$ Linux Command

Administration

mail

Send and receive email from the command line.

emailmailsendreceivemutt

Additional Notes

mail is a simple command-line email client that can send and receive messages. On most Linux systems, it is provided by the mailx or heirloom-mailx package (or the BSD mail command). It can send emails directly from scripts or be used interactively to read messages from the local mail spool.

It is most commonly used for sending automated notifications, system alerts, and cron job output. For interactive email use, most users prefer mutt, alpine, or a graphical client.

Syntax

mail [options] [recipient...]

Parameters

  • recipient: Email address of the recipient when sending.

Common Options

  • -s subject: Set the email subject line.
  • -a file: Attach a file to the message.
  • -c address: Send a carbon copy (CC) to the address.
  • -b address: Send a blind carbon copy (BCC) to the address.
  • -r address: Set the return/from address.
  • -v: Verbose mode, shows SMTP conversation.
  • -E: If stdin is empty, do not send the message.
  • -q file: Read the message body from a file.
  • -N: Suppress initial header display in interactive mode.
  • -f file: Read mail from an alternative mailbox file.

Examples

echo "System backup completed successfully." | mail -s "Backup Report" admin@example.com

Send an email with a subject line, reading the body from stdin.

mail -s "Disk Usage Alert" -c manager@example.com admin@example.com < /tmp/alert.txt

Send an email with a CC and body from a file.

mail -s "Logs" -a /var/log/syslog user@example.com < /dev/null

Send an email with an attachment and empty body.

mail -s "Test" -r "noreply@example.com" user@example.com

Send with a custom From address.

mail

Read local mail interactively. Type h to list headers, t <num> to read a message, d <num> to delete, q to quit.

Sending with a Body From a Pipe

df -h | mail -s "Disk Free Report" admin@example.com

Practical Notes

  • The system must have a Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) installed and configured, such as Postfix, Sendmail, or Exim.
  • For sending to external addresses, the MTA must be configured to relay mail appropriately.
  • The -a attachment option is not supported by all mail implementations. Use mutt or mpack for more robust attachments.
  • Check local mail in /var/mail/$USER or /var/spool/mail/$USER.
  • The MAIL environment variable points to the user's mailbox file.