Installing Mutt on Mac OS X 10.6
 

I am pretty new to command line interface but I am willing to learn. I was following this link to set up mutt on mac

http://jwherring.com/TOWM/2009/01/25/mutt-on-mac-os-x/


I was able to install Mutt using the guide. However, I am not able to configure my email account and also when I type mutt on bash,
it says- command not found.

I think it is related to symlink but this is where I am not able to go further.
Can anyone show me the right direction?

Thank you

A few things first:

1) Those instructions are a bit old, that's probably not a problem, but at the least it references an old version of Mutt in the development branch. You should at least use 1.4.2.3 or 1.5.21, the latest current releases of the stable and development branches.

2) The instructions specify installing into /sw and then symlinking into /usr/local. My guess is that the tutorial is based on a Fink installation script (Fink uses /sw as a prefix). It sounds like you aren't already using Fink so this shouldn't be an issue, but ideally you would install directly to /usr/local. Or use Fink or MacPorts to install Mutt for you (Fink oddly has 1.5.18 and 1.5.21 in their stable and unstable branches, MacPorts offers the correct latest stable and development releases).

3) The path issue probably is due to the symlink, or perhaps a mistake in setting the prefix when you installed Mutt.

4) Details. Post more of them. What do you mean when you say you can't configure your account? It should just be a matter of creating and editing the configuration file in your home directory. Did you make any changes to the installation process? Where is Mutt installed? What is your PATH? (echo $PATH) Can you post the exact commands that you entered? They should be in your bash history. Are you using the latest OS and software versions?


My advice, or the course that I'd take, would be to remove everything you installed and re-install using MacPorts or Fink. They'll take care of the dependencies for you and allow you to easily update the software. At that point, all you should need to do is edit the config file. Re-installing probably isn't necessary though and your issue can be corrected as is. It's just the path I'd take.

Fink "stable" means the *package* is stable and well-tested rather than that the upstream author says the *program* is in a stable state. Likewise, "unstable" is where development and testing *of the package* occurs (for example, the maintainer says it works but others haven't confirmed) prior to getting tagged as stable.

(quick followup) I contacted the mutt maintainer about stable'ing the latest unstable version. So in a few hours I expect it'll either be done or else have some known reason why not yet.

Thanks for the replies.

Here is my echo $PATH reply

/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/X11/bin

I don't want to pull this into a Fink discussion, but just to clarify my "oddly" statement. I find it odd that Fink offers only two versions of the development branch. MacPorts differs in not having a stable / unstable split, but at least they offer the stable and devel branches as different installation options.

I suppose it would have been clearer to state that I find it odd that Fink only offers the development branch. That the Mutt developers specifically state that the "current stable public release" is 1.4.2.3 indicates that, at the least, the devel branch isn't intended for your everyday user.

I suppose it comes down to the Fink maintainers offering a development branch of software without identifying it as so and further marking it as "stable".
Fink design and protocol deserves a different thread.

Thanks for the replies

here is my output for echo $PATH


echo $PATH
/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/X11/bin

See fracai's point #2 above--you should install into /usr/local/bin. Or else use a package manager like fink or MacPorts to install into their preferred directories.

Then, you should set your PATH to show /usr/local/bin, or the fink or MacPorts directories earlier than other directories, so that command line apps you install yourself will be used rather than apps included in the operating system. For help on setting your PATH, see the link in the Unix FAQ thread at the top of the Unix - Newcomers forum.

Trevor

For now, your PATH is probably fine. Though, as trevor stated, /usr/local should probably be at the beginning of your path.

Without further information, like the exact commands that you entered and any errors that occurred, it's either a broken symlink or the build itself failed.

What does 'ls -l /sw/bin/mutt /usr/local/bin/mutt' produce? (I'd expect to see a link from /usr/local/bin/mutt into /sw/bin/mutt.)
Can you run '/sw/bin/mutt'? (If the build succeeded, it should run.)
What about '/usr/local/bin/mutt'? (I don't expect this to work as your PATH is "correct" and you've said 'mutt' on it's own doesn't run.)

What does 'ls -l /sw/bin/mutt /usr/local/bin/mutt' produce?

ls: /sw/bin/mutt: No such file or directory
ls: /usr/local/bin/mutt: No such file or directory

Can you run '/sw/bin/mutt'?

-bash: /sw/bin/mutt: No such file or directory

What about '/usr/local/bin/mutt'?

-bash: /usr/local/bin/mutt: No such file or directory

Thanks

So, where did you install mutt? The results of the commands above implies that you didn't really install mutt following the directions that you linked to at the top of this forum. Have you already removed it or something?

How about showing us the results of

ls -l /sw/bin/m*
ls -l /usr/local/bin/m*
echo 'done'

Trevor

I think it is installed in
/usr/bin folder because when I type ls /usr/bin I can see that mutt is listed there.

Sorry, right now I am at school so I cannot access my computer and try those commands but I am pretty sure I saw mutt in that folder.

Thanks

/usr/bin should probably be avoided when installing your own software. That's where the system keeps its commands. Placing your own compiled software there runs the risk of overwriting system components. Additionally, your versions could be overwritten by future updates.

Now, OS X doesn't come with Mutt, so you're probably fine, but it'd still be a good idea to remove it and reinstall to another location (or with MacPorts / Fink).
Did you install anything else?

So, if Mutt is located under /usr/bin and you can't run it, something is definitely wrong. That path is in your PATH variable so you should be able to run all the commands in that directory.

When you get back, please post the results of 'ls -la /usr/bin/mutt'.
And '/usr/bin/mutt'.

Curiouser and curiouser...

ls -la /usr/bin/mutt

lrwxr-xr-x 1 root wheel 12 May 1 11:08 /usr/bin/mutt -> /sw/bin/mutt


/usr/bin/mutt
-bash: /usr/bin/mutt: No such file or directory

This symlink points /usr/bin/mutt to /sw/bin/mutt
So is the software actually installed under /sw/bin ?
ls -l /sw/bin/mutt

Based on what was posted above ("-bash: /sw/bin/mutt: No such file or directory"), it sounds like you may not have installed mutt at all and just created the symlink. Do you remember typing "sudo make install"? Do you remember what you passed in to "--prefix="?

How about the following:
locate mutt
mdfind "kMDItemDisplayName == 'mutt'wc" | sort

If those produce to much, you could try adding '|grep mutt' to the end of each.

Hah, I have no idea why I suggested that. It's not going to reduce the output of anything.

It sounds like I have not installed Mutt at all :(


Because when I entered
mdfind "kMDItemDisplayName == 'mutt'wc" | sort

it gave me results from the desktop folder where I downloaded the mutt files.


/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/contrib/mutt_xtitle
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/doc/mutt.man
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/mutt.h
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_crypt.h
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_curses.h
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_dotlock.c
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_idna.c
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_idna.h
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_menu.h
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_regex.h
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_sasl.c
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_sasl.h
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_socket.c
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_socket.h
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_ssl.c
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_ssl.h
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_ssl_gnutls.c
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_tunnel.c
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_tunnel.h
/Users/codename/.Trash/mutt-1.5.18/po/mutt.pot
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18.tar.gz
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/contrib/mutt_xtitle
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/doc/mutt.man
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/mutt.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_crypt.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_curses.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_dotlock.c
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_idna.c
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_idna.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_menu.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_regex.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_sasl.c
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_sasl.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_socket.c
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_socket.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_ssl.c
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_ssl.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_ssl_gnutls.c
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_tunnel.c
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/mutt_tunnel.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.18/po/mutt.pot
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21.tar.gz
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/contrib/mutt_xtitle
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/doc/mutt.css
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/doc/mutt.man
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/doc/mutt.xsl
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt.h.orig
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_crypt.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_curses.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_dotlock.c
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_idna.c
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_idna.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_menu.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_regex.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_sasl.c
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_sasl.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_socket.c
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_socket.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_ssl.c
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_ssl.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_ssl_gnutls.c
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_tunnel.c
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_tunnel.h
/Users/codename/Desktop/mutt-1.5.21/po/mutt.pot
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21.tar.gz
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/contrib/mutt_xtitle
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/doc/mutt.css
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/doc/mutt.man
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/doc/mutt.xsl
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt.h
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt.h.orig
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_crypt.h
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_curses.h
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_dotlock.c
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_idna.c
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_idna.h
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_menu.h
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_regex.h
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_sasl.c
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_sasl.h
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_socket.c
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_socket.h
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_ssl.c
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_ssl.h
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_ssl_gnutls.c
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_tunnel.c
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/mutt_tunnel.h
/Users/codename/mutt-1.5.21/po/mutt.pot
/usr/share/doc/dovecot/wiki/mutt.txt
/usr/share/zsh/4.3.9/functions/_mutt

OK, I think you're in pretty good shape at this point. Was the output of 'locate mutt' any different (likely, fewer files printed). Unless anyone can think of other ways to check for Mutt, I think it was never installed. You should run a similar "locate" for the Berkeley Database, if you tried to install that as a dependency. Then delete the symlink at /usr/bin/mutt as it's unnecessary.

At that point, decide how you want to proceed.
1) Install through MacPorts / Fink / Homebrew / Rudix / ...
2) Recompile and install to /usr/local

In either case, you should first read Hayne's Unix FAQ. Compiling on your own is good if you're interested in learning, but I personally would recommend using MacPorts as you're just starting out. Rudix is probably an even easier option if all you need is mutt. It doesn't bring in any external dependencies or require the developer tools, but also doesn't have as many available software titles.

I think I have finally installed Mutt using macports which was easy but when I type mutt on command line, it says /users/codename/Mail does not exist.
Create it. How do I go further?
Thanks for the help.

Here you're in the territory of configuring Mutt. The tutorial you originally followed should be of some help there. It's probably the case that you just need to create that directory.

A Google search for "configure Mutt" looks like it should turn up plenty of help.

I used this link to setup mutt but I am confused about which folder does this file belongs to.


http://www.gadgetxplorer.com/2010/08...-mac-os-x.html
It created the file muttrc with the provided settings but

when I am open mutt, I get the following message

/var/mail/codename: No such file or directory (errno = 2)

You are going to need to understand how to navigate to folders and create folders using commands in Terminal in order to configure Mutt.
See the Unix FAQ referred to above.

I was finally able to run mutt to access gmail using the instructions on that website.
I found that .muttrc file was at /users/codename/.muttrc and changed that file as instructed. To edit the file, I had to unhide the hidden files using this command -
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true

This command allowed me to view that .muttrc file so I could edit it with Textedit app. I am still learning my ways to use mutt so overall still work in progress but thanks for all the help so far.

As explained in the Unix FAQ referred to above, it is better to use other text editors (e.g. TextWrangler) for config files. And these other text editors have no problem in opening "hidden" files.