aerc(1)

NAME

aerc - the world's best email client

SYNOPSIS

aerc [-v]

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.

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.

    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 paramter 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.

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

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.

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

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

delete
    Deletes the selected message.

forward [-A] [address...]
    Opens the composer to forward the selected message to another recipient.

    -A: Forward the message as an RFC 8022 attachment.

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.

    -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]
    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

read
    Marks the selected message as read.

    -t: Toggle the selected message between read and unread.

unread
    Marks the selected message as unread.

    -t: Toggle the selected message between read and unread.

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
    Clears the current search or filter criteria.

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

compose [-H] [<body>]
    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"'

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.

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).

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

search
    Searches the current folder. The search syntax is dependant 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

view
    Opens the message viewer to display the selected message.

  MESSAGE VIEW COMMANDS

close
    Closes the message viewer.

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

open
    Saves the current message part in a temporary file and opens it with the system handler.

save [-p] <path>
    Saves the current message part to the given path.

    If no path is given but general.default-save-path is set, the file will be saved there.

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

  MESSAGE COMPOSE COMMANDS

abort
    Close the composor without sending, discarding the message in progress.

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

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).

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

SEE ALSO

aerc-config(5) aerc-imap(5) aerc-smtp(5) aerc-maildir(5) aerc-sendmail(5) aerc-tutorial(7)

AUTHORS

Maintained by Drew DeVault <sir@cmpwn.com>, who is assisted by other open source contributors. For more information about aerc development, see https://git.sr.ht/~sircmpwn/aerc.