(Version 3.96)

pine(1)

pine -- a Program for Internet News and Email

Synopsis

pine [options] [address, address]

pinef [options] [address, address]

Description

pine is a screen-oriented message-handling tool. In its default configuration, pine offers an intentionally limited set of functions geared toward the novice user, but it also has a growing list of optional ``power-user'' and personal-preference features. pinef is a variant of pine that uses function keys rather than mnemonic single-letter commands. The basic feature set of pine includes:

View, Save, Export, Delete, Print, Reply, and Forward message functions.
Ability to compose messages in a simple editor (Pico) with word-wrap and a spelling checker. Messages can be postponed for later completion.
Full-screen selection and management of message folders.
Address book to keep a list of long or frequently used addresses. Users can define distribution lists and take addresses into the address book from incoming mail without retyping them.
New mail checking and notification occurs automatically every 2.5 minutes and after certain commands, such as, Refresh-Screen <Ctrl>L.
On line, context-sensitive help screens.

Full details of using the pine system are given in The Pine MUA in The Pine MUA.

pine supports MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions), an Internet standard for representing multipart and multimedia data in email. pine allows you to save MIME objects to files. In some cases, pine can also initiate the correct program for viewing the object. pine uses the system's mailcap configuration file to determine which program can process a particular MIME object type. pine's message composer does not have integral multimedia capability, but any type of data file, including multimedia, can be attached to a text message and sent using MIME encoding rules. This allows any group or individual with MIME-capable mail software (such as pine, PC-Pine, or many other programs) to exchange formatted documents, spreadsheets, and image files using Internet email.

pine uses the C client messaging API to access local and remote mail folders. This library provides multiple low-level message-handling functions, including drivers for a variety of different mail file formats. It also includes routines to access remote mail and news servers using IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) and NNTP (Network News Transport Protocol). Outgoing mail is usually handed off to the sendmail(1M) program, but it can optionally be posted directly using SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol).

Options

The command line options are:

address

Send mail to address. This causes pine to enter the message composer.

-a

Special anonymous mode for UWIN (University of Washington Information Navigator).

-c context-number

context-number is the number corresponding to the folder collection to which the -f command-line argument should be applied. By default, the -f argument is applied to the first defined folder collection.

-d debug-level

Output diagnostic information at debug-level (0-9) to the current .pine-debug[1-4] file. A value of 0 turns debugging off and suppresses the .pine-debug file.

-f folder

Open folder (in the first defined folder collection) instead of INBOX.

-F file

Open named text file and view with pine browser.

-h

List valid command-line options.

-i

Start up in the FOLDER INDEX screen.

-I keystrokes

Initial (comma separated list of) keystrokes that pine should execute on startup.

-k

Use function keys for commands. This is the same as running the command pinef.

-l

Expand all collections in the FOLDER LIST display.

-n number

Start up with current message-number set to number.

-nr

Special mode for UWIN.

-o

Open the first folder read-only.

-p config-file

Use config-file as the personal configuration file instead of the default .pinerc.

-P config-file

Use config-file as the configuration file instead of the default system-wide configuration file pine.conf.

-r

Use restricted/demo mode. pine sends mail only to itself and functions as if Save and Export are restricted.

-z

Enable <Ctrl>Z and SIGTSTP so pine can be suspended.

-conf

Produce a sample/fresh copy of the system-wide configuration file pine.conf on the standard output. This is distinct from the per-user .pinerc file.

-create_lu addrbook sort-order

Creates auxiliary index (lookup) file for addrbook and sorts addrbook in sort-order, which can be any of the following: don't-sort, nickname, fullname, nickname-with-lists-last, or fullname-with-lists-last. This is useful for creating global or shared address books.

-pinerc file

Output a fresh pinerc configuration to file.

-sort order

Sort the FOLDER INDEX to display in one of the following orders: arrival, subject, from, date, size, orderedsubj, or reverse. Arrival order is the default. The orderedsubj choice simulates a threaded sort. Any sort can be reversed by adding /reverse to it. reverse by itself is the same as arrival/reverse.

-option = value

Assign value to the configuration option. For example:

-signature-file=sig1
-feature-list=signature-at-bottom

NOTE: feature-list values are additive.

There are several levels of pine configuration. Configuration values at a given level override corresponding values at lower levels. In order of increasing precedence, the configuration values are:

built-in defaults
system-wide pine.conf file
personal .pinerc file (can be set using built-in Setup/Config menu)
command-line options
system-wide pine.conf.fixed file

There is one exception to the rule that configuration values are replaced by the value of the same option in a higher-precedence file. The feature-list variable has values that are additive, but they can be negated by prepending ``no-'' to an individual feature name.

UNIX pine also uses the following environment variables:

TERM
DISPLAY (determines if pine can display IMAGE attachments)
SHELL (if not set, default is /bin/sh)
MAILCAPS (semicolon-delimited list of path names to mailcap files)

Files

/usr/spool/mail/xxxx: Default folder for incoming mail.
~/mail: Default directory for mail folders.
~/.addressbook: Default address book file.
~/.addressbook.lu: Default address book index file.
~/.pine-debug[1-4]: Diagnostic log for debugging.
~/.pinerc: Personal pine configuration file.
~/.newsrc: News subscription and state file.
~/.signature: Default signature file.
~/.mailcap: Personal mail capabilities file.
~/.mime.types: Personal file extension to MIME-type mapping.
/etc/mailcap: System-wide mail capabilities file.
/etc/mime.types: System-wide file extension to MIME-type mapping.
/usr/local/lib/pine.info: Local pointer to system administrator.
/usr/local/lib/pine.conf: System-wide configuration file.
/usr/local/lib/pine.conf.fixed: Non-overridable configuration file.
/tmp/usr/spool/mail/xxxx: Per-folder mailbox lock files.
~/.pine-interrupted-mail: Interrupted message.
~/mail/postponed-msgs: Postponed messages.
~/mail/sent-mail: Outgoing message archive (FCC).
~/mail/saved-messages: Default destination for saving messages.

References

aliases(4), sendmail(1M), spell(1)

The Pine MUA in The Pine MUA