maxfiles in /etc/login.conf

[shep]

My email setup utilizes mutt, fetchmail or getmail, and nmh and I utilize the same setup in Debian without problems. I noted the problem using getmail and changed to fetchmail. The core dumps persisted using fetchmail.

In OpenBSD 5.8 stable, when I invoke a mutt macro to call fetchmail, and previously getmail, if any emails are retrieved, hitting "any key" to continue causes mutt to crash with a mutt.core.

I do not get this behavior when my inbox had a smaller number of files. nmh is used as an mda to convert emails to the mh format where each email is a file.

If I invoke fetchmail from a terminal the emails are retrieved from a pop3 server without issue and are in ~/Mail/inbox when mutt is started.

cat fetchmailrc
poll mail.earthlink.net uidl proto POP3
user "redacted@earthlink.net"
keep
no fetchall
mda "/usr/local/libexec/rcvstore +inbox"

and pertainent portion of muttrc

set mbox_type=MH                                # Use mh mail format
set move=yes                                    # Turn off move confirm prompt
set folder="~/Mail"                             # Parent Mail folder
set mbox=+inbox                                 # Users active mail directory
set record=+sent                                # Mailbox to store sent messages
set postponed=+draft                            # Mailbox to store drafts
set spoolfile="~/Mail/inbox"                    # Use spool file in home directory
<clip>
</clip>
#       Macros - Map G to Invoke fetchmail
#
macro index G  <shell-escape>"fetchmail"<enter> "Invoke fetchmail"
macro pager G  <shell-escape>"fetchmail"<enter> "Invoke fetchmail"
#

cat /etc/login.conf
default:\
        :path=/usr/bin /bin /usr/sbin /sbin /usr/X11R6/bin /usr/local/bin /usr/local/sbin:\
        :umask=022:\
        :datasize-max=4096M:\
        :datasize-cur=4096M:\
        :maxproc-max=386:\
        :maxproc-cur=512:\
        :openfiles-cur=1536:\
        :stacksize-cur=4M:\
        :localcipher=blowfish,8:\
        :ypcipher=old:\
        :tc=auth-defaults:\
        :tc=auth-ftp-defaults:

#
# Settings used by /etc/rc and root
# This must be set properly for daemons started as root by inetd as well.
# Be sure reset these values back to system defaults in the default class!
#
daemon:\
        :ignorenologin:\
        :datasize=infinity:\
        :maxproc=infinity:\
        :openfiles-cur=128:\
        :stacksize-cur=8M:\
        :localcipher=blowfish,9:\
        :tc=default:

#
# Staff have fewer restrictions and can login even when nologins are set.
#
staff:\
        :datasize-cur=3072M:\
        :datasize-max=infinity:\
        :maxproc-max=512:\
        :maxproc-cur=256:\
        :ignorenologin:\
        :requirehome@:\
        :tc=default:

I am wondering if it has to do with my file settings numbers. I archive emails yearly and towards the end of the year have well over 1400 email files. If both mutt and fetchmail are both accessing the files would I need a maxfiles of around 3500? Is there a rough way to calculate the needed resource settings?

[shep]

I incrementally increased maxfiles with no effect. I ran mutt.core through the debugger and the output suggests that the problem is in mutt itself. I'll start a new thread along that path.