Comments on: Delete all root mail / inbox from a shell prompt

By: Mars

Mars — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:54:42 +0000

Use Nirmal’s solution above:

`cat /dev/null > /var/spool/mail/root`

wolvies — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:29:02 +0000

I’ve tried that but received this message: ‘Value too large for defined data type’ :-(
can anybody help me?

thanks from now !!!

fukid — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:04:01 +0000

Thanks!
It works!!

Adam Ziaja — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:15:40 +0000

because you need type > before file to clear…

linux course — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 16:28:18 +0000

gud information.worked great.
Thanks….

baanmaha — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 01:54:57 +0000

Thank you for advice worked..

Khupcom — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 22:55:21 +0000

Here the simple way to delete all mail
echo ‘d *’ | mail -N

//Sessl — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:39:52 +0000

mail
d 1-x

d = delete
1-x = mail 1 to mail x (e.g. d 1-53)

Jorge Tarlea — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 11:01:33 +0000

Thanks, it worked!

Sunil — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 07:15:36 +0000

Great thanks for the command

Md. Mizanur Rahman — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:44:52 +0000

Thank boss……..it’s an important command

Kaspar — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:00:22 +0000

You just did oversee the > in front of /var/spool/mail/root
Works like a charm…

Cian — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:55:14 +0000

Cheers, had forgotten all anout dev/null, thanks!

Nirmal Pathak — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:03:56 +0000

Nothing happens when I type /var/spool/mail/root to purge the root user’s mail messages.

I think you meant,

#cat /dev/null > /var/spool/mail/root

– Nirmal.