Ubuntu Manpage: aerc - the world's best email client

NAME

       aerc - the world's best email client

SYNOPSIS

       aerc [-v] [mailto:...]

       For a guided tutorial, use :help tutorial from aerc, or man aerc-tutorial from your
       terminal.

OPTIONS

       -v
           Prints the installed version of aerc and exits.

       mailto:address[,address][?query[&query]]
           Opens the composer with the address(es) in the "to" field. These addresses must not be
           percent encoded. If aerc is already running, the composer is started in this instance,
           otherwise aerc will be started. The following (optional) query parameters are
           supported:

       ┌───────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┐
       │Query                      │ Description                      │
       ├───────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────┤
       │subject=<text>             │ Subject line will be completed   │
       │                           │ with the text                    │
       ├───────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────┤
       │body=<text>                │ Message body will be completed   │
       │                           │ with the text                    │
       ├───────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────┤
       │cc=<address[,address]>     │ CC header will be completed with │
       │                           │ the list of addresses            │
       ├───────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────┤
       │bcc=<address[,address]>    │ BCC header will be completed     │
       │                           │ with the list of addresses       │
       ├───────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────┤
       │in-reply-to=<<message-id>> │ In-reply-to header will be set   │
       │                           │ to the message id                │
       └───────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────┘
           Note that reserved characters in the queries must be percent encoded.

RUNTIME COMMANDS

To execute a command, press ':' to bring up the command interface. Commands may also be
bound to keys, see aerc-config(5) for details. In some contexts, such as the terminal
emulator, '<c-x>' is used to bring up the command interface.

Different commands work in different contexts, depending on the kind of tab you have
selected.

Aerc stores a history of commands, which can be cycled through in command mode. Pressing
the up key cycles backwards in history, while pressing down cycles forwards.

GLOBAL COMMANDS
These commands work in any context.

cd <directory>
Changes aerc's current working directory.

change-tab [+|-]<tab name or index>
Changes the focus to the tab with the given name. If a number is given, it's treated
as an index. If + or - is specified, the number is interpreted as a delta from the
selected tab.

exec <command...>
Executes an arbitrary command in the background. Aerc will set the environment
variables $account and $folder when the command is executed from an Account tab or an
opened message.

Note: commands executed in this way are not executed with the shell.

pwd
Displays aerc's current working directory in the status bar.

set <category>.<option> <value>
Changes the value of a configuration parameter at runtime. The category is the name of
the [heading] for the config option you wish to change, and the option is the name of
the config option. For example, to change this option:

[ui]
index-format=before

Use :set ui.index-format after.

term [command...]
Opens a new terminal tab with a shell running in the current working directory, or the
specified command.

move-tab [+|-]<index>
Moves the selected tab to the given index. If + or - is specified, the number is
interpreted as a delta from the selected tab.

prev-tab [n], next-tab [n]
Cycles to the previous or next tab in the list, repeating n times (default: 1).

pin-tab
Moves the current tab to the left of all non-pinned tabs and displays the pinned-tab-
marker (default: `) to the left of the tab title.

unpin-tab
Removes the pinned-tab-marker from the current tab and returns the tab to its previous
location.

prompt <prompt> <command...>
Displays the prompt on the status bar, waits for user input, then appends that input
as the last argument to the command and executes it. The input is passed as one
argument to the command, unless it is empty, in which case no extra argument is added.

choose -o <key> <text> <command> [-o <key> <text> <command>]...
Prompts the user to choose from various options.

quit
Exits aerc.

MESSAGE COMMANDS
These commands are valid in any context that has a selected message (e.g. the message
list, the message in the message viewer, etc).

archive <scheme>
Moves the selected message to the archive. The available schemes are:

flat: No special structure, all messages in the archive directory

year: Messages are stored in folders per year

month: Messages are stored in folders per year and subfolders per month

accept
Accepts an iCalendar meeting invitation.

accept-tentative
Accepts an iCalendar meeting invitation tentatively.

copy <target>
Copies the selected message to the target folder.

decline
Declines an iCalendar meeting invitation.

delete
Deletes the selected message.

recall [-f]
Opens the selected message for re-editing. Messages can only be recalled from the
postpone directory. The original message is deleted.

-f: Open the message for re-editing even if it is not in the postpone directory. The
original message will be deleted only if it is in the postpone directory.

forward [-A | -F] [-T <template-file>] [address...]
Opens the composer to forward the selected message to another recipient.

-A: Forward the message and all attachments.

-F: Forward the full message as an RFC 2822 attachment.

-T <template-file>
Use the specified template file for creating the initial message body. Unless -F
is specified, this defaults to what is set as forwards in the [templates] section
of aerc.conf.

move <target>
Moves the selected message to the target folder.

pipe [-bmp] <cmd>
Downloads and pipes the selected message into the given shell command, and opens a new
terminal tab to show the result. By default, the selected message part is used in the
message viewer and the full message is used in the message list.

Operates on multiple messages when they are marked. When piping multiple messages,
aerc will write them with mbox format separators.

-b: Run the command in the background instead of opening a terminal tab

-m: Pipe the full message

-p: Pipe just the selected message part, if applicable

reply [-aq] [-T <template-file>]
Opens the composer to reply to the selected message.

-a: Reply all

-q: Insert a quoted version of the selected message into the reply editor

-T <template-file>
Use the specified template file for creating the initial message body. If -q is
specified, defaults to what is set as quoted-reply in the [templates] section of
aerc.conf.

read [-t]
Marks the marked or selected messages as read.

-t: Toggle the messages between read and unread.

unread [-t]
Marks the marked or selected messages as unread.

-t: Toggle the messages between read and unread.

flag [-t] [-a | -x <flag>]
Sets (enables) a certain flag on the marked or selected messages.

-t: Toggle the flag instead of setting (enabling) it.

-a: Mark message as answered/unanswered.

-x <flag>: Mark message with specific flag.

The available flags are (adapted from RFC 3501, section 2.3.2):

Seen
Message has been read

Answered
Message has been answered

Flagged
Message is flagged for urgent/special attention

unflag [-t] <flag>
Operates exactly like flag, defaulting to unsetting (disabling) flags.

modify-labels <[+-]label>...
Modify message labels (e.g. notmuch tags). Labels prefixed with a '+' are added, those
prefixed with a '-' removed. As a convenience, labels without either operand add the
specified label.

Example: `modify-labels +inbox -spam unread` adds the labels inbox and unread and
removes spam

unsubscribe
Attempt to automatically unsubscribe the user from the mailing list through use of the
List-Unsubscribe header. If supported, aerc may open a compose window pre-filled with
the unsubscribe information or open the unsubscribe URL in a web browser.

MESSAGE LIST COMMANDS
clear [-s]
Clears the current search or filter criteria.

By default, the selected message will be kept. To clear the selected message and move
cursor to the top of the message list, use the -s flag.

-s
Selects the message at the top of the message list after clearing.

cf <folder>
Change the folder shown in the message list.

compose [-H] [<body>] [-T <template-file>]
Open the compose window to send a new email. The new email will be sent with the
current account's outgoing transport configuration. For details on configuring
outgoing mail delivery consult aerc-config(5).

-H <header>
Add the specified header to the message, e.g. 'compose -H "X-Custom: custom
value"'
-T <template-file>
Use the specified template file for creating the initial message body.

filter [options] <terms...>
Similar to search, but filters the displayed messages to only the search results. See
the documentation for search for more details.

mkdir <name>
Creates a new folder for this account and changes to that folder.

This is not supported on the 'notmuch' backend.

rmdir [-f]
Removes the current folder.

By default, it will fail if the directory is non-empty (see -f).

-f
Remove the directory even if it contains messages.

This is not supported on the 'notmuch' backend.

Some programs that sync maildirs may recover deleted directories (e.g. offlineimap).
These can either be specially configured to properly handle directory deletion, or
special commands need to be run to delete directories (e.g. 'offlineimap --delete-
folder').

It is possible, with a slow connection and the 'imap' backend, that new messages
arrive in the directory before they show up - using 'rmdir' at this moment would
delete the directory and such new messages before the user sees them.

next <n>[%], prev <n>[%]
Selects the next (or previous) message in the message list. If specified as a
percentage, the percentage is applied to the number of messages shown on screen and
the cursor advances that far.

next-folder <n>, prev-folder <n>
Cycles to the next (or previous) folder shown in the sidebar, repeated n times
(default: 1).

expand-folder, collapse-folder
Expands or collapses the current folder when the directory tree is enabled.

next-result, prev-result
Selects the next or previous search result.

search
Searches the current folder. The search syntax is dependent on the underlying backend.
Refer to aerc-search(1) for details

select <n>
Selects the nth message in the message list (and scrolls it into view if necessary).

sort [[-r] <criterion>]...
Sorts the message list by the given criteria. -r sorts the immediately following
criterion in reverse order.

Available criteria:

┌──────────┬───────────────────────────────┐
│Criterion │ Description │
├──────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│arrival │ Date and time of the messages │
│ │ arrival │
├──────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│cc │ Addresses in the "cc" field │
├──────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│date │ Date and time of the message │
├──────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│from │ Addresses in the "from" field │
├──────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│read │ Presence of the read flag │
├──────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│size │ Size of the message │
├──────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│subject │ Subject of the message │
├──────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│to │ Addresses in the "to" field │
└──────────┴───────────────────────────────┘
toggle-threads
Toggles between message threading and the normal message list.

view
Opens the message viewer to display the selected message.

MESSAGE VIEW COMMANDS
close
Closes the message viewer.

next-part, prev-part
Cycles between message parts being shown. The list of message parts is shown at the
bottom of the message viewer.

open [args...]
Saves the current message part in a temporary file and opens it with the system
handler. Any given args are forwarded to the open handler

save [-fpa] <path>
Saves the current message part to the given path. If the path is not an absolute path,
general.default-save-path will be prepended to the path given. If path ends in a
trailing slash or if a folder exists on disc or if -a is specified, aerc assumes it to
be a directory. When passed a directory :save infers the filename from the mail part
if possible, or if that fails, uses "aerc_$DATE".

-f: Overwrite the destination whether or not it exists

-p: Create any directories in the path that do not exist

-a: Save all attachments. Individual filenames cannot be specified.

mark [-atv]
Marks messages. Commands will execute on all marked messages instead of the
highlighted one if applicable. The flags below can be combined as needed.

-a: Apply to all messages in the current folder

-t: toggle the mark state instead of marking a message

-v: Enter / leave visual mark mode

unmark [-at]
Unmarks messages. The flags below can be combined as needed.

-a: Apply to all messages in the current folder

-t: toggle the mark state instead of unmarking a message

remark
Re-select the last set of marked messages. Can be used to chain commands after a
selection has been acted upon

MESSAGE COMPOSE COMMANDS
abort
Close the composer without sending, discarding the message in progress.

attach <path>
Attaches the file at the given path to the email.

attach-key
Attaches the public key for the configured account to the email.

detach [path]
Detaches the file with the given path from the composed email. If no path is
specified, detaches the first attachment instead.

cc [addresses], bcc [addresses]
Sets the Cc or Bcc header to the given addresses. If an editor for the header is not
currently visible in the compose window, a new one will be added.

edit
(Re-) opens your text editor to edit the message in progress.

next-field, prev-field
Cycles between input fields in the compose window.

postpone
Saves the current state of the message to the postpone folder for the current account.

save [-p] <path>
Saves the selected message part to the specified path. If -p is selected, aerc will
create any missing directories in the specified path. If the path specified is a
directory or ends in /, aerc will use the attachment filename if available or a
generated name if not.

send
Sends the message using this accounts default outgoing transport configuration. For
details on configuring outgoing mail delivery consult aerc-config(5).

header [-f] <field> [value]
Add a new email header. If the header already exists, -f must be specified to replace
the given value.

toggle-headers
Toggles the visibility of the message headers.

TERMINAL COMMANDS
close
Closes the terminal.

LOGGING

       Aerc does not log by default, but collecting log output can be useful for troubleshooting
       and reporting issues. Redirecting stdout when invoking aerc will write log messages to
       that file:

           $ aerc > log

AUTHORS