Terminal Email: terminal email clients for every system

Read and send email from a terminal on Linux, macOS, Windows, BSD and Android. 19 maintained clients and 7 mail tools, each with install commands for every system and a config that works with Forward Email or any other provider. The screenshots show Forward Email's terminal app, made by the team behind this site. It is the only client here with its own calendar, contact list and task list, alongside mail. Browse clientsInstall Forward Email ~ $ forwardemail --demo forwardemailFeatured The forwardemail command runs the same application as Forward Email's webmail inside a terminal, drawn as text. Mail, calendar, contacts, tasks and settings all work, with keyboard shortcuts, mouse clicks and scrolling, and plain-text reading and writing by default. It installs as one standalone executable on Linux, macOS and Windows, or from npm anywhere Node.js 22 runs. It signs in to Forward Email accounts, including self-hosted servers. Calendar, contacts and tasks in the same terminal app as mailMouse clicks, scrolling and text selection work, and the bottom row always shows the keys for the current screenOne self-updating executable with no setup files to writeWorks with self-hosted Forward Email through --api A Forward Email account with a mailbox (paid plans start at $3 a month). forwardemail --demo opens a demo account with no sign-in. Install Linuxinstall scriptcurl -fsSL https://github.com/forwardemail/mail.forwardemail.net/releases/latest/download/install.sh | shnpmnpm install -g forwardemailStandalone builds for x64 and arm64 need glibc. On musl systems such as Alpine Linux, install with npm.macOSinstall scriptcurl -fsSL https://github.com/forwardemail/mail.forwardemail.net/releases/latest/download/install.sh | shnpmnpm install -g forwardemailStandalone builds for Apple Silicon and Intel.WindowsPowerShellirm https://github.com/forwardemail/mail.forwardemail.net/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 | iexnpmnpm install -g forwardemailSigned standalone builds for x64 and arm64. Windows Terminal is recommended over the legacy console.BSDnpmnpm install -g forwardemailThrough npm, which runs anywhere Node.js 22 or later does.AndroidTermuxpkg install nodejs && npm install -g forwardemailThrough npm in Termux, which packages Node.js 24 and later. Not tested by the project. All features and screenshotsUse another client with Forward Email Clients Programs you read and write mail in. Pick a system to see what runs there, or filter by name, language or protocol. any19linux19macos18windows17bsd18android10 Filter clients by name, language or protocol 19 email clients SystemsNameLanguage and license Runs on Linux, macOS, Windows and BSD, on Android through Termux. Forward EmailFeaturedTUISource-availableForward Email's webmail in the terminal: mail, calendar, contacts and settings, with mouse support and a key hint bar. TypeScriptBusiness Source License 1.1 Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux. aercTUITerminal email client written in Go with IMAP, JMAP, Maildir and notmuch backends and an embedded terminal for editing. GoMIT Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL. Not available for Android. alotTUITerminal mail reader written in Python that works on a local notmuch database, with tag-based search and threads. PythonGPL 3.0 or later Runs on Linux, macOS, Windows and BSD, on Android through Termux. AlpineTUIMenu-driven terminal email client descended from Pine, with built-in help, setup screens and native Windows builds. CApache 2.0 Runs on BSD, on Windows through WSL, builds from source on Linux. Not available for macOS or Android. ConeTUIFull-screen console mail client and newsreader from the Courier mail server project. C++GPL 3.0 Runs on Linux, macOS, Windows and BSD, on Android through Termux. GnusEmacsMail and news reader built into GNU Emacs, with back ends for IMAP, POP3, local mail folders and NNTP. Emacs LispGPL 3.0 or later Runs on Linux, macOS and Windows, builds from source on BSD. Not available for Android. HimalayaCLICommand-line email client written in Rust that lists, reads, sends and moves mail through shell commands with JSON output.

RustMIT or Apache 2.0 Runs on Linux, macOS and Windows, builds from source on BSD. Not available for Android. MatchaTUITerminal email client written in Go with the Bubble Tea TUI library, with IMAP, JMAP and POP3 support. GoMIT Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL. Not available for Android. mblazeCLISet of small Unix utilities for reading, searching, threading and composing mail stored in Maildir folders. CCC0 1.0 and MIT Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD. Not available for Windows or Android. meliTUITerminal email client written in Rust with IMAP, JMAP, notmuch, Maildir, mbox and NNTP backends and TOML configuration. RustEUPL 1.2 or GPL 3.0 or later Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux. mu4eEmacsEmail client that runs inside GNU Emacs, built on the mu Maildir indexer and search tool. Emacs Lisp (mu4e), C++ (mu)GPL 3.0 or later Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux. MuttTUILong-running text-mode email client with IMAP, POP3 and SMTP support, configured through a muttrc file. CGPL 2.0 or later Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux. NeoMuttTUIFull-screen terminal mail reader forked from Mutt, with notmuch, NNTP, Lua scripting and a sidebar built in. CGPL 2.0 or later Runs on Linux and macOS. Not available for Windows, BSD or Android. nmailTUITerminal email client for Linux and macOS with an Alpine-like interface and built-in IMAP and SMTP. C++MIT Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux. nmhCLIThe MH message handling system: separate shell commands to read, file, search and send mail stored one file per message. CBSD 3-Clause Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux. Notmuch Emacs interfaceEmacsEmacs front end for notmuch that reads, searches, tags and composes mail from a local Maildir. Emacs LispGPL 3.0 or later Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL. Not available for Android. S-nailCLICommand-line mail program that implements POSIX mailx, with MIME, IMAP, POP3, SMTP, Maildir and S/MIME support. CISC and BSD 2-Clause and BSD 3-Clause and BSD 4-Clause Runs on Linux and macOS, on Windows through WSL, builds from source on BSD. Not available for Android. SupTUICurses email client in Ruby built around threads, labels and fast full-text search over local mail. RubyGPL 2.0 or later Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux.