# Cone

> Full-screen console mail client and newsreader from the Courier mail server project.

Cone (COnsole Newsreader And Emailer) is a curses mail client for IMAP, POP3, local mbox and Maildir folders, and Usenet newsgroups. It has a built-in editor with spell checking, address books that can live in an IMAP folder or LDAP, and OpenPGP signing and encryption through GnuPG. It sends through an SMTP server with optional SSL and authentication, or through the local sendmail command. It shares code with the Courier mail server, and most Linux users build it from source with the RPM or DEB scripts upstream provides.

- Type: Email client
- Interface: Full-screen terminal interface
- Systems: Runs on BSD, on Windows through WSL, builds from source on Linux. Not available for macOS or Android.
- Language: C++
- License: GPL 3.0 (GPL-3.0-only)
- Latest version: 2.5
- Background: Part of the Courier mail server project; built on the LibMAIL C++ library
- Maintained: yes
- Website: https://www.courier-mta.org/cone/
- Source: https://github.com/svarshavchik/courier
- Documentation: https://www.courier-mta.org/cone/

## Install

### Linux

Build from source. No distribution packages in Debian, Fedora or Arch; upstream documents building RPM packages with rpmbuild and DEB packages with courier-debuild.

- rpmbuild: `rpmbuild -ta cone-2.5.tar.bz2`
- courier-debuild: `./courier-debuild -us -uc`

### macOS

Not supported. No Homebrew formula and no documented macOS build.

### Windows

Through WSL. No native build; build it from source inside WSL.

### BSD

Native.

- FreeBSD pkg: `pkg install cone`

### Android

Not supported. No Termux package.

## Protocols

- IMAP: Yes
- POP3: Yes
- SMTP: Yes
- JMAP: No
- Maildir: Yes
- mbox: Yes
- notmuch: No

## Features

- OpenPGP: Yes
- S/MIME: No
- OAuth2 sign-in: No
- Threads: Yes
- Search: built-in folder search; server-side on IMAP
- HTML mail: built-in HTML renderer
- Mouse: No
- Multiple accounts: Yes
- Offline use: No
- Calendar: No
- Contacts: built-in address books, stored locally, in an IMAP folder, or on LDAP
- Vim-style keys: No
- Configuration: interactive setup screens; settings saved under ~/.cone

## Pros

- Handles IMAP, POP3, local mbox and Maildir folders, and newsgroups in one folder tree.
- Built-in OpenPGP signing and encryption with per-account keys.
- Optional master password encrypts saved server passwords.

## Cons

- Not packaged by Debian, Fedora, Arch or Homebrew; usually built from source.
- No offline mode for IMAP accounts and no OAuth2.
- No S/MIME support.

## Use Cone with Forward Email

File: `~/.cone (written by the setup screens)`

```
# Cone is configured from its menus; settings are saved under ~/.cone.
# IMAP account: Main menu > N (New account) > I (IMAP account)
#   Server: imap.forwardemail.net   (port 993 is the default with encryption on)
#   Login: you@example.com
#   [x] Use an encrypted connection
#   Enter the alias' generated password when prompted.
# (POP3 instead: N > P (POP3 account), Server: pop3.forwardemail.net, encrypted connection on (port 995))
#
# Outgoing mail: Main menu > S (Setup)
#   Outgoing SMTP Server: smtp.forwardemail.net
#   SMTP userid (optional): you@example.com
#   [ ] Send mail via main acct (if available)
#   [x] Use SMTP tunneled over SSL      (uses port 465)
#
# Optional: Main menu > P (Master password) to encrypt the saved passwords.
```

| 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. Password: the one from Generate Password next to the alias. Folders: INBOX, Drafts, Sent Mail, Trash, Spam and Archive.

## Questions

### Does Cone work on Windows?

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

### Does Cone support IMAP?

Yes, Cone connects to IMAP servers directly.

### Is Cone open source?

Yes, under the GPL 3.0.

### How do I use Cone with Forward Email?

Use the config in the Forward Email section on this page, saved as ~/.cone (written by the setup screens), and replace the address and password with your own.

## Sources

- https://www.courier-mta.org/cone/
- https://www.courier-mta.org/cone/INSTALL.html
- https://github.com/svarshavchik/courier/tree/master/cone
- https://github.com/svarshavchik/courier/blob/master/cone/ChangeLog
- https://github.com/svarshavchik/courier/blob/master/cone/cone.spec.in
- https://github.com/svarshavchik/courier/blob/master/cone/cone/configscreen.C
- https://github.com/svarshavchik/courier/blob/master/cone/cone/mainmenu.C
- https://github.com/svarshavchik/courier/blob/master/cone/cone/cone.C
- https://github.com/svarshavchik/courier/blob/master/cone/cone/sgml/mail-open.sgml
- https://github.com/svarshavchik/courier-libs/blob/master/common/COPYING
- https://sourceforge.net/projects/courier/files/cone/2.5/
- https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-ports/blob/main/mail/cone/Makefile
- https://packages.debian.org/sid/cone
- https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/cone
- https://formulae.brew.sh/api/formula.json