Scoring

Syntax

score pattern value
unscore {* | pattern ...}

Adding Score Rules

The score command adds value to a message’s score if pattern matches it pattern is a string in the format described in the patterns section (note: for efficiency reasons, patterns which scan information not available in the index, such as ~b, ~B, ~h, ~M, or ~X may not be used). value is a positive or negative integer. A message’s final score is the sum total of all matching score entries. However, you may optionally prefix value with an equal sign (=) to cause evaluation to stop at a particular entry if there is a match. Negative final scores are rounded up to 0.

Removing Score Rules

The unscore command removes score entries from the list. You must specify the same pattern specified in the score command for it to be removed. The pattern * is a special token which means to clear the list of all score entries.

📷 Screenshot Needed

Subject: Scored messages in the index

Description: The NeoMutt index view with several messages that have been assigned different scores via score rules — some with high scores (e.g. flagged or colour-highlighted) and some with low or zero scores, showing how scoring affects message display or sort order.

Highlights: How scored messages can be visually distinguished using color index rules tied to score patterns (e.g. ~n 10-), and how sort-by-score reorders the message list.

Scoring and Threading

Scoring occurs as the messages are read in, before the mailbox is sorted. Because of this, patterns which depend on threading, such as ~=, ~$, and ~(), will not work by default. A workaround is to push the scoring command in a folder hook. This will cause the mailbox to be rescored after it is opened and input starts being processed:

folder-hook . 'push "<enter-command>score ~= 10<enter>"'