To execute a command, press : to bring up the command
interface. Commands may also be bound to keys, see aerc-binds(5) for
details. In some contexts, such as the terminal emulator, <c-x>
is used to bring up the command interface.
Different commands work in different contexts, depending on the
kind of tab you have selected.
Aerc stores a history of commands, which can be cycled through in
command mode. Pressing the up key cycles backwards in history, while
pressing down cycles forwards.
These commands work in any context.
:cd <directory>
Changes aerc's current working directory.
:z <directory or zoxide query>
Changes aerc's current working directory using zoxide. If
zoxide is not on $PATH., the command will not be registered.
:change-tab [+|-]<tab name or
index>
:ct [+|-]<tab name or index>
Changes the focus to the tab with the given name. If a
number is given, it's treated as an index. If + or - is
specified, the number is interpreted as a delta from the selected tab.
:exec <command>
Executes an arbitrary command in the background. Aerc
will set the environment variables
$account and
$folder when the
command is executed from an Account tab or an opened message.
Note: commands executed in this way are not executed with the
shell.
:eml [<path>]
:preview
Opens an eml file and displays the message in the message
viewer.
Can also be used in the message viewer to open an rfc822
attachment or in the composer to preview the message.
:pwd
Displays aerc's current working directory in the status
bar.
:term [<command>...]
:terminal
Opens a new terminal tab with a shell running in the
current working directory, or the specified command.
:move-tab [+|-]<index>
Moves the selected tab to the given index. If + or
- is specified, the number is interpreted as a delta from the selected
tab.
:prev-tab [<n>]
:next-tab [<n>]
Cycles to the previous or next tab in the list, repeating
<n> times (default: 1).
:pin-tab
Moves the current tab to the left of all non-pinned tabs
and displays the pinned-tab-marker (default: `) to the left of
the tab title.
:unpin-tab
Removes the pinned-tab-marker from the current tab
and returns the tab to its previous location.
:prompt <prompt> <command>...
Displays the prompt on the status bar, waits for user
input, then appends that input as the last argument to the command and
executes it. The input is passed as one argument to the command, unless it is
empty, in which case no extra argument is added.
:choose -o <key> <text>
<command> [-o <key> <text>
<command>]...
Prompts the user to choose from various options.
:quit [-f]
:exit [-f]
Exits aerc. If a task is being performed that should not
be interrupted (like sending a message), a normal quit call might fail. In
this case, closing aerc can be forced with the -f option.
These commands are valid in any context that has a selected
message (e.g. the message list, the message in the message viewer, etc).
:archive <scheme>
Moves the selected message to the archive. The available
schemes are:
flat: No special structure, all messages in the archive
directory
year: Messages are stored in folders per year
month: Messages are stored in folders per year and
subfolders per month
:accept
Accepts an iCalendar meeting invitation.
:accept-tentative
Accepts an iCalendar meeting invitation
tentatively.
:copy <target>
:cp <target>
Copies the selected message to the target folder.
:decline
Declines an iCalendar meeting invitation.
:delete
:delete-message
Deletes the selected message.
:envelope [-h] [-s
<format-specifier>]
Opens the message envelope in a dialog popup.
-h: Show all header fields
-s <format-specifier>
User-defined format specifier requiring two %s for
the key and value strings. Default format: %-20.20s: %s
:recall [-f]
Opens the selected message for re-editing. Messages can
only be recalled from the postpone directory. The original message is deleted.
-f: Open the message for re-editing even if it is not in
the postpone directory. The original message will be deleted only if it is
in the postpone directory.
:forward [-A|-F] [-T
<template-file>] [<address>...]
Opens the composer to forward the selected message to
another recipient.
-A: Forward the message and all attachments.
-F: Forward the full message as an RFC 2822 attachment.
-T <template-file>
Use the specified template file for creating the initial
message body. Unless -F is specified, this defaults to what is set as
forwards in the [templates] section of aerc.conf.
:move <target>
:mv <target>
Moves the selected message to the target folder.
:pipe [-bmp] <cmd>
Downloads and pipes the selected message into the given
shell command, and opens a new terminal tab to show the result. By default,
the selected message part is used in the message viewer and the full message
is used in the message list.
Operates on multiple messages when they are marked. When piping
multiple messages, aerc will write them with mbox format separators.
-b: Run the command in the background instead of opening a
terminal tab
-m: Pipe the full message
-p: Pipe just the selected message part, if applicable
This can be used to apply patch series with git:
:pipe -m git am -3
When at least one marked message subject matches a patch series
(e.g. [PATCH X/Y]), all marked messages will be sorted by subject to
ensure that the patches are applied in order.
:reply [-acq] [-T
<template-file>]
Opens the composer to reply to the selected message.
-a: Reply all
-c: Close the view tab when replying. If the reply is not
sent, reopen the view tab.
-q: Insert a quoted version of the selected message into
the reply editor
-T <template-file>
Use the specified template file for creating the initial
message body. If -q is specified, defaults to what is set as
quoted-reply in the [templates] section of
aerc.conf.
:read [-t]
Marks the marked or selected messages as read.
-t: Toggle the messages between read and unread.
:unread [-t]
Marks the marked or selected messages as unread.
-t: Toggle the messages between read and unread.
:flag [-t] [-a | -x
<flag>]
Sets (enables) a certain flag on the marked or selected
messages.
-t: Toggle the flag instead of setting (enabling) it.
-a: Mark message as answered/unanswered.
-x <flag>: Mark message with specific
flag.
The available flags are (adapted from RFC 3501, section
2.3.2):
Seen
Message has been read
Answered
Message has been answered
Flagged
Message is flagged for urgent/special attention
:unflag [-t] <flag>
Operates exactly like :flag, defaulting to
unsetting (disabling) flags.
:modify-labels [+|-]<label>...
:tag [+|-]<label>...
Modify message labels (e.g. notmuch tags). Labels
prefixed with a
+ are added, those prefixed with a
- removed. As
a convenience, labels without either operand add the specified label.
Example: add inbox and unread labels, remove
spam label.
:modify-labels +inbox -spam
unread
:unsubscribe
Attempt to automatically unsubscribe the user from the
mailing list through use of the List-Unsubscribe header. If supported, aerc
may open a compose window pre-filled with the unsubscribe information or open
the unsubscribe URL in a web browser.
:clear [-s]
Clears the current search or filter criteria.
By default, the selected message will be kept. To clear the
selected message and move cursor to the top of the message list, use the
-s flag.
-s: Selects the message at the top of the message list
after clearing.
:cf <folder>
Change the folder shown in the message list.
:check-mail
Check for new mail on the selected account. Non-imap
backends require check-mail-cmd to be set in order for aerc to initiate a
check for new mail. Issuing a manual :check-mail command will reset the
timer for automatic checking.
:compose [-H "<header>:
<value>"] [-T <template-file>]
[<body>]
Open the compose window to send a new email. The new
email will be sent with the current account's outgoing transport
configuration. For details on configuring outgoing mail delivery consult
aerc-accounts(5).
-H "<header>: <value>"
Add the specified header to the message, e.g:
:compose -H "X-Custom: custom
value"
-T <template-file>
Use the specified template file for creating the initial
message body.
<body>: The initial message body.
:filter [<options>]
<terms>...
Similar to :search, but filters the displayed
messages to only the search results. See the documentation for :search
for more details.
:mkdir <name>
Creates a new folder for this account and changes to that
folder.
:rmdir [-f]
Removes the current folder.
By default, it will fail if the directory is non-empty (see
-f).
-f
Remove the directory even if it contains messages.
Some programs that sync maildirs may recover deleted directories
(e.g. offlineimap). These can either be specially configured to
properly handle directory deletion, or special commands need to be run to
delete directories (e.g. offlineimap --delete-folder).
It is possible, with a slow connection and the imap backend, that
new messages arrive in the directory before they show up - using
:rmdir at this moment would delete the directory and such new
messages before the user sees them.
:next <n>[%]
:next-message <n>[%]
:prev <n>[%]
:prev-message <n>[%]
Selects the next (or previous) message in the message
list. If specified as a percentage, the percentage is applied to the number of
messages shown on screen and the cursor advances that far.
:next-folder <n>
:prev-folder <n>
Cycles to the next (or previous) folder shown in the
sidebar, repeated <n> times (default: 1).
:expand-folder
:collapse-folder
Expands or collapses the current folder when the
directory tree is enabled.
:export-mbox <file>
Exports all messages in the current folder to an mbox
file.
:import-mbox <file>
Imports all messages from an mbox file to the current
folder.
:next-result
:prev-result
Selects the next or previous search result.
:filter [<options>]
<terms>...
Searches the current folder. The search syntax is
dependent on the underlying backend. Refer to
aerc-search(1) for
details
:select <n>
:select-message <n>
Selects the <n>th message in the message
list (and scrolls it into view if necessary).
:split [[+|-]<n>]
Creates a horizontal split, showing <n>
messages and a message view below the message list. If a + or -
is prepended, the message list size will grow or shrink accordingly. The split
can be cleared by calling :split 0, or just :split. The
split can be toggled by calling split with the same (absolute) size
repeatedly. For example, :split 10 will create a split. Calling
:split 10 again will remove the split. If not specified,
<n> is set to an estimation based on the user's terminal. Also
see :vsplit.
:sort [[-r] <criterion>]...
Sorts the message list by the given criteria.
-r
sorts the immediately following criterion in reverse order.
Available criteria:
| Criterion |
Description |
| arrival |
Date and time of the messages arrival |
| cc |
Addresses in the Cc field |
| date |
Date and time of the message |
| from |
Addresses in the From field |
| read |
Presence of the read flag |
| size |
Size of the message |
| subject |
Subject of the message |
| to |
Addresses in the To field |
:toggle-threads
Toggles between message threading and the normal message
list.
:view [-p]
:view-message [-p]
Opens the message viewer to display the selected message.
If the peek flag -p is set, the message will not be marked as seen and
ignores the auto-mark-read config.
:vsplit [[+|-]<n>]
Creates a vertical split of the message list. The message
list will be <n> columns wide, and a vertical message view will
be shown to the right of the message list. If a + or - is
prepended, the message list size will grow or shrink accordingly. The split
can be cleared by calling :vsplit 0, or just :vsplit. The
split can be toggled by calling split with the same (absolute) size
repeatedly. For example, :vsplit 10 will create a split. Calling
:vsplit 10 again will remove the split. If not specified,
<n> is set to an estimation based on the user's terminal. Also
see :split.
:close
Closes the message viewer.
:next <n>[%]
:prev <n>[%]
Selects the next (or previous) message in the message
list. If specified as a percentage, the percentage is applied to the number of
messages shown on screen and the cursor advances that far.
:next-part
:prev-part
Cycles between message parts being shown. The list of
message parts is shown at the bottom of the message viewer.
:open [<args...>]
Saves the current message part to a temporary file, then
opens it. If no arguments are provided, it will open the current MIME part
with the matching command in the
[openers] section of
aerc.conf.
When no match is found in
[openers], it falls back to the default
system handler.
When arguments are provided:
•The first argument must be the program to open
the message part with. Subsequent args are passed to that program.
•
{} will be expanded as the temporary
filename to be opened. If it is not encountered in the arguments, the
temporary filename will be appened to the end of the command.
:save [-fpa] <path>
Saves the current message part to the given path. If the
path is not an absolute path,
[general].default-save-path from
aerc.conf will be prepended to the path given. If path ends in a
trailing slash or if a folder exists on disc or if
-a is specified,
aerc assumes it to be a directory. When passed a directory
:save infers
the filename from the mail part if possible, or if that fails, uses
aerc_$DATE.
-f: Overwrite the destination whether or not it exists
-p: Create any directories in the path that do not
exist
-a: Save all attachments. Individual filenames cannot be
specified.
:mark [-atvT]
Marks messages. Commands will execute on all marked
messages instead of the highlighted one if applicable. The flags below can be
combined as needed.
-a: Apply to all messages in the current folder
-t: toggle the mark state instead of marking a message
-v: Enter / leave visual mark mode
-V: Same as -v but does not clear existing
selection
-T: Marks the displayed message thread of the selected
message.
:unmark [-at]
Unmarks messages. The flags below can be combined as
needed.
-a: Apply to all messages in the current folder
-t: toggle the mark state instead of unmarking a
message
:remark
Re-select the last set of marked messages. Can be used to
chain commands after a selection has been acted upon
:abort
Close the composer without sending, discarding the
message in progress.
:attach <path>
:attach -m [<arg>]
Attaches the file at the given path to the email. The
path can contain globbing syntax described at
https://godocs.io/path/filepath#Match.
-m [<arg>]
Runs the file-picker-cmd to select files to be
attached. Requires an argument when file-picker-cmd contains the
%s verb.
:attach-key
Attaches the public key for the configured account to the
email.
:detach [<path>]
Detaches the file with the given path from the composed
email. If no path is specified, detaches the first attachment instead.
:cc <addresses>
:bcc <addresses>
Sets the Cc or Bcc header to the given addresses. If an
editor for the header is not currently visible in the compose window, a new
one will be added.
:edit
(Re-)opens your text editor to edit the message in
progress.
:multipart [-d] <mime/type>
Makes the message to multipart/alternative and add the
specified
<mime/type> part. Only the MIME types that are
configured in the
[multipart-converters] section of
aerc.conf
are supported and their related commands will be used to generate the
alternate part.
-d:
Remove the specified alternative <mime/type>
instead of adding it. If no alternative parts are left, make the message
text/plain (i.e. not multipart/alternative).
:next-field
:prev-field
Cycles between input fields in the compose window.
:postpone
Saves the current state of the message to the
postpone folder (from accounts.conf) for the current
account.
:save [-p] <path>
Saves the selected message part to the specified path. If
-p is selected, aerc will create any missing directories in the
specified path. If the path specified is a directory or ends in /, aerc
will use the attachment filename if available or a generated name if
not.
:send
Sends the message using this accounts default outgoing
transport configuration. For details on configuring outgoing mail delivery
consult
aerc-accounts(5).
:switch-account <account-name>
:switch-account -n
:switch-account -p
Switches the account. Can be used to switch to a specific
account from its name or to cycle through accounts using the
-p and
-n flags.
-p: switch to previous account
-n: switch to next account
:header [-f] <name>
[<value>]
Add a new email header. If the header already exists,
-f must be specified to replace the given value.
:toggle-headers
Toggles the visibility of the message headers.
:close
Closes the terminal.