Man page 8 : pam_mail

pam_mail - Inform about available mail

pam_mail.so [close] [debug] [dir=maildir] [empty] [hash=count] [noenv] [nopen] [quiet] [standard]

The pam_mail PAM module provides the "you have new mail" service to the user. It can be plugged into any application that has credential or session hooks. It gives a single message indicating the newness of any mail it finds in the user\'s mail folder. This module also sets the PAM environment variable, MAIL, to the user\'s mail directory.

If the mail spool file (be it /var/mail/$USER or a pathname given with the dir= parameter) is a directory then pam_mail assumes it is in the Maildir format.

close
    Indicate if the user has any mail also on logout.

debug
    Print debug information.

dir=\fBmaildir\fR
    Look for the users\' mail in an alternative location defined by maildir/<login>. The default location for mail is /var/mail/<login>. Note, if the supplied maildir is prefixed by a \'~\', the directory is interpreted as indicating a file in the user\'s home directory.

empty
    Also print message if user has no mail.

hash=\fBcount\fR
    Mail directory hash depth. For example, a hashcount of 2 would make the mail file be /var/spool/mail/u/s/user.

noenv
    Do not set the MAIL environment variable.

nopen
    Don\'t print any mail information on login. This flag is useful to get the MAIL environment variable set, but to not display any information about it.

quiet
    Only report when there is new mail.

standard
    Old style "You have..." format which doesn\'t show the mail spool being used. This also implies "empty".

The session and auth (on establishment and deletion of credentials) module types are provided.

PAM_BUF_ERR
    Memory buffer error.

PAM_SERVICE_ERR
    Badly formed arguments.

PAM_SUCCESS
    Success.

PAM_USER_UNKNOWN
    User not known.

Add the following line to /etc/pam.d/login to indicate that the user has new mail when they login to the system.


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session  optional  pam_mail.so standard

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pam.conf(5), pam.d(5), pam(7)

pam_mail was written by Andrew G. Morgan <>.