What does the message "You have new Mail" that I see on the console mean and how do I view it?

Updated -

When logging in, a "You have new mail" message sometimes appears on the screen. The system often sends a mail message to the superuser "root" after the completion of some cron jobs, software installation or as an error message meant to alert the system administrator. To view the message, type the command "mail" at the console:

$ mail

Subscriber exclusive content

A Red Hat subscription provides unlimited access to our knowledgebase of over 48,000 articles and solutions.

Current Customers and Partners

Log in for full access

Log In
Close

Welcome! Check out the Getting Started with Red Hat page for quick tours and guides for common tasks.