meli

TUIEmail client

Terminal email client written in Rust with IMAP, JMAP, notmuch, Maildir, mbox and NNTP backends and TOML configuration.

meli is a full-screen terminal email client for Linux, macOS and the BSDs. It supports several accounts at once over IMAP, JMAP, notmuch, Maildir, read-only mbox and NNTP, sends through its built-in SMTP client or a shell command, and can run the editor inside an embedded terminal. Configuration is a single TOML file, and most settings can be overridden per account or per mailbox.

Type: Email client
Interface: Full-screen terminal interface
Systems: Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD. Not available for Windows or Android.
Language: Rust
License: EUPL 1.2 or GPL 3.0 or later
Latest version: 0.8.13
Maintained: Yes
Website: meli-email.org
Source: git.meli-email.org/meli/meli
Documentation: meli-email.org

Install

System	Support	Install
Linux	Native	apt`sudo apt install meli` cargo`cargo install meli`
macOS	Native	Homebrew`brew install meli` MacPorts`sudo port install meli` cargo`cargo install meli`
Windows	Not supported	No Windows build; the project lists BSD, Linux and macOS.
BSD	Native	OpenBSD`pkg_add meli` NetBSD pkgsrc`pkgin install meli`
Android	Not supported	-

Protocols and features

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

Features
Feature	meli
OpenPGP	Yes
S/MIME	No
OAuth2 sign-in	via script
Threads	Yes
Search	built-in; sqlite3 index by default; notmuch queries
HTML mail	via filter command, w3m by default
Mouse	Yes
Multiple accounts	Yes
Offline use	IMAP header cache in sqlite3; full offline use with Maildir and mbsync
Calendar	No
Contacts	built-in contact list; reads vCard and mutt alias files
Vim-style keys	Yes
Configuration	TOML file (config.toml)

Pros and cons

Pros

Supports JMAP, notmuch, IMAP, Maildir and NNTP in one client
Single TOML file with per-account and per-mailbox overrides
Embedded terminal runs the editor inside the compose view

Cons

No POP3 or S/MIME support
mbox support is read-only
No Windows or Termux packages

Use meli 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/meli/config.toml

# Forward Email: IMAP over SSL/TLS (993), SMTP over SSL/TLS (465)
[accounts."forwardemail"]
format = "imap"
root_mailbox = "INBOX"
subscribed_mailboxes = ["*"]
identity = "you@example.com"
display_name = "Your Name"
server_hostname = "imap.forwardemail.net"
server_port = 993
use_tls = true
server_username = "you@example.com"
server_password_command = "pass show email/forwardemail"
send_mail = { hostname = "smtp.forwardemail.net", port = 465, auth = { type = "auto", username = "you@example.com", password = { type = "command_eval", value = "pass show email/forwardemail" } }, security = { type = "TLS" } }

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.

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Questions

Does meli work on Windows?

No. No Windows build; the project lists BSD, Linux and macOS. See clients that run on Windows.

Does meli support IMAP?

Yes, meli connects to IMAP servers directly.

Is meli open source?

Yes, under the EUPL 1.2 or GPL 3.0 or later.

How do I use meli with Forward Email?

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

Sources

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