# man > flist(1mh)

---
type: CommandReference
command: flist, flists
mode: man
section: 1mh
source: man-pages
---

## Quick Reference

- `flist` — list unseen messages in current folder
- `flist +folder1 +folder2` — list unseen in specified folders
- `flist -all` — list unseen in all top-level folders
- `flist -sequence name` — list messages in given sequence
- `flist -noshowzero` — show only folders with non-zero sequence counts
- `flist -recurse` — descend into subfolders
- `flist -fast -noshowzero` — show only folder names that contain sequence matches
- `flists` — same as `flist -all`

## Name

List the number of nmh messages in given sequences.

## Synopsis

`flist` [ `-help` ] [ `-version` ] [ `+folder1` [ `+folder2` ... ] ]  
[ `-sequence` _name1_ [ `-sequence` _name2_ ... ] ]  
[ `-all` | `-noall` ] [ `-showzero` | `-noshowzero` ] [ `-recurse` | `-norecurse` ]  
[ `-fast` | `-nofast` ] [ `-alpha` | `-noalpha` ]

`flists` is equivalent to `flist -all`.

## Options

- `-sequence` _name_ — specify sequence(s) to search (default: `Unseen-Sequence` profile entry). May be given multiple times.
- `-all`, `-noall` — search all folders in top-level of nmh directory (default: `-noall`). If `+folder` also given, search that folder and its first-level subfolders.
- `-showzero`, `-noshowzero` — include/exclude folder/sequence lines where count is zero (default: `-showzero`).
- `-recurse`, `-norecurse` — recursively descend into subfolders (default: `-norecurse`).
- `-fast`, `-nofast` — display only folder names (suppress counts); with `-noshowzero`, print only folders with non-zero matches (default: `-nofast`).
- `-alpha`, `-noalpha` — sort output alphabetically (`-alpha`) or by `Flist-Order` profile priority (default: `-noalpha`).
- `-help` — display help and exit.
- `-version` — display version and exit.

## Examples

List unseen messages in current folder:
shell
flist
List unseen in specific folders:
shell
flist +inbox +personal +junk
List all folders with unseen messages:
shell
flist -all
Output of `flist -all`:
text
/work/Mail  has  5 in sequence unseen (private); out of  46
inbox+      has 10 in sequence unseen          ; out of 153
junklist    has  0 in sequence unseen          ; out of  63
postmaster  has  1 in sequence unseen          ; out of   3
The `+` after `inbox` indicates current folder; `private` flag indicates a private sequence.

List only folders containing at least one unseen message:
shell
flist -all -noshowzero
Search recursively with a custom sequence:
shell
flist +project -sequence "important" -recurse
## See Also

- [folder(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/folder/1/markdown)
- [rcvstore(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/rcvstore/1/markdown)
- [slocal(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/slocal/1/markdown)
- [mh-sequence(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mh-sequence/5/markdown)

## Context

If `+folder` is given, it becomes the current folder. When multiple folders are given, the last one specified becomes current.