ax25mail-utils¶
Utilities for exchanging mail with an FBB packet BBS
- Version recorded: 0.15
- Categories:
packet-nodes - Upstream: https://sourceforge.net/projects/ax25mail/
- Install after:
ax25-tools - Needs from the kernel:
ax25— checked against the running kernel at plan time; see kernel-ax25
What it does¶
Command-line tools for forwarding mail to and from an FBB-style packet bulletin board: connecting, exchanging message lists, transferring what is new in each direction, and handling the compressed forwarding protocols those systems use.
Why you would want it¶
Packet BBS forwarding is how mail moved around amateur networks before Winlink, and it still moves in places where it never stopped. If you are interoperating with an FBB system -- most of the surviving packet BBS network -- these are the tools that speak its language.
Before it will work¶
A configured AX.25 port and a BBS to forward with, which means an agreement with its operator: forwarding is a two-sided arrangement, not something you switch on. Note that fbb, the BBS itself, is NOT in Debian 13, Kali or Parrot -- only Ubuntu 26.04 and Mint carry it (measured 2026-08-28) -- so on the primary target these utilities talk to somebody else's BBS.
How it installs¶
- apt:
ax25mail-utils
Known problems¶
Needs the kernel AX.25 stack, which Linux 7.1 removed (merge 64edfa65, 2026-04-24); on a 7.1 or newer kernel -- Kali rolling and Pop!_OS 24.04 on 7.1.5, measured 2026-09-04 -- the plan refuses or defers this unit by name. See ax25-tools and docs/reference/kernel-ax25.md. The absence of fbb from the Debian line is the surprise here and it is the opposite of the usual direction. Forwarding protocols are old, lightly documented and unforgiving of configuration errors, and a mis-set forwarding schedule can flood a slow RF link.
Keeping it current¶
- probe: apt policy
- strategy: apt_upgrade
Where to get help with the software itself¶
SourceForge project page at the URL above.