{ "mode": "man", "parameter": "repl", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/repl/1/json", "generated": "2026-09-17T07:42:53Z", "synopsis": "repl [-help] [-version] [+folder] [msg] [-annotate | -noannotate] [-group | -nogroup] [-cc\nall/to/cc/me] [-nocc all/to/cc/me] [-query | -noquery] [-form formfile] [-format | -no‐\nformat] [-filter filterfile] [-inplace | -noinplace] [-mime | -nomime] [-fcc +folder]\n[-width columns] [-draftfolder +folder] [-draftmessage msg] [-nodraftfolder] [-editor\neditor] [-noedit] [-convertargs type argstring] [-whatnowproc program] [-nowhatnowproc]\n[-atfile] [-noatfile] [-fmtproc program] [-nofmtproc] [-build] [-file msgfile]", "sections": { "NAME": { "content": "repl - reply to an nmh message\n", "subsections": [] }, "SYNOPSIS": { "content": "repl [-help] [-version] [+folder] [msg] [-annotate | -noannotate] [-group | -nogroup] [-cc\nall/to/cc/me] [-nocc all/to/cc/me] [-query | -noquery] [-form formfile] [-format | -no‐\nformat] [-filter filterfile] [-inplace | -noinplace] [-mime | -nomime] [-fcc +folder]\n[-width columns] [-draftfolder +folder] [-draftmessage msg] [-nodraftfolder] [-editor\neditor] [-noedit] [-convertargs type argstring] [-whatnowproc program] [-nowhatnowproc]\n[-atfile] [-noatfile] [-fmtproc program] [-nofmtproc] [-build] [-file msgfile]\n", "subsections": [] }, "DESCRIPTION": { "content": "repl may be used to reply to a message.\n\nIn its simplest form (with no arguments), repl will set up a message-form skeleton in reply\nto the current message in the current folder, and invoke the whatnow shell.\n\nrepl uses a reply template to construct the draft of the reply. A reply template is simply\nan mhl format file (see mh-format(5) for details).\n\nIf the switch -nogroup is given (it is on by default), then repl will use the standard forms\nfile “replcomps”. This will construct a draft message that is intended to be sent only to\nthe author of the message to which you are replying. If a file named “replcomps” exists in\nthe user's nmh directory, it will be used instead of this default forms file.\n\nThe default reply template “replcomps” will direct repl to construct the reply message draft\nas follows:\n\nTo: or or \ncc: and and \nFcc: {fcc switch} or +outbox\nSubject: Re: \nIn-Reply-To: \nReferences: \nComments: In-Reply-To or or \nmessage dated \n--------\n\nwhere field names enclosed in angle brackets (< >) indicate the contents of the named field\nfrom the message to which the reply is being made.\n\nBy default, the “cc:” field is empty. You may selectively add addresses to this default with\nthe -cc type switch. This switch takes an argument (all/to/cc/me) which specifies who gets\nadded to the default “cc:” list of the reply. You may give this switch multiple times (with\ndifferent arguments) if you wish to add multiple types of address.\n\nIf the switch -group is given, then repl will use the standard forms file “replgroupcomps”.\nThis will construct a draft message that is intended as a group or followup reply. If a file\nnamed “replgroupcomps” exists in the user's nmh directory, it will be used instead of this\ndefault forms file, unless you specify another forms file on the command line or in your pro‐\nfile.\n\nThe default group reply template “replgroupcomps” will direct repl to construct the reply\nmessage draft as follows:\n\nTo: \nSubject: Re: \nIn-Reply-To: Message from of .\n\n--------\n\nor if the field is not available:\n\nTo: or or \ncc: and and \nSubject: Re: \nIn-Reply-To: Message from of .\n\n--------\n\nBy default, the “cc:” contains all the addresses shown. You may selectively remove addresses\nfrom this default with the -nocc type switch. This switch takes an argument ( all/to/cc/me)\nwhich specifies who gets removed from the default “cc:” list of the reply. You may give this\nswitch multiple times (with different arguments) if you wish to remove multiple types of ad‐\ndress.\n\nIn any case, you may specify an alternative forms file with the switch -form formfile.\n\nThe -query switch modifies the action of -nocc type switch by interactively asking you if\neach address that normally would be placed in the “To:” and “cc:” list should actually be\nsent a copy. This is useful for special-purpose replies. Note that the position of the -cc\nand -nocc switches, like all other switches which take a positive and negative form, is im‐\nportant.\n\nLines beginning with the fields “To:”, “cc:”, and ”Bcc:” will be standardized and have dupli‐\ncate addresses removed. In addition, the -width columns switch will guide repl's formatting\nof these fields.\n\nIf the draft already exists, repl will ask you as to the disposition of the draft. A reply\nof quit will abort repl, leaving the draft intact; replace will replace the existing draft\nwith a blank skeleton; and list will display the draft.\n\nSee comp(1) for a description of the -editor and -noedit switches. Note that while in the\neditor, with -atfile and if the current directory is writable, the message being replied to\nis available through a link named “@” (assuming the default whatnowproc). In addition, the\nactual pathname of the message is stored in the environment variable $editalt, and the path‐\nname of the folder containing the message is stored in the environment variable $mhfolder.\nThe creation of the “@” file is controlled via the -atfile and -noatfile options.\n\nThe -convertargs switch directs repl to pass the arguments for type to mhbuild. Both argu‐\nments are required; type must be non-empty while argstring can be empty, e.g., '' in a shell\ncommand line. The -convertargs switch can be used multiple times. See the Convert Interface\nsection of mhbuild(1) for a description of the convert mechanism, and /usr/share/doc/nmh/con‐\ntrib/replaliases for examples of its use.\n\nAlthough repl uses a forms file to direct it how to construct the beginning of the draft, it\nuses a message filter file to direct it as to how the message to which you are replying\nshould be filtered (re-formatted) in the body of the draft. The filter file for repl should\nbe a standard form file for mhl, as repl will invoke mhl to format the message to which you\nare replying.\n\nThe switches -noformat, -format, and -filter filterfile specify which message filter file to\nuse.\n\nIf the switch -noformat is given (it is the default) and the -filter switch is not used, then\nthe message to which you are replying is not included in the body of the draft.\n\nIf the switch -format is given, then a default message filter file is used. This default\nmessage filter should be adequate for most users. This default filter “mhl.reply” is:\n\n; mhl.reply\n;\n; default message filter for `repl' (repl -format)\n;\nfrom:nocomponent,formatfield=\"%(unquote(decode(friendly{text}))) writes:\"\nbody:component=\"> \",overflowtext=\"> \",overflowoffset=0\n\nwhich outputs each line of the body of the message prefaced with the “>” character and a\nspace.\n\nIf a file named “mhl.reply” exists in the user's nmh directory, it will be used instead of\nthis form. You may specify an alternate message filter file with the switch -filter filter‐\nfile.\n\nOther reply filters are commonly used, such as:\n\n:\nbody:nocomponent,compwidth=9,offset=9\n\nwhich says to output a blank line, and then the body of the message being replied to, in‐\ndented by one tab stop. Another popular format is:\n\nmessage-id:nocomponent,nonewline,\\\nformatfield=“In message %{text}, ”\nfrom:nocomponent,formatfield=“%(decode(friendly{text})) writes:”\nbody:component=“>”,overflowtext=“>”,overflowoffset=0\n\nThis message filter file cites the Message-ID and author of the message being replied to, and\nthen outputs each line of the body prefaced with the “>” character.\n\nYou can also use an external format program to format the message body. The format program\nis specified by the formatproc profile entry, and is enabled by the “format” flag. A message\nfilter using an external format program would look like this:\n\nbody:component=“>”,nowrap,format\n\nSee the mhl(1) documentation for more information. The format program can be changed by the", "subsections": [ { "name": "-fmtproc _ -nofmtproc", "content": "To use the MIME rules for encapsulation, specify the -mime switch. This directs repl to gen‐\nerate an mhbuild composition file. Note that nmh will not invoke mhbuild automatically; you\nmust specifically give the command\n\nWhat now? mime\n\nprior to sending the draft.\n\nIf the -annotate switch is given, the message being replied to will be annotated with the\nlines\n\nReplied: date Replied: addrs\n\nwhere the address list contains one line for each addressee. The annotation will be done\nonly if the message is sent directly from repl. If the message is not sent immediately from\nrepl, “comp -use” may be used to re-edit and send the constructed message, but the annota‐\ntions won't take place. Normally annotations are done inplace in order to preserve any links\nto the message. You may use the -noinplace switch to change this.\n\nAlthough the default template specifies that a copy of the reply will be put in the folder\n`outbox', if the -fcc +folder switch is given it will override the default value. More than\none folder, each preceded by -fcc can be named.\n\nIn addition to the standard mh-format(5) escapes, repl also recognizes the following addi‐\ntional component escape:\n\nEscape Returns Description\nfcc string Any folders specified with `-fcc folder'\n\nTo avoid reiteration, repl strips any leading `Re: ' strings from the subject component.\n\nThe -draftfolder +folder and -draftmessage msg switches invoke the nmh draft folder facility.\nThis is an advanced (and highly useful) feature. Consult mh-draft(5) for more information.\n\nUpon exiting from the editor, repl will invoke the whatnow program. See whatnow(1) for a\ndiscussion of available options. The invocation of this program can be inhibited by using\nthe -nowhatnowproc switch. (In fact, it is the whatnow program which starts the initial\nedit. Hence, -nowhatnowproc will prevent any edit from occurring.)\n\nThe -build switch is intended to be used by the Emacs mh-e interface to nmh. It implies" }, { "name": "-nowhatnowproc", "content": "that would normally be presented to the user for editing. No mail is actually sent.\n\nThe -file msgfile switch specifies the message to be replied to as an exact filename rather\nthan as an nmh folder and message number. The same caveats apply to this option as to the" }, { "name": "-build", "content": "" } ] }, "FILES": { "content": "repl looks for all format, filter and template files in multiple locations: absolute path‐\nnames are accessed directly, tilde expansion is done on usernames, and files are searched for\nin the user's Mail directory as specified in their profile. If not found there, the direc‐\ntory “/etc/nmh” is checked.\n\n/etc/nmh/replcomps The standard reply template\nor /replcomps Rather than the standard template\n/etc/nmh/replgroupcomps The standard `reply -group' template\nor /replgroupcomps Rather than the standard template\n/etc/nmh/mhl.reply The standard message filter\nor /mhl.reply Rather than the standard filter\n$HOME/.mhprofile The user profile\n/draft The draft file\n", "subsections": [] }, "PROFILE COMPONENTS": { "content": "Path: To determine the user's nmh directory\nAlternate-Mailboxes: To determine the user's mailboxes\nCurrent-Folder: To find the default current folder\nDraft-Folder: To specify the default draftfolder\nEditor: To override the default editor\nMsg-Protect: To set mode when creating a new message (draft)\nfileproc: Program to refile the message\nmhlproc: Program to filter message being replied-to\nwhatnowproc: Program to ask the “What now?” questions\n", "subsections": [] }, "SEE ALSO": { "content": "comp(1), forw(1), mh-draft(5), mh-format(5), mhbuild(1), send(1), whatnow(1)\n\n/usr/share/doc/nmh/contrib/replaliases\n", "subsections": [] }, "DEFAULTS": { "content": "`+folder' defaults to the current folder\n`msg' defaults to cur\n`-nogroup'\n`-nocc all' with `-nogroup', `-cc all' with `-group'\n`-noannotate'\n`-nodraftfolder'\n`-noformat'\n`-inplace'\n`-nomime'\n`-noquery'\n`-noatfile'\n`-width 72'\n", "subsections": [] }, "CONTEXT": { "content": "If a folder is given, it will become the current folder. The message replied to will become\nthe current message.\n", "subsections": [] }, "BUGS": { "content": "If any addresses occur in the reply template, addresses in the template that do not contain\nhosts are defaulted incorrectly. Instead of using the localhost for the default, repl uses\nthe sender's host. Moral of the story: if you're going to include addresses in a reply tem‐\nplate, include the host portion of the address.\n\nThe -width columns switch is only used to do address-folding; other headers are not line-\nwrapped.\n\nIf whatnowproc is whatnow, then repl uses a built-in whatnow, it does not actually run the\nwhatnow program. Hence, if you define your own whatnowproc, don't call it whatnow since repl\nwon't run it.\n\nnmh-1.8 2022-12-22 REPL(1mh)", "subsections": [] } }, "summary": "repl - reply to an nmh message", "flags": [ { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "To use the MIME rules for encapsulation, specify the -mime switch. This directs repl to gen‐ erate an mhbuild composition file. Note that nmh will not invoke mhbuild automatically; you must specifically give the command What now? mime prior to sending the draft. If the -annotate switch is given, the message being replied to will be annotated with the lines Replied: date Replied: addrs where the address list contains one line for each addressee. The annotation will be done only if the message is sent directly from repl. If the message is not sent immediately from repl, “comp -use” may be used to re-edit and send the constructed message, but the annota‐ tions won't take place. Normally annotations are done inplace in order to preserve any links to the message. You may use the -noinplace switch to change this. Although the default template specifies that a copy of the reply will be put in the folder `outbox', if the -fcc +folder switch is given it will override the default value. More than one folder, each preceded by -fcc can be named. In addition to the standard mh-format(5) escapes, repl also recognizes the following addi‐ tional component escape: Escape Returns Description fcc string Any folders specified with `-fcc folder' To avoid reiteration, repl strips any leading `Re: ' strings from the subject component. The -draftfolder +folder and -draftmessage msg switches invoke the nmh draft folder facility. This is an advanced (and highly useful) feature. Consult mh-draft(5) for more information. Upon exiting from the editor, repl will invoke the whatnow program. See whatnow(1) for a discussion of available options. The invocation of this program can be inhibited by using the -nowhatnowproc switch. (In fact, it is the whatnow program which starts the initial edit. Hence, -nowhatnowproc will prevent any edit from occurring.) The -build switch is intended to be used by the Emacs mh-e interface to nmh. It implies" }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "that would normally be presented to the user for editing. No mail is actually sent. The -file msgfile switch specifies the message to be replied to as an exact filename rather than as an nmh folder and message number. The same caveats apply to this option as to the" }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "" } ], "examples": [], "see_also": [ { "name": "comp", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/comp/1/json" }, { "name": "forw", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/forw/1/json" }, { "name": "mh-draft", "section": "5", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mh-draft/5/json" }, { "name": "mh-format", "section": "5", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mh-format/5/json" }, { "name": "mhbuild", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mhbuild/1/json" }, { "name": "send", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/send/1/json" }, { "name": "whatnow", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/whatnow/1/json" } ] }