NAME
mu server - the mu backend for the mu4e e-mail client
SYNOPSIS
mu [common-options] server
DESCRIPTION
mu server starts a simple shell in which one can query and manipulate the mu database. The output uses s-expressions. mu server is not meant for use by humans, except for debugging purposes. Instead, it is designed specifically for the mu4e e-mail client.
In this man-page, we document the commands mu server accepts, as well as their responses. In general, the commands sent to the server are s-expressions of the form:
(<command-name> :param1 value1 :param2 value2)
For example, to view a certain message, the command would be:
(view :docid 12345)
Parameters can be sent in any order; they must be of the correct type though. See lib/utils/mu-sexp-parser.hh and lib/utils/mu-sexp-parser.cc in source-tree for the details.
OUTPUT FORMAT
mu server accepts a number of commands, and delivers its results in the form:
\376<length>\377<s-expr>
\376 (one byte 0xfe), followed by the length of the s-expression expressed as an hexadecimal number, followed by another \377 (one byte 0xff), followed by the actual s-expression.
By prefixing the expression with its length, it can be processed more efficiently. The \376 and \377 were chosen since they never occur in valid UTF-8 (in which the s-expressions are encoded).
SERVER OPTIONS
--commands
List available commands (and try with --verbose)
--eval
<expression>
Evaluate a mu4e server s-expression
--muhome
use a non-default directory to store and read the database,
write the logs, etc. By default, mu uses the XDG Base
Directory Specification (e.g. on GNU/Linux this defaults to
~/.cache/mu and ~/.config/mu). Earlier
versions of mu defaulted to ~/.mu, which now
requires --muhome=~/.mu.
The environment variable MUHOME can be used as an alternative to --muhome. The latter has precedence.
COMMON OPTIONS
-d,
--debug
makes mu generate extra debug information, useful for
debugging the program itself. By default, debug information
goes to the log file, ~/.cache/mu/mu.log. It can safely be
deleted when mu is not running. When running with --debug
option, the log file can grow rather quickly. See the note
on logging below.
-q,
--quiet
causes mu not to output informational messages and progress
information to standard output, but only to the log file.
Error messages will still be sent to standard error. Note
that mu index is much faster with --quiet, so it is
recommended you use this option when using mu from scripts
etc.
--log-stderr
causes mu to not output log messages to standard error, in
addition to sending them to the log file.
--nocolor
do not use ANSI colors. The environment variable NO
COLOR can be used as an alternative to
--nocolor.
-V,
--version
prints mu version and copyright information.
-h,
--help
lists the various command line options.
REPORTING BUGS
Please report bugs at https://github.com/djcb/mu/issues.
AUTHOR
Dirk-Jan C. Binnema <djcb [AT] djcbsoftware.nl>
COPYRIGHT
This manpage is part of mu 1.10.8.
Copyright © 2022-2023 Dirk-Jan C. Binnema. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html. This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.