Matcha

TUIEmail client

Terminal email client written in Go with the Bubble Tea TUI library, with IMAP, JMAP and POP3 support.

Matcha is a full-screen terminal email client by Floatpane. It talks to IMAP, JMAP, POP3 or a local Maildir and sends over SMTP, with multiple accounts, PGP and S/MIME, threaded view, inline images in terminals that support image protocols, and Lua plugins. Accounts and settings live in a JSON file, and a background daemon handles new mail notifications. It suits users who want a modern, mouse-capable client with presets for Gmail, iCloud and Outlook.

Type: Email client
Interface: Full-screen terminal interface
Systems: Runs on Linux, macOS and Windows, builds from source on BSD. Not available for Android.
Language: Go
License: MIT
Latest version: v1.0.1
Maintained: Yes
Website: matcha.email
Source: github.com/floatpane/matcha
Documentation: docs.matcha.email

Install

System	Support	Install
Linux	Native	Snap`sudo snap install matcha` Flatpak`flatpak install https://matcha.email/matcha.flatpakref` Nix`nix profile install github:floatpane/matcha`
macOS	Native	Homebrew`brew install --cask floatpane/matcha/matcha`
Windows	Native	winget`winget install --id=floatpane.matcha`
BSD	Build from source	Go`git clone https://github.com/floatpane/matcha && cd matcha && go build .` No ports package; build with Go.
Android	Not supported	-

Protocols and features

Protocols
Protocol	Matcha
IMAP	Yes
POP3	Yes
SMTP	Yes
JMAP	Yes
Maildir	Yes
mbox	No
notmuch	No

Features
Feature	Matcha
OpenPGP	Yes
S/MIME	Yes
OAuth2 sign-in	Yes
Threads	Yes
Search	built-in search and filter
HTML mail	built-in rendering, with inline images in supported terminals
Mouse	Yes
Multiple accounts	Yes
Offline use	local cache of message lists and bodies
Calendar	shows .ics invites and sends RSVP replies
Contacts	address book built from sent and received mail
Vim-style keys	Yes
Configuration	~/.config/matcha/config.json plus in-app settings

Pros and cons

Pros

Supports IMAP, JMAP, POP3 and Maildir in one client
PGP (including YubiKey) and S/MIME signing and encryption
Prebuilt packages for Linux (Snap, Flatpak), macOS (Homebrew tap) and Windows (winget)

Cons

Young project; v1.0 shipped only after a long series of 0.x releases
JSON config is less readable to hand-edit than muttrc-style files
Binary name clashes with an unrelated tool also called matcha

Use Matcha 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/matcha/config.json

{
  "accounts": [
    {
      "id": "forwardemail",
      "name": "Your Name",
      "email": "you@example.com",
      "service_provider": "custom",
      "imap_server": "imap.forwardemail.net",
      "imap_port": 993,
      "smtp_server": "smtp.forwardemail.net",
      "smtp_port": 465,
      "pass_cmd": "pass show forwardemail/you@example.com"
    }
  ]
}

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 Matcha

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Questions

Does Matcha work on Windows?

Yes, it runs natively on Windows.

Does Matcha support IMAP?

Yes, Matcha connects to IMAP servers directly.

Is Matcha open source?

Yes, under the MIT.

How do I use Matcha with Forward Email?

Use the config in the Forward Email section on this page, saved as ~/.config/matcha/config.json, and replace the address and password with your own.

Sources

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