diff --git a/man/Makefile.am b/man/Makefile.am
index 40ea1944..10b39334 100644
--- a/man/Makefile.am
+++ b/man/Makefile.am
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-## Copyright (C) 2008-2010 Dirk-Jan C. Binnema <djcb@djcbsoftware.nl>
+## Copyright (C) 2008-2011 Dirk-Jan C. Binnema <djcb@djcbsoftware.nl>
 ##
 ## This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
 ## it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@
 include $(top_srcdir)/gtest.mk
 
 dist_man_MANS =		\
-	mu-cleanup.1	\
 	mu-bookmarks.5	\
 	mu-cfind.1	\
 	mu-easy.1	\
@@ -29,5 +28,6 @@ dist_man_MANS =		\
 	mu-mv.1		\
 	mu-add.1	\
 	mu-remove.1	\
+	mu-server.1	\
 	mu.1		\
 	mug.1
diff --git a/man/mu-server.1 b/man/mu-server.1
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..19df7683
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/mu-server.1
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+.TH MU SERVER 1 "September 2011" "User Manuals"
+
+.SH NAME
+
+mu server\-  start a mu process which accepts commands
+
+.SH SYNOPSIS
+
+.B mu server
+
+.SH DESCRIPTION
+
+\fBmu server\fR is the \fBmu\fR sub-command for starting a mu server process
+which accepts various commands (see below).  \fBmu server\fR is specifically
+designed for communication with the emacs-text editor, and as such, the output
+is in the form of s-expressions.
+
+\fBmu server\fR could be use as a very rudimentary interactive shell, but we
+would recommend the `muile' instead, which is much more powerful and suitable
+for humans.
+
+.SH OPTIONS
+
+.SH RETURN VALUE
+
+\fBmu server\fR returns 0 upon success, and some other value when an error
+occurs. See \fBmu(1)\fR for a list.
+
+.SH BUGS
+
+Please report bugs if you find them:
+.BR http://code.google.com/p/mu0/issues/list
+
+.SH AUTHOR
+
+Dirk-Jan C. Binnema <djcb@djcbsoftware.nl>
+
+.SH "SEE ALSO"
+.BR mu(1)
+.BR mu-index(1)
+.BR mu-add(1)
+.BR mu-remove(1)
diff --git a/src/mu-cmd-server.c b/src/mu-cmd-server.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d9a5ebdc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mu-cmd-server.c
@@ -0,0 +1,354 @@
+/* -*-mode: c; tab-width: 8; indent-tabs-mode: t; c-basic-offset: 8 -*-*/
+/*
+** Copyright (C) 2010-2011 Dirk-Jan C. Binnema <djcb@djcbsoftware.nl>
+**
+** This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+** under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
+** Free Software Foundation; either version 3, or (at your option) any
+** later version.
+**
+** This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+** but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+** MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+** GNU General Public License for more details.
+**
+** You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+** along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
+** Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
+**
+*/
+
+#if HAVE_CONFIG_H
+#include "config.h"
+#endif /*HAVE_CONFIG_H*/
+
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include <errno.h>
+
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBREADLINE
+#include <readline/readline.h>
+#include <readline/history.h>
+#endif /*HAVE_LIBREADLINE*/
+
+#include "mu-msg.h"
+#include "mu-msg-part.h"
+#include "mu-cmd.h"
+#include "mu-util.h"
+#include "mu-str.h"
+#include "mu-date.h"
+#include "mu-maildir.h"
+#include "mu-contacts.h"
+#include "mu-runtime.h"
+#include "mu-flags.h"
+#include "mu-store.h"
+#include "mu-query.h"
+
+#define EOX ";; eox\n"
+
+
+static void
+print_expr (const char* str)
+{
+	fputs (str, stdout);
+	fputs (EOX, stdout);
+}
+
+
+static gboolean
+server_error (MuError err, const char* str)
+{
+	gchar *errexp;
+
+	errexp = g_strdup_printf ("(:error %u :error-message \"%s\") ",
+				  err, str);
+	print_expr (errexp);
+	g_free (errexp);
+
+	return FALSE;
+}
+
+#define MU_PROMPT "mu> "
+
+static gchar*
+my_readline (const char *prompt)
+{
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBREADLINE
+	return readline (MU_PROMPT);
+#else
+	GString *gstr;
+	int kar;
+
+	gstr = g_string_sized_new (512);
+
+	g_print ("%s", prompt);
+
+	do {
+		kar = fgetc (stdin);
+		if (kar == '\n' || kar == EOF)
+			break;
+		else
+			gstr = g_string_append_c (gstr, (char)kar);
+
+	} while (1);
+
+	return g_string_free (gstr, FALSE);
+#endif /*!HAVE_LIBREADLINE*/
+}
+
+enum _Cmd {
+	CMD_ADD,
+	CMD_FIND,
+	CMD_HELP,
+	CMD_QUIT,
+	CMD_REMOVE,
+	CMD_RENAME,
+	CMD_RM,
+	CMD_VIEW,
+	CMD_VERSION,
+	CMD_IGNORE,
+	CMD_NUM,
+};
+typedef enum _Cmd Cmd;
+
+static const Cmd CMD_INVALID = (Cmd)-1;
+
+struct _CmdInfo {
+	Cmd cmd;
+	const char *cmdstr;
+	const char *help;
+};
+typedef struct _CmdInfo CmdInfo;
+
+static const CmdInfo CMD_INFO[] = {
+	{ CMD_ADD,	"add",
+	  "add <path> [<path>] ;; add a message to the database" },
+	{ CMD_FIND,     "find",
+	  "find \"<expr>\";; find messages matching <expr>" },
+	{ CMD_HELP,     "help",
+	  "help [<command>];; get some help information about <command>" },
+	{ CMD_QUIT,	"quit",
+	  "quit ;; quit mu server" },
+	{ CMD_REMOVE,	"remove",
+	  "remove <docid>|<path> [<uid>|<path>]"
+	  ";; remove path (with "") or docid from the database" },
+	{ CMD_RENAME,	"rename",
+	  "rename <docid>|<path> <path>"
+	  ";; rename (move) path (with "") or docid to a new <path>" },
+	{ CMD_VERSION,	"version", "version ;; get the mu version" },
+	{ CMD_VIEW,	"view", "view <path> ;; get the contents of message at <path>" }
+};
+
+static Cmd
+cmd_from_string (const char *str)
+{
+	unsigned u;
+
+	for (u = 0; u != G_N_ELEMENTS(CMD_INFO); ++u)
+		if (g_strcmp0 (str, CMD_INFO[u].cmdstr) == 0)
+			return CMD_INFO[u].cmd;
+
+	/* handle all-blank strings */
+	if (g_regex_match_simple ("^ *$", str, 0, 0))
+		return CMD_IGNORE;
+
+	return CMD_INVALID;
+}
+
+
+static Cmd
+parse_line (const gchar *line, GSList **args)
+{
+	Cmd cmd;
+	GSList *lst;
+
+	lst = mu_str_esc_to_list (line);
+	if (!lst)
+		return CMD_INVALID;
+
+	cmd = cmd_from_string ((const char*)lst->data);
+
+	if (cmd == CMD_INVALID) {
+		mu_str_free_list (lst);
+		*args = NULL;
+	} else {
+		*args = g_slist_next (lst);
+		lst->next = NULL;
+		mu_str_free_list (lst);
+	}
+
+	return cmd;
+}
+
+
+static gboolean
+cmd_version (GSList *lst, GError **err)
+{
+	if (lst) {
+		g_set_error (err, 0,MU_ERROR_IN_PARAMETERS,
+				     "`version' does not take any parameters");
+		return FALSE;
+	}
+
+	print_expr ("(:version \"" VERSION "\")\n");
+	return TRUE;
+}
+
+
+static MuConfig*
+get_opts (MuConfigCmd cmd)
+{
+	static MuConfig opts;
+
+	memset (&opts, 0, sizeof(opts));
+	opts.cmd = cmd;
+	opts.format = MU_CONFIG_FORMAT_SEXP;
+
+	return &opts;
+}
+
+static MuError
+cmd_find (MuStore *store, GSList *lst, GError **err)
+{
+	MuConfig *opts;
+	const gchar *params[3] = { NULL, NULL, NULL };
+
+	if (!lst)
+		return server_error (MU_ERROR_IN_PARAMETERS,
+				     "find takes 1 parameter");
+
+	opts = get_opts (MU_CONFIG_CMD_FIND);
+	params[1] = (const char*)lst->data;
+	opts->params = (char**)params;
+
+	return mu_cmd_find (store, opts, err);
+}
+
+
+static MuError
+cmd_view (GSList *args, GError **err)
+{
+	MuConfig *opts;
+	const gchar *params[3] = { NULL, NULL, NULL };
+
+	if (g_slist_length(args) != 1)
+		return server_error (MU_ERROR_IN_PARAMETERS,
+				     "view takes exactly 1 parameter");
+
+	opts = get_opts (MU_CONFIG_CMD_VIEW);
+	params[1] = (const char*)args->data;
+	opts->params = (char**)params;
+
+	return mu_cmd_view (opts, err);
+}
+
+
+
+static gboolean
+cmd_help (GSList *lst, GError **err)
+{
+	unsigned u;
+
+	if (g_slist_length (lst) > 1) {
+		g_set_error (err, 0, MU_ERROR_IN_PARAMETERS,
+				     "`help' takes at most one parameter");
+		return FALSE;
+	}
+
+	if (!lst) {
+		g_print (";; use 'help <command> to get info about a "
+			 "particular command\n");
+		g_print (";; commands are: ");
+		for (u = 0; u != G_N_ELEMENTS(CMD_INFO); ++u)
+			g_print ("%s ", CMD_INFO[u].cmdstr);
+		g_print ("\n");
+
+	} else {
+		Cmd c = cmd_from_string ((const char*)lst->data);
+		if (c == CMD_INVALID) {
+			g_set_error (err, 0, MU_ERROR_IN_PARAMETERS,
+					     "no such command");
+			return FALSE;
+		}
+
+		for (u = 0; u != G_N_ELEMENTS(CMD_INFO); ++u)
+			if (CMD_INFO[u].cmd == c)
+				g_print (";; usage: %s\n", CMD_INFO[u].help);
+	}
+
+	return TRUE;
+}
+
+
+static gboolean
+cmd_quit (GSList *lst, GError **err)
+{
+	if (lst) {
+		g_set_error (err, 0, MU_ERROR_IN_PARAMETERS,
+				     "`quit' does not take any parameters");
+		return FALSE;
+	}
+
+	print_expr (";; quiting");
+	return TRUE;
+}
+
+
+static gboolean
+handle_command (MuConfigCmd cmd, MuStore *store, GSList *args, GError **err)
+{
+	MuError rv;
+
+	switch (cmd) {
+	case CMD_VERSION: rv = cmd_version (args, err); break;
+	case CMD_QUIT: rv = cmd_quit (args, err); break;
+	case CMD_HELP: rv = cmd_help (args, err); break;
+
+	case CMD_FIND: rv = cmd_find (store, args, err); break;
+	case CMD_VIEW: rv = cmd_view (args, err); break;
+
+	case CMD_IGNORE: return TRUE;
+	default:
+		g_set_error (err, 0, MU_ERROR_IN_PARAMETERS,
+			     "unknown command");
+		return FALSE;
+	}
+
+	return rv == MU_OK ? TRUE : FALSE;
+}
+
+
+MuError
+mu_cmd_server (MuStore *store, MuConfig *opts, GError **err/*unused*/)
+{
+	g_return_val_if_fail (store, MU_ERROR_INTERNAL);
+
+	g_print (";; welcome to mu\n");
+	g_print (";; type your commands, and press Enter to execute them\n");
+
+	while (1) {
+		char *line;
+		Cmd cmd;
+		GSList *args;
+		GError *err;
+
+		line = my_readline (MU_PROMPT);
+		cmd  = parse_line (line, &args);
+		g_free (line);
+
+		err = NULL;
+		if (!handle_command (cmd, store, args, &err)) {
+			server_error (err->code, err->message);
+			g_clear_error (&err);
+		}
+
+		mu_str_free_list (args);
+
+		if (cmd == CMD_QUIT)
+			break;
+	}
+
+	return MU_OK;
+}
diff --git a/src/mu-config.c b/src/mu-config.c
index acf1b508..f15facd8 100644
--- a/src/mu-config.c
+++ b/src/mu-config.c
@@ -80,7 +80,6 @@ set_group_mu_defaults (MuConfig *opts)
 		opts->muhome = exp;
 	}
 
-
 	/* check for the MU_COLORS env var; but in any case don't use
 	 * colors unless we're writing to a tty */
 
@@ -124,10 +123,8 @@ config_options_group_mu (MuConfig *opts)
 static void
 set_group_index_defaults (MuConfig * opts)
 {
-	/* note: opts->maildir is handled in mu-cmd, as we need to
-	 * have a MuIndex entry for mu_index_last_used_maildir ()
-	 */
-	opts->xbatchsize = 0;
+	if (!opts->maildir)
+		opts->maildir = mu_util_guess_maildir ();
 }
 
 static GOptionGroup*
@@ -401,7 +398,6 @@ parse_cmd (MuConfig *opts, int *argcp, char ***argvp)
 		MuConfigCmd	_cmd;
 	} cmd_map[] = {
 		{ "cfind",   MU_CONFIG_CMD_CFIND },
-		{ "cleanup", MU_CONFIG_CMD_CLEANUP },
 		{ "extract", MU_CONFIG_CMD_EXTRACT },
 		{ "find",    MU_CONFIG_CMD_FIND },
 		{ "index",   MU_CONFIG_CMD_INDEX },
@@ -440,8 +436,6 @@ add_context_group (GOptionContext *context, MuConfig *opts)
 {
 	GOptionGroup *group;
 
-	group = NULL;
-
 	switch (opts->cmd) {
 	case MU_CONFIG_CMD_INDEX:
 		group = config_options_group_index (opts);	break;
@@ -458,13 +452,12 @@ add_context_group (GOptionContext *context, MuConfig *opts)
 	case MU_CONFIG_CMD_VIEW:
 		group = config_options_group_view (opts);	break;
 	case MU_CONFIG_CMD_SERVER:
-		group = config_options_group_server (opts);	break;
-
-	default: break;
+		group = config_options_group_server (opts); 	break;
+	default:
+		return; /* no group to add */
 	}
 
-	if (group)
-		g_option_context_add_group(context, group);
+	g_option_context_add_group(context, group);
 }
 
 
@@ -528,6 +521,7 @@ mu_config_destroy (MuConfig *opts)
 	g_free (opts->maildir);
 	g_free (opts->linksdir);
 	g_free (opts->targetdir);
+
 	g_strfreev (opts->params);
 	g_free (opts);
 }
@@ -539,7 +533,6 @@ mu_config_param_num (MuConfig *conf)
 	guint u;
 
 	g_return_val_if_fail (conf, 0);
-
 	for (u = 0; conf->params[u]; ++u);
 
 	return u;
diff --git a/src/mu-config.h b/src/mu-config.h
index 6fbbfdc1..d2e8484d 100644
--- a/src/mu-config.h
+++ b/src/mu-config.h
@@ -63,7 +63,6 @@ enum _MuConfigCmd {
 
 	MU_CONFIG_CMD_INDEX,
 	MU_CONFIG_CMD_FIND,
-	MU_CONFIG_CMD_CLEANUP,
 	MU_CONFIG_CMD_MKDIR,
 	MU_CONFIG_CMD_VIEW,
 	MU_CONFIG_CMD_EXTRACT,