MCDS(1) General Commands Manual MCDS(1)

mcds — mutt CardDAV query

mcds [-c config_file] [-hVvp] [-q a | e | n | t] [-S] [-s a | e | n | t] [-u URL] term

The mcds utility queries a CardDAV server for requested information. Its primary function is to provide an address query command for mutt(1).

The options are as follows:

config_file
Specifies an alternative configuration file. The default file is ~/.mcdsrc.
Print help text to standard output and exit.
Prompt for a password.
a | | |
The term to query against. Known terms are:
Query for the address field.
Query for the email field. This is the default.
Query for the full-name field.
Query for the telephone field.
Save the password.
a | | |
The search term to return. Known terms are:
Query for the address field.
Query for the email field. This is the default.
Query for the full-name field.
Query for the telephone field.
URL
The URL of the CardDAV server.
Print the version number and license information of mcds to standard output and exit.
Enable verbose mode. Forces mcds to print debugging messages about its progress.

~/.mcdsrc
Configuration file. Used to set default values for mcds, but can be overridden with command-line arguments. Formatted as a list of “key = value” pairs separated by newlines.

The keys are as follows:

= URL
The URL of the CardDAV server.
= [yes | no]
Verify server certificate if connecting over HTTPS. Disabled by default.
= [yes | no]
Enable reading the ~/.netrc file. Disabled by default.
= USERNAME
The username to login to the CardDAV server with. If a username is specified mcds will not use the ~/.netrc file.
= password.gpg
The GPG encrypted file containing the password for the CardDAV server.
= [yes | no]
Use library “libsecret” to store and retrieve the password.
~/.netrc
Used to access your username and password when authenticating with the CardDAV server, if you have not specified your username and password file in ~/.mcdsrc.

The mcds utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs.

Query a CardDAV server for email addresses corresponding to “Ben”:

$ mcds -u https://localhost/caldav.php/username/addressbook/ Ben
ben@example.net        Ben Smith
...

To use mcds with mutt, add the following to your muttrc(5):

set query_command="mcds -u https://localhost/caldav.php/username/addressbook/ '%s'"

This query can be simplified by putting the relevant values in ~/.mcdsrc:

url = https://localhost/caldav.php/username/addressbook/
verify = no
netrc = yes

Now the query command can be shortened to:

set query_command="mcds '%s'"

When compiled against and after enabling libsecret in the configuration file, mcds can save passwords provided at the password prompt. To set, replace or clear the password, run

mcds -pS

curl(1), gpg2(1), mutt(1), muttrc(5), netrc(5)

The mcds utility is maintained by Timothy Brown <tbrown@freeshell.org>

November 5, 2024 Debian