3.1. Config optionsΒΆ

The following lists all available config options with their type and default values. The type of an option is used to validate a given value. For instance, if the type says “boolean” you may only provide “True” or “False” as values in your config file, otherwise alot will complain on startup. Strings may be quoted but do not need to be.

ask_subject
Type :boolean
Default :True
attachment_prefix
directory prefix for downloading attachments
Type :string
Default :“~”
bufferclose_focus_offset
offset of next focused buffer if the current one gets closed
Type :integer
Default :-1
bufferlist_statusbar

Format of the status-bar in bufferlist mode. This is a pair of strings to be left and right aligned in the status-bar that may contain variables:

  • {buffer_no}: index of this buffer in the global buffer list
  • {total_messages}: total numer of messages indexed by notmuch
  • {pending_writes}: number of pending write operations to the index
Type :mixed_list
Default :[{buffer_no}: bufferlist], {input_queue} total messages: {total_messages}
bug_on_exit
confirm exit
Type :boolean
Default :False
colourmode
number of colours to use
Type :option, one of [‘1’, ‘16’, ‘256’]
Default :256
complete_matching_abook_only
in case more than one account has an address book: Set this to True to make tab completion for recipients during compose only look in the abook of the account matching the sender address
Type :boolean
Default :False
display_content_in_threadline
fill threadline with message content
Type :boolean
Default :False
displayed_headers
headers that get displayed by default
Type :string list
Default :From, To, Cc, Bcc, Subject
edit_headers_blacklist
Type :string list
Default :Content-Type, MIME-Version, References, In-Reply-To
edit_headers_whitelist
Which header fields should be editable in your editor used are those that match the whitelist and don’t match the blacklist. in both cases ‘*’ may be used to indicate all fields.
Type :string list
Default :*,
editor_cmd
editor command if unset, alot will first try the EDITOR env variable, then /usr/bin/editor
Type :string
Default :None
editor_in_thread
call editor in separate thread. In case your editor doesn’t run in the same window as alot, setting true here will make alot non-blocking during edits
Type :boolean
Default :False
editor_spawn
use terminal_command to spawn a new terminal for the editor? equivalent to always providing the –spawn=yes parameter to compose/edit commands
Type :boolean
Default :False
editor_writes_encoding
file encoding used by your editor
Type :string
Default :“UTF-8”
envelope_headers_blacklist
headers that are hidden in envelope buffers by default
Type :string list
Default :In-Reply-To, References
envelope_statusbar

Format of the status-bar in envelope mode. This is a pair of strings to be left and right aligned in the status-bar. Apart from the global variables listed at bufferlist_statusbar these strings may contain variables:

  • {to}: To-header of the envelope
Type :mixed_list
Default :[{buffer_no}: envelope], {input_queue} total messages: {total_messages}
flush_retry_timeout
timeout in seconds after a failed attempt to writeout the database is repeated
Type :integer
Default :5
forward_subject_prefix
String prepended to subject header on forward only if original subject doesn’t start with ‘Fwd:’ or this prefix
Type :string
Default :“Fwd: “
hooksfile
where to look up hooks
Type :string
Default :“~/.config/alot/hooks.py”
initial_command
initial command when none is given as argument:
Type :string
Default :“search tag:inbox AND NOT tag:killed
input_timeout
timeout in (floating point) seconds until partial input is cleared
Type :float
Default :1.0
notify_timeout
time in secs to display status messages
Type :integer
Default :2
print_cmd
how to print messages: this specifies a shell command used for printing. threads/messages are piped to this command as plain text. muttprint/a2ps works nicely
Type :string
Default :None
prompt_suffix
Suffix of the prompt used when waiting for user input
Type :string
Default :”:”
quit_on_last_bclose
shut down when the last buffer gets closed
Type :boolean
Default :False
quote_prefix
String prepended to line when quoting
Type :string
Default :“> “
reply_subject_prefix
String prepended to subject header on reply only if original subject doesn’t start with ‘Re:’ or this prefix
Type :string
Default :“Re: “
search_statusbar

Format of the status-bar in search mode. This is a pair of strings to be left and right aligned in the status-bar. Apart from the global variables listed at bufferlist_statusbar these strings may contain variables:

  • {querystring}: search string
  • {result_count}: number of matching messages
  • {result_count_positive}: ‘s’ if result count is greater than 0.
Type :mixed_list
Default :[{buffer_no}: search] for “{querystring}”, {input_queue} {result_count} of {total_messages} messages
search_threads_sort_order
default sort order of results in a search
Type :option, one of [‘oldest_first’, ‘newest_first’, ‘message_id’, ‘unsorted’]
Default :newest_first
show_statusbar
display status-bar at the bottom of the screen?
Type :boolean
Default :True
tabwidth
number of spaces used to replace tab characters
Type :integer
Default :8
taglist_statusbar
Format of the status-bar in taglist mode. This is a pair of strings to be left and right aligned in the status-bar. These strings may contain variables listed at bufferlist_statusbar that will be substituted accordingly.
Type :mixed_list
Default :[{buffer_no}: taglist], {input_queue} total messages: {total_messages}
template_dir
templates directory that contains your message templates. It will be used if you give compose –template a filename without a path prefix.
Type :string
Default :“$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/alot/templates”
terminal_cmd
set terminal command used for spawning shell commands
Type :string
Default :“x-terminal-emulator -e”
theme
name of the theme to use
Type :string
Default :None
themes_dir
directory containing theme files
Type :string
Default :None
thread_authors_me
Word to replace own addresses with. Works in combination with thread_authors_replace_me
Type :string
Default :“Me”
thread_authors_replace_me
Replace own email addresses with “me” in author lists Uses own addresses and aliases in all configured accounts.
Type :boolean
Default :True
thread_statusbar

Format of the status-bar in thread mode. This is a pair of strings to be left and right aligned in the status-bar. Apart from the global variables listed at bufferlist_statusbar these strings may contain variables:

  • {tid}: thread id
  • {subject}: subject line of the thread
  • {authors}: abbreviated authors string for this thread
  • {message_count}: number of contained messages
Type :mixed_list
Default :[{buffer_no}: thread] {subject}, {input_queue} total messages: {total_messages}
timestamp_format
timestamp format in strftime format syntax
Type :string
Default :None
user_agent
value of the User-Agent header used for outgoing mails. setting this to the empty string will cause alot to omit the header all together. The string ‘{version}’ will be replaced by the version string of the running instance.
Type :string
Default :“alot/{version}”

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