320 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
320 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
.. _email_clients:
|
|
|
|
Email clients info for Linux
|
|
============================
|
|
|
|
Git
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
These days most developers use ``git send-email`` instead of regular
|
|
email clients. The man page for this is quite good. On the receiving
|
|
end, maintainers use ``git am`` to apply the patches.
|
|
|
|
If you are new to ``git`` then send your first patch to yourself. Save it
|
|
as raw text including all the headers. Run ``git am raw_email.txt`` and
|
|
then review the changelog with ``git log``. When that works then send
|
|
the patch to the appropriate mailing list(s).
|
|
|
|
General Preferences
|
|
-------------------
|
|
|
|
Patches for the Linux kernel are submitted via email, preferably as
|
|
inline text in the body of the email. Some maintainers accept
|
|
attachments, but then the attachments should have content-type
|
|
``text/plain``. However, attachments are generally frowned upon because
|
|
it makes quoting portions of the patch more difficult in the patch
|
|
review process.
|
|
|
|
Email clients that are used for Linux kernel patches should send the
|
|
patch text untouched. For example, they should not modify or delete tabs
|
|
or spaces, even at the beginning or end of lines.
|
|
|
|
Don't send patches with ``format=flowed``. This can cause unexpected
|
|
and unwanted line breaks.
|
|
|
|
Don't let your email client do automatic word wrapping for you.
|
|
This can also corrupt your patch.
|
|
|
|
Email clients should not modify the character set encoding of the text.
|
|
Emailed patches should be in ASCII or UTF-8 encoding only.
|
|
If you configure your email client to send emails with UTF-8 encoding,
|
|
you avoid some possible charset problems.
|
|
|
|
Email clients should generate and maintain References: or In-Reply-To:
|
|
headers so that mail threading is not broken.
|
|
|
|
Copy-and-paste (or cut-and-paste) usually does not work for patches
|
|
because tabs are converted to spaces. Using xclipboard, xclip, and/or
|
|
xcutsel may work, but it's best to test this for yourself or just avoid
|
|
copy-and-paste.
|
|
|
|
Don't use PGP/GPG signatures in mail that contains patches.
|
|
This breaks many scripts that read and apply the patches.
|
|
(This should be fixable.)
|
|
|
|
It's a good idea to send a patch to yourself, save the received message,
|
|
and successfully apply it with 'patch' before sending patches to Linux
|
|
mailing lists.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some email client (MUA) hints
|
|
-----------------------------
|
|
|
|
Here are some specific MUA configuration hints for editing and sending
|
|
patches for the Linux kernel. These are not meant to be complete
|
|
software package configuration summaries.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Legend:
|
|
|
|
- TUI = text-based user interface
|
|
- GUI = graphical user interface
|
|
|
|
Alpine (TUI)
|
|
************
|
|
|
|
Config options:
|
|
|
|
In the :menuselection:`Sending Preferences` section:
|
|
|
|
- :menuselection:`Do Not Send Flowed Text` must be ``enabled``
|
|
- :menuselection:`Strip Whitespace Before Sending` must be ``disabled``
|
|
|
|
When composing the message, the cursor should be placed where the patch
|
|
should appear, and then pressing :kbd:`CTRL-R` let you specify the patch file
|
|
to insert into the message.
|
|
|
|
Claws Mail (GUI)
|
|
****************
|
|
|
|
Works. Some people use this successfully for patches.
|
|
|
|
To insert a patch use :menuselection:`Message-->Insert` File (:kbd:`CTRL-I`)
|
|
or an external editor.
|
|
|
|
If the inserted patch has to be edited in the Claws composition window
|
|
"Auto wrapping" in
|
|
:menuselection:`Configuration-->Preferences-->Compose-->Wrapping` should be
|
|
disabled.
|
|
|
|
Evolution (GUI)
|
|
***************
|
|
|
|
Some people use this successfully for patches.
|
|
|
|
When composing mail select: Preformat
|
|
from :menuselection:`Format-->Paragraph Style-->Preformatted` (:kbd:`CTRL-7`)
|
|
or the toolbar
|
|
|
|
Then use:
|
|
:menuselection:`Insert-->Text File...` (:kbd:`ALT-N x`)
|
|
to insert the patch.
|
|
|
|
You can also ``diff -Nru old.c new.c | xclip``, select
|
|
:menuselection:`Preformat`, then paste with the middle button.
|
|
|
|
Kmail (GUI)
|
|
***********
|
|
|
|
Some people use Kmail successfully for patches.
|
|
|
|
The default setting of not composing in HTML is appropriate; do not
|
|
enable it.
|
|
|
|
When composing an email, under options, uncheck "word wrap". The only
|
|
disadvantage is any text you type in the email will not be word-wrapped
|
|
so you will have to manually word wrap text before the patch. The easiest
|
|
way around this is to compose your email with word wrap enabled, then save
|
|
it as a draft. Once you pull it up again from your drafts it is now hard
|
|
word-wrapped and you can uncheck "word wrap" without losing the existing
|
|
wrapping.
|
|
|
|
At the bottom of your email, put the commonly-used patch delimiter before
|
|
inserting your patch: three hyphens (``---``).
|
|
|
|
Then from the :menuselection:`Message` menu item, select insert file and
|
|
choose your patch.
|
|
As an added bonus you can customise the message creation toolbar menu
|
|
and put the :menuselection:`insert file` icon there.
|
|
|
|
Make the composer window wide enough so that no lines wrap. As of
|
|
KMail 1.13.5 (KDE 4.5.4), KMail will apply word wrapping when sending
|
|
the email if the lines wrap in the composer window. Having word wrapping
|
|
disabled in the Options menu isn't enough. Thus, if your patch has very
|
|
long lines, you must make the composer window very wide before sending
|
|
the email. See: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=174034
|
|
|
|
You can safely GPG sign attachments, but inlined text is preferred for
|
|
patches so do not GPG sign them. Signing patches that have been inserted
|
|
as inlined text will make them tricky to extract from their 7-bit encoding.
|
|
|
|
If you absolutely must send patches as attachments instead of inlining
|
|
them as text, right click on the attachment and select properties, and
|
|
highlight :menuselection:`Suggest automatic display` to make the attachment
|
|
inlined to make it more viewable.
|
|
|
|
When saving patches that are sent as inlined text, select the email that
|
|
contains the patch from the message list pane, right click and select
|
|
:menuselection:`save as`. You can use the whole email unmodified as a patch
|
|
if it was properly composed. There is no option currently to save the email
|
|
when you are actually viewing it in its own window -- there has been a request
|
|
filed at kmail's bugzilla and hopefully this will be addressed. Emails are
|
|
saved as read-write for user only so you will have to chmod them to make them
|
|
group and world readable if you copy them elsewhere.
|
|
|
|
Lotus Notes (GUI)
|
|
*****************
|
|
|
|
Run away from it.
|
|
|
|
Mutt (TUI)
|
|
**********
|
|
|
|
Plenty of Linux developers use ``mutt``, so it must work pretty well.
|
|
|
|
Mutt doesn't come with an editor, so whatever editor you use should be
|
|
used in a way that there are no automatic linebreaks. Most editors have
|
|
an :menuselection:`insert file` option that inserts the contents of a file
|
|
unaltered.
|
|
|
|
To use ``vim`` with mutt::
|
|
|
|
set editor="vi"
|
|
|
|
If using xclip, type the command::
|
|
|
|
:set paste
|
|
|
|
before middle button or shift-insert or use::
|
|
|
|
:r filename
|
|
|
|
if you want to include the patch inline.
|
|
(a)ttach works fine without ``set paste``.
|
|
|
|
You can also generate patches with ``git format-patch`` and then use Mutt
|
|
to send them::
|
|
|
|
$ mutt -H 0001-some-bug-fix.patch
|
|
|
|
Config options:
|
|
|
|
It should work with default settings.
|
|
However, it's a good idea to set the ``send_charset`` to::
|
|
|
|
set send_charset="us-ascii:utf-8"
|
|
|
|
Mutt is highly customizable. Here is a minimum configuration to start
|
|
using Mutt to send patches through Gmail::
|
|
|
|
# .muttrc
|
|
# ================ IMAP ====================
|
|
set imap_user = 'yourusername@gmail.com'
|
|
set imap_pass = 'yourpassword'
|
|
set spoolfile = imaps://imap.gmail.com/INBOX
|
|
set folder = imaps://imap.gmail.com/
|
|
set record="imaps://imap.gmail.com/[Gmail]/Sent Mail"
|
|
set postponed="imaps://imap.gmail.com/[Gmail]/Drafts"
|
|
set mbox="imaps://imap.gmail.com/[Gmail]/All Mail"
|
|
|
|
# ================ SMTP ====================
|
|
set smtp_url = "smtp://username@smtp.gmail.com:587/"
|
|
set smtp_pass = $imap_pass
|
|
set ssl_force_tls = yes # Require encrypted connection
|
|
|
|
# ================ Composition ====================
|
|
set editor = `echo \$EDITOR`
|
|
set edit_headers = yes # See the headers when editing
|
|
set charset = UTF-8 # value of $LANG; also fallback for send_charset
|
|
# Sender, email address, and sign-off line must match
|
|
unset use_domain # because joe@localhost is just embarrassing
|
|
set realname = "YOUR NAME"
|
|
set from = "username@gmail.com"
|
|
set use_from = yes
|
|
|
|
The Mutt docs have lots more information:
|
|
|
|
http://dev.mutt.org/trac/wiki/UseCases/Gmail
|
|
|
|
http://dev.mutt.org/doc/manual.html
|
|
|
|
Pine (TUI)
|
|
**********
|
|
|
|
Pine has had some whitespace truncation issues in the past, but these
|
|
should all be fixed now.
|
|
|
|
Use alpine (pine's successor) if you can.
|
|
|
|
Config options:
|
|
|
|
- ``quell-flowed-text`` is needed for recent versions
|
|
- the ``no-strip-whitespace-before-send`` option is needed
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sylpheed (GUI)
|
|
**************
|
|
|
|
- Works well for inlining text (or using attachments).
|
|
- Allows use of an external editor.
|
|
- Is slow on large folders.
|
|
- Won't do TLS SMTP auth over a non-SSL connection.
|
|
- Has a helpful ruler bar in the compose window.
|
|
- Adding addresses to address book doesn't understand the display name
|
|
properly.
|
|
|
|
Thunderbird (GUI)
|
|
*****************
|
|
|
|
Thunderbird is an Outlook clone that likes to mangle text, but there are ways
|
|
to coerce it into behaving.
|
|
|
|
- Allow use of an external editor:
|
|
The easiest thing to do with Thunderbird and patches is to use an
|
|
"external editor" extension and then just use your favorite ``$EDITOR``
|
|
for reading/merging patches into the body text. To do this, download
|
|
and install the extension, then add a button for it using
|
|
:menuselection:`View-->Toolbars-->Customize...` and finally just click on it
|
|
when in the :menuselection:`Compose` dialog.
|
|
|
|
Please note that "external editor" requires that your editor must not
|
|
fork, or in other words, the editor must not return before closing.
|
|
You may have to pass additional flags or change the settings of your
|
|
editor. Most notably if you are using gvim then you must pass the -f
|
|
option to gvim by putting ``/usr/bin/gvim -f`` (if the binary is in
|
|
``/usr/bin``) to the text editor field in :menuselection:`external editor`
|
|
settings. If you are using some other editor then please read its manual
|
|
to find out how to do this.
|
|
|
|
To beat some sense out of the internal editor, do this:
|
|
|
|
- Edit your Thunderbird config settings so that it won't use ``format=flowed``.
|
|
Go to :menuselection:`edit-->preferences-->advanced-->config editor` to bring up
|
|
the thunderbird's registry editor.
|
|
|
|
- Set ``mailnews.send_plaintext_flowed`` to ``false``
|
|
|
|
- Set ``mailnews.wraplength`` from ``72`` to ``0``
|
|
|
|
- :menuselection:`View-->Message Body As-->Plain Text`
|
|
|
|
- :menuselection:`View-->Character Encoding-->Unicode (UTF-8)`
|
|
|
|
TkRat (GUI)
|
|
***********
|
|
|
|
Works. Use "Insert file..." or external editor.
|
|
|
|
Gmail (Web GUI)
|
|
***************
|
|
|
|
Does not work for sending patches.
|
|
|
|
Gmail web client converts tabs to spaces automatically.
|
|
|
|
At the same time it wraps lines every 78 chars with CRLF style line breaks
|
|
although tab2space problem can be solved with external editor.
|
|
|
|
Another problem is that Gmail will base64-encode any message that has a
|
|
non-ASCII character. That includes things like European names.
|