.\" along with this program. If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/ .
.\"
.\" Author: Carl Worth <cworth@cworth.org>
-.TH NOTMUCH 1 2009-10-31 "Notmuch 0.1"
+.TH NOTMUCH 1 2011-12-04 "Notmuch 0.10.2"
.SH NAME
notmuch \- thread-based email index, search, and tagging
.SH SYNOPSIS
command is used to incorporate new mail into the notmuch database.
.RS 4
.TP 4
-.B new
+.BR new " [options...]"
Find and import any new messages to the database.
has previously been completed, but
.B "notmuch new"
has not previously been run.
+
+The
+.B new
+command supports hooks. See the
+.B "HOOKS"
+section below for more details on hooks.
+
+Supported options for
+.B new
+include
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.BR \-\-no\-hooks
+
+Prevents hooks from being run.
+.RE
.RE
Several of the notmuch commands accept search terms with a common
section below for more details on the supported syntax.
The
-.BR search " and "show
+.BR search ", " show " and " count
commands are used to query the email database.
.RS 4
.TP 4
Presents the results in either JSON or plain-text (default).
.RE
+
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.B \-\-output=(summary|threads|messages|files|tags)
+
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.B summary
+
+Output a summary of each thread with any message matching the search
+terms. The summary includes the thread ID, date, the number of
+messages in the thread (both the number matched and the total number),
+the authors of the thread and the subject.
+.RE
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.B threads
+
+Output the thread IDs of all threads with any message matching the
+search terms, either one per line (\-\-format=text) or as a JSON array
+(\-\-format=json).
+.RE
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.B messages
+
+Output the message IDs of all messages matching the search terms,
+either one per line (\-\-format=text) or as a JSON array
+(\-\-format=json).
+.RE
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.B files
+
+Output the filenames of all messages matching the search terms, either
+one per line (\-\-format=text) or as a JSON array (\-\-format=json).
+.RE
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.B tags
+
+Output all tags that appear on any message matching the search terms,
+either one per line (\-\-format=text) or as a JSON array
+(\-\-format=json).
+.RE
+.RE
+
.RS 4
.TP 4
.BR \-\-sort= ( newest\-first | oldest\-first )
.B newest\-first
the threads will be sorted by the newest message in each thread.
-.RE
-.RS 4
By default, results will be displayed in reverse chronological order,
(that is, the newest results will be displayed first).
+.RE
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.BR \-\-offset=[\-]N
+
+Skip displaying the first N results. With the leading '\-', start at the Nth
+result from the end.
+.RE
+
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.BR \-\-limit=N
+
+Limit the number of displayed results to N.
+.RE
+
+.RS 4
See the
.B "SEARCH SYNTAX"
section below for details of the supported syntax for <search-terms>.
.RS 4
.TP 4
-.B \-\-format=(json|text)
+.B \-\-format=(text|json|mbox|raw)
.RS 4
.TP 4
-.B text
+.BR text " (default for messages)"
-The default plain-text format has text-content MIME parts
+The default plain-text format has all text-content MIME parts
decoded. Various components in the output,
.RB ( message ", " header ", " body ", " attachment ", and MIME " part ),
will be delimited by easily-parsed markers. Each marker consists of a
Control-L character (ASCII decimal 12), the name of the marker, and
then either an opening or closing brace, ('{' or '}'), to either open
-or close the component.
-
+or close the component. For a multipart MIME message, these parts will
+be nested.
.RE
.RS 4
.TP 4
.B json
-Format output as Javascript Object Notation (JSON). JSON output always
-includes all messages in a matching thread; in effect
+The output is formatted with Javascript Object Notation (JSON). This
+format is more robust than the text format for automated
+processing. The nested structure of multipart MIME messages is
+reflected in nested JSON output. JSON output always includes all
+messages in a matching thread; in effect
.B \-\-format=json
implies
.B \-\-entire\-thread
.RE
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.B mbox
+
+All matching messages are output in the traditional, Unix mbox format
+with each message being prefixed by a line beginning with "From " and
+a blank line separating each message. Lines in the message content
+beginning with "From " (preceded by zero or more '>' characters) have
+an additional '>' character added. This reversible escaping
+is termed "mboxrd" format and described in detail here:
+
+.nf
+.nh
+http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jonathan.deboynepollard/FGA/mail-mbox-formats.html
+.hy
+.fi
+.
+.RE
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.BR raw " (default for a single part, see \-\-part)"
+
+For a message, the original, raw content of the email message is
+output. Consumers of this format should expect to implement MIME
+decoding and similar functions.
+
+For a single part (\-\-part) the raw part content is output after
+performing any necessary MIME decoding.
+
+The raw format must only be used with search terms matching single
+message.
+.RE
+.RE
+
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.B \-\-part=N
+
+Output the single decoded MIME part N of a single message. The search
+terms must match only a single message. Message parts are numbered in
+a depth-first walk of the message MIME structure, and are identified
+in the 'json' or 'text' output formats.
+.RE
+
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.B \-\-verify
+
+Compute and report the validity of any MIME cryptographic signatures
+found in the selected content (ie. "multipart/signed" parts). Status
+of the signature will be reported (currently only supported with
+--format=json), and the multipart/signed part will be replaced by the
+signed data.
+.RE
+
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.B \-\-decrypt
+
+Decrypt any MIME encrypted parts found in the selected content
+(ie. "multipart/encrypted" parts). Status of the decryption will be
+reported (currently only supported with --format=json) and the
+multipart/encrypted part will be replaced by the decrypted
+content.
+.RE
+
A common use of
.B notmuch show
is to display a single thread of email messages. For this, use a
.B "SEARCH SYNTAX"
section below for details of the supported syntax for <search-terms>.
.RE
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.BR count " [options...] <search-term>..."
+
+Count messages matching the search terms.
+
+The number of matching messages (or threads) is output to stdout.
+
+With no search terms, a count of all messages (or threads) in the database will
+be displayed.
+
+Supported options for
+.B count
+include
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.B \-\-output=(messages|threads)
+
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.B messages
+
+Output the number of matching messages. This is the default.
+.RE
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.B threads
+
+Output the number of matching threads.
+.RE
+.RE
+.RE
.RE
The
template. The Reply-to header (if any, otherwise From:) is used for
the To: address. Vales from the To: and Cc: headers are copied, but
not including any of the current user's email addresses (as configured
-in primary_mail or other_email in the .notmuch-config file) in the
+in primary_mail or other_email in the .notmuch\-config file) in the
recipient list
It also builds a suitable new subject, including Re: at the front (if
not already present), and adding the message IDs of the messages being
-replied to to the References list and setting the In-Reply-To: field
+replied to to the References list and setting the In\-Reply\-To: field
correctly.
Finally, the original contents of the emails are quoted by prefixing
.BR default
Includes subject and quoted message body.
.TP
-.BR headers-only
-Only produces In-Reply-To, References, To, Cc, and Bcc headers.
+.BR headers\-only
+Only produces In\-Reply\-To, References, To, Cc, and Bcc headers.
.RE
See the
.RS 4
.TP 4
-.BR tag " +<tag>|-<tag> [...] [--] <search-term>..."
+.BR tag " +<tag>|\-<tag> [...] [\-\-] <search-term>..."
Add/remove tags for all messages matching the search terms.
-Tags prefixed by '+' are added while those prefixed by '-' are
+Tags prefixed by '+' are added while those prefixed by '\-' are
removed. For each message, tag removal is performed before tag
addition.
The beginning of <search-terms> is recognized by the first
-argument that begins with neither '+' nor '-'. Support for
-an initial search term beginning with '+' or '-' is provided
-by allowing the user to specify a "--" argument to separate
+argument that begins with neither '+' nor '\-'. Support for
+an initial search term beginning with '+' or '\-' is provided
+by allowing the user to specify a "\-\-" argument to separate
the tags from the search terms.
See the
The
.BR dump " and " restore
commands can be used to create a textual dump of email tags for backup
-purposes, and to restore from that dump
+purposes, and to restore from that dump.
.RS 4
.TP 4
-.BR dump " [<filename>]"
+.BR dump " [<filename>] [--] [<search-terms>]"
Creates a plain-text dump of the tags of each message.
-The output is to the given filename, if any, or to stdout.
+Output is to the given filename, if any, or to stdout. Note that
+using the filename argument is deprecated.
These tags are the only data in the notmuch database that can't be
recreated from the messages themselves. The output of notmuch dump is
therefore the only critical thing to backup (and much more friendly to
incremental backup than the native database files.)
+
+With no search terms, a dump of all messages in the database will be
+generated. A "--" argument instructs notmuch that the
+remaining arguments are search terms.
+
+See the
+.B "SEARCH SYNTAX"
+section below for details of the supported syntax for <search-terms>.
+.RE
+
.TP
-.BR restore " <filename>"
+.BR restore " [--accumulate] [<filename>]"
Restores the tags from the given file (see
-.BR "notmuch dump" "."
+.BR "notmuch dump" ")."
+
+The input is read from the given filename, if any, or from stdin.
Note: The dump file format is specifically chosen to be
compatible with the format of files produced by sup-dump.
.B "notmuch restore"
command provides you a way to import all of your tags (or labels as
sup calls them).
+
+The --accumulate switch causes the union of the existing and new tags to be
+applied, instead of replacing each message's tags as they are read in from the
+dump file.
+.RE
+
+The
+.B part
+command can used to output a single part of a multipart MIME message.
+
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.BR part " \-\-part=<part-number> <search-term>..."
+
+Output a single MIME part of a message.
+
+A single decoded MIME part, with no encoding or framing, is output to
+stdout. The search terms must match only a single message, otherwise
+this command will fail.
+
+The part number should match the part "id" field output by the
+"\-\-format=json" option of "notmuch show". If the message specified by
+the search terms does not include a part with the specified "id" there
+will be no output.
+
+See the
+.B "SEARCH SYNTAX"
+section below for details of the supported syntax for <search-terms>.
+.RE
+
+The
+.B config
+command can be used to get or set settings int the notmuch
+configuration file.
+
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.BR "config get " <section> . <item>
+
+The value of the specified configuration item is printed to stdout. If
+the item has multiple values, each value is separated by a newline
+character.
+
+Available configuration items include at least
+
+ database.path
+
+ user.name
+
+ user.primary_email
+
+ user.other_email
+
+ new.tags
+.RE
+
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.BR "config set " <section> . "<item> [values ...]"
+
+The specified configuration item is set to the given value. To
+specify a multiple-value item, provide each value as a separate
+command-line argument.
+
+If no values are provided, the specified configuration item will be
+removed from the configuration file.
+.RE
+
.SH SEARCH SYNTAX
Several notmuch commands accept a common syntax for search terms.
terms/phrases in the body, the subject, or any of the sender or
recipient headers.
+As a special case, a search string consisting of exactly a single
+asterisk ("*") will match all messages.
+
In addition to free text, the following prefixes can be used to force
terms to match against specific portions of an email, (where
<brackets> indicate user-supplied values):
attachment:<word>
- tag:<tag>
+ tag:<tag> (or is:<tag>)
id:<message-id>
thread:<thread-id>
+ folder:<directory-path>
+
The
.B from:
prefix is used to match the name or address of the sender of an email
attachments to email messages.
For
-.BR tag: ,
+.BR tag: " and " is:
valid tag values include
.BR inbox " and " unread
by default for new messages added by
For
.BR id: ,
-message ID values are the literal contents of the Message-ID: header
+message ID values are the literal contents of the Message\-ID: header
of email messages, but without the '<', '>' delimiters.
The
thread ID values can be seen in the first column of output from
.B "notmuch search"
+The
+.B folder:
+prefix can be used to search for email message files that are
+contained within particular directories within the mail store. Only
+the directory components below the top-level mail database path are
+available to be searched.
+
In addition to individual terms, multiple terms can be
combined with Boolean operators (
.BR and ", " or ", " not
Finally, results can be restricted to only messages within a
particular time range, (based on the Date: header) with a syntax of:
- <intial-timestamp>..<final-timestamp>
+ <initial-timestamp>..<final-timestamp>
Each timestamp is a number representing the number of seconds since
-1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC. This is not the most convenient means of
+1970\-01\-01 00:00:00 UTC. This is not the most convenient means of
expressing date ranges, but until notmuch is fixed to accept a more
convenient form, one can use the date program to construct
-timestamps. For example, with the bash shell the folowing syntax would
-specify a date range to return messages from 2009-10-01 until the
+timestamps. For example, with the bash shell the following syntax would
+specify a date range to return messages from 2009\-10\-01 until the
current time:
- $(date +%s -d 2009-10-01)..$(date +%s)
+ $(date +%s \-d 2009\-10\-01)..$(date +%s)
+.SH HOOKS
+Hooks are scripts (or arbitrary executables or symlinks to such) that notmuch
+invokes before and after certain actions. These scripts reside in
+the .notmuch/hooks directory within the database directory and must have
+executable permissions.
+
+The currently available hooks are described below.
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.B pre\-new
+This hook is invoked by the
+.B new
+command before scanning or importing new messages into the database. If this
+hook exits with a non-zero status, notmuch will abort further processing of the
+.B new
+command.
+
+Typically this hook is used for fetching or delivering new mail to be imported
+into the database.
+.RE
+.RS 4
+.TP 4
+.B post\-new
+This hook is invoked by the
+.B new
+command after new messages have been imported into the database and initial tags
+have been applied. The hook will not be run if there have been any errors during
+the scan or import.
+
+Typically this hook is used to perform additional query\-based tagging on the
+imported messages.
+.RE
.SH ENVIRONMENT
The following environment variables can be used to control the
behavior of notmuch.
.TP
.B NOTMUCH_CONFIG
Specifies the location of the notmuch configuration file. Notmuch will
-use ${HOME}/.notmuch-config if this variable is not set.
+use ${HOME}/.notmuch\-config if this variable is not set.
.SH SEE ALSO
The emacs-based interface to notmuch (available as
.B notmuch.el
projects / notmuch / blobdiff