diff --git a/melib/Cargo.toml b/melib/Cargo.toml
index a5497248..cd6ca801 100644
--- a/melib/Cargo.toml
+++ b/melib/Cargo.toml
@@ -24,3 +24,4 @@ serde_derive = "1.0.71"
 bincode = "1.0.1"
 uuid = { version = "0.6", features = ["serde", "v4"] }
 text_processing = { path = "../text_processing", version = "*" }
+libc = {version = "0.2.59", features = ["extra_traits",]}
diff --git a/melib/src/backends.rs b/melib/src/backends.rs
index 0ff75b52..c1fb6f14 100644
--- a/melib/src/backends.rs
+++ b/melib/src/backends.rs
@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@ use crate::async_workers::*;
 use crate::conf::AccountSettings;
 use crate::error::{MeliError, Result};
 //use mailbox::backends::imap::ImapType;
-//use mailbox::backends::mbox::MboxType;
 use self::maildir::MaildirType;
+use self::mbox::MboxType;
 use super::email::{Envelope, EnvelopeHash, Flag};
 use std::fmt;
 use std::fmt::Debug;
@@ -59,7 +59,10 @@ impl Backends {
             "maildir".to_string(),
             Box::new(|| Box::new(|f| Box::new(MaildirType::new(f)))),
         );
-        //b.register("mbox".to_string(), Box::new(|| Box::new(MboxType::new(""))));
+        b.register(
+            "mbox".to_string(),
+            Box::new(|| Box::new(|f| Box::new(MboxType::new(f)))),
+        );
         //b.register("imap".to_string(), Box::new(|| Box::new(ImapType::new(""))));
         b
     }
@@ -249,6 +252,9 @@ impl BackendOp for ReadOnlyOp {
 pub trait BackendFolder: Debug {
     fn hash(&self) -> FolderHash;
     fn name(&self) -> &str;
+    fn path(&self) -> &str {
+        self.name()
+    }
     fn change_name(&mut self, new_name: &str);
     fn clone(&self) -> Folder;
     fn children(&self) -> &Vec<FolderHash>;
diff --git a/melib/src/backends/mbox.rs b/melib/src/backends/mbox.rs
index db38a8b1..11e72f81 100644
--- a/melib/src/backends/mbox.rs
+++ b/melib/src/backends/mbox.rs
@@ -23,59 +23,584 @@
  * https://wiki2.dovecot.org/MailboxFormat/mbox
  */
 
-/*
-use async::*;
-use error::Result;
-use mailbox::backends::{MailBackend, RefreshEventConsumer, Folder};
-use mailbox::email::Envelope;
+use crate::async_workers::{Async, AsyncBuilder, AsyncStatus};
+use crate::backends::BackendOp;
+use crate::backends::FolderHash;
+use crate::backends::{
+    BackendFolder, Folder, MailBackend, RefreshEvent, RefreshEventConsumer, RefreshEventKind,
+};
+use crate::conf::AccountSettings;
+use crate::email::parser::BytesExt;
+use crate::email::*;
+use crate::error::{MeliError, Result};
+use fnv::FnvHashMap;
+use libc;
+use memmap::{Mmap, Protection};
+use nom::{IResult, Needed};
+extern crate notify;
+use self::notify::{watcher, DebouncedEvent, RecursiveMode, Watcher};
+use std::collections::hash_map::DefaultHasher;
+use std::fs::File;
+use std::hash::{Hash, Hasher};
+use std::io::BufReader;
+use std::io::Read;
+use std::os::unix::io::AsRawFd;
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+use std::sync::mpsc::channel;
+use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
+
+const F_OFD_SETLKW: libc::c_int = 38;
+
+// Open file description locking
+// # man fcntl
+fn get_rw_lock_blocking(f: &File) {
+    let fd: libc::c_int = f.as_raw_fd();
+    let mut flock: libc::flock = libc::flock {
+        l_type: libc::F_WRLCK as libc::c_short,
+        l_whence: libc::SEEK_SET as libc::c_short,
+        l_start: 0,
+        l_len: 0, /* "Specifying 0 for l_len has the special meaning: lock all bytes starting at the location
+                  specified by l_whence and l_start through to the end of file, no matter how large the file grows." */
+        l_pid: 0, /* "By contrast with traditional record locks, the l_pid field of that structure must be set to zero when using the commands described below." */
+    };
+    let ptr: *mut libc::flock = &mut flock;
+    let ret_val = unsafe { libc::fcntl(fd, F_OFD_SETLKW, ptr as *mut libc::c_void) };
+    debug!(&ret_val);
+    assert!(-1 != ret_val);
+}
+
+macro_rules! get_path_hash {
+    ($path:expr) => {{
+        let mut hasher = DefaultHasher::new();
+        $path.hash(&mut hasher);
+        hasher.finish()
+    }};
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug)]
+struct MboxFolder {
+    hash: FolderHash,
+    name: String,
+    path: PathBuf,
+    content: Vec<u8>,
+    children: Vec<FolderHash>,
+    parent: Option<FolderHash>,
+}
+
+impl BackendFolder for MboxFolder {
+    fn hash(&self) -> FolderHash {
+        self.hash
+    }
+
+    fn name(&self) -> &str {
+        self.name.as_str()
+    }
+
+    fn path(&self) -> &str {
+        /* We know it's valid UTF-8 because we supplied it */
+        self.path.to_str().unwrap()
+    }
+
+    fn change_name(&mut self, s: &str) {
+        self.name = s.to_string();
+    }
+
+    fn clone(&self) -> Folder {
+        Box::new(MboxFolder {
+            hash: self.hash,
+            name: self.name.clone(),
+            path: self.path.clone(),
+            content: self.content.clone(),
+            children: self.children.clone(),
+            parent: self.parent,
+        })
+    }
+
+    fn children(&self) -> &Vec<FolderHash> {
+        &self.children
+    }
+
+    fn parent(&self) -> Option<FolderHash> {
+        self.parent
+    }
+}
 
 /// `BackendOp` implementor for Mbox
-#[derive(Debug, Default, Clone)]
-pub struct MboxOp {}
+#[derive(Debug, Default)]
+pub struct MboxOp {
+    hash: EnvelopeHash,
+    path: PathBuf,
+    offset: Offset,
+    length: Length,
+    slice: Option<Mmap>,
+}
 
 impl MboxOp {
-    pub fn new(_path: String) -> Self {
-        MboxOp {}
+    pub fn new(hash: EnvelopeHash, path: &Path, offset: Offset, length: Length) -> Self {
+        MboxOp {
+            hash,
+            path: path.to_path_buf(),
+            slice: None,
+            offset,
+            length,
+        }
     }
 }
 
 impl BackendOp for MboxOp {
     fn description(&self) -> String {
-        unimplemented!();
+        String::new()
     }
+
     fn as_bytes(&mut self) -> Result<&[u8]> {
-        unimplemented!();
+        if self.slice.is_none() {
+            self.slice = Some(Mmap::open_path(&self.path, Protection::Read)?);
+        }
+        /* Unwrap is safe since we use ? above. */
+        Ok(unsafe {
+            &self.slice.as_ref().unwrap().as_slice()[self.offset..self.offset + self.length]
+        })
     }
+
     fn fetch_headers(&mut self) -> Result<&[u8]> {
-        unimplemented!();
+        let raw = self.as_bytes()?;
+        let result = parser::headers_raw(raw).to_full_result()?;
+        Ok(result)
     }
+
     fn fetch_body(&mut self) -> Result<&[u8]> {
-        unimplemented!();
+        let raw = self.as_bytes()?;
+        let result = parser::body_raw(raw).to_full_result()?;
+        Ok(result)
     }
+
     fn fetch_flags(&self) -> Flag {
-        unimplemented!();
+        let mut flags = Flag::empty();
+        let file = match std::fs::OpenOptions::new()
+            .read(true)
+            .write(true)
+            .open(&self.path)
+        {
+            Ok(f) => f,
+            Err(e) => {
+                debug!(e);
+                return flags;
+            }
+        };
+        get_rw_lock_blocking(&file);
+        let mut buf_reader = BufReader::new(file);
+        let mut contents = Vec::new();
+        if let Err(e) = buf_reader.read_to_end(&mut contents) {
+            debug!(e);
+            return flags;
+        };
+
+        if let Ok(headers) = parser::headers_raw(contents.as_slice()).to_full_result() {
+            if let Some(start) = headers.find(b"Status:") {
+                if let Some(end) = headers[start..].find(b"\n") {
+                    let start = start + b"Status:".len();
+                    let status = headers[start..start + end].trim();
+                    if status.contains(&b'F') {
+                        flags.set(Flag::FLAGGED, true);
+                    }
+                    if status.contains(&b'A') {
+                        flags.set(Flag::REPLIED, true);
+                    }
+                    if status.contains(&b'R') {
+                        flags.set(Flag::SEEN, true);
+                    }
+                    if status.contains(&b'D') {
+                        flags.set(Flag::TRASHED, true);
+                    }
+                    if status.contains(&b'T') {
+                        flags.set(Flag::DRAFT, true);
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            if let Some(start) = headers.find(b"X-Status:") {
+                let start = start + b"X-Status:".len();
+                if let Some(end) = headers[start..].find(b"\n") {
+                    let status = headers[start..start + end].trim();
+                    if status.contains(&b'F') {
+                        flags.set(Flag::FLAGGED, true);
+                    }
+                    if status.contains(&b'A') {
+                        flags.set(Flag::REPLIED, true);
+                    }
+                    if status.contains(&b'R') {
+                        flags.set(Flag::SEEN, true);
+                    }
+                    if status.contains(&b'D') {
+                        flags.set(Flag::TRASHED, true);
+                    }
+                    if status.contains(&b'T') {
+                        flags.set(Flag::DRAFT, true);
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        flags
     }
-    fn set_flags(&self, f: Flag) -> Result<()> {
-        unimplemented!()
+
+    fn set_flag(&mut self, envelope: &mut Envelope, flag: Flag) -> Result<()> {
+        Ok(())
     }
 }
 
+pub fn mbox_parse(
+    index: Arc<Mutex<FnvHashMap<EnvelopeHash, (Offset, Length)>>>,
+    input: &[u8],
+    file_offset: usize,
+) -> IResult<&[u8], Vec<Envelope>> {
+    if input.is_empty() {
+        return IResult::Incomplete(Needed::Unknown);
+    }
+    let mut input = input;
+    let mut offset = 0;
+    let mut index = index.lock().unwrap();
+    let mut envelopes = Vec::with_capacity(32);
+    while !input.is_empty() {
+        let next_offset: Option<usize> = input.find(b"\n\nFrom ");
+        if let Some(len) = next_offset {
+            match Envelope::from_bytes(&input[..len]) {
+                Ok(mut env) => {
+                    let mut flags = Flag::empty();
+                    if env.other_headers().contains_key("Status") {
+                        if env.other_headers()["Status"].contains("F") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::FLAGGED, true);
+                        }
+                        if env.other_headers()["Status"].contains("A") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::REPLIED, true);
+                        }
+                        if env.other_headers()["Status"].contains("R") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::SEEN, true);
+                        }
+                        if env.other_headers()["Status"].contains("D") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::TRASHED, true);
+                        }
+                    }
+                    if env.other_headers().contains_key("X-Status") {
+                        if env.other_headers()["X-Status"].contains("F") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::FLAGGED, true);
+                        }
+                        if env.other_headers()["X-Status"].contains("A") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::REPLIED, true);
+                        }
+                        if env.other_headers()["X-Status"].contains("R") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::SEEN, true);
+                        }
+                        if env.other_headers()["X-Status"].contains("D") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::TRASHED, true);
+                        }
+                        if env.other_headers()["X-Status"].contains("T") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::DRAFT, true);
+                        }
+                    }
+                    env.set_flags(flags);
+                    index.insert(env.hash(), (offset + file_offset, len));
+                    envelopes.push(env);
+                }
+                Err(_) => {
+                    debug!("Could not parse mail at byte offset {}", offset);
+                }
+            }
+            offset += len + 2;
+            input = &input[len + 2..];
+        } else {
+            match Envelope::from_bytes(input) {
+                Ok(mut env) => {
+                    let mut flags = Flag::empty();
+                    if env.other_headers().contains_key("Status") {
+                        if env.other_headers()["Status"].contains("F") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::FLAGGED, true);
+                        }
+                        if env.other_headers()["Status"].contains("A") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::REPLIED, true);
+                        }
+                        if env.other_headers()["Status"].contains("R") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::SEEN, true);
+                        }
+                        if env.other_headers()["Status"].contains("D") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::TRASHED, true);
+                        }
+                    }
+                    if env.other_headers().contains_key("X-Status") {
+                        if env.other_headers()["X-Status"].contains("F") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::FLAGGED, true);
+                        }
+                        if env.other_headers()["X-Status"].contains("A") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::REPLIED, true);
+                        }
+                        if env.other_headers()["X-Status"].contains("R") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::SEEN, true);
+                        }
+                        if env.other_headers()["X-Status"].contains("D") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::TRASHED, true);
+                        }
+                        if env.other_headers()["X-Status"].contains("T") {
+                            flags.set(Flag::DRAFT, true);
+                        }
+                    }
+                    env.set_flags(flags);
+                    index.insert(env.hash(), (offset + file_offset, input.len()));
+                    envelopes.push(env);
+                }
+                Err(_) => {
+                    debug!("Could not parse mail at byte offset {}", offset);
+                }
+            }
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+    return IResult::Done(&[], envelopes);
+}
+
+type Offset = usize;
+type Length = usize;
 /// Mbox backend
-#[derive(Debug)]
-pub struct MboxType {}
+#[derive(Debug, Default)]
+pub struct MboxType {
+    path: PathBuf,
+    index: Arc<Mutex<FnvHashMap<EnvelopeHash, (Offset, Length)>>>,
+    folders: Arc<Mutex<FnvHashMap<FolderHash, MboxFolder>>>,
+}
 
 impl MailBackend for MboxType {
-    fn get(&self, _folder: &Folder) -> Async<Result<Vec<Envelope>>> {
-        unimplemented!();
+    fn get(&mut self, folder: &Folder) -> Async<Result<Vec<Envelope>>> {
+        let mut w = AsyncBuilder::new();
+        let handle = {
+            let tx = w.tx();
+            let index = self.index.clone();
+            let folder_path = folder.path().to_string();
+            let folder_hash = folder.hash();
+            let folders = self.folders.clone();
+            let closure = move || {
+                let tx = tx.clone();
+                let index = index.clone();
+                let file = match std::fs::OpenOptions::new()
+                    .read(true)
+                    .write(true)
+                    .open(&folder_path)
+                {
+                    Ok(f) => f,
+                    Err(e) => {
+                        tx.send(AsyncStatus::Payload(Err(MeliError::from(e))));
+                        return;
+                    }
+                };
+                get_rw_lock_blocking(&file);
+                let mut buf_reader = BufReader::new(file);
+                let mut contents = Vec::new();
+                if let Err(e) = buf_reader.read_to_end(&mut contents) {
+                    tx.send(AsyncStatus::Payload(Err(MeliError::from(e))));
+                    return;
+                };
+
+                let payload = mbox_parse(index, contents.as_slice(), 0)
+                    .to_full_result()
+                    .map_err(|e| MeliError::from(e));
+                {
+                    let mut folder_lock = folders.lock().unwrap();
+                    folder_lock
+                        .entry(folder_hash)
+                        .and_modify(|f| f.content = contents);
+                }
+
+                tx.send(AsyncStatus::Payload(payload));
+            };
+            Box::new(closure)
+        };
+        w.build(handle)
     }
-    fn watch(&self, _sender: RefreshEventConsumer, _folders: &[Folder]) -> () {
+
+    fn watch(&self, sender: RefreshEventConsumer) -> Result<()> {
+        let (tx, rx) = channel();
+        let mut watcher = watcher(tx, std::time::Duration::from_secs(10)).unwrap();
+        for f in self.folders.lock().unwrap().values() {
+            watcher.watch(&f.path, RecursiveMode::Recursive).unwrap();
+            debug!("watching {:?}", f.path.as_path());
+        }
+        let index = self.index.clone();
+        let folders = self.folders.clone();
+        std::thread::Builder::new()
+            .name(format!(
+                "watching {}",
+                self.path.file_name().unwrap().to_str().unwrap()
+            ))
+            .spawn(move || {
+                // Move `watcher` in the closure's scope so that it doesn't get dropped.
+                let _watcher = watcher;
+                let index = index;
+                let folders = folders;
+                loop {
+                    match rx.recv() {
+                        /*
+                         * Event types:
+                         *
+                         * pub enum RefreshEventKind {
+                         *     Update(EnvelopeHash, Envelope), // Old hash, new envelope
+                         *     Create(Envelope),
+                         *     Remove(EnvelopeHash),
+                         *     Rescan,
+                         * }
+                         */
+                        Ok(event) => match event {
+                            /* Update */
+                            DebouncedEvent::NoticeWrite(pathbuf)
+                            | DebouncedEvent::Write(pathbuf) => {
+                                let folder_hash = get_path_hash!(&pathbuf);
+                                let file = match std::fs::OpenOptions::new()
+                                    .read(true)
+                                    .write(true)
+                                    .open(&pathbuf)
+                                {
+                                    Ok(f) => f,
+                                    Err(_) => {
+                                        continue;
+                                    }
+                                };
+                                get_rw_lock_blocking(&file);
+                                let mut folder_lock = folders.lock().unwrap();
+                                let mut buf_reader = BufReader::new(file);
+                                let mut contents = Vec::new();
+                                if let Err(e) = buf_reader.read_to_end(&mut contents) {
+                                    debug!(e);
+                                    continue;
+                                };
+                                if contents
+                                    .starts_with(folder_lock[&folder_hash].content.as_slice())
+                                {
+                                    if let Ok(envelopes) = mbox_parse(
+                                        index.clone(),
+                                        &contents[folder_lock[&folder_hash].content.len()..],
+                                        folder_lock[&folder_hash].content.len(),
+                                    )
+                                    .to_full_result()
+                                    {
+                                        for env in envelopes {
+                                            sender.send(RefreshEvent {
+                                                hash: folder_hash,
+                                                kind: RefreshEventKind::Create(Box::new(env)),
+                                            });
+                                        }
+                                    }
+                                } else {
+                                    sender.send(RefreshEvent {
+                                        hash: folder_hash,
+                                        kind: RefreshEventKind::Rescan,
+                                    });
+                                }
+                                folder_lock
+                                    .entry(folder_hash)
+                                    .and_modify(|f| f.content = contents);
+                            }
+                            /* Remove */
+                            DebouncedEvent::NoticeRemove(pathbuf)
+                            | DebouncedEvent::Remove(pathbuf) => {
+                                panic!(format!("mbox folder {} was removed.", pathbuf.display()))
+                            }
+                            /* Envelope hasn't changed */
+                            DebouncedEvent::Rename(src, dest) => panic!(format!(
+                                "mbox folder {} was renamed to {}.",
+                                src.display(),
+                                dest.display()
+                            )),
+                            /* Trigger rescan of folder */
+                            DebouncedEvent::Rescan => {
+                                /* Actually should rescan all folders */
+                                unreachable!("Unimplemented: rescan of all folders in MboxType")
+                            }
+                            _ => {}
+                        },
+                        Err(e) => debug!("watch error: {:?}", e),
+                    }
+                }
+            })?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+    fn folders(&self) -> FnvHashMap<FolderHash, Folder> {
+        self.folders
+            .lock()
+            .unwrap()
+            .iter()
+            .map(|(h, f)| (*h, f.clone() as Folder))
+            .collect()
+    }
+    fn operation(&self, hash: EnvelopeHash, _folder_hash: FolderHash) -> Box<BackendOp> {
+        let (offset, length) = {
+            let index = self.index.lock().unwrap();
+            index[&hash]
+        };
+        Box::new(MboxOp::new(hash, self.path.as_path(), offset, length))
+    }
+
+    fn save(&self, bytes: &[u8], folder: &str) -> Result<()> {
         unimplemented!();
     }
 }
 
 impl MboxType {
-    pub fn new(_path: &str) -> Self {
-        MboxType {}
+    pub fn new(s: &AccountSettings) -> Self {
+        let path = Path::new(s.root_folder.as_str());
+        if !path.exists() {
+            panic!(
+                "\"root_folder\" {} for account {} is not a valid path.",
+                s.root_folder.as_str(),
+                s.name()
+            );
+        }
+        let ret = MboxType {
+            path: PathBuf::from(path),
+            ..Default::default()
+        };
+        let name: String = ret
+            .path
+            .file_name()
+            .map(|f| f.to_string_lossy().into())
+            .unwrap_or(String::new());
+        let hash = get_path_hash!(path);
+        ret.folders.lock().unwrap().insert(
+            hash,
+            MboxFolder {
+                hash,
+                path: PathBuf::from(path),
+                name,
+                content: Vec::new(),
+                children: Vec::new(),
+                parent: None,
+            },
+        );
+        /*
+        /* Look for other mailboxes */
+        let parent_folder = Path::new(path).parent().unwrap();
+        let read_dir = std::fs::read_dir(parent_folder);
+        if read_dir.is_ok() {
+            for f in read_dir.unwrap() {
+                if f.is_err() {
+                    continue;
+                }
+                let f = f.unwrap().path();
+                if f.is_file() && f != path {
+                    let name: String = f
+                        .file_name()
+                        .map(|f| f.to_string_lossy().into())
+                        .unwrap_or(String::new());
+                    let hash = get_path_hash!(f);
+                    ret.folders.lock().unwrap().insert(
+                        hash,
+                        MboxFolder {
+                            hash,
+                            path: f,
+                            name,
+                            content: Vec::new(),
+                            children: Vec::new(),
+                            parent: None,
+                        },
+                    );
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        */
+        ret
     }
 }
-*/
diff --git a/melib/src/email.rs b/melib/src/email.rs
index 06630b97..b7b8690d 100644
--- a/melib/src/email.rs
+++ b/melib/src/email.rs
@@ -775,6 +775,9 @@ impl Envelope {
         operation.set_flag(self, f)?;
         Ok(())
     }
+    pub fn set_flags(&mut self, f: Flag) {
+        self.flags = f;
+    }
     pub fn flags(&self) -> Flag {
         self.flags
     }
diff --git a/sample-config b/sample-config
index 8e130858..90f0303f 100644
--- a/sample-config
+++ b/sample-config
@@ -14,6 +14,15 @@
 #  "drafts" = { rename="Drafts" }
 #  "foobar-devel" = { ignore = true } # don't show notifications for this folder
 
+# Setting up an mbox account
+#[accounts.mbox]
+#root_folder = "/var/mail/username"
+#draft_folder = ""
+#sent_folder = ""
+#format = "mbox"
+#index = "Compact"
+#identity="username@hostname.local"
+
 #[pager]
 #pager_ratio = 80
 #filter = "/usr/bin/pygmentize"
diff --git a/ui/Cargo.toml b/ui/Cargo.toml
index fdc30a88..8c732efb 100644
--- a/ui/Cargo.toml
+++ b/ui/Cargo.toml
@@ -25,3 +25,4 @@ bincode = "1.0.1"
 uuid = { version = "0.6", features = ["serde", "v4"] }
 unicode-segmentation = "1.2.1" # >:c
 text_processing = { path = "../text_processing", version = "*" }
+libc = {version = "0.2.59", features = ["extra_traits",]}
diff --git a/ui/src/lib.rs b/ui/src/lib.rs
index fed7fc92..6650112c 100644
--- a/ui/src/lib.rs
+++ b/ui/src/lib.rs
@@ -71,3 +71,53 @@ pub use crate::conf::*;
 
 pub mod workers;
 pub use crate::workers::*;
+
+pub use crate::username::*;
+pub mod username {
+    use libc;
+    use std::ptr::null_mut;
+    /* taken from whoami-0.1.1 */
+    fn getpwuid() -> libc::passwd {
+        let mut pwent = libc::passwd {
+            pw_name: null_mut(),
+            pw_passwd: null_mut(),
+            pw_uid: 0,
+            pw_gid: 0,
+            pw_gecos: null_mut(),
+            pw_dir: null_mut(),
+            pw_shell: null_mut(),
+        };
+        let mut pwentp = null_mut();
+        let mut buffer = [0i8; 16384]; // from the man page
+
+        unsafe {
+            libc::getpwuid_r(
+                libc::geteuid(),
+                &mut pwent,
+                &mut buffer[0],
+                16384,
+                &mut pwentp,
+            );
+        }
+
+        pwent
+    }
+    fn ptr_to_string(name: *mut i8) -> String {
+        let uname = name as *mut _ as *mut u8;
+
+        let s;
+        let string;
+
+        unsafe {
+            s = ::std::slice::from_raw_parts(uname, libc::strlen(name));
+            string = String::from_utf8_lossy(s).to_string();
+        }
+
+        string
+    }
+    pub fn username() -> String {
+        let pwent = getpwuid();
+
+        ptr_to_string(pwent.pw_name)
+    }
+}