# phpman > info > mhlist [MHLIST(1mh)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/MHLIST/1mh/markdown) [MHLIST(1mh)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/MHLIST/1mh/markdown) NAME mhlist - list information about nmh MIME messages SYNOPSIS mhlist [-help] [-version] [+folder] [msgs] [-file file] [-part number] ... [-type content] ... [-prefer content] ... [-noprefer] [-headers | -noheaders] [-realsize | -norealsize] [-rcache policy] [-wcache policy] [-check | -nocheck] [-changecur | -nochangecur] [-verbose | -noverbose] [-disposition | -nodisposition] DESCRIPTION The mhlist command allows you to list information (a table of contents, essentially) about the various parts of a collection of MIME (multi-me- dia) messages. mhlist manipulates MIME messages as specified in RFC 2045 to RFC 2049 (See [mhbuild(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mhbuild/1/markdown)). The -headers switch indicates that a one-line banner should be dis- played above the listing (the default). The -realsize switch tells mhlist to evaluate the "native" (decoded) format of each content prior to listing. This provides an accurate count at the expense of a small delay. In either case, sizes will be expressed using SI prefix abbreviations (K/M/G/T), which are based on factors of 1000. If the -verbose switch is present, then the listing will show any "ex- tra" information that is present in the message, such as comments in the "Content-Type" header. If the -disposition switch is present, then the listing will show any relevant information from the "Content-Disposition" header. The option -file file directs mhlist to use the specified file as the source message, rather than a message from a folder. If you specify this file as "-", then mhlist will accept the source message on the standard input. Note that the file, or input from standard input should be a validly formatted message, just like any other nmh message. It should not be in mail drop format (to convert a file in mail drop format to a folder of nmh messages, see [inc(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/inc/1/markdown)). By default, mhlist will list information about the entire message (all of its parts). By using the -part, -type, and -prefer switches, you may limit and reorder the set of parts to be listed, based on part num- ber and/or content type. A part specification consists of a series of numbers separated by dots. For example, in a multipart content containing three parts, these would be named as 1, 2, and 3, respectively. If part 2 was also a multipart content containing two parts, these would be named as 2.1 and 2.2, re- spectively. Note that the -part switch is effective only for messages containing a multipart content. If a message has some other kind of content, or if the part is itself another multipart content, the -part switch will not prevent the content from being acted upon. The -type switch can also be used to restrict (or, when used in con- junction with -part, to further restrict) the selection of parts ac- cording to content type. One or more -type switches part will only se- lect the first match from a multipart/alternative, even if there is more than one subpart that matches (one of) the given content type(s). Using either -part or -type switches alone will cause either to select the part(s) they match. Using them together will select only the part(s) matched by both (sets of) switches. In other words, the result is the intersection, and not the union, of their separate match re- sults. A content specification consists of a content type and a subtype. The initial list of "standard" content types and subtypes can be found in RFC 2046. A list of commonly used contents is briefly reproduced here: Type Subtypes ---- -------- text plain, enriched multipart mixed, alternative, digest, parallel message rfc822, partial, external-body application octet-stream, postscript image jpeg, gif, png audio basic video mpeg A legal MIME message must contain a subtype specification. To specify a content, regardless of its subtype, just use the name of the content, e.g., "audio". To specify a specific subtype, separate the two with a slash, e.g., "audio/basic". Note that regardless of the values given to the -type switch, a multipart content (of any subtype listed above) is always acted upon. Further note that if the -type switch is used, and it is desirable to act on a message/external-body content, then the -type switch must be used twice: once for message/ex- ternal-body and once for the content externally referenced. By default, the parts of a multipart/alternative part are listed in the reverse order of their placement in the message. The listing, there- fore, is in decreasing order of preference, as defined in RFC 2046. The -prefer switch can be used (one or more times, in order of ascend- ing preference) to let MH know which content types from a multipart/al- ternative MIME part are preferred by the user, in order to override the default preference order. Thus, when viewed by mhlist, the ordering of multipart/alternative parts will appear to change when invoked with or without various -prefer switches. The -noprefer switch will cancel any previous -prefer switches. The -prefer and -noprefer switches are functionally most important for mhshow, but are also implemented in mh- list and mhstore to make common part numbering possible across all three programs. Checking the Contents The -check switch tells mhlist to check each content for an integrity checksum. If a content has such a checksum (specified as a Content-MD5 header field), then mhlist will attempt to verify the integrity of the content. FILES $HOME/.mh_profile The user profile PROFILE COMPONENTS Path: To determine the user's nmh directory Current-Folder: To find the default current folder SEE ALSO [mhbuild(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mhbuild/1/markdown), [mhshow(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mhshow/1/markdown), [mhstore(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mhstore/1/markdown) DEFAULTS `+folder' defaults to the current folder `msgs' defaults to cur `-nocheck' `-headers' `-realsize' `-rcache ask' `-wcache ask' `-changecur' `-noverbose' `-nodisposition' CONTEXT If a folder is given, it will become the current folder. The last mes- sage selected will become the current message, unless the -nochangecur option is specified. nmh-1.7.1 2015-02-06 [MHLIST(1mh)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/MHLIST/1mh/markdown)