Provided by: maildir-utils_0.9.18-2build3_amd64 
NAME
mu_server - the mu backend for the mu4e e-mail client
SYNOPSIS
mu server [options]
DESCRIPTION
mu server starts a simple shell in which one can query and manipulate the mu database. The output of the
commands is terms of Lisp symbolic expressions (s-exps). mu server is not meant for use by humans;
instead, it is designed specifically for the mu4e e-mail client.
In this man-page, we document the commands mu server accepts, as well as their responses. In general, the
commands sent to the server are of the form
cmd:<command> [<parameters>]*
where each of the parameters is prefixed by their name and a colon. For example, to view a certain
message, the command would be:
cmd:view docid:12345
Parameters can be sent in any order, and parameters not used by a certain command are simply ignored.
OUTPUT FORMAT
mu server accepts a number of commands, and delivers its results in the form:
\376<length>\377<s-expr>
\376 (one byte 0xfe), followed by the length of the s-expression expressed as an hexadecimal number,
followed by another \377 (one byte 0xff), followed by the actual s-expression.
By prefixing the expression with its length, it can be processed more efficiently. The \376 and \377 were
chosen since they never occur in valid UTF-8 (in which the s-expressions are encoded).
COMMAND AND RESPONSE
add
Using the add command, we can add a message to the database.
-> cmd:add path:<path> maildir:<maildir>
<- (:info add :path <path> :docid <docid>)
compose
Using the compose command, we get the (original) message, and tell what to do with it. The user-
interface is then expected to pre-process the message, e.g. set the subject, sender and recipient
for a reply message.
Messages of type 'new' don't use the docid: parameter, the other ones do.
-> cmd:compose type:<reply|forward|edit|new> [docid:<docid>]
<- (:compose <reply|forward|edit|new> :original <s-exp> :include (<list-of-attachments))
The <list-of-attachments> is an s-expression describing the attachments to include in the message;
this currently only applies to message we are forwarding. This s-expression looks like:
(:file-name <filename> :mime-type <mime-type> :disposition <disposition>)
contacts
Using the compose command, we can retrieve an s-expression with all known contacts (name + e-mail
address). For the details, see mu-cfind(1).
-> cmd:contacts [personal:true|false] [after:<time_t>]
<- (:contacts ((:name abc :mail foo@example.com ...) ...)
extract
Using the extract command we can save and open attachments.
-> cmd:extract action:<save|open|temp> index:<index> [path:<path>] [what:<what> [param:<param>]]
If the action is 'save', the path argument is required; the attachment will be saved, and a
message
<- (:info save :message "... has been saved")
is sent.
If the action is 'open', the attachment will saved to a temporary file, after which it will be
opened with the default handler for this kind of file (see mu-extract(1)), and a message
<- (:info open :message "... has been opened")
is sent.
If the action is 'temp', the arguments 'what' is required. The attachment will saved to a
temporary file, and the following message is sent:
<- (:temp :what <what> :param <param :docid 12345)
The front-end can then take action on the temp file, based on what :what and :param contain. mu4e
uses this mechanism e.g. for piping an attachment to a shell command.
find
Using the find command we can search for messages.
-> cmd:find query:"<query>" [threads:true|false] [sortfield:<sortfield>]
[reverse:true|false] [maxnum:<maxnum>]
The query-parameter provides the search query; the threads-parameter determines whether the
results will be returned in threaded fashion or not; the sortfield-parameter (a string, "to",
"from", "subject", "date", "size", "prio") sets the search field, the reverse-parameter, if true,
set the sorting order Z->A and, finally, the maxnum-parameter limits the number of results to
return (<= 0 means 'unlimited').
First, this will return an 'erase'-sexp, to clear the buffer from possible results from a previous
query.
<- (:erase t)
This will return a series of 0 up to <maxnum> s-expression corresponding to each message found (if
there's no maxnum, all results will be returned). The information message s-exps this function
returns do not contain the message body; the view command is for that.
<- (...)
and finally, we receive:
<- (:found <number-of-matches>)
guile The guile command is reserved for future use.
index
Using the index command, we can (re)index the database, similar to what mu find does. The my-
addresses parameter (optionally) registers 'my' email addresses; see the documentation for
mu_store_set_my_addresses.
-> cmd:index path:<path> [my-addresses:<comma-separated-list-of-email-addresses>]
As a response, it will send (for each 1000 messages):
(:info index :status running :processed <processed> :updated <updated>)
and finally:
(:info index :status complete :processed <processed :updated <updated>
:cleaned-up <cleaned-up>)
mkdir
Using the mkdir command, we can create a new maildir.
-> cmd:mkdir path:<path>
<- (:info mkdir :message "<maildir> has been created")
move
Using the move command, we can move messages to another maildir or change its flags (which
ultimately means it is being move to a different filename), and update the database
correspondingly. The function returns an s-exp describing the updated message, so that it can be
updated in the user interface.
-> cmd:move docid:<docid>|msgid:<msgid> [maildir:<maildir>] [flags:<flags>]
<- (:update <s-exp> :move t)
One of docid and msgid must be specified to identify the message. At least one of maildir and
flags must be specified.
ping
The ping command provokes a pong response. It is used for the initial handshake between mu4e and
mu server.
-> cmd:ping
<- (:pong "mu" :version <version> :doccount <doccount>)
remove
Using the remove command, we can remove the message from disk, and update the database
accordingly.
-> cmd:remove docid:<docid>
<- (:remove <docid>)
view
Using the view command, we can retrieve all information (including the body) of a particular e-
mail message.
If the optional parameter extract-images is true, extract images to temp files, and include links
to them in the returned s-exp.
If the optional parameter use-agent is true, try to use gpg-agent when verifying PGP/GPG message
parts.
If the optional parameter auto-retrieve-key is true, attempt to retrieve public keys online
automatically.
-> cmd:view docid:<docid>|msgid:<msgid> [extract-images:true] [use-agent:false] [auto-retrieve-key:false]
<- (:view <s-exp>)
or, alternatively:
-> cmd:view path:<path-to-msg> [extract-images:true] [use-agent:false] [auto-retrieve-key:false]
<- (:view <s-exp>)
AUTHOR
Dirk-Jan C. Binnema <djcb@djcbsoftware.nl>
SEE ALSO
mu(1)
User Manuals September 2012 MU-SERVER(1)