Forward Email

FeaturedTUIEmail clientSource-available

Forward Email's webmail in the terminal: mail, calendar, contacts and settings, with mouse support and a key hint bar.

~ $ forwardemail --demo

Forward Email in a terminal: folders on the left, the inbox message list on the right and key hints on the bottom row

An open message in the Forward Email terminal app, with reply, archive and delete keys shown on the bottom row

Writing a new message in the terminal, with the recipient, subject and a plain-text body

The month view of the calendar in the Forward Email terminal app

The contacts list in the Forward Email terminal app

Appearance settings in the terminal app, with theme, layout and density options

The keyboard shortcuts list, opened with the question mark key

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.

Type: Email client
Interface: Full-screen terminal interface
Systems: Runs on Linux, macOS, Windows and BSD, on Android through Termux.
Language: TypeScript
License: Business Source License 1.1
Latest version: 0.14.16
Background: The webmail at mail.forwardemail.net, built for the terminal
Maintained: Yes
Website: forwardemail.net
Source: github.com/forwardemail/mail.forwardemail.net
Documentation: github.com

Install

System	Support	Install
Linux	Native	install script`curl -fsSL https://github.com/forwardemail/mail.forwardemail.net/releases/latest/download/install.sh \| sh` npm`npm install -g forwardemail` Standalone builds for x64 and arm64 need glibc. On musl systems such as Alpine Linux, install with npm.
macOS	Native	install script`curl -fsSL https://github.com/forwardemail/mail.forwardemail.net/releases/latest/download/install.sh \| sh` npm`npm install -g forwardemail` Standalone builds for Apple Silicon and Intel.
Windows	Native	PowerShell`irm https://github.com/forwardemail/mail.forwardemail.net/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 \| iex` npm`npm install -g forwardemail` Signed standalone builds for x64 and arm64. Windows Terminal is recommended over the legacy console.
BSD	Native	npm`npm install -g forwardemail` Through npm, which runs anywhere Node.js 22 or later does.
Android	Through Termux	Termux`pkg install nodejs && npm install -g forwardemail` Through npm in Termux, which packages Node.js 24 and later. Not tested by the project.

Protocols and features

Protocols
Protocol	Forward Email
Connects through	Forward Email API over HTTPS, with new mail over WebSocket
Accounts	A Forward Email account with a mailbox (paid plans start at $3 a month). forwardemail --demo opens a demo account with no sign-in.

Features
Feature	Forward Email
OpenPGP	Yes
S/MIME	No
OAuth2 sign-in	No
Threads	Yes
Search	built-in, across messages, contacts and events
HTML mail	shown as formatted text with links; plain text by default
Mouse	Yes
Multiple accounts	Yes
Offline use	drafts and changes made offline are sent when the connection returns
Calendar	Yes
Contacts	Yes
Vim-style keys	No
Configuration	settings screens, keyboard shortcut editor and an optional user.css

Pros and cons

Pros

Calendar, contacts and tasks in the same terminal app as mail
Mouse clicks, scrolling and text selection work, and the bottom row always shows the keys for the current screen
One self-updating executable with no setup files to write

Cons

Only works with Forward Email accounts
Images and video are not drawn; HTML mail is shown as text with links
Passkey sign-in needs a browser or the desktop app

Install and run

Terminal

# macOS and Linux
curl -fsSL https://github.com/forwardemail/mail.forwardemail.net/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh

# Windows (PowerShell)
irm https://github.com/forwardemail/mail.forwardemail.net/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 | iex

# Any system with Node.js 22 or later
npm install -g forwardemail

forwardemail            # sign in and read your mail
forwardemail --demo     # try it with sample data, no account needed

A Forward Email account with a mailbox (paid plans start at $3 a month). forwardemail --demo opens a demo account with no sign-in. To use Forward Email in a different client, see the setup page.

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Questions

Does Forward Email work on Windows?

Yes, it runs natively on Windows. Signed standalone builds for x64 and arm64. Windows Terminal is recommended over the legacy console.

Does Forward Email support IMAP?

No. It connects to Forward Email over its API. For IMAP, use another client on this site with Forward Email's IMAP settings.

Is Forward Email open source?

Its source code is public under the Business Source License 1.1, which is source-available rather than open source.

Do I need a Forward Email account?

Yes, to read your own mail. A Forward Email account with a mailbox (paid plans start at $3 a month). forwardemail --demo opens a demo account with no sign-in.

Sources

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