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mailboxes and mutt

Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 1:10 pm
by jps
I have only recently noticed that it is possible to have multiple mailboxes. I haven't set up any yet.

Before I do, I have some questions.

I read mail with mutt, and did so on the shell server until IMAP became mandatory. Now I access the IMAP mail server with mutt from, well, multiple places, including Sonic's shell server.

My question is: How do I access my additional mailboxes from mutt?

Thanks,
jps

Re: mailboxes and mutt

Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 4:48 pm
by ewhac
As you've already discovered, configuring Mutt for a single IMAP server requires setting up several variables. Changing to a different IMAP server would require changing those variables. Doing that from within a running Mutt session is possible, but I could see it being very brittle and prone to error.

One possibility is to create separate .muttrc files, one for each IMAP server you want to talk to. When you want to start a session with a given server, you'd say "mutt -F IMAPserver1.rc" (or some such). The downside of course is that you'd have to quit Mutt every time you wanted to switch servers. (Alternatively, you could launch several copies of mutt, one per terminal console, each connected to a different server.)

That said, despite the fact that Mutt can function as an IMAP client, it isn't a very good one. And I say that as a decades-long Mutt user.

Re: mailboxes and mutt

Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 5:48 pm
by jps
Thanks, I think I have a handle on it now.

Re: mailboxes and mutt

Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 1:00 pm
by kgc
ewhac wrote: That said, despite the fact that Mutt can function as an IMAP client, it isn't a very good one. And I say that as a decades-long Mutt user.
I've been using mutt for 20+ years as well and have used it as an IMAP client for at least half of that. Just curious why you think it isn't a very good one. (It's still hands down the fastest way to deal with the bulk of my email needs and run in parallel with firefox is great.)

Re: mailboxes and mutt

Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 11:06 am
by jps
I've got things mostly working now, but I am only able to send mail from sh.sonic.net

When I am on a local machine connected via sonic DSL or on some other network, I can authenticate in mutt to read mail, but not to send. When I send mail from a Sonic mailbox, I would prefer to use a sonic mail server. How do I authenticate in mutt (either in .muttrc or by command) to send mail via mail.sonic.net?

Thanks in advance.

Re: mailboxes and mutt

Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 3:12 pm
by kgc
Put something like the following in your .muttrc

Code: Select all

set smtp_url=smtp://username@mail.sonic.net:587
set smtp_pass="yourpassword"