Where fetch mail store read mail
When you use fetchmail
to retrieve email from a mail server, it stores the read mail in a local mailbox file on your system. The location of this file depends on the configuration of fetchmail
and the mail client you use to access the mailbox.
Here are some common locations where fetchmail
might store read mail:
- Maildir: If you're using a Maildir-format mailbox,
fetchmail
will store the read mail in a subdirectory of the Maildir directory, typically namedcur
ornew
. For example, if your Maildir directory is/var/mail/user
, the read mail might be stored in/var/mail/user/cur
. - Mbox: If you're using an Mbox-format mailbox,
fetchmail
will store the read mail in a single file, usually namedinbox
ormail
. For example, if your Mbox directory is/var/mail/user
, the read mail might be stored in/var/mail/user/inbox
. - IMAP: If you're using an IMAP client,
fetchmail
will store the read mail on the IMAP server. In this case, the read mail is stored on the server, and you can access it using your IMAP client. - POP3: If you're using a POP3 client,
fetchmail
will store the read mail on the POP3 server. In this case, the read mail is stored on the server, and you can access it using your POP3 client.
To find the location of the read mail stored by fetchmail
, you can:
- Check your
fetchmail
configuration file (usually~/.fetchmailrc
or/etc/fetchmailrc
) for themaildrop
ormbox
option, which specifies the location of the mailbox file. - Use the
fetchmail
command with the-v
option to verbose mode, which will show you the location of the mailbox file. - Check the documentation for your mail client or mail server to see where it stores read mail.
Keep in mind that the location of the read mail may vary depending on your system configuration and the specific settings used by fetchmail
and your mail client.