The Mutt Cheat Sheet

This is a chart of common Mutt commands, the context(s) in which you could use them, what they do, the section(s) of the tutorial that explain them, and which .muttrc settings affect them.

Note: some commands may appear more than once if their effects differ depending on context.

Mutt Command	Context	Effect	Tutorial Section	Relevant .muttrc settings
a	Sending Message	Attaches a file to the message you have created	Sending Messages	none
b	Sending Message	Lets you edit the list of blind carbon copy recipients for the message you have created	Sending Messages	none
c	Sending Message	Lets you edit the list of carbon copy recipients for the message you have created	Sending Messages	none
d	Main Menu, Reading Message	Marks the current message for deletion	Deleting Messages	none
f	Main Menu, Reading Message	Forwards the message to another address	Forwarding Messages	askbcc, askcc, edit_headers, editor
i	Reading Message	Returns from reading a message to the Main Menu	Reading Messages	none
j	Main Menu	Changes the selected message to the next message	Getting Around in the Menu	color
k	Main Menu	Changes the selected message to the previous message	Getting Around in the Menu	color
m	Main Menu, Reading Message	Creates a new message to send	Sending Messages	abort_nosubject, abort_unmodified, askbcc, askcc, edit_headers, editor, recall
mutt	Command line	Starts mutt	Getting Into and Out of the Mutt Menu	beep-new, color, mark_old, move, sort
p	Main Menu, Reading Message	Prints the currently selected message	Printing Messages	print, print_command
q	Main Menu	Quits mutt	Getting Into and Out of the Mutt Menu	delete, mark_old, mbox, move
q	Sending Message	Aborts or postpones the message you have created	Sending Messages or Postponing Messages	postpone, postponed
r	Main Menu, Reading Message	Creates a reply to the current message	Replying to Messages	abort_nosubject, abort_unmodified, askbcc, askcc, edit_headers, editor, include, metoo
s	Main Menu, Reading Message	Saves the current message to a file	Saving Messages	folder
s	Sending Message	Lets you change the subject for the message you have created	Sending Messages	none
t	Sending Message	Lets you edit the list of recipients for the message you have created	Sending Messages	none
u	Main Menu, Reading Message (messages marked for deletion only)	Removes the deletion mark from the current message	Deleting Messages	none
x	Help Menu	Returns from the help menu to the Main Menu	Getting Around in the Menu	none
y	Sending Message	Sends the message you have created	Sending Messages	abort_unmodified, copy, record
?	Main Menu	Goes from the Main Menu to the Help Menu	Getting Around in the Menu	color
-	Reading Message	Moves to the previous page in the message you are reading	Reading Messages	none
/	Main Menu	Prompts for a pattern to search for in the headers of your messages	Getting Around in the Menu	none
=	Main Menu	Selects the first message	Getting Around in the Menu	color, sort
$	Main Menu	Deletes all messages selected for deletion, and checks for new messages	Deleting Messages	beep_new, delete, mark_old, mbox, move
*	Main Menu	Selects the last message	Getting Around in the Menu	color, sort
< number >	Main Menu	Selects message < number >	Getting Around in the Menu	color
< Enter >	Main Menu	Brings the currently selected message up on the screen	Reading Messages	color
< Space >	Reading Message	Moves to the next page in the message you are reading, or to the first page of the next message not marked for deletion	Reading Messages	none
< Tab >	Main Menu	Selects the next new message	Getting Around in the Menu	color
< Esc > /	Main Menu	Prompts for a pattern to search for in the bodies of your messages	Getting Around in the Menu	none
up/down arrow	Main Menu	Changes the selected message to the previous/next message	Getting Around in the Menu	color
PageUp/PageDown	Main Menu, Reading Message	Moves up/down one page in the Main Menu or the message you are reading	Getting Around in the Menu or Reading Messages	none

Explanation of Chart Columns

1. Mutt Command is a command you type in, either at your shell prompt or while mutt is running.
2. Context is the circumstances under which you would use this command. The contexts are:
   • Command line. This is your shell prompt, with mutt not running.
   • Main Menu. This is the main Mutt menu, in which you will see a list of your messages.
   • Help Menu. This is Mutt's online help menu.
   • Reading Message. This is when you are reading a message.
   • Sending Message. This is when you have finished editing a message, and are preparing to send it.
3. Effect gives a brief explanation of what this command will do. See the tutorial for more details on commands.
4. Tutorial Section is the section in the tutorial "Learning Mutt" with an explanation of this command.
5. Relevant .muttrc settings lists the .muttrc settings that will affect the behaviour of this command.