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

# sortm(1mh)

sort nmh messages

## NAME

sortm - sort nmh messages

## SYNOPSIS

**sortm** \[**-help**\] \[**-version**\] \[*+folder*\] \[*msgs*\] \[**-all** \| **-noall**\] \[**-datefield** *field*\] \[**-textfield** *field*\] \[**-notextfield**\] \[**-limit** *days*\] \[**-nolimit**\] \[**-check** \| **-nocheck**\] \[**-verbose** \| **-noverbose**\]

## DESCRIPTION

**sortm** sorts the specified messages in the named folder according to the chronological order of the “Date:” field of each message.

If no messages are specified, the default is all messages in the folder. However, if no messages are specified and the **-noall** switch is enabled, then **sortm** reports that as an error and exits with non-zero status. **-noall** is most useful in the user's profile, to avoid inadvertent sorting of an entire folder.  The **-all** switch can then be used on the command line to disable it.  Of course, a message specification of *all* can be used in any case.

The **-verbose** switch directs **sortm** to tell the user the general actions that it is taking to place the folder in sorted order.

The **-datefield** *field* switch tells **sortm** the name of the field to use when making the date comparison.  If the user has a special field in each message, such as “BB-Posted:” or “Delivery-Date:”, then the **-datefield** switch can be used to direct **sortm** which field to examine.

The **-textfield** *field* switch causes **sortm** to sort messages by the specified text field.  All characters except letters and numbers are stripped and the resulting strings are sorted datefield-major, textfield-minor, using a case insensitive comparison.  If this field is “subject”, any leading "re:" is stripped off.

With **-textfield** *field*, if **-limit** *days* is specified, messages with the same textfields that are dated within \`days' of each other appear together.  Specifying **-nolimit** makes the limit infinity. With **-limit** *0*, the sort is instead simply textfield-major.

For example, to order a folder by date-major, grouping messages with the same subject on the same date together, use:

sortm -textfield subject +folder

**sortm** always issues a warning for each message that is missing a “Date:” field, has a “Date:” field that cannot be parsed, or has a format error in any header field.  With the **-check** switch, **sortm** inhibits all modifications to the folder if there are any such messages, and exits with non-zero status.  With the default of **-nocheck**, **sortm** sorts messages with a missing or invalid “Date:” field using their file modification times.

When ordering messages based on their dates, if they have the same dates, their original message order is preserved.

## FILES

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

## PROFILE COMPONENTS

```
^Path:~^To determine the user's nmh directory
^Current-Folder:~^To find the default current folder
```

## SEE ALSO

[*folder*(1)](/folder/1.md)

## DEFAULTS

```
`+folder' defaults to the current folder
`msgs' defaults to all without -noall, has no default with -noall
`-all'
`-datefield' defaults to date
`-notextfield'
`-noverbose'
`-nolimit'
`-nocheck'
```

## CONTEXT

If a folder is given, it will become the current folder.  If the current message is moved, **sortm** will preserve its status as current.

## HISTORY

Timezones used to be ignored when comparing dates: they aren't any more.

Messages which were in the folder, but not specified by \`msgs', used to be moved to the end of the folder; now such messages are left untouched.

**sortm** sometimes did not preserve the message numbering in a folder (e.g., messages 1, 3, and 5, might have been renumbered to 1, 2, 3 after sorting).  This was a bug, and has been fixed.  To compress the message numbering in a folder, use “**folder -pack**” as always.

## BUGS

When **sortm** complains about a message which it can't temporally order, it complains about the message number *prior* to sorting. It should indicate what the message number will be **after** sorting.