mu/man/mu-server.1

.TH MU-SERVER 1 "January 2012" "User Manuals"

.SH NAME

mu server \- the mu backend for the mu4e e-mail cleint

.SH DESCRIPTION

\fBmu server\fR starts a simple shell in which can manipulate the mu
database. The output of the commands is terms of Lisp symbolic expressions
(s-exps). \fBmu server\fR is not meant for use by humans; instead, it is
designed specifically for the \fBmu4e\fR e-mail client.

In this man-page, we document the commands \fBmu server\fR accepts, as well as
their responses.

.SH OUTPUT FORMAT

\fBmu server\fR accepts a number of commands, and delivers its results in
the form:

.nf
   \\376<length>\\376<s-expr>
.fi

\\367 (that is, the character with ascii value 254, \\376 in octal notation),
followed by the length of the s-expression, followed by another \\376,
followed by the actual s-expression.

By prefixing the expression with its length, it can be processed more
efficiently. The \\376 (254) was chosen since it is a value that will never
occur in valid UTF-8 (in which the s-expressions are encoded).

.SH COMMAND AND RESPONSE


.TP
.B ping

The \fBping\fR command provokes a \fBpong\fR response. It is used for the initial
handshake between \fBmu4e\fR and \fBmu server\fR.
.nf
-> ping
<- (:pong "mu" :version <version> :doccount <doccount>)
.fi

.TP
.B find

Using the \fBfind\fR command we can search for messages.
.nf
-> find "<query>" <maxnum>
.fi
This will return a series of 0 up to <maxnum> s-expression corresponding to each
message found (with a negative number for <maxnum> meaning 'unlimited'). The
information for each message does not contain the message body; the \fBview\fR
command is for that.
.nf
<- (...)
.fi
and finally, we receive:
.nf
<- (:found <number-of-matches>)
.fi


.TP
.B move

Using the \fBmove\fR command, we can move messages to another maildir, and
update the database correspondingly. The function returns an s-exp describing
the updated message, so that it can be updated in the user interface.

.nf
-> move <docid> <maildir> [<flags>]
<- (:update <s-exp> :move t)
.fi

.TP
.B flag

Using the \fBflag\fR command, we can change the message flags - note that this
may imply moving the message to another maildir, when the 'N' (new) flag
changes. Update the database correspondingly. The function returns an s-exp
describing the updated message, so that it can be updated in the user
interface.

.nf
-> move <docid> <maildir> [<flags>]
<- (:update <s-exp> :move nil)
.fi

.TP
.B remove

Using the \fBremove\fR command, we can remove the message from disk, and
update the database accordingly.

.nf
-> remove <docid>
<- (:remove <docid>)
.fi

.TP
.B save

Using the \fBsave\fR command, we can save an attachment from a message to disk.

.nf
-> save <docid> <partindex> <targetpath>
<- (:info save :message "<filename> has been saved")
.fi

.TP
.B open

Using the \fBopen\fR command, we can open an attachment file.
.nf
-> open <docid> <partindex>
<- (:info open :message "<filename> has been opened")
.fi


.TP
.B view

Using the \fBview\fR command, we can all information (including the body) of a
particular e-mail message.

.nf
-> view <docid-or-msgid>
<- (:view <s-exp>)
.fi

.TP
.B compose

Using the \fBcompose\fR command, we get the (original) message, and tell what
to do with it. The user-interface is then expected to pre-process the message,
e.g. set the subject, sender and recipient for a reply message.

.nf
-> compose <reply|forward|edit> <docid>
<- (:compose-type <reply|forward|edit> :original <s-exp> :include (<list-of-attachments))
.fi

The <list-of-attachments> is an s-expression describing the attachments to
include in the message; this currently only applies to message we are
forwarding. This s-exprssion looks like:

.nf
   (:file-name <filename> :mime-type <mime-type> :disposition <disposition>)
.fi


.TP
.B index

Using the \fBindex\fR command, we can (re)index the database, similar to what
\fBmu find\fR does.

.nf
-> index <maildir>
.fi
As a response, it will send (for each 500 messages):
.nf
(:info index :status running :processed <processed> :updated <updated>)
.fi
and finally:
.nf
(:info index :status complete :processed <processed :updated <updated>
 :cleaned-up <cleaned-up>)
.fi


.TP
.B add

Using the \fBadd\fR command, we can add a message to the database.

.nf
-> add <path> <maildir>
<- (:info add :path <path> :docid <docid>)
.fi

.TP
.B mkdir

Using the \fBmkdir\fR command, we can create a new maildir.

.nf
-> mkdir <path>
<- (:info mkdir :message "<maildir> has been created")
.fi



.SH AUTHOR
Dirk-Jan C. Binnema <djcb@djcbsoftware.nl>

.SH "SEE ALSO"
.BR mu(1)