Fix an Empty Virtual Mailbox

Prerequisites

1. A Notmuch virtual mailbox configured in NeoMutt that shows no messages.

Test the Query on the Command Line

1. Copy the query from your config and run it directly:

notmuch search 'tag:inbox and tag:unread'

If this also returns nothing, the problem is in the query or the database, not NeoMutt.

Check That Tags Exist

1. List the tags in your database:

notmuch search --output=tags '*'

2. Confirm the tags used in your query appear in the list.

Expected result: inbox, unread, or whichever tags your query uses are present.

If a tag is missing, your initial tagging rules may not have applied. Run notmuch tag +inbox -- folder:INBOX (or an appropriate rule) to add the tag.

Update the Database

1. Run notmuch new to index any recently synced mail:

notmuch new

2. Re-test the query.

Expected result: if new messages were indexed, the query now returns results.

Verify Query Syntax

Common mistakes:

Problem	Fix
Missing and / or	tag:inbox tag:unread → tag:inbox and tag:unread
Typo in tag name	Check with notmuch search --output=tags '*'
Wrong from: address	Test with a known sender address
Unquoted special characters	Wrap the query in single quotes on the command line

Check nm_default_url

1. Confirm $nm_default_url points to the correct database path:

set nm_default_url = "notmuch:///home/you/.local/share/mail"

The path must match notmuch config get database.path.

Expected result: NeoMutt and Notmuch use the same database.

Check nm_exclude_tags

1. If you have $nm_exclude_tags set, confirm it isn’t hiding the messages you expect:

:set nm_exclude_tags?

Expected result: the tags listed here do not overlap with the tags your query targets.

See Notmuch for full variable reference.