EPIC Enhanced Programmable IRC-II Client

mail

Synopsis

/load python
/load mail
/set mail [on|off|toggle]
/set mail_interval [<seconds>]
/set mail_status_format [<format>]
/check_mail

Description

The bundled mail wrapper imports the Python mail module, which checks local mailbox sources and displays counts in the status bar. This replaces the older mbox-list script. It no longer defines mbox add, mbox del, mbox list, or mail_watch_time, and it does not use a separate built-in mail checker or the retired on mail event.

It requires a build with embedded Python support, the bundled epic Python module, and the addset alias normally supplied by builtins. python defines pyload and adds the script directory to Python's import path; initialize that support before loading mail. In the default global order, builtins attempts its mail load before python defines pyload, so that earlier attempt does not guarantee successful initialization.

The first successful module import defines check_mail and the set_mail callback, creates the settings below, and enables checking. A subsequent /load mail uses ordinary Python import caching; it does not necessarily rerun module initialization. The checker sends no IRC request and does not connect to IMAP or POP services.

Settings and checking

Setting Initial value Effect
mail on Enable or disable discovered mailbox readers and the scheduled check timer.
mail_interval 60 Seconds between checks. Changing it turns mail off and back on, rediscovers sources, and checks immediately, even if checking was previously off.
mail_status_format (Mail: {cur}) Python format string for the status text; supports {cur} for total counted entries and {new} for newly detected identifiers.

Enabling mail schedules a repeating snap timer named check_mail and performs an immediate check. Use a positive integer interval; zero is not a disable switch, since the repeating-timer implementation rejects it while an immediate check can still occur. Use /set mail off to stop scheduled checks. Disabling does not clear already displayed mail status or reset the previous comparison sample.

/check_mail invokes the installed checker immediately. It does not itself enable disabled readers or schedule another timer. The settings use the script-defined boolean/integer/string interface, not the old numeric mail modes. With no value, set displays the current setting.

Mailbox discovery

Configure locations in the client's process environment before enabling discovery:

Both readers can contribute to the same total. MAIL is treated as one filename, not a list of independent mboxes. There is no runtime mailbox-add/delete command in this implementation. Reading local sources requires the client's filesystem permissions; discovery does not validate remote accounts or credentials.

Counts and output

For each successful check, the readers build a list of identifiers. Maildir uses message keys for messages without S. The mbox reader counts every entry and identifies it by a SHA-256 hash of its From header, not by a unique message ID or unread status. Several messages with identical sender headers share an identifier, so mbox arrival detection is not reliable per-message identity tracking.

A nonzero sample is compared with the previous nonzero sample. When identifiers not previously present are found, the checker prints There are N new email(s), T total directly through Python's EPIC interface. The first nonempty check treats its entries as new. A zero total clears status_mail but does not replace the previous sample, which can affect detection when the same identifiers reappear later.

For a nonzero total, the checker applies mail_status_format through Python str.format and assigns the result to status_mail. That text appears through %M when the active status format includes it. Editing mail_status_format takes effect on a later successful check; the checker does not print subjects, senders, or one notification per mailbox. It reports identifier changes, not merely mbox modification-time changes.

Mailbox and formatting exceptions are caught and sent to Python logging. A missing or non-ISO-8859-1-compatible mbox From header, inaccessible mailbox, or invalid format field can interrupt a check without a clear EPIC success/failure result or status refresh. Check commands define no structured function return value.

Example

With the desired MAIL and/or MAILDIR environment configured before starting the client:

/load python
/load mail
/set mail_interval 120
/check_mail

This initializes Python support, imports the checker, requests roughly two-minute scheduled checks, and checks immediately again. Ensure addset is available first in a configuration that does not load builtins. To stop scheduled checks, use /set mail off.

History

The older mbox-list script was written by wd and first appeared in EPIC4-1.1.6. The current wrapper and Python replacement are marked as 2025 work by hop.

Source references