---
name: "mutt"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "mutt"
version: "2.4.3-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/mutt"
---

# mutt(1)

The Mutt Mail User Agent

## NAME

mutt - The Mutt Mail User Agent

## SYNOPSIS

- **mutt**

  \[**-nRyzZ**\] \[**-e** *command*\] \[**-F** *rcfile*\] \[**-m** *type*\] \[**-f** *mailbox*\]

- **mutt**

  \[**-Enx**\] \[**-e** *command*\] \[**-F** *rcfile*\] \[**-H** *draft*\] \[**-i** *include*\]\
   \[**-b** *bcc-addr*\] \[**-c** *cc-addr*\] \[**-s** *subject*\]\
   \[**-a** *file ...* **--**\] *to-addr ...*

- **mutt**

  *\[***-nx**\] \[**-e** *command*\] \[**-F** *rcfile*\] \[**-b** *bcc-addr*\] \[**-c** *cc-addr*\]\
   \[**-s** *subject*\] \[**-a** *file ...* **--**\] *to-addr ...* \< message

- **mutt**

  \[**-n**\] \[**-e** *command*\] \[**-F** *rcfile*\] **-p**

- **mutt**

  **\[-n**\] \[**-e** *command*\] \[**-F** *rcfile*\] **-A** *alias*

- **mutt**

  *\[***-n**\] \[**-e** *command*\] \[**-F** *rcfile*\] **-Q** *variable*

- **mutt**

  **-v**\[**v**\]

- **mutt**

  **-D**

## DESCRIPTION

**Mutt is a small but very powerful text based program for reading and sending electronic** **mail under unix operating systems, including support for color terminals, MIME,** **OpenPGP, and a threaded sorting mode.**

**Note**: **This manual page gives a brief overview of the mutt executable command** **line options.** **A copy of the full manual is located in** */usr/share/doc/mutt***, in text, HTML, and/or** **PDF format.** **Please refer to the manual to learn how to use and configure Mutt.**

## OPTIONS

- **-A** *alias*

  **Print an expanded version of the given** *alias* **and exit.**

- **-a** *file ...*

  **Attach a** *file* **using MIME.** **Separating** *file* **and** *to-addr* **arguments with “--” is** **mandatory.** **For example:**

  ```
  mutt -a image.jpg -- to-addr
  mutt -a img.jpg *.png -- to-addr-1 to-addr-2
  ```

  **The -a option must be placed at the end of command line options.**

- **-b** *bcc-addr*

  **Specify a blind carbon copy (BCC) address.**

- **-c** *cc-addr*

  **Specify a carbon copy (CC) address.**

- **-d** *level*

  **If Mutt was compiled with +DEBUG log debugging output to** *~/.muttdebug0***.** *Level* **can range from -5 to 5 and affects verbosity. A value of** **zero disables debugging. A value less than zero disables automatic log** **file rotation; the log level is then its absolute value. A value of 2** **(-2) is recommended for most diagnosis.**

- **-D**

  **Print the value of all configuration options to stdout.**

- **-E**

  **Edit the** *draft* **file specified by -H or** *include* **file** **specified by -i during message composition.**

- **-e** *command*

  **Specify a configuration** *command* **to be run after processing of** **initialization files.**

- **-f** *mailbox*

  **Specify a** *mailbox* **to load.**

- **-F** *rcfile*

  **Use** *rcfile* **instead of the user configuration file.**

- **-h**

  **Display a short option summary and exit.**

- **-H** *draft*

  **Specify a** *draft* **file which contains header and body to use to** **send a message.  If** *draft* **is “-”, then data is** **read from stdin.  The draft file is expected to contain just an RFC822** **email — headers and a body.  Although it is not an mbox file, if an** **mbox "From " line is present, it will be silently discarded.** **Draft files are processed the same in interactive and batch mode; they** **are not passed through untouched.  For example, encrypted draft files** **will be decrypted.**

- **-i** *include*

  **Specify an** *include* **file to be inserted into the body of a message.** **Ignored if -H is set.** **If** *include* **is “-”, then data is read from stdin.**

- **-m** *type*

  **Specify a default mailbox** *type* **for newly created folders.** **Can be one of the following: mbox, MMDF, MH or Maildir.** **See also $mbox\_type in the manual.**

- **-n**

  **Do not read the system-wide Muttrc configuration file.**

- **-p**

  **Resume a postponed message.** **Exit immediately if there are no postponed messages.**

- **-Q** *variable*

  **Query a configuration** *variable***.** **The query is performed after all configuration files have been parsed, and any** *commands* **given on the command line have been executed.**

- **-R**

  **Open a mailbox in read-only mode.**

- **-s** *subject*

  **Specify the** *subject* **of the message.** **Must be enclosed in quotes if it contains spaces.**

- **-v**

  **Display the Mutt version number and compile-time definitions.**

- **-vv**

  **Display license and copyright information.**

- **-x**

  **Emulate the** [**mailx**(1)](/mailx/1.md) **compose mode.**

- **-y**

  **Start Mutt with a listing of all mailboxes specified by the** *mailboxes* **configuration command.**

- **-z**

  **Exit immediately with code 1 if** *mailbox* **specified by -f does not** **contain any messages.**

- **-Z**

  **Open the first mailbox specified by the** *mailboxes* **configuration command** **which contains new mail.** **Exit immediately with code 1 if there is no new mail in any of them.**

- **--**

  **Treat remaining arguments as** *to-addr* **even if they start with a dash.** **See also -a above.** *To-addr* **can be a local or network mail address as well as mailto: URL.**

## ENVIRONMENT

- EDITOR, VISUAL

  **Specifies the editor to use when composing messages.** **If both EDITOR and VISUAL are set, VISUAL takes precedence.** **If neither EDITOR nor VISUAL are set, the default is** [**vi**(1)](/vi/1.md).

- EGDSOCKET, RANDFILE

  **Paths used to initialize the random engine for SSL library.**

- EMAIL

  **The user's e-mail address.**

- HOME

  **Full path of the user's home directory.**

- MAIL

  **Full path of the user's spool mailbox.**

- MAILDIR

  **Full path of the user's spool mailbox if MAIL is unset.** **Commonly used when the spool mailbox is a** [**maildir**(5)](/maildir/5.md) **folder.**

- MAILCAPS

  **Path to search for mailcap files.**

- MM\_NOASK

  **If this variable is set, mailcap are always used without prompting first.**

- PGPPATH

  **Directory in which the user's PGP public keyring can be found.** **When used with the original PGP program, mutt and** [**mutt\_pgpring**(1)](/mutt_pgpring/1.md) **rely on this being set.**

- REPLYTO

  **Default Reply-To address.**

- TMPDIR

  **Directory in which temporary files are created.  If unset,** */tmp* **is used for $tmpdir, and** */var/tmp* **is used for $tmpdraftdir.  See** **also the $tmpdir and $tmpdraftdir configuration variables.**

- LC\_ALL, LC\_CTYPE, LANG

  **Used to determine charset and locale to use.**

- TEXTDOMAINDIR

  **Directory containing translation files.** **If set, this path overwrite the Mutt installation directory.** **Used for testing translation changes.**

## FILES

- *~/.muttrc* *~/.mutt/muttrc* *$XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/mutt/muttrc*

  **User configuration files.**

- */etc/mutt/Muttrc or /usr/share/mutt/Muttrc*

  **System-wide configuration file.**

- */tmp/muttXXXXXX*

  **Temporary files created by Mutt.**

- *~/.muttdebug0*

  **File containing debugging output.** **Log files are automatically rotated by mutt changing the number at the end.** **See -d option above.**

- *~/.mailcap*

  **User definition for handling non-text MIME types.**

- */etc/mutt/mailcap*

  **System definition for handling non-text MIME types.**

- *~/.mime.types*

  **User's personal mapping between MIME types and file extensions.**

- */etc/mutt/mime.types*

  **System mapping between MIME types and file extensions.**

- */usr/bin/mutt\_dotlock*

  **The privileged dotlocking program.**

- */usr/share/doc/mutt/manual.txt*

  **The Mutt manual.**

## BUGS

**None.  Mutts have fleas, not bugs.**

## FLEAS

**Suspend/resume while editing a file with an external editor does not work** **under SunOS 4.x if you use the curses lib in /usr/5lib.  It** *does* **work** **with the S-Lang library, however.**

**Resizing the screen while using an external pager causes Mutt to go haywire** **on some systems.**

**Suspend/resume does not work under Ultrix.**

**The help line for the index menu is not updated if you change the bindings** **for one of the functions listed while Mutt is running.**

**For a more up-to-date list of bugs, errm, fleas, please visit the** **mutt project's bug tracking system under https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt/issues.** **NOTE: The bug tracking system is not meant for feature requests.** **These should go to the mutt-dev mailing list,** **see section 1.2 Mailing Lists of the manual for details.**

## NO WARRANTIES

**This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,** **but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of** **MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the** **GNU General Public License for more details.**

## SEE ALSO

[**mutt\_dotlock**(1)](/mutt_dotlock/1.md), [**mutt\_pgpring**(1)](/mutt_pgpring/1.md), [**pgpewrap**(1)](/pgpewrap/1.md), [**sendmail**(1)](/sendmail/1.md), **smail**(1), [**smime\_keys**(1)](/smime_keys/1.md), [**curses**(3)](/curses/3.md), [**ncurses**(3)](/ncurses/3.md), [**mailcap**(5)](/mailcap/5.md), [**maildir**(5)](/maildir/5.md), [**mbox**(5)](/mbox/5.md), [**mmdf**(5)](/mmdf/5.md), [**muttrc**(5)](/muttrc/5.md)

**Mutt Home Page: http://www.mutt.org/**

**The Mutt manual**

**RFC5322 — Internet Message Format: https://tools.ietf.org/rfcmarkup/5322** **(obsoletes RFC2822 and RFC822)**

## AUTHOR

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