On Unix-like operating systems, the mail command sends and receives e-mail.

This page covers the GNU/Linux version of mail.

Syntax

mail [OPTION…] [address…]

Options

Examples

mail

Opens the mail program and displays the first message in the mailbox, if any. If mail is found, the user is placed at a mail command prompt; type ? for a list of commands.

  • Syntax
  • Examples
  • Related commands
  • Linux commands help

mail [email protected]

Starts a new e-mail addressed to [email protected]. When finished composing the message, type Ctrl-D on a new line.

How to read and send e-mail in a telnet or SSH session.

chmod — Change the permissions of files or directories.csh — The C shell command interpreter.elm — A mail client.login — Begin a session on a system.mailx — Process mail messages.pine — A client for using mail and newsgroups.