# Install mailcheck with Homebrew, apt, Nix

Check multiple mailboxes/maildirs for mail. Version 1.91.2 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:mailcheck
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install mailcheck
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install mailcheck
```

  Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: mailcheck from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#mailcheck
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ma/mailcheck/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:mailcheck
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Package manager page:** <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/mailcheck>
- **Version:** 1.91.2
- **Source summary:** Check multiple mailboxes/maildirs for mail
- **Homepage:** <https://mailcheck.sourceforge.net/>
- **Upstream docs:** <https://mailcheck.sourceforge.net/>
- **License:** GPL-2.0-or-later
- **Source archive:** <https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/mailcheck/mailcheck/1.91.2/mailcheck_1.91.2.tar.gz>
- **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00

## Executables

- mailcheck (cli)
- mailcheck (alias)

## Install behavior

- Post-install hook: not defined
- Bottle: available on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-07-08
- Package-manager version: 1.91.2
- Local data: ok
- Upstream repository: https://mailcheck.sourceforge.net/
- info: No package-manager update timestamp was available.
- info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.
## Project history and usage

mailcheck is a small command-line utility for checking multiple mailboxes for new mail. The official homepage and upstream manpage document support for mbox, Maildir, POP3, and IMAP.

### Project history

The upstream manpage says mailcheck was written for Debian GNU/Linux by Jefferson E. Noxon, with copyright years spanning 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2001. POP3 and IMAP support is credited to Rob Funk.

The official 1.91.2 SourceForge release contains a compact C program, manpage, sample `mailcheckrc`, and Makefile. Its install target places the command under `/usr/bin` and the default config under `/etc`.

### Adoption history

mailcheck's adoption is traditional distribution packaging rather than a large upstream community. The input package-manager facts list Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, and Nix, and the official homepage links Debian package information.

### How it is used

The manpage recommends invoking `mailcheck` from `/etc/profile` or a user-specific login script, with `-l` login mode respecting `~/.hushlogin`. It reads `~/.mailcheckrc` first and falls back to `/etc/mailcheckrc` when no user file exists.

Configuration is line-oriented: local mailbox paths or Maildir directories, plus `pop3:` and `imap:` URLs for remote mailboxes. Passwords are not stored in `mailcheckrc`; for POP3 and IMAP, the manpage says credentials come from `~/.netrc`.

### Why package nerds care

mailcheck is package-nerd archaeology in useful form: a tiny C utility from the login-shell mail-notification era, still packaged because it has few moving parts and interoperates with old mailbox formats and `.netrc` credentials.

### Timeline

- 1996: Earliest upstream copyright year in the manpage.
- 1998: Additional copyright year and mailbox/network support lineage appear in the manpage.
- 2001: Later copyright notice appears in the manpage.
- 2007: SourceForge published the mailcheck 1.91.2 release tarball.

### Related projects

- The manpage points users to biff, mail, fetchmail, netrc, and ftp as related Unix mail and credential tools.

### Sources

- <https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/mailcheck/mailcheck/1.91.2/mailcheck_1.91.2.tar.gz>
- <https://mailcheck.sourceforge.net/>
- source_facts.package-manager


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals


## Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.


## Configuration files

- Unix: /etc/mailcheckrc, ~/.mailcheckrc

## Credential files

- Unix: ~/.netrc
## Source Database Details

- **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API
- **Tap:** homebrew/core
- **Full Name:** mailcheck
- **Version Scheme:** 0
- **Revision:** 0
- **Bottle Stable Root URL:** <https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core>
- **Deprecated:** no
- **Disabled:** no
- **Keg Only:** no
- **URL Keys:** stable

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Debian apt - mailcheck - 1.91.2-6: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: mailcheck from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | check multiple mailboxes/maildirs for mail | http://mailcheck.sourceforge.net
- Nix - mailcheck: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ma/mailcheck/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Ubuntu apt - mailcheck - 1.91.2-5: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: mailcheck from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | check multiple mailboxes/maildirs for mail | http://mailcheck.sourceforge.net


## Related links

- [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata.
- [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata.
- [Productivity CLI packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/productivity-cli-packages/) - Matched curated productivity category metadata from av.db.
- [Homebrew utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew-utility-packages/) - Matched Homebrew package provider.
- [mail-deduplicate](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mail-deduplicate/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, mailbox, maildir, productivity.
- [meli](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/meli/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, imap, maildir, productivity.
- [offlineimap](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/offlineimap/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, imap, maildir, productivity.
- [himalaya](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/himalaya/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, imap, productivity.
- [mairix](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mairix/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, maildir, productivity.
- [mu](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mu/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, maildir, productivity.
- [neomutt](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/neomutt/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, imap, productivity.
- [neverest](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/neverest/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, email, imap, productivity.

## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/mailcheck.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/mailcheck.yml)


## Sources

- Nucleus package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- package-page enrichment
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- package version freshness
- av.db category and tag curation
- package relationship graph
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph