last one on
              the screen at the top of the next page (0 lines  of
              context).

       pager_format
              Type: string
              Default: "-%Z- %C/%m: %-20.20n   %s"

              This  variable  controls the format of the one-line
              message "status" displayed before each  message  in
              either  the  internal  or  an  external pager.  The
              valid sequences are listed  in  the  "index_format"
              section.

       pager_index_lines
              Type: number
              Default: 0

              which is shown when in the pager.  The current mes­
              sage,  unless near the top or bottom of the folder,
              will be roughly one third  of  the  way  down  this
              mini-index,  giving the reader the context of a few
              messages before and after  the  message.   This  is
              useful, for example, to determine how many messages
              remain to be read in the current  thread.   One  of
              the  lines  is reserved for the status bar from the
              index, so a pager_index_lines of 6 will only show 5
              lines of the actual index.  A value of 0 results in
              no index being shown.  If the number of messages in
              the  current folder is less than pager_index_lines,
              then the index will only use as many  lines  as  it
              needs.

       pager_stop
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              When  set,  the internal-pager will not move to the
              next message when you are at the end of  a  message
              and invoke the next-page function.

       pgp_autosign
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              Setting  this  variable  will  cause Mutt to always
              attempt to PGP/MIME sign outgoing  messages.   This
              can  be  overridden  by  use of the pgp- menu, when
              signing is not required or encryption is  requested
              as well.

       pgp_autoencrypt
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              Setting  this  variable  will  cause Mutt to always
              attempt  to  PGP/MIME  encrypt  outgoing  messages.
              This  is  probably only useful in connection to the
              send-hook command.  It can be overridden by use  of
              the  pgp-menu,  when  encryption is not required or
              signing is requested as well.

              Type: string
              Default: "%4n %t%f %4l/0x%k %-4a %2c %u"

              This variable allows you to customize the  PGP  key
              selection  menu to your personal taste. This string
              is similar to "index_format", but has its  own  set
              of printf()-like sequences:

              %n      number
              %k      key id
              %u      user id
              %a      algorithm
              %l      key length
              %f      flags
              %c      capabilities
              %t      trust/validity of the key-uid association
              %[<s>]  date of the key where <s> is an strftime(3)
                       expression

       pgp_long_ids
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              If set, use 64 bit PGP key IDs. Unset uses the nor­
              mal 32 bit Key IDs.

       pgp_replyencrypt
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              If set, automatically PGP encrypt replies  to  mes­
              sages which are encrypted.

       pgp_replysign
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              If  set, automatically PGP sign replies to messages
              which are signed.

              Note: this does  not  work  on  messages  that  are
              encrypted and signed!

              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              If  set, automatically PGP sign replies to messages
              which are encrypted. This makes sense  in  combina­
              tion with "pgp_replyencrypt", because it allows you
              to  sign  all  messages  which  are   automatically
              encrypted.   This works around the problem noted in
              "pgp_replysign", that mutt is not able to find  out
              whether an encrypted message is also signed.

       pgp_retainable_sigs
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              If  set, signed and encrypted messages will consist
              of nested multipart/signed and  multipart/encrypted
              body parts.

              This  is useful for applications like encrypted and
              signed mailing lists, where the outer layer (multi­
              part/encrypted)  can  be  easily removed, while the
              inner multipart/signed part is retained.

       pgp_show_unusable
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              If set, mutt will display non-usable  keys  on  the
              PGP  key  selection menu.  This includes keys which
              have been  revoked,  have  expired,  or  have  been
              marked as "disabled" by the user.

       pgp_sign_as
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              If  you  have  more  than one key pair, this option
              allows you to specify which of your private keys to
              use.  It is recommended that you use the keyid form
              to specify your key (e.g., "0x00112233").

       pgp_sign_micalg
              Type: string
              Default: "pgp-md5"

              integrity  check algorithm.  Valid values are "pgp-
              md5", "pgp-sha1", and "pgp-rmd160". If you select a
              signing key using the sign as option on the compose
              menu, mutt will automagically figure out  the  cor­
              rect  value  to  insert  here, but it does not know
              about the user's default key.

              So if you are using an RSA  key  for  signing,  set
              this  variable to "pgp-md5", if you use a PGP 5 DSS
              key for signing, say "pgp-sha1" here. The value  of
              this  variable will show up in the micalg parameter
              of MIME headers when creating RFC 2015  signatures.

       pgp_strict_enc
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              If  set,  Mutt  will  automatically encode PGP/MIME
              signed messages as quoted-printable.   Please  note
              that  unsetting  this variable may lead to problems
              with non-verifyable PGP signatures, so only  change
              this if you know what you are doing.

       pgp_timeout
              Type: number
              Default: 300

              The   number   of  seconds  after  which  a  cached
              passphrase will expire if not used.

       pgp_verify_sig
              Type: quadoption
              Default: yes

              If "yes", always attempt to verify PGP/MIME  signa­
              tures.   If "ask", ask whether or not to verify the
              signature.   If  "no",  never  attempt  to   verify
              PGP/MIME signatures.

       pgp_sort_keys
              Type: sort oder
              Default: address

              Specifies  how  the  entries in the `pgp keys' menu
              are sorted. The following are legal values:

              keyid     sort alphabetically by key id
              date      sort by key creation date
              trust      sort by the trust of the key

              If you prefer reverse order of  the  above  values,
              prefix it with `reverse-'.

       pgp_create_traditional
              Type: quadoption
              Default: no

              This  option  controls  whether Mutt generates old-
              style PGP encrypted or signed messages  under  cer­
              tain circumstances.

              Note  that  PGP/MIME will be used automatically for
              messages which have a character set different  from
              us-ascii,  or  which  consist of more than a single
              MIME part.

              Also note that using the old-style PGP message for­
              mat is strongly deprecated.

       pgp_decode_command
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              This  format  strings  specifies a command which is
              used to decode application/pgp attachments.

              The PGP command  formats  have  their  own  set  of
              printf-like sequences:

              %p        Expands to PGPPASSFD=0 when a pass phrase
                        is needed, to an empty string otherwise.
                        Note: This may be used with a %? construct.
              %f        Expands to the name of a file containing
                        a message.
              %s        Expands to the name of a file containing
                        the signature part of a multipart/signed
                        attachment when verifying it.
              %a        The value of pgp_sign_as.
              %r        One or more key IDs.

              the various versions  of  PGP  which  are  floating
              around,  see  the  pgp*.rc  and gpg.rc files in the
              samples/ subdirectory which has been  installed  on
              your system alongside the documentation.

       pgp_getkeys_command
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              This  command  is  invoked  whenever mutt will need
              public key information.  %r is the only printf-like
              sequence used with this format.

       pgp_verify_command
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              This command is used to verify PGP/MIME signatures.

       pgp_decrypt_command
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              This  command  is  used  to  decrypt   a   PGP/MIME
              encrypted message.

       pgp_clearsign_command
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              This  format is used to create a "clearsigned" old-
              style PGP attachment.  Note that the  use  of  this
              format is strongly deprecated.

       pgp_sign_command
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              This  command  is  used  to create the detached PGP
              signature  for  a  multipart/signed  PGP/MIME  body
              part.

              Type: string
              Default: ""

              This  command  is used to combinedly sign/encrypt a
              body part.

       pgp_encrypt_only_command
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              This command is used to encrypt a body part without
              signing it.

       pgp_import_command
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              This command is used to import a key from a message
              into the user's public key ring.

       pgp_export_command
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              This command is used to export a  public  key  from
              the user's key ring.

       pgp_verify_key_command
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              This command is used to verify key information from
              the key selection menu.

       pgp_list_secring_command
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              This command is used to list the secret key  ring's
              contents.   The  output format must be analogous to
              the one used by gpg --list-keys --with-colons.

              This  format  is  also  generated  by  the  pgpring


       pgp_list_pubring_command
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              This  command is used to list the public key ring's
              contents.  The output format must be  analogous  to
              the one used by gpg --list-keys --with-colons.

              This  format is also generated by the pgpring util­
              ity which comes with mutt.

       forward_decrypt
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              Controls the handling of  encrypted  messages  when
              forwarding a message.  When set, the outer layer of
              encryption is stripped off.  This variable is  only
              used   if  "mime_forward"  is  set  and  "mime_for­
              ward_decode" is unset.

       certificate_file
              Type: path
              Default: ""

              This variable specifies the file where the certifi­
              cates you trust are saved. When an unknown certifi­
              cate is encountered, you are asked if you accept it
              or  not. If you accept it, the certificate can also
              be saved in this file and further  connections  are
              automatically accepted.

              You  can  also manually add CA certificates in this
              file. Any server certificate that  is  signed  with
              one of these CA certificates are also automatically
              accepted.

              Example: set certificate_file=~/.mutt/certificates

       ssl_usesystemcerts
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              If set to yes, mutt will use CA certificates in the

              server certificate is signed by a trusted CA.

       entropy_file
              Type: path
              Default: ""
              library functions.

       ssl_use_sslv2
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              This variables specifies whether to attempt to  use
              SSLv2 in the SSL authentication process.

       ssl_use_sslv3
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              This  variables specifies whether to attempt to use
              SSLv3 in the SSL authentication process.

       ssl_use_tlsv1
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              This variables specifies whether to attempt to  use
              TLSv1 in the SSL authentication process.

       pipe_split
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              Used  in  connection  with the pipe-message command
              and the "tag- prefix" operator.  If  this  variable
              is  unset,  when  piping  a list of tagged messages
              Mutt will concatenate the messages  and  will  pipe
              them  as a single folder.  When set, Mutt will pipe
              the messages one by one.  In  both  cases  the  the
              messages are piped in the current sorted order, and
              the "pipe_sep" separator is added after  each  mes­
              sage.

              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              Used  in  connection with the pipe-message command.
              When unset, Mutt will pipe the messages without any
              preprocessing. When set, Mutt will weed headers and
              will attempt to PGP/MIME decode the messages first.

       pipe_sep
              Type: string
              Default: "\n"

              The separator to add between messages when piping a
              list of tagged messages to an  external  Unix  com­
              mand.

       pop_delete
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              If  set,  Mutt  will delete successfully downloaded
              messages from the POP server when using the  fetch-
              mail function.  When unset, Mutt will download mes­
              sages but also leave them on the POP server.

       pop_host
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              The name or address of your POP3 server.

       pop_port
              Type: number
              Default: 110

              This variable specifies which port your POP  server
              is listening on.

       pop_last
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              If  this  variable is set, mutt will try to use the

              sages from the POP server.

       pop_user
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              Your login name on the POP3 server.

              Defaults to your login name on the local system.

       pop_pass
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              Your password on the POP3 server.

       post_indent_string
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              Similar  to  the  "attribution" variable, Mutt will
              append this string after the inclusion of a message
              which is being replied to.

       postpone
              Type: quadoption
              Default: ask-yes

              Controls  whether  or not messages are saved in the
              "postponed" mailbox when  you  elect  not  to  send
              immediately.

       postponed
              Type: path
              Default: "~/postponed"

              Mutt allows you to indefinitely "postpone sending a
              message" which you are editing.  When you choose to
              postpone  a  message,  Mutt  saves it in the folder
              specified by this variable.  Also  see  the  "post­
              pone" variable.

              Type: quadoption
              Default: ask-no

              Controls  whether or not Mutt asks for confirmation
              before printing.  This is useful for  people  (like
              me) who accidentally hit "p" often.

       print_command
              Type: path
              Default: "lpr"

              This specifies the command pipe that should be used
              to print messages.

       print_decode
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              Used in connection with the print-message  command.
              If  this  option  is  set,  the  message is decoded
              before it is passed to the external command  speci­
              fied by print_command.  If this option is unset, no
              processing will be  applied  to  the  message  when
              printing  it.   The latter setting may be useful if
              you are using some advanced printer filter which is
              able  to properly format e-mail messages for print­
              ing.

       prompt_after
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              If you use an external "pager", setting this  vari­
              able  will  cause  Mutt to prompt you for a command
              when the pager exits rather than returning  to  the
              index  menu.   If  unset,  Mutt  will return to the
              index menu when the external pager exits.

       query_command
              Type: path
              Default: ""

              This specifies the command that mutt  will  use  to
              make  external  address queries.  The string should
              contain a %s, which will be  substituted  with  the

              information.

       quit
              Type: quadoption
              Default: yes

              This variable controls whether  "quit"  and  "exit"
              actually quit from mutt.  If it set to yes, they do
              quit, if it is set to no, they have no effect,  and
              if it is set to ask-yes or ask-no, you are prompted
              for confirmation when you try to quit.

       quote_regexp
              Type: regular expression
              Default: "^([ \t]*[|>:}#])+"

              A regular expression used in the internal-pager  to
              determine  quoted sections of text in the body of a
              message.

              Note: In order to use the quotedx patterns  in  the
              internal  pager,  you need to set this to a regular
              expression that matches exactly the  quote  charac­
              ters at the beginning of quoted lines.

       read_inc
              Type: number
              Default: 10

              If set to a value greater than 0, Mutt will display
              which message it is currently  on  when  reading  a
              mailbox.   The  message  is  printed after read_inc
              messages have been read (e.g., if set to  25,  Mutt
              will  print a message when it reads message 25, and
              then again when it gets to message 50).  This vari­
              able  is  meant  to  indicate progress when reading
              large mailboxes which may take some time.  When set
              to  0, only a single message will appear before the
              reading the mailbox.

              Also see the "write_inc" variable.

       read_only
              Type: boolean
              Default: no


       realname
              Type: string
              Default: ""

              This variable specifies what "real"  or  "personal"
              name should be used when sending messages.

              By   default,   this   is   the   GCOS  field  from
              /etc/passwd.  Note that this variable will  not  be
              used  when the user has set a real name in the from
              variable.

       recall
              Type: quadoption
              Default: ask-yes

              Controls whether or not you are prompted to  recall
              postponed  messages  when  composing a new message.
              Also see "postponed".

              Setting this variable to  "yes"  is  not  generally
              useful, and thus not recommended.

       record
              Type: path
              Default: ""

              This  specifies  the  file into which your outgoing
              messages should be appended.  (This is meant as the
              primary  method for saving a copy of your messages,
              but another way to do this is  using  the  "my_hdr"
              command  to  create  a  Bcc:  field with your email
              address in it.)

              The  value  of  record   is   overridden   by   the
              "force_name"  and  "save_name"  variables,  and the
              "fcc-hook" command.

       reply_regexp
              Type: regular expression
              Default: "^(re([\[0-9\]+])*|aw):[ \t]*"

              A regular expression used to recognize  reply  mes­
              sages  when  threading  and  replying.  The default

              man "Aw:".

       reply_self
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              If  unset and you are replying to a message sent by
              you, Mutt will assume that you want to reply to the
              recipients of that message rather than to yourself.

       reply_to
              Type: quadoption
              Default: ask-yes

              If set, Mutt will ask you if you want  to  use  the
              address  listed  in the Reply-To: header field when
              replying to a message.  If you answer no,  it  will
              use  the address in the From: header field instead.
              This option is useful for reading  a  mailing  list
              that  sets  the  Reply-To: header field to the list
              address and you want to send a private  message  to
              the author of a message.

       resolve
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              When set, the cursor will be automatically advanced
              to the next (possibly undeleted) message whenever a
              command  that  modifies the current message is exe­
              cuted.

       reverse_alias
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              This variable controls whether  or  not  Mutt  will
              display  the  "personal"  name from your aliases in
              the index menu if it finds an  alias  that  matches
              the message's sender.  For example, if you have the
              following alias:


              and then you receive mail which contains  the  fol­
              lowing header:

              From: abd30425@somewhere.net

              It  would  be  displayed  in the index menu as "Joe
              User" instead of "abd30425@somewhere.net."  This is
              useful  when  the  person's  e-mail  address is not
              human friendly (like CompuServe addresses).

       reverse_name
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              It may sometimes arrive that you receive mail to  a
              certain  machine,  move  the  messages  to  another
              machine, and reply to some the messages from there.
              If  this variable is set, the default From: line of
              the reply messages is built using the address where
              you  received the messages you are replying to.  If
              the variable is unset, the From: line will use your
              address on the current machine.

       reverse_realname
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              This  variable  fine-tunes  the  behaviour  of  the
              reverse_name feature.  When it is  set,  mutt  will
              use  the address from incoming messages as-is, pos­
              sibly including eventual real names.   When  it  is
              unset,  mutt  will override any such realnames with
              the setting of the realname variable.

       rfc2047_parameters
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              When  this  variable  is  set,  Mutt  will   decode

              this  variable  when  mutt  suggests  you  to  save
              attachments    to    files    named    like   this:
              =?iso-8859-1?Q?file=5F=E4=5F991116=2Ezip?=

              When this variable is set interactively, the change
              doesn't  have  the  desired  effect before you have
              changed folders.

              Note that  this  use  of  RFC  2047's  encoding  is
              explicitly,  prohibited by the standard, but never­
              theless encountered in the wild.   Also  note  that
              setting  this  parameter  will  not have the effect
              that  mutt  generates  this   kind   of   encoding.
              Instead, mutt will unconditionally use the encoding
              specified in RFC 2231.

       save_address
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              If set, mutt will take the  sender's  full  address
              when  choosing  a default folder for saving a mail.
              If "save_name" or  "force_name"  is  set  too,  the
              selection  of  the  fcc  folder  will be changed as
              well.

       save_empty
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              When unset, mailboxes which contain no  saved  mes­
              sages will be removed when closed (the exception is
              "spoolfile" which is never removed).  If set, mail­
              boxes are never removed.

              Note:  This  only applies to mbox and MMDF folders,
              Mutt does not delete MH and Maildir directories.

       save_name
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              This variable controls how copies of outgoing  mes­
              sages  are saved.  When set, a check is made to see
              if a mailbox specified  by  the  recipient  address
              exists  (this is done by searching for a mailbox in
              the "folder" directory with the  username  part  of

              outgoing message will be  saved  to  that  mailbox,
              otherwise  the  message  is  saved  to the "record"
              mailbox.

              Also see the "force_name" variable.

       score
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              When this variable is unset, scoring is turned off.
              This  can  be useful to selectively disable scoring
              for  certain  folders   when   the   "score_thresh­
              old_delete" variable and friends are used.

       score_threshold_delete
              Type: number
              Default: -1

              Messages  which have been assigned a score equal to
              or lower than the value of this variable are  auto­
              matically  marked for deletion by mutt.  Since mutt
              scores are always greater than or  equal  to  zero,
              the  default  setting  of  this variable will never
              mark a message for deletion.

       score_threshold_flag
              Type: number
              Default: 9999

              Messages wich have been assigned  a  score  greater
              than or equal to this variable's value are automat­
              ically marked "flagged".

       score_threshold_read
              Type: number
              Default: -1

              Messages which have been assigned a score equal  to
              or  lower than the value of this variable are auto­
              matically marked  as  read  by  mutt.   Since  mutt
              scores  are  always  greater than or equal to zero,
              the default setting of  this  variable  will  never
              mark a message read.

              Type: string
              Default: ""

              The  character  set that mutt will use for outgoing
              messages.  If this variable is not set,  mutt  will
              fall back to "charset".

       sendmail
              Type: path
              Default: "/usr/sbin/sendmail -oem -oi"

              Specifies the program and arguments used to deliver
              mail sent by Mutt.  Mutt expects that the specified
              program  interprets additional arguments as recipi­
              ent addresses.

       sendmail_wait
              Type: number
              Default: 0

              Specifies the number of seconds  to  wait  for  the
              "sendmail"  process  to finish before giving up and
              putting delivery in the background.

              Mutt interprets the value of this variable as  fol­
              lows:

              >0      number of seconds to wait for sendmail to
                      finish before continuing
              0       wait forever for sendmail to finish
              <0      always put sendmail in the background
                      without waiting

              Note  that if you specify a value other than 0, the
              output of the child process will be put in a tempo­
              rary  file.   If  there  is some error, you will be
              informed as to where to find the output.

       shell
              Type: path
              Default: ""

              Command  to  use  when  spawning  a  subshell.   By

              used.

       sig_dashes
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              If set, a line containing "-- "  will  be  inserted
              before  your  "signature".   It  is strongly recom­
              mended that you not unset this variable unless your
              "signature"  contains  just  your name.  The reason
              for this is because many software packages use  "--
              \n"  to  detect  your signature.  For example, Mutt
              has the ability to highlight  the  signature  in  a
              different color in the builtin pager.

       signature
              Type: path
              Default: "~/.signature"

              Specifies  the filename of your signature, which is
              appended to all outgoing messages.   If  the  file­
              name  ends  with  a  pipe ("|"), it is assumed that
              filename is a shell command  and  input  should  be
              read from its stdout.

       simple_search
              Type: string
              Default: "~f %s | ~s %s"

              Specifies  how  Mutt  should expand a simple search
              into a real search pattern.  A simple search is one
              that  does not contain any of the ~ operators.  See
              "patterns" for more information on search patterns.

              For  example, if you simply type joe at a search or
              limit prompt, Mutt will automatically expand it  to
              the  value  specified  by  this  variable.  For the
              default value it would be:

              ~f joe | ~s joe

       smart_wrap
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              screen  width  in  the internal pager. If set, long
              lines are wrapped at a word  boundary.   If  unset,
              lines  are  simply wrapped at the screen edge. Also
              see the "markers" variable.

       smileys
              Type: regular expression
              Default: "(>From )|(:[-^]?[][)(><}{|/DP])"

              The pager uses this variable to catch  some  common
              false  positives  of  "quote_regexp",  most notably
              smileys in the beginning of a line

       sort
              Type: sort oder
              Default: date

              Specifies how to sort messages in the  index  menu.
              Valid values are:

                 date or date-sent
                 date-received
                 from
                 mailbox-order (unsorted)
                 score
                 size
                 subject
                 threads
                 to

              You may optionally use the reverse- prefix to spec­
              ify   reverse   sorting   order    (example:    set
              sort=reverse-date-sent).

       sort_alias
              Type: sort oder
              Default: alias

              Specifies  how  the entries in the `alias' menu are
              sorted.  The following are legal values:

                 alias (sort alphabetically by alias name)
                 unsorted (leave in order specified in .muttrc)

       sort_aux
              Type: sort oder
              Default: date

              When sorting by threads, this variable controls how
              threads  are  sorted  in relation to other threads,
              and how  the  branches  of  the  thread  trees  are
              sorted.   This  can be set to any value that "sort"
              can, except threads (in that case, mutt  will  just
              use  date-sent).   You  can  also specify the last-
              prefix in addition  to  the  reverse-  prefix,  but
              last-  must  come after reverse-.  The last- prefix
              causes messages to be sorted against  its  siblings
              by which has the last descendant, using the rest of
              sort_aux  as  an  ordering.   For   instance,   set
              sort_aux=last-  date-received  would mean that if a
              new message is received in a  thread,  that  thread
              becomes  the  last  one displayed (or the first, if
              you  have  set  sort=reverse-threads.)  Note:   For
              reversed  "sort"  order  sort_aux is reversed again
              (which is not the right thing to do,  but  kept  to
              not break any existing configuration setting).

       sort_browser
              Type: sort oder
              Default: subject

              Specifies  how to sort entries in the file browser.
              By default, the entries are sorted  alphabetically.
              Valid values:

                 alpha (alphabetically)
                 date
                 size
                 unsorted

              You may optionally use the reverse- prefix to spec­
              ify   reverse   sorting   order    (example:    set
              sort_browser=reverse-date).

              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              This  variable  is  only  useful  when  sorting  by
              threads with "strict_threads" unset.  In that case,
              it  changes  the heuristic mutt uses to thread mes­
              sages by subject.  With sort_re set, mutt will only
              attach a message as the child of another message by
              subject if the subject of the child message  starts
              with   a   substring   matching   the   setting  of
              "reply_regexp".   With  sort_re  unset,  mutt  will
              attach the message whether or not this is the case,
              as long as the  non-"reply_regexp"  parts  of  both
              messages are identical.

       spoolfile
              Type: path
              Default: ""

              If  your  spool  mailbox  is in a non-default place
              where Mutt cannot find  it,  you  can  specify  its
              location  with  this variable.  Mutt will automati­
              cally set this variable to the value of  the  envi­
              ronment variable MAIL if it is not set.

       status_chars
              Type: string
              Default: "-*%A"

              Controls  the characters used by the "%r" indicator
              in "status_format". The  first  character  is  used
              when  the  mailbox is unchanged. The second is used
              when the mailbox has been changed, and it needs  to
              be resynchronized. The third is used if the mailbox
              is in read-only mode, or if the mailbox will not be
              written  when  exiting that mailbox (You can toggle
              whether to write changes to a mailbox with the tog­
              gle-write  operation, bound by default to "%"). The
              fourth is used to indicate that the current  folder
              has  been  opened  in attach- message mode (Certain
              operations like composing  a  new  mail,  replying,
              forwarding, etc. are not permitted in this mode).

       status_format
              Type: string
              Default: "-%r-Mutt: %f [Msgs:%?M?%M/?%m%?n? New:%n?%?o? Old:%o?%?d? Del:%d?%?F? Flag:%F?%?t? Tag:%t?%?p? Post:%p?%?b? Inc:%b?%?l? %l?]---(%s/%S)-%>-(%P)---"

              the  index  menu.   This  string  is   similar   to
              "index_format",    but   has   its   own   set   of
              printf()-like sequences:

              %b      number of mailboxes with new mail *
              %d      number of deleted messages *
              %h      local hostname
              %f      the full pathname of the current mailbox
              %F      number of flagged messages *
              %l      size (in bytes) of the current mailbox *
              %L      size (in bytes) of the messages shown
                      (i.e., which match the current limit) *
              %m      the number of messages in the mailbox *
              %M      the number of messages shown (i.e., which
                      match the current limit) *
              %n      number of new messages in the mailbox *
              %o      number of old unread messages
              %p      number of postponed messages *
              %P      percentage of the way through the index
              %r      modified/read-only/won't-write/attach-message
                      indicator, according to status_chars
              %s      current sorting mode (sort)
              %S      current aux sorting method (sort_aux)
              %t      number of tagged messages *
              %u      number of unread messages *
              %v      Mutt version string
              %V      currently active limit pattern, if any *
              %>X     right justify the rest of the string and
                      pad with "X"
              %|X     pad to the end of the line with "X"

              * = can be optionally printed if nonzero

              Some of the above sequences can be used to  option­
              ally print a string if their value is nonzero.  For
              example, you may only want to  see  the  number  of
              flagged messages if such messages exist, since zero
              is  not  particularly  meaningful.   To  optionally
              print   a  string  based  upon  one  of  the  above
              sequences, the following construct is used

              %?<sequence_char>?<optional_string>?

              where sequence_char is a character from  the  table
              above,  and optional_string is the string you would
              like   printed   if   status_char    is    nonzero.
              optional_string  may contain other sequence as well
              as normal text,  but  you  may  not  nest  optional


              Here  is  an example illustrating how to optionally
              print the number of  new  messages  in  a  mailbox:
              %?n?%n new messages.?

              Additionally  you  can  switch between two strings,
              the first one, if a value is zero, the second  one,
              if  the  value  is  nonzero, by using the following
              construct:
              %?<sequence_char>?<if_string>&<else_string>?

              You  can  additionally  force  the  result  of  any
              printf-like sequence to be lowercase  by  prefixing
              the sequence character with an underscore (_) sign.
              For example, if you want to display the local host­
              name in lowercase, you would use: %_h

       status_on_top
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              Setting this variable causes the "status bar" to be
              displayed on the first line of  the  screen  rather
              than near the bottom.

       strict_threads
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              If  set,  threading  will only make use of the "In-
              Reply-To" and "References" fields when "sorting" by
              message  threads.   By  default,  messages with the
              same  subject  are  grouped  together  in   "pseudo
              threads."   This  may not always be desirable, such
              as in a personal mailbox where you might have  sev­
              eral unrelated messages with the subject "hi" which
              will get grouped together.

       suspend
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              When unset, mutt won't stop when the  user  presses
              the  terminal's susp key, usually "control-Z". This
              is useful if you run mutt inside an xterm  using  a
              command like xterm -e mutt.

              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              Affects  the  ~b and ~h search operations described
              in section "patterns" above.  If set,  the  headers
              and  attachments  of  messages  to  be searched are
              decoded before searching.  If unset,  messages  are
              searched as they appear in the folder.

       tilde
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              When  set,  the internal-pager will pad blank lines
              to the bottom of the screen with a tilde (~).

       timeout
              Type: number
              Default: 600

              This variable controls the number of  seconds  Mutt
              will  wait for a key to be pressed in the main menu
              before timing out and checking  for  new  mail.   A
              value  of  zero or less will cause Mutt not to ever
              time out.

       tmpdir
              Type: path
              Default: ""

              This variable allows you to specify where Mutt will
              place its temporary files needed for displaying and
              composing messages.

       to_chars
              Type: string
              Default: " +TCF"

              Controls  the  character  used  to  indicate   mail
              addressed  to  you.  The first character is the one
              used when the mail is NOT addressed to your address
              (default:  space).  The second is used when you are
              the only recipient of  the  message  (default:  +).
              The  third  is  when your address appears in the TO
              header field, but you are not the only recipient of

              used when your  address  is  specified  in  the  CC
              header  field,  but you are not the only recipient.
              The fifth character is used to indicate  mail  that
              was sent by you.

       use_8bitmime
              Type: boolean
              Default: no

              Warning:  do  not  set this variable unless you are
              using a version  of  sendmail  which  supports  the
              -B8BITMIME flag (such as sendmail 8.8.x) or you may
              not be able to send mail.

              When set, Mutt  will  invoke  "sendmail"  with  the
              -B8BITMIME  flag  when  sending  8-bit  messages to
              enable ESMTP negotiation.

       use_domain
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              When set, Mutt will  qualify  all  local  addresses
              (ones  without the @host portion) with the value of
              "hostname".  If unset, no addresses will be  quali­
              fied.

       use_from
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              When  set,  Mutt  will  generate the `From:' header
              field when sending messages.  If unset, no  `From:'
              header  field  will  be  generated  unless the user
              explicitly sets one using the "my_hdr" command.

       user_agent
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              When set, mutt will add a  "User-Agent"  header  to
              outgoing messages, indicating which version of mutt
              was used for composing them.

              Type: path
              Default: ""

              Specifies the visual editor to invoke when  the  ~v
              command is given in the builtin editor.

       wait_key
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              Controls  whether  Mutt will ask you to press a key
              after  shell-  escape,  pipe-message,   pipe-entry,
              print-message, and print-entry commands.

              It  is  also  used  when  viewing  attachments with
              "autoview", provided that the corresponding mailcap
              entry  has  a  needsterminal flag, and the external
              program is interactive.

              When set, Mutt will always  ask  for  a  key.  When
              unset,  Mutt will wait for a key only if the exter­
              nal command returned a non-zero status.

       weed
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              When set, mutt will weed headers when when display­
              ing, forwarding, printing, or replying to messages.

       wrap_search
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              Controls whether searches wrap around  the  end  of
              the mailbox.

              When  set,  searches will wrap around the first (or
              last) message. When unset, searches will not  wrap.

       write_inc
              Type: number
              Default: 10

              When  writing  a mailbox, a message will be printed

              set  to  0, only a single message will be displayed
              before writing a mailbox.

              Also see the "read_inc" variable.

       write_bcc
              Type: boolean
              Default: yes

              Controls whether mutt writes  out  the  Bcc  header
              when preparing messages to be sent.  Exim users may
              wish to use this.


SEE ALSO

       mutt(1), mailcap(5), printf(3), strftime(3), regex(7)

       The Mutt Manual
       The Mutt home page: http://www.mutt.org/


AUTHOR

       Michael Elkins, and others.   Use  <mutt-dev@mutt.org>  to
       contact the developers.


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