3 ==========================
4 Emacs Frontend for Notmuch
5 ==========================
10 This manual covers only the Emacs interface to Notmuch. For information
11 on the command line interface, see section “Description” in the Notmuch
12 Manual Pages. To save typing, we will sometimes use *notmuch* in this
13 manual to refer to the Emacs interface to Notmuch. When this distinction
14 is important, we’ll refer to the Emacs interface as
17 Notmuch-emacs is highly customizable via the the Emacs customization
18 framework (or just by setting the appropriate variables). We try to
19 point out relevant variables in this manual, but in order to avoid
20 duplication of information, you can usually find the most detailed
21 description in the variables' docstring.
30 ``notmuch-hello`` is the main entry point for Notmuch. You can start it
31 with ``M-x notmuch`` or ``M-x notmuch-hello``. The startup screen looks
32 something like the following. There are some hints at the bottom of the
33 screen. There are three main parts to the notmuch-hello screen,
34 discussed below. The **bold** text indicates buttons you can click with
35 a mouse or by positioning the cursor and pressing ``<return>``
37 | Welcome to **notmuch** You have 52 messages.
39 | Saved searches: **[edit]**
41 | 52 **inbox** 52 **unread**
43 | Search: ____________________________________
45 | All tags: **[show]**
47 | Hit \`?' for context-sensitive help in any Notmuch screen.
48 | Customize Notmuch or this page.
50 You can change the overall appearance of the notmuch-hello screen by
51 customizing the variables
53 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-hello-sections
55 |docstring::notmuch-hello-sections|
57 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-hello-thousands-separator
59 |docstring::notmuch-hello-thousands-separator|
61 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-show-logo
63 |docstring::notmuch-show-logo|
65 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-column-control
67 Controls the number of columns for saved searches/tags in notmuch view.
69 This variable has three potential types of values:
73 Automatically calculate the number of columns possible based
74 on the tags to be shown and the window width.
76 .. describe:: integer <n>
78 A lower bound on the number of characters that will
79 be used to display each column.
81 .. describe:: float <f>
83 A fraction of the window width that is the lower bound on the
84 number of characters that should be used for each column.
88 - if you would like two columns of tags, set this to 0.5.
90 - if you would like a single column of tags, set this to 1.0.
92 - if you would like tags to be 30 characters wide, set this to 30.
94 - if you don't want to worry about all of this nonsense, leave
97 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-show-empty-saved-searches
99 |docstring::notmuch-show-empty-saved-searches|
101 notmuch-hello key bindings
102 --------------------------
105 Move to the next widget (button or text entry field)
108 Move to the previous widget.
111 Activate the current widget.
114 Refresh the buffer; mainly update the counts of messages for various
118 Import mail, See :ref:`importing`
124 Search the notmuch database using :ref:`notmuch-search`
127 Print notmuch version
137 Since notmuch is entirely search-based, it's often useful to organize
138 mail around common searches. To facilitate this, the first section of
139 notmuch-hello presents a customizable set of saved searches. Saved
140 searches can also be accessed from anywhere in notmuch by pressing
141 ``j`` to access :ref:`notmuch-jump`.
143 The saved searches default to various common searches such as
144 ``tag:inbox`` to access the inbox and ``tag:unread`` to access all
145 unread mail, but there are several options for customization:
147 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-saved-searches
149 The list of saved searches, including names, queries, and
150 additional per-query options.
152 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-saved-search-sort-function
154 This variable controls how saved searches should be sorted. A value
155 of ``nil`` displays the saved searches in the order they are stored
156 in ‘notmuch-saved-searches’.
161 The search box lets the user enter a Notmuch query. See section
162 “Description” in Notmuch Query Syntax, for more info on Notmuch query
163 syntax. A history of recent searches is also displayed by default. The
164 latter is controlled by the variable `notmuch-hello-recent-searches-max`.
166 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-hello-recent-searches-max
168 |docstring::notmuch-hello-recent-searches-max|
173 One special kind of saved search provided by default is for each
174 individual tag defined in the database. This can be controlled via the
177 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-hello-tag-list-make-query
179 Control how to construct a search (“virtual folder”) from a given
182 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-hello-hide-tags
184 Which tags not to display at all.
191 ``notmuch-search-mode`` is used to display the results from executing
192 a query via ``notmuch-search``. The syntax for these queries is the
193 the same as :ref:`saved-searches`. For details of this syntax see
194 info:notmuch-search-terms
196 By default the output approximates that of the command line See section
197 “Description” in notmuch search command.
199 The main purpose of the ``notmuch-search-mode`` buffer is to act as a
200 menu of results that the user can explore further by pressing
201 ``<return>`` on the appropriate line.
207 Move to previous line
210 Open thread on current line in :ref:`notmuch-show` mode
216 Display full set of key bindings
218 The presentation of results can be controlled by the following
221 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-search-result-format
223 Control how each thread of messages is presented in the
224 ``notmuch-show-mode`` buffer
226 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-search-oldest-first
228 Display the oldest threads at the top of the buffer
230 It is also possible to customize how the name of buffers containing
231 search results is formatted using the following variables:
233 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-search-buffer-name-format
235 |docstring::notmuch-search-buffer-name-format|
237 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-saved-search-buffer-name-format
239 |docstring::notmuch-saved-search-buffer-name-format|
247 ``notmuch-show-mode`` is used to display a single thread of email from
250 By default, various components of email messages, (citations,
251 signatures, already-read messages), are hidden. You can make
252 these parts visible by clicking with the mouse button or by
253 pressing RET after positioning the cursor on a hidden part.
256 Scroll the current message (if necessary),
257 advance to the next message, or advance to the next thread (if
258 already on the last message of a thread).
267 Move to previous message (or start of current message)
270 Move to next matching message
273 Move to previous matching message
276 Add or remove arbitrary tags from the current message.
279 |docstring::notmuch-show-toggle-elide-non-matching|
282 Display full set of key bindings
284 Display of messages can be controlled by the following variables; see also :ref:`show-large`.
286 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-message-headers
288 |docstring::notmuch-message-headers|
290 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-message-headers-visible
292 |docstring::notmuch-message-headers-visible|
294 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-show-header-line
296 |docstring::notmuch-show-header-line|
298 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-multipart/alternative-discouraged
300 Which mime types to hide by default for multipart messages.
302 Can either be a list of mime types (as strings) or a function
303 mapping a plist representing the current message to such a list.
304 The following example function would discourage `text/html` and
305 `multipart/related` generally, but discourage `text/plain` should
306 the message be sent from `whatever@example.com`.
310 (defun my--determine-discouraged (msg)
311 (let* ((headers (plist-get msg :headers))
312 (from (or (plist-get headers :From) "")))
314 ((string-match "whatever@example.com" from)
317 (list "text/html" "multipart/related")))))
321 Dealing with large messages and threads
322 ---------------------------------------
324 If you are finding :ref:`notmuch-show` is annoyingly slow displaying
325 large messages, you can customize
326 :emacsvar:`notmuch-show-max-text-part-size`. If you want to speed up the
327 display of large threads (with or without large messages), there are
328 several options. First, you can display the same query in one of the
329 other modes. :ref:`notmuch-unthreaded` is the most robust for
330 extremely large queries, but :ref:`notmuch-tree` is also be faster
331 than :ref:`notmuch-show` in general, since it only renders a single
332 message a time. If you prefer to stay with the rendered thread
333 ("conversation") view of :ref:`notmuch-show`, you can customize the
334 variables :emacsvar:`notmuch-show-depth-limit`,
335 :emacsvar:`notmuch-show-height-limit` and
336 :emacsvar:`notmuch-show-max-text-part-size` to limit the amount of
337 rendering done initially. Note that these limits are implicitly
338 *OR*-ed together, and combinations might have surprising effects.
340 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-show-depth-limit
342 |docstring::notmuch-show-depth-limit|
344 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-show-height-limit
346 |docstring::notmuch-show-height-limit|
348 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-show-max-text-part-size
350 |docstring::notmuch-show-max-text-part-size|
357 You can use the usually Emacs ways of copying text to the kill-ring,
358 but notmuch also provides some shortcuts. These keys are available in
359 :ref:`notmuch-show`, and :ref:`notmuch-tree`. A subset are available
360 in :ref:`notmuch-search`.
362 ``c F`` ``notmuch-show-stash-filename``
363 |docstring::notmuch-show-stash-filename|
365 ``c G`` ``notmuch-show-stash-git-send-email``
366 |docstring::notmuch-show-stash-git-send-email|
368 ``c I`` ``notmuch-show-stash-message-id-stripped``
369 |docstring::notmuch-show-stash-message-id-stripped|
371 ``c L`` ``notmuch-show-stash-mlarchive-link-and-go``
372 |docstring::notmuch-show-stash-mlarchive-link-and-go|
374 ``c T`` ``notmuch-show-stash-tags``
375 |docstring::notmuch-show-stash-tags|
377 ``c c`` ``notmuch-show-stash-cc``
378 |docstring::notmuch-show-stash-cc|
380 ``c d`` ``notmuch-show-stash-date``
381 |docstring::notmuch-show-stash-date|
383 ``c f`` ``notmuch-show-stash-from``
384 |docstring::notmuch-show-stash-from|
386 ``c i`` ``notmuch-show-stash-message-id``
387 |docstring::notmuch-show-stash-message-id|
389 ``c l`` ``notmuch-show-stash-mlarchive-link``
390 |docstring::notmuch-show-stash-mlarchive-link|
392 ``c s`` ``notmuch-show-stash-subject``
393 |docstring::notmuch-show-stash-subject|
395 ``c t`` ``notmuch-show-stash-to``
396 |docstring::notmuch-show-stash-to|
399 Show all available copying commands
406 ``notmuch-tree-mode`` displays the results of a "notmuch tree" of your
407 email archives. Each line in the buffer represents a single
408 message giving the relative date, the author, subject, and any
415 Displays that message.
421 Move to previous message
424 Move to next matching message
427 Move to previous matching message
429 ``o`` ``notmuch-tree-toggle-order``
430 |docstring::notmuch-tree-toggle-order|
432 ``l`` ``notmuch-tree-filter``
433 Filter or LIMIT the current search results based on an additional query string
435 ``t`` ``notmuch-tree-filter-by-tag``
436 Filter the current search results based on an additional tag
443 Display full set of key bindings
445 As is the case with :ref:`notmuch-search`, the presentation of results
446 can be controlled by the variable ``notmuch-search-oldest-first``.
448 .. _notmuch-unthreaded:
453 ``notmuch-unthreaded-mode`` is similar to :any:`notmuch-tree` in that
454 each line corresponds to a single message, but no thread information
457 Keybindings are the same as :any:`notmuch-tree`.
462 Several features are accessible from most places in notmuch through the
463 following key bindings:
466 Jump to saved searches using :ref:`notmuch-jump`.
469 Tagging operations using :ref:`notmuch-tag-jump`
471 ``C-_`` ``C-/`` ``C-x u``: Undo previous tagging operation using :ref:`notmuch-tag-undo`
478 Saved searches configured through :ref:`saved-searches` can
479 include a "shortcut key" that's accessible through notmuch-jump.
480 Pressing ``j`` anywhere in notmuch followed by the configured shortcut
481 key of a saved search will immediately jump to that saved search. For
482 example, in the default configuration ``j i`` jumps immediately to the
483 inbox search. When you press ``j``, notmuch-jump shows the saved
484 searches and their shortcut keys in the mini-buffer.
486 .. _notmuch-tag-jump:
491 Tagging operations configured through ``notmuch-tagging-keys`` can
492 be accessed via :kbd:`k` in :ref:`notmuch-show`,
493 :ref:`notmuch-search` and :ref:`notmuch-tree`. With a
494 prefix (:kbd:`C-u k`), notmuch displays a menu of the reverses of the
495 operations specified in ``notmuch-tagging-keys``; i.e. each
496 ``+tag`` is replaced by ``-tag`` and vice versa.
498 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-tagging-keys
500 |docstring::notmuch-tagging-keys|
502 .. _notmuch-tag-undo:
507 Each notmuch buffer supporting tagging operations (i.e buffers in
508 :any:`notmuch-show`, :any:`notmuch-search`, :any:`notmuch-tree`, and
509 :any:`notmuch-unthreaded` mode) keeps a local stack of tagging
510 operations. These can be undone via :emacscmd:`notmuch-tag-undo`. By default
511 this is bound to the usual Emacs keys for undo.
513 .. emacscmd:: notmuch-tag-undo
515 |docstring::notmuch-tag-undo|
520 .. emacscmd:: notmuch-cycle-notmuch-buffers
522 |docstring::notmuch-cycle-notmuch-buffers|
532 .. emacscmd:: notmuch-poll
534 |docstring::notmuch-poll|
536 .. emacsvar:: notmuch-poll-script
538 |docstring::notmuch-poll-script|
543 .. emacsvar:: mail-user-agent
545 Emacs consults the variable :code:`mail-user-agent` to choose a mail
546 sending package for commands like :code:`report-emacs-bug` and
547 :code:`compose-mail`. To use ``notmuch`` for this, customize this
548 variable to the symbol :code:`notmuch-user-agent`.
550 .. emacsvar:: message-dont-reply-to-names
552 When composing mail replies, Emacs's message mode uses the
553 variable :code:`message-dont-reply-to-names` to exclude
554 recipients matching a given collection of regular expressions
555 or satisfying an arbitrary predicate. Notmuch's MUA inherits
556 this standard mechanism and will honour your customization of
562 When Notmuch is loaded, it will read the ``notmuch-init-file``
563 (``~/.emacs.d/notmuch-config`` by default) file. This is normal Emacs Lisp
564 file and can be used to avoid cluttering your ``~/.emacs`` with Notmuch
565 stuff. If the file with ``.elc``, ``.elc.gz``, ``.el`` or ``.el.gz``
566 suffix exist it will be read instead (just one of these, chosen in this
567 order). Most often users create ``~/.emacs.d/notmuch-config.el`` and just
568 work with it. If Emacs was invoked with the ``-q`` or ``--no-init-file``
569 options, ``notmuch-init-file`` is not read.