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

# whom(1mh)

show to whom an nmh message would be sent

## NAME

whom - show to whom an nmh message would be sent

## SYNOPSIS

**whom** \[**-help**\] \[**-version**\] \[**-alias** *aliasfile*\] \[**-check** \| **-nocheck**\] \[**-draftfolder** *+folder*\] \[**-draftmessage** *msg*\] \[**-nodraftfolder**\] \[**-mts** *smtp* \| *sendmail/smtp* \| *sendmail/pipe*\] \[**-server** *servername*\] \[**-port** *port-name/number*\] \[**-sasl**\] \[**-saslmech** *mechanism*\] \[**-snoop**\] \[**-user** *username*\] \[**-tls**\] \[**-initialtls**\] \[**-notls**\] \[*file*\] \[**-draft**\]

## DESCRIPTION

**whom** is used to expand the headers of a message into a set of addresses and optionally verify that those addresses are deliverable at that time (if **-check** is given).

The **-draftfolder** *+folder* and **-draftmessage** *msg* switches invoke the **nmh** draft folder facility.  This is an advanced (and highly useful) feature.  Consult [*mh-draft*(5)](/mh-draft/5.md) for more information.

The mail transport system default is provided in */etc/nmh/mts.conf* but can be overridden here with the **-mts** switch.

If nmh is using the SMTP MTA, the **-server** and the **-port** switches can be used to override the default mail server (defined by the */etc/nmh/mts.conf* *servers* entry).  The **-snoop** switch can be used to view the SMTP transaction.  (Beware that the SMTP transaction may contain authentication information either in plaintext or easily decoded base64.)

If **nmh** has been compiled with SASL support, the **-sasl** switch will enable the use of SASL authentication with the SMTP MTA.  Depending on the SASL mechanism used, this may require an additional password prompt from the user (but the *netrc* file can be used to store this password, as described in [*mh-profile*(5)](/mh-profile/5.md)). The **-saslmech** switch can be used to select a particular SASL mechanism, and the **-user** switch can be used to select a authorization userid to provide to SASL other than the default.  The credentials profile entry in [*mh-profile*(5)](/mh-profile/5.md) describes the ways to supply a username and password.

If SASL authentication is successful, nmh will attempt to negotiate a security layer for session encryption. Encrypted data is labelled with \`(encrypted)' and \`(decrypted)' when viewing the SMTP transaction with the **-snoop** switch; see [*post*(8)](/post/8.md)'s description of **-snoop** for its other features.

If **nmh** has been compiled with TLS support, the **-tls**, **-initialtls**, and **-notls** switches will require and disable the negotiation of TLS support when connecting to the SMTP MTA.  Encrypted data is labelled with \`(tls-encrypted)' and \`(tls-decrypted)' when viewing the SMTP transaction with the **-snoop** switch; see [*post*(8)](/post/8.md)'s description of **-snoop** and the TLS flags for more details.

The files specified by the profile entry “Aliasfile:” and any additional alias files given by the **-alias** *aliasfile* switch will be read (more than one file, each preceded by **-alias**, can be named).  See [*mh-alias*(5)](/mh-alias/5.md) for more information.

## FILES

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

## PROFILE COMPONENTS

```
^Path:~^To determine the user's nmh directory
^Draft-Folder:~^To specify the default draftfolder
^Aliasfile:~^For a default alias file
^postproc:~^Program to post the message
```

## SEE ALSO

[*mh-alias*(5)](/mh-alias/5.md), [*mh-draft*(5)](/mh-draft/5.md), [*mh-profile*(5)](/mh-profile/5.md), [*post*(8)](/post/8.md)

## DEFAULTS

```
`file' defaults to <mh-dir>/draft
`-nocheck'
`-alias' defaults to  /etc/nmh/MailAliases
```

## CONTEXT

None

## BUGS

With the **-check** option, **whom** makes no guarantees that the addresses listed as being ok are really deliverable, rather, an address being listed as ok means that at the time that **whom** was run the address was thought to be deliverable by the transport service. For local addresses, this is absolute; for network addresses, it means that the host is known; for uucp addresses, it (often) means that the **UUCP** network is available for use.