Re: Muttrc example needed POP3/SMTP

[rlharris]

On Thu, February 2, 2017 10:37 pm, sunrise wrote:
> I already had getmail set up but didn't have msmtp installed.

If exim4 is installed and configured, there is no need for msmtp, unless you
need the profile feature of msmtp which gives you the ability to send
messages through any of a number of smarthosts.

Some may argue that exim4 is overkill for most users, but the package is
mainstream, proven, and very capable; and, with the script provided by the
Debian maintainer, configuration of exim4 is simple and quick.

RH

Re: Muttrc example needed POP3/SMTP

[rlharris]

On Thu, February 2, 2017 10:37 pm, sunrise wrote:
> Thanks a lot for both replies; I feel I am now several steps closer to
> getting a working system. I already had getmail set up but didn't have
> msmtp installed.

The Mail Transfer Agent (on Debian, typically Exim4) handles outgoing
messages on the local machine; these messages are sent to the mail server
of your Internet Service Provider (ISP), which acts as a "smarthost".

If you configure Exim4 (and you should, using the configuration dialogue
provided by the Debian maintainer), you specify the URL of the smarthost
(such as "mail.myisp.net"), the address which is to appear on outgoing
messages ("myn...@myisp.net"), and the password which the smarthost
requires for authentication.  For this, see the command "dpkg-reconfigure
exim4-config" and the files "/etc/email-addresses" and
"/etc/exim4/password-client".



> One question I still have is: What are the advantages of using getmail
> and msmtp versus using mutt's built in POP3 and SMTP capabilities?

The author and maintainer of getmail has taken great pains to ensure that
getmail4 works reliably even if a POP3 server is "broken" (and that often
is the case).  With a properly-configured getmail, you pretty much are
assured of never losing a message.  In salvaging messages from a POP3
server, I personally have used getmail4 to download hundreds of thousands
of messages in a single marathon session running in excess of a day.

And, as I previously mentioned, you can use the combination of getmail4
and maildrop to sort incoming messages in any manner and to any degree you
wish, triggering periodic fetches with a cron job, even if no mutt session
is running.  And then, when you do start mutt, you can view any of the
sort categories independently of the others. Thus, if you are pressed for
time, you can look only at messages of important categories, without the
necessity of wading message-by-message through stuff which is not urgent.

Also, if you do not have 24/7 access to the Internet, delegating
downloading (and sorting, if desired) allows you to go on-line, get your
messages while you browse or do other on-line work, then go offline and
read the messages with mutt.

But those who are accustomed to the Window$ way of doing things may prefer
a monolithic mail client which can fetch directly from a POP3 server and
send directly to a smarthost.

RH

Re: Muttrc example needed POP3/SMTP

[dale]

On 2/2/17 9:44 PM, sunrise wrote:

I would like to start using mutt but am somewhat intimidated by all the 
possible options
in the muttrc config file. Would someone be willing to provide me with a basic 
muttrc I
could use to get started?

Here is what I'm looking for:

* POP3 (one provider) for retrieving messages
* SMTP for sending
* Mail stored in maildir format in $HOME

Using Mutt 1.5.21

Thanks!




I think there is an example .muttrc in /etc/mutt

--
dale | http://www.dalekelly.org

Re: Muttrc example needed POP3/SMTP

[sunrise]

On Fri, 3 Feb 2017 04:15:23 +0100
Francesco Ariis  wrote:

>On Thu, Feb 02, 2017 at 08:44:34PM -0600, sunrise wrote:
>> I would like to start using mutt but am somewhat intimidated by all the 
>> possible
>> options in the muttrc config file. Would someone be willing to provide me 
>> with a basic
>> muttrc I could use to get started?
>
>This is what I have:
>
>set mbox_type=Maildir
>set folder="~/mail"
>set mask="!^\\.[^.]"
>
>mailboxes "+inbox" # ~/mail/inbox
>
>set record="+sent" # ~/mail/sent
>set postponed="+drafts" # etc.
>set trash="+trash"
>
>set realname="Plato"
>
>set envelope_from=yes
>set sendmail="msmtp -C /home/f/cfg/msmtp/msmtpall"
># msmtp is small, efficient and easy to configure
>
>macro generic \e0 'bash -ic "k echo Checking mail...; getmail -g
>~/cfg/getmail -r getmailconf; echo over"'
># alt-0 to download messages
>
>
>Mutt is a client, so you will have to configure msmtp and getmail yourself
>(they are easy enough). If you need more help fire again in the mailing
>list and please consider updating the wiki with your use case when
>you succeed.


Thanks a lot for both replies; I feel I am now several steps closer to getting 
a working
system. I already had getmail set up but didn't have msmtp installed.

One question I still have is: What are the advantages of using getmail and 
msmtp versus
using mutt's built in POP3 and SMTP capabilities?

Thank you for your time.

Re: Muttrc example needed POP3/SMTP

[Francesco Ariis]

On Thu, Feb 02, 2017 at 08:44:34PM -0600, sunrise wrote:
> I would like to start using mutt but am somewhat intimidated by all the 
> possible options
> in the muttrc config file. Would someone be willing to provide me with a 
> basic muttrc I
> could use to get started?

This is what I have:

set mbox_type=Maildir
set folder="~/mail"
set mask="!^\\.[^.]"

mailboxes "+inbox" # ~/mail/inbox

set record="+sent" # ~/mail/sent
set postponed="+drafts" # etc.
set trash="+trash"

set realname="Plato"

set envelope_from=yes
set sendmail="msmtp -C /home/f/cfg/msmtp/msmtpall"
# msmtp is small, efficient and easy to configure

macro generic \e0 'bash -ic "k echo Checking mail...; getmail -g 
~/cfg/getmail -r getmailconf; echo over"'
# alt-0 to download messages


Mutt is a client, so you will have to configure msmtp and getmail yourself
(they are easy enough). If you need more help fire again in the mailing
list and please consider updating the wiki with your use case when
you succeed.

Re: Muttrc example needed POP3/SMTP

[rlharris]

On Thu, February 2, 2017 8:44 pm, sunrise wrote:
> I would like to start using mutt but am somewhat intimidated by all the
> possible options in the muttrc config file. Would someone be willing to
> provide me with a basic muttrc I could use to get started?

That's why they make search engines; you can find dozens of muttrc files,
and any number of muttrc tutorials.

You might consider using getmail4 for POP3?  getmail4 is reliable and easy
to configure, and by using getmail4 you simplify the configuration of
muttrc.

Later you can add maildrop to sort into categories messages retrieved by
getmail4 -- it is a nice combination.

RH

Muttrc example needed POP3/SMTP

[sunrise]

I would like to start using mutt but am somewhat intimidated by all the 
possible options
in the muttrc config file. Would someone be willing to provide me with a basic 
muttrc I
could use to get started?

Here is what I'm looking for:

* POP3 (one provider) for retrieving messages
* SMTP for sending
* Mail stored in maildir format in $HOME

Using Mutt 1.5.21

Thanks!

Re: Long delays when mailbox gets modified externally

[Greg Hurrell]

Kevin J. McCarthy wrote:

> It sounds likely that the stats check is causing these brief hangs,
> given the amount of mail you mentioned having.
>
> It isn't very useful to have $timeout set so low.  I would bump that up
> to >= $mail_check (60).  That might help a little.
>
> However, if it isn't super important to list the number of messages in
> the sidebar or folder browser, you may want to just turn
> $mail_check_stats off.

Going to give it a try. I had `%m` in my `$folder_format`, so I removed that
(it wasn't super useful anyway). Having `%N` in sidebar format is definitely
useful, but I am going to see how I go without `$mail_check_stats` and keeping
`%N`; this will make the counts stale (or missing) until I synchronize a given
mailbox. If this gets too annoying I'll remove `%N`, I guess. If this cures the
hangs though I think it will be worth it.

Thanks for the advice!

-Greg

Re: Long delays when mailbox gets modified externally

[Kevin J. McCarthy]

On Wed, Feb 01, 2017 at 02:53:46PM -0800, Greg Hurrell wrote:
> set mail_check = 60
> set mail_check_stats = yes
> set mail_check_stats_interval = 300
> set sleep_time = 0
> set time_inc = 250
> set timeout = 0
> 
> Of these, I'm most suspicious of `mail_check_stats`.

It sounds likely that the stats check is causing these brief hangs,
given the amount of mail you mentioned having.

It isn't very useful to have $timeout set so low.  I would bump that up
to >= $mail_check (60).  That might help a little.

However, if it isn't super important to list the number of messages in
the sidebar or folder browser, you may want to just turn
$mail_check_stats off.

-- 
Kevin J. McCarthy
GPG Fingerprint: 8975 A9B3 3AA3 7910 385C  5308 ADEF 7684 8031 6BDA


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