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Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form in the Sun OS Reference Manual, from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2004 Edition, Standard for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2004 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between these versions and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html. .\" This notice shall appear on any product containing this material. .\" The contents of this file are subject to the terms of the Common Development and Distribution License (the "License"). 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If applicable, add the following below this CDDL HEADER, with the fields enclosed by brackets "[]" replaced with your own identifying information: Portions Copyright [yyyy] [name of copyright owner] .TH mail 1 "24 Jul 2008" "SunOS 5.11" "User Commands" .SH NAME mail, rmail \- read mail or send mail to users .SH SYNOPSIS .SS "Sending Mail" .LP .nf \fBmail\fR [\fB-tw\fR] [\fB-m\fR \fImessage_type\fR] \fIrecipient\fR... .fi .LP .nf \fBrmail\fR [\fB-tw\fR] [\fB-m\fR \fImessage_type\fR] \fIrecipient\fR... .fi .SS "Reading Mail" .LP .nf \fBmail\fR [\fB-ehpPqr\fR] [\fB-f\fR \fIfile\fR] .fi .SS "Debugging" .LP .nf \fBmail\fR [\fB-x\fR \fIdebug_level\fR] [\fIother_mail_options\fR] \fIrecipient\fR... .fi .SH DESCRIPTION .sp .LP A \fIrecipient\fR is usually a domain style address ("\fIuser\fR@\fImachine\fR") or a user name recognized by \fBlogin\fR(1). When \fIrecipient\fRs are named, \fBmail\fR assumes a message is being sent. It reads from the standard input up to an end-of-file (Control-d) or, if reading from a terminal device, until it reads a line consisting of just a period. When either of those indicators is received, \fBmail\fR adds the \fIletter\fR to the \fImailfile\fR for each \fIrecipient\fR. .sp .LP A \fIletter\fR is composed of some \fIheader lines\fR followed by a blank line followed by the \fImessage content\fR. The \fIheader lines\fR section of the letter consists of one or more UNIX postmarks: .sp .in +2 .nf \fBFrom\fR \fIsender date_and_time\fR [\fBremote from\fR \fIremote_system_name\fR] .fi .in -2 .sp .sp .LP followed by one or more standardized message header lines of the form: .sp .in +2 .nf \fIkeyword-name\fR\fB:\fR [\fIprintable text\fR] .fi .in -2 .sp .sp .LP where \fIkeyword-name\fR is comprised of any printable, non-whitespace characters other than colon (`\fB:\fR'). A \fBMIME-version:\fR header line indicates that the message is formatted as described in RFC 2045. A \fBContent-Length:\fR header line, indicating the number of bytes in the \fImessage content\fR, is always present unless the letter consists of only header lines with no message content. A \fBContent-Type:\fR header line that describes the type of the \fImessage content\fR (such as text/plain, application/octet-stream, and so on) is also present, unless the letter consists of only header lines with no message content. Header lines may be continued on the following line if that line starts with white space. .SH OPTIONS .SS "Sending Mail" .sp .LP The following command-line arguments affect sending mail: .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB-m\fR \fImessage_type\fR\fR .ad .RS 19n .rt A \fBMessage-Type:\fR line is added to the message header with the value of \fImessage_type\fR. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB-t\fR\fR .ad .RS 19n .rt A \fBTo:\fR line is added to the message header for each of the intended \fIrecipient\fRs. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB-w\fR\fR .ad .RS 19n .rt A letter is sent to a remote recipient without waiting for the completion of the remote transfer program. .RE .sp .LP If a letter is found to be undeliverable, it is returned to the sender with diagnostics that indicate the location and nature of the failure. If \fBmail\fR is interrupted during input, the message is saved in the file \fBdead.letter\fR to allow editing and resending. \fBdead.letter\fR is always appended to, thus preserving any previous contents. The initial attempt to append to (or create) \fBdead.letter\fR is in the current directory. If this fails, \fBdead.letter\fR is appended to (or created in) the user's login directory. If the second attempt also fails, no \fBdead.letter\fR processing is done. .sp .LP \fBrmail\fR only permits the sending of mail; \fBuucp\fR(1C) uses \fBrmail\fR as a security precaution. Any application programs that generate mail messages should be sure to invoke \fBrmail\fR rather than \fBmail\fR for message transport and/or delivery. .sp .LP If the local system has the Basic Networking Utilities installed, mail can be sent to a recipient on a remote system. There are numerous ways to address mail to recipients on remote systems depending on the transport mechanisms available to the local system. The two most prevalent addressing schemes are Domain-style and UUCP-style. .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fBDomain-style addressing\fR .ad .RS 27n .rt Remote recipients are specified by appending an `\fB@\fR' and domain (and possibly sub-domain) information to the recipient name (such as \fBuser@sf.att.com\fR). (The local system administrator should be consulted for details on which addressing conventions are available on the local system.) .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fBUUCP-style addressing\fR .ad .RS 27n .rt Remote recipients are specified by prefixing the recipient name with the remote system name and an exclamation point, such as \fBsysa!user.\fR If \fBcsh\fR(1) is the default shell, \fBsysa\e!user\fR should be used. A series of system names separated by exclamation points can be used to direct a letter through an extended network (such as \fBsysa!sysb!sysc!user\fR or \fBsysa\e!sysb\e!sysc\e!user\fR). .RE .SS "Reading Mail" .sp .LP The following command-line arguments affect reading mail: .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB-e\fR\fR .ad .RS 11n .rt Test for the presence of mail. \fBmail\fR prints nothing. .sp An exit status of \fB0\fR is returned if the user has mail. Otherwise, an exit status of \fB1\fR is returned. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB-E\fR\fR .ad .RS 11n .rt Similar to \fB-e\fR, but tests only for the presence of \fBnew\fR mail. .sp An exit status of \fB0\fR is returned if the user has new mail to read, an exit status of \fB1\fR is returned if the user has no mail, or an exit status of \fB2\fR is returned if the user has mail which has already been read. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB-h\fR\fR .ad .RS 11n .rt A window of headers are initially displayed rather than the latest message. The display is followed by the \fB?\fR prompt. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB-p\fR\fR .ad .RS 11n .rt All messages are printed without prompting for disposition. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB-P\fR\fR .ad .RS 11n .rt All messages are printed with \fIall\fR header lines displayed, rather than the default selective header line display. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB-q\fR\fR .ad .RS 11n .rt \fBmail\fR terminates after interrupts. Normally an interrupt causes only the termination of the message being printed. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB-r\fR\fR .ad .RS 11n .rt Messages are printed in first-in, first-out order. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB-f\fR \fIfile\fR\fR .ad .RS 11n .rt \fBmail\fR uses \fIfile\fR (such as \fBmbox\fR) instead of the default \fImailfile\fR. .RE .sp .LP \fBmail\fR, unless otherwise influenced by command-line arguments, prints a user's mail messages in last-in, first-out order. The default mode for printing messages is to display only those header lines of immediate interest. These include, but are not limited to, the UNIX \fBFrom\fR and \fB>From\fR postmarks, \fBFrom:\fR, \fBDate:\fR, \fBSubject:\fR, and \fBContent-Length:\fR header lines, and any recipient header lines such as \fBTo:\fR, \fBCc:\fR, \fBBcc:\fR, and so forth. After the header lines have been displayed, \fBmail\fR displays the contents (body) of the message only if it contains no unprintable characters. Otherwise, \fBmail\fR issues a warning statement about the message having binary content and \fBnot\fR display the content. This can be overridden by means of the \fBp\fR command. .sp .LP For each message, the user is prompted with a \fB?\fR and a line is read from the standard input. The following commands are available to determine the disposition of the message: .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB#\fR\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Print the number of the current message. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB\(mi\fR\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Print previous message. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB,\fB+\fR, or \fBn\fR\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Print the next message. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB!\fR\fIcommand\fR\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Escape to the shell to do \fIcommand\fR. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBa\fR\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Print message that arrived during the \fBmail\fR session. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBd\fR, or \fBdp\fR\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Delete the current message and print the next message. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBd\fR \fIn\fR\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Delete message number \fIn\fR. Do not go on to next message. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBdq\fR\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Delete message and quit \fBmail\fR. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBh\fR\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Display a window of headers around current message. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBh\fR\fIn\fR\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Display a window of headers around message number \fIn\fR. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBh a\fR\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Display headers of all messages in the user's \fImailfile\fR. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBh d\fR\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Display headers of messages scheduled for deletion. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBm\fR [ \fIpersons\fR ]\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Mail (and delete) the current message to the named \fIpersons\fR. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fIn\fR\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Print message number \fIn\fR. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBp\fR\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Print current message again, overriding any indications of binary (that is, unprintable) content. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBP\fR\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Override default brief mode and print current message again, displaying all header lines. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBq\fR, or Control-d\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Put undeleted mail back in the \fImailfile\fR and quit \fBmail\fR. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBr\fR [ \fIusers\fR ]\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Reply to the sender, and other \fIusers\fR, then delete the message. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBs\fR [ \fIfiles\fR ]\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Save message in the named \fIfiles\fR (\fBmbox\fR is default) and delete the message. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBu\fR [ \fIn\fR ]\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Undelete message number \fIn\fR (default is last read). .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBw\fR [ \fIfiles\fR ]\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Save message contents, without any header lines, in the named \fIfiles\fR (\fBmbox\fR is default) and delete the message. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBx\fR\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Put all mail back in the \fImailfile\fR unchanged and exit \fBmail\fR. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBy\fR [ \fIfiles\fR ]\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Same as \fB-w\fR option. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB?\fR\fR .ad .RS 22n .rt Print a command summary. .RE .sp .LP When a user logs in, the presence of mail, if any, is usually indicated. Also, notification is made if new mail arrives while using \fBmail\fR. .sp .LP The permissions of \fImailfile\fR can be manipulated using \fBchmod\fR(1) in two ways to alter the function of \fBmail\fR. The other permissions of the file can be read-write (\fB0666\fR), read-only (\fB0664\fR), or neither read nor write (\fB0660\fR) to allow different levels of privacy. If changed to other than the default (mode \fB0660\fR), the file is preserved even when empty to perpetuate the desired permissions. (The administrator can override this file preservation using the \fBDEL_EMPTY_MAILFILE\fR option of \fBmailcnfg\fR.) .sp .LP The group \fBID\fR of the mailfile must be \fBmail\fR to allow new messages to be delivered, and the mailfile must be writable by group \fBmail\fR. .SS "Debugging" .sp .LP The following command-line arguments cause \fBmail\fR to provide debugging information: .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB-x\fR \fIdebug_level\fR\fR .ad .RS 18n .rt \fBmail\fR creates a trace file containing debugging information. .RE .sp .LP The \fB-x\fR option causes \fBmail\fR to create a file named \fB/tmp/MLDBG\fR\fIprocess_id\fR that contains debugging information relating to how \fBmail\fR processed the current message. The absolute value of \fIdebug_level\fR controls the verboseness of the debug information. \fB0\fR implies no debugging. If \fIdebug_level\fR is greater than \fB0\fR, the debug file is retained \fIonly\fR if \fBmail\fR encountered some problem while processing the message. If \fIdebug_level\fR is less than \fB0\fR, the debug file is always be retained. The \fIdebug_level\fR specified via \fB-x\fR overrides any specification of \fBDEBUG\fR in \fB/etc/mail/mailcnfg\fR. The information provided by the \fB-x\fR option is esoteric and is probably only useful to system administrators. .SS "Delivery Notification" .sp .LP Several forms of notification are available for mail by including one of the following lines in the message header. .sp .LP \fBTransport-Options:\fR [ \fB/\fR\fIoptions\fR ] .sp .LP \fBDefault-Options:\fR [ \fB/\fR\fIoptions\fR ] .sp .LP \fB>To:\fR \fIrecipient\fR [ \fB/\fR\fIoptions\fR ] .sp .LP Where the "/\fIoptions\fR" can be one or more of the following: .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB/delivery\fR\fR .ad .RS 15n .rt Inform the sender that the message was successfully delivered to the \fIrecipient\fR's mailbox. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB/nodelivery\fR\fR .ad .RS 15n .rt Do not inform the sender of successful deliveries. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB/ignore\fR\fR .ad .RS 15n .rt Do not inform the sender of failed deliveries. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB/return\fR\fR .ad .RS 15n .rt Inform the sender if mail delivery fails. Return the failed message to the sender. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB/report\fR\fR .ad .RS 15n .rt Same as \fB/return\fR except that the original message is not returned. .RE .sp .LP The default is \fB/nodelivery/return\fR. If contradictory options are used, the first is recognized and later, conflicting, terms are ignored. .SH OPERANDS .sp .LP The following operand is supported for sending mail: .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fIrecipient\fR\fR .ad .RS 13n .rt A domain style address ("\fIuser\fR@\fImachine\fR") or user login name recognized by \fBlogin\fR(1). .RE .SH USAGE .sp .LP See \fBlargefile\fR(5) for the description of the behavior of \fBmail\fR and \fBrmail\fR when encountering files greater than or equal to 2 Gbyte ( 2^31 bytes). .SH ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES .sp .LP See \fBenviron\fR(5) for descriptions of the following environment variables that affect the execution of \fBmail\fR: \fBLC_CTYPE\fR, \fBLC_MESSAGES\fR, and \fBNLSPATH\fR. .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBTZ\fR\fR .ad .RS 6n .rt Determine the timezone used with date and time strings. .RE .SH EXIT STATUS .sp .LP The following exit values are returned: .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB0\fR\fR .ad .RS 6n .rt Successful completion when the user had mail. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB1\fR\fR .ad .RS 6n .rt The user had no mail or an initialization error occurred. .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB>1\fR\fR .ad .RS 6n .rt An error occurred after initialization. .RE .SH FILES .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBdead.letter\fR\fR .ad .RS 20n .rt unmailable text .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB/etc/passwd\fR\fR .ad .RS 20n .rt to identify sender and locate \fIrecipient\fRs .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB$HOME/mbox\fR\fR .ad .RS 20n .rt saved mail .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB$MAIL\fR\fR .ad .RS 20n .rt variable containing path name of \fImailfile\fR .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB/tmp/MLDBG\fR*\fR .ad .RS 20n .rt debug trace file .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB/var/mail/*.lock\fR\fR .ad .RS 20n .rt lock for mail directory .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB/var/mail/:saved\fR\fR .ad .RS 20n .rt directory for holding temp files to prevent loss of data in the event of a system crash .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fB/var/mail/\fIuser\fR\fR\fR .ad .RS 20n .rt incoming mail for \fIuser\fR; that is, the \fImailfile\fR .RE .sp .ne 2 .mk .na \fB\fBvar/tmp/ma\fR*\fR .ad .RS 20n .rt temporary file .RE .SH SEE ALSO .sp .LP \fBchmod\fR(1), \fBcsh\fR(1), \fBlogin\fR(1), \fBmailx\fR(1), \fBuucp\fR(1C), \fBuuencode\fR(1C), \fBvacation\fR(1), \fBwrite\fR(1), \fBattributes\fR(5), \fBenviron\fR(5), \fBlargefile\fR(5) .sp .LP \fISolaris Advanced User\&'s Guide\fR .SH NOTES .sp .LP The interpretation and resulting action taken because of the header lines described in the Delivery Notifications section only occur if this version of \fBmail\fR is installed on the system where the delivery (or failure) happens. Earlier versions of \fBmail\fR might not support any types of delivery notification. .sp .LP Conditions sometimes result in a failure to remove a lock file. .sp .LP After an interrupt, the next message might not be printed. Printing can be forced by typing a \fBp\fR.