How to send email from Ubuntu terminal?

Sending Emails from Ubuntu Terminal: A Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Sending emails from a terminal in Ubuntu can be a useful tool for various purposes, such as sending notifications, reporting issues, or even automating tasks. In this article, we will walk you through the process of sending emails from the Ubuntu terminal.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following prerequisites:

• Ubuntu 18.04 or later (Ubuntu 20.04 is not supported)
• A working email account (e.g., Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo)
• The mutt command installed (mutt is a popular email client in Ubuntu)
• The smtplib library installed (smtplib is a built-in Python library for sending emails)

Step 1: Install the Required Packages

To send emails from the Ubuntu terminal, you need to install the following packages:

• mutt (email client)
• smtplib (email library)
• mailutils (mail utility)

You can install these packages using the following commands:

• sudo apt-get install mutt
• sudo apt-get install smtplib
• sudo apt-get install mailutils

Step 2: Configure Mutt

Once the packages are installed, you need to configure mutt to send emails. Here’s how:

• Open the mutt configuration file in a text editor:

  sudo nano /etc/mutt/mutt.conf

• Add the following lines to the end of the file:

  set sendmail-path /usr/sbin/sendmail
  
  set sendmail-username your_email_address
  
  set sendmail-hostname your_email_host

  Replace your_email_address and your_email_host with your actual email address and hostname.

• Save and close the file.

Step 3: Configure SMTPLib

To use the smtplib library, you need to configure it. Here’s how:

• Open the mutt configuration file in a text editor:

  sudo nano /etc/mutt/mutt.conf

• Add the following lines to the end of the file:

  set smtpd_use_tls yes
  
  set smtpd_use_tls_starttls_auto yes
  
  set smtpd_use_tls_starttls yes

• Save and close the file.

Step 4: Configure Mailutils

To use the mailutils library, you need to configure it. Here’s how:

• Open the mutt configuration file in a text editor:

  sudo nano /etc/mutt/mutt.conf

• Add the following lines to the end of the file:

  set maildir /var/mail/your_email_address

  Replace your_email_address with your actual email address.

Step 5: Send an Email

Now that you have configured mutt, you can send an email using the following command:

mutt -s "Subject: Test Email" your_email_address

Replace your_email_address with your actual email address.

Step 6: Test the Email

To test the email, you can use the following command:

mutt -v your_email_address

This will display the email headers and content.

Tips and Variations

• To send an email with a specific subject and body, you can use the following command:

mutt -s "Subject: Test Email" -b your_email_address your_email_address

• To send an email with a specific subject and body, you can use the following command:

mutt -s "Subject: Test Email" -b your_email_address -a your_email_body your_email_address

• To send an email with a specific subject and body, you can use the following command:

mutt -s "Subject: Test Email" -b your_email_address -o your_email_body your_email_address

Troubleshooting

• If you encounter any issues with sending emails, check the following:

  • Make sure you have the required packages installed.
  • Check the mutt configuration file for any errors.
  • Check the email headers and content for any errors.
  • Check the email subject and body for any errors.

Conclusion

Sending emails from the Ubuntu terminal can be a useful tool for various purposes. By following these steps, you can send emails using mutt and the smtplib library. Remember to configure the mutt and mailutils libraries correctly, and test the email before sending it to ensure that it is sent successfully.