alot

TUIEmail client

Terminal mail reader written in Python that works on a local notmuch database, with tag-based search and threads.

alot is a full-screen terminal front end for the notmuch mail indexer, offered as an alternative to the notmuch Emacs mode. It reads mail from a local notmuch database, so remote mail must first be synced into a Maildir with a tool such as mbsync or OfflineIMAP, and it sends through a sendmail-compatible command such as msmtp. It suits users who organize mail with tags and searches instead of folders, and it can be extended with Python hooks.

Type: Email client
Interface: Full-screen terminal interface
Systems: Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL. Not available for Android.
Language: Python
License: GPL 3.0 or later
Latest version: 0.12
Maintained: Yes
Website: alot.readthedocs.io
Source: github.com/pazz/alot
Documentation: alot.readthedocs.io

Install

System	Support	Install
Linux	Native	apt`sudo apt install alot` dnf`sudo dnf install alot` pacman`sudo pacman -S alot`
macOS	Native	Homebrew`brew install alot`
Windows	Through WSL	WSL`sudo apt install alot` No native Windows build; runs in WSL.
BSD	Native	FreeBSD pkg`pkg install mail/py-alot` The FreeBSD port is an older release (0.9).
Android	Not supported	-

Protocols and features

Protocols
Protocol	alot
IMAP	Through a separate tool
POP3	Through a separate tool
SMTP	Through a separate tool
JMAP	No
Maildir	Yes
mbox	No
notmuch	Yes

Features
Feature	alot
OpenPGP	Yes
S/MIME	No
OAuth2 sign-in	No
Threads	Yes
Search	notmuch queries
HTML mail	via mailcap, e.g. w3m -dump
Mouse	Yes
Multiple accounts	Yes
Offline use	always; reads a local notmuch database
Calendar	No
Contacts	via an external lookup command such as abook, khard or notmuch address
Vim-style keys	Yes
Configuration	INI-style config file plus optional Python hooks

Pros and cons

Pros

Tag-based searches through notmuch instead of folders
Full PGP/MIME signing and encryption
Python hooks for custom behavior and formatting

Cons

Needs separate tools to fetch mail (mbsync) and send it (msmtp)
No direct IMAP, POP3 or SMTP support
No S/MIME support

Use alot with Forward Email

A working setup for a Forward Email mailbox. Replace you@example.com with your alias and the password command with your own. The same settings work with any provider once the server names change.

~/.config/alot/config (plus ~/.mbsyncrc and ~/.config/msmtp/config)

# alot reads a local notmuch database. Sync Forward Email over IMAP
# into a Maildir with mbsync, index it with notmuch, and send with msmtp.

# ~/.mbsyncrc (isync 1.5+; older versions use SSLType instead of TLSType)
IMAPAccount forwardemail
Host imap.forwardemail.net
Port 993
TLSType IMAPS
User you@example.com
PassCmd "pass show email/forwardemail"

IMAPStore forwardemail-remote
Account forwardemail

MaildirStore forwardemail-local
Path ~/Mail/forwardemail/
Inbox ~/Mail/forwardemail/INBOX
SubFolders Verbatim

Channel forwardemail
Far :forwardemail-remote:
Near :forwardemail-local:
Patterns *
Create Both
SyncState *

# Then run: mbsync forwardemail && notmuch setup && notmuch new

# ~/.config/msmtp/config
account forwardemail
host smtp.forwardemail.net
port 465
tls on
tls_starttls off
auth on
user you@example.com
passwordeval "pass show email/forwardemail"
from you@example.com

# ~/.config/alot/config
[accounts]
    [[forwardemail]]
        realname = Your Name
        address = you@example.com
        sendmail_command = msmtp --account=forwardemail -t
        sent_box = maildir://~/Mail/forwardemail/Sent Mail
        draft_box = maildir://~/Mail/forwardemail/Drafts

Protocol	Server	Port	Security
IMAP	`imap.forwardemail.net`	993	SSL/TLS
POP3	`pop3.forwardemail.net`	995	SSL/TLS
SMTP	`smtp.forwardemail.net`	465	SSL/TLS
SMTP	`smtp.forwardemail.net`	587	STARTTLS

Username: your full alias address, such as you@example.com. Password: the one shown by Generate Password next to the alias in your Forward Email account. Folders: INBOX, Drafts, Sent Mail, Trash, Spam and Archive.

Prefer no config at all? Forward Email's terminal app signs in with your account and has mail, calendar and contacts in one program.

Compare alot

All alot alternatives

Questions

Does alot work on Windows?

Not natively. It runs in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). No native Windows build; runs in WSL.

Does alot support IMAP?

Through a separate tool. alot reads local mail, so a sync program such as isync copies it from the IMAP server.

Is alot open source?

Yes, under the GPL 3.0 or later.

How do I use alot with Forward Email?

Use the config in the Forward Email section on this page, saved as ~/.config/alot/config (plus ~/.mbsyncrc and ~/.config/msmtp/config), and replace the address and password with your own.

Sources

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