Red Hat LINUX 7.2 Reference Manual page 270

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A sample .fetchmailrc file looks like this:
Figure 16–6 Example of a basic .fetchmailrc file
set postmaster "user1"
set bouncemail
poll pop.domain.com proto pop3
user 'user1' there with password 'secret' is user1 here
poll mail.domain2.com
user 'user5' there with password 'secret2' is user1 here
user 'user7' there with password 'secret3' is user1 here
In this example, the global are options set so the user is sent email as a last resort (postmaster
option) and all email errors are sent to the postmaster instead of the sender (bouncemail option).
The set action tells Fetchmail that this line contains a global option. Then, two email servers are
specified, one set to check using POP3, and the other for trying various protocols to find one that
works. Two users are checked using the second server option, but all email found for any users is
sent to user1's mail spool. This allows multiple mailboxes to be checked on multiple servers, while
appearing in a single MUA inbox. Each user's specific information begins with the user action.
You do not have to place your password in the .fetchmailrc file. You
can omit the with password ' <password> ' section. Fetchmail will
then ask for your password when it is started with the fetchmail com-
mand.
While you can set up your .fetchmailrc file manually, it is much easier to let the included
fetchmailconf program do it for you. However, when testing new configurations, it is usually
easier to edit the .fetchmailrc file directly.
As expected with a program that services such a mature network service as email and utilizes so many
protocols, Fetchmail contains many different global, server, and local options. Many of these options
are rarely used or only apply to very specific situations. The fetchmail man page explains each of
these options in detail, but the most common ones are listed here.
Global Options
Each global option should be placed on a single line after a set action.
• daemon <seconds> — Tells Fetchmail to automatically use daemon-mode, where it will stay
in the background and poll for mail at the interval specified.
Note
Chapter 16:Email