fastmail(1) General Commands Manual fastmail(1)
NAME
fastmail - quick batch mail interface
SYNOPSIS
bcc-list] cc-list] comments] from-name]
from-addr] in-reply-to] reply-to] references]
subject] filename address-list
DESCRIPTION
The command is a simple interface to the mail system that allows you to send a message without the overhead of an interactive mailer. It
is particularly efficient in batch-processing mail to very large groups of people.
All addresses should be full e-mail addresses, aliases in the file, or local login names.
Options
recognizes the following options:
Include a header entry. Send blind carbon copies to the comma-separated list of addresses in bcc-list.
Include a header entry. Send carbon copies to the comma-separated list of addresses in cc-list.
Include a header entry with the string value comments.
Debug. Display information on processing steps.
Replace the user name in the
header entry with from-name.
If the user is and the user name is then the default line is:
The option changes it to:
Replace the address in the
header entry with from-addr. In the example above, changes the original entry to
Include the header entry with the string value in-reply-to. This is usually used to identify a message that you are replying to.
Include the header entry with the single address given in replyto. This is the address where replies will usually be sent,
instead of to the address given in the header entry, very common with mailing lists.
Include a header entry containing the string value references.
Include a header entry containing the value subject. If this option is omitted, the message is sent without a subject entry.
Operands
recognizes the following operands:
address-list A list of one or more blank-separated addresses for the header line. These are the principal recipients of the mes-
sage.
filename Either the name of a file containing the message, or a dash to read from standard input.
EXAMPLES
A Fully Specified Command
This command has every option specified.
The online execution displays the following debug messages:
The received message has the following relevant header entries:
The header entry is not transmitted.
A Batch Process
Suppose you are user on machine and you have a shell script named that contains the following lines:
The command:
would mail a copy of the file to and staggered ten seconds apart.
would also silently receive a copy of the first message in the mail. Each resultant message would include the header lines:
FILES
aliases file.
Mail transport agent.
Temporary file.
AUTHOR
was developed by HP.
SEE ALSO
elm(1), sendmail(1M).
RFC 822 "Standard for the Format of Internet Text Messages"
fastmail(1)