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diff --git a/content/blog/2024-04-18-mu4e.org b/content/blog/2024-04-18-mu4e.org new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c305c71 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/2024-04-18-mu4e.org @@ -0,0 +1,300 @@ +#+title: Email in Doom Emacs with Mu4e on macOS +#+date: <2024-04-18 Thu 10:49:00> +#+description: A short tutorial on configuring the Mu4e email client for Doom Emacs. +#+filetags: emacs, org-mode, productivity +#+slug: mu4e + +This post was heavily inspired by [[https://macowners.club/posts/email-emacs-mu4e-macos/][Email setup in Emacs with Mu4e on macOS]], but +with my own tweaks for a single-account configuration and some Doom-specific +configurations. + +* Overview + +[[https://github.com/emacsmirror/mu4e][Mu4e]] is an Emacs-based email client based on [[https://www.djcbsoftware.nl/code/mu/][mu]], an indexer that stores email in +the Maildir format. + +This blog post covers the installation of Mu4e in Doom Emacs on macOS. This +guide should be very similar to GNU Emacs and Linux-based systems, with a few +tweaks required in the various configuration files. + +* Installation +** Prerequisites +*** Create the Folder Structure +Start by creating the base folder structure: + +#+begin_src sh +mkdir ~/.maildir +mkdir ~/.maildir/example # use whatever name you want to call your email account +mkdir ~/.maildir/certificates # used to store system root certificates +#+end_src + +*** Store Email Account Passwords in macOS Keychain +Next, I will be using the macOS Keychain to store my email account passwords +using the command below. + +#+begin_src sh +security add-generic-password -s mu4e-example -a you@example.com -w +#+end_src + +This will prompt you to input your password twice to confirm. Keep the +=mu4e-example= name in mind, as you will need to reference it later in the IMAP +and SMTP configuration files. + +*** Store Root Certificates + +In order to use IMAP and SMTP, we need to provide certificates to the local +services. We will use the macOS defaults for this. + +1. Open =Keychain Access.app=. +2. Select =System Roots= in the sidebar. +3. Select all items with =CMD + a=. +4. Export selected items with =SHIFT + CMD + a= to the file + =~/.maildir/certificates/root-certificates.pem=. + +*** Install Dependencies + +Install =mbsync= (via =isync=) to fetch emails via IMAP, =mu= to index emails, +and =msmtp= to send emails via SMTP. + +#+begin_src sh +brew install mu isync msmtp +#+end_src + +** Installing Mu4e + +Within Doom Emacs, we can install Mu4e by enabling the package. + +#+begin_src sh +nano ~/.doom.d/init.el +#+end_src + +In this file, uncomment the =mu4e= line within the =:email= section. You can +also enable the =+org= and =+gmail= options if you prefer. + +#+begin_src elisp +(doom! :input + ... + :email + mu4e + ;;(mu4e +org +gmail) + ... + (default +bindings +smartparens)) +#+end_src + +* Configuration +As an overall suggestion, I create the following configuration files in the +=~/.maildir= directory and using symlinks to their proper locations so that I +can backup and restore these files easily. + +#+begin_src sh +touch ~/.maildir/.mbsyncrc && \ +touch ~/.maildir/.msmtprc && \ +ln -s /Users/username/.maildir/.mbsyncrc /Users/username/.mbsyncrc && \ +ln -s /Users/username/.maildir/.msmtprc /Users/username/.msmtprc +#+end_src + +You can also create these files in your home directory and skip the symlinking +process above. + +** IMAP +Next, let's configure =mbsync= in the file created above. Paste the following +information and customize it to match your mail provider's information. + +#+begin_src sh +nano ~/.maildir/.mbsyncrc +#+end_src + +#+begin_src conf +IMAPAccount example +Host imap.example.com +User dummy@example.com +PassCmd "security find-generic-password -s mu4e-example -a dummy@example.com -w" +Port 993 +SSLType IMAPS +AuthMechs Login +CertificateFile ~/.maildir/certificates/root-certificates.pem + +IMAPStore example-remote +Account example + +MaildirStore example-local +SubFolders Verbatim +Path ~/.maildir/example/ +Inbox ~/.maildir/example/INBOX + +Channel example +Far :example-remote: +Near :example-local: +Patterns * +Create Near +Sync All +Expunge Both +SyncState * +#+end_src + +** SMTP +Next, let's configured =msmtprc= in the file created above. Paste the following +information and customize it to match your mail provider's information. + +#+begin_src sh +nano ~/.maildir/.msmtprc +#+end_src + +,#+begin_src conf +defaults +logfile ~/.maildir/msmtp.log +tls_trust_file ~/.maildir/certificates/root-certificates.pem + +account example +auth on +host smtp.example.com +port 465 +protocol smtp +from you@example.com +user you@example.com +passwordeval security find-generic-password -s mu4e-example -a you@example.com -w +tls on +tls_starttls off + +account default : example +#+end_src + +** Doom Emacs +Finally, we need to configure Doom Emacs to use the proper packages and set some +variables and functions. + +#+begin_src sh +nano ~/.doom.d/config.el +#+end_src + +#+begin_src elisp +;; load packages and programs +(use-package mu4e + :load-path "/Users/username/.emacs.d/modules/email/mu4e/") +(require 'smtpmail) +(setq mu4e-mu-binary (executable-find "mu")) + +;; set base directory +(setq mu4e-maildir "~/.maildir") + +;; sync imap servers +(setq mu4e-get-mail-command (concat (executable-find "mbsync") " -a")) + +;; how often to sync in seconds +(setq mu4e-update-interval 300) + +;; save attachments to defined directory +(setq mu4e-attachment-dir "~/Downloads") + +;; rename files when moving - needed for mbsync: +(setq mu4e-change-filenames-when-moving t) + +;; list of your email adresses: +(setq mu4e-user-mail-address-list '("you@example.com")) + +;; check your ~/.maildir to see naming of subdirectories +(setq mu4e-maildir-shortcuts + '(("/example/INBOX" . ?e) + ("/example/Sent" . ?E))) + +(setq mu4e-contexts + `(,(make-mu4e-context + :name "example" + :enter-func + (lambda () (mu4e-message "Enter you@example.com context")) + :leave-func + (lambda () (mu4e-message "Leave you@example.com context")) + :match-func + (lambda (msg) + (when msg + (mu4e-message-contact-field-matches msg + :to "you@example.com"))) + :vars '((user-mail-address . "you@example.com") + (user-full-name . "Christian Cleberg") + ;; check your ~/.maildir to see how the subdirectories are called + ;; e.g `ls ~/.maildir/example' + (mu4e-drafts-folder . "/example/Drafts") + (mu4e-refile-folder . "/example/Archive") + (mu4e-sent-folder . "/example/Sent") + (mu4e-trash-folder . "/example/Trash"))))) + +(setq mu4e-context-policy 'pick-first) ;; start with the first (default) context; +(setq mu4e-compose-context-policy 'ask) ;; ask for context if no context matches; + +;; gpg encryptiom & decryption: +;; this can be left alone +(require 'epa-file) +(epa-file-enable) +(setq epa-pinentry-mode 'loopback) +(auth-source-forget-all-cached) + +;; don't keep message compose buffers around after sending: +(setq message-kill-buffer-on-exit t) + +;; send function: +(setq send-mail-function 'sendmail-send-it + message-send-mail-function 'sendmail-send-it) + +;; send program: +(setq sendmail-program (executable-find "msmtp")) + +;; select the right sender email from the context. +(setq message-sendmail-envelope-from 'header) + +;; mu4e cc & bcc +(add-hook 'mu4e-compose-mode-hook + (defun timu/add-cc-and-bcc () + "My Function to automatically add Cc & Bcc: headers. + This is in the mu4e compose mode." + (save-excursion (message-add-header "Cc:\n")) + (save-excursion (message-add-header "Bcc:\n")))) + +;; mu4e address completion +(add-hook 'mu4e-compose-mode-hook 'company-mode) +#+end_src + +Be sure to sync Doom to update the current configurations. + +#+begin_src sh +doom sync +#+end_src + +If you have Doom open, execute =SPC h r r= to reload the new configurations. + +* Initial Sync +Once you have configured all of the relevant files, you can perform an initial +sync. Note that you can perform syncing within Mu4e itself afer this. + +#+begin_src sh +mbsync -aV +#+end_src + +Once you sync the data, you can index the emails. + +#+begin_src sh +mu init -m ~/.maildir --my-address you@example.com && \ +mu index +#+end_src + +The emails will now to be ready to use! + +* Screenshots + +You can now launch Doom and open Mu4e with =SPC o m=. You can also explore the +Mu4e options with =SPC : mu4e=. + +The home page shows various options and metdata about the account you've opened. + +#+caption: Mu4e Home Page +[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20240418-mu4e/mu4e.png]] + +When composing an email, you can see the metadata fields at the top and compose +the message below the indicator line. + +#+caption: Composition Screen +[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20240418-mu4e/draft.png]] + +When in a folder, you can view emails in a pane and perform actions as needed. + +#+caption: Inbox +[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20240418-mu4e/inbox.png]] |