---
name: "rcvstore"
section: "1mh"
platform: "linux"
package: "nmh"
version: "1.8-3"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/rcvstore/1mh"
---

# rcvstore(1mh)

asynchronously incorporate mail into an nmh folder

## NAME

rcvstore - asynchronously incorporate mail into an nmh folder

## SYNOPSIS

**/usr/lib/mh/rcvstore** \[**-help**\] \[**-version**\] \[*+folder*\] \[**-create** \| **-nocreate**\] \[**-unseen** \| **-nounseen**\] \[**-zero** \| **-nozero**\] \[**-sequence** *name* ...\] \[**-public** \| **-nopublic**\]

## DESCRIPTION

**rcvstore** incorporates a message from the standard input into an **nmh** folder.  This command is typically used in conjunction with mail filtering programs such as **slocal** and **procmail**, to filter your mail into different folders.

You may specify which folder to use with *+folder*. If no folder is specified, **rcvstore** will use the folder given by a non-empty “Inbox:” entry in the user's profile, else it will use the folder named “inbox”.

If the switch **-create** is given (it is the default) and if the specified (or default) folder does not exist, then it will be created.  You may disable this with the **-nocreate** option.  In this case **rcvstore** will exit if the specified folder does not exist.

When the new message is incorporated into the folder, it is assigned the next highest number for that folder.

**rcvstore** will incorporate anything except zero length messages into the user's **nmh** folder.  It will not change the message in any way.

If the user's profile contains a “*Msg-Protect: nnn*” entry, it will be used as the mode to use, in octal, on the newly created message, otherwise the **nmh** default mode of 0600, see [*chmod*(1)](/chmod/1.md), will be used (on filesystems that support it). For all subsequent operations on this message, this initially assigned mode will be preserved.

If the switch **-unseen** is given (it is on by default), and if the profile entry “Unseen-Sequence” is present and non-empty, then **rcvstore** will add the newly incorporated message to each sequence named by this profile entry.  You may use the switch **-nounseen** to disable this.  These sequences will not be zeroed by **rcvstore** prior to adding the new message.

Furthermore, the incoming messages may be added to additional sequences as they arrive by the use of the **-sequence** switch.  As with the commands **pick** and **mark**, you may also use the switches **-zero** and **-nozero** to specify whether to zero old sequences or not. Similarly, use of the **-public** and **-nopublic** switches may be used to force these sequences to be public or private sequences.

### Locking and sequences

If you use the “Unseen-Sequence” profile entry, or if you use the **-sequence** argument,  **rcvstore** might try to update its sequence state while another **nmh** process is also trying to do so.  This can cause one of those updates to be lost.  To avoid this (just between asynchronous invocations of **rcvstore**), always use it with an external locking mechanism.  A [*procmailrc*(5)](/procmailrc/5.md) local lockfile would work, or if not using procmail, then consider using [*dotlockfile*(1)](/dotlockfile/1.md) or [*flock*(1)](/flock/1.md).

## FILES

```
^$HOME/.mh_profile~^The user profile
```

## PROFILE COMPONENTS

```
^Path:~^To determine the user's nmh directory
^Folder-Protect:~^To set mode when creating a new folder
^Inbox:~^To find the default inbox
^Msg-Protect:~^To set mode when creating a new message
^Unseen-Sequence:~^To name sequences denoting unseen messages
```

## SEE ALSO

[*mh-sequence*(5)](/mh-sequence/5.md), [*procmailex*(5)](/procmailex/5.md), [*procmailrc*(5)](/procmailrc/5.md), [*rcvdist*(1)](/rcvdist/1.md), [*rcvpack*(1)](/rcvpack/1.md), [*rcvtty*(1)](/rcvtty/1.md)

## DEFAULTS

```
`+folder' defaults to “Inbox” profile entry
`-create'
`-unseen'
`-nozero'
```

## CONTEXT

No context changes will be attempted, with the exception of sequence manipulation.