GNU Mailutils
	General-Purpose Mail Package	Official GNU Software

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2.1 Local Mailboxes

Local mailboxes store mail in files on the local file system. A local mailbox URL is:

type://path[;params]

The path defines its location in the file system. For example:

mbox:///var/spool/mail/gray

Optional params is a semicolon-separated list of optional arguments that configures indexed directory structure. See local URL parameters, for a detailed description.

The local mailbox types are:

mbox

A traditional UNIX mailbox format. Messages are stored sequentially in a single file. Each message begins with a ‘From’ line, identifying its sender and date when it was received. A single empty line separates two adjacent messages.

This is the default format.

maildir

The Maildir mailbox format. Each message is kept in a separate file with a unique name. Each mailbox is therefore a directory. This mailbox format eliminates file locking and makes message access much faster.

This format was originally described by D. J. Bernstein in http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html.

mh

MH Message Handling System format. Each message is kept in a separate file named after its sequential numeric identifier within the mailbox. Deleted messages are not removed, but instead the corresponding file is renamed by prepending a comma to its original name. Each mailbox is a directory. Mailboxes can be nested.

This format was originally developed by RAND Corporation. Mailutils implementation is compatible both with the original implementation and with its descendant nmh.

file

This type can be used when accessing an existing mailbox of any of the formats defined above. The actual mailbox format is determined automatically. This type is assumed when a mailbox is referred to by its full pathname.