mailx

Enhanced mail command for sending and receiving Internet mail

TLDR

Send email (type body, end with Ctrl+D)

$ mailx -s "[Subject]" [recipient@example.com]

Send with body from pipe

$ echo "[message]" | mailx -s "[Subject]" [recipient@example.com]

Send from file

$ mailx -s "[Subject]" [recipient@example.com] < [message.txt]

Send with attachment

$ mailx -s "[Subject]" -a [file.pdf] [recipient@example.com]

Send with CC and BCC

$ mailx -s "[Subject]" -c [cc@example.com] -b [bcc@example.com] [recipient@example.com]

Read mail

$ mailx

Read mail from a specific mailbox file

$ mailx -f [path/to/mbox]

Use SMTP server

$ mailx -S smtp=[smtp://mail.example.com] -s "[Subject]" [recipient@example.com]

mailx is an enhanced mail command for sending and receiving Internet mail. It is POSIX-compatible with extensions for MIME support, SMTP connectivity, S/MIME, attachments, and more features than basic mail.It handles both sending and reading email. When called without arguments, it reads the user's mailbox. When given recipients, it enters compose mode.

PARAMETERS

RECIPIENTS

Email addresses.

-s SUBJECT

Email subject.

-a FILE

Attach file.

-c ADDR

CC recipients.

-b ADDR

BCC recipients.

-r ADDR

Set From address.

-S VAR=VALUE

Set internal variable (e.g., smtp, from, smtp-auth).

-t

Read recipients from To/Cc/Bcc headers in the message.

-f FILE

Read from mailbox file.

-N

Inhibit reading system-wide startup file.

-H

Print header summary and exit.

--help

Display help information.

INSTALL

sudo zypper install mailx

CAVEATS

Multiple implementations exist (heirloom-mailx, s-nail, BSD mailx) with differing feature sets. SMTP configuration and attachment syntax varies between implementations. The -a flag means "attach file" in heirloom-mailx/s-nail but "set header" in BSD mailx.

HISTORY

mailx evolved from the original Unix mail command through Berkeley Mail. Modern implementations include s-nail (successor to heirloom-mailx) which adds MIME, SMTP, POP3, and IMAP support.