“You have mail” – How to Read Mail in Linux Command Line

You have mail – this is a familiar message if you’ve ever used a Linux system that queues messages for local delivery. Below, we’ll explore how to view and manage your mailbox from the command line using the mail spool file and the mail program.

View the Spool File

If you want to read mail for the currently logged-in user, you can inspect the spool file located in /var/mail/username. Since $(whoami) returns your current username, you can view your own mail like this:

sudo less /var/mail/$(whoami)

Use the ↑ and ↓ arrow keys to scroll. Press uppercase G to jump to the bottom and lowercase q to quit. If you need to read mail for a different user, replace $(whoami) with the desired username:

sudo less /var/mail/username_here

Delete the Spool File

To remove all emails for a user, simply delete the associated spool file:

sudo rm /var/mail/$(whoami)

Using the mail Program

If you prefer an interactive approach, install the mail command from the mailutils package if it’s not already present:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install mailutils

Then, start the mail utility:

mail

The program will list messages with a corresponding number. After the ? prompt, enter the message number and press ENTER to read a specific mail.

Press ENTER to scroll through a message line by line. Type q and press ENTER to return to the message list. To exit mail, type q again at the ? prompt and hit ENTER.

Delete All Messages using mail

After the ? prompt, type d * and press ENTER to delete all messages in your mailbox. This is irreversible, so double-check before proceeding.

Let me know if this helped. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, or 🍊 buy me a smoothie.