getmail(1) User Commands getmail(1)

# [NAME](#NAME)

getmail - retrieve messages from one or more POP3, IMAP4, or SDPS mailboxes and deliver to a maildir, mboxrd-format mbox file, or external MDA

# [SYNOPSIS](#SYNOPSIS)

**getmail** \[*OPTION*] ...

# [DESCRIPTION](#DESCRIPTION)

getmail can retrieve messages from POP3, IMAP4, and SDPS mailboxes. SSL-wrapped POP3 and IMAP are also supported. Single-user and domain (multi-drop) mailboxes are supported.

getmail has built-in support for delivering to maildirs, mboxrd-format mbox files, and external MDAs.

# [OPTIONS](#OPTIONS)

[**--version**](#version)

show program's version number and exit

[**-h**, **--help**](#h)

show a short usage summary and exit

[**-gDIR**, **--getmaildir**=*DIR*](#g)

look in DIR for config/data files

[**-rFILE**, **--rcfile**=*FILE*](#r)

load configuration from FILE (may be given multiple times)

[**--dump**](#dump)

dump configuration and exit (debugging)

[**--trace**](#trace)

print extended trace information (extremely verbose)

[**-iFOLDER**, **--idle**=*FOLDER*](#i)

maintain connection and listen for new messages in *FOLDER*. This flag will only work if a single rc file is given, and will only work on IMAP connections where the server supports IMAP4 IDLE (RFC 2177).

The following options override any in the configuration file(s).

[**-v**, **--verbose**](#v)

operate more verbosely (can be given multiple times)

[**-q**, **--quiet**](#q)

do not print informational messages

[**-d**, **--delete**](#d)

delete messages from server after retrieving

[**-l**, **--dont-delete**](#l)

do not delete messages from server after retrieving

[**-a**, **--all**](#a)

retrieve all messages

[**-n**, **--new**](#n)

retrieve only unread messages

# [AUTHOR](#AUTHOR)

Written by Charles Cazabon and others.

# [REPORTING BUGS](#REPORTING_BUGS)

Report bugs to <https://github.com/getmail6/getmail6/issues>

**IMPORTANT:** include the output of **getmail \[options] --dump** with any bug report.

# [COPYRIGHT](#COPYRIGHT)

Copyright © 1998-2026 Charles Cazabon and others.  
This is free software; see the file COPYING for copying conditions. There is NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

# [SEE ALSO](#SEE_ALSO)

The full documentation for **getmail** is maintained in HTML and plaintext formats. See the included files for details.

2026 getmail 6

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Document: getmail(1) from getmail6 6.21.00-r1 (Chainguard OS)
Source: https://github.com/getmail6/getmail6