Re: /var/mail/$username" is not a mailbox
On Wed, Oct 08, 2008 at 01:06:33PM -0500, Kyle Wheeler wrote:
> On Wednesday, October 8 at 01:37 PM, quoth Indi:
> > I have been using mutt without trouble on OS X for several weeks
> > until today, when suddenly I got "/var/mail/$username is not a
> > mailbox". What on earth happened?
>
> Sounds like your mailspool got corrupted (or transformed into an mbox
> format that mutt doesn't understand). There are several different mbox
> formats, all of which are mutually incompatible. Mutt understands
> three of them. If you somehow got a new program delivering mail to
> your mailspool that is writing a new and probably incompatible mbox
> format, that could make mutt unable to understand your mailspool file.
> For details on some of the different formats, check here:
> http://homepages.tesco.net./~J.deBoynePollard/FGA/mail-mbox-formats.html
>
> Note, near the bottom, the problems of incompatibilities:
>
> - Delivering messages to "mboxcl2" format mailboxes with "mboxo"
> or "mboxrd" tools will corrupt the mailbox, rendering all
> subsequently delivered messages irretrievable.
>
> Mutt attempts to convert from mboxo and mboxrd format into mboxcl
> format.
>
> Generally, this is one of the general problems with mbox mailboxes
> (i.e. mailspools): everyone has a different idea of how to store
> messages in that file. The *best* thing to do, as a general rule, is
> to use mutt to move messages OUT of the mailspool and into a mailbox
> in your home directory somewhere, that only mutt uses. That way you
> can be assured that other programs, that might have a different idea
> of how to store messages, won't corrupt it. Mutt tries to make this
> easy by allowing you to specify a $spoolfile and an $mbox to store
> read messages in. Personally, I prefer not using a centralized
> mailspool like that, but it's really up to you.
>
> > I have Googled this extensively and found no useful answer, so have
> > been forced to revert to claws-mail for an MUA -- arrgh!
>
> Claws-mail can read the mailspool file? Hmm... I doubt it's doing it
> correctly...
>
> Anyway, you can attempt to fix the corrupted file by hand, using a
> text editor. Or you could try to use Claws-mail to save the messages
> elsewhere, which should enable mutt to read them in their new
> location.
>
> ~Kyle
> --
> Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but
> rather division: For henceforth there shall be five in one house
> divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be
> divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother
> against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother
> in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against
> her mother in law.
> -- Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ (Luke 12:51-53)
Thank you for the helpful advice. I still don't know for sure what happened,
but I "fixed" it like this:
mv /var/mail/indi out of the way
cp /var/mail/root to /var/mail/indi
chown indi:mail /var/mail/indi
changed .muttrc to use MH instead and redid mailbox entries accordingly
Examining the original /var/mail/indi (in jed) reveals nothing unusual;
there must be some hidden property of which I am ignorant. But I expect it
won't happen again using MH and ~/mail for my spool. :)