Exim4 + Maildir + Mutt on Debian etch mini-HOWTO

It is not too difficult to have Maildir support under Exim4 of Debian etch, simply run:

dpkg-reconfigure exim4-config

And answer "Maildir format in home directory" when asking for "Delivery method for local mail"

BTW, the main point is this line under /etc/exim4/update-exim4.conf.conf:

dc_localdelivery='maildir_home'

On the other hand, during testing your Exim4 configuration, e.g.:

echo "my test" | mail -s "test message" root

You may also hope to check if the mail is actually delivered to your new Maildir.

Next is about Mutt. Default Mutt setting just support for mailbox format, with lossy layout. User can customize their Mutt behavior by editing ~/.muttrc. Thanks to Debian, we have a good example from /usr/share/doc/mutt/. Just run:

zcat /usr/share/doc/mutt/examples/sample.muttrc.gz > ~/.muttrc

And you will get a good template.

Also create your ~/.muttrc-local with following lines, so override default setting with Maildir support:

set mbox_type=Maildir
set folder="~/Maildir"
set mask="!^\\.[^.]"
set mbox="~/Maildir"
set record="+.Sent"
set postponed="+.Drafts"
set spoolfile="~/Maildir"

That's all! Its time to enjoy Mutt with your Maildir :)


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