putmail.py(1)                    User Manuals                    putmail.py(1)



NAME
       putmail.py - SMTP client

SYNTAX
       putmail.py [option...] recipient...

DESCRIPTION
       putmail.py  is  a  very lightweight MTA or SMTP client that may replace
       the sendmail command when used by MUAs that lack SMTP support.

       Usually, putmail.py is not  called  directly  from  the  command  line.
       Instead,  programs  are configured to deliver mail using putmail.py. It
       accepts all the options sendmail does, but ignores most  of  them.  You
       can find all the options in the COMMAND LINE OPTIONS section.

       The  program  reads  an e-mail message from standard input and tries to
       deliver it to the specified recipients using the  apropiate  configura-
       tion file, which is

              $HOME/.putmail/putmailrc

       by  default. As you see, configuration files are per-user. For security
       reasons, you may want to set permissions so only you have access to the
       configuration directory.

       The  exact  configuration  file name is chosen according to the address
       used in the From header of the e-mail message, which allows you to have
       several  configuration files and bind SMTP servers to e-mail addresses.

       For example, if the e-mail message looks like:

              (headers...)
              From: Joe User <juser@example.com>
              (headers...)

              (message contents...)


       The program will try to use the file

              $HOME/.putmail/juser@example.com

       If that file is not available, it will fall back to the default one.

       Any errors and warnings are printed to standard error and also  to  the
       log file named

              $HOME/.putmail/putmail.log

       except  for  the  error message about the HOME environment variable not
       present, for obvious reasons.

CONFIGURATION FILE
       Configuration files have the same format as INI files. They must have a
       section  named  config  and,  at  least, two options: server and email.
       Those set the SMTP server to use and the  envelope  from  address  used
       when  contacting  the server. It is a good idea to set this to the same
       address you use in the From header  of  the  e-mail  message,  but  not
       strictly  necessary.  putmail.py will not change the From header. Exam-
       ple:

              [config]
              server = smtp.example.com
              email = user@example.com

       Please note that the text indentation in  the  example  should  not  be
       present  in  the  real file, where all the lines should start at column
       number 1. You can authenticate to the SMTP server and use TLS  indicat-
       ing more options. This is the complete list:

       server The SMTP server to use.

       email  The  envelope from address used when contacting with the server.

       username
              The username used when authenticating to the  SMTP  server.  You
              must,  then,  indicate  a  password with the password option. By
              default no authentication is used.

       password
              The password used when authenticating to the SMTP server.

       port   The server port. The default value is 25.

       tls    Boolean option to enable or  disable  TLS.  It  is  disabled  by
              default or when its value is no, 0, off or false. Set it to yes,
              1, on or true to enable TLS.

       quiet  Boolean option, disabled by default.  When  active,  errors  and
              warnings  related to communication with the SMTP server will not
              be printed on screen. See the tls option  for  possible  values.
              Use  it with care and once you know your configuration works. In
              most cases this will not be needed. However, sometimes  warnings
              about  improper  connection  shutdown  can  get really annoying.
              Errors related to malformed configuration files, absence of mes-
              sage recipients and others will still be printed.

COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
       --     Marks end of options. Remaining arguments are recipients.

       -t     Take recipients from the To, Cc and Bcc message headers.

       -f from_address
              Use  this  address  as  the SMTP protocol envelope from address,
              replacing the email option in the configuration file.

       And the following options are accepted but ignored:

       -Ac
       -Am
       -ba
       -bm
       -bs
       -bt
       -bv
       -bv
       -G
       -i
       -n
       -v
       -bd
       -bD
       -bh
       -bH
       -bi
       -bp
       -bP
       -q
       -Q
       -qf
       -B argument
       -C argument
       -d argument
       -D argument
       -F argument
       -h argument
       -L argument
       -N argument
       -O argument
       -p argument
       -Q argument
       -R argument
       -r argument
       -V argument
       -X argument
       -qG argument
       -qI argument
       -qQ argument
       -qR argument
       -qS argument
       -q!I argument
       -q!Q argument
       -q!R argument
       -q!S argument
       -qtext
       -qptext
       -otext text

FILES
       $HOME/.putmail/
              Configuration directory

       $HOME/.putmail/putmailrc
              Default configuration file

       $HOME/.putmail/putmail.log
              Log file for errors and warnings

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
       HOME   Specifies the home directory of the invoking user.

AUTHORS
       Ricardo Garcia Gonzalez: http://sourceforge.net/users/rg3/

SEE ALSO
       mutt(1) muttrc(5) nail(1) mail(1) sendmail(1)



Ricardo Garcia Gonzalez               1.4                        putmail.py(1)