mutt.md

Mutt Cheat Sheet

General

These key bindings will work on almost any menu you are in.

command	description
*	Move to last entry
=	Move to first entry
:	Enter muttrc command
>	Scroll down one line
<	Scroll up one line
[	Scroll up half a page
]	Scroll down half a page
?	Help
;	Apply next function to tagged messages only
!	Invoke command in subshell
return	Select the current entry
esc + /	Search up
/	Search down
H	Move to top of page
j	Move to next entry
k	Move to previous entry
ctrl + l	Redraw screen
L	Move to bottom of page
M	Move to middle of page
n	Move to next match of search
q	Exit menu
t	Tag current entry
z	Move to next page
Z	Move to previous page

Index Menu

When you first open mutt you are in the index menu.

command	description
&	Link tagged message to current one
#	Break the thread in two
%	Toggle whether mailbox will be rewritten
.	List mailboxes with new mail
$	Save changes to mailbox
@	Display full address of sender
esc + tab	Jump to previous new or unread message
return	Display message
tab	Jump to next new or unread message
a	Create alias from message sender
b	Remail message to another user
esc + c	Open a different folder (Read Only)
c	Open a different folder
esc + C	Make text/plain copy
C	Copy message to another file/mailbox
esc + d	Delete all messages in subthread
d	Delete current message
ctrl + D	Delete all messages in thread
D	Delete messages matching a pattern
esc + e	Use the current message as a template for a new one
e	Edit the raw message
ctrl + E	Edit attachment content type
f	Forward message with comments
ctrl + F	Wipe passphrase from memory
F	Toggle the important flag for message
g	Reply to all
G	Retrive mail from POP server
h	Display message and toggle header weeding
j	Move to next undeleted message
esc + k	Mail a PGP key
k	Move to previous undeleted message
ctrl + K	Extract supported public keys
esc + l	Show current limit pattern
l	Only show messages matching a pattern
L	Reply to specific mailing list
m	Compose new message
esc + n	Jump to next subthread
ctrl + N	Jump to next thread
N	Toggle new flag
o	Sort messages
O	Sort messages in reverse order
Q	Query external program for addresses
q	Save changes to mailbox and quit
r	Reply to message
ctrl + P	Jump to previous thread
esc + p	Jump to previous subthread
p	Print current message
esc + P	Check for classic PGP
P	Jump to parent message in thread
ctrl + R	Mark current thread as read
R	Recall a postponed message
esc + r	Mark current subthread as read
esc + s	Save text/plain copy and delete
s	Save message/attachment to mailbox/file
esc + t	Tag current thread
ctrl + T	Untag messages matching a pattern
T	Tag messages matching pattern
esc + u	Undelete all messages in subthread
u	Undelete current entry
ctrl + U	Undelete all messages in thread
U	Undelete messages matching pattern
esc + v	Collapse/uncollapse current thread
v	Show mime attachments
esc + V	Collapse/uncollapse all threads
V	Show mutt version number and date
w	Set a status flag
W	Clear status flags from message

Pager Menu

command	description
#
a
b
c
esc + c
C
esc + C
d
ctrl + D
esc + d
w
W
e
ctrl + E
f
F
g
h
j
J
k
K
&
L
ctrl + L
m
n
N
ctrl + N
esc + n
o
O
p
ctrl + P
esc + p
Q
q
r
R
ctrl + R
esc + r
esc + e
s
S
esc + s
t
T
u
esc + u
ctrl + U
v
V
\
@
?
space
-
^
$
!
:
.
/
esc + /
return
P
esc + P
esc + k
ctrl + K
ctrl + F

Useful key remaps

These need to be placed in your muttrc file. I use vim and so I want to use some of the same commands to manage my mail.

# Does not replace and currently mapped keys and acts like the vim command gg and takes
# you to the top of the page
bind index gg first-entry

# Replaces the retrieval of mail from a POP server. This will take you to the bottom of
# the page, just like it does in vim
bind index G last-entry

Flags

When viewing messages in the index menu, you will see various flags such as N which mean the messages is new and D which means that the message is to be deleted. This is a short list of those flags.

flag	description
!	Message is flagged
*	Message is tagged
+	Message is To: you and only you
C	Message is Cc: to you
d	Message has attachments marked for deletion
D	Marked for deletion
F	Message is From: you
K	Contains PGP key
L	Message is sent to a subscribed mailing list
n	Thread contains new messages (Only when thread is collapsed)
N	Message is new
o	Thread contains old messages (Only when thread is collapsed)
O	Message is old
P	Message is PGP encrypted
r	Message has been replied to
s	Message is signed
S	Message is signed and verified
T	Message is to you and has others in To: or Cc: