--- name: "mhstore" section: "1mh" platform: "linux" package: "nmh" version: "1.8-3" release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/mhstore/1mh" --- # mhstore(1mh) store contents of nmh MIME messages into files ## NAME mhstore - store contents of nmh MIME messages into files ## SYNOPSIS **mhstore** \[**-help**\] \[**-version**\] \[*+folder*\] \[*msgs*\] \[**-file** *file*\] \[**-outfile** *outfile*\] \[**-part** *number*\] ... \[**-type** *content*\] ... \[**-prefer** *content*\] ... \[**-noprefer**\] \[**-auto** \| **-noauto**\] \[**-clobber** *always* \| *auto* \| *suffix* \| *ask* \| *never*\] \[**-verbose** \| **-noverbose**\] ## DESCRIPTION The **mhstore** command allows you to store the contents of a collection of MIME (multi-media) messages into files or other messages. **mhstore** manipulates multi-media messages as specified in RFC 2045 to RFC 2049. By default, **mhstore** will store all the parts of each message. Each part will be stored in a separate file. The header fields of the message are not stored. By using the **-part**, **-type**, and **-prefer** switches, you may limit and reorder the set of parts to be stored, based on part number and/or content type. The **-file** *file* switch directs **mhstore** to use the specified file as the source message, rather than a message from a folder. If you specify this file as “-”, then **mhstore** will accept the source message on the standard input. Note that the file, or input from standard input, should be a validly formatted message, just like any other **nmh** message. It should *not* be in mail drop format (to convert a file in mail drop format to a folder of **nmh** messages, see [*inc*(1)](/inc/1.md)). A part specification consists of a series of numbers separated by dots. For example, in a multipart content containing three parts, these would be named as 1, 2, and 3, respectively. If part 2 was also a multipart content containing two parts, these would be named as 2.1 and 2.2, respectively. Note that the **-part** switch is effective only for messages containing a multipart content. If a message has some other kind of content, or if the part is itself another multipart content, the **-part** switch will not prevent the content from being acted upon. The **-type** switch can also be used to restrict (or, when used in conjunction with **-part**, to further restrict) the selection of parts according to content type. One or more **-type** switches part will only select the first match from a multipart/alternative, even if there is more than one subpart that matches (one of) the given content type(s). Using either **-part** or **-type** switches alone will cause either to select the part(s) they match. Using them together will select only the part(s) matched by both (sets of) switches. In other words, the result is the intersection, and not the union, of their separate match results. A content specification consists of a content type and a subtype. The initial list of “standard” content types and subtypes can be found in RFC 2046. A list of commonly used contents is briefly reproduced here: ``` Type Subtypes ---- -------- text plain, enriched multipart mixed, alternative, digest, parallel message rfc822, external-body application octet-stream, postscript image jpeg, gif, png audio basic video mpeg ``` A legal MIME message must contain a subtype specification. To specify a content, regardless of its subtype, just use the name of the content, e.g., “audio”. To specify a specific subtype, separate the two with a slash, e.g., “audio/basic”. Note that regardless of the values given to the **-type** switch, a multipart content (of any subtype listed above) is always acted upon. Further note that if the **-type** switch is used, and it is desirable to act on a message/external-body content, then the **-type** switch must be used twice: once for message/external-body and once for the content externally referenced. The **-prefer** switch will alter the part-ordering of multipart/alternative MIME sections in order to override the sender-imposed default ordering. The **-prefer** switch is functionally most important for **mhshow**, but is also implemented in **mhlist** and **mhstore** to make common part-numbering possible across all three programs. The last of multiple **-prefer** switches will have the highest priority. This allows the command line switches to override profile entries. See [*mhlist*(1)](/mhlist/1.md) and [*mhshow*(1)](/mhshow/1.md) for more information on **-prefer**. The **-noprefer** switch will cancel any previous **-prefer** switches. ### Storing the Contents **mhstore** will store the contents of the named messages in “native” (decoded) format. Two things must be determined: the directory in which to store the content, and the filenames. Files are written in the directory given by the “nmh-storage” profile entry, e.g., nmh-storage: /tmp If this entry isn't present, the current working directory is used. If the **-outfile** switch is given, its argument is used for the filename to store all of the content, with “-” indicating standard output. If the **-auto** switch is given, then **mhstore** will check if the message contains information indicating the filename that should be used to store the content. This information should be specified as the “filename” attribute in the “Content-Disposition” header or as the “name” attribute in the “Content-Type” header for the content you are storing. For security reasons, this filename will be ignored if it begins with the character \`/', \`.', \`\|', or \`!', or if it contains the character \`%'. We also recommend using a “nmh-storage” profile entry or a **-clobber** switch setting other than the default of “always” to avoid overwriting existing files. If the **-auto** switch is not given (or is being ignored for security reasons) then **mhstore** will look in the user's profile for a “formatting string” to determine how the different contents should be stored. First, **mhstore** will look for an entry of the form: mhstore-store-\/\ to determine the formatting string. If this isn't found, **mhstore** will look for an entry of the form: mhstore-store-\ to determine the formatting string. If the formatting string starts with a “+” character, then content is stored in the named folder. A formatting string consisting solely of a “+” character is interpreted to be the current folder. If the formatting string consists solely of a “-” character, then the content is sent to the standard output. If the formatting string starts with a \`\|', then it represents a command for **mhstore** to execute which should ultimately store the content. The content will be passed to the standard input of the command. Before the command is executed, **mhstore** will change to the appropriate directory, and any escapes (given below) in the formatting string will be expanded. The use of the “%a” sequence is not recommended because the user has no control over the Content-Type parameter data. Otherwise, the formatting string will represent a pathname in which to store the content. If the formatting string starts with a \`/', then the content will be stored in the full path given, else the file name will be relative to the value of “nmh-storage” or the current working directory. Any escapes (given below) will be expanded, except for the a-escape. Note that if “nmh-storage” is not an absolute path, it will be relative to the folder that contains the message(s). A command or pathname formatting string may contain the following escapes. If the content isn't part of a multipart (of any subtype listed above) content, the p-escapes are ignored. ``` %a Parameters from Content-Type (only valid with command) %m Insert message number %P Insert part number with leading dot %p Insert part number without leading dot %t Insert content type %s Insert content subtype %% Insert character % ``` If no formatting string is found, **mhstore** will check to see if the content is application/octet-stream with parameter “type=tar”. If so, **mhstore** will choose an appropriate filename. If the content is not application/octet-stream, then **mhstore** will check to see if the content is a message. If so, **mhstore** will use the value “+”. As a last resort, **mhstore** will use the value “%m%P.%s”. Example profile entries might be: ``` mhstore-store-text: %m%P.txt mhstore-store-text: +inbox mhstore-store-audio/basic: | raw2audio -e ulaw -s 8000 -c 1 > %m%P.au mhstore-store-image/jpeg: %m%P.jpg mhstore-store-application/PostScript: %m%P.ps ``` The **-verbose** switch directs **mhstore** to print out the names of files that it stores. For backward compatibility, it is the default. The **-noverbose** switch suppresses these printouts. ### Overwriting Existing Files The **-clobber** switch controls whether **mhstore** should overwrite existing files. The allowed values for this switch and corresponding behavior when **mhstore** encounters an existing file are: ``` always Overwrite existing file (default) auto Create new file of form name-n.extension suffix Create new file of form name.extension.n ask Prompt the user to specify whether or not to overwrite the existing file never Do not overwrite existing file ``` With *auto* and *suffix*, *n* is the lowest unused number, starting from one, in the same form. If a filename does not have an extension (following a \`.'), then *auto* and *suffix* create a new file of the form *name-n* and *name.n*, respectively. With *never* and *ask*, the exit status of **mhstore** will be the number of files that were requested but not stored. With *ask*, if standard input is connected to a terminal, the user is prompted to respond *yes*, *no*, or *rename*, to whether the file should be overwritten. The responses can be abbreviated. If the user responds with *rename*, then **mhstore** prompts the user for the name of the new file to be created. If it is a relative path name (does not begin with \`/'), then it is relative to the current directory. If it is an absolute or relative path to a directory that does not exist, the user will be prompted whether to create the directory. If standard input is not connected to a terminal, *ask* behaves the same as *always*. ### External Access For contents of type message/external-body, *mhstore* supports these access-types: - • afs - • anon-ftp - • ftp - • local-file - • mail-server - • url For the “anon-ftp” and “ftp” access types, **mhstore** will look for the “nmh-access-ftp” profile entry, e.g., nmh-access-ftp: myftp.sh to determine the pathname of a program to perform the FTP retrieval. This program is invoked with these arguments: ``` domain name of FTP-site username password remote directory remote filename local filename “ascii” or “binary” ``` The program should terminate with an exit status of zero if the retrieval is successful, and a non-zero exit status otherwise. For the “url” access types, **mhstore** will look for the “nmh-access-url” profile entry, e.g., nmh-access-url: curl -L to determine the program to use to perform the HTTP retrieval. This program is invoked with one argument: the URL of the content to retrieve. The program should write the content to standard out, and should terminate with a status of zero if the retrieval is successful and a non-zero exit status otherwise. ### User Environment Because the environment in which **mhstore** operates may vary for different machines, **mhstore** will look for the environment variable MHSTORE . If present, this specifies the name of an additional user profile which should be read. Hence, when a user logs in on a particular machine, this environment variable should be set to refer to a file containing definitions useful for that machine. Finally, **mhstore** will attempt to consult /etc/nmh/mhn.defaults which is created automatically during **nmh** installation. See "Profile Lookup" in [*mh-profile*(5)](/mh-profile/5.md) for the profile search order, and for how duplicate entries are treated. ## EXAMPLES ### Decoding RFC 2047-encoded file names The improper RFC 2047 encoding of file name parameters can be replaced with correct RFC 2231 encoding using **mhfixmsg**, either permanently or ephemerally, e.g., ``` mhfixmsg -outfile - | mhstore -auto -clobber ask -file - ``` The **-clobber***ask* is not necessary, though recommended to avoid silently overwriting an existing file. ## FILES **mhstore** looks for additional profile files in multiple locations: absolute pathnames are accessed directly, tilde expansion is done on usernames, and files are searched for in the user's *Mail* directory as specified in their profile. If not found there, the directory “*/etc/nmh*” is checked. ``` ^$HOME/.mh_profile~^The user profile ^$MHSTORE~^Additional profile entries ^/etc/nmh/mhn.defaults~^System default MIME profile entries ``` ## PROFILE COMPONENTS ``` ^Path:~^To determine the user's nmh directory ^Current-Folder:~^To find the default current folder ^nmh-access-ftp:~^Program to retrieve contents via FTP ^nmh-access-url:~^Program to retrieve contents via HTTP ^nmh-storage~^Directory to store contents ^mhstore-store-*~^Template for storing contents ``` ## SEE ALSO [*mhbuild*(1)](/mhbuild/1.md), *mhfixmsg*(1), [*mhlist*(1)](/mhlist/1.md), [*mhshow*(1)](/mhshow/1.md), [*sendfiles*(1)](/sendfiles/1.md) ## DEFAULTS ``` `+folder' defaults to the current folder `msgs' defaults to cur `-noauto' `-clobber always' `-verbose' ``` ## CONTEXT If a folder is given, it will become the current folder. The last message selected will become the current message. ## BUGS Partial messages contained within a multipart content are not reassembled.